Happy New Year 2009

Thursday, Jan. 01, 2009 - 12:00 a.m.

Happy 2009.

John and I are sitting in our his and hers reclining chairs with the floor lamp between us, dressed in our best pajama finery, surrounded by our stuffed animals, with a little brandy, and some snackage -- and we are welcoming in 2009 with all of the promise that the end of 2008 beheld.

I hope it's a good year.

---

How many times on the face of this planet is the new year being welcomed?

Answer: 40.

There are forty time zones on Earth.

You would think that there would only be twenty-four, but in parts of central Asia, Canada, Australia, and the South Pacific, there are nice half-hours and quarter-hours of time zones squeezed in here for business and military purposes.

At any given time on the earth, there is at least a full day plus a couple of hours represented. I seem to remember reading somewhere that at half past ten am UTC, over at the international date line, or near it, you can theoretically travel a vertical line through three adjacent calendar days by boat, traversing a number of pacific islands and territories.

---

I'll probably have a list of bests and worsts for 2008 sometime before the weekend...

In the meantime, I hope the new year finds you well and happy.

Thank you for continuing to read my diary.

---

what you missed - what's next - leave a note
first post - cast page - diaryrings - top ten

THE LEGAL STUFF: All content on this site that was created by me is copyright 2003-infinity by Brin Marie McLaughlin. Steal my stuff and I'll squash you like a bug. All incoming email or any other form of communication with me is subject to publication or other distribution by me in whole or in part at my sole discretion. This diary features the sole opinions and experiences of one person, namely me, the person who is paying for this space. In the interest of safety and accountability, no anonymous input will ever be allowed here, ever, for any reason in the entire history of ever. Whenever there is a comments section appearing in this diary, it's to be considered part of my paid presence on the web, and shall be used by my readership to supplement the things I have written here with relevant information in a polite manner. Comments that do not fall in that category are subject to deletion at my whim. Your visit to my diary along with your use of my comments section constitutes the understanding of this statement. Anything else on these pages including any comments belongs to whoever created it. All external links are current as of the date of the entry in which they are first featured, but at no other time. News excerpts used here are for educational purposes and are permitted under the Fair Use Doctrine. Hold hands when you cross the street, and play nice.