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2007 San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade happened in March 17. I left home with a single green shirt, expecting a sunny day in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the weather was cloudy, windy and freaking cold. However, it didn’t stop me from enjoying the parade. The parade started from the cross between 2nd Street and Market Street, and ended at Civic Center Plaza.

The parade was full of Irish step-dancers, bands, musicians and Irish spirit. The main color for St. Patrick is always green with colorful Irish dancing dresses blooming like flowers. Young girls put shamrock stickers on their smiling faces. However, their noses were red due to the cold weather.

1. Whole wheat crackers with goat cheese and sweet sauce: Whole wheat crackers provide more nutrition while containing low saturated fat. Goat cheese is more healthier than normal cheese in the term of calories, fat and cholesterol. Sweet source adds extra falover.
2. Dark chocolate with wine: Dark chocolate can lower blood pressure because of cocoa phenols. It is also a potent antioxidant. Red wine, especially Syrah and Pinot Noir, contains powerful antioxidant polyphenols, which contribute to anti-cancer, anti-aging benefits including helping to fight heart disease, vision disorders, allergies, viral infections, and more.
3. Dried fruits mixed with nuts: Dried fruit is full of fibre and vitamins. Nuts are cholesterol-free and they provide good sources of protein, phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, vitamin E and selenium. However, don’t over dose since both food are calorie-intense.

Hey, I lived through this year’s DST excitement, which happened in Sunday. It was like a mini-Y2K since we had to work so hard to patch all the computer hardware and software to make sure that the whole Internet business wouldn’t be affected after the new DST change — thanks to Energy Policy Act of 2005. I even got phone call and SMS message from cell phone company, urging me to patch my Treo. Life cannot be more excited!

So, what’s the hype behind all the craziness to put 4 more weeks under DST? I know that DST stands for Daylight Saving Time. Mysteriously, it doesn’t save any energy in my life. As a typical software engineer, I spend most of the time sitting before a computer inside a building. Since I cannot afford a fancy house with big windows and/or glass walls, I have to keep lights on to protect my eyes, regardless of outdoor weather conditions.

Did I mention that the new DST doesn’t save energe? The quote below is taken from Section 110 of the energy bill:

Amends the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to extend standard daylight time from March to November (currently it runs from April to October). Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the impact of this extension upon energy consumption in the United States. Retains the right of Congress to revert Daylight Saving Time back to the 2005 time schedules.

Folks, I am really sorry. I need to save more energy under DST. Because, if this year’s setup doesn’t work out for our nation, we have to revert everything back next year. Damn it! It was so easy for us to save energy in the good old days. More, we didn’t have computers to worry about.

References:

• Daylight “Saving” Time…What Does It Save, Anyway?
• Seed: Don’t Bank on This Savings
• Y2K’s Revenge? Not quite, but DST change will cause trouble!