Time is on my side

Yes, it is.

Everyone knows some intervals of time besides the standard units. For instance, if you need x number of seconds, you can start reciting "One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi...." up to x Mississippi, or the point at which you start dropping syllables, whichever comes first. Play the Minute Waltz three times, and you've just timed a three-minute egg, assuming you wanted a three-minute egg.

The following intervals are less useful, but they do seem to come up a lot in my life.

2 seconds:  How long it takes the guy behind me to blow his horn in the left-turn lane at May and Britton when the light turns green.

45 seconds:  How long it takes to fix my hair in the morning.

2 minutes:  How long it takes to open all the mail on a weekday, put aside the important stuff, and throw away the other 75 percent.

24 hours:  How long it takes the bank to draw on my checking account using their online bill-paying service.

48 hours:  How long it takes the bank actually to pay the bill.

8 days:  How long the back yard can usually go without mowing in summer.

9 days:  How long the front yard can usually go without mowing in summer.

17 days:  How long I spend on the road in the summer, away from the mower.

140 days:  How long it takes to polish off a 5-lb can of those Danish butter cookies.

365 days:  How long it takes to write 48 Vents.

Posted at 6:29 AM to General Disinterest