I used to think my laptop, phone, and router were all just showing me “the time.” Then I configured a fleet of servers for a global team and realized every device in my life has a hidden relationship with UTC, GMT, and local time. Understanding that relationship has saved me countless hours of debugging and … Read more
Few American traditions are as quietly disruptive as the twice-yearly ritual of changing the clocks. Every March, we spring forward and lose an hour of sleep. Every November, we fall back and gain a small gift of evening darkness. The history of daylight saving time in the United States is longer, stranger, and more political … Read more
Arizona and Hawaii are the only two U.S. states that do not observe daylight saving time. Both states stay on standard time year-round, meaning residents never “spring forward” or “fall back” with the rest of the country. The reasons are entirely practical. Arizona’s brutal desert heat makes an extra hour of evening sunlight unwelcome, while … Read more
Imagine leaving your house at 7:30 AM for a 15-minute commute, but when you arrive at work your phone says 7:30 AM again. Or worse, it says 8:30 AM. For thousands of Americans who deal with time zones across state lines every single day, this is not a hypothetical scenario. It is their morning routine. … Read more
Before standardized time zones existed, every town in America kept its own clock. Each city set 12 noon when the sun reached its highest point in their local sky, which meant a town just 50 miles east of you could be running 6 minutes behind your watch. By 1880, there were more than 144 different … Read more
When I first heard a ship’s bell clock strike eight times at noon, I assumed someone had simply wound an old grandfather clock. I was wrong. The sound marked the end of a four-hour watch, and every sailor on deck knew exactly what it meant without looking at a dial. That moment sent me down … Read more
An anniversary clock is one of the most rewarding timepieces a collector can own. I remember unboxing my first 400-day clock years ago and watching the brass pendulum rotate slowly under its glass dome like a tiny brass ballet. Setting one up properly takes patience, but the result is a clock that can run for … Read more
Replacing an anniversary clock suspension spring is one of the most common repairs for these beautiful torsion pendulum timepieces. After restoring more than 60 anniversary clocks in my workshop over the past decade, I can tell you the same job plays out very differently depending on the model. A Kundo 400-day clock uses a different … Read more
If your anniversary clock pendulum won’t rotate, the most common culprit is a damaged suspension spring — a hair-thin coil of wire that costs pennies to make but can shut down an entire heirloom clock. I’ve helped dozens of owners troubleshoot this exact issue, and the diagnosis usually takes less than 15 minutes once you … Read more
I get asked this question all the time by collectors who inherit their grandmother’s anniversary clock: “How often should I wind it?” After testing four different 400-day clocks in our workshop over the past three years, our team found a clear answer that also matches the consensus on the NAWCC forums. Wind your 400-day clock … Read more