Time Zones & Daylight-Saving Measures

The whole time zone thing has always confused me. What if you've got friends that live close by but in another time zone? If you say "come over at 6:00pm", you'd have to add "my time" or "your time" to your invitation. And what about setting business hours?
Here are a couple of answers in an interesting CNN article about Indiana's recent time zone decision. I wouldn't have thought it would be "a highly emotional and divisive issue among residents."

Why is Arizona the rebel, I wonder.

I've also learned that starting in 2007, Daylight Saving Time* will be extended by four weeks in an effort to save energy nation-wide. I think it's a great idea. I love being able to come home from work and have some actual daylight hours left rather than stepping out of my office into darkness.
Go to the California Energy Commission's website to expand your knowledge. You'll be glad you did. It's a great 5-minute conversation topic for parties. Add in bits about rolling blackouts (which I remember from my CA days) and you'll have people leaning in and saying "really?" a lot.

My brother lived in New York City when there was that huge Northeast blackout in 2003. He had some great stories about his journey home from work that day. He stopped for dinner at a pizza place he knew that used brick ovens. My favorite anecdote was about seeing a businessman climb out of a manhole, suit and briefcase and all.


(*The correct spelling is Daylight Saving Time - no "s" and it's capitalized. I didn't know that.)