806 The Nothing Hour
That would be 3PM. Why? Lotta reasons. It’s too early to go home. It’s too late for lunch or to start any new project. So nothing much happens between three and four.
By four, you can start cleaning up. Five starts happy hour. Six or seven maybe dinner, and then whatever you have planned for “thereafter.” But three? Nothing. Maybe make a few phone calls, check the baseball scores, play computer solitaire, surf the ‘net. Schmooze with your co-workers -- they’re in the same boat you are.
Three in the morning may be the loneliest hour in the day. Three in the afternoon is the Nothing Hour. Three to four in the afternoon also is the slowest hour of the day. It takes that minute hand way more time to reach 12 than at any other time. Check it out. You’ll see.
You can watch your clock hands turning or your digital watch flashing numbers. They don’t stop, or seem not to. But when you look away, the clock knows. And THAT’s when it stops. Until you look again, believing that half an hour has passed and find out it’s only been three minutes.
More at-work crossword puzzles get started at three pm than any other time of day. Ditto Sudoku. Ditto “Jumble.” Maybe the day should be 23 hours instead of 24. Of course, that would mean the entire world would have to realign its time zones. And every watch and clock would have to be replaced. Probably not going to happen.
More office gossip circulates around 3 pm than at any other time during a nine-to-five work day.
One of the makers of those “quick” energy drinks recommends you have one around two o’clock, to avoid that “2:30 feeling.” Why bother? Five hours of energy with no let down? At that hour? For what?!
Shrapnel:
--These posts are drafted and edited in Google Documents. The geniuses at Google have changed the program so it looks more like MS Word, which has many more bells and whistles but is harder to use, especially the latest version. Thanks for the “improvement,” guys... at least your program is free.
--The geniuses in the village of Great Neck, New York have banned outdoor smoking on the main … um … drag, which also runs through seven other small neighboring villages to the north and south. Go to the “Welcome to the Incorporated Village of Great Neck” sign, step over the dividing line and light up. But be sure your smoke doesn’t cross back over the border.
--Some members of the new congress spent their first day of “work” reading the constitution aloud, apparently trying to prove to their constituents that they can actually read. They can, and they can edit too, omitting at least one part. Unless you don’t call the part of the constitution labeling slaves ⅗ of a person part of the constitution.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them.®
©WJR 2011
That would be 3PM. Why? Lotta reasons. It’s too early to go home. It’s too late for lunch or to start any new project. So nothing much happens between three and four.
By four, you can start cleaning up. Five starts happy hour. Six or seven maybe dinner, and then whatever you have planned for “thereafter.” But three? Nothing. Maybe make a few phone calls, check the baseball scores, play computer solitaire, surf the ‘net. Schmooze with your co-workers -- they’re in the same boat you are.
Three in the morning may be the loneliest hour in the day. Three in the afternoon is the Nothing Hour. Three to four in the afternoon also is the slowest hour of the day. It takes that minute hand way more time to reach 12 than at any other time. Check it out. You’ll see.
You can watch your clock hands turning or your digital watch flashing numbers. They don’t stop, or seem not to. But when you look away, the clock knows. And THAT’s when it stops. Until you look again, believing that half an hour has passed and find out it’s only been three minutes.
More at-work crossword puzzles get started at three pm than any other time of day. Ditto Sudoku. Ditto “Jumble.” Maybe the day should be 23 hours instead of 24. Of course, that would mean the entire world would have to realign its time zones. And every watch and clock would have to be replaced. Probably not going to happen.
More office gossip circulates around 3 pm than at any other time during a nine-to-five work day.
One of the makers of those “quick” energy drinks recommends you have one around two o’clock, to avoid that “2:30 feeling.” Why bother? Five hours of energy with no let down? At that hour? For what?!
Shrapnel:
--These posts are drafted and edited in Google Documents. The geniuses at Google have changed the program so it looks more like MS Word, which has many more bells and whistles but is harder to use, especially the latest version. Thanks for the “improvement,” guys... at least your program is free.
--The geniuses in the village of Great Neck, New York have banned outdoor smoking on the main … um … drag, which also runs through seven other small neighboring villages to the north and south. Go to the “Welcome to the Incorporated Village of Great Neck” sign, step over the dividing line and light up. But be sure your smoke doesn’t cross back over the border.
--Some members of the new congress spent their first day of “work” reading the constitution aloud, apparently trying to prove to their constituents that they can actually read. They can, and they can edit too, omitting at least one part. Unless you don’t call the part of the constitution labeling slaves ⅗ of a person part of the constitution.
I’m Wes Richards. My opinions are my own but you’re welcome to them.®
©WJR 2011
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