Sunday, November 2, 2008

Day light saving...

So, this is something I find interesting during my first year in the US...

I woke up early at 5am today (even though it is a Sunday morning...) to get ready for work. I am on call for the weekend, and will be doing my 30-hours shift. I normally do not pay attention to the clocks around me. But today, while I was making my Colombian coffee with my coffee maker, I realized that the clock on my microwave and oven both showed 6:10AM. I started freaking out thinking I was late for my bus. However, I was pretty sure my alarm clock was 5:00AM a moment earlier. So, I took out my iPhone, and it showed 5:10AM. I checked on my analog clock, it was 6:10AM. My electronic alarm clock was 5:10AM. I thought I was going out of my mind, so i decided to go back to sleep, hoping that my hallucinations will go away...
Apparently, that did not happen.

Then I vaguely remembered something I heard like ages ago but never really experienced it before... DST!!!

So, what is DST?

DST, or Daylight saving time, is the convention of advancing clocks so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less during spring/summer. Typically clocks are adjusted forward one hour near the start of spring and are adjusted backward in autumn. Starting in 2007, daylight time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time, which becomes 3:00 a.m. local daylight time. On the first Sunday in November, clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 a.m. local daylight time, which becomes 1:00 a.m. local standard time.

Not all places in the U.S. observe daylight time. In particular, Hawaii and most of Arizona do not use it. Indiana adopted its use beginning in 2006. In 2006, daylight time begins on April 2 and ends on October 29. In 2007, daylight time begins on March 11 and ends on November 4 (New law went into effect). In 2008, daylight time begins on March 9 and ends on November 2. In 2009, daylight time begins on March 8 and ends on November 1.

Well, the practice of DST is pretty controversial. Adding daylight to afternoons benefits retailing, sports, and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours, but causes problems for farming, entertainment and other occupations tied to the sun. Traffic fatalities are reduced when there is extra afternoon daylight; its effect on health and crime is less clear. Although an early goal of DST was to reduce evening usage of incandescent lighting, formerly a primary use of electricity, modern heating and cooling usage patterns greatly differ and research about how DST currently affects energy use is limited and contradictory.

Modern DST was first proposed in 1907 by the English builder William Willett. Many countries have used it since then; details vary by location and change occasionally. Some countries have actually used it and then repealed it. I came across this interesting map which shows places(countries) currently using it(blue), places that have used it(orange), and places that never even started it(red). Thought it might be cool to share it with you guys:



Apparently, some of my newer devices have automatic DST adjusting functions. My cellphones and alarm clocks adjusted the clock to standard time when I was sleeping, while my analog clock, microwave and oven clock did not come with such capabilities. Well, what the heck, I am glad I did get an hour extra of sleep last night then... :) Sweeet!!!

Getting a car...

For years, I have been able to get myself around places with bicycles, trains, buses and planes. Sometimes, my friends will drive me around and to places I need to go to. Public transports, has never been a problem.... until now.
The United States is a F#%$k'n HUGE country, and here, public transport is not as good, and everybody has a car. Without a car, I am pretty much stuck with my sad little life with restricted access to places beyond the reach of public transportations. Though life has been good with couple of "volunteer drivers" that basically gave me rides to places I need to go, I started to be convinced that I need a car to survive in this city called Cleveland, especially when the weather is getting cold.
I have been browsing around for a good "wife" to spend my time with for the next 3-5 years, and have been to Mitsubishi, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, Mustang, BMW dealers to get a perfect car for myself. It has been tough to find the right car with the right sense. Mitsubishi eclipse has a fancy "butt" and great in performance, but was not as exciting as Mazda RX-8. Honda and Toyotas are great cars with good gas mileages and great interiors but was not totally the car I would wanna drive right now. A dealer was trying to get me to buy his modified brand new mustang, with 7k rebate, but I am still considering if I could trust an American car. BMW has the sleek look, and of course its brand name, but not as sporty as others.
I realised I am more of a superficial, sports-car-kind-person, with no interest on luxury cars or SUV. Funny enough, I don't really care about the performance either. I told a girlfriend of mine, that as long as the car looks good, I am getting it. She gave me this funny look, with a simple remark: "You men are so superficial..." Ha ha. I apologize to those guys out there who aren't as superficial as I am, but hell ya, I am getting my car just base on the look.
Well, let me take that back. It is not TOTALLY about the look. I am not going for a 2 seater this time, so most of the roadsters are out from my lists. SLK 350, Lotus seems like fun car to get hold of, but very impractical. I am also looking into a cars that has the "basic" entertainment equipments like a port for my iPhone and iPod and a surround audio system. A moon-roof will be a plus. Guess I am not asking too much for such basic requirements.
For the time being, I am still swinging between getting a RX-8 or a BMW 328i sedan. Also thinking of eclipse or perhaps giving mustang a try. What do u think?

Mitsubishi Eclipse

Mazda RX-8

BMW 328i Sedan