The Sense of Time

There are a lot of scary things about getting older, but the scariest and the weirdest is the change in perception of time. I’ve encountered this idea twice, once in Stephen King’s short story “My Pretty Pony”, and another in the movie “Blue Thunder”. At the time, in late 80s I thought that time “flies” only when you are enjoying something, and “creeps” when you don’t. Saturdays go by faster than Mondays. Turns out, as you get older time picks up pace, everything becomes a blur, good or bad.

Cult 80s movie “Blue Thunder” has this little bit about a helicopter pilot playing with his fancy digital Casio watch that had an interesting analog countdown feature. He was using the watch to test his time perception, claiming that “it was the first thing to go when you go over the edge.”

Watch buffs know this watch as Casio AA-85 and the analog feature as Module 101. I always wanted one of these, and now I finally picked one up on eBay for a song. I know I need it – it seems to me that I am really losing the proper perception of time, it really sped up for me.

In Stephen King’s short story “My Pretty Pony”, an old man is instructing his grandson on the nature of time after watching him lose in a hide and seek game to a kid who counted too fast. He says, that there are three times, only one of which is real. When you are little, it seems that the time goes by very, very slowly. I remember that very distinctly – days were very long, even the summer vacation took forever. Then, when you are about 14, time starts to be “real” – neither slow nor fast. As you get older time picks up pace, only slowing down when you are badly hurt. He called time “a pretty pony with a wicked heart.”

I don’t know about you, but time is definitely speeding much more now than when I was younger. It’s pretty scary.

[Update] Bought on eBay, fixed and even found a similar watch band:

Weyco And Smell The Smoke

From The Daily Free Press:
“… Okemos-based Weyco Inc., instituted a no-smoking policy in 2003, purportedly to save on the cost of health care benefits for its employees. The policy forbids employees from smoking both in the workplace, and at home. Weyco offered help to employees trying to quit and has said that 14 of its estimated 20 employees who smoked kicked the habit before the policy went into effect.”

Somehow I imagine the “help” that this company provided exactly as described in Stephen King’s short story “Quitters Inc.” that later became a part of the movie “Cat’s Eye“:

First offense – your wife gets some electric shock treatment. Second offense – you get one. Third offense – you get it together. Fourth – your kid gets beaten. And so forth.

And after you stop smoking you get the bill for 5000.50.

Quitters Inc is conviniently located right next to the United Nations at 237 East 46th Street, by the way. Don’t forget to ask them about their weight loss plan.

I bet once Weyco is done with the smokers they’ll go after the fat people.

Blackfish

Went fishing on Pastime Princess today. Caught 4 very nice keeper blackfish. The term “keeper” refers to the fact that blackfish can only be kept if they are over 14 inches. Had an interesting “double header” (a baseball derived term meaning two fish at a time). A blackfish took the hook and ran into it’s burrow in the shipwreck. I let the line hang for a minute or two and then lifted. At that moment a smaller blackfish took the second hook and probably helped be force the first one out of it’s hole. Had another doubleheader, but without a snag. Caught and released many “short” blackfish. Nice.

Now for the general randomness. I was napping in the hold of the ship. When I woke up, people near me were talking about “King’s” biography. For a moment there I naturally assumed that they were talking boxing. Well, it wasn’t Don King they were talking about. It was Stephen King. Hmm, a literary discussion in a hold of a fishing ship. How refreshing. I joined in and told them about Stephen King’s prodigy stepbrother, David King. One of the guys even read H.P. Lovecraft. And they were usual gruff, seasoned Brooklyn fishermen. Weird.

The catch filleted. Can you name my three favorite kitchen appliances on the counter?

Mmmm. Blackfish + butter + Keto brand low carb “breadcrumbs” + sea salt + “Pride of SZEGED” brand fish rub + my favorite Le Cruset pan = Mmm mm m

This came out great, but I am thinking about taking a fish cooking glass from a culinary school. I learn from books pretty well, but it would be cooler to get some instruction.

Oh yeah. Remember I wrote about natural lighting? Kitchen is the only place in my apartment still lit by crappy fluorescent lighting. That’s why the first picture looks so crappy. The range in illuminated by a GE Reveal bulb.