Extra Time on My Hands Today
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (128824)
Gainesville, Florida
January 10, 2017 4:19pm CST
Just a few minutes ago, I did an online search to see what time the sun sets today here in my area, as it is beautiful outside today and I hope to capture a photo of another gorgeous sunset. While I was on the weather website, I saw that today has 48 more seconds of daylight than yesterday did. Which got me thinking...with all that extra time on my hands, what more could I accomplish today in those 48 extra seconds of daylight? I couldn't come up with anything. In fact, I used up those extra 48 seconds writing this post! haha
Well, today's sunset is at 5:49 pm, so I think I will motivate myself to get off the computer for a little bit and head outside into the cold to try and find the perfect spot to see the sunset.
18 people like this
17 responses
@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
10 Jan 17
The days are slowly getting longer. Bring on Spring!!!
3 people like this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 17
The days are getting longer 48 seconds at a time! haha
There was also information on that website I was looking at that said that today was 3 hours and 31 minutes shorter than our longest day of the summer last year. That's crazy that we currently have three and a half hours less daylight than we do in the summer!
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99353)
• Canada
10 Jan 17
@moffittjc that is crazy. I never really thought of how much less daylight hours there are now. That is quite a bit.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 17
@Happy2BeMe I wonder if the difference is even greater for you, being at higher latitudes? I know that the closer you get to the Equator, the less of a variance there is in the amount of daylight during winters and summers.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Jan 17
Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the sunset. When I started my walk, I noticed that a nearly-full moon was rising in the east, and it was absolutely beautiful, so I focused on that instead of the sunset. Unfortunately, I never seem to get any good photos of the moon, so I have nothing worthy of posting tonight.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
@JudyEv I am a lunar failure, that is for sure. But since I have better luck with sunsets, that means I am a solar success!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Jan 17
@moffittjc Does this mean you're a failure? Just joking. I'm sure that perfect shot is just around the corner - or on the horizon or something. :)
1 person likes this
@Asylum (47893)
• Manchester, England
11 Jan 17
@moffittjc I stopped wearing wrist watches for the same reason.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
@Asylum I stopped wearing wristwatches because I was tired of knowing what time it was!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
Well, if you saw how many smartphones I carry around, you would probably say the same thing! I don't need wristwatches, I have three phones I can look at to find the time!
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
11 Jan 17
I'll bet that your idea of cold and mine are two different things. LOL. The wind is whipping right now and the temperature is a balmy 35 degrees. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 40's and Thursday we are expected to hit 50!! Break out the shorts and tank tops. LOL. Must be that the extra 48 seconds has Mother Nature all fired up.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
11 Jan 17
@moffittjc oh the horror! Toss another log on the fire and suck it up buttercup.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
@ElusiveButterfly I had a nice bonfire going out in the backyard on Saturday night. That was the night it was the coldest, but it sure felt good sitting next to the raging bonfire!
The hardest part for us Floridians is that we don't have the proper clothing for extreme winter weather, since it is such a rare occurrence. We also seem to have no concept of layering our clothing either. But for me, I can deal with the cold, but the only time it really bothers me is at 5 AM in the morning when I have to go to work, and I have to scrape ice off of my windows on my truck. Anybody knows that the absolute coldest part of the morning is right around sunrise.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
I joke that us Floridians will break out our Eskimo parkas if the temperature here ever drops below 80 degrees. Because anything lower than 80 degrees is cold to us! LOL
So imagine how bad us Floridians living in the northern part of the state were freaking out this weekend when the temperature dropped to 26 degrees! You would have though the world was ending! haha
1 person likes this
@velvet53 (24417)
• Palisade, Colorado
16 Jan 17
@moffittjc That is so good to hear. I used to laugh winters and short hours but not anymore.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan 17
We are headed in that direction now, so before long you will have your wish!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan 17
@velvet53 I used to love the cold weather (the colder the better), but not any more! Spring needs to hurry up and get here!
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (94909)
• United States
12 Jan 17
48 secs of extra typing on this post :)
I hope you went out and got a nice photo of the sunset!
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (94909)
• United States
12 Jan 17
@moffittjc me neither my phone sucks
Debating to get a new one or not but really don't want to shell like 900 bucks yet!
Though I know I will eventually but my mom said they're working on the 8 for September! Argh
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Jan 17
@infatuatedbby I think at this point you should try to wait it out until the 8 is released. Even if decide to get a 7 instead of the 8 when it comes out, you should be able to get the 7 for a really cheap price, or even free, as they try to clear inventory to make room for the 8's.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Jan 17
I actually didn't get a photo of the sunset, because when I went outside to check it out, I became more fascinated by the rising full moon in the east. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any good photos of the moon on my smartphone!
1 person likes this
@averygirl72 (38847)
• Philippines
11 Jan 17
So you use your 48 extra seconds wisely. Hope you find the perfect spot
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
11 Jan 17
I love the later sunsets that we get here, it was dark at 5 p.m. in CT
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
11 Jan 17
@moffittjc It makes it a difficult ride home for most people and depression is higher too!! No sunlight.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
@BelleStarr Isn't it amazing how much sunlight can affect our moods, our health, and our overall well-being? Kind of crazy how much we literally depend on the sun for sustenance and survival!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
Wow, 5:00pm is awfully early to be getting dark! That would drive me bonkers if it was dark before I even got off work each afternoon!
1 person likes this
@PatZAnthony (14749)
• Charlotte, North Carolina
11 Jan 17
With the cold weather here, it often seems the sun is gone by 4 p.m. We know it is not, just gets gloomy a little early for us. (48 seconds can be enough to post on most sites these days).
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
Does the sun disappear behind the mountains, or does it appear to be gone by 4 pm because of cloudiness/weather?
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
I did, and as a bonus I got to see an amazing moonrise. The moon's not quite full (at 96%), but it was spectacular nonetheless. I ended up spending too much time watching the moon and missed out on getting any good sunset photos.
@JamesHxstatic (29410)
• Eugene, Oregon
11 Jan 17
I hope that you caught a great sunset. Each day will grow longer by seconds now I am glad to say.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
Unfortunately, I was not able to catch a great sunset photo, as I became totally captivated by the beautiful moonrise last night!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
Your condo faces east, correct? Can you still see any gorgeous sunsets to your west from your condo, or would you have to go outside to see it?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
@DianneN What road did you take to get to Delray? There isn't much farmland left except for out west by the turnpike!
1 person likes this
@DianneN (254949)
• United States
11 Jan 17
@moffittjc Yes, we face east, but can see the sunsets from our lanai and living room through the trees. We were on our way to Delray Beach two weeks ago and saw a beautiful sunset from our car. We were passing some flat farmland. The sun just sunk into the ground. Lol!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
27 Jan 17
I don't think I've met a sunset yet that I haven't enjoyed!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
29 Jan 17
@just4him The only sunset I'm not looking forward to is my final sunset, but I imagine even that one won't be too bad!
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
27 Jan 17
@moffittjc Me either. They are all so amazing!
1 person likes this
@Brittnyrose (1444)
• Aberdeen, North Carolina
11 Jan 17
Don't you just love watching the sunset? Its amazing
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
@Brittnyrose Now, of course, if I could just be sitting on some beach somewhere with a nice cold adult beverage in my hand watching the sunset every night, life would be just about perfect!
@moffittjc (128824)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Jan 17
I absolutely love watching sunsets! It's something I wish I could see everyday!
1 person likes this
