The end of time as we know it?
Telephone company pulls the plug on time service
By Stephanie Bertholdo bertholdo@theacorn.com

Time ended unceremoniously on Sept. 19 with a simple message from AT&T.

The phone company's "Time of Day Service Information" accessed by dialing 853-1212 was discontinued because, according to the phone folks, there are so many ways to keep time in our high-tech world. I, for one, will miss time. Between work, my kids' extracurricular activities, dinner deadlines and a dog that needs walking, my days are often planned to the minute.

My clocks include oven, microwave, coffee maker and television, as well as alarm clocks and an antique one that requires constant winding; my computer and cellphone clocks never seem to agree on the actual time and are indifferent to my schedule.

Try as I might to synchronize time on all my clocks, they eventually lose or gain seconds, which turn into lost time or extra minutes that I might have been able to use differently if my clock had provided the correct time in the first place.

These discrepancies in time didn't matter much because for decades I could count on resetting my clocks by calling 8531212 and hearing the soothing and familiar female voice tell me the exact, official time down to the second.

As I grow older and older by the minute, the idea of being satisfied with an approximation of the time of day is not acceptable.

I don't want to waste too much time, and I don't want to get ahead of myself. I want to live in the moment, and to do that I need to periodically check in with the ever-reliable time lady.

Who needs the time lady when I should be able to rely upon my computer's supposedly perfect time, I'm asked. But computers, especially my computers, have been notoriously unreliable. The clocks on the computers at work don't appear to be in sync either. And wall clocks everywhere always seem to be off the mark. Besides, I can't check my computer when I'm in my car.

While I can generally slip into meetings a minute or two late without any problem, there are many times when arriving on time is crucial. If I arrive at some meetings even a minute late and participants stop talking while I take my seat, time stands still because of my tardiness.

What does AT&T have to say about the loss of time? John Britton, an AT&T spokesperson, blames it on a combination of aging equipment and progress.

"Calls to the time announcement have steadily decreased," Britton said. "Today, customers have access to accurate time information from a variety of sources, including televisions, wireless telephones, their computers and other devices."

Britton also blames his company's aged equipment. The service is 78 years old. Apparently, the mechanics to run the time service are old and arthritic and no one wants to resuscitate the gear.

Forced retirement, I guess. "The older equipment that supports this service has reached the end of its life span," Britton said. "The manufacturer stopped supporting the equipment 15 years ago, and replacement parts are no longer available."

I suppose the time has come for time to step aside and allow youthful, glitzy technology a chance to shine and earn a buck or two.

So who was that time lady? Britton said AT&T contracted out the voice service. "I can tell you that in the beginning, the time was read live by the attendant, (and) then sometime later it turned into a recorded announcement."

Other news reports credit three women with the prerecorded time messages. Britton said the three main voices were Mary Moore, Jane Barbe and Janice Daniels.

Britton said he hasn't received too many calls bemoaning the end of time. I guess I just have to get with the times and give myself extra minutes to get to where I'm going on time.

For those who've programmed their fingers to dial for time, (805) 495-1811 will still give you the exact hour. But I'm in the 818 area code, and I don't quite have the energy to dial an extra three numbers every time I want to check the time.