Deadlines

Will the Braves get a CF before 4pm today?

Will the nation avoid default before Tuesday?

We all need deadlines to get things done, but the tyranny of the clock is one of the awful things about American culture.  In the 19th century immigrants were given English primers from whence they could learn phrases like, "The whistle blows, I must go to work."

I've been alone the last few days to finish up some projects - plastering and painting the half-bath, staining the deck steps, mowing the lawn, doing some driving for the Summer School - and being able to do what you have to do WHEN you want to do it makes it feel less like a chore and more like simply doing what needs to be done.

Human life used to be tied to the seasons and the sun.  Now it is tied to the minute hand.  As a result, we are all much more efficient, but also, I think, much more stressed.

UPDATE: Braves got their CF.  Ball is in your court, Congress, though it sounds like a perfectly awful deal is imminent.