December 12, 2012 SIX TWELVES

I had a once-in-a-lifetime chance this day —– to photograph the ASOS weather monitor here at Van Nuys Airport when the time showed all 12’s.  Calm down, calm down — I know, I know — it is difficult to contain your intense enthusiasm and glee when it comes to things like this.  A year ago I wasn’t at either of my jobs when we had six elevens.  But, but my grocery manager at Albertsons was on duty.  On 11/10/11, I asked him to take a picture of the date and time on the cash register monitor at Albertsons on the following day at 11:11 a.m. and 11 seconds in order to capture that special moment —- but he forgot.  Or he was unable to at the right moment.  It is hard to find responsible people these days.  So, I would have to settle for six 12’s instead of six 11’s.

My shift today was 5 a.m. to 1 p.m., so all I had to do was remember my plan before it happened.  Luckily, I had the radio on and the announcer mentioned the approaching magical moment at noon.  So, I got my i-phone camera ready and counted down the minutes!  I even made a few practice photos —- does my camera phone actually take the picture RIGHT when I press the button?  Or is there a slight delay which might mess things up?  Imagine the heartbreak and incalculable letdown if I pressed the camera button, and it came up 12:12 and 13 seconds!  My entire life would be ruined!  Well, perhaps not, but I would feel like a doofus for a little while.  After a few practice photos, I determined that I needed to press the phone photo button as soon as the second mark turned to 12.

Okay, there is just a minute to go — then ten seconds — I’m holding the camera up to the monitor — STEADY — if I shake it too much then it will be a blurry picture and I will have failed miserably and I won’t make millions selling the image.  12:12 p.m. and 10 seconds, 11 seconds, 12 seconds THERE IT IS HURRY UP AND PRESS THE BUTTON! — CLICK — and the camera phone makes the little shutter sound.  There was no earthquake or screaming in the control tower.  The lights didn’t blink and the computer didn’t melt down.  Planes did not collide on the runway and the planet’s geomagnetic polarity didn’t flip, as far as I could tell.

Then — the big moment, or the second big moment — I had to check my iphone to see if I took the picture at the right moment.  The funny thing with this ASOS computer is that the seconds don’t proceed at an even pace, and sometimes a second here or there will get skipped!  I knew that I saw the “12” though, as I clicked the shutter and reveled mightily during those 1000 milliseconds.   So, that was not an issue.  But, sometimes the figure for the “seconds” lasts for much less than a second!  What if I had been shortchanged a full second, and the phone took a picture of 12:12:13?  I would be the subject of ridicule until eternity.

So, it is time to share the results with the world at large.  Here is the picture taken by my iphone on December 12, 2012, at (hopefully) 12:12 p.m. and 12 seconds.  Of course, the ASOS clock is off a little, and this might have actually been taken at 12:13:04, but no one will care in the year 3012.