Soon enough

  We move the clock hands ahead one hour this evening, springing ahead, anxious for the warmer weather and the awakening of the earth. The changing of the clock is under discussion once again as being unnecessary. There is much myth and lore associated with the reason we began doing that in the first place. As with many things these days choose your source from the millions available on the internet to support whatever position you were taught. I was told it had something to do with the farmers, before tractors had headlights. I've since heard a myriad of other explanations. Personally I don't care one way or the other, it isn't a cause I will take up and crusade for.

  I have this theory however. The push to just leave the clock alone has grown proportionately with the advent of digital timepieces. That began with car radios, clock radios and microwave ovens. When they needed to be adjusted for the time changes a good many had to consult the owners manuals. I've just left it alone because I didn't know how to change it! Yes, I'm thinking the push is on again simply because it is too complicated to change them. Now some of that has been relieved by automatic updates by the computer or program running the device. Still, many times you need to scroll down that list of "regions" to inform the computer just where you are. The issue may be finding the list! Well, I guess Alexa can help with that. My theory is that people are just too lazy and uniformed to change the thing. It's a lot easier to just move the hand on that old analog clock. I've heard that some of our younger citizens can't even read an analog clock but I don't think that's true, perhaps a few isolated cases but they existed even when I was in school.

 I attempted to make a sundial with mixed results. I followed all the instructions concerning the angle of the gnome and finding north. I read a great deal about that and did gain an appreciation of just how complicated it really is. Some smart people figured that out long before we knew anything about longitude and latitude and indeed, that the earth was round. I did make a provision for moving that gnome the required 5 degrees to "change" the time. It worked, sorta. Should have chosen a better place but that is where the tree stump was so wasn't much I could do about that. It was an interesting diversion for a while. 

 I've had in mind to make a "water" clock like the one I've seen in a famous home, Home Sweet Home. Yes, the actually house where Stephen Foster is supposed to have lived and the home he was writing about in that famous song. It does tell time as long as you ensure the tube is refilled, although not as accurately as a sundial would. Be easy enough to adjust for the time change though, although they never worried about that. Europe started adjusting the clock first and the world followed in 1918, at least some of the world did anyway. 

 I expect the day will come when we all abandon that practice. We move holidays around so why not? As I said, I don't care one way or the other. I'm used to the change but honestly don't think I would notice if I was told not to change that. It isn't anything on my calendar, you know, like my birthday or Christmas. It is just one of those government things, no telling what the government is doing half the time. Most of Europe uses what we call "military" time. Having spent twenty years in the Navy I am quite used to that and have no problem knowing what time of the day it is or more importantly, whether it is am or pm. Drives me crazy when you hear in the movies,  at 0900 hours. No one say hours! That's Hollywood. It's 0900, 2312, or 1700, never hours. Just sounds stupid to say hours when that is what you are telling them with 0900. Duh, 9 O'clock is an hour in the day. To me it's like saying lead pencil, ever seen an ink pencil? No, because all pencils use lead, or graphitate to more exact. I've even heard people say, ink pen. Ever see a lead pen? No. 

 Well it's time to start using all that daylight we saved since last November. I've always been a bit confused about that. When we move the clock ahead we call that daylight saving time but we are starting earlier so to me we are using the daylight that was saved since last November. Shouldn't we be saying daylight spending time? Well, we are using it, right? In November we just say we are falling back, we're not saving anything, but we spring forward and call that saving. Doesn't make sense to me. Buying something on credit isn't saving money. That's an advance. It's money you don't have, so how are you saving anything? See my point? I'm thinking this has to be more of that liberal logic permeating our society. 

 When I get up tomorrow I'll turn the hands back on my mantle clock, the computer will adjust the time by itself and I'll have to do the microwave and car radio. My phone will take care of itself. I guess all this is progress. Time isn't as regulated as I once thought. Time speeds up the older you get. It's relativity. Einstein tried to figure that out and maybe he succeeded. All I know is my great granddaughter is two months old today. That means I've been a great grandfather for two months already! Time sure flies. I'm beginning to think maybe we should just leave that clock alone, no need to spring ahead, we'll get there soon enough.

Funny how Christmas seems long ago now. Time sure is funny sometimes.