You Can't 'Save' Daylight

Ok... So I've mentioned that I haven't had a bee in my bonnet - or anything really to talk about - in quite some time. But times change. In an unfortunately literal manner. Apparently clocks do that changing thing this past Sunday in the southern states of Australia... Daylight Savings they call it. I don't understand the concept though apparently it is very popular in the world.


According to an American friend of mine it was the idea of Benjamin Franklin. That is the guy renown for the key on a kite in a lightning storm isn't it? I know he was a brilliant mind and everything but instigating Daylight Savings makes him on my unfriendlys list right at this moment. Who designs a concept which involves the changing of time, which is basically the only constant-ish thing on the face of the planet?

Now I don't know. Is daylight savings the world over? Or is it restricted to the USA and unfortunately areas of Australia? I assume that if parts of Europe do it, they'd all have to do it. How awkward could that be? Some countries on one time, others an hour out. Actually... there must be multiple time zones cutting across Europe without the aid of DLS (as I will refer to it from now on to save myself typing out the same dreaded words too often).

I don't know anything really of Europe coming from the Eastern-Western country we are a little to far detached from such places, despite a Queen. We, of Australia, are much more closely linked with the US of A. Something many Australians quite detest even as they line up for any one of the US fast foods so they can be in home to watch any one of a gazillion US tellie - sorry television - shows. I actually have a young cousin who talking to her you could mistaken her accent for a very light American one - distinctly unAussie at any rate.

But I'm not discussing Australia, the not the 51st state of the US, but rather DLS. For anybody with the luxury of never having crossed paths with DLS before. It is the strange habit some parts of the world seem to have for adjusting their time and pretending the time is an hour later than it actually is for the entirety of the summer months. Yes that means that just the other day (the first Sunday of October) we lost an hour and they aren't going to give it back to me until sometime next year (I don't know when exactly).

Just so we have an understanding. This is not me fighting a norm I've experienced all my life. I am lucky enough to know the TRUTH about the fact that time isn't actually set up for DLS. The great state of Queensland has no DLS. Though every so often it comes up as an option. The day it gets a second go round (it has already been trialed and hated once before i am capable of memory) will be a sad day indeed. I don't really see the point of changing time just so you can have the sun later into the night. I do not need the sun up at 8 o'clock at night.

I would however appreciate the sun up at oh 6 in the morning? Is that too much to hope for? I am up before 6 for my work... and generally that translates to something outside as well. Whereas I have finished up for the day at about 5.30 and an hour and a half of sunlight is more than enough thank you very much. Perhaps a body clock gets better at coping with DLS over time. I'm not talking specifically about bedtimes or awakenings. I'm talking about that ingrained function that allows your body to analyse time of day by the height, heat or brightness of the sun.

Ok... Now rather than going back and editing which I could do... But where would the fun be in that?... Apparently using a slightly more reliable source (ie Wikipedia) I can see that DLS can actually be blamed on a New Zealander, George Hudson. Why it is we have it in Australia when it was a New Zealander =P... No more seriously I'm surprised Australians don't claim partial credit for its creation if that is the case. Probably because it isn't a hugely popular concept with many Australian. I know I am speaking for myself here but all 4 of the Queenslanders (of the 8 people I live with) have been heard to make similar complaints to my own about this ridiculous habit.

The other thing I've managed to pin down is used in Europe... and the USA almost religiously... But few other places in the world. To my left is a nifty little thing I just HAD to hijack off wikipedia. I suggest all you DLS lovers take a good solid look at this map... and all the ORANGE bits... The tried it and hated it bits. I like to think of them as the sane bits. Most notable the MAJORITY of Oz is not blue so why am I stuck with this blasted DLS stuff? Such is life.