I\u2019ve had to pay attention to time zone for most of my career. Coordinating meetings that include people from different time zones, I have to be careful to make sure that my systems are set to the right time. I also need to make sure that all the people are available at the time selected.<\/p>\n
I have to remember that New York is earlier, and China and Japan are tomorrow.<\/p>\n
There is a way to adjust the time zone- UTC. I thought it meant Universal time clock, but it actually means Universal Coordinated Time. They scrambled the order of the letters to UTC because of a bureaucratic compromise to make sure that NO one was perfectly happy. But the important part is the C stands for coordinated.<\/p>\n
Time is coordinated? The time–which everyone all over the world references–is decided by committee?<\/p>\n
How is that a thing?<\/p>\n
I discovered it was a thing from reading Why Time Flies: A mostly Scientific Investigation by Alan Burdick.<\/p>\n
The present is even more ephemeral than I understood. Designated clocks from around the world report in to the committee, and that committee aggregates the report to arrive at what the precise time was two weeks earlier.<\/p>\n
Some of the clocks that report in are statistical outliers. Yet they are included. Everybody has their say.<\/p>\n
I thought time and tides wait for no man.<\/p>\n
I was wrong. Time will linger, and make room for lollygaggers in actuality.<\/p>\n
There is room for my irregularities, as it happens. I am gladdened at this information. Things are more malleable than I had feared.<\/p>\n
Since this is true, what else is true? Where else in my life is there more room for me? What other liberties might I take?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u2019ve had to pay attention to time zone for most of my career. Coordinating meetings that include people from different time zones, I have to be careful to make sure that my systems are set to the right time. I … Continue reading