Re: Error with the leap year

On Wed, May 9, 2012 at 9:28 AM, David Nicol <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Tue, May 8, 2012 at 3:35 PM, Randal L. Schwartz <[email protected]>wrote:
>
>> >>>>> "sc" == sc  <[email protected]> writes:
>>
>> sc> we should start a movement to eliminate DST -- i think i heard
>> sc> they got rid of it in Russia -- they don't struggle with it in
>> sc> Arizona -- not just the United States, but all countries should
>> sc> just eliminate it -- it was a bad idea to begin with, never had
>> sc> any merit, and should be relegated to the dustbin of history
>>
>> Indeed!
>>
>
> People offer the argument from authority that Benjamin Franklin suggested
> it. He was a very subtle fellow and may have been kidding or making a straw
> man argument against some other point.

I recommend reading
http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/franklin3.html and forming
your own impression.  Mine is that he had tongue firmly inserted in
his cheek.

> I like the proposal for US time simplification forwarded at
> http://standardtime.com/
> and mention it whenever the subject comes up. Initially I found it
> oversimplistic but then came around to believing that the compromises
> inherent in their proposal are well thought out.
>
> So now whenever there is a daylight savings shift (and accompanying
> statistically significant bump in traffic accident numbers) I note which
> half of the US is "in compliance" and which is out.

I would love to get rid of DST altogether.  But good luck getting
something so sensible through Congress.