Spring forward, Fall back....remember that?
Kind of like, 'Righty tighty, lefty loosey" when you are trying to screw or unscrew something, or '30 days hath September, April, June and November, all the rest have 31, except February, which has 28 and on Leap Year, 29". (they kind of lost the rhythm there at the end, I fear)
WOW! (I admit I digress here...) look at this! 49 variations of that 30 days poem: http://www.leapzine.com/30Days.htm
And now back to our regular serious blog posting:
Thank you to my friend and Microsoft Outlook wizard Paul Wagner, The Software Magician, for his great newsletter that keeps me smart with my Outlook. (photo courtesy of TimeBooth.com)
Here's what Paul has to say:
Did you know the new Daylight Savings Time Change affects your Outlook Calendar?
Yes, due to the new legislation that begins in 2007, Daylight Savings Time has been extended in the United States. DST starts on March 11, 2007 and will end on November 4, 2007.
Now, likely your computer doesn't know this. Nor does Outlook. It's been merrily changing your time zone back and forth for years without you giving it much thought. But now you need to make a change on your computer so that you won't be late by an hour for that appointment on Monday or for 4 weeks after.
Worse, all Outlook Events will shift and span two days because these events are associated with 24 specific hours rather than with an individual date. That will affect your Blackberry, Palm, and Treo.
Fear not. Microsoft has provided, free, a Time Zone Date update program that is easy to use.
Simply go to their site http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst and follow the simple instructions.
Thanks, Paul, and for those of you who didn't know, or forgot, that daylight savings time is changing this year, here are a few other tips to deal with the issue:
- If you are running a Mac, no worries if you've been updating regularly, the fix is built into the updates. Not sure? Here's a tip:
While connected to the Internet, pull down "Software Update" from the Apple menu. If they're needed, the required updates will install automatically. If your Mac runs any version of OS X prior to 10.3, you'll have to adjust the time settings manually. In "System Preferences" find the "Date and Time" icon, and deselect the option to automatically adjust for Daylight Savings Time. If your Mac runs Mac OS 9.2 or earlier, you'll have to find the "Date and Time" control panel and uncheck the option to change to Daylight Savings Time automatically. Then set the time yourself. ~ quoted from BusinessWeek.com article Tips for the Daylight Savings Headache
- You may need to check your owner's manuals (you know where they are, don't you?) for other electronics such as DVRs, VCRs, digital cameras, handhelds, etc.
Now, you may ask, what is this whole change thing about? Well:
On Monday August 8, 2005 President Bush signed into law a broad energy bill (Energy Policy Act of 2005) that will extend Daylight Saving Time by four weeks in 2007. The provisions of the bill call for Daylight Saving Time to begin three weeks earlier on the second Sunday in March and end one week later on the first Sunday in November. Previously, Daylight Saving Time started on the first Sunday in April and ended on the last Sunday in October.
In 2007 when the provisions take effect Daylight Saving Time will begin on March 11 and end on November 4, 2007.~ from TimeTemperature.com
So many opinions! Some people feel that:
summer time exerts a negative, wrecking influence upon people’s health. It may cause:
- Bad mood;
- Lethargy of unclear origin;
- Infarct;
- And even a sudden death.
As the research shows about 80 % of people in Russia, for example, suffer from Daylight Savings Time. The application of summer time leads to forced awakening of people during 7 months in a year. Children are especially prone to harmful effect of summer time. 30-50% of their morning sleep falls on its healthiest phase - desynchronized sleep that impacts nervous system forming and brain development of a child. Each year the number of people who bear desynchronization with ease is reducing.
According to other materials Daylight Savings Time leads to increase of:
- people’s morbidity,
- car accidents,
- industrial injuries,
- complaints about health worsening because of a chronic disease;
- attempts of suicide.
The researches conducted in the USA reveal that after the time shift the number of fatal outcomes resulting from accidents increases by 6 per cent, traumas resulting in disablement – by 7 per cent.
I always thought that Daylight SAVING time was just a bi-annual pain in the rear that we had to deal with, I didn't realize until tonight what a geo-political, health, social and ecological issue it really is.
And I will leave you with one more 'fun fact' for next time you play Trivial Pursuit: every country has different dates for their Daylight Saving Time. if for any reason, you need to look up the dates in 
Kyrgyzstan, for example, simply click here to find out: Daylight Savings Times around the world.
map courtesy of Human Rights Watch
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((¸¸.·´ ..·´ Jessica -:¦:-
