Today is a momentous Day:  This is post number one-hundred.  In the long run, that doesn’t really mean much.  Even in the short view, there shouldn’t be that much significance, as this blog is a continuation of the one I had over on MySpace.  I don’t know my count over there–MySpace doesn’t show me that information easily–but I am pretty sure I made several hundred posts before moving to this address.

Counting itself is a bit arbitrary.  Sure, this is post is number one-hundred in the decimal system, but that’s not the only number system used today.  In hex, this is post 64.  Not so exciting now, eh?  Still, we humans like such arbitrary designations.  Many people who like to comment on things–blog posts other than mine, news stories, etc.–like to be the first to post.  It’s not unusual to see the first comment on something simply say “First!” and nothing else.

Going a little deeper, time itself is a bit arbitrary.  Scientists look at time as the fourth dimension, but I think of time as the first dimension.  A thing cannot exist without time.  It can had length, height and width, but without time these things are meaningless.  Something has to be for some length of time before it can be said that thing ever was.  I know, that’s a little weird to run through the mind, but think about it for a moment and maybe you’ll see what I mean.

Consider this:  We see time as a linear thing.  Imagine a line, then, which stretches forever in both directions.  This is a basic geometry concept, so hopefully it’s not too difficult.  Now imagine another line.  In order to do this, one of two things is true:  Either the second line is the same as the first, or we have introduced a second dimension.  Since having the second line be the same as the first is kind of boring–nothing unique here; it’s already been done–let’s have this second line give us a second dimension.  In fact, for added excitement, we’ll have this second line cross the first.  Geometry tells us if the lines are straight, they will meet at exactly one point.  Now we add a third line.  It doesn’t run parallel to either of the first two lines, so one of two things is true:  Either it will intersect both, or it is a third dimension and might intersect only one or even none of them.

So now we have three dimensions.  Can we add a fourth?  At this point, geometry becomes very complicated.  I suggest instead to imagine that fourth dimension a little differently.  I see it as being a one-dimensional line super-imposed on the picture, one which may seem to touch one or more of the existing lines but does not.  Or perhaps this line has infinite thickness, so it touches all of the lines at all points.  The first three lines can move about within this infinitely thick line.  This makes more sense to me.  The dimension was there all along.  The first line was inside of it, and thus was really the second dimension.  The second line was the third dimension and the last line the fourth.  Our three dimensional creation moves through the first dimension.

We are closing in on the end of a calendar year.  This is as arbitrary as it gets; the universe cares little for how we mark time.  Movement in that first dimension continues on regardless of how we measure it.  Personally, I would like to see the calendar reorganized.  I would have weeks be ten days long.  Three days of each week would be the “weekend.”  Each month would be exactly four weeks long.  This leaves five or six days left over at the end of the year, but this could be called Transition Time or something like that.  I would start the new year around the Vernal Equinox, when nature has things being reborn.  Yes, I know the southern hemisphere is going the opposite direction, but most of the world’s population lives in the northern hemisphere.  I would also redo the clock to be decimal or hexadecimal based, but I haven’t really worked that part out yet.

So what does this arbitrary designation mean?  On Friday, I’ll have my usual poem, but as it is the last day of the year, I will also have a very personal month-by-month review of the 2010.  On Saturday, I will post my resolutions for 2011.  New Year’s day is not conveniently falling on a weekday, so I will make a Saturday post.  It is significant to me, but on the other hand it’s very random.  If the calendar were arranged the way I want it to be, one of “this” year’s tragedies–Danny’s death–would have occurred last year.  In fact, there are a variety of calendars out there which use a variety of dates to start a year.

For the moment, though, I will follow the Gregorian calendar with all the accepted adjustments in place.  Oh, yes, that’s another thing:  Our calendar has gone through a few changes over the years.  Every few years, it gets adjusted again by a second when it is determined that the Earth is a second off in its orbit of the sun from what our clocks are telling us.  Nothing’s perfect, and our measurement of time is definitely less than consistent.

And so I will look to the future, however it is designated.  In that timespace known as tomorrow, I will have a short list of wanderings for you to peruse.  I haven’t found as much that tickles my sharing fancy as usual, but I have a couple of Stumbled bits for you.  See you then.