Forum: Author Hangout

What time is it?

PotomacBob 🚫

I heard a story on BBC about Europe having passed a new law about setting the time. Under the law, the story said, each country will have the same time all year long. It's the choice of the individual country whether that permanent time in their country will be standard time or daylight time.
At about the same time I read an essay by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) proposing to set daylight time as the permanent time in the U.S. - no more Spring Forward, Fall Back.
How does that affect time-travel stories on SOL? (grin)

Replies: Switch Blayde REP AmigaClone LucyAnneThorn

zebra69347 🚫
Updated:

For some years each country in Europe uses Daylight Saving Time, though I've never found anyone who actually has any saved daylight. There are three time zones in Europe, East Europe, Central Europe and West Europe. Each of those zones will change to Summer Time at 02:00 local time tonight, the last Sunday of March. Reverting to normal time on the last Sunday of October.

Whether there are any power savings these days, which was the original concept, is doubtful. Personally I think the natural time zone should be maintained throughout the year.

The clock time we use is a just a device to allow us to have a routine! Not changed since the original sundials.

Replies: helmut_meukel

helmut_meukel 🚫

@zebra69347

There are three time zones in Europe, East Europe, Central Europe and West Europe.

West Europe is the traditional Greenwich Mean Time (UTC). Originally used not only in the UK and Portugal but also in Spain and France. In 1940, with the German occupation, France switched to Central European Time. Spain followed 1942 with a decree by Franco.
Central European Time (UTC+1) is used from Spain to Poland, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, and Serbia.
East European Time (UTC+2) is used by the EU members Finland, the 3 baltic states, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and Cyprus. Outside of the EU it's used by Ukraine, Moldova, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, and Libya. It would be appropriate for Belarus to use UTC+2 but they use UTC+3 like Moscow.

See how actual time zones differ from the geographical appropriate time zones.

HM.

Switch Blayde 🚫

@PotomacBob

I read an essay by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) proposing to set daylight time as the permanent time in the U.S. - no more Spring Forward, Fall Back.

It's already like that in Arizona, Hawaii, and one other state.

Why would that affect a time travel story?

REP 🚫

@PotomacBob

How does that affect time-travel stories on SOL? (grin)

A 1-hour time difference should have no affect, unless your MC has to go back in time to make an appointment and is late. :)

AmigaClone 🚫

@PotomacBob

How does that affect time-travel stories on SOL? (grin)

For the vast majority of time travel stories on SOL there would be no affect at all with a possible exception of the time traveler making note of the fact that DST was not practiced at the time he left.

If a time machine or "magic spell" sent a person to a specific time, then there would be a need to take into account if the location is under DST or not.

Remus2 🚫
Updated:

Port Authur Canada started DST in 1908. A few other Canadian locations picked it up after that. 1916-1918 Germany and Austria kicked it off officially and it grew from there.

If it jacks up a time travel story, blame the Canadians... just sayin

Edited for spelling

Replies: karactr

karactr 🚫

@Remus2

Why are the Canadian's a favorite topic? Everyone always seems to blame them. Or the Illuminati.

Replies: Remus2

Remus2 🚫
Updated:

@karactr

Why are the Canadian's a favorite topic? Everyone always seems to blame them. Or the Illuminati.

My comments were more tongue in cheek, but it was Canadians that first implemented theDST idea.

Edited for correction

Replies: Ernest Bywater

Ernest Bywater 🚫

@Remus2

it was Canadians that came up with the DST idea.

I was under the impression it was Benjamin Franklin who first stated the idea, and it was the Canadians who were the first to put it into actual practice with a clock.

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Ernest Bywater

I was under the impression it was Benjamin Franklin who first stated the idea, and it was the Canadians who were the first to put it into actual practice with a clock.

So was I. Unfortunately, this turns out to be a myth.

What he proposed at the time had nothing to do with re-setting clocks, he simply proposed (apparently mostly as a joke) that the people of Paris (where he was living at the time) get out of bed earlier.

https://www.fi.edu/benjamin-franklin/daylight-savings-time

Replies: Remus2 Remus2

Remus2 🚫
Updated:

@Dominions Son

George Hudson and William Willett were the specific people who came up with the idea. As said, it was Port Authur Canada where it was first implemented. If we go by the persons who first voiced the idea, we would be blaming the Kiwis and Brits.

Remus2 🚫

@Dominions Son

Thanks for that link. I'd been under the mistaken assumption the first place to implement it was it's point of origin.

Vincent Berg 🚫

The entire concept of daylight savings has always been questionable, at best. But it's discouraging for the majroity of the working population to NEVER see any sunlight at all except for a short lunch break, and since most children take the bus to school (as opposed to walking to taking a wagon), they'd prefer an extra hour of sunlight in the evening when they get out of school. Besides, the tendency now is to start schools much later to allow the kids to sleep in anyway.

Russia decided to try out daylight savings time, decided it was a stupid idea, and cancelled it without ever setting their clocks back to standard time, so their clocks have been off by one-hour ever since.

It's a fraudulent concept, which doesn't apply to the modern age, but allowing each country to decide whether to add or subtract an hour, based on wholly arbitrary reasons, seems an even worse concept.

Replies: AmigaClone

AmigaClone 🚫

@Vincent Berg

The entire concept of daylight savings has always been questionable, at best.

I recently once saw a joke where and indian said something like "only a white man would cut off one end of a blanket and sew it on the other end to make it longer."

LucyAnneThorn 🚫

@PotomacBob

How does that affect time-travel stories on SOL? (grin)

That could be a fun one, actually.

Sandy Saves Daylight Time
or: the girl who lived an hour apart from everybody else

When poor Sandy forgets to switch back from daylight saving time, she suddenly finds herself in a parallel time stream, unseen but seeing, and oh what does she see! She would never have dreamed that the people around her could be so naughty, and the more she looks, the more she wants to be naughty herself. Read a titillating tale following Sandy's discovery of voyeurism and exhibitionism and, oh my, just how naughty people can be...

Followed by:
Sandy's Endless Summer Days

Our hero Sandy has saved so much daylight time over the winter that, once back into the regular flow of time, the sun never sets for her for months. Sandy's only chance to put things right with the higher beings and reestablish the balance is to fill her days with nighttime activities. Read how Sandy uses her newfound knowledge about her friends' naughty secrets and delves even deeper into delightful debauchery...

Replies: richardshagrin

richardshagrin 🚫

@LucyAnneThorn

Daylight Time

Needs a story about Daylight Slaving time. Probably BDSM. Sandy becomes a sex slave.

Replies: LucyAnneThorn joyR

LucyAnneThorn 🚫

@richardshagrin

Needs a story about Daylight Slaving time. Probably BDSM. Sandy becomes a sex slave.

Like this? Part 3 of Sandy's Adventures:
Sandy Suffers All Summer

After two intense years, Sandy is overjoyed about the six months vacation, and the people in Danubia are so very friendly upon her arrival. A little obsessed about Daylight Saving Time, she thinks, but then, who would understand that better than she. Or so she thinks. Yet suddenly she finds herself naked and collared, and the document she signed is about slaving instead of saving, and for the next six months, from sunrise to sundown, all she can do is suffer increasing indignities and torments and keep denying the sexual thrill this gives her.

Of course, Sandy's adventures never come in singles, so make sure you also read the thrilling continuation:
Sandy's Danubian Downfall

Her horrible - so she still lies to herself and everyone else - vacation is finally coming to an end, but just when it is back to normal time and freedom for poor Sandy, disaster strikes in the form of a nation wide software bug. Instead of moving time back by an hour, every computer in the country of Danubia decrements the wrong byte, and suddenly it is the year 1763 instead of 2019. In an emergency session, the Danubian parliament declares all laws made after October 1763 void until the software can be fixed, which might take months. Suddenly, nobility has near unlimited power, all borders are closed and, to make matters worse, Sandy's savings are used up. The friendly Countess of Vilslakia generously offers to help her out, but when the regal countess' real motives become tangible, Sandy is already in over her pretty head and the past six months suddenly seem like, well, a vacation.

And since all good things come in threes:
Sandy's Ultimate Decision

In the final and most emotional installment of our series, the wicked Countess of Vilslakia has used bribery and trickery to get the technicians who are fixing the year 1763 glitch to install her very own time zone for the county of Vilslakia. Instead of fast-forwarding to 2019, the county stays in "Delightful Slaving Time" and 1763 forever, and the Danubian parliament finds itself unable to uphold its jurisdiction over the Countess' lands. At the celebration of Vilslakia's independence, a foreign visitor is so smitten with our heroine that he offers to smuggle her out of the county. And suddenly, Sandy finds herself torn between the wish to go back to the safety of her old life and the Countess' sordid, salacious games. Just why does the thought of ultimately surrendering herself to the wicked Countess' cruel demands thrill her so? Will she be able to make the right decision?

Replies: karactr

karactr 🚫

@LucyAnneThorn

Now WRITE THE DAMN THING! It sounds interesting.

joyR 🚫

@richardshagrin

Needs a story about Daylight Slaving time. Probably BDSM. Sandy becomes a sex slave.

Daylight shaving time..??

All women and girls above the age of consent are required to be shaved and to prove it upon demand. Sandy choses to dress in a manner that leaves nobody in doubt as to her compliance.

Tw0Cr0ws 🚫

It was sold as being helpful to farmers, what a load of BS, farmers work from can see to can't see the same as they did before this silly idea was invented no matter what the clock says (and now they have lights on their tractors).

Replies: Dominions Son

Dominions Son 🚫

@Tw0Cr0ws

I've not seen that one before. I have seen the opposite, it being billed as giving industrial/commercial workers in the cities on fixed work hours more daylight in the evenings for leisure time.

This is where the bulk of the supposed energy savings is supposed to come from, in the summer, with longer days and better weather, given more after work daylight, people will spend more time recreating outdoors and less electric lighting will be used.

docholladay 🚫

Heck the milk cows on a dairy farm have the same schedule regardless of that clock setting. I wonder if nature is telling us something.

Of course that is only one example, there must be other examples.

Reply to topic

Forum: Author Hangout

What time is it?

WARNING! ADULT CONTENT...