G'day!

Or is it evening already?

This year, the government decided to push back daylight savings time a week to see if it would help save energy, among other reasons. I don't really care to the whys of this measure, but for once I am happy about a decision our government made.

Now, this one week extension is no great feat, but it did make me feel better that my country and I have a common interest. That is, daylight is a good thing to be in. I always dread when winter comes around for two reasons: 1. It gets really cold and my house is old and not very insulated (read: high gas bill) and 2. I get to wake up in the dark and get ready for work, then I get to return home in the dark. ITS THE DARKNESS! It stinks only seeing the sunshine from out your window (thank god my office is naturally lit), only to then watch it disappear by the time my shackle sets free at 5 pm.

In the summer, there was plenty of time (for me at least) to get home, change clothes and enjoy some outdoor time in the sun before dinner. I could go for a run (rarely), mow the lawn, etc and not feel like my day is confined and soon to be over already. Now that winter is here, I return home to the evening darkness and I am already in the mood for going to bed. It stinks.

I know there is a natural rotation of the seasons, daytimes and sun paths, so there is no real way to change or amend this issue. Winter must come along with the shortened days and colder temperatures. That's just science and you can't argue with it. But perhaps something could be done in the workplace, such as adjusting hours or accumulating time here or there. I know I would be ok with going to work at 7 am if it meant I would be out by 4 pm. This could easily lead into a discussion of work hours and the best management of such, but I will leave that for another post. I just know that people, myself included, seem to be happier during the summer hours and anything that can be done in the winter to improve our mood would be much appreciated.

Sure, the "early to bed, early to rise" way of life sure benefits from this time of year, but what normal person needs to be in bed by 7 pm? I like to do my own thing after a day's work, and I would prefer to have some daylight to do it in. Don't get me wrong, the night time is full of possibilities, just give me a little bit of light time to prepare me for the night. I don't need the night greeting me as soon as I step out of my office door. I guess it makes me value summer time even more once it returns.

PS - I had intended to try and incorporate the word "summernment" somewhere in here, but it just didn't work. Just let it be known that all privileges of the above word should run through here.

10100010...

When I surf the ol' interwebs, I am at the luxury of using a wireless mouse and keyboard. The keyboard runs off two AA batteries, while the mouse runs off a rechargeable battery that I must dock every night before shutting the computer off. Well, this mouse dock is a bit particular when it comes to placement, and often I don't find out until midday the next day that it hasn't charged properly. At this point, a small red light flickers and a notice comes on screen to say that my battery is low. Quite convenient. This does however pose a problem if I need to continue working, or half-working, or be 'working' (you get the idea). This brings me to today's peanut.

How well can you navigate around your computer without your mouse? I find it is tough, but possible. One of the most important buttons is the Tab button. No, Homers, it does not supply you with a refreshing 'Tab' cola. It does however move you around pages and your desktop. Here's some tips that I know of that may help you if you are ever in this situation. These are all for windows based OSes, so you hip Mac Users will have to find help elsewhere.

Tab: moves from heading to heading, or from icon to icon and along with the Enter button, can be used to select things.

Shift+Tab: moves in the reverse order as using the Tab button.

Alt+Tab: switches between applications open. Hold Alt to keep the new box open and Tab to scroll through. Note: This is an excellent quick press for hiding windows that may be NSFW. Keep a safe full screen window right behind the one you are on, then with a quick alt+tab, the one behind it will pop to the front.

Ctrl+Tab: on internet explorer, this will highlight the address bar so you can quickly type in your next destination.

F5: Refresh. This works well for webpages, but also for explorer windows when you want to realphabetize the listings.

Alt: This is pretty common knowledge, but pressing this and using the arrow keys will help you move around menus.

Trivia bonus: It makes sense the the shortcut for copy is Crtl+C, but why is paste Crtl+V? Well, the shortcuts were meant to be all accessible from just the left hand, as the right hand would be on the mouse. This way, editors could execute commands without taking their hands off the mouse. Save, cut, copy, paste, select all; all on the same hand. Only when you print does your hand have to reach for that 'P'.

bing!

It's Election Day! Guess what? I'm not voting. Ooooh, he's not using one of his most valuable rights as an American citizen. Yes, that's right, I'm not. But I feel like it is my responsibility not to vote. Why, you ask? Because I am completely uninformed about the people and positions I would be voting on. If I were to vote, I would simply be picking names from a hat. Since I am not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican party, I am doing neither any service by voting.

I must say that I find this to be the right thing to do and I would encourage other to refrain from voting unless they are properly informed on the situation. In order to get the most from our electoral system, the people elected must be done so for the right reasons. We learned back in history class that originally only white land-owning men could vote. My understanding is that these were usually the only type of citizen that were informed enough on politics to make a worthwhile decision on the matter. Granted, there were most likely many exceptions to this rule, and as time went on, of course this status changed, giving us new laws that allowed for everyone to vote. This was because education and information became available to everyone and everyone could be part of the system. The issue is that not everyone chooses to be part of the system. I, for one, have no clue as to who my school superintendent is, who my local comptroller is, or what any of them do or say about issues. Therefore, any decision I would make on their behalves would be foolish.

This brings up my trouble with how voting is done nowadays. To vote, after one registers, one goes to the local voting place and chooses from the names given them on the list. I would hope that the person voting knows who they are voting for ahead of time and actually knows who they are voting for. I feel like this is most often not the case, especially with lesser important seats that still get voted on. What results is a strictly party-based choice, or in worse case, a matter of who has the better, more recognizable name. This is no way to base choices on, and I blame it upon the simplifying of our electoral process that is meant to provide easier access to the common man. This makes the voting process common and simple, negating the value of actually being elected. Instead, I propose this: all voting should be written in. No more choosing from A or B. Instead have the people voting actually write in who they want in that office. The people could even bring in a cheat sheet with them so they don't have to actually remember anything. If they can't remember the name or office, they can have the option of simply choosing R or D, by party, since the name wouldn't even matter in that case. This puts more responsibility on the voter himself rather than the ad campaign behind a given name.

This solution just seems the most fair to everyone, especially the candidates. The people who genuinely have interest in the political process at hand can rest assured that their vote means something and that each vote counts as it should. Party loyalty can still be achieved.

I know this whole post seems like a big jab at our voting system, but I feel like right now it doesn't truly convey an honest, interested process. I could go to my precinct's voting place, choose a few names (with no prior knowledge) and then be looked at as a responsible citizen who voted, even though I have done my government an injustice.

Sure, this way of thinking may not account for the majority, but in a time when 'every vote counts', we should be making sure that every vote does count and that every voter is responsible for that vote. Be informed. Voting is a right, but more importantly, a responsibility.