DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Jun. 27th, 2001 03:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pluralIt happens every spring: crocuses, baseball (with any luck),
and the switch to Daylight Savings Time (DST).
Coming off DST is not hard. In the Fall, we set our clocks
back one hour. We all get an extra hour to sleep, and those
who forget find themselves at church, or the airport, or
wherever an hour early. Embarassing, but not catastrophic.
But in the Spring we set the clocks forward, and the trouble
begins. We lose an hour of sleep. Forgetful people miss
Mass, planes, breakfast, and the big game on TV. Some are
thrown into disarray for up to a full week. Annual losses
due to DST confusion have been estimated (by me) at over a
million dollars. I myself have missed a flight to Washington
and a showing of The Seven Samurai because of DST.
There is no need for such tragic waste. We can -- we should
and must -- urge our lawmakers to reform Daylight Savings
Time as follows:
Setting clocks back is easy; setting them forward is
difficult. Therefore, let us keep the fall ritual as it is.
However, one Sunday each Spring, let us set our clocks not
one hour forward, but TWENTY-THREE HOURS BACKWARD.
Think of all the advantages. We will not lose an hour of
sleep; we will gain (almost) a day of rest. It will be
Saturday all over again. You will never again miss
Confession, or an airplane, or the Redskins game.
Naturally, if this were the whole plan, our calendars would
fall behind one day in each year. However, the second part
of the Revised DST Plan deals with this. Every four years,
instead of adding a day, let us SUBTRACT THREE DAYS.
Furthermore, let these be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,
which according to recent polls are the least popular days.
If done in February, which seems reasonable considering what
a miserable month it is, this would have the beneficial side
effect of shortening the excruciating presidential primary
season by an effective four days.
The advantages of this plan are clear. Let us waste no time.
With a determined effort we can have Reformed Daylight
Savings Time by Spring of next year.
Write your congressperson today!
[essay by]
[Richard S. Holmes]
and the switch to Daylight Savings Time (DST).
Coming off DST is not hard. In the Fall, we set our clocks
back one hour. We all get an extra hour to sleep, and those
who forget find themselves at church, or the airport, or
wherever an hour early. Embarassing, but not catastrophic.
But in the Spring we set the clocks forward, and the trouble
begins. We lose an hour of sleep. Forgetful people miss
Mass, planes, breakfast, and the big game on TV. Some are
thrown into disarray for up to a full week. Annual losses
due to DST confusion have been estimated (by me) at over a
million dollars. I myself have missed a flight to Washington
and a showing of The Seven Samurai because of DST.
There is no need for such tragic waste. We can -- we should
and must -- urge our lawmakers to reform Daylight Savings
Time as follows:
Setting clocks back is easy; setting them forward is
difficult. Therefore, let us keep the fall ritual as it is.
However, one Sunday each Spring, let us set our clocks not
one hour forward, but TWENTY-THREE HOURS BACKWARD.
Think of all the advantages. We will not lose an hour of
sleep; we will gain (almost) a day of rest. It will be
Saturday all over again. You will never again miss
Confession, or an airplane, or the Redskins game.
Naturally, if this were the whole plan, our calendars would
fall behind one day in each year. However, the second part
of the Revised DST Plan deals with this. Every four years,
instead of adding a day, let us SUBTRACT THREE DAYS.
Furthermore, let these be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday,
which according to recent polls are the least popular days.
If done in February, which seems reasonable considering what
a miserable month it is, this would have the beneficial side
effect of shortening the excruciating presidential primary
season by an effective four days.
The advantages of this plan are clear. Let us waste no time.
With a determined effort we can have Reformed Daylight
Savings Time by Spring of next year.
Write your congressperson today!
[essay by]
[Richard S. Holmes]
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2001-06-28 08:38 am (UTC)glad you enjoyed it
Date: 2001-06-28 11:07 am (UTC)always glad
to get a fresh mind
to peddle my
twisted influences
to...
*grin*
no subject
Date: 2001-06-28 06:43 pm (UTC)I would go one step further
Date: 2001-06-28 07:10 pm (UTC)I appreciated the
humorous approach
the author of that
essay took.
I would advocate
the simple elimination
of timezones altogether.
With the speed
at which we can move
accross the planet
tele-commute
and video conferance
it is only a hinderance
to communication.
We already have
a vast number of the
people who work
off hours
hours other than
the standard 9-5
Why not just
establish a global
time setting
most likely
using GMT as the
standard as we
measure our timezones
against it now
You and your
employer will negotiate
a reasonable schedule
based on accomidating
both your needs and
the corporate culture.
The trend towards flex
time is already in
progress
and while we
were at it
eliminate am and pm
as well
switch to a
24 hour clock
does it really matter
what time the clock is
set for when you wake up?
no
if anything the hardest
part would be the initial
conversion so that
you could figure out
what your working
hours would be
under the new system.