If you are reading this and you live in the United States (except for Arizona, Hawaii, and the US Territories), you should have set your clocks ahead one hour before you went to bed last night. If you didn't, you will be an hour late for your appointments today, tomorrow, and until you reset your clocks.
Welcome to Daylight Savings Time, 2007.
This year, by writ of Congress, Daylight Savings Time is starting three weeks earlier than usual in order to help save energy. Whether such energy savings actually result is a matter of some debate, with arguments raging on both sides. In the meantime, some religious groups object to the change because it interferes with prayer times, airlines object because it throws their schedules out of kilter with the rest of the world, and my wife objects because it deprives her of an hour of much-wanted sleep. Computer geeks have been beating the Drum of Doom for weeks, warning of Y2K-like catastrophes lurking because computers will be confused by the change and will wreak all sorts of havoc on the wired world.
Well...
When I woke up this morning, the sun had risen as expected, birds were singing happily in the trees, my PC's internal clock had reset to the correct time, and - as far as I could tell - the world continued to spin on its axis as if nothing had happened.
My personal feeling about Daylight Savings Time as an energy-saving move is that it makes no difference. I think that any savings realized by extending the period of daylight into the evening to keep us from turning on lights will be offset by the extra miles we drive to the places we will enjoy those extra hours of light. I believe in the old joke that compared Daylight Savings Time to the slightly dim old fellow who cut a foot off the top of his blanket and sewed it on to the bottom to help keep his feet warmer.
But of course, no one asked my opinion, and we all know that Congress knows best.
Have a good day. Enjoy your extra hour of daylight. More thoughts tomorrow.
Bilbo
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