Artemis II / Trombones

Moon Watches

MoonSwatch: photo by Cliff Hutson

My father was born in 1889 and passed away just about a month short of his 99th birthday. One of the things he enjoyed most about his long life was that he could remember reading about the Wright brothers' first flight and that he lived to watch men walk on the moon when he was eighty years of age. I will turn eighty in a few months and am not sure that I will mark my life with such momentous events.

But, it was with some eagerness that I watched the lift off and splashdown of the Artemis II mission as humankind once again ventures into the further reaches of space. I wore my MoonSwatch "Mission to the Moon" watch for the ten day duration of its journey to the moon and back as an admittedly silly way to commemorate the occasion. 

Some readers might realize that this watch is a nod to the Omega Speedmaster that was so essential to the successful return of Apollo 13 after it ran into trouble on its voyage. There were Omegas onboard Artemis II as well. But, some of the technology has changed over the years. One can find what is old and what is new here and here. 

There is other big news this week:

International Trombone Week

This year’s official International Trombone Week is April 12-19. Find out more about it at the International Trombone Association site.

Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day

 Back to the Future or Ahead to the Past?

World Time 1972 Reissue: photo by Cliff Hutson

Pretend to Be a Time Traveler Day is observed each December 8, which entices people to act as if they are from another time period, either past or future.  The original blog post that got the day rolling can be found here.  Since this post has not been made in a timely manner, I have noticed that the comics Day by Dave and Frazz have also taken notice of the celebration of the day.

Even though I feel that much of my life is performative, I am much too inhibited to go out in public and act as if I am a time traveler. However, I do have some time related photographs of a few of the modest watches in my modest watch collection that tie into the subject.

The above image is of a type of watch known as a world time are designed to display the time in multiple time zones simultaneously, making them ideal for travelers of the terrestrial type. As illustrated, if you know the time in San Francisco you can determine what time it is in 22 other cities around the globe. 

GMT Watch: photo by Cliff Hutson

This next watch has a complication commonly called an Office GMT. Its purpose is to show the time  in your home country, e.g. your office, and  to display a time zone in a different area of the world. This function is also known as a Caller GMT as it is very useful if one is doing business, or has relatives, overseas so that you don't try to contact them at an inconvenient time.  While there are GMT watches decidedly designed for the purpose, this watch would also work while traveling.

Back to the Future: photo by Cliff Hutson

This last watch is directly connected to time travel. It is a Casio CA53W-1 which is the current iteration of the watch worn by Marty McFly in the last two of the three Back to the Future movies. Some sources say that he had a CA-50 in the first one.

So, I am running out of time to get posted on my every Monday schedule. If only I could go back and do it time for those of you who would have participated had had ample warning. Oh well, there is always next year.

EDC

 The EDC of a sketchy old man:

Everyday Carry (EDC): photo by Cliff Hutson

▪ Leatherman Skeletool KBx

▪ Wallet

▪ Space Pen

▪ Field Notes memo book

▪ Casio G-SHOCK DW5600BCE-1

▪ Leatherman Style PS

EDC stands for “Every Day Carry,” not, in my case, Electric Daisy Carnival. Your everyday carry is the collection of items you carry with you in your pockets or your bag on a daily basis. For some, it has become a lifestyle. For others of us, it is just stuff that you might need in the course of being out and about doing what needs to done.

Takes a licking . . .

 . . . and keeps on ticking

Timex Watch: photo by Cliff Hutson

I grew up the heyday of the commercials that John Cameron Swayze did for Timex watches. Therefore, when I saw the Urban Pop 40mm Eco-Friendly Strap Watch on sale I just had to but it for the nostalgia value alone. However, I ware it because it looks good ( to me anyway) and is comfortable on my wrist.

However, I have no plans to test it and see if it holds up as well as the watches of the past. While it has a water resistance rating of 50 meters, I do not have access to an outboard motor.

FWIW: Water resistance 

50 meters = 5 bars = 5 atmosphere = 165 feet = 73.5 PSI

• Worry-free accidental splashing 
• Can wear in rain and snow
• Can submerge in water
• Safe to swim in the pool and ocean

Time and Tide

"Time and tide wait for no man."  

 GBX100S-1 Surf Watch: photo by Cliff Hutson

Geoffrey Chaucer said; "Time and tide wait for no man." This is as true now now as it was then. However, nowadays a person can track both if they have the proper timepiece. 

My Shinola

 Does anybody really need a Rolex?

Shinola Runwell: photo by Cliff Hutson

Once again I was hunched over my table struggling with the, admittedly, increasingly arbitrary deadline for this blog. [Really, who would notice if I missed publishing on a Monday: or even skipped a week altogether?] But, then I fortuitously ran across a photograph of former President Obama wearing the same watch that I had purchase back in 2017.  It is a Shinola 41 mm Runwell Sub Second. So, that makes two things that we have in common.

Clearly, he is a person that can afford, or has already been gifted, any watch that he wanted. Yet, he chose this “affordable” one. My grandson, who follows these things, says that Obama also has a Rolex. But, the GQ story got me to thinking, does anybody really need a Rolex? Apparently, I am not the only one who has had this thought.

Note:

Readers of my generation might recognize that the title of this post is a play on the title of a well known song.

Time, Part 1

 Does anybody know what time is?

Alarm Clock: photo by Cliff Hutson

Time has resurfaced as a fascinating subject to me. Perhaps because I have so much of it on my hands.  Someone, not Stephen Hawking, once said that; "Time is what keeps one damn thing after another from being every damn thing all at once".  Physicists might define time as the progression of events from the past to the present into the future. Time, thus, gives us the feeling of progress. 

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Shinola Runwell Watch: photo by Cliff Hutson

Readers of a certain age will recognize that this heading is stolen from the song "Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?" by the band Chicago. (Which I am surprised does not rank at the top of everybody's list.)

The song, released in 1969, has the line - "A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was on my watch".  These days it seems that the need for watches is very much on the decline. After all, most people have a mobile photo that will give the time simply by picking it up. But, some of us still turn to watches - more about that at a later date.  Tempus fugit and I will miss my deadline if I don't post this now.