[Shotimes] (OT) "I Want to Pump Myself Up" an ode to NJ

[Ron Porter]

"Spring Forward - Fall Back"

You mentioned "Now comes fall and the clock moves one hour forward" Not
true, it's the other way around.

Yes, I've seen the voluminous number of posts on this topic. DST is a dead
issue. Virtually all of this country, and very many others, went to it years
ago. Not a farmer's issue, as a letter to the Indianapolis Star from a
farmer the other day stated that their day is from sunrise to sunset,
regardless of the clock. At this point, it is irrelevant if people like it
or not, it's the beat that we all march to. 

Doesn't matter what Hawaii does for time, as they are so far off of the rest
of the states, anyway. Arizona has a whole state in one time zone, with a
growing economy, and the primary business neighbor is California, which they
match for the DST period. They will eventually come around to it, as they
aren't as isolated of a state as they were for many years.


In the seven months since last October, I have spent five full months in
Indiana, and read the Indianapolis Star virtually every day, plus USA Today
and the local Washington (home of Indiana's Mr. Basketball - Luke
Zeller)paper. I have picked up on issues in Indiana, from the lack of
economic development, to the business losses from companies like GM, and
others like the possible closing of the base in Martin County that would
just about make Loogootee a ghost town and the county a deserted area. By
and large, southern Indiana is an economic backwater.

As the USA Today article (which was a large article on Page 3 that day)
points out (and thanks to Bill for providing the link for those who didn't
see the paper), Indiana has the most screwed-up time system in the country.
The new Gov (Mitch Daniels) understands the business impact which was
mentioned in the USA Today article, as well as in the Indy paper. The
unspoken view by the Gov, the Star, and the USA Today article is that the
time issue just confirms in most people's minds that Indiana is a backward
state full of rubes. 

For a state that needs economic development very badly, passing DST is a
mandatory step to joint the rest of the country. To not do so is to send out
more signals that Indiana is not a good place to do business. If
head-in-the-sand idiots like Rep. Dave Crooks (incidentally, he represents
Washington) insists on fighting DST due to "Hoosier stubbornness", he needs
to really look around his hometown compared to other towns the same size
(like Jasper 20 miles down the road) to see that anything that can bring
some desperately needed economic development here is a good thing. 

After having lived in states that border Indiana (Michigan, Chicago area,
and Louisville), Indiana is the butt of many jokes, and does not have a good
image. Whether that's fair or not, it's the reality. As someone told me
years ago the state slogan for Indiana should have been: "Indiana - we would
have named it West Virginia, but the name was already taken".

Ron Porter

-----Original Message-----
From: Zach Leahy [mailto:leahyz@gmail.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 8:56 AM
To: Ron Porter
Cc: Paul Nimz; `V6 SHOtimes
Subject: Re: [Shotimes] (OT) "I Want to Pump Myself Up" an ode to NJ

Ok, Maybe I am an Indiana idiot, but I really think that DST is
stupid.  I think that not switching your clocks make perfect sense
(there really is no added benefit) and that the way DST works is
stupid.  Lemme explain.

When it is summer, it gets light out nice and early and I drive to
work in the light, and drive home and have a nice and sunny afternoon
to enjoy.  Great.

Now comes fall and the clock moves one hour forward... effectivly
making it get light one hour earlier.  As the days shorten my
afternoon amount of sunlight gets smaller, and DST takes an hour of
that away.

<snip>

Come on really, think about it, what is the advantage to DST?  I think
it's ridiculous.  Don't tell me "the farmers want it"  I live in the
middle of farm country, we don't want it.  It's stupid, plain stupid. 
Make it go ther other way, that makes sense.  Make it so I have an
extra hour of daylight in the afternoon.

my .02 from an IN village idiot.

Z