Daylight Saving Time - What Do You Think?

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The discussion centers around Daylight Saving Time (DST) and its impact on daily life, particularly in Europe and the US. Participants express mixed feelings about DST, highlighting inconveniences such as the confusion caused by time changes, especially in regions with time zone borders. Some argue that the switch is unnecessary and leads to safety issues, particularly for cyclists commuting in the dark. Others suggest that synchronizing clocks with natural light patterns could be more beneficial. The conversation also touches on the complexities of scheduling events across time zones and the effects of early darkness in winter, which can lead to feelings of depression. Additionally, there are humorous remarks about the absurdity of DST and its implications for hobbies like sundial making, emphasizing a desire for consistency in timekeeping. Overall, the thread reflects a general skepticism about the benefits of DST and a longing for a more straightforward approach to time management.
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...has ended in Europe, so you'd have to adjust your mental imagine about overseas breakfest and lunch times.

Here is an interesting overview about the phenomenom.

When I was commuting by bike, I disliked DST considerably as it prolonged the morning rush hour during darkness, both in autumn and spring time, which is not only a safety issue but it also meant harder work, pedalling to generate the bicycle light, and also the risk of a ticket in case the light was not working.

So what do you think of DST?
 
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It's a bit of an inconvenience, especially when the dates of the switch are changed arbitrarily for spurious reasons. What's wrong with getting up an hour earlier or later depending on the season? Take a cue from the animals.
 
Astronuc said:
* What's wrong with getting up an hour earlier or later depending on the season? Take a cue from the animals.
That's exactly what we're doing, the difference is that we synchronize our clocks with it. I didn't know this morning, until I wanted to go to fitness an hour early :)
 
It's too much trouble for too little benefit, I think.

The link says Europe changes all at the same time, regardless of what time zone you're in - that's reasonable. The US does it at 2:00am local time. What a mess!
 
lisab said:
The link says Europe changes all at the same time, regardless of what time zone you're in - that's reasonable. The US does it at 2:00am local time. What a mess!

I have to confess, I've never had trouble with EST and central time being the same for one hour
 
My wife's satellite linked clock changed time this morning, so she had to reset it. The government dictated that the 'fall back' to standard time on Nov 7. During the past several years, we've had to download patches from MS in order to fix the algorithm in the OS because MS couldn't anticipate government stupidity.

In 2009, daylight saving time began at 2:00 a.m. (02:00) on Sunday, March 8, and it ended at 2:00 a.m. (02:00) on Sunday, November 1. In 2010, daylight saving time began on March 14 and will end on November 7.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daylight_saving_time_around_the_world#United_States_of_America
 
lisab said:
It's too much trouble for too little benefit, I think.

The link says Europe changes all at the same time, regardless of what time zone you're in - that's reasonable. The US does it at 2:00am local time. What a mess!

I suppose it might be a problem,

IF

you are trying to schedule a party at 1AM in, say Chatanooga, or some other town right on the time-zone line. A few people might get confused.
 
Not only do I love Daylight Saving Time, I think we should have double-dog daylight saving time.

Regular Daylight Saving Time: 2nd Sunday in March to 1st Sunday in November.
Double Dog Daylight Saving Time: Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Remember:
"Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Benjamin Franklin Letter to the Editor of The Journal of Paris. (Not only was he healthy, wealthy, and wise, but he had a sense of humor of well.)

Rene DesCartes, on the other hand, would probably be adamantly opposed to Daylight Saving Time, lazy slacker that he was.
 
BobG said:
Not only do I love Daylight Saving Time, I think we should have double-dog daylight saving time.

Regular Daylight Saving Time: 2nd Sunday in March to 1st Sunday in November.
Double Dog Daylight Saving Time: Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Remember:
"Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Sure! Why not!

How about, "Early to bed, and late to rise, makes a man out-living the wise!

Just a thought, folks.
 
  • #10
I've always wondered about this: how do the people in the US handle the time-zone borders? I'm sure there must be a lot of towns affected. It would be easy if the time zones were limited to state borders, but they are not: some cut through the middle of states. Is this an issue?
 
  • #11
Monique said:
I've always wondered about this: how do the people in the US handle the time-zone borders? I'm sure there must be a lot of towns affected. It would be easy if the time zones were limited to state borders, but they are not: some cut through the middle of states. Is this an issue?

While time zones can split a state, they never split a city (or county, for that matter).

It would be too disorienting if a time zone split a town. In the evening, the Eastern sky would be dark while the Western half would be light, and in the morning, vice versa.

However, a town on the Indiana-Ohio border is split by the Ohio side of the town using daylight saving time while the Indiana side stays on standard time all year long (technically they're separate towns even though it's functionally just one town). They have a school that sits on the state line (this isn't just for frivolous reasons, as the intent was to get state education money from both states). In fact, the state line splits the gymnasium at the center court line. It's possible to launch a shot at 6:55 PM from the Indiana side of the court and have it swish through the nets on the Ohio side at 7:55 Pm.
 
  • #12
I got up early this morning. I was no healthier, and no wealthier, but I was wise enough to go back to sleep. Daylight savings is a waste of time. I've been saving daylight since small, and I have nothing to show for it. Just the time lost in changing all the clocks.
 
  • #13
Ben Franklin said:
"Early to bed and early to rise
Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
Healthy, wealthy, wise.

Pick two.
 
  • #14
I hate daylight saving changes... it gets dark at 4pm now!
makes me depressed... can't see no sun :(
 
  • #15
nucleargirl said:
I hate daylight saving changes... it gets dark at 4pm now!
makes me depressed... can't see no sun :(

Technically, in the fall you have standard time changes - i.e. we go back to standard time.

You like daylight saving changes. You dislike going back to standard time.
 
  • #16
Monique said:
I've always wondered about this: how do the people in the US handle the time-zone borders? I'm sure there must be a lot of towns affected. It would be easy if the time zones were limited to state borders, but they are not: some cut through the middle of states. Is this an issue?
There are some nasty effects for some. Maine is on the very eastern edge of the eastern time zone, and it gets dark very early in fall. We really ought to be in the Maritime zone. When Standard Time kicks in, it gets dark REAL early. We should stay on DST all year long, to keep people from suffering from SAD or just simple blahs.

When I was consulting for Great Southern Paper, it was nuts. Their mill was in Wickliff GA, on the very western edge of the eastern time zone, but the only town large enough to have motels and restaurants was Dothan AL, on the very eastern edge of the central zone. The differences in the solar day, plus solar declination changes, plus the time-changes involved in hopping back and forth from eastern to central drove me crazy. By the time I got somewhat used to it, it was time to go back to Maine. During the winter, I'd actually get jet-lagged flying back to Maine, which wouldn't normally have bothered me unless I was heading east through a couple of time-zones.
 
  • #17
I don't like DST. I have a hobby making sundials. It's actually a science more sophisticated than most people realize. Now consider what DST does. You show someone the sundial and you must say; "Keep in mind that it's an hour slow because it's daylight savings time". Or you could write special instructions on the dial when to add an hour. Or you could put two time scales down. It's very disappointing. I say; DON'T MESS WITH TIME!
 
  • #18
Helios said:
I don't like DST. I have a hobby making sundials. It's actually a science more sophisticated than most people realize. Now consider what DST does. You show someone the sundial and you must say; "Keep in mind that it's an hour slow because it's daylight savings time". Or you could write special instructions on the dial when to add an hour. Or you could put two time scales down. It's very disappointing. I say; DON'T MESS WITH TIME!

Do you actually construct your sundials to show standard time or for local time? Or are you fortunate enough to live close to a longitude where your loal time is the standard time?

And it is a sophisticated science. For example, it takes less than 24 hours to go from local noon to local noon in the summer than it takes to go from local noon to local noon in the winter (we're near perigee of the Earth's orbit around the Sun in the winter and near apogee in the summer).
 
  • #19
BobG said:
Do you actually construct your sundials to show standard time or for local time? Or are you fortunate enough to live close to a longitude where your loal time is the standard time?

I live 5.75° west of a standard meridian. So my sundials read 12:23 at local noon.
 

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