Slog
News & ArtsSaturday, March 9, 2013
Housekeeping Remember to Turn Your Clocks One Hour Ahead Tonight
Posted by Paul Constant on Sat, Mar 9, 2013 at 11:10 AM
I love Daylight Saving Time, but that's probably because I hate mornings and I like as much sunlight as possible in the evening. As the song "We Don't Want More Daylight" proves, some Americans have always been against Daylight Saving Time. How does Slog feel about it?
1
hates it! hates it forever! here's the (won't actually accomplish anything) petition: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitio… ((damn six dozen little clocks all with a -stupid- interface... @#$! i missed it again, have to go around again... only to do this again in a few @#$!n months))
2
I'm sort of indifferent, but I will say that it has gotten to be more of a hassle as I've gotten older.
When I was a kid, there was one wall clock in the house, and my watch. That was it. So, 2 things to reset twice a year. But now there is a wall clock or two, a couple of watches, a couple of alarm clocks, plus built-in clocks on 4 radios, a stove, a microwave, my car... and basically every electronic device in my house, pocket, or backpack.
Thankfully, at least a few of them now reset themselves automatically. Still, there are a whole lot of devices with clocks that I have to reset manually, twice a year. It always seems to take days before I get all of them in sync again. For that reason alone, I'd vote to abandon DST.
When I was a kid, there was one wall clock in the house, and my watch. That was it. So, 2 things to reset twice a year. But now there is a wall clock or two, a couple of watches, a couple of alarm clocks, plus built-in clocks on 4 radios, a stove, a microwave, my car... and basically every electronic device in my house, pocket, or backpack.
Thankfully, at least a few of them now reset themselves automatically. Still, there are a whole lot of devices with clocks that I have to reset manually, twice a year. It always seems to take days before I get all of them in sync again. For that reason alone, I'd vote to abandon DST.
3
As usual, the Stranger gets it wrong. It's the agrarian sector that doesn't like DST. It was originally implemented in Germany during WW1 for energy conservation, then spread here. The farmers always hated it, but the shift to an urban mix outweighed the farmers.
4
I hates it too! It ruins the whole flow of the year...it's jarring and inappropriate. I enjoy watching as the light changes and days grow longer naturally...and then bam! everything feels out of sync...
Harrumph!
Harrumph!
5
This is the most evenly split slog poll I can remember seeing. That says something, in and of itself!
6
I would much prefer just to leave the clocks at DST. I like the light in the evening better than the morning in any case, and really, why bother? Just leave things at DST and call it good.
7
Why can't we set our clocks to REALLY save lots of time, like say 16 to 18 hours. Think of the long Winter days! Come on you science whiz guys, figure it out OR leave it alone.
9
I'd be less upset about it if it started the first week of April as it used to. Getting up an hour earlier in March, when mornings are cold and dark, not only is depressing, but ends up using more energy heating buildings. Iinstead of being in bed sleeping one more hour, you need to turn the heat on to get ready for work, school, etc.
Great video, by the way.
Great video, by the way.
11
I'd prefer to have DST all year, but wouldn't care much what time the clocks are set to if we could just stop switching all the time.
12
When the U.S. first implemented DST, people were outraged. They called it "God's time" and "Roosevelt's time".
Now, it seems that people are somehow personally vested in the ritual. It's like church. And the very reasonable suggestion of stopping it makes them feel uneasy.
Now, it seems that people are somehow personally vested in the ritual. It's like church. And the very reasonable suggestion of stopping it makes them feel uneasy.
13
I'd not only do away with daylight savings time, I'd like to do away with time zones, bag the 12-hour clock, and put the whole world on UTC.
People will still be able to figure out when to have lunch and stuff. As Shakespeare wrote, "What's in a name?" Well, in this case, the numbers are just arbitrary names for things. I can meet you for lunch at 1:00 pm EDT or 1700 UTC. It's the exact same time, so what difference does it make?
People will still be able to figure out when to have lunch and stuff. As Shakespeare wrote, "What's in a name?" Well, in this case, the numbers are just arbitrary names for things. I can meet you for lunch at 1:00 pm EDT or 1700 UTC. It's the exact same time, so what difference does it make?
14
Year round DST is the stupidest idea anyone ever had. Arizona, that broken clock of a state, is absolutely correct on this subject.
16
DST is just dated and stupid and a pain in the ass. Now get off my lawn you pesky bratty kids!!!
I'm crazy old guy with snakes and cats!! GGGRRRR!!!!
I'm crazy old guy with snakes and cats!! GGGRRRR!!!!
17
DST is the source of one of my favorite indian chief quotes:
"Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket"
"Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket"
18
I don't mind the concept, but it drives me nuts when they decide to change the dates, because then all those pre-programmed clocks get all fucked up.
19
I love it, but I'm a real early bird — and also retired. It doesn't change my schedule at all, it just beings the rest of the world a little closer to my schedule.
20
#12, it was first implemented in the U.S. in 1918 and 1919. Then it was repealed. Then it was reinstated during WWII, so maybe people who didn't remember its adoption during WWI blamed F.D.R.
Te farmers hated it because it screwed up their day. Livestock observe the sun and not the clock. Drive-in movie theater operators were against it too.
http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsavin…
Te farmers hated it because it screwed up their day. Livestock observe the sun and not the clock. Drive-in movie theater operators were against it too.
http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsavin…
21
If most of the time is going to be Daylight Savings Time, shouldn't Daylight Time be called Standard Time, and let Standard Time be Some Other Time?
22
We should switch off of DST.
Then switch to a hydrogen economy, so that fuckstick Bailo will stop posting his idiot off-topic links.
HAH!
Then switch to a hydrogen economy, so that fuckstick Bailo will stop posting his idiot off-topic links.
HAH!
24
This is sort of like the discussion around minting pennies. Sure, the side that wants to get rid of it has a good point, but I just don't give a fuck.
Get rid of DST, keep it, either way I'll be fine. The impact it has on my life is so small. It doesn't appear to yield any benefit for anyone, but then again it doesn't appear to cause any real harm either. The video suggests that people kill themselves more right around the DST switch days. Maybe that's correlation, but I have a hard time believing that it's causation. People commit suicide for all kinds of reasons, but I just have a hard time imagining DST as one of them. Having no money or rights, being lonely or crazy, having an incurable and excruciating illness or injury that makes death seem more pleasant than life, being hunted by the state or the mob or some religious cult, sure, those are reasons why people kill themselves. But DST? Really? I don't even hear emo kids complain about DST, and they complain about everything.
Get rid of DST, keep it, either way I'll be fine. The impact it has on my life is so small. It doesn't appear to yield any benefit for anyone, but then again it doesn't appear to cause any real harm either. The video suggests that people kill themselves more right around the DST switch days. Maybe that's correlation, but I have a hard time believing that it's causation. People commit suicide for all kinds of reasons, but I just have a hard time imagining DST as one of them. Having no money or rights, being lonely or crazy, having an incurable and excruciating illness or injury that makes death seem more pleasant than life, being hunted by the state or the mob or some religious cult, sure, those are reasons why people kill themselves. But DST? Really? I don't even hear emo kids complain about DST, and they complain about everything.
25
Remember to change the batteries in your smoke detectors. Also, pretty happy this might signal the end of the SAD days...
26
The spring doesn't bother me, but in fall when we suddenly lose an hour of evening it is depressing as fuck.
27
If DST actually saved anything, like power f'rinstance, then I'd be fer it. As it is, it actually costs us money. Ridiculous. Kill DST and kill it now. And, while we're at it, kill the penny and the paper one dollar bill and...
28
Yeah, farmers hate DST. Messes up milking times, etc. That's why there are those counties in Indiana that don't change.
But really, I don't like it being light until 9 o'clock at night unless I'm up north where the sun isn't so intense. My sister, on the other hand, has an entire attitude adjustment when it happens. I guess I'm one of those strange birds who like it kinda dark and kinda grey. I think the air smells better. So, why am I living in LA? Long story. Here, the sun is relentless, but how pleasant it is when all that is broken up with a cloudy, blustery day. See? Seattle's in my blood.
By the way, they tried DST all year once. That was a disaster. But I remember when I was in school, the clocks changed in early April and early October. I heard once that the charcoal lobby was instrumental in getting the time change moved to March and November. Seems people buy more charcoal during DST. Then didn't G.W. Bush move it back even more - like another week or two?
But really, I don't like it being light until 9 o'clock at night unless I'm up north where the sun isn't so intense. My sister, on the other hand, has an entire attitude adjustment when it happens. I guess I'm one of those strange birds who like it kinda dark and kinda grey. I think the air smells better. So, why am I living in LA? Long story. Here, the sun is relentless, but how pleasant it is when all that is broken up with a cloudy, blustery day. See? Seattle's in my blood.
By the way, they tried DST all year once. That was a disaster. But I remember when I was in school, the clocks changed in early April and early October. I heard once that the charcoal lobby was instrumental in getting the time change moved to March and November. Seems people buy more charcoal during DST. Then didn't G.W. Bush move it back even more - like another week or two?
29
The only thing worse than DST is people calling it Daylight SavingS Time. There is no "s" at the end of Saving.
I would like to get rid of the concept just so I don't have to see and hear people getting the name wrong twice a year.
I would like to get rid of the concept just so I don't have to see and hear people getting the name wrong twice a year.
30
I have to say that I like DST, especially this far north because the changes accentuate the seasons. In November, boy, you suddenly really know it's winter, and in March, it's like the lights got switched on.
32
I'd like to join 5280, NaFun, and Unbrainwashed in supporting DST. (What a strange group!) I'm really surprised at the negativity about it in this post. To me, it's like the blossoming of the trees and the falling of the leaves - a cyclical marker that signals the passage of the seasons. It's like the reddening of the robins' chests. Once you come to that point, you definitely know that winter is behind you and summer, with its blue skies beyond the sheltering shade of the trees, is right ahead of you.
33
I can't tell the difference in some of these arguments: Are you against the sunrise/sunset schedule or are you just bitching about having to change your clocks an hour twice a year? Because the first argument has merit, the second is whining over a minor inconvenience that seems major because you don't get out much. Travel to Japan or Australia. Go to Europe. Then you'll experience *real* sleeping schedule chaos. Losing/gaining an hour? Talk to the hand.
The real question is where do we get to experience more daylight? I can't stand the December sunsets that start at 4. DST all year round, says I. But I'm happy w/ the compromise, where I only have to go through standard time for about 4 months a year & enjoy the awesomeness of summer nights that don't start until after 9.
The real question is where do we get to experience more daylight? I can't stand the December sunsets that start at 4. DST all year round, says I. But I'm happy w/ the compromise, where I only have to go through standard time for about 4 months a year & enjoy the awesomeness of summer nights that don't start until after 9.
34
@ 33, in my case it's the former. But I didn't use to mind it until they kept on changing when it happens. 1st Sunday in April was soon enough*, and there was no sense in extending it into November.
I'm afraid they will eventually make it year round. That would be horrible (imagine waiting til 8:45-9:00 for the sun to rise in December and January at Seattle's latitude) and it's already been done once, as noted upthread.
I'm afraid they will eventually make it year round. That would be horrible (imagine waiting til 8:45-9:00 for the sun to rise in December and January at Seattle's latitude) and it's already been done once, as noted upthread.
36
Well, you can count me as primitive. Born in February, and raised Catholic, with all the Lenten drama (and back in the day, Lent was HUGE drama, with all the statues covered in purple cloth and fasting being the norm), DST was one of a series of events, beginning with my birthday, and ending in Easter, that proved that I was not locked in some Siberian religious hell.
I don't know from Lent anymore, but I still love my daylight savings time.
I don't know from Lent anymore, but I still love my daylight savings time.
38
Sheesh, it's too hard to change the clocks?! I have what McGinn, the Stranger, and every Seattle hipster dreads: a single family house with 2,300 square feet and eight clocks that need changing, plus two in my cars. Kids (get off my lawn) it's not that hard. I did it during the day on Saturday. How lazy are you?
39
Anyone who deals with multi-national, multi-timezones who need to sync up is unlikely to be fan. Most of this country shifts at the same time and that's not so bad but Britain uses a different date and Australia is yet another date AND reversed...and that's just 3 English speaking countries.
That's a lot of trouble to work out setting up a tele-conference using local time....or scheduling anything more precise than a day.
That's a lot of trouble to work out setting up a tele-conference using local time....or scheduling anything more precise than a day.
40
Like Cato the Younger Younger I'm also a crazy old guy with snakes and cats (my avatar is a photo of one such snake). Unlike Cato, I live in a part of Canada where we NEVER change our clocks. It's fun being arbitrarily different.
42
#39, how hard is it? You get on the plane and change your watch. Or if you're on line, you call up a world clock and look. Lazy hipsters.
43
@42: the problem is that the timezone difference is not standard because different countries do DST differently. So sometimes we are 6 hours behind Germany, and sometimes we are 7. Not only do we (frequent travelers/overseas correspondents) have to keep track of U.S. time, but also note the dates of change for other countries.
Myself, the worst part is always feeling suspicious of my electronics that are supposed to change automatically. After the iPhone DST issue, I always plan ahead to have a "stupid" clock around to reference to make sure my phone and laptop haven't gone rogue to screw me over on the time change.
Myself, the worst part is always feeling suspicious of my electronics that are supposed to change automatically. After the iPhone DST issue, I always plan ahead to have a "stupid" clock around to reference to make sure my phone and laptop haven't gone rogue to screw me over on the time change.
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