Election Day is Coming, plus my semi-annual rant against (really in favor of) Daylight Saving Time

The time where we decide, not only who will head the executive branch of our federal government, but who will fill many other important positions in federal, state, and local governments is just around the corner.  Some people have already voted.  Maybe you have.  I'll avoid the awkward political discussion by simply urging you to vote.  Voting matters.  If you are eligible to vote, (citizen, non-felon in most states, etc.) do it.  If you want to know my opinion about who I think you should vote for, email me or something.

The other thing that's coming up is the end of Daylight Saving Time.  It's the magical time of the year where most of us set our clocks back an hour because the government says to.

Well, it's stupid.

There are plenty of reasons to just stick to one schedule.  Most of them are things that don't know how to read a clock, like cattle.  The reason that's a part of my reality now are my children.  They have no idea what time it is.  Ever.  I have a hard enough time convincing them that the lack of sunlight outside means it's time for bed.  They stick to their internal clocks.  For example, my 3-year-old son wakes up every day between 6:15 and 6:30.  He doesn't care what day of the week it is, if it's a holiday, or even what time he went to bed (unless we keep him up really late).  Can you imagine how frustrating March will be when I have to get him up an hour earlier than he's used to, just because some people thousands of miles away in the Capitol Building said we should?

I really don't care whether we're on Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time.  I just want to pick one and stick with it.  (Arizona and Hawaii are my role models in this situation.)  I prefer staying on DST year-round.  Why?  Because in the winter, there aren't enough daylight hours for it to matter which time we're on.  In the summer, there are so many daylight hours that it doesn't matter.  When it matters, near the equinoxes, I would rather go to work in the dark and play with my kids outside while the sun is shining.  But I'll sacrifice that if it means I don't have to switch my clock twice a year.

If you live in Utah, please encourage your state legislators to support my father's bill that would give voters the power to choose whether the state should opt out of DST.