As we mentioned to Peoplenomics subscribers, Elaine and I tried out of of those “Slow TV shows” and it was wonderful. For one thing, it was quiet, for another – no commercials. Just the kind of thing needed to help us adjust to getting up an hour later, going to bed an hour later…
A lot of research has been done on circadian rhythms and I was not exactly surprised this morning to awaken at the same old time, which is now being mislabeled as 3 AM. Not that I’m really griping too loudly, since part of its my own fault: Of all the clocks around here, I don’t suppose you’d care to guess which one (on whose side of the bed?) I forgot to set? Wasn’t self-adjusting…
Since conspiracy theories are popular, and because I haven’t run across a c9nspiracy based on the idea that Daylight Savings Time is a plot to prematurely kill people (thus keeping down the “useless eater” count), I looked through the Wikipedia entry for some support. Check these snips out:
“Health problems can result from a disturbance to the circadian rhythm. These include seasonal affective disorder (SAD), delayed sleep phase syndrome (DSPS) and other circadian rhythm disorders.[56] Circadian rhythms also play a part in the reticular activating system, which is crucial for maintaining a state of consciousness. In addition, a reversal in the sleep–wake cycle may be a sign or complication of uremia,[57] azotemia or acute renal failure.
Studies have also shown that light has a direct effect on human health because of the way it influences the circadian rhythms.[58][59][60][61]
Is there a link between increases in obesity and diabetes down at some low (barely measurable) level?
“Shift-work or chronic jet-lag have profound consequences on circadian and metabolic events in our body. Animals that are forced to eat during their resting period show increased body mass and altered expression of clock and metabolic genes.[62] In humans, shift-work which favors irregular eating times, is associated with altered insulin sensitivity and higher body mass. Shift-work also leads to increased metabolic risks for cardio-metabolic syndrome, hypertension, inflammation.[63] It is thus further assumed that this is not only what we eat but when we eat that matters.
And do disruptions in circadian rhythms have other adverse fallout – like airliner crashes?
“Due to the work nature of airline pilots, who often traverse multiple timezones and regions of sunlight and darkness in one day, and spend many hours awake both day and night, they are often unable to maintain sleep patterns that correspond to the natural human circadian rhythm; this situation can easily lead to fatigue. The NTSB cites this situation as a contributing factor to many accidents[68] and has conducted multiple research studies in order to find methods of combating fatigue in pilots.[69][70]
Can people adjust? Sure, and we’re doing that now….sort of. But it seems to me that if there’s all this obvious negative impact from circadian disruptions, why mess around with it at all?
Most people don’t realize how many versions of “time” there area. But you’ve got a circadian clock inside you, you have “royal time” all based off Greenwich, local time (regular and daylight) to go with that UTC and Elaine has a hell of a time remembering the proper offset for the boys in Arizona. And even there, the Navajos observe it, while the intruders down in the Valley do not. Go figure.
Also sharing this common sense are people in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands plus the US Virgins.
And a reader of ours in Indiana sent this…
My little family lives in the southern most tip, Evansville, IN. My husband’s family all reside in Pike County, specifically in the Winslow area. I hate this change so damned much because it screws with my ability to meet obligations concerning them on time. Half the time up around there, I don’t know if some of those little towns are on the change or not. If you look close on a map, you’ll see my area is right around that damned border and not all communities are on it (if they can help it!). It’s my personal belief that when this damned day comes, it should be referred to Daylight Menopausal Time since it gets people pissed off, hot and cold, and makes a general mess of their state of living, for a short time at least.
Although you’re have to deal with a bunch of popups, or login with a FB account, the National Geographic seems to be on this bandwagon too with an article here which questions this whole time-changing drill.
Somewhere in the dark halls of Washington, there’s got to be a group of psychologists who are laughing there asses off at the joke played on us. I am imagine their glee…
“I’m not sure ‘Mericans could be made much dumber…we made up “time” for them, pulled on over in the Kennedy case, they believe the moon story, think contaminated vaccines are good for them, and we steal 3.24% of their wealth year-after-year by just printing up more money. And now we’ve gone just CRAZY with that and they STILL don’t get it, ROFL.
Yessir, they believe just damn near anything…Hey! I have it…let’s run another mixed citizenship guy for president in 2016, shall we?” [ROFL again]
And somewhere in this [once great] Land of Ours, some hapless sonovabitch (or daughter, for that matter) is going to arrive at work early. Which ought to set off peels of laughter among the insiders who tell us what to believe, and what not.
Their joy should peak around sidereal noon.
Monday at the WuJo
Further to our recent chats about how macro-time is getting a bit slippery lately: Try this reader report on for size…
, I go out for a run every day at lunch when time allots and calendar is clear of meetings. I go with one of my dogs who loves to run too. I usually go for a quick two miler. AS I get out of my front door the mailman was putting mail in my mailbox. He didn’t wave like he usually does which I thought was odd but thought maybe he didn’t notice me. Anyway, AS I start running I hear him drive away and I start on my loop around the hood. Then on the loop back to my surprise as I am nearing my house. There is the mailman in his truck reaching in putting mail in my mailbox again. This time he waves and is smiling to me and I say what did you forget to put something in my mailbox and had to come back? He was like what are you talking about I just delivered your mail now. I was like I could have sworn you already came, but never mind I guess I didn’t have enough coffee today. He probably thinks I am wacky now. I either hallucinated that he was there the first time or he really did forget something and was messing with me haha
I suspect that what was going on might have been mail surveillance, after all, this reader is…ahem….politically active and questions a few things….just sayin…
Shopping in Jakarta
Say, if you happen to be taking the family Gulfstream down to do a little Christmas shopping..:
“Dear George,
I am excited to announce my new position as General Manager of the Ciputra Artpreneur Center (http://www.ciputraartpreneur.com/), effective 1 December 2013.
This first-of-a-kind project represents a major addition to Indonesian culture and education, not to mention a major career move for me. It will require the sum total of my education and experience to successfully steer this project. As a long-time associate (nearly two decades now), I hope I can call on your talent, expertise and support as I help launch this effort.
Of course, I also hope that you will put the CAC on your list of things to do, should you find yourself bouncing around Jakarta searching for personal enrichment.
Thanks for your ongoing support and I look forward to yet another decade of association.
Best regards,
Bernard Grover, Managing Editor, Indonesian Bureau”
Fine…so how long then before the online art store division opens up? I was going to suggest something like Artazon.com, but looks like I’m a day late and a dollar shy, again.
Speaking of Dangerous Art
Did you see the story last week about the fedgov is threatening to sue a fellow for making Homeland Stupidity mugs over at www.Zazzle.com?
Which is just Mad, in a comic book sort of way. The gov’mint might claim “trade dress” and make all kinds of blusterings about it but if I were on the jury, I’d not only vote to cut the mugger (if I could call him that) some slack, but also toss in a 10-figure award for pain and suffering damages, to boot. Won’t cost anything, government will just print up more dough which they’re going to do, anyway.
You can tell we’re taking everything far to seriously in ‘Merica these days and we’ll believe damn near anything put before us if it’s “wrapped up in a flag” which is not what the Founders intended at all, I hope.
Sadly, this proves the point that most folks in government are devoid of a good sense of humor.
If you find a copy of that rare book “Comedy Sketches” by George Washington, or Thomas Jefferson’s classic “Best Washington One-Liners,” please let me know. I’d like to add them to the other government humor books in my collection which includes “Laughing Your Head Off” by Marie Antoinette and “Ain’t Life a Gas?” by some WWII figure.
Seriously, or nearly so: How serious does government have to be to work?
The late, great, comedian Pat Paulsen summed up realilty well:
“All the problems we face in the United States today can be traced to an unenlightened immigration policy on the part of the American Indian.”
Amen. We could have founded the EU in 1776, instead…since we’re getting the same run-away seriouscratic outcome, regardless.
Speaking of Dangerous Government
I’ll just bet the liberalistas will go through roof when I mention how the recent lead smelter shutdown was likely related to the Administration’s agenda to neuter the Right to bear arms. Of course, the shutdown is coming “under color of law” at the hands of the Environmental Protection Agency.
But then in came a very revealing email from reader/tattler Brent who’s our “ears on the ground” on this:
Dear George,
I wanted to add to your comments about the closure of the last primary lead smelter located in Herculaneum, MO which is owned and operated by the Doe Run Co. I live nearby to their mine and milling operations in a small rural community and know many of the miners and management of this company and they are a large customer for the company I work for.
A few years ago Doe Run developed a new system to smelt lead using primarily a chemical solution to sinter and smelt the lead millings thereby reducing the pollutants by 75% or more compared to the traditional way of using large amounts of energy to produce the heat for “roasting” or sintering the milled ore.
This of course was a breakthrough and they attempted to gain EPA approval….which was denied! I haven’t the details specifically why the gestapo turned them down other than that lead smelting under any circumstances is “dirty” and will not be approved.
From my understanding Doe Run is establishing this system in their facility in Peru where the lead ore mined here will be shipped and smelted there.
Presently there are two more primary lead smelters sitting idle at Glover and Buick Mo. The latter is being used as a secondary recycling facility for now.
I believe this is just another example of our good jobs being exported by our government so that we may all evolve into a nation of burger flippers or worse…..
Well, there you have it…another brilliantly planned “three-fer”: Clean up the environment, advance the ammo-grab agenda, and export jobs as the capper. Genius!
Reader Paul went to a gun show this week and care to guess what the fallout has been?
I saw the article listed below on Friday. On Saturday the gun show in Houston had some ammo prices go up about 100 percent. I was looking for some .22 LR for the kids. A brick (1000 rounds) of 22 LR was priced at $68.00. (.068 cents each). I went to the local sports store and bought the limit of 2 boxes of 50 rounds for $2.29 (.0458 cents each).
I don’t think its marketing. More a case of supply and demand. OR – no supply.
We are truly led by a fine cast of seriouscrats. Can I vote, yet?
Haven’t the people in Washington noticed that the best currency investments in the world right now seem to be bullets and bitcoins? Yah see the pattern, here?
Question of the Week
Reader Dave is pleased – but also thinking – about how recent events have come together for him:
Hi; For a long, long time we have been thinking about the possibility of some type of financial calamity. And as you, and others mentioned, a silver and a gold U.S. coin can be beneficial in certain circumstances. Well yesterday it was raining and my outside projects were cancelled, when out of the blue it just seemed as if now is the time to act. So I dropped by a local dealer and picked up a coin or two. My point is that I have been thinking about this for better than a year, and had not made a decision either way, until yesterday. Using a local dealer face to face, cash, no name receipt, felt good. Probably on his security cameras, but being a small business I would doubt they keep the camera records for a long period of time.
Why do we even have to think like this ?
Well, we don’t….but we do….
I was sitting around thinking about this balance point just this morning: We live in a totally “revenue optimized world” Which is why you can buy gasoline 24-hours a day, but it’s hard to find good pizza for breakfast.
Our Founders, consciously or otherwise, not only left the door open to serous workaholism as a national disease. And our national heritage is that it’s not just a few of the Founders who owned slaves…the whole country has put on the yoke. You see, that’s the flip-side of political correctness, but that’s another discussion.
If you’re a workaholic yourself (most of us are) we don’t generally spend enough time sleeping, peopling, thinking, or just being. And maybe it’s just as well we don’t.
That, I’m afraid to admit, would de-optimize revenue – and surely, we can’t have that, can we?
OK, off to be part of “National Get to Work Early” week…the cats are threatening a lawsuit over delayed feeding time this morning.
More tomorrow and be sure to write when you break-even or stumble over some wujo-like events…
George george@ure.net