posted on Monday, April 17, 2006 3:55 AM
by
Endie
Date geekery
Two upcoming dates that display my varying forms of geekiness.
One is the 4th of May. You know: May 4th? Just after 1 in the morning?
Ach, let me spell it out for you. At exactly three seconds after two minutes past one, on May 5th 2006, your digital clock will display:
"01:02:03 04:05:06"
I, for one, can hardly wait. I may actually throw a party to celebrate this once-in-a-century event.
The other date that just struck me recently is of more political and historical consequence. Next year, 2007, will the the three hundredth anniversary of the Act of Union, 1707, which marked the union of the Scottish and English parliaments, and the foundation of "Britain". I will predict now that this will not be a date that anyone is rushing to associate themselves with. In Scotland, even those who are anti-independence tend also not to be very pro-English at such times. In England, Scotland and things Scottish - especially politicians - are for the first time in my life coming under scrutiny for our disproportionate success in a variety of public areas. All in all, this anniversary will be marked, on the whole, with a few TV programmes, some staunchly unionist establishment voices saying how jolly good the Enlightenment and the industrial revolution turned out to be for all concerned, and much mainstream shuffling of feet and booking of fortuitous holidays.