Change

I have two things I want to talk with you about today and they both have to do with change.

The first one is the changing of our clocks this coming Saturday, March 7. Don't forget or you'll be late for everything! We "spring forward" this Saturday which means at 2:00 a.m. you need to change your clock to 3:00 a.m. (or if you're lucky all your electronic "stuff" will change on it's own). I've always wondered why we did that at 2:00 a.m. It seems odd to me. (You know I looked it up!)

From the USNO website:

• In 2009, daylight time begins on March 8 and ends on November 1.

Many other countries observe some form of "summer time", but they do not necessarily change their clocks on the same dates as the U.S.

Daylight time and time zones in the U.S. are defined in the U.S. Code, Title 15, Chapter 6, Subchapter IX - Standard Time.

History of Daylight Time in the U.S.

Although standard time in time zones was instituted in the U.S. and Canada by the railroads in 1883, it was not established in U.S. law until the Act of March 19, 1918, sometimes called the Standard Time Act. The act also established daylight saving time, a contentious idea then. Daylight saving time was repealed in 1919, but standard time in time zones remained in law. Daylight time became a local matter. It was re-established nationally early in World War II, and was continuously observed from 9 February 1942 to 30 September 1945. After the war its use varied among states and localities. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 provided standardization in the dates of beginning and end of daylight time in the U.S. but allowed for local exemptions from its observance. The act provided that daylight time begin on the last Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October, with the changeover to occur at 2 a.m. local time.

During the "energy crisis" years, Congress enacted earlier starting dates for daylight time. In 1974, daylight time began on 6 January and in 1975 it began on 23 February. After those two years the starting date reverted back to the last Sunday in April. In 1986, a law was passed that shifted the starting date of daylight time to the first Sunday in April, beginning in 1987. The ending date of daylight time was not subject to such changes, and remained the last Sunday in October. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 changed both the starting and ending dates. Beginning in 2007, daylight time starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

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The second change I wanted to talk to you about has to do with changing appearances. It seems drug lords have a new trick. I was listening to the radio this morning and heard a report about cloned trucks. Here in Houston police found a H.E.B. truck abandoned at a truck stop. The problem was that it wasn't a H.E.B. truck. It was a clone. Drug dealers created the H.E.B. fake semi to haul marijuana. There was 4500 pounds in the back of the truck.

Since they said the truck was found abandoned, I assume they don't know who's responsible. That's a crazy amount of marijuana and I never would have thought that they were creating semi's to mask their activities. That actually took a lot of thought if you ask me. I'm not defending the drug dealers in any way but I have to admit it was pretty smart. Who would look twice at a grocery store truck? I know I won't ever look at them the same again. I'll be wondering what's inside.