Time Cop Out

I'm still adjusting to last Sunday's time change, and now there is word that Congress may extend Daylight Saving Time to occupy the better part of the year. And so, I ask, why don't we just set the clocks back by a half-hour and be done with it for good? The Wall Street Journal reviewed a new book on the origins of Daylight Saving Time which makes the provocative argument that, contrary to popular belief, the twice-yearly distruption to my circadian rhythm is driven by not by farmers but by golfers. That's right, the discussion may be couched in the language of energy conservation, but really, it's just an extra hour to shop or to hit the links:

...the real father of Daylight Saving Time was British architect and -- crucially -- golfer William Willett, who deplored "the waste of daylight" in a 1907 pamphlet. The British royal astronomer ridiculed Willett's plan, suggesting instead "that between the months of October and March the thermometer should be put up ten degrees.

The whole adustment is arbitrary anyway, since sunrise and sunset happen at different times at different places within a time zone. I have no problem with the extra hour of daylight being used for "decadent recreations." But Congress, take note: I don't like having my sleep schedule rearranged needlessly.