If you were in last week’s Change the Shed you know that I was a few minutes late. In fact, I suspect I am often a few minutes late starting because the clock on my computer is off and the program I use goes by the clock on the computer. (Clip below is the first 24 second of last week’s Change the Shed. Full episode is HERE.)
My dear student and friend Trish kindly helped me with this little “problem” this week. She pointed out that not only is there an international atomic clock with public access that can be checked, but that it is actually IN FORT COLLINS!!! (I always wondered what that array of tall radio towers with lights on the top north of town was). So living here, I should definitely have my time lined up.
This is the station in the town in which I live. It is probably only 5 miles from where I’m sitting right now.
While trying to reset my computer clock based on this incontrovertible timepiece, and muttering to myself about the nature of time and how it all moves too fast anyway, Emily asked me why my computer, which is connected to the internet on a very regular basis, had to be told what time it was since didn’t the internet tell it that? I looked at my computer preferences and realized that there is a tiny little box that says, “set date and time automatically” and it was not checked. One click and I was again lined up.
I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be required to visit WWVB’s website regularly to line myself up, but probably it is better to have the computer do it for me.
I remember at some point in my pre-adolescent years frequently calling the 1-800 number that just gave you the date and time. I’m not sure if I was bored (that seems like a stretch even for me as an eleven year old) or if I was obsessed with knowing what the exact time was (this seems more likely). Fortunately for me, I can now rely on Apple to keep me lined up.
Let’s see if I start the next Change the Shed right at 10:30. Anyone taking bets? That will be on September 23rd and the details are HERE.