Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: What does the AM/PM stand for?

This is topic What does the AM/PM stand for? in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Nate Lehrke (Member # 1460) on 05-06-2003, 01:30 AM:

I have been wondering. What does the AM & PM stand for when it comes to time? What is it an abbreviation for?

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 05-06-2003, 01:43 AM:

Ante Meridian and Post Meridian.

-Aaron

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-06-2003, 01:43 AM:

A.M. = ante meridiem (Before noon)

P.M. = post meridiem (After noon)

Guess when meridiem occurs... [Big Grin]

>>> Phil

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-06-2003, 07:16 AM:

That is not correct. AM stands for Ante Michaelian, and PM for Post Michaelian. It refers to the time when the sun is in its highest position in the sky to celebrate my divine greatness.

Posted by Don Bruechert (Member # 1538) on 05-06-2003, 08:28 AM:

And how did Michael become divine?, you may ask... Well, if you've ever heard of a "divining rod" and you have heard of the expression, "Spare the rod, spoil the child", you will understand that he was not properly devined, using the devining rod, as a child... Hence what we have today. Alas, he is our friend, and we must tolerate his divine behavior, but if he gets out of hand we can always have one of the mods step in and temporarily silence him (divine intervention). Of course, the poor guy could be totally confused about his divinity, especially if, upon entering a room, his parents would say "Jesus Christ, are you here again" or something similar....

[Big Grin]

Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 05-06-2003, 08:47 AM:

Circling around the german St. Michael of Berlin, it must be pre and after moistening (with brew of some kind)
When the beer goes in, the brains go out, as it says somewhere in the scripts. (Frau Blucher's Modern Medieval CookBook, Part Two: Recipes with beer. -That's Food with neigh !)

Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 05-06-2003, 09:14 AM:

When Michael grows up he will lose the taste for [beer]

and he will develope a taste for a Martini w/onions. You know what "they" say:

One Martini
Two Martini
Three Martini
Floor. [Wink]

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-06-2003, 09:34 AM:

I thought Martinis were taken with olives! What is a divining rod? Isn`t that the thing some people use to find water?

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-06-2003, 10:13 AM:

Divining rods:

http://www.cosbiotel.com/Pages/Ang/Eso/Radiesthesie/baguette.html

http://www.dnr.state.mo.us/geology/adm/publications/WitchingWells.pdf

http://www.evasion.ch/radiesthesie/diviningrod.html

Divine Rods:

http://home.pacbell.net/burlltd/

http://www.sienn.handshake.de/sobe.htm

(Mark Hamill played Rod, in a role very different than Luke Skywalker)

Posted by Scott D. Neff (Member # 185) on 05-06-2003, 01:36 PM:

And here I thought we were going to be talking about gas station convenience stores.

MMmmm... gas-station food.

Posted by Jonathan Worthing (Member # 803) on 05-06-2003, 04:23 PM:

AM almost motivated

PM premature movement

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 05-07-2003, 02:42 AM:

NATE:

A.M. = ante meridiem (Before noon)
P.M. = post meridiem (After noon)

AM basically happens before noon, except on rare occasions. By the way, Latin sucks. The reason it is a dead language is because it is not mad tight phiggidy phat like English is. I have no idea if AM and PM originated from Latin, but the fact about Latin still remains as said above.

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 05-07-2003, 07:05 AM:

Hmmm...I'm listening to an AM/FM radio right now.

Joe: "rident stolidi verba latina"

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 05-07-2003, 10:31 AM:

AM Amplitude Modulation
FM Frequncy Modulation

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 05-07-2003, 11:06 AM:

The history of the development of FM radio is interesting. The sad case of FM inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong is chronicled in Ken Burns' documentary film "Empire of the Air":

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/empire/

http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/films/empire.html

http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/shop/products/wg2069.html

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-07-2003, 02:35 PM:

What happened to Mr Armstrong? The website only says that he was taken to court by DeForest.

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-07-2003, 03:17 PM:

BAH!

It's a convenience store that sells wine, beer, and gasoline. (Usually ARCO) Nice combination, eh? [beer]

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 05-07-2003, 04:05 PM:

Mr. Armstrong committed suicide.......The battles with Deforest where pesky and underhanded.....RCA battled with him against his F.M. system since A.M. in the late 1920's and their mass production of radios plus the "software" supplied by their two networks was that company's first major success. Armstrong initial F.M. stations, formed under the Yankee network in the N.E. USA, where designed to transmit over long distances efficiently....R.C.A. managed to have regulations passed to weaken their power. Armstrong did get a boost when post war television standardized on F.M. sound. The years of battle with R.C.A. was financially and mentally draining; and in the end his perserving wife won the legal battle in the 1950's.....now you know the rest of the story....and tangent [Smile]

Richard Fowler
Kinoton America Inc.

Posted by Bobby Henderson (Member # 840) on 05-07-2003, 05:38 PM:

The AM / PM thing is kind of contradictory. After all, girlies are likely to be PMS-ing in the AM. Maybe "PMS" needs to be renamed "AMS" for Ante Menstral Syndrome and then redub "PMS" Post Menstral Syndrome. We're talking sound priorities based on the mood of the pootie!

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-07-2003, 07:25 PM:

The Armstrong history reminds me of what that jerk Edison pulled with Tesla... DC vs. AC for power distribution. Ultimately, and obviously, Tesla's polyphase AC system was superior.

>>> Phil

Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 05-07-2003, 07:45 PM:

Mmmm... gas station food. Why do I suddenly have the urge to get an empty baby carriage and jog down to the corner gas station?? [Big Grin]

(People who haven't seen the TV ad won't get that...)

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-07-2003, 07:55 PM:

I know of a drunk lady that was so "hammered" that she was stopped by the WSP. When the trooper asked where she was going, she asked the trooper where the AM/PMS convenience market was. The trooper called for a wrecker to pick up her car. She was carted off to jail, and not the AM/PMS place.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-07-2003, 08:07 PM:

That also reminds me of the sad story of one German engineer who came up with a project for a portable tape player in the late 70s. He was in negotiations with an Italian electronics company to produce and market such a device when suddenly Sony announced the introduction of the Walkman which misteriously shared a lot of technical details with this invention.
After several years in court with Sony`s brigades of lawyers, they reached some kind of settlement which really left him with nothing after he had covered his legal expenses.

Posted by Daniel Fuentz (Member # 1684) on 05-07-2003, 08:30 PM:

It's unfortunate, but fighting a mega corporation like Sony is a losing battle, unless you're an equally large mega corporation. [Frown]

Posted by Leo Enticknap (Member # 534) on 05-08-2003, 01:50 AM:

RCA's involvement in FM radio also had an impact on early TV development. David Sarnoff, if I remember correctly, had made FM radio R & D a key priority until he heard about Vladimir Zworykin's cathode ray tube research, and then switched direction almost overnight (this being mid-30s). There then followed several years of patent battles with the independent researcher Philo Farnsworth, and (surprise surprise) RCA won out in the end.

Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 05-08-2003, 09:30 PM:

my, this topic de-railed and kept right on chuggin', didn't it?

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-08-2003, 10:21 PM:

It sure did. Just like the old Shay Locomotives..Nothing could stop them short of a derailment. Sometimes, that didn't even stop them. Then engineer closed the throttle because he didn't have a steering wheel handy to navigate the locomotive.

Sometimes that is what makes FT so interesting. I am sure the actual topic starter may become frustrated, but what the hell....why not? We go where we boldly go when the topic drifts [Big Grin]

Posted by Nate Lehrke (Member # 1460) on 05-09-2003, 01:28 AM:

quote:
I am sure the actual topic starter may become frustrated, but what the hell....

Not sure why the topic starter would become frustrated. Question was answered promptly plus, I got to learn more about the subject!

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-09-2003, 01:50 AM:

I agree Nate. I find the diversity here amazing and very interesting.

Ummm... all except that boring "train" talk crap. [puke]

Come on Daryl and Paul (Mayer), let's talk airplanes! [evil]

>>> Phil

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 05-09-2003, 02:00 AM:

quote:
from Ian:
AM Amplitude Modulation
FM Frequncy Modulation

Darn... you got there first!

OK... but the original question was regarding "PM", which, relative to your response above, would needbe restated as "PHREAK-wencee Modulation/Meridian/Michaelian.

That ought to up the "ANTE", a bit! [Big Grin]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-09-2003, 02:30 AM:

AM = Ancient Modulation
FM = Fidelity Modulation

>>> Phil

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 05-09-2003, 03:50 PM:

Somehow, I detected a note that Phil does not like trains.

Phil, trains are cool as long as you don't have to ride the coaches. [Big Grin]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-09-2003, 04:22 PM:

I like big red trucks with shinny chrome bumpers and trim and great big wheels...lots of them, and...

>>> Phil

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-09-2003, 06:01 PM:

Late to the party as usual...

Favorite steam: Cab-forwards and Daylights
Favorite old diesel: DDA-40X
Favorite new diesel: Anything with the new brushless/slotless AC motor technology in them
Favorite airplane: Anything with conventional gear (tricycles are for children) [evil]

AM: ancient modulation
FM: f*cking magic
PM: pure magic
PFM: pure f*cking magic
QAM, 8VSB, COFDM... derailed. Where were we?

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-09-2003, 06:50 PM:

Oh Paul! You LIKE tail draggers?

>>> Phil

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 05-09-2003, 07:01 PM:

But of course! From the Citabria and Cessna 140 I soloed in to the DC-3 I hope to fly someday, what's not to like? [Big Grin]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-09-2003, 08:28 PM:

Ok...I agree the DC3 is way cool! The rest suck! [evil]

>>> Phil

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 05-10-2003, 04:14 PM:

Phil, you don't like tail draggers, are you flippin' nuts, or could ya just not land them without squirrelin' all over the place!? [Razz]

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-10-2003, 07:27 PM:

Daryl, in case you didn't get it...go back and re-read my post above yours. That should clear up any of your questions... [Razz]

>>> Phil

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-13-2003, 04:37 AM:

Daryl, 3-days and NO slam? Gosh, it's a miracle!

>>> Phil

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 05-14-2003, 04:39 AM:

Sorry Phil, not all of us are retarded, oops I mean retired, so we don't all have the time to check up on the forums as much as some do. [Razz]

Now I've re-read your post and it still doesn't 'clear up' my question. Sure, you said DC3's are cool... I agree, but so are pretty much any non-tricycle a/c setup. [Razz]

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-14-2003, 05:28 AM:

Personally I much prefer helicopters. They are so much more practical. When I go shopping, I usually select a small light helicopter from my extensive collection of vehicles and aircraft and fly directly to the supermarket where I land on the roof.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-14-2003, 12:30 PM:

...and promply get a Parking Ticket.

>>> Phil

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 05-14-2003, 04:59 PM:

What kind of mall has a parking lot without enough room to land? You don't need that much space... only a few hundred feet, preferably in a straight line.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 05-14-2003, 05:41 PM:

Sure, but the shoppers which invariably get caught in the rotor blades are a nuisance. You have to clean all the blood from the blades and fuselage then.