The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Monday, March 11, 2013

Just so I do not have to do it at 2 AM


It happened again. Daylight Saving Time snuck up on me. Happens every year.... OK, twice a year... I always am surprised by the end of DST, too. I no longer pay attention to these things since I retired. To be honest, I didn't pay much attention to them before I retired either. But, back then, I was reminded by the "powers-that-be" that I was to go around at 2 AM, set the switching machine's internal clock, and set the wall clocks to the proper time.

It was a stupid chore. I knew years before they finally figured out how to do it that the machine should be able to do its own time setting. Of course, they paid no attention to me. My home computer (and the one I put on my desk at work) did it automatically well before the whiz kids at the phone company figured out how to program the machine to do it for me.  I was still stuck doing the wall clocks, though.
 

Setting the time in our switching machine was annoying. It was supposed to be done 5 minutes (if I recall correctly) after 2 AM. Imagine... 144 techs all over the country dialing up the "official" clock in Denver at the same time twice a year and sending the same message into a computer when the recorded voice says... "At the tone, the time will be..." and then the tone and 144 fingers tap the Send key simultaneously... more or less.

The cable company resets the DVR clocks, my computers automatically update the time when they are booted up, and I have to trudge around the house with a small stepladder resetting the three wall clocks... which, for reasons that escape me now, I mounted just a little too high to reach without that stepladder... and the alarm clocks by the bed.

My insurance company sends me two 9 volt batteries each year a few weeks ahead of "DST Day". The idea is that I should also swap out the batteries in the smoke detectors on that day. I never do. I put the "gift" batteries away until we go back to standard time and the smoke detectors start beeping at me to let me know the batteries are low.  All 5 of them.

I didn't mind the change to DST when I was pre-retired. I worked the night shift and that night was only 7 hours long but I got paid for 8. I hated the change back because that night would be 9 hours long... made only slightly less painful because I would be paid for all 9... with one being at time and a half.

I bought an alarm clock one year that was supposed to set itself correctly on these days. It failed to do it properly and I finally replaced it... after 5 years of hopeless frustration.

Of all the things I could have to deal with, this seems so petty even I am appalled at me.


2 comments:

Tom said...

Look at the bright side. It gives you the perfect excuse for oversleeping!

Steven said...

the microwave and oven constantly flash 12, one car stays on displaying the current track, and the other car is the only other non-auto-updating clock I have...I noticed driving to work this morning that it was right for the first time since the time changed last year xD