This is being written a good hour earlier than it ought to be. The reason being that we accidentally got up an hour earlier today. Actually, more than an hour earlier because we left our bed at what we thought was a little “early” as it’s Spring. The days are getting longer, the weather sunnier, and a blessed blackbird has taken to singing all night long and not just from his usual 4 AM.

The real reason for our extra early rising is the fault of our iPods. It is indicative that we ignored our alarm clocks and watches and believed our Nanos instead. Both had clocks which leaped forward an hour last weekend for no apparent reason.

We have been assuming their internal clock is corrected whenever they are plugged into their host Macs. As they check automatically for software updates and sync preferences, contacts, playlists and other data with the Macs, we also assumed they check time as well. Probably using the Macs’ internal clocks (which are synchronised every day with a time server) or because the Nanos go off to find the time all by themselves.

Not so, apparently. What should have been a Zzzzzz became a Grrrrrr. The trouble is that once we learned the real time, we had been out of bed for so long we weren’t tired.

Checking the Nanos, both had jumped from London’s time zone to Cork’s. Being a better European state than England, Cork time moved to summer time last weekend to become an hour ahead of GMT/ZULU/UTC, even though it is further west of us in Blighty. This is something we approve of and wish England would follow—not only to embrace our European friends and neighbours, but also because the Australian Grand Prix is on the same weekend as England moves to summer time. Instead of getting up at 6 AM BST to watch the race, it will really be 5 AM GMT.

At least getting up an hour early gave extra time on the elliptical trainer and more importantly, with Mark and Anna, my tutor and fellow student in podcast Coffee Break French.

C’est la vie.

Copyright © 2009 Mark Tennent.