> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://nolongerset.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Throwback Thursday: January 15, 2026
- URL: https://nolongerset.com/throwback-thursday-2026-01-15/
- Published: 2026-01-16T04:33:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-08T12:48:06.000Z
- Description: In today's edition of Throwback Thursday, we explore the subtleties of storing and displaying time spans in Microsoft Access.
- Author: Mike Wolfe
- Tags: Throwback Thursday, #Import 2026-05-20 02:59

*With over a million words scattered across more than 1,500 articles on this blog, you've probably missed a few things here.*

*That’s why each week in "Throwback Thursday," we’ll revisit some standout posts. Expect a blend of my personal favorites, insightful articles from other great minds, and a touch of coding humor to keep things light.*

---

## Highlights from NoLongerSet.com

[4 Approaches to Storing and Displaying Time Spans in Microsoft AccessAs an Access developer, how do you store and display time spans like “3 days” or “2 weeks”? Let’s cover the pros and cons of four different approaches.![](https://nolongerset.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer SetMike Wolfe![](https://nolongerset.com/content/images/2022/04/man-70827_1920.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/time-spans-in-access/)

[Displaying Human Readable Time SpansThe HumanizedSeconds() and ConvertToSeconds() functions work hand-in-hand to provide a general solution for storage and display of time spans.![](https://nolongerset.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer SetMike Wolfe![](https://nolongerset.com/content/images/2022/04/fantasy-2879946_1920-2.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/displaying-time-spans/)

[Displaying Very Long Human Readable Time SpansWith 29-million-year time spans, you can handle almost any task (besides evolution, continental drift, and adding the LAA flag to MS Access).![](https://nolongerset.com/content/images/size/w256h256/2020/09/NLS_Icon_square.png)No Longer SetMike Wolfe![](https://nolongerset.com/content/images/2022/04/fantasy-2861107_1920.jpg)](https://nolongerset.com/very-long-time-spans/)

## Wisdom from Around the Web

[My First BillG ReviewIn the olden days, Excel had a very awkward programming language without a name. “Excel Macros,” we called it. It was a severely dysfunctional programming language without variables (yo…![](https://i0.wp.com/www.joelonsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/11969842.jpg?fit=192%2C192&ssl=1)Joel on SoftwareJoel Spolsky![](https://i0.wp.com/www.joelonsoftware.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/11969842.jpg?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1)](https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/06/16/my-first-billg-review/)

> “I don’t know, you guys,” Bill said, “Is anyone *really* looking into all the details of how to do this? Like, all those date and time functions. Excel has so many date and time functions. Is Basic going to have the same functions? Will they all work the same way?”  
>  
> “Yes,” I said, “except for January and February, 1900.”

## Developer Humor

### XKCD: DateTime

[![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/d7/ebd732c1-5f03-4f07-b386-5d08557e15c9/content/images/2026/01/image-4.png)](https://xkcd.com/2867/)

It's not just time zones and leap seconds. SI seconds on Earth are slower because of relativity, so there are time standards for space stuff (TCB, TGC) that use faster SI seconds than UTC/Unix time. T2 - T1 = \[God doesn't know and the Devil isn't telling.\]

*Cover image generated by Ideogram*