Mike Garrahan
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mgarraha.bsky.social
Mike Garrahan
@mgarraha.bsky.social
86 followers 170 following 330 posts
Amateur classical musician and astronomer. Advocate for year-round standard time.
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mgarraha.bsky.social
Local mean time there is 16 minutes ahead of EST and 44 minutes behind AST. Eastern is the correct zone for that location.
Ideal Standard Time Zones, a US map showing: EST (UTC-5) centered on 75°W longitude, CST (UTC-6) at 90°W, MST (UTC-7) at 105°W, PST (UTC-8) at 120°W, with boundaries halfway between those meridians. * Ideally each location observes the UTC offset of its nearest meridian, to align clocks within 30 minutes of solar time across zones. Solar alignment benefits health, safety, education, and economy. * Over history, zone boundaries gerrymandered westward, unnaturally delaying sunrises and chronically depriving sleep. * Daylight Saving Time adds an entire hour of misalignment. Image by Save Standard Time.
December 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
mgarraha.bsky.social
The Sun runs a few minutes early at this time of year due to the Earth's oblique rotation and eccentric orbit. The analemma near sunset at 40°N shows how the Sun is lower around Dec 7 although it's farther south at the solstice.
Part of the solar analemma from late October through late January, showing the sun setting earlier around December 7 than at the solstice.
November 30, 2025 at 6:38 AM
mgarraha.bsky.social
Here you go, a $250 value.
Modified xkcd cartoon of a billboard saying "Donate to fix this sign!" and showing a price list to fix various formatting defects; however, remedies have been applied. A QR code on the sign links to the original by Randall Munroe. A stick figure in the foreground uses a smartphone in anger.
July 12, 2025 at 3:38 PM