Today is Sunday, November 6 and there are only five days until my birthday, in case you haven’t gone shopping yet.  Oh, and there are only 49 days until Christmas, speaking of shopping.  Today we remember the birthdays of Colley Cibber, Aldophe Sax and Ray Conniff.  On this day in 1572 a supernova was observed in the constellation known as Cassiopeia, in 1862 the New York to San Francisco direct telegraphic link was established and in 1966 NBC televised the first entire lineup in color.  In Mauritius it is Ganga Asnam and in the Virgin Islands tomorrow is Liberty Day.  In the US today is National Nachos Day and Saxophone Day.

As you know today we fell back an hour, ending Daylight Saving Time (DST).  Many Americans are confused about why we spring forward in the spring and fall back in the fall, myself among them.  We also wonder if it is worth the trouble.  Contrary to popular belief, resetting the clocks is not designed for farmers.  In fact, they lobbied against it when the change was first suggested.  Yet many people believe it was for the farmers’ benefit, including lawmakers.

The practice has both advocates and critics.  Putting the clocks forward benefits retailing, sports and other activities that exploit sunlight after working hours, but can cause problems for outdoor entertainment and other activities tied to sunlight.  Industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year.  The time of day that people begin and end work or school remain constant.  Proponents of DST argue that most people prefer a greater increase in daylight hours after a typical workday.  They also claim that DST decreases energy consumption, but the actual effect on overall energy use is disputed.

Critics claim that darker mornings are dangerous for children going to school.  They also say that the energy saving argument is invalid if people switch on fans and air conditioning during the lighter, warmer evenings.  There are also claims that the hour of sleep lost due to the DST switch has been linked to an increased occurrence of heart attacks.  Frankly, I do not see a real benefit and would be content to just leave things the way they are.  We should either spring forward and stay there or fall back and stay there.

Okay, enough about that.  I have been very careful to not get involved in all the foolishness going on with the election coming up on Tuesday.  While I do not espouse the idea that, since there is no one who really should be president, I will not vote, I admit it is a tempting strategy.  The thing that I have noticed in all the campaigns, including local ones, is that no one is really telling us what they plan to do when elected.  They gloss over a few ideas, but spend most of their time telling us why their opponent is so horrible.

Frankly, if even half of the assertions about candidates are true, most of them should be in jail and not eligible to run for office.  I am always amazed at how we can go for years blissfully unaware of the scandals that are lurking, only to have them all come to light during campaigns.
If the people running for office were really concerned, they would have brought the misdeeds to light as they occurred and not waited.  This way they could say they have always been watching out for everyone and not saying they would start doing it once they were elected.  And that’s all I am going to say about that.
I finally did something I have been threatening to do for some time.  I was in a diner recently and had ordered a cheeseburger platter.  Since I was by myself, I brought my IPad so that I would have something to read while I ate.  The platter came with the burger, fries, cole slaw, lettuce and a couple slices of tomato.  I used one slice of tomato and some of the lettuce.  I was hungry and ate everything except the other slice of tomato and the rest of the lettuce.  When the waitress came by see if I was finished, I said I was and asked if I could have the lettuce and the tomato slice boxed up.  She hesitated and looked to see if I was kidding.  I had gone back to my reading and did not say anything more.  She walked away shaking her head, but brought back a container, along with my check.  I was wearing my Vietnam Veteran windbreaker, so maybe she thought I was one of those crazy veterans you hear about.  I put the lettuce and tomato in the container, thanked her, paid my bill (yes I gave her a decent tip) and left with my leftovers.  She is probably still telling people about the incident.

I have been seeing commercials recently for various stores who are already pushing their Black Friday sales.  There are some stores who are claiming that they are offering Black Friday prices all month long.  I am not sure what to think about this.  Are they offering the “better” prices to drive up sales and avoid the dangers of the actual day, or are they making us think the prices are better when in fact they are not?  The stores that are already announcing the big sales for Black Friday are just giving people the opportunity to plan where they most want to be crushed in the door-opening onslaughts.  Either way, I will say what I have said in the past.  Wait a couple weeks and you will be able to get better deals when stores realize their inventory is bloated and they need to start offering real deals to clear things out.

This week our fact tells us that there are more stars than all the grains of sand on earth.  I say, “Prove it!”  How can anyone possibly verify that statement?  That is just like the statement that no two snowflakes are alike.  They say it, but there is no way to prove it and we simply take on faith that it is true.  I do not, but have no way to prove them wrong.

I am going to go get some nachos and enjoy the games today.  Have a good week.