We begin a new year with an upsetting year passing on just a few days ago. Some of you may recall that the year 2016 not only seemed long but, in fact, was longer than usual. Those folks who give us the atomic clock made 2016 added a leap second. It was already a leap year.

I understand that in this highly technological era a second can be a long time. It actually is over 9 million vibrations of a Cesium atom. I can’t possibly count that fast but apparently some scientists can. Using a stop watch I counted to twenty in ten seconds. That comes out to 2 counts per second. At that rate it would take me 1250 hours to get to the 9 million. I don’t know about you but I think I would get very tired and fall asleep before I got to nine million. So my hat is off to those folks who can count those vibrations in the cesium atom. Heavens we can’t even see them.

I had some friends who claimed they failed to reset their clocks to make sure they weren’t slow. Even with a second hand that would be a chore. Thank goodness both my computer and cell phone are connected to an atomic clocks somewhere and did that hiccup without a hitch. The sad thing is that means the Earth is rotating a little slower.

I hope that slower is like driving in traffic that happens in rush time. It rarely lasts an hour here in Calhoun County. I further hope that it is slower at night because I enjoy sleeping. At my age one has to have something to enjoy.

Be that as it may, I have a little trouble figuring out that it is really a big deal. The techno gurus tell us if they don’t make those conversions all this technology will go haywire. I mean gadgets like GPS will tell you are in the wrong place and even might say at the wrong time.

Really I am often in the wrong place at the wrong time. If push comes to shove it is an even bet that it has happened to you also. Now it’s true that when I look up something on Google I get a little impatient when it takes an extra second or two. But even airlines don’t count themselves late unless it is over five minutes or so. So one second in a year or maybe a second that takes 18 million vibrations. It just doesn’t seem that important.

So we live in a world that is slowing down. It is even probable that those folks who work with incredible small pieces of time are doing some good. For sure this old slow world needs more people doing good things. That is one of the reason many folks make resolutions for the New Year. Not everyone does but we all should make an attempt to improve something in our lives.