But, I was staying up late just to change my clocks at the right time!

When I was a switchboard operator/dispatcher, one of my tasks was to change the time for the entire college at precisely 2 am. This was not nearly the thrill you might think.

Oh Lissa, how disappointing! It seemed, at the beginning of your post, a pretty big thrill.

What if you started that trip through the tunnel toward the bright light at 1:59:59 a.m., but didn't make it in just one second? Do you get an extra hour and, if so, do you have a chance to alter the path you've taken?

Also, while we're on the subject, does anyone know if they go on DST in Alaska, where they have the Midnight Sun in the summer anyway?

Only Hawaii and Arizona (as states) don't observe DST. Several of the territories down also.

Not fair asking theological questions before I've finished Sunday's sermon!

Lissa ... if you are referring to your Hampshire days, my question is ... who would have known?? I remember at least two occasions when we all showed up for class on Monday completely oblivious to the time change 24 hours before. And that's one each season.

daylight savings time is an outdated idea originally put in place for the farming communities so that they would not lose daylight and still go to school. Back then it took hours to go to school and return home.
please correct me if I am wrong

You're wrong, harpdog. Daylight Stupid Time was originally inflicted during wartime to extend the hours during which daylight lit the single-shift factories. Farmers have always hated DST, if nothing else the livestock don't accept it so the dairyman has to keep milking at the same time even though the clocks have changed.

Van

Never say "correct me if I'm wrong" on the internet. EL

Our neighbor who works at Shock Trauma had to work a 13-hour shift last night because of the time change--groan!

As for me, I just wish our cats came with a snooze button. They did not get the memo after an extra hour of sleep last night.

My dog didn't get the memo either. She was up at 5:30am like her clocks went TWO HOURS the other way JUST to deny me my extra hour sleep.

On Halloween night you will find
Reminders that time you rewind
They've done it at Fox
Who set back their clocks
So far they're four decades behind.

News Short n' Sweet by JFD8
http://twitter.com/JFD8

Ah, yes, pets and daylight. I remember last spring thinking some of you guys were a bit wacky for complaining when we sprang forward - who could object to that extra hour of light in the evening? But then for a few weeks around summer solstice, when my dogs were waking me up with the sun at 5:30, I was extra grateful for the spring forward. Imagine if it were getting light around 4:30 - yikes!

Yes, Canon, that was in my Hampshire days. All the academic buildings were tied into the switchboard time, oddly.

Students weren't. I don't think anyone expected anything to work with Hampshire students .

I hate time changes.

I'm use to time change. As a seafarer, I traveled around the globe several times (28 times). from East to West, and I beleive it made me a day and a few hours younger. But it also made me lose a night of sleep. So, there pros and Cons with time change. Everytime we cross a time zone, we had to retard the clocks one hour (24 hours per trip).

I'd like to buy the world an iPhone.
There's an app for daylight savings.
Promote iPeace.

I thought Indiana didn't observe DST also. There's a great "West Wing" episode where this features semi-prominently, I believe.

Jackie, since The West Wing went off the air, Indiana has changed its time policies, as noted in this Wikipedia article. Currently, DST is observed in most if not all of the state.

An app for the iPhone for DST? Oh, please. Every cell phone I've owned, since my early, analog StarTacs, have automagically changed time. The older ones used to change time when I physically changed time zones, too.

Ditto for the pagers I carried.

What? The iPhone app doesn't cause Daylight Savings Time to cease to exist? Then what good is it?

Surprised at how few clocks I needed to change: DVR, cells, computers, atomic clocks all changed themselves. I really only changed the microwave and the stove, and the clock in the car.

I thought Ben Franklin invented the concept of DST ... is this incorrect?

We have to change several clocks, but our bedside clock is "atomic" and changes automatically. The first spring I had the clock I turned it forward like all the others. Imagine my surprise when we arrived at church an hour late because the clock was two hours ahead. D'oh!

I'm surprised at the grumbling here. Without Daylight Saving (it's SAVING not SAVINGS, by the way) Time, the Sun would be rising at 4:30 a.m. in June and we would have less daylight after dinner for spring/summer softball leagues and other activities outdoors when the weather is warm. DST makes sense. On the other hand, switching back to Standard Time in the winter also makes sense (otherwise kids would be walking to school in the dark). Switching the clocks might be a nuisance, but it's worth it.

Thanks. I corrected it. EL

I'm surprised at the grumbling here.

This gets my nomination for COTW.

"I'm surprised at the grumbling here.

This gets my nomination for COTW."

It could also be the headline for this blog. ;)

"Dining@Large - You'll Be Surprised by the Grumbling Here!"

"What if you died in one of the Daylight Saving Time months and never got that hour back? Wouldn't that be depressing" Elizabeth, interesting. but here is another question for you.
What if you died during that "lost Hour" of one of the Daylight Saving Time DAYS. What would be the offical time of death? Now that is depressing.

@Bob, Yes, we up in AK have DST. I have no idea why. We're hardly hurting for daylight in the summer. Seems that if anything, we should change our clocks in the winter when we're longing for one more hour of sun before it retreats again...

What a reach this blog has!

When I was first in college, some 4-1/2 decades ago, the curfew on the girls dorm was 1:00 a.m. I always thought that, since there were two one a.m.'s on the night DST ended, I should be able to bring my girlfriend back for the second one. Unfortunately the school disagreed with us.

Hey RiE, where have you been? Glad to see you back!

Trixie,
I was working on a show, showing movies, building and disassembling theatre sets, and relocating my computer 'cause my son is back home for a while now.

Good to be back.

I am keeping my clock on Daylight Savings Time all winter. I am getting sick and tired of changing my clock back in the fall and forward in the spring. This is keeping my sleep patterns in tact. As it is now the clock is on Daylight savings time for 8+ months of the year. I do prefer standard time but i will go along with Daylight time if the clocks don't go back and forth. My vote for President in 2012 will depend on this.

glad to hear you're putting your foot down about the important stuff

TOM, the current Daylight Saving Time law was signed by a Republican President in 2005 after being passed by a GOP-controlled Congress, as noted in this Wikipedia article. If DST didn't come up as an issue in the 2008 presidential election, I doubt that it will be an issue come 2012.

hmpstd, do you know how to reset my kitties' internal clocks?

Dahlink,
try blindfolding them. :-)

Um, PCB Rob, not a chance. When our little girl kitty came home from surgery, she was wearing a surgical collar to keep her from removing her stitches (again). The vet said she would have to stay in it a week or two. Took approximately 30 seconds for her to get out of the contraption.

Dahlink, I got my dog to adjust to EST by keeping his feeding time constant on my watch (but an hour later by his internal clock). Would that work for the cats?

Nothing works for cats for anything.

I'm not sure what time my glutton of a cat is on. He seems to be on the "I opened my eyes so it must be time to eat" time.

Actually, the kitties are slowly adjusting. Either that or I was sleeping on my "good" ear this morning and just didn't hear them scratching at the bedroom door for my morning wake-up call.

"Simon's cat" is the classic take on this problem--check it out on "Unleashed" if you haven't seen it.

Joyce, there are some days where I feel like I am on the "I opened my eyes so it must be time to eat" time.

Spam at 11:47 PM! (It's the Spanish language Argentinian electronics website, again. Also, the days are getting longer in the Southern Hemisphere this time of year, so the spammer isn't a very convincing liar.)

You're up early. Happy Thanksgiving. EL

Link spam at 6:42 AM! (Another shill for an alleged lender.)