Time Zones

[Grandma Ruth]

I thought this might be useful for non-US people like me:
http://www.time.gov/

It means the website will be down when I get home from work - I'll have to do the exercise video instead!!

[Redband]

10:00 PM EST is 3:00 am UTC(GMT) so unless you are working nights Grandma Ruth you won't have to worry about the exercise video .

[Grandma Ruth]

Yes, that's what I thought at first then I decided I should be subtracting rather than adding - perhaps this wasn't as useful as I thought!

[Hawk]

EST is GMT -5 whereas I believe you're at GMT or GMT +1
I though all of England was GMT but I have a friend that lives in Bed and he says he's at GMT +1
Really, GMT is now called UTC but it's basically the same. The difference is a few seconds.

[Grandma Ruth]

So will I be asleep?

[Hawk]

That depends. Are you usually asleep at 3 AM?
Maybe this will help some.

Click on image to view full size

Of course a bit of knowledge of geography is helpful.

[Grandma Ruth]

And arithmetic Thanks, boys!

[thegrindre]

1 + 1 = 2
2 - 1 = 1
1 - 2 = -1

Help any?

If you were to look at it on a scale of ten, let's say, it would look something like this;
5
4
3
2
1 Here, we take away two numbers. The first number would be zero (0) and the second number would be minus one (-1).
0
-1
-2
-3
-4
-5

Keep in mind that numbers have no end, they're infinite and, since they have no end, they have no beginning either. They just keep on keepin' on. So, gazillion is twice as much as minus gazillion.
Or, 2 is twice as much as -2.

Now, just for fun, let's take 3 away from 1. That's easy, it's -2. Count it yourself. Zero, minus one, minus two (0, -1, -2). See.
Don't let the zero trip you up, it's just another digit in the infinite chain.

Sesame Rick here.


P. S. Yes! I always knew the world was flat. Just look at that map!

[Redband]

Following on from the time zone picture that Hawk posted you may find http://www.worldtimezone.com/ useful. It shows the CURRENT TIME in all zones. If you scroll down the page you can select Time Zone maps (with current time) for different areas, Europe, USA etc.

Hawk, if your friend lives in bed then it doesn't really matter what time it is. On the other hand, if he lives in Bedford/Bedfordshire (Beds) then they are UTC the same as the rest of us.

[Grandma Ruth]

Thanks, Rick. So if you're minus five hours away from GMT and I'm at GMT, then I have to add on the five hours to get where you are. But if I was where you are, I'd have to minus the five hours to get where I am.
Unless I was in a plane, when I'd have to add on (or take away?) the amount of time the plane would take to get to wherever we were going and that's why I can set off from here mid-morning and get to Chicago in time for lunch the same day but when I come home it's evening and I don't get here till after breakfast the next day?

[Hawk]

Following on from the time zone picture that Hawk posted you may find http://www.worldtimezone.com/ useful. It shows the CURRENT TIME in all zones. If you scroll down the page you can select Time Zone maps (with current time) for different areas, Europe, USA etc.

Hawk, if your friend lives in bed then it doesn't really matter what time it is. On the other hand, if he lives in Bedford/Bedfordshire (Beds) then they are UTC the same as the rest of us.

OK! Beds then. I knew it was something like that.
I didn't think he was right when he said he was GMT +1. 'Course that might have been someone else that lived somewhere else.

Thanks, Rick. So if you're minus five hours away from GMT and I'm at GMT, then I have to add on the five hours to get where you are. But if I was where you are, I'd have to minus the five hours to get where I am.
Unless I was in a plane, when I'd have to add on (or take away?) the amount of time the plane would take to get to wherever we were going and that's why I can set off from here mid-morning and get to Chicago in time for lunch the same day but when I come home it's evening and I don't get here till after breakfast the next day?

Actually Rick is at GMT -6, just to through a wrench in the cogs.

[Grandma Ruth]

So you and Rick are an hour away from each other !!!

[thegrindre]

Yes, Ed and I are one time zone off from each other, technically 1 hr but, physically, it's about a 3 hr. drive. He's in the Eastern Time Zone and I'm in the Central Time Zone of these United States.
You could say I was in Memphis, Tennessee while Ed would be in Atlanta, Georgia and you wouldn't be to very far off.



PS.

Actually Rick is at GMT -6, just to through a wrench in the cogs.

I believe the word you're looking for is, throw, there, Ed...

[Hawk]

I guess we can always throw a wrench through the cogs.

[Grandma Ruth]

So if Rick drove to Ed's house and set off at 3 p.m., you'd get there by 5 p.m. (3+3-1) and if he drove to your house at the same time he'd get there by 7 p.m. (3+3+1) or (3+1+3)?.

[Hawk]

If Rick left his house at 3 PM CST, he would get to my house at 6 PM CST or 7 PM EST.
If I left my house at 3 PM EST I would get to his house at 6 PM EST or 5 PM CST.
Rick is 1 hour behind me, or 6 hours behind you. I'm 1 hour a head of rick or 5 hours behind you.

CST - Central Standard Time = UTC (GMT) -6 (Rick)
EST - Eastern Standard Time = UTC (GMT) -5 (Me)
GMT - Greenwich Mean Time (You - old acronym)
UTC - Coordinated Universal Time (You - new acronym)

Clear? Good!

[thegrindre]

Well, I think you got it but I may not quite understand your logic. I'm sure it's just semantics, though.
If it were exactly a 3 hour drive to me, from my house, I would get there at 7, HIS TIME. The 3 hr drive and the one hour time zone would equal 4 hrs. (3+1=4 or 3pm + 4 + 7pm) Because I would be traveling backwards in time, so to speak, although it is still a 3 hr drive in all to me.

Now, if I had a really fast car and left his house at 3pm, I could get home by 3 pm, MY TIME. If I could do it in one hour, that is. (1-1=0 or 3pm - 0 = 3pm)

If you think about the sun and where it comes up first, it usually will help you figure things out. Where does the sun shine first?

The sun shines on you first then Ed then me.

[wsherrick]

This reminds me of, "Around The World In Eighty Days."

[Hawk]

Now, let's consider Australia, where yesterday is today and today is tomorrow.

[Orange46]

I still remember visiting the prime meridian on one of my visits to London several decades ago. Great naval museum. I got food poisoning at the Bun Penney. The name should have told me something.

We live next to Indiana, which usually doesn't go on daylight saving time, but then sometimes does, so who knows what time it's there. It's best to just speed thru without stopping.