Tic Toc

[Gareth Hughes]

What I want, what I really, really want, is one with a small cannon and a magnifying glass aligned to set off the charge at noon. I saw one in an antique shop near Covent Garden once but the price was astronomical! And it was set up to be used on the latitude of Paris. These days you'd probably be banged up for possessing the gunpowder anyway.

A google for sundial cannon suggests they are available, at least across the pond
In the meantime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVKY3t5Owgw

 

[Penners]

The clocks also automatically resent themselves

A brilliant technological breakthrough for all those office-bound folk who have been resenting the clock since time immemorial. :wink:

 

[Flyfisher]

:lol: :lol: :lol:
Got me. Well, the damn ipad did - and I was being so careful to catch all the other auto-corrections. :evil:

 

[Penners]

Sorry :wink:

No doubt an opportunity for revenge will present itself, e'er long!

 

[Keith Bowman]

What I want, what I really, really want, is one with a small cannon and a magnifying glass aligned to set off the charge at noon. I saw one in an antique shop near Covent Garden once but the price was astronomical! And it was set up to be used on the latitude of Paris. These days you'd probably be banged up for possessing the gunpowder anyway.

A google for sundial cannon suggests they are available, at least across the pond
In the meantime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVKY3t5Owgw

Wow, thanks, you can see what the attraction is.

Googling also brings up an antique sundial dealer in Hampshire with a similar 19th century French one to that which I saw in London: 'Price on application' - which considering they are not shy about pricing a similarly aged French sundial without the ordnance at £9,500 makes one gasp and stretch one's eyes! I see they also have a 'Heliochronometer' sundial which does compensate for the equation of time for a mere £2,900. A far cry from a simple stick casting a shadow.

 

[Penners]

A google for sundial cannon suggests they are available, at least across the pond
In the meantime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVKY3t5Owgw

I wonder what the attrition rate is on the local cat population.

 

[DJH]

...otherwise known as Atlas, perhaps?

Nah. Not this one he was based on the Cheere 'Blackamore' but I didn't call it that, I called it 'Slave with Sundial' but that kind of raised eyebrows so it ended up as 'Servant with Sundial'...never sold many though, too dear I suppose... Mercury sold much better from diddly ones to life size they were popular.

Doug

 

[Penners]

Mercury sold much better from diddly ones to life size they were popular.

A life-sized Mercury? :shock:

At 3.3022×10^23 kg, that must have needed a lot of lead.

 

[DJH]

In a word...yes.

Doug'''

 

[Penners]

Actually, what's the melting point of lead? On the side facing the sun, Mercury reaches temperatures of 426 degrees Celsius. Wouldn't a lead one melt?

 

[DJH]

It starts to flow at about 326 C or so...

Oh, and by the way the clock is still wrong on here...

Doug

 

[Keith Bowman]

It starts to flow at about 326 C or so...

Oh, and by the way the clock is still wrong on here...

Doug

But it does say, down in the south east corner, that all times are UTC. My computer says it is currently 21.48, so if I press the submit button now, we shall see what the Period Server thinks it is!

 

[Keith Bowman]

Hmmm. 8.37. :?

 

[LadyArowana]

And of course for fans of xkcd there's always http://xkcd.com/1190/ ( sad geeks click several times a day :lol: )

 

[MdB]

And of course for fans of xkcd there's always http://xkcd.com/1190/ ( sad geeks click several times a day :lol: )

Just on the very vague chance you don't know about the hidden forum and hence might not have come across this: http://xkcd.aubronwood.com/

(and for me the forum time is only 10 mins out - check you ppuk options regarding timezone and summertime if it is more than this out)

 

[LadyArowana]

:lol: I hadn't seen that before, brilliant, but I shall probably still be geeky and keep clicking!

 

[Flyfisher]

(and for me the forum time is only 10 mins out - check you ppuk options regarding timezone and summertime if it is more than this out)

Never mind 10 minutes, it was only yesterday that I realised the date on my watch was a day behind . . . . :roll:

 

[Penners]

Never mind 10 minutes, it was only yesterday that I realised the date on my watch was a day behind . . . .

Are you sure it's only one day behind? I wonder whether you're on NST (Norfolk Standard Time) which is actually 70 years and one day behind BST. :wink:

 

[Flyfisher]

That could be why the local Catweazles give me a funny look when I use my mobile 'Telling Bone' . . .

 

[LadyArowana]

That could be why the local Catweazles give me a funny look when I use my mobile 'Telling Bone' . . .

So how do you reckon they will react to the Google Glasses? They don't still have witch and wizard burnings do they?