Sydney Bloke’s FB Event ‘Throwing My Laptop Off A Cliff’ Shut Down By NSW Police

He was the hero we all needed. As often we feel technology is taking over our lives and we struggle to reclaim control.

With one symbolic gesture, this Sydney man attempted to rid himself from the daily grind of stress, feeling overworked… and burdened by a shitty Macbook. It was the Facebook event that captured an unrivalled community spirit.

Rob Carroll started the event ‘Throwing my laptop off a cliff’ a week back, offering spectators the once-in-a-lifetime chance to witness a human getting one-up on technology. The event which would have seen Rob hurling his MacBook off The Gap in Watsons Bay, quickly exploded with interest with around 8,000 people hitting ‘attending’. The event read:

“Friccin sick of my laptop not werking, so im goin thrwo it of the clif,” Carroll said. “BBQ at 1 to commence the procedings. will provide sausages, but u’ll hav 2 bring ur own bread [sic].”

Sounds like a good deal! Check out the original event listing below:

Via Timeout

Quickly the event took on a life of its own, as Rob was inundated with offers from local artists and food vendors to join the festivities.

Then all of a sudden, a man’s hopes and dreams came crashing to the ground (unfortunately, unlike his laptop), as he received a phone call from NSW Police telling him to take down the event. Citing over concerns around the logistics of hosting such a large crowd atop a cliff, while sledging a piece of hardware into the sea.

However to be fair, not to be environmentally irresponsible, there was even a side-event created by comedian ‘Hi Josh’, entitled: ‘Catching a laptop at the bottom of a cliff’. They’d bloody thought of everything.

Via Timeout

The event eventually changed title to ‘Carefully passing my laptop to Hi Josh at a safe distance,’ but it was not meant to be. Rob kept receiving phone calls from the police, telling him the event would not go ahead even under a different name.

There’s no reasoning with the fun-police. So there you have it. The event which was supposed to take place tomorrow is no longer on. Technology wins again.

A tiny consolation? ‘Hi Josh’ has made a cute video chronicling the entire thing and it’s a v. good watch. Enjoy!

(Tomorrow, at the very least just shove your laptop off your desk in solidarity with Rob’s brave plight.)