Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, November 4, 2023

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Mountain Views-News November 4, 2023 


Lovebugs 

HERBIE & NORMIE

Herbie and Normie are 
absolute sweetheart kittens, 
age 3 mos.!

Normie (full black face) 
is a big cuddle bug, and 
will constantly stop 
playtime to check-in 
and get some lovin. Herbie will then get jealous and 
have to get some lovin too. These boys are definitely “mama's boys”. They can spend over 
an hour a day laying on my lap while kneading and nursing on their special blankie. (It will 
go with the kittens). Their favorite game is to play chase with each other. 

They haven’t developed their full voice yet, so use the sweetest lit-tle squeaks to be let out 
of their room for playtime. 

The boys are trying hard to win over the two other cats in the house. But they respect the 
boundaries the older cats have set.

Can only be described as absolute sweethearts. They would be a great pair to adopt together. 
See more pix of them on our website’s Very Young page, where you will also find the 
adoption applica-tion: www.lifelineforpets.org. 

Good news: Makaela, from last week, has been adopted!

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME:

A pointless relic from the past

 

 [Christopher Nyerges is the author of Urban Survival Guide, How to Survive Anywhere, 
Extreme Simplicity, Foraging California and other books. He can also be reached via School 
of Self-Reliance, Box 41834, Eagle Rock, CA 90041, or www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.]

 

 Yes, it’s that time of year again! Our lawmakers, believing that they know 
what is best for us, continue to tinker with time. Manipulate the clocks and 
supposedly we will save energy. And twice a year, we’re all subject to the 
changes and inconveniences that occur as a result of the springing forward 
or falling back. It is part of our annual ritual, our relic from the past, where we go back to 
standard time from daylight savings time. 

 

Why do we do this? Where did this come from?

 

First, what exactly is “time”? It is a measurement of change, based upon this planet’s daily 
and annual cycles. Some of the earliest known attempts to codify and standardize “time” go 
back to the Sumerians and Egyptians. We know that something is happening, the changes 
in our life, that this moment right now suddenly passes, and there is a new “this moment,” 
this Now. Our reckoning of time is our abstraction to give us a pragmatic way to communicate 
with everyone else about where we will be and when.

 

The sun has been the greatest factor in determining the details of this thing called time. The 
sun appears to arise in the east each morning, and when the sun is directly overhead, more 
or less, we call that noon. We’ve divided “time” into a day of 24 hours, and the each hour 
into 60 minutes. Where did those numbers come from? Regardless, the whole purpose of 
“time” is to create a working abstraction that closely represents the natural day.

 

Daylight savings time skews our close representation with the natural day by one hour, 
something we are told that we have to live with now for at least half the year.

 

Daylight savings time is a manipulation of the basic solar time within each time zone’s standard. 
It was said to be an idea of Benjamin Franklin, and was begun in the United States 
during world wars one and two, and eventually became “official” in all but two states. That 
right! At least two states have said “No, thanks, we’ll stick to standard time.” And now a few 
states are saying, “We’re sick of changing our clocks twice a year – we want to keep daylight 
savings time (or standard time) all year.”

 

Michael Downing, author of “Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Savings 
Time,” demonstrates that the clock-change saves energy in theory only, but not in practice.

 

David Letterman once asked the question to his audience during his monologue: “Why do 
we practice daylight savings time? It’s so the farmers have more light,” he laughed, answering 
his own question. “But how does that give the plants more light?” That’s a Letterman 
joke for you, but there is a truth hidden under his humor. Most people queried on the street 
don’t know why we have daylight savings time, and fewer still experience any tangible benefits 
from it, except perhaps the pleasantness of a later sunset time in the summer.

 

There are two often-cited reasons for the use of daylight savings time. One is so that the 
children can have more light going to school in the morning. But consider: the children 
have an hour more of morning light in late October, when the clock is set back (“fall back”) 
to standard time. That is, it is the very use of daylight savings time which creates a darker 
morning as the days get shorter and shorter. The “falling back” an hour merely puts us back 
in sync with the local time zone. It is the use of daylight savings time that created the problem 
of less light in the morning, and only in that sense can you say that the “falling back” to 
regular time gives children that extra hour of light. In other words, this is a problem caused 
by daylight savings time. This is not a bonafide benefit from daylight savings time.

 

I have talked to many people about daylight savings time. Some like it, some do not. Some 
are annoyed by it, some find the long afternoons of summer very enjoyable. Everyone has 
arrived late (or early) on the first Sunday (even Monday in some cases) after the changing 
of the clocks. Daylight savings time thus gives millions of people a quasi-valid excuse for 
lateness at least once a year.

 

Let’s end daylight savings time entirely and adopt a year-round standard time. If I were 
asked to choose between daylight savings time all year, or standard time all year, I would 
definitely choose standard time. Why? Simple! Standard time is the closest approximately 
of actual solar time. It more closely represents the real world than does the manipulation of 
daylight savings time.

 

Yes, this is perhaps a small thing in the context of a world always at war, with hate and suspicion 
in all political camps, with pandemics, and endless economic hardships all over the 
world. In that big-picture sense, this is just a little issue. But this is still an issue that causes 
headaches and freeway crashes at least twice a year. Let’s resolve it! I love the sun. Let the 
sun dictate our abstraction of time, not politicians.

 

Since daylight savings time is a state-by-state 
decision, we can begin with California. Write 
to our Governor and ask to implement year-
round standard time. You can write to Office 
of the Governor, State Capitol, Sacramento, 
CA 95814, or phone at 916) 445-2841, or on-
line at www.govmail.ca.gov. (if you live in 
another state, write to your governor if you 
agree).

 

Take a poll of your friends and acquaintances 
before you write to the Governor. See if you 
can find anyone who derives tangible benefits from daylight savings time. Of course, if you 
like Daylight Savings Time, you will likely just continue with your life as usual, enjoying the 
long days of summer and complaining about how dark it quickly gets when the clocks go 
back to standard time.


Pet of the Week

 
Tito is a 12-year-old Australian Shepherd/Chow mix. 
His soft and fluffy fur makes him ideal to cuddle with, 
and his energy level is just right for anyone who wants 
a couch potato sometimes, and a good walking buddy 
at other times. 

 What really gets him excited and playful is playing 
fetch. He loves chasing tennis balls, and prances back 
to you with a look of pride that he is still able to catch a 
bouncing ball just like a young pup. 

 Tito looks like a large dog, but he is only about 55 
pounds under all that fur. He’s an ideal size for trips 
in the car, going on hikes or just hanging out on the 
couch. 

 Senior pets like Tito can easily get overlooked, but this sweet guy will has all the best 
qualities that any pet parent is look ing for- he's loving, friendly, and a great companion. 
Tito is ready to make himself right at home with you!

 Pasadena Humane’s Seniors for Seniors program allows all dogs and cats over five years 
old like Tito to be adopted for free by anyone over sixty.

 The adoption fee for dogs is $150. All dog adoptions include spay or neuter, microchip, 
and age-appropriate vaccines. 

 New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-wellness exam from VCA Animal 
Hospitals, as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care for your pet. 

 View photos of adoptable pets and schedule an adoption appointment at pasadenahumane.
org. Adoptions are by appointment only, and new adoption appointments are available 
every Sunday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. 

 Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone 
calls or email.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com