I hate losing time

All of us do, I know.  I am not referring to the one-directional time that all of us live through.  Not at all.

I am pissed off at the loss of an hour tomorrow, when we will be forced to switch to daylight savings time.

Pissed am I!

I am not the only one.  Here in Oregon we passed a damn bill that the governor signed off as well, and it was to have only clock all through the year.  No bloody "fall back" and "spring forward" crap.

But, we have to wait for those neighbors south of us to also agree to a year-round clock:

But to take effect, all three West Coast states have to make the same decision and get approval from Congress. Washington legislators approved the change this year. In California, voters have approved year-round daylight saving time, but legislators have not signed off yet.

After the ok from Californians, the Feds have to approve as well.

Why go through this rigmarole of resetting the clock twice a year?  Because we are stupid!  As simple as that.  If anybody believes that this is somehow an energy efficiency approach, they surely are smoking something awesome for them to overlook the facts, or they are like tRump who creates his own alternative facts:

Despite the fact that daylight saving time was introduced to save fuel, there isn’t strong evidence that the current system actually reduces energy use — or that making it year-round would do so, either. Studies that evaluate the energy impact of DST are mixed. It seems to reduce lighting use (and thus electricity consumption) slightly but may increase heating and AC use, as well as gas consumption. It’s probably fair to say that energy-wise, it’s a wash.

We can try whatever tricks we want, but the reality is that the tilt of the earth means that the farther one is from the equator, the more the days get longer after Christmas--in the northern hemisphere--and vice versa.  Straightening the tilt is the only real thing to do ;)

Let's suppose that our reasonable preference is for the sun rising, according to the clocks that we keep, at 7 am or earlier or setting after 5 pm.  (Keep in mind that this is all an accounting game--the sun is gonna do what the sun is gonna do!)  If Daylight Saving Time were abolished, then this is what we will look at:

Source

Abolish the damn DST already!

So it is spring ...

When a term ends, students perhaps forget their remarks in the classrooms and move on.  Perhaps they forget them even before the term ends.  Perhaps most faculty forget the remarks.  But, I don't! ;)

About the middle of the term it was when a student asked me something like this: "you seem to believe that there are different narratives out there and are always questioning us.  Then, how do you know which one is the correct narrative?  Does it mean you have to seek out different ones all the time?"

A wonderful question, right?  I could have ended the term right then and there.  Mission accomplished--for real!

There is no way but to seek out the different takes.  That's what education is about. That's what an examined life is all about.  Well, as long as we keep this out of the radar forever. ;)

Consider the vernal equinox and the spring time.  The usual narrative is of spring being life appearing again after the long winter. Green shoots.  Daffodils and tulips.  Lambs and rabbits representing fertility and continuation of life.

That is one narrative.



And then there are others.  Like the poem "Spring" by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Spring
To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

Isn't that a narrative that is completely different from the typical gushing about "ah, spring!"?

"I know what I know | Life in itself is nothing."  Spring, in this narrative, forces us to question our very existence.  What is the point?  "To what purpose, April, do you return again?"

We wake up. We eat, drink, work, fight, chat, tweet, travel, pee, ... a full day of inane activities.
We then go to sleep.
And we then wake up. We eat, drink, work, fight, ..... only to die and become "the brains of men
Eaten by maggots"?
To what purpose does a new day return again?

Find your own narrative that provides you with an answer that convinces you.  But, keep in mind that there are other narratives too.

Oh for a brief moment in the sun ...

For a brief few hours it was a gorgeous spring day here.

Sun, blue sky, puffy white and grey clouds, with an occasional rain drop.  All we need is a couple of hours that way, and I am willing to overlook how nature is otherwise screwing us up with a February weather during these last few days in May.

It is evening, and the rains are back.  The raindrops falling on the roof and on the leaves are loud enough, and yet somehow comforting enough.  I suppose the comfort comes from the familiarity after all these years in Oregon.  Like a wonderful friend having annoying habits!

The sunny warmth and the blue sky already seems like a distant memory.  Good thing I took a bunch of photographs to remind myself that it was not in my imagination!

The river was gorgeous.  People were out and about--I think we all knew that good things, unfortunately, come to an end, and we wanted to enjoy the moment while it lasted.  As I hurried along the path, I overheard two women complaining about their mothers.  In a large group, which seemed like two families all on bikes, one father yelled out to the other father that it was getting all numb down there.  Two older women were seated on a bench, in the sun, and conversing.  A kid asked his mother why there was no trash can right there for him to throw the candy wrappers, and his mother directed him to carry that for a while.  A dog wagged its tail wildly and was so excited to see me that I stopped to pet that pooch.  Which is why I care not that it is raining again.