It's All Relative

When my cable box broke, Comcast replaced it with a new version
My old box was about 14" wide and 4" tall
It had a clock/channel indicator that I used as my clock in my bedroom
The new cable box is about 4" wide and 2" tall
And no clock

My VCR and DVD have clocks
I can see them if I get up from my chair and walk towards the TV
Luckily, it is not that important to me to know the time
Just convenient

A few weeks ago, I told this sad tale to Steve Vance
I was working on the website software for his computer club
He came over one Saturday morning to spend an hour or so on the code
He brought a clock with him to replace the one taken by Comcast
It was like he brought me a puppy after 15-year-old Fido died

He plugged it in and positioned it next to my VCR
Worried about my eyesight, Steve chose a large digital display
The clock numbers are about 2" tall
It illuminates the room

The first few days it was a distraction
I watched it rather than the screen
Sometimes it was more interesting

Then it fell into the background
And it picked up a minute on the actual time
Another week went by and it picked up two more minutes

I didn't mind
Time is relative
Back in the day, I never reset my clocks after a power outage
I knew they were 7 hours and twelve minutes off
So I calculated the actual time by adding 7 hours and twelve minutes
to whatever time was on the display
At first annoying, but after a couple days it was automatic

Except this clock is on caffeine
It's about eight weeks old and twenty three minutes off
At night when I turn on to watch the tube, I calculate the delta
Armed with that information, I always can tell the time

Daylight savings coming up
New adventures

Which brings me to “Next Wednesday”
Since I responded to your email, I began thinking about how I got the days
confused ... dazed and confused
Here is what I came up with

I am hosting a homeless person for a few days
Whitney arrived Sunday night
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday I had a roommate
My days never got started
Thursday became Tuesday
So “tomorrow” was Wednesday
Stay with me

The 7th and the 8th became Tuesday and Wednesday
This has no explanation

Since today is Tuesday (or so I thought), next Tuesday would be 7th
I didn't know it was a trick question and you skipped a week when you suggested
“tomorrow or, if not, the 7th or 8th”
Since I have a doctors appointment on the 7th, I chose the 8th
“Next” Wednesday

Now I feel much better knowing that I have not “lost it”