‘Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery’

Last night Sweetheart Vivienne and I enjoyed an extra hour of sleep. Because at 2 a.m. today, daylight saving ended in Tasmania [1]. To mark this auspicious occasion, the Tasmania Fire Service [TFS] and battery maker Duracell teamed up for a campaign urging all Tasmanians to ‘Change Your Clock, Change Your Smoke Alarm Battery’ [2]. CYC aims to ensure all smoke alarms are kept in working order. It’s message’s promoted via print media, radio and TV advertisements; and on the web [3, 4]. Also in-store promotions in supermarkets and hardware outlets ‘to promote the campaign where Duracell batteries are sold’.

Smoke alarms are important – nay, vital – little gizmos. They literally save lives [5]. So making sure they work’s a no-brainer. So, as a volunteer firefighter and citizen and doctor, I’m in favour of CYC. But I have a couple of caveats: First, changing smoke alarm batteries annually means a very large number of batteries are discarded before the end of their useful life. In this regard, when smoke alarm batteries run low there’s a warning tone; and batteries are a waste disposal problem [6]. Second, I’m bothered by a private sector corporation (i.e. Duracell) entering into a financial arrangement with a public body (i.e. TFS). I know I’m old-fashioned, yesterday’s man, a sheep man in cattle country etc. And I can’t point to a practical downside to the CYC arrangement. I just think it’s wrong. In principle. That’s all. Ho hum.

farmdoc's blog post number 545

Here’s this week’s compendium. This week…

1. I learned that a man’s reason for not attending an appointment with me, was that his daughter had changed their clock’s time for daylight saving, and in error she’d changed the clock’s date too. Daylight saving started on Sunday 4.10.09 [1]. His appointment with me was on Wednesday 7.10.09.

2. a US study found that exposure to nature helps people to value community and relationships more, and to be more generous [2]. I’m not surprised. It’s something I’ve intuitively felt for many years.

3. Professor Ada Yonath, an Israeli working at the Weizmann Institute of Science, was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. She’s Israel’s ninth Nobel Laureate [3] – which given Israel’s population and economic and military situation, is a remarkable achievement.

4. darling Jarrah celebrated her sixth birthday with a cupcake party [4]. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there.

5. GetUp! released its iCoal 2.0 advertisement [5]. Clean coal’s an oxymoron. It’s never going to happen. It’s an abomination that the coal industry will be compensated in the proposed emissions trading scheme.

6. the Australian Grand Prix Corporation announced a loss of A$40M for the 2009 F1 event [6]. Though the 2009 loss is miraculously the same as the 2008 loss, it’s an absolute waste of public money. It’d fund 400 $100,000 p.a. jobs, or 800 $50,000 p.a. jobs.

7. a comparison was published of the administration of Barack Obama, and that of Josiah Bartlet in The West Wing TV series [7]. Let Bartlet be Bartlet.

8. the invitations went out for Sweetheart Vivienne’s book launch [8]. Also the media interviews began. Her excitement and success are mine too. How very wonderful she is.

Finally, I wish you, dear Farmdoc’s Blog readers, a wonderful week.

farmdoc's blog post number 172

At exactly 2 a.m. last Sunday, the Australian ritual that started in 1916 recurred – daylight saving time began. In Australia all States and Territories except Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia moved an hour forward (WA will move on the last October Sunday, and Queensland and the NT not at all). Because I’m a list-man, I’ve compiled a checklist of five clocks/watches and seven appliances whose time advanced by an hour. Two did it automatically; I had to consult the instruction books for three of them. (The capacity of microchips to create programming permutations exceeds the capacity of the human brain – well, mine at least – to absorb and remember those permutations. But that’s another story.) As someone living at quite a low latitude (41½° South) I love daylight saving. Even on daylight saving time it’s light when I wake up – first light is at 6:07 a.m. and sunrise at 6:35 a.m. And it gets dark later – sunset is at 7:30 p.m. and last light at 7:58 p.m. So now I have plenty of evening daylight to do my farm chores, even on days when I work in Deloraine; and to cook dinners on the outdoor BBQ. So life on the farm is less rushed than in the dark winter months. I have time to savour and enjoy the outdoors. Oh what bliss.