Tim Worstall

Insanity Again

Now, as you know, I’m usually in favour of people and places doing as they wish: however, there are times (sorry) when standardisation does indeed help.

One such is when we change the clocks for Daylight Savings Time. Whether we should have it at all is one thing, but if we are, it makes sense that everyone switches at the same time. I think I can remember when different European countries used to do it on different weekends: certainly, I can recall when the US switched on a different one from Europe.

I also thought that that had all been sorted out just a few years ago: the chaos from airlines and the like having to switch all their schedules repeatedly as one or another country changed at different times was simply too obvious a cost to ignore.

Now I’m told that we’re going to get this back. We in Europe switch last weekend in March don’t we? The US switches March 11 th.

Grrr.

In

9 responses

  1. Infoholic Avatar
    Infoholic

    Yep, and at our place they’re having to manually re-program every single Blackberry in the organisation to cope with it, plus run an emergency programme of testing for all the multi-region software in the bank.

    Reply
  2. Matthew Avatar
    Matthew

    The article seems to suggest that it’s not that the US is now different from other countries, but that they’ve changed their long-running date, and lots of these things just change in the last week of March.

    Reply
  3. dearieme Avatar
    dearieme

    Look at sunrise/sunset times: we should be changing about now or, if convenience matters more, at the end of Feb. End March is ridiculously late if end October is the right time to turn the clock back.

    Reply
  4. Sam Avatar
    Sam

    Every year for the last several years, there has been one week beween the UK and US clocks going forward in the spring.
    And yes, every single year, someone calls in to a phone meeting either an hour early or an hour late.

    Reply
  5. Bruce G Charlton Avatar
    Bruce G Charlton

    Please do not talk about this topic, Tim, especially not in jest.
    Changing the clocks twice a year is the single topic that evokes most powerfully my ‘Hulk will smash’ reflex.
    Oh no! Too late! – I’ve burst out of my shirt…
    HULK WILL SMASH!!!

    Reply
  6. Nigel Sedgwick Avatar
    Nigel Sedgwick

    OK Tim, the standard should be that the clocks are changed on the Saturday/Sunday boundary nearest to the vernal or autumnal equinox.
    For clocks forward in spring 2007, this is 17/18 March (a close-run thing given equinox at 00:07 on Wednesday 21st), which is the weekend between the dates selected by the USA and Europe. For clocks back going in autumn 2007, this is 22/23 September.
    Clearly, the autumn change has never (usually?) been this early. However, physics is intergalactic and politics merely internecine.
    Accordingly, suggestion of alternatives should be subject to criminal law, with the guilty executed or sentenced to life imprisonment. Dispute by any nation is acceptable as legitimate cause for declaration of war, no lesser in rank to territorial invasion.
    Now, given that so many diaries have been printed, can we agree that this new standard, and associated laws, should apply from spring 2008, and then please may we move on.
    Best regards

    Reply
  7. Mark Hayes Avatar
    Mark Hayes

    Its bad enough nations switching at different times. In Australia we have various states switching at different times. Confusion reigns supreme.

    Reply
  8. Katherine Avatar
    Katherine

    Oh god, I know I’m going to regret this, but here goes:
    why switch at all?

    Reply
  9. Tim Newman Avatar
    Tim Newman

    I also thought that that had all been sorted out just a few years ago: the chaos from airlines and the like having to switch all their schedules repeatedly as one or another country changed at different times was simply too obvious a cost to ignore.
    The Russians get around any confusion regarding their train timetables by having them all run on Moscow time. Hence you can catch a 6am train out of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk just after lunch.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Discover more from Tim Worstall

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading