There, got the question in all at once…and, yes, I actually searched his previous -since 1994 topics with nary a mention of this annoying american [48 states] tradition.
Nice timing, since its coming soon…
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Sucking is subjective, and many folks enjoy DST.
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There are numerous reasons for DST, not the least of which is that a lot of people enjoy the extra minutes of after-work or after-school sunshine during warmer months.
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It is by no means solely an American tradition. Over 70 countries observe some form of DST.
Damn, and I was going to vote for inertia.
Dr. Fidelius
Charlatan and Font of Questionable Knowledge
Associate Curator Anomalous Paleontology, Miskatonic University
The sun rises at about 5:30 a.m. in the summer. If we didn’t have DST, it would rise at 4:30 a.m. Think about it. You wake up with the sun, get in yr car, drive to work, and oops, it’s only 6 in the morning and nobody’s there yet.
- You used the word “since” incorrectly. I’m not usually a grammar fiend, but this is a pet peeve. “Since” has to do with time; you should have used “because.”
It is a good thing you’re not usually a grammar fiend since the OED lists the first use of “since” meaning “because” in 1450. (I think it has passed its probationary period by now.)
Tom~
While a lot of people complain about it, Daylight Savings Time actually does pretty much what it’s supposed to do.
In general, we humans have divided the day up into three periods; we work, we play and we sleep. Now, we work according to the clock; we show up for our jobs at 8am no matter if it is light or dark outside. Our play time comes after work, in the evening. What Daylight Savings Time does is let us shift some of the daylight from the morning (when we’re just going to go to work anyway) to the evening (when we can actually use it).
As a side effect this also helps your electric bill. Peak demand for electricity tends to occur in the evening. Since everyone works on the clock (remember above?) everyone tends to get home from work at around the same time. If it is dark outside everyone gets home turns on the lights and TV and starts the oven for dinner; all at the same time. When it is still daylight some people still do as above, but others go work in the yard or go off and do other things before they come home. This spreads the peak out and reduces the maximum demand. (I worked in transmission planning and load forecasting for about 10 years and the peak shift was obvious enough that we had to build it into our forecast models).
OK, if it’s such a good idea why don’t we do it all the time? In the winter when the days are short you want the sun to be up before students start off for school to avoid possible traffic accidents.
So, don’t accuse DST of sucking too much; its one of the few things that actually works the way its supposed to.
.sig file missing — (A)dlib, ®etry, (F)ail?
Dennis Matheson — tanstaafl@earthlink.net
Hike, Dive, Ski, Climb — home.earthlink.net/~tanstaafl
An article on the New York Times website describes how people in Mexico are actively opposing DST. It started there in 1997.
This again? seems like there’s always someone complaining about DST.
I, for one, would like to see it year 'round.
I don’t get home from work until 5:00 and it’s nice to have a couple hours light left to do outdoor stuff.
I’m a city boy and I thank the farmers for food, good joke material, and DST.
“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything” Mark Twain 1894
Back before the advent of DST, some folks considered slowing the rotation of the Earth by one hour making the day 25 hours long. After much discussion, they decided to just shift the clock forward by one hour. They thought it would be simpler. Obviously, they were wrong.
However, it could be worse. If we moved the clock ahead by six hours, I would eat breakfast at midnight and be drunk by noon. (Local standard time) Now that would suck.
+Ron
“After two six packs, all these things will become clear.”…Ron
I think some people misinterpret the word ‘suck.’ It only means to disagree strongly.
Course, I have never been without DST so I have no idea what it would be like to not have it…
Handy, you can always move to Arizona if DST gets to be too much for you.
Um, Handy, that’s not what the word means. If it were, the following sentance - “If that is the position you’re going to take, I suck with you.” - would mean “I disagree with your view”. As it is, I will use that sentance only in *very select company.
Beware the lollipop of mediocrity. Lick it once and you will suck forever.
Moving to Arizona (or Indiana, the other state which mostly ignores DST) wouldn’t neccessarily solve the problem with DST. I was talking to a lady recently who lives in Indiana whose job involves making a lot of phone calls to other parts of the country. The hours for her job changed when people switched to DST, so that they would still be working during the same portion of other people’s workdays. I don’t know if she has a strong opinion for or against DST, but switching to DST would be a lot easier on her sleeping habits than this is.
Doctor, one time some local idiot shut down a web site cause he thought that he saw a phrase, ‘the chamber of commerce sucks’ on the site. But the actually phrase was ‘some things in life suck, like the fact the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce is not handicap accessible [true]’.
He did bring it to my attention and I looked ‘sucks’ up in a dictionary and sure enough it said, ‘to disagree strongly.’
Here is another Webster dictionary definition:
slang : to be objectionable or inadequate <our lifestyle sucks — Playboy> <people who went said it sucked.
But I guess it depends on what context and what tone of voice 
Handy - I’m gonna hafta ask you for a cite. I have searched every dictionary and thesaurus I can find, including english, british english, canadian english, and slang. I found the following definitions for “suck” (all slang): objectionable, inadequate, disgusting, and unworthy, but no mention of “disagree”. I’m not trying to be picky, I’m trying to save you some grief. I can see the possibility of a misunderstanding which could cause you to have to “put your, um, money where your mouth is” so to speak.
Beware the lollipop of mediocrity. Lick it once and you will suck forever.
Main Entry: 1suck
Pronunciation: 's&k
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English suken, from Old English sucan; akin to Old High German sugan to suck, Latin sugere
Date: before 12th century
transitive senses
1 a : to draw (as liquid) into the mouth through a suction force produced by movements of the lips and tongue <sucked milk from his mother’s breast> b : to draw something from or consume by such movements <suck an orange> <suck a lollipop> c : to apply the mouth to in order to or as if to suck out a liquid <sucked his burned finger>
2 a : to draw by or as if by suction <when a receding wave sucks the sand from under your feet – Kenneth Brower> <inadvertently sucked into the… intrigue – Martin Levin> b : to take in and consume by or as if by suction <a vacuum cleaner sucking up dirt> <suck up a few beers> <opponents say that malls suck the life out of downtown areas – Michael Knight>
intransitive senses
1 : to draw something in by or as if by exerting a suction force; especially : to draw milk from a breast or udder with the mouth
2 : to make a sound or motion associated with or caused by suction <his pipe sucked wetly> <flanks sucked in and out, the long nose resting on his paws – Virginia Woolf>
3 : to act in an obsequious manner <when they want votes… the candidates come sucking around – W. G. Hardy> <sucked up to the boss>
4 slang : to be objectionable or inadequate <our lifestyle sucks – Playboy> <people who went said it sucked – H. S. Thompson>
See #4
from Merriam-Webster, http://www.m-w.com/
Peace,
mangeorge
“If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything” Mark Twain 1894
Soory Doctor that was 3 years back and umm, I wouldn’t know what dictionary it was…besides, words change in meaning…
Did anyone notice this year is 1/50000 of a second shorter than last year? Cuz the moon is heading further away. sigh. sure could put that time to use.
No C&P
People, people, people! The correct term is “Daylight Saving Time”!
Murphy’s Law:
“If there are two or more ways of doing something, and one of them can lead to catastrophe, then someone will do it.”
- Capt. Edward A. Murphy, Jr., USAF, 1949
It’s that time of year again, so we may as well revive this old thread.
Feel free to correct me at any time. But don’t be surprised if I try to correct you.