BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????

Subject: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Mr Red
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 09:31 AM

My colleague was berated by an habitual berater (customer) for being late for a meeting.

It turns out that the berater sent an "appointment" automatically (because he knows how to use Outlook!) with the time of the meeting. The only problem is that he and we are in the UK and the server through which it all goes is in Cincinnati.

And Cin City has just changed to DST and we won't for a week or two. And between here, Cincinnati and here the server corrected the "appointment".

As my colleague says, he can't wait for next week when a load of appointments are full of their guys and no-one else for an hour. My Monday meeting was arranged over the phone.

Now who do we blame? Micro$oft? US (& them)? Knowitalls who need a bit more data to conform with the knowitall rules? Or do we just sit back and gloat - because it wasn't us this time?

But at least the Cincinnati Baseball team get colour right

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 11:13 AM

I do hate these automatic corrections that make things twice as wrong.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Peace
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 11:44 AM

I want to meet the person who invented 'call waiting' on the telephone.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: number 6
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 11:53 AM

It was some guy who works at the phone company Peace.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Peace
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 11:57 AM

Ya got a name? Location?

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Emma B
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 11:58 AM

me too Peace

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: number 6
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 11:59 AM

I just warned that guy over at the phone company.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: number 6
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 12:05 PM

Sorry Peace .... I can't tell ya who he is.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: gnu
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 12:13 PM

Just go to UTC. Or, maybe it would be better if the rest of the world caught up to the USA... well, timewise, anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: number 6
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 12:14 PM

I don't think the French would want to 'catch up' with the U.S. gnu.

biLL

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: gnu
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 12:35 PM

Q' pas la? You know Connie and Paula?

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Newport Boy
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 01:02 PM

gnu - Which USA time is that?

The only place I know that uses a single time over a range of time zones was USSR. Soviet railways ran to Moscow time, even in Vladivostok which was 10 hours different.

That's almost half the globe in time zones, so we could all adopt Moscow time.

Phil

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Arkie
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 01:38 PM

The French are what started the whole thing because they were kind to Ben Franklin when he was recovering from the gout. Here is the essay he wrote to entertain his thoughtful friends. I think his title was An Economical Project.

Letter to the Editor of the Journal of Paris, 1784
________________________________________
To THE AUTHORS of
The Journal of Paris
1784
MESSIEURS,
You often entertain us with accounts of new discoveries. Permit me to communicate to the public, through your paper, one that has lately been made by myself, and which I conceive may be of great utility.
I was the other evening in a grand company, where the new lamp of Messrs. Quinquet and Lange was introduced, and much admired for its splendour; but a general inquiry was made, whether the oil it consumed was not in proportion to the light it afforded, in which case there would be no saving in the use of it. No one present could satisfy us in that point, which all agreed ought to be known, it being a very desirable thing to lessen, if possible, the expense of lighting our apartments, when every other article of family expense was so much augmented.
I was pleased to see this general concern for economy, for I love economy exceedingly.
I went home, and to bed, three or four hours after midnight, with my head full of the subject. An accidental sudden noise waked me about six in the morning, when I was surprised to find my room filled with light; and I imagined at first, that a number of those lamps had been brought into it; but, rubbing my eyes, I perceived the light came in at the windows. I got up and looked out to see what might be the occasion of it, when I saw the sun just rising above the horizon, from whence he poured his rays plentifully into my chamber, my domestic having negligently omitted, the preceding evening, to close the shutters.
I looked at my watch, which goes very well, and found that it was but six o'clock; and still thinking it something extraordinary that the sun should rise so early, I looked into the almanac, where I found it to be the hour given for his rising on that day. I looked forward, too, and found he was to rise still earlier every day till towards the end of June; and that at no time in the year he retarded his rising so long as till eight o'clock. Your readers, who with me have never seen any signs of sunshine before noon, and seldom regard the astronomical part of the almanac, will be as much astonished as I was, when they hear of his rising so early; and especially when I assure them, that he gives light as soon as he rises. I am convinced of this. I am certain of my fact. One cannot be more certain of any fact. I saw it with my own eyes. And, having repeated this observation the three following mornings, I found always precisely the same result.
Yet it so happens, that when I speak of this discovery to others, I can easily perceive by their countenances, though they forbear expressing it in words, that they do not quite believe me. One, indeed, who is a learned natural philosopher, has assured me that I must certainly be mistaken as to the circumstance of the light coming into my room; for it being well known, as he says, that there could be no light abroad at that hour, it follows that none could enter from without; and that of consequence, my windows being accidentally left open, instead of letting in the light, had only served to let out the darkness; and he used many ingenious arguments to show me how I might, by that means, have been deceived. I owned that he puzzled me a little, but he did not satisfy me; and the subsequent observations I made, as above mentioned, confirmed me in my first opinion.
This event has given rise in my mind to several serious and important reflections. I considered that, if I had not been awakened so early in the morning, I should have slept six hours longer by the light of the sun, and in exchange have lived six hours the following night by candle-light; and, the latter being a much more expensive light than the former, my love of economy induced me to muster up what little arithmetic I was master of, and to make some calculations, which I shall give you, after observing that utility is, in my opinion the test of value in matters of invention, and that a discovery which can be applied to no use, or is not good for something, is good for nothing.
I took for the basis of my calculation the supposition that there are one hundred thousand families in Paris, and that these families consume in the night half a pound of bougies, or candles, per hour. I think this is a moderate allowance, taking one family with another; for though I believe some consume less, I know that many consume a great deal more. Then estimating seven hours per day as the medium quantity between the time of the sun's rising and ours, he rising during the six following months from six to eight hours before noon, and there being seven hours of course per night in which we burn candles, the account will stand thus;--
In the six months between the 20th of March and the 20th of September, there are
Nights        183
Hours of each night in which we burn candles        7
Multiplication gives for the total number of hours        1,281
These 1,281 hours multiplied by 100,000, the number of inhabitants, give        128,100,000
One hundred twenty-eight millions and one hundred thousand hours, spent at Paris by candle-light, which, at half a pound of wax and tallow per hour, gives the weight of        64,050,000
Sixty-four millions and fifty thousand of pounds, which, estimating the whole at-the medium price of thirty sols the pound, makes the sum of ninety-six millions and seventy-five thousand livres tournois        96,075,000
An immense sum! that the city of Paris might save every year, by the economy of using sunshine instead of candles. If it should be said, that people are apt to be obstinately attached to old customs, and that it will be difficult to induce them to rise before noon, consequently my discovery can be of little use; I answer, Nil desperandum. I believe all who have common sense, as soon as they have learnt from this paper that it is daylight when the sun rises, will contrive to rise with him; and, to compel the rest, I would propose the following regulations; First. Let a tax be laid of a louis per window, on every window that is provided with shutters to keep out the light of the sun.
Second. Let the same salutary operation of police be made use of, to prevent our burning candles, that inclined us last winter to be more economical in burning wood; that is, let guards be placed in the shops of the wax and tallow chandlers, and no family be permitted to be supplied with more than one pound of candles per week.
Third. Let guards also be posted to stop all the coaches, &c. that would pass the streets after sunset, except those of physicians, surgeons, and midwives.
Fourth. Every morning, as soon as the sun rises, let all the bells in every church be set ringing; and if that is not sufficient?, let cannon be fired in every street, to wake the sluggards effectually, and make them open their eyes to see their true interest.
All the difficulty will be in the first two or three days; after which the reformation will be as natural and easy as the present irregularity; for, ce n'est que le premier pas qui coûte. Oblige a man to rise at four in the morning, and it is more than probable he will go willingly to bed at eight in the evening; and, having had eight hours sleep, he will rise more willingly at four in the morning following. But this sum of ninety-six millions and seventy-five thousand livres is not the whole of what may be saved by my economical project. You may observe, that I have calculated upon only one half of the year, and much may be saved in the other, though the days are shorter. Besides, the immense stock of wax and tallow left unconsumed during the summer, will probably make candles much cheaper for the ensuing winter, and continue them cheaper as long as the proposed reformation shall be supported.
For the great benefit of this discovery, thus freely communicated and bestowed by me on the public, I demand neither place, pension, exclusive privilege, nor any other reward whatever. I expect only to have the honour of it. And yet I know there are little, envious minds, who will, as usual, deny me this and say, that my invention was known to the ancients, and perhaps they may bring passages out of the old books in proof of it. I will not dispute with these people, that the ancients knew not the sun would rise at certain hours; they possibly had, as we have, almanacs that predicted it; but it does not follow thence, that they knew he gave light as soon as he rose. This is what I claim as my discovery. If the ancients knew it, it might have been long since forgotten; for it certainly was unknown to the moderns, at least to the Parisians, which to prove, I need use but one plain simple argument. They are as well instructed judicious, and prudent a people as exist anywhere in the world all professing, like myself, to be lovers of economy; and,from the many heavy taxes required from them by the necessitities of the state, have surely an abundant reason to be economical. I say it is impossible that so sensible a people, under such circumstances, should have lived so long by the smoky, unwholesome, and enormously expensive light of candles, if they had really known, that they might have had as much pure light of the sun for nothing. I am, &c.
A SUBSCRIBER
________________________________________

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 02:13 PM

In Canada, according to the DST announcement I saw, Saskatchewan does not convert to DST, but remains on CST.

I have yet to respond to call waiting, not even sure what it is. Is there a big room out there in space with calls waiting around for the signal I never send?
Don't answer, I don't care.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Peace
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 02:19 PM

"Your call is important to us. Please hold for the first available operator." MUZAK "Your call is important to us. Please hold for the first available operator." MUZAK "Your call is important to us. Please hold for the first available operator." MUZAK "Your call i


















































                                              ." MUZAK "Due to higher-than-expected call volume, you are fu#ked for now. Please call back when you have another half hour to waste. Thank you."

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Emma B
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 02:27 PM

the solution?

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Bee
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 03:12 PM

I hang up on any individual who pulls call waiting on me, unless I know for a fact their ancient mother is in hospital at death's door.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: gnu
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 03:22 PM

Um... ah... what I meant was that the Yanks improved (?) upon the existing DST by lengthening it by approximately a month.

As for Saskatchewan, no need... time stands still when you're in Saskatchewan.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: JennieG
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 05:29 PM

My brain doesn't like daylight saving. Here is a Canadian article about why. Seems it isn't such a good idea after all, it's driven by commercial interests.

We have another 3 weeks to go until daylight saving finishes, and from next spring/summer we will have it for 6 months. 'They' didn't ask me if I wanted it longer. Sigh.

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: gnu
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 06:00 PM

Jennie.... "...it cost Indiana homes an extra $8.6 million in electricity bills – mostly from chugging air conditioners – each year."

Hehehehe... so, the weather is affected by DST?

Sorry, but the fact is that most people like to sleep until sixish. The new change means extra daylight at the end of the day for about an extra month. Which is great. Unless you are an early riser and want the dawn. If your air conditioners manage to drown out the fucking robins that nest in the tree next to your bedroom window and start chirping incessantly at 3AM... maybe not so much.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 07:50 PM

Seems to me that all the "benefits" of daylight saving time could be realized without monkeying with the clocks by simply encouraging businesses, schools, etc. to make seasonal adjustments to their operating hours.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Mr Red
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 08:19 PM

Yea and they would all do it differently. The point about enforced daylight saving time is that it isn't anarchy. Like marching in step - you don't kick the guy in front.

My solution to the e-mails is to put the time in words in the subject. But if I dared suggest that before the problem was identified I would be laughed at. Well ha ha now.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Sorcha
Date: 14 Mar 08 - 10:19 PM

Bee, I do the same thing, and I refuse to have call waiting. I think it's extremely rude.

I also hang up on ALL computer generated calls after I say (sometimes a Human actually hears this...) If you want to talk to me, have a live human call me. Now piss off.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: JennieG
Date: 15 Mar 08 - 01:07 AM

Call waiting is like a small child impatiently tugging at mummy's skirt wanting immediate attention. If I ring someone and get a busy signal I will call again.

And I hang up on computer generated calls too. And telemarketers. But let's not, for goodness' sake, start another thread on telemarketers.........

Cheers
JennieG

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 Mar 08 - 05:21 AM

Well if it is a human who has asked me to listen to their Muzak I have no problem - I know why I am waiting. If I initiated the call it all depends on how much I need them, if not I wouldn't wait at all. If I am buying I can buy elsewhere. I give them less than a minute but yea it does not fill me with confidence.
I prefer the engaged signal - you know you are in a queue.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Riginslinger
Date: 15 Mar 08 - 10:05 PM

Getting back to daylight saving time, I hate it. I have to go to work in the middle of the night, and go to bed in the middle of the afternoon.
                It's my understanding that it's all promoted by the golf industry, the bar-b-que industry, and folks like that.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Mr Red
Date: 16 Mar 08 - 08:46 AM

So when people ask your handicap - you tell them it is your circadian rhythms?

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Riginslinger
Date: 16 Mar 08 - 10:33 AM

Actually, I was unaware of circadian rhythms, and had to look it up. But it's true in a way. The other thing is, I have to drive to work in the dark, and we'll have fog around here until June, and it's hard to get to sleep when it's light out.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Bob the Postman
Date: 16 Mar 08 - 10:55 AM

The town of Creston, B. C. is immune from daylight savings time. It is located near the Pacific/Mountain time zone boundary and whenever a time change occurs, someone simply moves the "Change Your Clock" sign to the other side of town. So much easier to re-set one sign than thousands of timepieces.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Riginslinger
Date: 16 Mar 08 - 11:04 AM

That's a really great idea, and so practical.

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: GUEST,Seer
Date: 17 Mar 08 - 06:14 AM

If we could really save daylight why couldn't we save some of it from the early summer mornings and late summer evenings and use it winter?

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: GUEST
Date: 17 Mar 08 - 06:38 PM

Nothing wrong with Greenwich mean time here's some music....

John

Subject: RE: BS: Daylight saving time - Savings????????
From: Mr Red
Date: 18 Mar 08 - 02:38 PM

off-beat or off the wall?