Some curious stuff...

...Before this year ends!

Reading and reading (thing that I do quite usually since TV became a stinky piece of shit) I found an interesting article about this New Year's Eve... Well, in fact is about this 31th of December... Because the last minute of this, the last day of the year will last officially 1 second more... So, it will have 61 seconds. Officially, after 23h 59m and 59s we'll have 23h 59m and 60s... And only then 00h 00m 00s... And Happy new year!

But why? Because Earth's spinning slower than before and days are longer than before... Curious, thinking about our lifestyle, that becomes faster and faster day after day! Earth's on strike, or a least it seems so!

But let's talk a little bit about history! A second was defined in 19th Century as the 86.400 part of a day (60 x 60 x 24), but they didn't know real days have different timings... Nowadays, for example, 1 real day lasts 86.400,002 seconds. That's why, since the late sixties, we base our second system not in our planet's rotation movement, but in some physical stable processes like the movement of some atoms exposed to Laser. That's how atomic watches were born, and that's why we base our system on those watches, which are very precise! In fact, the most precise atomic watch of the entire world, the NIST-F1, will keep an accurate timing, without deflecting not even a second in 60.000.000 of years.

And that's why the IERS (International Earth rotation and Reference systems Service) decides when to add one extra second to a minute, to correct the flaw between our time system and real timing.

Of course, that second isn't very important for our daily grind, but it's curious how time's so important in these days of fast food, instantaneous news, and blitzkrieg. I guess it was more traumatic back in the 16th Century, when Gregorius XIII changed the outdated Iulianus calendar and people lost 10 days!! So, the day after that 4th of October of 1582 was the 15th of October.

So, maybe this isn't very important for you, but at least you have some new anecdote for telling tomorrow before this year shifts!

Have a nice New Year's Eve party and enjoy this extra second! 2009, the Year of the Ox... it sounds promising, don't you think?

...And justice for all

So, we're facing a long weekend now! People will invade the streets again, buying and spending the money that they don't possess...and the wheel will keep spinning, keeping things as they are... Very good for some, very bad for many...!

But this is not the point now... Long weekend! Why? Why are we so lucky to have holidays on december? Because it's the Spanish Constitution's birthday! And polititians let us go skiing, shopping and even visiting some forbidden buildings for us the rest of the year, like the Senate or the Congress Palace... Ha! That building we really OWN, according to that paper called Spanish Constitution, the one they use to blow their noses...

Let's face it: Democracy sucks. And now is when one of you (or maybe all of you) replies saying it's not so bad... at least is better than a dictatorship! And of course it is, but that doesn't make democracy the greatest thing since bread came sliced...

Polititians lie, steal, conspire, missappropriate (another way of stealing...)... do everything to keep their asses comfortable in their seats... They don't want us! They don't need us! Only every four years they need us to perpetuate their status quo... And that's when democracy becomes funny! Polititians can smile! And joke! They talk with people and listen to their problems, trying to look concerned about them... They promise a lot of things, and they even dress like idiots, because they think that makes them look closer to us!



And the worst thing is... Some people really believe them! Some people even vote for one or another party just because of the way the candidate looks: "Oh, he/she looks friendly, I'll vote for him/her!"... which is the same as: "Oh! he/she is blonde, I'll vote for him/her!". But well... What can you expect of this country? You only have to turn on the TV to realise this is a country plenty of dumbs! And polititians know which country govern, and how to do it... They've learnt the game, and they're playing it... and enjoying it!

That's why I'm so happy Obama's the new President of the United States! Because it looks like we've been witnesses of the birth of the new Messiah... and I don't really think so... Some people here in Spain even think he's left-winged!!! Please! That's very funny indeed! Let's see how this guy acts...

So, God save the Constitution! Because this is a country where some people can drive cars of 80.000€, but others can't eat properly every day because of not having money! God save the Constitution, because people can't get a place for living (even if it's a constitutional right) and banks receive millions of euros from the government! God save the Constitution, because in this country commiting a crime is very cheap, and some prisons have swimming pools! God save this Constitution, indeed! But... What do I know! You're the real Spanish people, and I'm only a British citizen... We don't have even a Constitution!

I guess this quotation summarizes all my thoughts about democracy:

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance."
H.L. Mencken