Time Change already this weekend

[MossRoad]

On the bright side (pun intended).... I had the sun directly in my eyes on my morning commute this fine Monday morning.

 

[NoTrespassing]

Here in Central IL, our length of day variers about 5 hours 40 minutes, shortest to longest

Key West FL, about 3 hours

Philippines only about 1 hour 40 minutes

When my wife first moved here from the Philippines in July of 2007 she was amazed at how long the days were, almost 2 hours longer than the longest day she had experienced. In mid December she was equally surprised at how little daylight there was, not to mention the cold and snow that comes with it.

 

[ruffdog]

Here in Central IL, our length of day variers about 5 hours 40 minutes, shortest to longest

Ours is about 6 hours and 22 minutes difference. It sure makes a difference the more north you are.

 

[ning]

The sun is rarely at its highest at noon. There are a lot of other factors, like what time of year it is, where are you within your timezone, etc. The only way you would even get close is to return to local time.

What Is Solar Noon?

Noon is at 12 o'clock but solar noon can be at a different time.

www.timeanddate.com

There is exactly one factor as to whether or not the sun is highest at noon: your longitudinal position in your time zone.

The sun is at its highest in the day precisely at noon local time (ignoring time zones); this is pretty much the definition of local time, and "close" would be "exact" (or you don't have actual local time).

If you're located at the defining longitude for your time zone - for instance, 90W for Central time, it's noon when the sun is highest. If you're east of there, the sun is highest a bit before noon; if you're west of there, the sun is hightest a bit after noon.

None of this is a claim for the sun being at zenith (directly overhead), which doesn't happen anywhere outside of the tropics (and then the sun's at zenith only on one or two particular days which vary based on latitude); it's just when it's at its highest for a particular day at about noon.

DST just moves the "about noon" to "about 1PM", which I dislike for traditional & astronomical purposes, especially since science hasn't been able to back up a changing of times (savings time vs standard time); I feel we may as well just go back to standard time completely and if people don't like that schedule, they change when they're open by an hour instead of pretending it's one o'clock when the sun is the highest.

 

[BravoXray]

Assuming your comment is directed towards my confession...

As noted, I get up (for better or worse with my wife) generally at 0500 every day, 7 days a week. I use a alarm clock if I need to get up earlier for something important for work, as I still work for at least two hours for work on the weekend to the dismay of my wife because I actually love my job.

Time changes always happen on Saturday night going into Sunday morning.

Just so happens we had to be at Church early this past Sunday morning for some volunteer work. Thing is, we also planned a to go for a early morning walk to get it in before we went to church (and time to shower as well), and it was my job to wake my wife up because I'm the "early riser". My wife however does not use a alarm clock but her cell phone.

Let's just say I woke up at my general time, my alarm clock was really screwed up, but that's the time I thought it was looking at my clock, and after getting my wife up ready for a walk, she asked me some questions because she was confused to what her cell phone was telling her.

THIS is why my day was pretty screwed up. Hopefully this makes a little more sense.

As noted, first time in my life I put the clock AHEAD instead of backwards on the proper date. For whatever reason, never thought to think Spring Forward, Fall Back, and had it in my mind for whatever reason that I had to turn the clock ahead an hour.

I wasn't directing it at anyone in particular, really.

But, to put a different tack on a common saying, No rest for the devout.

When I drove truck and later worked in the garage fixing trucks and heavy equipment, I got up at about 5:00AM, for nearly 20 years. I am not a morning person and I attribute part of that to the failure of my marriage after 15 years of that schedule. I am not a pleasant person that early in the morning, and having to go to bed at 9:00PM so I could get a decent amount of sleep was a PIA.
After that I worked for a freight broker for 10 years and then for myself with my own trucks. When I retired and sold my trucks in late 2019 I fell into a routine of staying up until 1:00-2:00AM and getting up around 9:00. Nothing in my life requires getting up at 5:00AM at this point, except maybe to take a look at a lunar eclipse or take a leak.

 

[Torvy]

Assuming your comment is directed towards my confession...

As noted, I get up (for better or worse with my wife) generally at 0500 every day, 7 days a week. I use a alarm clock if I need to get up earlier for something important for work, as I still work for at least two hours for work on the weekend to the dismay of my wife because I actually love my job.

I'm right there with you. 0500 is about as late as I wake up. Wife sleeps until noon if left to her own devices. I only set an alarm as a backup if I have to meet a plane or other fixed time event. I have one set for 0530 to remind myself to stop what I am doing to get ready for work.

 

[Sigarms]

I am not a pleasant person that early in the morning, and having to go to bed at 9:00PM so I could get a decent amount of sleep was a PIA.

That's just it though, unless I stayed up REALLY late, say past midnight, I'm still up around 0500. Perhaps on vacation if it's a long day, I'll sleep "late" to around 0600.

When I worked hourly 25 years ago, I just determined that if I wanted to make money with overtime, I'd rather start off early and getting home somewhat early than getting home late (note, found out pretty fast when I was allowed to work as LONG as I wanted, I was dismayed with taxes when I put in 80 hrs a week LMAO).

 

[MossRoad]

I wasn't directing it at anyone in particular, really.

But, to put a different tack on a common saying, No rest for the devout.

When I drove truck and later worked in the garage fixing trucks and heavy equipment, I got up at about 5:00AM, for nearly 20 years. I am not a morning person and I attribute part of that to the failure of my marriage after 15 years of that schedule. I am not a pleasant person that early in the morning, and having to go to bed at 9:00PM so I could get a decent amount of sleep was a PIA.
After that I worked for a freight broker for 10 years and then for myself with my own trucks. When I retired and sold my trucks in late 2019 I fell into a routine of staying up until 1:00-2:00AM and getting up around 9:00. Nothing in my life requires getting up at 5:00AM at this point, except maybe to take a look at a lunar eclipse or take a leak.

Job hours are a huge factor in a marriage, I'll attest to that. Without going into great detail, my job hours were horrible and irregular early in our marriage and that caused problems for this newly married couple. Fortunately, we were able to work it out.

 

[ruffdog]

Job hours are a huge factor in a marriage, I'll attest to that. Without going into great detail, my job hours were horrible and irregular early in our marriage and that caused problems for this newly married couple. Fortunately, we were able to work it out.

Ha! My wife and I worked different shifts.....it worked great!

 

[scootr]

Ha! My wife and I worked different shifts.....it worked great!

Everybody needs some me time.

 

[MossRoad]

Ha! My wife and I worked different shifts.....it worked great!

Yes, later in life, I got switched to a 7pm - 3:30am shift. That worked fine, but I was off Saturday nights, so we could still socialize with our friends and family, our kids were grown and out of the house, and it was a regular, repeatable schedule.

I'd come home, force myself to go to sleep, wake up around 10-10:30am, do whatever I wanted to do during daylight hours, then around 4-4:30 I'd clean up and start cooking dinner. Wife would get home at 5:15-5:30, we'd eat dinner, watch the local and national news, I'd leave home at 7:00pm and get to my job at 7:12pm. I had an arrangement with my boss to come in 12 minutes late every day. 5 days times 12 minutes = 60 minutes. I'd come in for an hour department meeting on Wednesday afternoons. Worked out great.

But early in a marriage, irregular, non-repeatable schedules can be rough. You need some time to be together with your spouse and/or friends and family.

My wife's nephew got into the railroad. He was divorced within 2 years. No predictable family time.

 

[bigtiller]

I had a great job for 10 years that had excellent pay and benefits. The majority of the year I worked 6 days a week.

But it was the evening shift, 3:30 to midnight. It was a big part of my first marriage disseverment.

 

[BravoXray]

Job hours are a huge factor in a marriage, I'll attest to that. Without going into great detail, my job hours were horrible and irregular early in our marriage and that caused problems for this newly married couple. Fortunately, we were able to work it out.

I didn't elaborate much in that post, but When I was driving, I left at 5:00AM and rarely got home before 6:00PM. Once I was working in the shop it was even later sometimes, plus most of the day on Saturday and sometimes on Sunday if something had to be repaired for use on Monday. I was young, a wife, two kids and mortgage trying to make ends meet.

 

[MossRoad]

I didn't elaborate much in that post, but When I was driving, I left at 5:00AM and rarely got home before 6:00PM. Once I was working in the shop it was even later sometimes, plus most of the day on Saturday and sometimes on Sunday if something had to be repaired for use on Monday. I was young, a wife, two kids and mortgage trying to make ends meet.

Yeah, that's tough.

Back in the late 80s, the daily newspaper was an evening paper weekdays and a morning paper weekends, hence I had to work 3 weekdays 8-5, and a split shift Friday and Saturday nights. I'd get off around midnight on Saturday morning and 4:00-5am on Sunday morning. I got every 3rd weekend off, but had to work 5 weekdays that week. Made it hard to socialize and hard to stay awake on weekend days.

 

[cqaigy2]

Just in case you all forgot, DST is what it should be changed to.

 

[lman]

Just in case you all forgot, DST is what it should be changed to.

If you like working with a flashlight.

 

[cqaigy2]

If you like working with a flashlight.

I've been working with a flashlight for the last month, so...... Well actually i've been using a flashlight for years, but

 

[Oaktree]

But early in a marriage, irregular, non-repeatable schedules can be rough. You need some time to be together with your spouse and/or friends and family.

My wife's nephew got into the railroad. He was divorced within 2 years. No predictable family time.

Sucks if you're single too.
I worked for many years as a field service technician. 50-60% travel, and not regular. Couldn't make any sort of plans.

I had a great job for 10 years that had excellent pay and benefits. The majority of the year I worked 6 days a week.

But it was the evening shift, 3:30 to midnight. It was a big part of my first marriage disseverment.

I liked that shift myself even though I'm not really a night person. I'd go to bed within an hour of getting home, and be up by 9 or so. Had most of the day free...didn't have to take time off to register car, pay taxes or deal with other stuff that had to be done 9-5. Didn't do wonders for the social life though...

 

[ponytug]

Yeah, that's tough.

Back in the late 80s, the daily newspaper was an evening paper weekdays and a morning paper weekends, hence I had to work 3 weekdays 8-5, and a split shift Friday and Saturday nights. I'd get off around midnight on Saturday morning and 4:00-5am on Sunday morning. I got every 3rd weekend off, but had to work 5 weekdays that week. Made it hard to socialize and hard to stay awake on weekend days.

Ugh. That is a tough series of shifts. I worked a solo summer job that had me doing a day shift (8-4), two evening shifts (4-12), an overnight shift (12-8), and another evening shift. The "day" between the overnight and the evening shift, aka the commute home, 5-6 hours of sleep, shower, and back to work always seemed short for some reason... I remember asking the manager why we couldn't work a consistent shift, and she said she wanted to see everyone in daylight at least once a week.

It didn't do much for my social life, either.

I am very impressed with folks who either don't need much sleep, or can function well on alternating shifts.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

Ugh. That is a tough series of shifts. I worked a solo summer job that had me doing a day shift (8-4), two evening shifts (4-12), an overnight shift (12-8), and another evening shift. The "day" between the overnight and the evening shift, aka the commute home, 5-6 hours of sleep, shower, and back to work always seemed short for some reason... I remember asking the manager why we couldn't work a consistent shift, and she said she wanted to see everyone in daylight at least once a week.

It didn't do much for my social life, either.

I am very impressed with folks who either don't need much sleep, or can function well on alternating shifts.

All the best,

Peter

Yuk! Body can never settle into a rhythm.