Did you spring forward this weekend?

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Apparently this past Sunday morning was the early start to Daylight Savings Time because it was the only thing President MoronBush could come up with in the way of an Energy Conservation Plan that didn’t involve raising standards or putting the pinch on his Corporate Energy pals. I didn’t really notice in part because both my computer and my alarm clock — my two main sources of time tracking — adjust themselves automatically to time changes and apparently Microsoft got whatever patch was needed to make it happen early out to my PC in time for it to happen as it should. So too the clock on the cable box adjusts itself leaving just the minor menagerie of other clocks around the house to need adjusting, which for the most part was handled by someone else. So there’s perhaps three clocks total, including the one in the car, that need to be adjusted yet.

Personally I think DST is pretty stupid to begin with so extending it as a “conservation strategy” seems even more stupid as a result, but then I’m not the President with access to all those expert advisor’s so maybe he knows something I don’t.

Oh my, that caused quite a giggle fit. I need to go to bed now.

16 thoughts on “Did you spring forward this weekend?”

  1. I doubt the time change will really save much energy.  Substantive changes like banning incandescent bulbs and raising fleet average requirements were apparently just too difficult.

    Sure can play havoc on large computer networks, though.  M$oft patches don’t always roll out they way they’re supposed to.

  2. Does daylight-saving time really save energy?

    Springing forward has its trade-offs. When you set your clocks forward, you exchange morning daylight for a later sunset. Later sunsets tend to get people out of the house more in the evenings, which could lead to an increase in driving (and gasoline use) and a reduction in the use of household appliances. And if daylight time extended too far into the winter, more people would wake up before sunrise and turn on the lights. Government research from the 1970s suggests that extended daylight-saving time produces a modest but significant energy savings of about 1 percent. A British experiment with extended daylight time in the late 1960s failed to produce much corroborating evidence.

    So who knows…

  3. Later sunsets tend to get people out of the house more in the evenings, which could lead to an increase in driving (and gasoline use) and a reduction in the use of household appliances.

    That does make sense in light of Bush’s previous energy policies (or lack thereof).  It sounds conspiratorial, but maybe it was extended in order to sell more gas/use more energy?  It’s not like Bush has been able to keep secret his ties to Big Oil and the Coal industry, both of which benefit hugely from an increased use of energy.

  4. Ha ha our retard-I mean our president needs to go back into school…  perhaps preschool to be exact?

  6. Well, my comps adjusted fine.  My cell phone didn’t do squat – must be b/c I have it set for autoupdate, hence I had to manually adjust.  Verizon Fios adjusted fine.  Then skipped ahead ANOTHER hour around midday.  Or just switched to eastern time.  But, the guide was in sync w/ the clock, so Dresden Files and Battlestar both recorded.  Disaster averted.

  7. Cognitive Daily cites a couple studies that suggest DST really doesn’t save energy.

    Lorcan, that ‘documentary’ was a hack job.  Even some people who appeared in it are pissed off about it.  And a cross-disciplinary majority of scientists disagree with it so i don’t take it very seriously.

    Ragman, BSG totally rocks.  I am amazed at how good that series is.  Glad you didn’t miss it, that would be a reason to hate DST!

  8. Buzz writes…

    It sounds conspiratorial, but maybe it was extended in order to sell more gas/use more energy?

    That’s probably jumping the gun a bit. I’m more inclined to think he just couldn’t come up with a better idea that he could force through Congress.

  9. I’m more inclined to think he just couldn’t come up with a better idea that he could force through Congress.

    PR farce.  Sounds like he’s doing something when he’s really not.  Taking out any energy considerations, it plays to just having more daylight in the evening a little sooner for outdoor activities. 

    I doubt it was a “couldn’t think up a better idea”, but more of a “don’t rock the energy gravy boat” thing. 

    Fios got itself fixed up this afternoon.  Back on Central time.

  10. Substantive changes like banning incandescent bulbs

    Incandescents make for good security lighting – fast on, full bright. 

    Real energy balls would be incentives for CF usage, solar/wind rebates, etc.

  11. DOF can you check your “hack job” link please, it appears to go to Cognotive Daily.

  13. Thanks distant claws.  On their website there are cats mixed with tigers called Toygers.. I want one… that would be so cool.

  15. Good that you have automatic-and-patched things, and manual-and-what’s-the-diff things.  I also have some automatic-and-unpatchable things, like, for instance, my old VCR, which will move its clock ahead the first Sunday in April whether it needs to or not.  So now instead of having to set it not at all, not ever… I need to set it FOUR times a year: ahead last Sunday, back in three weeks (when it moves itself ahead again), ahead at the end of October (when it sets itself back), and back again the week after that (for the new rule).  Gee, great.

    Good that you don’t have to deal with people in other countries, because this isn’t just a US thing if you do.  I have a weekly conference call with Germany.  Last week I had to remind them that the call will be an hour earlier, their time, for the next two weeks (at which time they will set their clocks ahead and we’re OK again).  Had I not reminded them, they’d be an hour late (and miss the meeting).  How much of that will go on, I wonder.

    What a PITA.

  16. Here in Saskatchewan we don’t have daylight savings time.  Unfortunately every year at this time you get a bunch of whining about how we should have it.  The big problem is that the province has the time zone dividing line run right through it.  So if DST were introduced you’d either piss off one side of the province that wants to synchronise with Alberta, or the other side that wants to synchronise with Manitoba.  The whole idea should be dropped across Canada, instead of being adopted here.

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