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Daylight Savings Time began today. Or did it end today? YNSHC has always had trouble keeping that one straight. And the common mnemonic is useless: "Spring forward, fall back." Easy, right? But can't one just as easily fall forward and/or spring back? No logic to these things.
More annoying than the mnemonic, though, is the whole concept of moving our clocks ahead an hour, thus losing that all-too-precious hour of sleep. The first day of DST is truly the worst day of the year. Name one that's worse? Sure, September 11 and, for old-timers, December 7 have more sinister resonance, but those are DATES not "days." They're significant for what happened on them--undeniably horrific but unlikely to be repeated. They're days for remembrance. April 15, likewise, has unpleasant connotations, but most of us have taken care of our IRS-related business long before that date rolls around (and more than a few of us get refunds anyway).
The first day of Daylight Savings Time, though, really has no redeeming characteristics. Invariably, you go through the day somewhat groggy. If you're one of those people who has to get up early in the morning to go to work, you can look forward to a week or so of getting up in darkness before the universe catches up with acts of Congress.
(Digression: Perhaps this can be seen as a silver-lining for those hordes of newly-unemployed--nearly 700,000 according to last week's news--who get to sleep through the later-morning darkness. End of digression.)
"Sure, Solipsist," you may say, "but it stays light 'til way past 7:00 now!"
You're right, but so what?
Nobody really cares about the sun staying out later. Nobody feels it in the bones. What's going to happen tonight? You're going to glance out the window at 6:00, and it'll still be light, but that won't register. At 7:00, you'll look again, feel mildly disoriented as you glance at your watch, and remember what's going on. And then you'll break into wild song and dance because it's 7:00 and the sun's still out, the sun's still out!
Well, of course you won't, and that's the point.
The Solipsist just glanced at his computer's clock and was shocked to see that it was already 5:27. Except it isn't--it's 4:27. And that, too, is the point.
Don't even mention the spike in traffic accidents and, apparently, as Father of Solipsist mentioned this morning, heart attacks we all have to look forward to in the next two weeks.
YNSHC would gladly surrender the best night of the year (the last Saturday in October) if he could be rid of the worst. Join the crusade!
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