Changing the time. And government by social media.

 

Overnight the clocks all went back an hour. There was an occasion, long years ago before we had mobile phones and digital clocks and computers that change automatically,  I once put the clocks forward an hour instead of back. Then I drove Phil to a chess event and we we were amazed to find the venue still locked up, no sign of life. Puzzled we returned home, wondering if we had mistaken the date. Only some time later did we realise what had happened when someone phoned to ask where Phil was! Oh boy!

There are various theories about the origins of daylight-saving. Apparently the Romans used to do it. Benjamin Franklin is also credited with the idea.  Nothing new under the sun! This is the story I like best:

“British Summer Time, also known as Daylight Saving Time, was the brainchild of a builder from Kent called William Willett. The story goes that one day on his way back from riding his horse in Petts Wood near his home in the early 1900s, he noticed many of the blinds and curtains in the neighbouring houses were still drawn, even though it was light. This led him to consider the idea of adapting the time to better fit daylight hours. Back then the clocks were set all year round to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), meaning it was light by 3am and dark around 9pm in the summer.

Although he was not the first person to advocate this, he was perhaps the most driven, using his own resources to finance a pamphlet outlining his idea for adapting to daylight hours during the summer. His original proposal was for the clocks to be put forward by 80 minutes in total, in four steps of 20 minutes each Sunday at 2am during April and turned back in the same way in September. He argued that this would mean longer daylight hours for recreation, improving health and also saving the country money in lighting.”

Nobody took action on his idea though. Some time during the first world war it was put into effect, according to another theory. So it goes!

The USA and Canada seem to be keeping up their rivalry at the moment. Here’s one post:

"Dear Trump: Canada has moved on from you. We're a functioning democracy & will keep it that way. Keep your school shootings, election conspiracies, ICE Gestapo & your f***** ballroom down there, you fascist ***." – @CanadaHatesTrump”

And it seems that Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he will raise US tariffs on Canada by 10% in retaliation for an anti+p-tariff advertisement sponsored by the Ontario government.

The statement, posted on Trump’s Truth Social account, came after several days of public disputes over the ad, which referenced Ronald Reagan’s support for free trade and provoked the US president’s anger.

“Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now,” Trump said Saturday on social media.

Government by social media according to this article is probably hurting the American people more than anything else. 

Hey ho!

Life goes ln. Stay safe and well, everyone!