A Ticking Clock on American Freedom
(theatlantic.com)
It’s later than you think, but it’s not too late.
It’s later than you think, but it’s not too late.
Daylight Saving Time affects your sleep and diet
(economist.com)
As clocks spring forward in the northern hemisphere, many people will be looking forward to longer, sunnier evenings—a few groggy mornings is a price they’re probably willing to pay. But a growing body of research suggests that they ought to be more cautious. The arrival of Daylight Saving Time (DST) seems to have long-lasting negative effects on human health.
As clocks spring forward in the northern hemisphere, many people will be looking forward to longer, sunnier evenings—a few groggy mornings is a price they’re probably willing to pay. But a growing body of research suggests that they ought to be more cautious. The arrival of Daylight Saving Time (DST) seems to have long-lasting negative effects on human health.
How fast the days are getting longer (2023)
(joe-antognini.github.io)
Here in the northern hemisphere the vernal equinox just passed and the days are quickly getting longer.
Here in the northern hemisphere the vernal equinox just passed and the days are quickly getting longer.
NY lawmakers push to make Daylight Saving Time permanent
(syracuse.com)
Two New York state lawmakers are pushing to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
Two New York state lawmakers are pushing to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
Show HN: Daylight – track sunrise / sunset times in your terminal
(github.com/jbreckmckye)
a command-line program for tracking sunrise and sunset times (Mac / Linux)
a command-line program for tracking sunrise and sunset times (Mac / Linux)
Time for a Change: The long, contentious history of time shifts
(worldhistory.substack.com)
For reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, the United Cigar Stores Company was really into Daylight Saving Time.
For reasons that aren’t entirely clear to me, the United Cigar Stores Company was really into Daylight Saving Time.
Opposing arrows of time can theoretically emerge from certain quantum systems
(surrey.ac.uk)
What if time is not as fixed as we thought? Imagine that instead of flowing in one direction – from past to future – time could flow forward or backward due to processes taking place at the quantum level. This is the thought-provoking discovery made by researchers at the University of Surrey, as a new study reveals that opposing arrows of time can theoretically emerge from certain quantum systems.
What if time is not as fixed as we thought? Imagine that instead of flowing in one direction – from past to future – time could flow forward or backward due to processes taking place at the quantum level. This is the thought-provoking discovery made by researchers at the University of Surrey, as a new study reveals that opposing arrows of time can theoretically emerge from certain quantum systems.
Conciousness May Be Retrocausal
(popularmechanics.com)
In the quantum realm, the past, present, and future blur into a boundless structure. But consciousness may operate on a plane beyond this timeless mist.
In the quantum realm, the past, present, and future blur into a boundless structure. But consciousness may operate on a plane beyond this timeless mist.
A decade later, a decade lost (2024)
(meyerweb.com)
I woke up this morning about an hour ahead of my alarm, the sky already light, birds calling. After a few minutes, a brief patter of rain swept across the roof and moved on.
I woke up this morning about an hour ahead of my alarm, the sky already light, birds calling. After a few minutes, a brief patter of rain swept across the roof and moved on.
Slicing the Fourth
(axalatar.github.io)
What is the fourth dimension? What does it mean for there to be another?
What is the fourth dimension? What does it mean for there to be another?
Doomsday clock set at 89 seconds to midnight
(thebulletin.org)
In setting the Clock one second closer to midnight, the Science and Security Board sends a stark signal:
In setting the Clock one second closer to midnight, the Science and Security Board sends a stark signal:
The surprising struggle to get a Unix Epoch time from a UTC string in C or C++
(berthub.eu)
So how hard could it be. As input we have something like Fri, 17 Jan 2025 06:07:07 in UTC, and we’d like to turn this into 1737094027, the notional (but not actual) number of seconds that have passed since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
So how hard could it be. As input we have something like Fri, 17 Jan 2025 06:07:07 in UTC, and we’d like to turn this into 1737094027, the notional (but not actual) number of seconds that have passed since 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC.
Time Dilation Formula / Calculator
(timedilationformula.com)
Time dilation is like a magic trick that happens when you travel really fast. The faster you go, the slower time moves for you compared to people standing still on Earth!
Time dilation is like a magic trick that happens when you travel really fast. The faster you go, the slower time moves for you compared to people standing still on Earth!
All clocks are 30 seconds late
(victorpoughon.fr)
OK, this is going to sound crazy: I believe all clocks are 30 seconds late.
OK, this is going to sound crazy: I believe all clocks are 30 seconds late.
Killing Orson Welles at Midnight (2011)
(nybooks.com)
It’s two in the afternoon. No one is groaning; no one turns over in bed or hits an alarm clock—it’s much too late for that. Love set you going like a fat gold watch.… But by two o’clock the morning song is just a memory. We are no longer speculating as to what set us going, we just know we are going. We are less sentimental in the afternoon. We watch the minute hand go round: 2:01 becoming 2:02 becoming 2:03.
It’s two in the afternoon. No one is groaning; no one turns over in bed or hits an alarm clock—it’s much too late for that. Love set you going like a fat gold watch.… But by two o’clock the morning song is just a memory. We are no longer speculating as to what set us going, we just know we are going. We are less sentimental in the afternoon. We watch the minute hand go round: 2:01 becoming 2:02 becoming 2:03.
Dark Energy May Not Exist: Something Stranger Might Explain the Universe
(sciencealert.com)
There might not be a mysterious 'dark' force accelerating the expansion of the Universe after all. The truth could be much stranger – bubbles of space where time passes at drastically different rates.
There might not be a mysterious 'dark' force accelerating the expansion of the Universe after all. The truth could be much stranger – bubbles of space where time passes at drastically different rates.
A brief history of Time Scales
(ucolick.org)
A definition for the term "time scale": 16th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union Grenoble, France (1976) Resolution No. 4 by Commissions 4 (Ephemerides) and 31 (Time) 3.(a) a useful time scale is generated by any process which enables dates to be assigned to events
A definition for the term "time scale": 16th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union Grenoble, France (1976) Resolution No. 4 by Commissions 4 (Ephemerides) and 31 (Time) 3.(a) a useful time scale is generated by any process which enables dates to be assigned to events
The Long, Painful History of Time (1999)
(naggum.no)
The programming language Common Lisp offers a few functions to support the concept of time as humans experience it, including GET-UNIVERSAL-TIME, ENCODE-UNIVERSAL-TIME, DECODE-UNIVERSAL-TIME, and GET-DECODED-TIME. These functions assume the existence of a timezone and a daylight saving time regime, such that they can support the usual expression of time in the environment in which a small number of real-life applications run.
The programming language Common Lisp offers a few functions to support the concept of time as humans experience it, including GET-UNIVERSAL-TIME, ENCODE-UNIVERSAL-TIME, DECODE-UNIVERSAL-TIME, and GET-DECODED-TIME. These functions assume the existence of a timezone and a daylight saving time regime, such that they can support the usual expression of time in the environment in which a small number of real-life applications run.
What is a second?
(johndcook.com)
The previous post looked into the common definition of Unix time as “the number of seconds since January 1, 1970 GMT” and why it’s not exactly true. It was true for a couple years before we started inserting leap seconds. Strictly speaking, Unix time is the number of non-leap seconds since January 1, 1970.
The previous post looked into the common definition of Unix time as “the number of seconds since January 1, 1970 GMT” and why it’s not exactly true. It was true for a couple years before we started inserting leap seconds. Strictly speaking, Unix time is the number of non-leap seconds since January 1, 1970.
Seconds Since the Epoch
(aphyr.com)
This is not at all news, but it comes up often enough that I think there should be a concise explanation of the problem. People, myself included, like to say that POSIX time, also known as Unix time, is the number of seconds since the Unix epoch, which was 1970-01-01 at 00:00:00.
This is not at all news, but it comes up often enough that I think there should be a concise explanation of the problem. People, myself included, like to say that POSIX time, also known as Unix time, is the number of seconds since the Unix epoch, which was 1970-01-01 at 00:00:00.
Scientists observe 'negative time' in quantum experiments
(phys.org)
Scientists have long known that light can sometimes appear to exit a material before entering it—an effect dismissed as an illusion caused by how waves are distorted by matter.
Scientists have long known that light can sometimes appear to exit a material before entering it—an effect dismissed as an illusion caused by how waves are distorted by matter.
Eliminating Daylight Savings Time would make the average American’s life darker
(natesilver.net)
Last week, President-elect Trump pledged to “eliminate” Daylight Savings Time1, which he called “inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation”. The idea may have been inspired by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, an agency set to be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, after Musk and Ramaswamy pitched a similar plan earlier this month.
Last week, President-elect Trump pledged to “eliminate” Daylight Savings Time1, which he called “inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation”. The idea may have been inspired by DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, an agency set to be run by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, after Musk and Ramaswamy pitched a similar plan earlier this month.
RFC 9557: Date and Time on the Internet: Timestamps with Additional Information
(rfc-editor.org)
This document defines an extension to the timestamp format defined in [RFC3339] for representing additional information, including a time zone.
This document defines an extension to the timestamp format defined in [RFC3339] for representing additional information, including a time zone.
The mind-bending new science of measuring time
(ft.com)
The mind-bending new science of measuring time
The mind-bending new science of measuring time
Railroads inspired the creation of time zones
(bbc.com)
The invention of railroads ushered in a new era of land travel, and forever changed the way humans perceive time.
The invention of railroads ushered in a new era of land travel, and forever changed the way humans perceive time.
The Charms of Catastrophe (1978)
(nybooks.com)
“All things,” said Charles Peirce, “swim in continua.” At what wave length does blue become green? When does a child become a grown-up? Are viruses alive? Do cows think? It is also obvious that there are discrete “things” that swim in these spectrums, and sometimes jump from one part of a spectrum to another. Day fades into night, but a flicked switch produces instant darkness.
“All things,” said Charles Peirce, “swim in continua.” At what wave length does blue become green? When does a child become a grown-up? Are viruses alive? Do cows think? It is also obvious that there are discrete “things” that swim in these spectrums, and sometimes jump from one part of a spectrum to another. Day fades into night, but a flicked switch produces instant darkness.
UK sleep experts say it's time to kill daylight saving for good
(theregister.com)
The streets of Soho aren't alive with disco or bellbottoms anymore, so maybe it's time to ditch another '70s icon we should have outgrown by now, says the British Sleep Society (BSS).
The streets of Soho aren't alive with disco or bellbottoms anymore, so maybe it's time to ditch another '70s icon we should have outgrown by now, says the British Sleep Society (BSS).