Autumnal equinox

Hello.

This morning I woke up, and didn't want to get up, because it was warm under the blanket. So I didn't, because I didn't have to. A half an hour later I started thinking if I should, after all. There was sun shining through the blinds and I was thinking how nice it is to wake up to a warm sunny day, especially since from today onwards the nights will be longer than the days. Because, you know, equinox. Which some people sometimes seem to mix with the day day light saving... begins? Ends? Ends, I think. I never remember which are which. It's so much simpler in Finnish just to talk about moving back and forth between summer and winter times.

Anyway, then I got up and actually opened the blinds. And, as it turned out (as you probably already know), it was not a warm day. Or at least I don't think 2 degrees celsius is warm.

Apparently it's been snowing around Finland today, at least what I can deduce from the updates from a bunch of friends on facebook. I haven't seen any snow yet. Though I guess the autumn equinox is a pretty good day for first snow. It's also so early in the year it's sad. Though I've heard it'll be warmer again tomorrow.

Ok, back to the equinox.

I read sometime somewhere that the equinoxes wouldn't be at the same time everywhere in the world. And since then, I've been wondering how would that even be in any way possible.
The most likely explanation is someone's mixed up the equinox with moving the clocks an hour backwards or forwards.
But if it isn't about that, then how would it be possible for the equinox to be at a different time in different places? Cause I haven't figured out yet how that's possible.
Because as far as I know, the equinox is the day when the day and night are the same length. Which means it's the day when the Earth's axis isn't tilted towards or away from the sun. And as far as I know, that happens in all places on the Earth at the same time. Because it would be really weird if it didn't.

So please someone tell me if I've figured something wrong here or is it that someone else who thinks it's at a different time in different places.

I also kinda wanted to dig up some folklore or some beliefs about the autumnal equinox, but I'm feeling lazy, since you haven't written... well, much anything for weeks. And I feel like studying DNA packing in cells and watching Buffy more than digging up equinox stuff.

Speaking of packing DNA, I've figured that the part that interests me in biology is studying DNA and chromosomes in high detail, so that I can really understand genetics in high detail, so that I can really understand evolution in high detail.
And then I go ahead and wonder if I'm trying a little too much here? I mean, that's starting from molecular biology going through cell biology to genetics to population genetics to evolution. The scale is kinda huge. And I'm pretty sure that at least when you're doing a master's programme, you have to choose either cells (including DNA), OR genetics, OR evolution.
So... yeah.

Today I also learned that it is in fact possible for someone to talk about literature without saying a single thing that is interesting.

But anyway. From now on it will be just the long dark of the Nordic winter.

Are we going to get the second punishment post any time soon? I mean, you're not doing anything right now, you could spend all your days doing it. So it shouldn't take all that long.

And then I go and check the time the sun rises and sets today, just out of curiosity. The day is 12 hours 12 minutes in Southern Finland today. A few minutes longer in the North. 12 minutes? Isn't is supposed to be 12 hours quite exactly? I mean, it should be less than 12 hours tomorrow, and I'm having hard time believing the difference is so many minutes within just one day.
So my question is...
Huh?

~matu