LockTheClock

Fix Daylight Saving Time for good!

March 2017

Daylight Saving Time is here. What can you do?

Welcome to the blog on the weekend of the deadly change. Below you’ll find lots, some of it hard-nosed, and some of it just fun.

The number of bills this year going through state legislatures is way up. The press attention is way up. It really seems like the momentum is finally moving our way.

Even this cartoon today gave me some hope.

Screen Shot 2017-03-11 at 6.23.57 PM

Even last year there would NOT have been a joke that included even the idea that Daylight Saving Time clock-changing may go away.

If you hate clock-changing, I hope you’ll do a little to raise your voice. Talk to a state legislator, even just tweet about it.

And be in touch with me to let me know what you are doing and we’ll put it on this blog.

I recently drove across Nebraska to testify to the senate there. The legislative aid said it would be great if I could do it if it wasn’t too inconvenient. I told him it WAS inconvenient, and if I only did what was convenient, nothing would ever change!

I felt like such a hero, but then just before me a young man testified and his courage really put whatever inconvenience I had to shame. It was great to watch, and you can watch it now, too:

So, if you don’t like the time change, I hope that you’ll be sure to join the Facebook Group, or follow me on Twitter. 

And be sure to take care on Monday morning, that’s the deadly one. I suggest you observe National Turn Off Your Alarm Clock Day.

Thanks for reading!

“I’m in favor of DST!” “I’m against it!” These two views may not be different

I talk to people about Daylight Saving Time all the time, probably more than any other human on earth.

When I do, however, I always have to be careful, because everyone has an opinion about it, and they often sound conflicting, when really they aren’t.

For instance, what does it mean when someone says they are against Daylight Saving Time?

It could mean that they like it to be darker — relative to the time on the clocks — earlier in the summer. It could mean that they like the extra daylight in the summer, they just don’t like the time change where they have to Spring Forward. It could also mean that they don’t like suddenly having it be dark when they come home from work in the fall.

They are all valid points of view, but different. I’ve tried to explain it with words forever, and then the incomparable Kirk Anderson came up with this cool graphic that does it much better:

DST-terms

I think this makes it clear that if you want to take a position on DST, you’ll want to actually take two positions:

  1. Do you want to change the clocks twice a year?
  2. If not, which time zone do you want to be in, Standard or Daylight Saving Time?

If you have clarity on those two questions, then you’ll be able to figure out what you do want.

By the way, you may be asking what I want. I’ll tell you: No more clock changing, and for Colorado I think year-round DST works best. For many other states, especially ones like Nebraska and Michigan that are on the western edge of their time zones, they may opt for year-round standard time. Whatever they want is fine with me.

The best thing for all of us would be to just stop doing the thing that is deadly, and that’s changing clocks twice a year.

National Turn Off Your Alarm Clock Day – Official Information

The Monday after the “Spring Forward” Daylight Saving Time clock changing day is officially also “National Turn Off Your Alarm Clock” day.

Who says it’s official? This site does!

National turn off alarm clock day

That makes it at least as official as National Popcorn Lovers Day, which is different from National Popcorn Day.

(I love popcorn as much as anyone, but really, can’t the popcorn people and the popcorn lovers people get together?)

Official Instructions for your workplace

So, the question I know you are asking is this: “How can I convince my boss to let me sleep in on that Monday?”

The answer there is easy. It’s all about safety, and I wish I was joking around about this, but I’m not.

On the Monday after the time change, here’s what science tells us will happen for sure:

So, really, your boss would be a moron to make you get up early, only to risk that you are either going to have a heart attack, have a stroke or get in a car accident. The absolute best case scenario is that you’ll make it to work and be totally unproductive.

If your boss looks at you funny and says you must be joking, you can show him this post, or just this picture:

No-joke

So, enjoy your popcorn (lovers or otherwise) day and be safe on the Monday after Daylight Saving Time.