At Albany Station, it’s very quiet at a quarter past 5 on Thursday night, or is it a quarter past 6?
One hates to be a nag. Still, when the bike takes me through the parking lot of Albany Station, experience says I should look up at the top of the tower and check the clocks, just for fun.
That’s what I did on Thursday evening. And here you can see part of the result.
According to the west-facing clock it was about a quarter past 5. My watch said otherwise and the automatic clock on my phone confirmed that it was actually a quarter past 6, or 6:14 p.m. to be exact.
Checking the other three clocks showed that two of them were off by a few minutes each. Only one was correct.
Now as we all know, it hardly matters that every few months, the clocks on this tower get out of sync with the actual time. Everybody has a phone that shows what time it is, and the few who don’t probably have a wristwatch that works.
Still, you’d think that clocks prominently displayed at a transportation hub should be right within a minute or two. This is supposed to be a place where schedules matter, at least in theory.
The tower was donated years ago, but it’s the City of Albany that owns the station and the tower, and thus the clocks. One of these years city officials may figure out a permanent solution, like taking the clocks out.
But then what would there be for me to look for when I go that way? (hh)
The photo was taken at 6:14 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023.
I just assume the clocks indicate how on time the city is to complete their appointed tasks at any given moment. Usually behind or stuck in one spot.
Time is never a problem for City employees.
Einstein has solved for the Hering Clock Conundrum. Einstein writes:
“…simultaneity is not absolute, or in other words, that simultaneous events as seen by one observer could occur at different times from the perspective of another. It’s not light speed that changes. Time itself is relative.”
Einstein was a pretty sharp fellow, likely smart enough not to set himself up for failure and ridicule by putting four imperfect mechanical clocks next to each other on a tower outside his house.
As you say, the city is in need of a permanent solution; taking three of the clocks out would be one possibility — would at least remove the easy comparison and discovery of error situation that we have now.
One last thought: Hasso, I am reminded of the multiple clocks we had in the DH newsroom that displayed the local time in various world cities. It seems like they were usually pretty close to accurate — maybe you dropped by every Sunday to adjust them? :)
The clock tower is attractive! We can at least say that in its favor. I once complained to my brother (God rest his soul) about the probable cost of the clock tower. He reminded me that it is very pleasant to be able to glance at it when driving by. Now I find that my curmudgeonly complaint was not founded at all because the clock was donated to the city. Thanks, Hasso.
Unlike some of those who comment on this blog, at least all of the clocks are correct at least twice a day! Just joking. I, for one, never bother noticing the incorrect times on the clocks. We have many more things to worry about.
If we are to have a clock displayed it should have the correct time, Either fix the d**n thing or take it down. Every time it is wrong, it points out to the world that Albany doesn’t have it’s stuff together, and I do not think that is the image that the Council wants to have portrayed.