This weather report was on the tv news this evening, then I went and found it online at the National Weather Service’s website:

My idea: Metric time.

Today we depend on our computers more than we ever have before. So, why not depend on them a little more?

Our traditional method of timekeeping has served us well for centuries… but let’s be honest, it’s centuries old. It’s time to shift the paradigm and bring our timekeeping up-to-date.

The basic unit of time in Metric Time is the “day”. The “day” lasts from sunrise to sunset and is followed by its counterpart, “night”. This removes us from the burden of time zones, since we can calculate the exact time of sunrise and sunset for each location on Earth.

• 10 decidays = 1 day (a deciday is equivalent to an hour, like a kilometer is equivalent to a mile)
• 10 centidays = 1 deciday (equivalent to a minute)
• 10 millidays = 1 centiday (equivalent to a second)

Note that since the length of the day varies, the density of the smaller units within the day (most notably the millidays) will vary as well. Therefore we are able to rid ourselves of the old names “summer”, “winter”, “fall”, and “spring”. For example, what we now call “summer” will become the “Lower Density Milliday Period”. Conversely, “summer” is also the “Higher Density Millinight Period” since nights are shorter during the summer.

• 1 decaday = 10 days (approximately equivalent to a week, but a little longer)
• 1 hectoday (really! Look it up!) = 10 decadays (about the length of a season
• 1 kiloday = 10 hectodays (this would last just over 4 years)

The exact time at any moment can be expressed by: “kiloday:hectoday:decaday:day:deciday:centiday:milliday”.

I believe that the European Union and progressive countries like New Zealand and Japan will be the first to embrace Metric Time. Countries like the US and other nations more attached to tradition will delay before they accept the realization that Metric Time allows them to better communicate with one another and manage their time. When everything is base 10, there can be no confusion.

I declare tomorrow the beginning of metric time: Kiloday 1, Day 1 (1:1:1:1:1:1:1).

We went to the Pre Classic last Sunday. It was a great meet. Jenny Barringer ran a collegiate record 1500m (3:59) and nearly took the win. Bernard Lagat won the 3k against some great competition, always nice to see him do well. Some guy jumped the longest long jump since 1990.

The weather was nice, mostly overcast and not too hot; great for a track meet. We were seated in section B, row 28 – pretty close to the finish line but way up in the stands. Overall it was a pretty good seat although there were a couple of support beams in the way. Also, we were pretty much right under the NBC broadcaster’s box… one reason we went to the meet was to avoid having to hear them! Oh well. We were just a few rows beneath Phil Knight, but we didn’t go say hi.

We’re thinking of going camping a couple times this summer, and we’re thinking about climbing the South Sister. Sounds like fun!

Harpy Barthday to my brother David today!

In closing, here’s a picture of tonight’s sunset:

This is a picture from the back of the Fred Meyer Toasted Oats (also known as generic Cheerios) box I got today:

Wait a minute! That’s not America!

Sorry for bad picture quality, taken with cellphone camera.

Technically, it’s a state crustacean. Apparently some 4th graders in West Linn decided we needed a state crustacean, so the state senate has passed a bill that would honor the Dungeness Crab. I read about this on the Statesman Journal’s website. They must have decided this because West Linn is totally crawling with these crabs since it’s so on the coast  (it’s not; I’m sure most of the kids have never seen a crab in their lives) (psh… “West” Linn, more like “Suburb” Linn).

I particularly enjoyed this little tidbit from the SJ’s article:

“Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli, a John Day Republican, cast one of the two ‘no’ votes. He said he thought Senate President Peter Courtney, a Salem Democrat, should be the state’s official crustacean. But that didn’t go anywhere.”

I’m not going to comment about how right he probably is.