Daylight Savings Year 3

[Cowboy]

Could someone start telling me how daylight saving is going to help either myself or members of my family after I have overcome my initial reluctance instead of telling me off?

[Swee_82]

Could someone start telling me how daylight saving is going to help either myself or members of my family after I have overcome my initial reluctance instead of telling me off?

Who's telling anyone off?

larry asked a question, he got an answer.

I have no idea how it might affect you and your family. These days it means I have several hours available in the afternoon either for my own leisure, or with my mates. If I am out and heading home it's still light and there's less of a personal safety issue. At work it means it's easier to catch people in the East. As a child, I thought it was the best thing about summer, and looked forward to it every year- I meant I could be out until 8-8:30 (in the backyard, not running the streets). As it got older it meant we had time to go out as a family, for a picnic or to the beach or something after my Dad got home (usually around 7pm, cos we lived in the boonies and he worked in the city). If I were to end up with a family, I'd want to have that time available too. Though yes, I'm one of those selfish childless people, so I guess my thoughts on the subject don't count. I lived several years in Qld without it, so I do know what the alternative is too.

I also very much dislike being awake at 5am and working up a sweat on the way to work because the sun's been up several hours and it's already stinking hot.

That's just a reflection of where my priorities lie. I like my leisure in one big chunk at the end of the day, not split up with 10 hours of work in the middle of it (not to mention that having a beer and BBQ with your mates at 5am, just becasue it's the bit of daylight you're gonna get is a bit of a faux pas). It's not right or wrong, it's just how I do things.

I don't expect any of that to be important to you, but since I don't know anything about you and your family, I can't answer the question you posed, so I'm left to explain why I will support it.

[Cowboy]

Every arguement I have ever read about daylight savings has always come down to an underlying message of just do as your told, no matter who it is from. It's an unfortunate Aussie habit, same as breaking down into "them vs us" and happens without even realising it.
I haven't read anything yet which tried to encourage me or anyone else to change their opinion because of the benefit it could bring to their life. Only that they are backward, or miss the point etc. This only helps cement the them vs us part of the discussion.
Most of the people who's opinion that I have heard who have lived with daylight saving either in the East or overseas seem to like it. Yet I have never been given a reason why, only shut up and accept it. I am starting to suspect that daylight saving may give people more chance to socialise together and offer some real advantages, if we can get over our own inertia.
I just want to hear why I should want this, rather than what is wrong if I don't.

[Ecky]

If you:

(a) have small-ish children whose bedtime coincides with Fat Cat, then the first few day of DLS, and the first few days post DLS, will disrupt their usual ritual as it's still light when you are trying to convince them it's really bedtime.

(b) have school-aged chilren, then they will be coming home in pretty much the heat of the day, which is fine when it's 27 degrees but not so fine when it's still 35 degrees. Also, should you decide to have your dinner that bit later because it's usually twilight (or dark) when you usually eat, make sure the little darlings do their homework BEFORE dinner, because it'll suddenly be bedtime and they will still need to have a decent sleep before waking up in good time to go to school the next day.

(c) run an outdoor movie theatre which donates 100% of its profits to kids' charities, then you can't screen many family movies because you can't start the film until about 9:00, so it'll finish too late for the kiddies.

Knowledge of some of these things will help you.

Other helpful advice: You will save money because you won't really need to replace faded window furnishings. The money you save, however, may need to go towards a lining for said furnishings for (a) above.

If you live on a rural property and grow animals, who by-products you sell in order to survive, then DLS will, it would seem, not help you one iota, so disregard this whole post.

[tragic]

We like it for exactly the reasons Swee outlined. It's fun having more light at the end of the working day! There's plenty of darkness in winter, making the most of a longer day of sunshine is nice.
I loved the UK in summer... 10pm and still light enough to walk home!

[Cowboy]

If you live on a rural property and grow animals, who by-products you sell in order to survive, then DLS will, it would seem, not help you one iota, so disregard this whole post.

Thanks Ecky,
I am hoping to base my own decision on the overall impact, rather than just my own circumstance.
I hadn't thought about outdoor theatre's, must limit the number of customers and is a genuine downside. My wife and daughter went to carols-by-candlelight before Christmas down here. Wife thought it was missing something, specifically the candlelight as it was light the whole time. It would seem that there are at least some social activities that more daylight does not help.

[Happy]

on voting day use my method

if you haven't already decided

get drunk

lots

vote

then plead ignorance!

[Cowboy]

I don't expect any of that to be important to you, but since I don't know anything about you and your family, I can't answer the question you posed, so I'm left to explain why I will support it.

Well actually it is important to me. Simply because the life which I have choosen doesn't easily lend itself toward benefiting from daylight saving doesn't mean that I wouldn't support it. This is a last chance referendum and my children probably won't end up following my career choice, so if I think that there are positives for them it could be what influences my decision.

I am sorry that you have interpretted my attitude to not being a parent as selfish, personally I think that having children if you don't wish to is a huge mistake.
Anyway the positives you pointed out for more family time which is away from any distractions are very real. Maybe my impressions are still of my dad using the extra light to work until dark and get home at 9:30, a somewhat distorted point of view.

The fact is that our leisure time is also important, not just our working hours. The biggest question in my mind is "does daylight saving achieve a better work/life balance for the majority of people?" If it does then it would be a positive for our community and I would support it.

[Flamethrower]

Why does the sun need to be up in the evening to have a BBQ???

I have a switch that makes it possible to see when it's dark.

[Cowboy]

Why does the sun need to be up in the evening to have a BBQ???

I have a switch that makes it possible to see when it's dark.

This is one of my questions, but it might not matter why. If people spend more time together though, it can only be a good outcome.
So my next question would be are we generally spending more time together, or are those who do using slightly less electricity in the process?

[Happy]

lets face it.. during summer it is too hot.. the only thing that gets a work out is the beer fridge and xbox360

[Flamethrower]

Or are we going home while it's still hot and cranking up the aircon???

[LarryNJ]

. These days it means I have several hours available in the afternoon either for my own leisure, or with my mates. If I am out and heading home it's still light and there's less of a personal safety issue. At work it means it's easier to catch people in the East. As a child, I thought it was the best thing about summer, and looked forward to it every year- I meant I could be out until 8-8:30 (in the backyard, not running the streets). As it got older it meant we had time to go out as a family, for a picnic or to the beach or something after my Dad got home (usually around 7pm, cos we lived in the boonies and he worked in the city). If I were to end up with a family, I'd want to have that time available too. .

Not that my opinion matters! But that's exactly why I like it and my kids have always liked it. They enjoyed playing outside longer and staying up a little later. Going to bed at 9:30 instead of 9:00 was a big deal to them and something they looked forward to.

That being said I can understand why the farmers don't like it. I think we need a book on how the vote will turn out. I'm guessing that it gets approved.

[Cowboy]

Or are we going home while it's still hot and cranking up the aircon???

Exactly, we can't just assume that the behaviour DLS creates elsewhere will be repeated here.

An informed decision is what we should be chasing.

[unipirate]

Well an informed decision?

There are numerous, if not tens maybe hundreds of countries around the world who have been implementing DLS for decades! I don't believe that their lives have all fallen in a heap??!!

You know why they don't complain about the idea because one they didn't have a choice, their government just brought it in; and two they are used to it as it is part of life.

Why is it so difficult to embrace change and move forward in WA? The implications of introducing DLS are all individual mindsets which are ill informed and unwilling to be moved in most cases.

The introduction of DLS is not going to ruin WA, it is not going to ruing the lifestyle here (for a lot of people it might even improve it). It is a little change, nothing is being taken away from the individual. You will get used to the idea, and think nothing of it in 5 years (as long as it is brought in).