Mind == Blown.

As mentioned in a previous blog, Quantum Leaping for non-physicists.html, I occasionally have issues with time. I could not be a Time Lord- for the record, Tom Baker was "my" Doctor. And also, for the record, I'm not a quantum physicist, although I enjoy both the Quantum Leap and The Big Bang Theory television series. Today, however, I felt more than just a twinge of sympathy with Quantum Leap's Dr. Sam Beckett- for a good thirty seconds, I actually lived his life. Here's what happened.

A few months ago, I had the misfortune of parking under some pine trees at work. As a result, Meerkat (our trusty Subaru Outback) acquired several globs of pine tar. For those unfamiliar with this substance, think of it as a very pleasant smelling substance, lighter than honey in color, but on an order or several times more viscous than said honey. Here's a formula for shear viscosity I found online-   Pretty cool- I don't have the foggiest notion what it means, but since I mentioned quantum physics, I figured I'd throw a bit of science out there, and see what sticks (*oh yes, pun truly intended).

Back to the story- we've only had Meerkat since April. The tar is on both glass and painted surfaces. As it was a cool day, Jennifer had suggested that I mow the lawn. I mowed the lawn, and then figured I had time to try to get the tar off of the car. I had some Bug and Tar remover in the garage, so I got it out, read the instructions and then tried it on the windshield. I didn't get all of the gunk off, but the product was several years old and had been stored in the garage. And as the Chicago area is not known for mild winters, I decided to get a new bottle. I asked Jennifer if she'd like to go to the auto parts store with me, and we could stop at Aldi afterwards (note to European readers: Aldi has stores in the United States). So, I changed clothes and we were off. It was near 1700- rush hour- and I was going to cross a busy street- two lanes northbound and two lanes southbound traffic. I could not believe our fortune- it took probably less than thirty seconds to cross the street! We went in to the auto parts store, purchased the bug and tar remover, and then were off to Aldi. As we strolled down the first aisle of Aldi... I don't recall exactly how the topic came up, but it did: somehow, in an instant, my brain turned into Dr. Sam Beckett's Swiss-cheese-right-after-a-leap brain.

It was Sunday, not Monday.

Now, I've mentioned before- and probably more than once- that I often will ask Jennifer what day it is. This, however, was the first time that I've gone through the day believing that it was a weekday rather than a weekend day. Jennifer found the whole affair quite amusing, and in retrospect I suppose it was. But for me, the thirty seconds or so after that revelation were disorienting- it weirded me out more than a little, to be completely honest. Scoring an extra twenty-four hours is cool, to be certain. But- and this is a big "but"- my reality changed. Not in a bad way... more like an odd, momentary lapse into the indescribable... I was in The Twilight Zone. Not Golden Earring's Twilight Zone. Rod Serlings' black and white Twilight Zone. And I couldn't change the channel.

I've got nothing else. The memory of the event already has developed that soft patina that time is kind enough to paint onto events such as this. On the plus side, there's no lightning bolt scar on my forehead.

Before I forget: some small news on the I.T. front. Not really data related, but this past Monday I got to actually do some programming at work: I got to run a job, start to finish. This made me quite happy, as my nights are generally filled with doing all sorts of important stuff, but most of which has little to do with my actual title!

As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.