Spring Forward

If you’re like me this semiannual switch between Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time is maddening.  Today I lost an hour of sleep and in November after I set my clock back an hour I’ll still get out of bed in the dark to turn the coffee on.  At the end of the day I’ll pour myself a glass of Merlot in the dark.  This resetting of the clocks is messing with my circadian rhythms.

Daylight Saving Time is associated with the Western world as most countries outside Europe and North America don't observe the ritual. 

Courtesy of CNN research the notion of Daylight Saving Time has a curious pedigree.

1784 - The idea of daylight saving is first conceived by Benjamin Franklin.

1914-1918 - Britain goes on DLS during World War I.

March 19, 1918 - The Standard Time Act establishes time zones and daylight saving. Daylight saving is repealed in 1919, but continues to be recognized in certain areas of the United States.

1945-1966 - There is no federal law regarding Daylight Saving Time.

1966 - The Uniform Time Act of 1966 establishes the system of uniform Daylight Saving Time throughout the United States. The dates are the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October. States can exempt themselves from participation.

1974-1975 - Congress extends DLS in order to save energy during the energy crisis.

1986-2006 - Daylight Saving Time begins on the first Sunday in April and ends on the last Sunday in October.

August 8, 2005 - President George W. Bush signs the Energy Policy Act of 2005 into law. Part of the act will extend Daylight Saving Time starting in 2007, from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

Last year the Sunshine State decided they had enough of this nonsense and by overwhelming margins the Florida House of Representatives and Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act and Governor Rick Scott signed it into law.  It will become effective if Congress changes the federal law.  

 

Senator Marco Rubio introduced The Sunshine Protection act of 2019 which would make permanent daylight saving time for all time zones.   President Trump implied support for it  and nothing came of it.  Last year the White House declined to say if President Biden supported permanent daylight savings time. Sheesh.

As for making Daylight Savings Time permanent there is evidence that the frequency of heart attack and stroke increases around the ritual resetting of clocks twice a year.  Benefits of Daylight Savings Time enhance public safety, make better economic sense and may improve our mental health.  Proponents of Daylight Saving Time argue that most people appreciate an increase in daylight hours after coming home from work.  

Speaking for myself - I like the notion of longer, lighter evenings, better health and a happier more prosperous United States.   

Make it permanent. 

Under The Knife

 Combined Blepharoplasty and Internal Levator Resection

AKA - Reconstructive surgery to correct the impact of a lifetime of sun, wind and gravity on the eyelids.  It has progressed to the point of vision impairment.

Before

Immediately following surgery

Day Two

Day Three

Day Five

 

Day Twelve

Friday Music

Composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney this song was also the title of the fifth studio album cut by The Beatles.  Released in 1965, of the fourteen songs recorded seven of them also happened to be featured in a film of the same name.  

Album, film, single.

The album was a Grammy nominee in 1966 - the very first time a rock band was recognized in this category.  In 2020 the album was awarded a ranking of 266 on Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.  It's also certified platinum.

That's quite an accomplishment - memorable are the single in this post, the songs Ticket to Ride and Yesterday - coincidentally the most covered song in history.

Help!..... 

Save a Life

Fentanyl is a highly potent synthetic opioid used as an analgesic.  Combined with other drugs it is also incorporated in anesthesia.  As a pharmaceutical it is exceedingly useful when supervised by medical professionals.

It is also used by recreational drug users - frequently mixed with cocaine and heroin.  The cartels that manufacture illegal drugs for this market will also lace the same, and additional drugs, with fentanyl to enhance its effects.

Dangerous stuff as either way the probability of a fatal overdose is enhanced.

 

 

Local service organizations are working to supply Narcan (Naloxone) to local school districts in case of an overdose.  This drug can counteract an overdose from opioids, including fentanyl, and keeping it on hand could mean the difference between life and death.  

Participating pharmacists in Wisconsin can supply Narcan, without a prescription, to anyone at risk of overdose including family, friends and anyone else who may witness an opioid overdose.

Antler Drop

Half rack buck beginning of the month.

Likely more out there too.

Gonna keep a sharp eye-out for more pics on the trail cams and shed antlers in the snow....

Retribution

At CPAC last weekend Donald Trump issued a ginormous smack down of establishment Republicans and neocons that could teach professional wrestling a thing or two.

With you on my side, we will demolish the deep state.  We will expel the warmongers.  We will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the communists.  We will throw off the political class that hates our country.  

When we started this journey, a journey there has never been before, we had a Republican Party that was ruled by freaks, neocons, globalists, open borders zealots and fools.  But we are never going back to the party of Paul Ryan, Karl Rove and Jeb Bush.

Donald Trump promised that with him in the White House the Republican Party will never go back to a party that wants to give unlimited money to fight endless wars while seeking to cut social security and veterans benefits.

Well, there you have it.  A return to past grievances, a promise to deliver a welcome embrace of the 800 pound gorilla along with a hefty dose of retribution on top.

There's the party platform in a nutshell. 

Composite / Photos: GettyImages

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There is a population of conservatives, Republicans, center-right individuals and independent-minded voters who place a high value on facts and the truth. Marginalized because they refuse to embrace baseless conspiracy theories or demonstrate sufficient fealty and obeisance to the former guy - exile is their cross to bear.

March Night Sky

March’s full moon is frequently called the Full Worm Moon.  The story goes this is because of the earthworms that wriggle out of the ground as the earth begins to thaw in March.  As a consequence, some Native American Tribes referred to it as the Worm Moon and the return of robins to feast on the emerging worms.

The fact of the matter is that Northern tribes would not have embraced this name for the March moon as there were no earthworms. A Southern tribe maybe – but certainly not a Northern tribe. 

Earthworms did not exist in the northern reaches of continental North America. The ice sheets of the last glaciation wiped them out. All of the earthworms and night crawlers we see nowadays were introduced by European colonists – brought here in plant root balls and soil used as ship ballast. That’s right – earthworms are invasive species.  But I digress. 

Northern American tribes such as the Shawnee tribe know this as the Sap Moon - a reminder for the tribes that they can begin tapping maple trees for the making of syrup.

In general, March’s full moon is known as a herald for the beginning of spring and new agricultural cycles. The European settlers referred to this as the Lenten Moon and as a way to measure the progress of their crops. They called it the Storm Moon if the weather was inclement – an indicator their crops might fail. Under ideal growing conditions they called it the Rugged Moon – a sign of a successful harvest that year.

One of its other names is the Chaste Moon, symbolizing the purity of early spring. The Pueblo tribe named it the Moon When the Leaves Break Forth, The Cree called it the Goose Moon, while in Shoshone culture it was known as the Warming Moon. The Ojibwe called the the Crows Come Back Moon, after the crows and other birds that appear as winter draws to a close.  It is also called the Crust Moon, because of the snow that becomes crusty when it thaws in the sun and freezes in the moonlight.