We get an extra hour of sleep tonight!

This is also the beginning of SAD time, when Seasonal Affective Disorder really starts to set in. Because it gets dark by the time most people get home from work, we spend more time indoors, not getting enough sunlight, and most people become more depressed.

I vote for leaving the clocks alone, or maybe even setting them ahead another hour so that the days will be longer.

-- sun worshipper (leave@the.clocks.alone), October 29, 2000

Answers

Aren't there a few states where they don't change the clocks?

-- (I@think.so), October 29, 2000.

Indiana, except near Chicago (the "Region") is on EST all year long. That means in winter we are on NY time and in suimmer we are on Chicago time. No one knows why. I think AZ has a similiar deal.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), October 29, 2000.

Right you are Lars! Arizona does not, and has never, participated in Daylight Savings Time.

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), October 29, 2000.

I think we should have Daylight Savings Time during the summer, then set the clocks AHEAD one hour in October instead of setting them back.

-- (extra.light@night.good), October 29, 2000.

While I'm glad the kids in Fargo don't have to leave for school in the dark I'll miss PDT.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), October 29, 2000.

I have an idea. Why don't we protest by refusing to reset our clocks. Sure we will show up an hour early to everything by THEIR standards. But who are THEY? And what do THEY want? Maybe THEY are the ones who are late?

-- butt nugget (catsbutt@umailme.com), October 29, 2000.

I think it's sad that they reset the time just before Halloween when the kids are out trick-or-treating, making it dark earlier. Many times I've seen kids dart out in front of cars driven by people coming home from work, tired and distracted. It's often hard to see the kids. Some irresponsible idiot didn't think things through very well.

-- Newsman (any@truth.in.the.news?), October 29, 2000.

With modern instrumentation, it should be possible to precisely identify a local time based on each longitude's position relative to the sun. Every location would then be on God's time. Does the rooster care what the clock says? No, it crows when the sun rises. Time zones are a ficticious creation forced on us by Cornelius Vanderbilt so as to maximize his obscene monopolistic profits from railroads.

The Greens believe this although they will not admit it.

-- (Paracelsus@Pb.Au), October 29, 2000.

Par, if your neighbor's roosters don't crow until dawn you're a lucky person.

-- Carlos (riffraff@cybertime.net), October 29, 2000.

Sun dude, I hear ya on the seasonal dysfunctionals,though with me it's not all about the time change.It's about that smell in the air of the leaves and grass dying,the signals that "w****r"(six letter curse word) is quickly approaching.The "f**l"(four letter f word)to me is the bell that ushers in this time of mourning when everything is stark gray,dead or dying. It's time to buckle down and set our sites firmly on the prospects of Spring and the jubilation of Summer.It's time to pay our dues for the Summer we've had and the one we now already pray for. Yes,my brothers and sisters it's time to crank the Buffett up a notch or two,temporarily ascribe to aroma therapy by taking a daily whiff of Hawaiian Tropic,setting those screen savers to some tropical destination and dream,dream of the awakening of Spring,dream of the sweet soultriness,warm winds and the longer days. But on the not so dim side of things,we did get an extra hour of drinkin' in last night or tonight if haven't set your clock back yet : )

Daylight Savings Sucks

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), October 29, 2000.

Paracelsus,
Irrespective of the motives behind the current time zones, it's hard to imagine that their elimination would not create chaos.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), October 29, 2000.

I'm with you capn; one of the reasons I left NYC was due to my intense dislike of cold weather. I also suffered from SAD, but not an extreme case. I'd much rather live at the beach, but don't know how I'd ever get to work.

And sadly, I'm not independently wealthy, so work is a must :-(

Only thing I like about this time of year is the holiday season. I love watching the Thanksgiving Day Parade, decorating the house (first time I've ever lived in a house *and* we have a fireplace -- I'm psyched!!), buying presents, cooking fabulous meals, having friends and family over.....this year there won't be any family to come over, so there will only be friends.

Right after New Year's, I start the Countdown To Spring :-)

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), October 29, 2000.

Pat,

Having Thanksgiving without family can be cool too,have everyone over that has no place to go or would otherwise be alone or make a BUNCH of ham sanwiches,buy a case of half pints and go pass them out to the homeless/indigent,I know the latter sounds offbeat but it is damn sure appreciated.

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), October 29, 2000.

Actually, capn, when I was younger (early teens), my friends and I used to do this Thanksgiving dinner at the local Diamond Post for the older folks who had no place to go.

Used to have a blast just yukking it up with the old birds. Greatest people in the world; so full of knowledge, yet no one wants to hear it (besides me). So much love to give, yet no one seemed to want it (besides me). It broke my heart every year to know that most of them had family, but their "family" just kind of abandoned them. Didn't stop the old folks from talking about them and making excuses as to why they never got together, etc. That was the worst. They tried to mask the hurt, but you could see right through it. We did our best to serve as their family for the day, and everyone always had a great time.

Yeah, I know there could be major reasons *why* their families didn't keep in touch and whatever, but that's not the point.

Excellent thoughts on Thanksgiving, capn. I have a giant turkey I want to give to the local halfway house (no alcohol there!) and I just went through all my clothes and I have a bunch of them to drop off as well. I'm sure they could use them.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), October 29, 2000.

The sun will set here at 5:41 this evening. THAT SUX!!!

It's dark when I leave for work and it'll be dark when I get home....

1st Sunday in April can't get here soon enough!!

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), October 30, 2000.

Deano:

I 'feel' ya.!!!

Dark @ 5:00 and when sun DOES come out I feel like a friggin vampire.

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), October 30, 2000.