Annual Daylight Savings Rant

Are you already running behind this morning? If so, you're just one of millions because the dreaded autumnal time change took place at 2AM this morning.

Personally, I hate DST and wish they'd go back to regular time. In today's world, there's really no reason to have it in today's world.

Although people blame credit Benjamin Franklin for the idea of daylight saving time, he was only joking when he wrote  the editor of the Journal of Paris and said it would get people out of bed earlier thus decreasing the use of candles and lamp oil.

THEY ALL CREATED DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME

Apparently, New Zealand entomologist George Hudson in 1895 came up with what we know as daylight saving time, or DST. He thought a 2-hour time shift would offer more after-work hours of sun which would give him more daylight to hunt for insects in the summer. His idea was to move clocks ahead two hours in March and shift back two hours in October.

In 1905, British builder William Willett came up with his own complicated plan that changed time by 20 minutes every Sunday in April and then then moved them back every Sunday in September. Needless to say, that wasn't adopted.

It wasn't until 1916 in World War I when a DST plan was activated, and that was by the German Empire that set clocks ahead one hour to use less power for lighting and to save fuel for the war effort.

Other countries followed suit. When the war ended, they returned to standard time.

In 1918, the United States introduced a bill to create a seasonal time shift, but it lasted only 7 months until the bill was repealed. 

Then World War II began, and DST was brought back,  called War Time by then President Franklin Roosevelt. DST lasted until September 1945.

The idea of saving daylight was so popular that it was made permanent in the U.S. by the Uniform Time Act of 1966 with DST to begin the last Sunday in April and end the last Sunday in October. Through the years, DST has started earlier and ended later every few years.

DST AFFECTS HEALTH

It sounds weird that a seemingly simple time change of an hour can affect human health, but there are statistics and studies that bears this out. 

The risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular incidents increases on the day of the time change and in the days following. 

One study found a 24% increase in heart attacks on the Monday after the switch to DST.

DST can worsen existing mental health conditions like depression, anxiety, and seasonal affective disorder and cause mood disturbances. It also can cause sleep deprivation, increase the risk of digestive diseases like colitis.

The time change increases the risk of fatal car accidents by 6% in the week after the time change. For those whose jobs involve physical labor, workplace injuries also increase.

All of this happens because the time change disrupts the body's internal clock, or circadian rhythm. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

The only thing that might help is to change your bedtime, take a nap in the afternoon, and get exposed to more light. Also, hope DST becomes so unpopular nationwide that they end this assualt on the circadian rhythm.

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A Writer's Confession - Back to 1, 3, 5

I'll be honest. Much of September and October were non-events. It seems as if every new day brought a new distraction that required my time and attention.

I was away from the office days at a stretch to deal with everything from medical problems for one of my kids to feral hogs running free and tearing up the ground around our country home.

The only things I really accomplished were redesigning several book covers, moving all of my novels back to Kindle Unlimited, and learning as much as possible about Facebook ads which I plan to implement since I'm back in the office.

SOMETIMES LETTING GO IS THE BEST PLAN

With 5 novels completed in the last 18 months, I still have none of them finalized for publishing. Time seemed to slip away like sand sifting through my fingers at the beach. I finally realized my problem to a great extend is linear thinking and acting. It's as if I can't move forward if I have something that needs to be completed.

That incomplete thing hanging over me like a vulture was the book I wrote that was to be Book 2 of a planned series that began with Old Enough to Know Better—a book and characters I loved. I made an executive decision to set that unpublished manuscript aside because I finally admitted to myself that the reason I kept procrastinating on that final edit was that I'd lost my enthusiasm for the series.  

I may come back to it in the future, but I decided to remove the series concept from Old Enough to Know Better and just call it a stand alone for now. Letting go of that unpublished manuscript took away the pressure and guilt I felt about it.

Ironically, I heard that old Kenny Rogers song, The Gambler, yesterday on a YouTube video. 

When he sang about knowing when to hold 'em and knowing when to fold 'em, I had to laugh because that's exactly what I'd done with that unpublished novel.

PLAN FOR PROGRESS

I realized the first thing I needed to do was get back to basics in order to move forward. I returned to my 1, 3, 5 Plan that I'd been following since 2020. I've blogged about this way of achieving your highest priority items before. Here are the past posts if you'd like to check them out, followed by a quick summary of this simple method.

Simplify with 1, 3, 5 List Method

79 Days of Using 1, 3, 5 List

Update on 1, 3, 5 List Method for Achievement

3 Rules of 1-3-5 List Method

#1. Write down 1 big awesome task.

This is your priority item. This is what you say you really want to do, but you don't seem to be making any progress on it.

You know what it is even though you may think you have 5-10 priority items to accomplish today. Be honest. What's the most important thing you need to do to achieve your most important goal which is the one that will yield the greatest rewards when completed.

#2. Write down 3 medium tasks that should be done before the day is over.

#3. Write down 5 little things that should be done IF you can get to them, but the world won't come to an end if you don't get them done.

Then, when you finish your workday, make tomorrow's 1-3-5 list. That way when you get to your desk tomorrow, you know exactly what needs to be done first.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Sometimes you must take a step backward and maybe let something go before you can move forward.

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

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Tricked But Not Treated

The Witch is back in the office! Ahem, that's me.

Trick or Treaters will be ringing the doorbell shortly. Since it's a school night, parents bring the little ones in late afternoon. Unfortunately, it's raining here today so I may end up with the bags of Butterfingers snack size bars still in the house.

What a terrible thing to happen! Not. I love those candies.

October was a tricky month—a trying month. Too many unexpected events that necessitated my being out of the office much of the month.

When in the office, I was focused on learning Facebook Ads, making new book covers, tweaking book blurbs, and other necessities an independent publisher must undertake or contract out.

It feels good to be sitting in my office chair again—good to be blogging again and good to be finishing up those design projectes so I can get back to writing my new book. I really want to get it out for Christmas, but I've lost a lot of time.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Wish me luck in getting that new book out by the holidays.

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I Voted This Morning

Early voting in Texas started today. Darling Hubby and I figured it would be a big turnout. We decided not to be there at 7AM.

At 8:25 AM, we arrived at the polling place and joined the crowd. It really was a crowd inside the very large room set up with about 32 voting machines.

The queue made about 6 "loops" from the back of the room to the front, but it was orderly. Everyone seemed cheerful and happy to be there.

One hour and 10 minutes later, we exited the room after voting. By then, the line was nearly twice as long as when we arrived.

I pulled my "I Voted" sticker from my shirt and stuck it on my keyboard.

Voting is a privilege and a responsibility. The responsibility lies with you—research the candidates beyond the sound bites and mud-slinging you hear from TV, YouTube, celebrities, and those who obviously have a dog in the fight. Find objective analysis which can be hard. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Discover the truth and vote for the candidate you think will be best for that position—from the highest office to the local school board and college trustees. 

Who Makes What in Appliances

Let's talk appliances. It seems to me as if they're just not made as good as in years past.

In today's world, it seems as if most appliances have a life of maybe 10 years if you're lucky.

I know in the year 2001-2010, we bought 3 refrigerators—costly and frustrating. I know people who have 1950s Kelvinators that still run!

If you want to get an appliance repaired, get ready to wait. My daughter's 5-year-old fridge died. She had an extended warranty. After buying 2 small mini-fridges, waiting 2 months for parts to come in, she gave up and bought a new fridge.

I think that's a lesson in "don't buy extended warranties." They're practically worthless. But I didn't write this post to rant but to give some eye-opening information.

WHO MAKES APPLIANCES

You'll probably be surprise to find that most appliances, regardless of brand name, are made by a handful of companies.

Appliances may look different on the outside, the mechanical design of the comparable models is usually identical regardless of brand name. To me, that means there's little reason to have brand-loyalty.

Here are the major manufactuers.

Electrolux makes: Frigidaire, GE., also some Kenmore depending on the model.

LG makes: their own label as well as some Kenmore depending on the model.

Samsung makes: their own label as well as some Kenmore depending on the model.

Whirpool makes: Amana, Maytag, KitchenAid, Kenmore, Jenn-Air, and Costco’s Kirkland brand.

You may well ask, why these companies continue to manufacture so many different brands. Mostly, it's a marketing strategy designed to help retailers sell branded products. I can understand that. Most of us start out buying the appliance names we grew up with. 

My parents' household had Whirlpool appliances so that's what I bought when I set up a home. I swore by Whirlpool and Kenmore which was made by Whirlpool back then too.

Manufacturing companies benefit from multiple brand names because they can target multiple markets all at the same time. They can offer lower-end, lower-quality appliances in a market and not worry that the lower-quality will affect their top of the line models. 

In fact, if someone bought a cheap appliance and were unhappy with it, they may think, "I'll buy Expensive Brand name next time." 

They won't know that both machines were made by the same company and may have many of the same internal parts.

When you need to buy an appliance, focus on the individual models and features, not brand name. Read all reviews, the good and bad, and make sure you're reading recent reviews. If you really want to be smart, do an online search for repair costs or rant from buyers about a specific appliance. 

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Better yet, talk to a local repairman about the appliance if you can find one because experienced appliance repair people are an endangered species.

Review - In Good Company - Netflix

If you're looking for a movie that has a serious subject and characters with real world problems, this dramedy is one that will entertain as well as make you think.

I'd not seen IN GOOD COMPANY, a 2004 film starring Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, and Selma Blair, is a delight.

Dennis Quaid is Dan Foreman, a middle-aged advertising executive who finds himself demoted when his company is sold. At fifty, he now has a 20-something boss.

Truthfully, this kind of thing has happened very often in th last 30 years in the real world. Dan wants to quit and find another executive position, but he has a daughter in college and suddenly finds out that his middle-aged wife is pregnant.

Dan concludes that he must stay with his high-paying job even though the blow to his ego is painful.

As the story develops, Carter Duryea, Dan's young boss beautifully portrayed by Topher Grace, begins to realize that his scorched earth policy of dealing with people has consequences. Because of his relationship with Dan and his interaction with Dan's family, he begins to grow as a person.

You find yourself rooting for Dan and his family and also for Carter and his challenges. The ending is a bit surprising, but the most surprising thing is how Carter's life and expectations change. His character growth is awesome, and you find yourself very happy with the ending.

Written and directed by Paul Weit, I loved this movie and would happily watch it again. You can find this movie on Netflix if you're a subscriber. You can also rent it on Apple TV, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.

You can also buy In Good Company DVD from Amazon.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Want a feel good movie? Watch In Good Company.

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

 Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.

Personal Recs - What I Bought - Prime Deals

The Prime Day Specials I'm spotlighting are items I've already bought or will be buying today.

Some of these products have been in my  Wish List for a while, just waiting for October Prime Day to come around.

By the way, use the Wish List tool offered by Amazon. That way, you can easily check through your list to see if the price changes.

Of course, best thing is to buy on Prime Day at a much reduced price. The first product I'm listing is half the price I paid for it a couple of months ago. Unfortunately, that's true of a few things on my list today.

As they say on YouTube, "Let's get into it."

(1) LifePro Red Light and Near Infrared Therapy Panel 

647 Reviews, 4.6 out of 5 stars, $88.42

When I bought this medical grade REd Light Therapy panel in September, I paid $179.99.

Ack! I'm trying to decide whether to buy another one since the price is so low.

If you haven't heard of the medical benefits of red light therapy, simply Google that phrase. You'll be amazed at the health conditions these devices are being used for and tested in other conditions that offer promise. 

We're talking pain relief, inflamation, visual improvement, strength improvement, overall better health, healthier hair and skin—the list is long, and the results are from medical testing.

I bought it because of arthritis in my thumb joints. I can honestly say I now have days with no pain. I've been using it since early September.

(2) TAGRY True Wireless Earbuds

67,444 Reviews, 4.4 out of 5 stars, $29.73 with an additional 20% off coupon

When I bought this the regular price was $49.99. I bought the pink case which has a bit of pink detail on the buds. They come in 8 colors. I had some wireless earbuds but they hooked over my ear and were uncomfortable to wear because of my glasses. These are perfect, fit well, and have great connection.

Great features: LED Power Display and 60H Playback: Dual digital LED power display outside of the case is to show the power level * Wireless Charging and IPX5 Waterproof * One-Step Pairing and Easy Touch Control * See all the features on the product page.

(3) California King Quilt Set Teal

2,694 Reviews, 4.6 out of 5 stars, $39.99 plus a $5 off coupon

Regular price was $49.99. Comes in 19 colors.

I redid my guest room last month and wanted a teal set. I'd had no luck in shopping local stores so I decided to take a chance and order online.

I don't like to buy fabric goods sight unseen because you really can't judge the quality by a photo. I took a chance and bought this Teal Comforter and Sham set.

To my surprise, it's actually very nice looking and feeling. It's not really heavy, but a lightweight comforter is perfect. I ordered the California King size, but the bed is only a Queen. I wanted the comforter to reach the floor on both sides and the foot of the bed. It fit perfectly and looks amazing. 

(4) EF ECOFLOW Portable Power Station RIVER 2

2,863 Reviews, 4.3 out of 5 stars, $168.00 includes a $10  off coupon

Regular price was $219.00. 1 Hour Fast Charging, 2 Up to 600W AC Outlets. Read all the specs on the product page.

This is a small portable generator most people buy as a way to power a computer, TV, or other small appliances in a power outage. It's also purchased for camping and RVing, but I'm buying it for a different reason.

I'm buying it to provide instant power to my kitchen island that has no electrical outlet.

LET ME EXPLAIN

We have an older house that has a great kitchen—custom cabinets, beautiful countertops, and a long island I use for food prep. The only problem is that the island does not have electrical outlets. That is amazingly inconvenient for me since I'm always cooking and baking.

I've had estimates to get power installed on the island. The only way to do it is to tap into an outlet nearest the island. That means fishing wires down inside a wall, cutting sheetrock, baseboard, busting the tile floor and the concrete foundation to place a steel conduit with electrical wires running from the "tap-in" location to the island then repairing it all.

Total expense? $1,500 up to $10,000 depending on how we repaired the kitchen floor since we don't have extra ceramic tile. Patch with something that would obviously not be original, or install a whole new floor.

Last Prime Day, I started looking at compact power backup generators, but I couldn't make the commitment. After thinking about it, I decided to go for it. I have a small bookcase full of cookbooks at the end of the counter. This 7 pound EcoFlo Power Backup would fit perfectly on top of the bookcase making it easy to plug in any of my countertop appliances.$168.00 beats $1500 any day. Genius idea, right?

(5) Air Purifiers for Home Large Room

284 Reviews, 4.5 out of 5 stars, $139.99 includes a $40 off coupon

Regular price was $279.99. We bought this back in the summer's prime day specials. This is a great air cleaner. It has an automatic feature where you can leave it on, and it cycles on for 20 minutes then off for 60.

We have it in a position where it takes care of half of the house and plan to get another one for the bedroom wing where we now have small air cleaners in each bedroom.

 

(6) LifePro Vibration Plate

24,615 Reviews, 4.6 out of 5 stars, $149.99.

 
Regular price was $199.99.

This is not the one I bought. I bought a BlueFin Vibration Plate—but it's $199.99 now and not on a Prime Special. I blogged about vibration plates back in August. I swear by the health benefits of these.

 My daughter has wanted one since she's been using mine every time she comes over. In fact, everyone who visits ends up using it. To my daughter's dismay, the price point of the one I bought keeps going up.

This morning, I saw this one from LifePro on a Prime Day deal and sent the link to my daughter. She ordered it. This device has the same features as mine and is the same size which is important. 

Some of these vibration plates are only 7-9" from front to back. My Darling Hubby has size 12 feet so his feet wouldn't be supported if he tried to use a shorter one. That was a factor when I bought one. I had a list of features I wanted, and the BlueFin fit that just as this LifePro unit does.

That's a wrap for Prime Day!

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

Now I'm going to lock my credit car away until Prime Day is over or I'll go broke saving money.

Joan participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, affiliate advertising designed to help websites earn advertising fees by linking to products on Amazon. If you click an Amazon link in her post, she may receive a small commision at no extra cost to you.

Love to read? Sign up for my free Newsletter, I LOVE READING. Once a month, you'll receive exclusive content and news about giveaways, bargains, and new releases.