Geographer Matt Rosenberg explains the true origins of Daylight Saving (not "Savings") Time:

Daylight Saving Time was instituted in the United States during World War I in order to save energy for war production by taking advantage of the later hours of daylight between April and October.

Read more...

And the smears keep on coming! The following began circulating earlier this week via email:

FW: stimulus jobs...

Some have said that the stimulus hasn't saved any jobs, but here is a case where at least one job was saved.

According to an unnamed source, Oregon State University Athletic Director Bob DeCarolis was considering firing their basketball coach, Craig Robinson, after an 8-11 start (2-5 in the Pac 10 conference).

When word of this reached Washington , Undersecretary of Education Martha Kanter was dispatched to Corvallis with $17 million in stimulus money for the university. The source now says that Craig Robinson's job is safe for this year.

For the record, Coach Robinson just happens to be Michelle Obama's Brother.

Can you pick out the one true statement above? Read more...

A selection of yesterday's headlines from the right-wing blogosphere:

• "Now Obama Wants to Ban Sport Fishing."

• "Obama Administration to Ban U.S. Citizens Fishing."

• "White House Ignores Public Input, Proceeds to Limit U.S. Citizens' Fishing Access."

• "Obama to Ban Fishing? What Next?"

What next, indeed. Here's what really happened:

Last month, per announced schedule, an Obama administration task force charged with developing a comprehensive plan for managing U.S. ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems stopped taking public input so it could prepare its final report.

In an op-ed piece published yesterday, ESPNOutdoors.com columnist Robert Montgomery characterized that development as follows: "The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing some of the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters" (emphasis added).

Apocalyptic doomsaying ensued.

The trouble is, while it's true that the plan could impose restrictions on commercial or recreational fishing in some places, there have been no specific proposals to do so to date, and not a shred of evidence that the plan may include an outright "ban" on fishing (see the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force's interim report, released last September).

The real thrust of Montgomery's column is that sport fishermen need to speak up for their rights before the plan is adopted to ensure no such thing happens. Fair enough. In the meantime, we can do without any more works of fiction on the order of "Obama to Propose Ban on Sport Fishing."

Update:
• ESPNOutdoors.com Editor Admits 'Errors,' Says Column Wasn't 'Properly Balanced'

Read more about it:
• Public Input Period for Federal Fishery Strategy Has Ended
• Fishermen's Fear: Public's 'Right to Fish' Shifting Under Obama?
• ESPN Scaremongering: Obama to Ban Fishing?
• The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force

Forwarded emails warn of a new security vulnerability in Windows 2000, XP, and Server 2003 systems consisting of a pop-up window directing users to press the F1 key, which sends them to a website that downloads malicious software.

The warnings are accurate, confirms Microsoft, though as yet there have been no reports of actual attacks attempting to exploit this vulnerability.

Read more...