Alternatives to Daylight Saving Time? 755
Wellington Grey writes "Daylight saving time almost upon us. The arguments about its possible benefits and drawbacks come up twice every year. Does it save energy or lives? Possibly, but it does definitely cause a great deal of inconvenience. My question is this: what do you think would be the best possible system to replace DST with? What is the best way for humans to deal with the inconsistent amount of light over the year and still foster coordination over disparate time zones?"
Move to Arizona (Score:5, Funny)
We don't do DST in John McCain country.*
*Unless you're an Indian, in which case you might.
May be ... (Score:5, Funny)
My proposal (Score:4, Funny)
My ask slashdot question is this: what do you think would be the best possible system to replace DTS with?
A system just like the current DTS, but with a monetary fine for whiners.
Come on, how hard is it to set a damned clock? Just do it.
Don't like DST? Do what I did... (Score:3, Funny)
...move to Arizona. Problem solved.
-B
How about this? (Score:5, Funny)
What is the best way for humans to deal with the inconsistent amount of light over the year and still foster coordination over disparate time zones?
Turn on a lamp.
Ah... first time I've been early for work... (Score:2, Funny)
Wrong! (Score:5, Funny)
The issue with DST is not that it's inconvenient, it's that it's insufficiently precise! We should be changing the time every day (at least!) to make sure our time is as accurate as possible to the length of the day. Every day, 12 noon should be when the Sun is directly overhead, no matter where you are.
Sure, this means changing time zones almost continuously while travelling, and at least daily while remaining stationary, but at least we won't have to deal with the confusion that comes from discovering that the Sun is directly overhead at 12:00:34 instead of 12 noon sharp! How can we call ourselves intelligent beings when our time system is so woefully inaccurate most of the time?
So, scrap daylight savings time and replace it with a system of several thousand time zones, each updated daily based on the predicted "high noon" for that particular day at that particular location. If the prediction ends up being off by a few microseconds on a particular day, just change the time to correct it right then and there! Sure, wristwatches will become orders of magnitude more complex, but it's the only way to have a truly sane and accurate system of time measurement. And after all, isn't that what we all really want here?
Orbital Mirrors (Score:4, Funny)
DST becomes unnecessary.
Re:Forget about it (Score:2, Funny)
Re:My proposal (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Alternative system (Score:1, Funny)
My ask slashdot question is this: what do you think would be the best possible system to replace DTS with?
The most commonly accepted alternatives to DTS are Dolby Digital and SDDS.
Don't like DTS? Do what I did... (Score:2, Funny)
I replaced all my DTS with SSIS [wikipedia.org].
No no -I- have the answer! (Score:3, Funny)
Here are a few real alternatives to daylight savings time:
-Daylight wasting time
-Nightlight saving time
-Dayheavy saving time
-Some permutation of the above terrible puns
DTS already replaced... (Score:5, Funny)
what do you think would be the best possible system to replace DTS with?
I think DTS disappeared with the release of SQL Server 2005. I'm pretty sure it's all .NET code now...
Re:My proposal (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Picture this... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:DST is ending (Score:4, Funny)
fixith the axith (Score:2, Funny)
Re:My proposal (Score:5, Funny)
Where is the blink tag when you need it?
Giant orbiting mirrors. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Let's just use Zulu time... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Forget about it (Score:5, Funny)
We should build a shell around the earth covered in solar cells on the outside and florescent bulbs on the inside. This way we could make it the same time for everyone all the time on earth, and we'd all be equal all the time and live in perfect harmony until the dim green flickering light, the neverending ballast hum, and the sweet smell of air-conditioner mold drives us all stark-raving mad.
Re:Let's just use Zulu time... (Score:5, Funny)
Did you know that sales of Swatch Internet Time watches doubled between 1998 and 1999?
So they sold eight instead of four?
Re:Let's just use Zulu time... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:My proposal (Score:5, Funny)
I can't believe you registered a new account just for that comment! :)
Not Necessarily (Score:5, Funny)
That depends on the lights. If I stand under my roomful of 1000 watt grow lights that I use to grow my...um tomatoes...that light is actually quite good for you.
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Get rid of it (Score:1, Funny)
You forgot esperanto.
Yeah! (Score:5, Funny)
That sounds like a great idea. Let's get together and start planning the transition, tomorrow at noon.
Re:Wrong! (Score:2, Funny)
If we were intelligent, we would have set the clock to "lunch time" permanently.
Re:My proposal (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Screams of Frustration (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Internet Required (Score:5, Funny)
Heh. I thought cloud computing was a stupid idea when it was still called Web 2.0.
Yes, that is the geek version of "I already listened to $BAND_NAME when they were still underground".
Re:No no -I- have the answer! (Score:3, Funny)
Here are a few real alternatives to daylight savings time:
-Daylight wasting time
-Nightlight saving time
-Dayheavy saving time
-Some permutation of the above terrible puns
You forgot...
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:5, Funny)
You can change it for better or worse...
Random Daylight Savings Time!
Are you late? Are you early?
You'll never know unless you consult the weekly publication:
"RDST: How Government Controls Daylight, and Why You Must Obey"
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:5, Funny)
I never felt any lack for not having it or thought, "Gee, I wished we messed with the clocks twice a year."
That's because the one thing you absolutely don't need to conserve in the sun-baked 115 degree desert of southern Arizona is..... daylight.
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:5, Funny)
Sorry, once the government has adopted something you can't get rid of it. You can change it for better or worse (usually worse) but it is there for ever.
In that case, since they keep extending the DST anyway (it's ~7 months now), why not extend it to year round.
Maybe we'll keep Feb 29 on "standard time" because we can't "get rid of it"
Re:Orbital Mirrors (Score:5, Funny)
While, the geek in me is enchanted by the mega-engineering aspect of your solution, the part of me that can't get to sleep with the sun up is trembling in fear that somehow this will actually come to pass.
Actually, there's a very good reason why this hasn't come to pass, and why it never will...
Basically, the amount of micrometeorites and orbital debris in space makes it incredibly likely that a mirror high enough up to provide light at times of day when it's not available, and to stay in orbit, and also large enough to provide a significant amount of light would be smashed before too long...
Of course, the practical aspects of retrieving the broken pieces and repairing or replacing the broken mirror aren't such a major problem: of more concern is the inherent misfortune brought on by the destruction of a mirror. Being a larger mirror means more bad luck, but it's still distributed over the same seven-year cycle... When this kind of massive orbital mirror breaks we'd experience unprecedented levels of chaotic worldwide misfortune - and this misfortune would compound the probability that any replacement mirror would be broken, thus continuing the cycle...
Savings (Score:1, Funny)
I was one of the smart ones. I started saving daylight when I was young, and now I almost have enough to have perpetual sunshine until croak.
Re:Don't like DST? Do what I did... (Score:2, Funny)
...move to Arizona. Problem solved.
I did, but problem not solved - now I can't remember everybody else's time.
Re:Let's just use Zulu time... (Score:3, Funny)
"Ten percent of nothin' is, let me do the math here... nothin' and a nothin', carry the nothin'..."
Sunrise - Sunset Clock (Score:5, Funny)
the original clock was when the sun actually rose and set on the horizon of the earth.
but we wanted to know exactly how far through that period we were.
so when clocks were invented - we very linearly divided the day up into 24 parts,
and then (based on ancient sumerian base 60) -- divided the 24 hours into 60 smaller parts.
we still linearly divide our day (despite the fact that every day changes sunrise / sunset times), and we still use ancient sumerian base 60 in our measurement of time (minutes) today -- omg, its amazing we don't still use Cubits & Fathoms to measure things...!
so, we can carry on with using base 60 for minutes, and medieval linear ideas of time, or we can take advantage of our understandings of science to create something more rational. so here are two proposals to take time measurement out of the medieval dark ages:
1) 0:00 HOURS = SUNRISE. everything has a chip in it nowadays - you can't find a watch that doesn't have a chip in it. and if you have a chip in it -- computation is easy. we no longer have to use the medieval linear way of dividing up the day -- finally, we are able to have clocks that dynamically adjust for sunrise and sunset -- like SOL [apple.com]. the length of a day continually gets longer & shorter -- so should our watches. since all our watches have a chip in them already -- the sunrise/sunset computation should not be an obstacle. we propose the elimination of the terms of 'noon' and 'midnight' -- and always start counting 0:00 hours at sunrise.
2) DECIMAL TIME. we no longer want to use 24 hours (why 24!?!?) and 60 minutes (base 60!!) -- instead, we use decimal time -- 10 hours in a day, 100 minutes per hour. the resulting 'minute' will be 1.44 of our existing old-style minutes.
so there you have it -- no half-way medieval measures -- sunrise = 0:00 hours, there are 10 hours in a day, and 100 minutes in an hour. businesses always start at 2pm (2 hours after sunrise) -- ALWAYS, and people go home when it gets dark ALWAYS -- the business day will grow and shrink with the seasons, and all will be much more sensible, and in acccord with the natural rhythms of nature, while being easier to measure, because its all measured in decimal.
2cents from toronto
j
Whining... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:4, Funny)
We don't need to know when you shit.
We Hates It, My Precious (Score:5, Funny)
Twice a year, my sleep cycle is systematically deranged. It's a goddamn kick to the head, and I don't mean that in a good way -- it's like the entire country gets a massive injection of jet lag extract.
Maybe society wants to keep its members from operating at peak efficiency, so let's pull the rug from under everyone's circadian rhythms twice a year, keep 'em off balance
STOP... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:My preference: DST all year round (Score:4, Funny)
A little known fact: Working from 8 to 4 (or 8 to 5, or 9 to 6, etc, etc) does NOT cause spontaneous combustion in humans! In fact, studies have proven that going to work at the same time every day doesn't even depend on what arbitrary number is being pointed to on ANY device, be it a thermostat, clock, or even altimeter.
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:5, Funny)
See, there's your first mistake. Tend to your bodily functions at work ... getting paid to read in the "library" at work is one of life's little pleasures.
At 10 minutes a day, it's 41-2/3 hours a year. Think of it as an extra week's vacation, doled out in tine time slices.
Re:Just use Standard Time (Score:3, Funny)
How much later do you want it to set?
1 Hour. I thought that was obvious. :)
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:1, Funny)
UTC?!!
You sir, are a socialist! Probably even a COMMUNIST!
If you are an American, excuse me, CLAIM to be one- you are probably gonna vote for that muslim terrorist Obama, who plans to enslave this great nation!
Don't you know that in God-fearing America, the true path is STANDARD time? Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific! A great American invention!
Why it's been in the Holy Bible for these last 6000 years, ever since the Dinosaurs died out!
And only if the lesser breeds/heathen world would adopt this Christian American standard!
But noooo.. they have to use this atheist metric crap, celsius whatever and your previously mentioned UTC!
Why can't the world be more like us true Americans?
- A patriot who believes in John McCain, Pinoqachole and God's ownstandard time!
Re:Move to Arizona (Score:3, Funny)
Already have that - but we call it "flex time."
If they REALLY wanted to save energy, they'd go to the 4 day work week. 20% saving in gasoline used to drive cars to and from work.
Way ahead of you! We're headed straight for the 0 day work week.
Native-American viewpoint... (Score:2, Funny)
"Only a white man would think that cutting off the top foot of a blanket and sewing onto the bottom would result in a longer blanket."