Quickies

My war on Daylight Saving Time continues. I'm wiped today. DST is simply a stupid idea and it only points out the relativity of time. A 1996 study found that accidents increase 7 - 8 percent after the spring shift. That same study showed a decrease in accidents in the fall shift, but one from Portland last year showed an increase in both shifts. I suspect that it depends upon where you live in the country. In a rare moment of agreeing with the Washington Times (actually, the writer is from the Libertarian group at reason.com), I read David Nott, who thinks DST is a stupid idea, too. He points out that Congress passed a bill last year that would tack an extra month onto DST in both spring and fall beginning in 2007. The switch does not save energy (in fact, it could cost us energy) and it will cost some businesses a bundle to switch (like the airline industry). Also, this bit from Gannett News Service as related by the Seattle Times this weekend (no link because they don't have it on line - I had to transcribe it) got me to thinking about the stupidity further:

Q: If we get to use this daylight in the afternoon, why not use daylight-saving time all year?

A: During World War II and again during the oil embargo in the early 1970s, the United States participated in daylight-saving time year-round, Prerau says (that's David Prerau, author of Seize the Daylight: The Curious and Contentious Story of Daylight Savings Time). In the case of the oil embargo, opinion surveys indicated that many people disliked the effects of daylight-saving time from November to February. Because these are the darkest winter months, adjusting the clock during this time can mean waking up and leaving the house - all in total darkness.

Listen, I don't care if we keep standard time or DST. Let's just pick one.

In a brilliant move, the MPAA is touting delivery of movies via the Internets. Wait for it...the movies cost more to download, take hours to download, and while they can be burnt to a DVD, they can only be played on your PC - not a DVD player. Idiots.