Laziness: When do we change the clocks next?

[upjumpdaboogie]

What will you do with the extra hour?

[upjumpdaboogie]

The newspapers have been trying to explain this for years, and still nobody gets it. Time to bring out the big battalions.

People have the idea that the purpose of daylight saving time is to give them more time to frolic on summer evenings. Hah. The real purpose is to conserve energy. You want to line up the hours of daylight with the hours most people are up and about. That way they'll use the lights less and we'll waste less oil, coal, etc.

On December 21 sunrise is around 7:20 AM and sunset around 4:40 PM--business hours. Fine. Problem is, as the day lengthens you get more daylight in both AM and PM but you need it mostly PM. Rather than try and noodge the clock ahead every day, you bide your time till April. Then bam, you switch to DST, thereby shifting an hour of wasted daylight from morning till evening. When the days start to get shorter again, you shift the hour back. It's a hassle but it's more effective than this half-hour-split-the-difference nonsense.

Now for questions from the class.

Why do we need to change the clock at all? Why don't we just get up earlier?

Yeah, right. Besides, this is the 20th century. You do what the clock tells you to do. When the masterminds behind it all want people to dance to a different tune, they don't retrain the populace, they change the clocks.

Why are farmers against daylight saving time?

Because they're idiots. They claim DST makes them get up when it's pitch dark. Like hell. Farmers can get up when they want (subject to the OK of the cows, of course). Except on market days they don't have to be in sync with the rest of us. They just don't feel like resetting the alarm. TDB.

[jimk29]

Originally posted by upjumpdaboogie

The newspapers have been trying to explain this for years, and still nobody gets it. Time to bring out the big battalions.

People have the idea that the purpose of daylight saving time is to give them more time to frolic on summer evenings. Hah. The real purpose is to conserve energy. You want to line up the hours of daylight with the hours most people are up and about. That way they'll use the lights less and we'll waste less oil, coal, etc.

On December 21 sunrise is around 7:20 AM and sunset around 4:40 PM--business hours. Fine. Problem is, as the day lengthens you get more daylight in both AM and PM but you need it mostly PM. Rather than try and noodge the clock ahead every day, you bide your time till April. Then bam, you switch to DST, thereby shifting an hour of wasted daylight from morning till evening. When the days start to get shorter again, you shift the hour back. It's a hassle but it's more effective than this half-hour-split-the-difference nonsense.

Now for questions from the class.

Why do we need to change the clock at all? Why don't we just get up earlier?

Yeah, right. Besides, this is the 20th century. You do what the clock tells you to do. When the masterminds behind it all want people to dance to a different tune, they don't retrain the populace, they change the clocks.

Why are farmers against daylight saving time?

Because they're idiots. They claim DST makes them get up when it's pitch dark. Like hell. Farmers can get up when they want (subject to the OK of the cows, of course). Except on market days they don't have to be in sync with the rest of us. They just don't feel like resetting the alarm. TDB.

Thanks for the tangent, now can someone please answer the question at hand.

[tastyt]

I'm pretty sure it's this weekend- it's usually right before Halloween.

[bumpdaddy]

definately this weekend.... 3am sunday morning

[georgym]

THis is how i remember:

seasons change roughly every 4 months (xcept the last few years

and it's usually arounf the 21st of the month.

So,

janfebmarch = winter

aprilmayjune=spring

julyaugsept= summer

oct.nov.dec.= autumn

looking at that, you're proly like ., but that's how it is.

Summer starts june 21, ends sept. 20.

Fall starts sept. 21, ends dec. 21, which in turn brings winter, etc..

And no, i didn't answer the question

but i know it's soon

[eurolisa]

i think its this week

[tastyt]

LOL- I just got a Yahoo greeting card from my Mom, reminding me to turn my clocks back this weekend... how cute is that?