Tempus Redit

Day 22: Tempus redit...time returns, or at least it gets set back an hour tonight. But does it? Of course not. We don't "lose" an hour or "gain" an hour when we switch to or from Daylight Time. We just shift our perspective. For that matter, not all civilizations view time in the same manner as Western Man. Our perception of it is governed by our desire to have some measure of control (total, if possible) over the things which set the patterns of our lives. We delude ourselves into thinking that by changing the hands of the clock, we are somehow enriching our existence. Poor fools we!

Stop and think about time zones for a minute. When it's 3 AM on the east coast, it's midnight here in the PNW (or so they'd have us believe), but this statement relies on geographic divisions, not where the sun falls. Realistically, when it's noon at my house, it's roughly 12:01 at my office, 12:02 at the Sunrise Visitor Center, 12:04 in Yakima. Our system is woefully inaccurate, and yet we trust in it like no other factor save perhaps our religion if we have one. Time is horridly unscientific, yet we use its figures to record when a bird species was observed gathering nesting material ("2017-05-06, 7:02 AM PST, Coccothraustes vespertinus male observed returning to nest with fine animal hair of indeterminate origin"), or when a peak wind gust occurred ("2017-11-02, 1419 hours EDT, 43 MPH"). This gives us a marker to which we can relate, but it tells us very little about the natural time of the occurrence, i.e., the point at which the sun stood above the horizon. Yes, we can calculate that if the need arises and some studies go into that depth, but by and large, our system for measuring time is as rough as measuring a molecule with a yardstick.

The human animal is not as advanced in evolution as it would like to think it is (speaking both generically and individually). Our brains are not adequately developed to accept a larger explanation of time. Einstein and a few others have barely stirred the surface of temporal science. Now, go set your damn clocks back and stop grumbling. There's a picture here which is a lot bigger than an hour.

Tea-Time

Day 31: Seriously, I had other things to do with my time today, but I got started on this idea and didn't want to quit until I was done. The motivation was an on-line photo group assignment, the last of twenty given to participants at the first of the month. Although I am primarily a coffee drinker, I do enjoy a cup of tea at least once a day. Many of my favourites are difficult to tell apart when laid out on a backing, so I included a number of herbals in this composite as well.

The operative word in that last sentence is "composite." Fourteen images went into the making of this sampler; the background,  twelve close-ups of various teas, and one shot to capture both spoons which were then "lifted" and reinstalled here. I don't have a lot of fancy software, so this meant hours of trimming, erasing and blending, particularly with respect to the spoons.

Starting at 1 o'clock, the teas are
1. Jasmine
2. Sassafras bark
3. Earl Grey
4. Chamomile
5. Goldenseal (home-grown)
6. Chai Spice blend
7. English Breakfast
8. Licorice Spice (licorice root and spices)
9. Pinhead Gunpowder
10. "Floor sweepings" (bag tea, liberated)
11. Peppermint
12. Rose mint (home-grown)

It's time for tea!

Go Binary

Day 21: It is 8:13:47 by the clock, and as easily read as a standard 12-hour dial once you get the hang of it. The numbers are represented in binary, and the columns are read left to right, bottom to top. The bottom row is 1. The second row is 2. The third row is 4. The top row is 8. The lights indicate the classic yes/no of binary; thus if a light in the bottom row is lit, it equals 1. If another light is lit in the column above it, the value of that light is added; thus if lights in the first and third row are lit, but not the second, 1 + 4 = 5.

To read the time here, we have
0 lights in column 1 = 0
The 8 light in column 2 = 8
The 1 light in column 3 = 1
The 1 and 2 lights in column 4 = 3
The 4 light in column 5 = 4
The 1, 2 and 4 lights in column 6 = 7

See how easy that was?

I've had this little clock for years and prefer it to the regular dials. It's much easier to set if the power goes off.