Time zone boundaries are usually set in sparsely populated areas in order to minimize the inconvenience and confusion that would result if people who lived or worked near each other were not operating on the same time of day. For example, in Indiana the boundary separating Eastern and Central time zones runs through the corn fields between the Gary metropolitan area and the mighty metropolis of South Bend. In North Dakota, the boundary line between Central and Mountain time zones is placed in the barren scruff of western North Dakota ranch land, far from any pocket of civilization. The same principle applies with the International Date Line ("IDL"), which is located in the far reaches of the western Pacific Ocean. Hardly anybody lives near the IDL. The IDL zig zags though the Pacific, rather than being drawn as a straight longitudinal line, in order to accommodate Pacific islanders' economic and political preferences. Most of the time it makes little difference to the rest of the world which side of the zig zag any particular Pacific island nation chooses.
When a ship or a plane crosses the IDL traveling from west to east, it finds itself in a day which has already occurred, going from the current time west of the line to an earlier time of the same day on the east side, in effect repeating a day (i.e., an extra day). Conversely, when moving from east to west, a traveler goes from today immediately into tomorrow, in effect losing a day. For example, if a person took off in a plane from Honolulu (which is east of the IDL) at 6:00 a.m. on a Wednesday and ten hours later landed in Melbourne, Australia (west of the IDL), the time in Honolulu would be 4:00 p.m. Wednesday, but it would be 7:a.m. Thursday in Melbourne.
The country of Samoa is situated in the southwestern Pacific, just twenty miles to the east of the IDL. Ever since 1892 the Samoans have elected to align their country with North America and South America. That decision was mostly a result of the Samoans transacting most of their business with the US instead of with Asian nations and Australia. But times have changed. These days, the Samoans find themselves carrying on much more business with the Pacific Rim countries than anywhere else, including the US. Due to the vagaries of the IDL, Samoa is only two hours behind the Pacific time zone in the US, compared to being a whopping twenty-one hours behind most of Australia. If the effect of two day weekends (i.e., non-business days) is taken into account, the Samoans were sometimes losing two or three days in their dealings with their trade partners to their west. As a result of all the foregoing, Asian and Aussie lobbyists finally persuaded the Samoan government to cut tradition and place themselves west of the IDL.
The upshot of the Samoans' decision is that Friday, December 30, 2011 turned out to be the "Day That Never Was" in Samoa. When Samoans went to bed on Thursday night, December 29, and woke up the next morning, it was Saturday, December 31.
I found the story of how a country could eradicate an entire day from its existence to be fascinating. What if we in the US could do that after the fact? What day might we choose? September 11, 2001 immediately comes to mind. Perhaps December 7, 1941, the "date that will live in infamy."
Wiping out an entire day in advance is a luxury only those living near the IDL will ever have the privilege of experiencing. It is something the Samoans can tell their grandchildren about. I hope, for their sake, it was the right move. If it were up to me, I would have preferred to eliminate a Monday instead of a Friday, the best day of the week.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Just What I Need: Another Time Waster
I know I already spend too much unproductive time looking at the many boards found on NDNation.com, the website for fans of the Fighting Irish. There is a separate board for each major sport, plus a political board, a general board (called the Back Room), and several others. I also enjoy reading a few columnists and bloggers on the internet, both locally based and from out of town. As of yesterday I have yet another guilty pleasure, PrivateNoise.com.
Earlier this week I was on one of my winter skyway power walks (don't laugh) in downtown Minneapolis listening on my i-pod to a homemade fifteen song mix of Bon Jovi tunes. A young man wearing a jacket and tie signaled for me to stop. Begging my pardon for the interruption, he told me his name was Sam and he asked if he might take my picture and ask me a few questions about the music I was listening to. He said he worked for a website called PrivateNoise, which interviewed random people to find out about their musical taste of the moment. Each day, the answers from one interviewee, plus that person's picture, would be featured on the site. I consented to the interview - - my pathway to five minutes of fame? - - and let Sam take my picture. In response to various questions, I told him that the very song which was playing on my i-pod when he stopped me was "Born To Be My Baby" by Bon Jovi, that I was listening to a Bon Jovi mix I made, that I had not selected the "random play" feature in my i-pod, and that I owned all of the Bon Jovi albums. He asked me how the song made me feel, and I told him that it energized me when I went on fast walks.
When I returned home I checked out Sam's website, and it is pretty cool. In addition to finding out what a variety of folks are listening to at the moment, you can actually play their song right off the site. Like Pandora, it is another way to get people interested in scoping out different kinds of music other than their customary favorites.
Sam said I would be on his site in about a week. Even if that does not turn out to be true, I like the site's concept and will probably check it out periodically.
Earlier this week I was on one of my winter skyway power walks (don't laugh) in downtown Minneapolis listening on my i-pod to a homemade fifteen song mix of Bon Jovi tunes. A young man wearing a jacket and tie signaled for me to stop. Begging my pardon for the interruption, he told me his name was Sam and he asked if he might take my picture and ask me a few questions about the music I was listening to. He said he worked for a website called PrivateNoise, which interviewed random people to find out about their musical taste of the moment. Each day, the answers from one interviewee, plus that person's picture, would be featured on the site. I consented to the interview - - my pathway to five minutes of fame? - - and let Sam take my picture. In response to various questions, I told him that the very song which was playing on my i-pod when he stopped me was "Born To Be My Baby" by Bon Jovi, that I was listening to a Bon Jovi mix I made, that I had not selected the "random play" feature in my i-pod, and that I owned all of the Bon Jovi albums. He asked me how the song made me feel, and I told him that it energized me when I went on fast walks.
When I returned home I checked out Sam's website, and it is pretty cool. In addition to finding out what a variety of folks are listening to at the moment, you can actually play their song right off the site. Like Pandora, it is another way to get people interested in scoping out different kinds of music other than their customary favorites.
Sam said I would be on his site in about a week. Even if that does not turn out to be true, I like the site's concept and will probably check it out periodically.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Is The City Of Minneapolis Dysfunctional?
My impression of how the rest of the country (excluding provincial New Yawkers and elitist Californians) views Minneapolis is that it's an urban area that really has its act together. Were it not for the five-month long winters, they say, Minneapolis would be a great place in which to live and raise a family. It has most of the amenities you'd want in a metropolitan area, but without the scope and depth of many of the problems faced by a megalopolis. However, certain events have occurred recently to make me question whether Minneapolis is really what it's cracked up to be.
The handling of the Vikings' situation is a good example. Everyone in town has known for at least the last five years that the team's Metrodome lease was going to expire at the end of the current season. While the Vikings spent months working with Ramsey County to be a financial partner in the effort to build a new stadium, the city of Minneapolis did nothing to keep the team downtown. It was only after the Vikings struck a deal with Ramsey County and formulated a plan to take the Arden Hills proposal to the state legislature that Minneapolis finally got off its duff and became serious about stepping to the plate, just like they did for the Twins. And even after Minneapolis finally got the wake up call, the city big shots still could not quickly choose among three prospective downtown sites. As one out-state legislator put it, "You may think you have three sites, but [until you decide on pushing for one] you really have none." Eventually the city settled on the current Metrodome site as its favorite. The mayor and his pals acted as if they were surprised that the team was not willing to wait forever for some movement on the city's part. Where was the city leadership? Just what is on the mayor's desk that is more time-sensitive?
Several weeks ago the public found out that the city disregarded the laws requiring it to pay to car owners excess money received from the auctioning of impounded cars. Instead, after impounded cars were auctioned off, the city retained all of the proceeds, not just the monies to which the city was entitled, without notifying the owners of their rights. Once this dishonest practice was brought to light, we learned that the city's decision makers were aware of the relevant law but decided to simply blow it off. Now the city owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to the affected owners, and may have a class action suit on its hands.
Last week the case of southwest Minneapolis resident Elizabeth Howell came to light. Over the last three years the city has been harassing her to repair a deteriorated retaining wall that is totally on city property. Howell's property line is a good eight feet from the wall; her property does not abut the wall. The city's best argument to justify its demand appears to be that, traditionally, a private property owner pays for repair work performed on walls adjacent to such owner's property, but that is clearly a different set of facts than what we have here. Meanwhile, the city has not undertaken any restoration work as the wall continues to fall into the sidewalk below. Rather, city hall's preferred course of action is to issue threats and "final warnings" to Howell.
In 2006 the city was faced with a sex scandal involving its lesbian Fire Chief, Bonnie Bleskachek. Female firefighters alleged that Bleskachek sexually harrassed several of them, and discriminated against them by favoring her partners over women who were not. After spending thousands of dollars on legal fees and settlements, the city, amazingly, not only kept Bleskachek on the payroll but allowed her to hold onto the position of Fire Captain. City leaders assured the public that, notwithstanding Bleskachek's retention on the city payroll, she would not be allowed to apply for a promotion within the department. That assurance lasted less than six years, as we found out earlier this month that the current Fire Chief, Alex Jackson, has appointed Bleskachek a fire investigator. According to some reports, Bleskachek's yearly compensation will likely increase approximately $100,000 with that appointment. Doesn't that sound like a promotion?
Finally we have the sad news involving Rickia Russell. In 2010 Russell was a guest in a city apartment near the airport. Minneapolis police broke down the apartment door while executing a search warrant, and accidentally caused a flash-bang grenade to explode under Russell's leg. She was severely injured and had to be rushed to the burn unit of HCMC, where she spent two weeks of agony before being discharged. The police had the audacity not only to arrest her for "having a disorderly house" (even though the apartment was not hers), but took a position that essentially said that you can't expect each and every one of the approximately 275 search warrants executed each year in the city to go off without a hitch. That stance by the police did not satisfy Russell, so she hired a lawyer, Robert Bennett. A few days ago, the Minneapolis city council agreed to a settlement on the case which will cost the city $1 million, $600,000 of which will go to Russell and the remainder to Bennett. Along with the announcement came the revelation that for the three year period which ended in April 2009 (the latest period for which completely accurate figures are available), the average payout for each misconduct claim made against the Minneapolis Police Department was over $153,000. Partial data for 2011 indicates that payouts for police misconduct will set a record. By the way, the police never found the suspected narcotics in the apartment where Russell was burned.
After reading these stories, do you still think Minneapolis runs like a well-oiled machine?
The handling of the Vikings' situation is a good example. Everyone in town has known for at least the last five years that the team's Metrodome lease was going to expire at the end of the current season. While the Vikings spent months working with Ramsey County to be a financial partner in the effort to build a new stadium, the city of Minneapolis did nothing to keep the team downtown. It was only after the Vikings struck a deal with Ramsey County and formulated a plan to take the Arden Hills proposal to the state legislature that Minneapolis finally got off its duff and became serious about stepping to the plate, just like they did for the Twins. And even after Minneapolis finally got the wake up call, the city big shots still could not quickly choose among three prospective downtown sites. As one out-state legislator put it, "You may think you have three sites, but [until you decide on pushing for one] you really have none." Eventually the city settled on the current Metrodome site as its favorite. The mayor and his pals acted as if they were surprised that the team was not willing to wait forever for some movement on the city's part. Where was the city leadership? Just what is on the mayor's desk that is more time-sensitive?
Several weeks ago the public found out that the city disregarded the laws requiring it to pay to car owners excess money received from the auctioning of impounded cars. Instead, after impounded cars were auctioned off, the city retained all of the proceeds, not just the monies to which the city was entitled, without notifying the owners of their rights. Once this dishonest practice was brought to light, we learned that the city's decision makers were aware of the relevant law but decided to simply blow it off. Now the city owes hundreds of thousands of dollars to the affected owners, and may have a class action suit on its hands.
Last week the case of southwest Minneapolis resident Elizabeth Howell came to light. Over the last three years the city has been harassing her to repair a deteriorated retaining wall that is totally on city property. Howell's property line is a good eight feet from the wall; her property does not abut the wall. The city's best argument to justify its demand appears to be that, traditionally, a private property owner pays for repair work performed on walls adjacent to such owner's property, but that is clearly a different set of facts than what we have here. Meanwhile, the city has not undertaken any restoration work as the wall continues to fall into the sidewalk below. Rather, city hall's preferred course of action is to issue threats and "final warnings" to Howell.
In 2006 the city was faced with a sex scandal involving its lesbian Fire Chief, Bonnie Bleskachek. Female firefighters alleged that Bleskachek sexually harrassed several of them, and discriminated against them by favoring her partners over women who were not. After spending thousands of dollars on legal fees and settlements, the city, amazingly, not only kept Bleskachek on the payroll but allowed her to hold onto the position of Fire Captain. City leaders assured the public that, notwithstanding Bleskachek's retention on the city payroll, she would not be allowed to apply for a promotion within the department. That assurance lasted less than six years, as we found out earlier this month that the current Fire Chief, Alex Jackson, has appointed Bleskachek a fire investigator. According to some reports, Bleskachek's yearly compensation will likely increase approximately $100,000 with that appointment. Doesn't that sound like a promotion?
Finally we have the sad news involving Rickia Russell. In 2010 Russell was a guest in a city apartment near the airport. Minneapolis police broke down the apartment door while executing a search warrant, and accidentally caused a flash-bang grenade to explode under Russell's leg. She was severely injured and had to be rushed to the burn unit of HCMC, where she spent two weeks of agony before being discharged. The police had the audacity not only to arrest her for "having a disorderly house" (even though the apartment was not hers), but took a position that essentially said that you can't expect each and every one of the approximately 275 search warrants executed each year in the city to go off without a hitch. That stance by the police did not satisfy Russell, so she hired a lawyer, Robert Bennett. A few days ago, the Minneapolis city council agreed to a settlement on the case which will cost the city $1 million, $600,000 of which will go to Russell and the remainder to Bennett. Along with the announcement came the revelation that for the three year period which ended in April 2009 (the latest period for which completely accurate figures are available), the average payout for each misconduct claim made against the Minneapolis Police Department was over $153,000. Partial data for 2011 indicates that payouts for police misconduct will set a record. By the way, the police never found the suspected narcotics in the apartment where Russell was burned.
After reading these stories, do you still think Minneapolis runs like a well-oiled machine?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Following David Brinkley's Lead
Welcome to The Quentin Chronicle, named after the Quentin Estates, which is the humble abode of my family in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. I wrote a draft of this introductory post back in April 2011, then saved it without publishing. I finally got the nerve to publish a different post a couple of weeks ago, and now have three published posts under my belt. Today I am back to this introductory post I started writing eight months ago. When I click on the "Publish Post" button in a few moments, this will become the fourth post published on my new blog. If I were better organized, this would have been the first.
The stuff that I am most interested in includes sports (particularly baseball and football), music, movies, traveling, current events, money, bars and restaurants, grammar, and law. This is my first attempt at blogging, so I am not sure how often I will put "pen to paper" so to speak. I type at a rate of approximately twenty words per minute, to be generous. Therefore, this blog may be slim pickings for awhile, at least until I get on a roll. I have been e-mailing unsolicited movie reviews to my family for the last several years, so maybe I'll change things up by putting the reviews into this space. In January 2012, look for my ratings recap of movies I saw in the theater during the calendar year 2011. I also might plagiarize myself, if that's possible, by republishing a few posts I have made on my favorite website, ND Nation, and other e-mails on various topics I have written to friends and family.
In 1998 the famous NBC news anchor David Brinkley wrote a book entitled "Everyone Is Entitled To My Opinion." It seems to me that's what blogging is all about. I welcome your comments, especially if they are highly complimentary. Even if they aren't, it would be nice to know that someone out there is reading what I have to offer. And after all, everyone is entitled to your opinion as well.
In 1998 the famous NBC news anchor David Brinkley wrote a book entitled "Everyone Is Entitled To My Opinion." It seems to me that's what blogging is all about. I welcome your comments, especially if they are highly complimentary. Even if they aren't, it would be nice to know that someone out there is reading what I have to offer. And after all, everyone is entitled to your opinion as well.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Leaders vs. Legends? Laughable!
Tonight the first Big 10 Football Championship game will be played between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Michigan State Spartans. They are the champions of the two divisions which the Big 10 created when the University of Nebraska split from the Big 12 Conference, resulting in the irony of having the Big 12 comprised of ten members and the Big 10 comprised of twelve. The two new Big 10 divisions are called the Leaders Division and the Legends Division, but don't ask me which of tonight's two combatants comes out of which division. Heck, I don't know for sure which division our beloved Gophers are in. What I do know is that the powers that be in the Big 10, after consulting with the television smarties, decided that merely dividing the conference into West and East would not do, even though geography could not have made it much easier. Simply put Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois and the three schools west of them (Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa) in the West, and place the other six schools in the East. But no, the conference honchos apparently recalled the days of yore when the Big Ten was known as "The Big 2 & The Little 8," referring to Michigan and Ohio State's dominance, and modernized it by giving Penn State and Nebraska special consideration, in effect looking at the conference as the Big 4 & the Little 8. Heaven forbid that three of the four conference big boys would be in the same division. So, instead of splitting the two divisions geographically, they tried to use a competitive balance; hence, leaders and legends.
Somebody forgot to let Bucky Badger and Sparty in on the rationale. Even though they are among the "Little 8," they spoiled the master plan and won their respective division championships. Now the FOX Network can cry in its beer. Instead of getting Nebraska vs. Ohio State or Michigan vs. Penn State, the viewers will be treated to Wisconsin vs. Michigan State. We know from the first time they met in October, a game decided by a review of a last-second Hail Mary pass, that the battle tonight will be worth watching. It's just not the game that was predicted to occur on December 3. I congratulate those two teams. I always like it when the suits in the conference and network offices have to eat a little crow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)