A shorter circuit
The start of Daylight Savings Time reminded me of how attached to technology we've become. In cruising around the house to reset clocks, I found there were quite a few that didn't need my help. The computers, the cable TV box, the iPhones, even the little mini-weather station that we picked up as a gift a while back -- they all take their marching orders from afar. They make clear that they're telling me what time it is, and not vice versa.
Oh, there were still plenty of times to jump ahead by hand. But there are more robots around this place -- and smarter ones -- than ever before.
| Posted at 9:47 PM | Permalink |
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Comments (8)
We have a similar story. When we switched from daylight saving 6 months ago, we didn't realize that almost ALL of our clocks & phones switched automatically. The next morning we switched all of our clocks that were already switched and ended up either late or early for worship the next morning (it was 6 months ago, I can't remember which). Let's just get rid of it, most of us aren't farmers anymore.
Posted by Jason | March 14, 2010 10:42 PM
Oh yeah, I forgot, the land line phones changed themselves, too.
Posted by Jack Bog | March 14, 2010 10:46 PM
Farmers have always hated DST, as it robs them of daylight in the early morning, when they need it most. I suspect the real reason DST persists despite the strong arguments against it is that it's good for business. Having that extra hour of daylight after 5 p.m. no doubt encourages people to do more shopping and other profitable activities after work. And the candy makers clearly scored a big win a few years ago when Congress extended DST past Halloween. Follow the money, as they say.
Posted by Semi-Cynic | March 15, 2010 12:33 AM
Believe it or not my computer running Windows XP did NOT automatically switch to DST. I am not sure if I disabled something in the past but don't think so. It seems that Windows always makes the change but not this year. I guess this makes a convenient excuse when I am late for work tomorrow!
Posted by Macky Wacky | March 15, 2010 12:46 AM
With XP and earlier (Vista as well?) you need to subscribe to the update service. Here's what I use:
http://www.worldtimeserver.com/
Posted by Lawrence | March 15, 2010 5:12 AM
"even the little mini-weather station"
As I suspected, you're a closet skeptic?
Aren't you?
Yeah you are.
Posted by Ben | March 15, 2010 8:11 AM
It seems since the Congress changed the dates of daylight savings time, my aged alarm clock, which sets itself when I plug it in, doesn't catch up with the correct time until the old start date.
I have to manually switch it to Mountain time now and switch it back to Pacific time sometime in the next few weeks.
This morning I thought it was 6AM until I switched on the news and heard "Welcome to the 7 o'clock hour of Good Day Oregon".
Posted by none | March 15, 2010 10:13 AM
Daylight Savings Time only makes sense between about May 1 and the middle of August. The sun comes up earlier than most people wake up, so moving that hour of daylight to the evening saves some energy. Before May and after mid- to late August, all we're doing is shifting when we turn on the lights.
As my mother used to say, it's like cutting one end off of a blanket and sewing it on the other.
Posted by rural resident | March 15, 2010 1:08 PM