It may come as a surprise to many of you that this Sunday, we will be moving our clocks ahead one hour for the start of the daylight savings time season (which officially begins at 2 a.m. Sunday).

I'm all for extended twilight, but was having no problem with the sun setting at 6pm. Especially in March when it still is kind of chilly to be out running around at the end of the day. Tell that to the government, right?

Believe it or not, this is actually the third year that daylight savings time has fallen on the second Sunday in March -- all in the name of saving more energy. At least, that was the game plan. But according to Bob Aldrich, a spokesman for the California Energy Commission, extending daylight saving time had "little or no effect on energy consumption in California."

I know I'm not looking forward to a sleepy Monday as my body tries to adjust to losing an hour of sleep. And according Al Neuharth in his Plain Talk column at USA TODAY, chickens and their handlers aren't pleased either.

"They won't lay their eggs in the dark, so we have to hook up a light in the chicken house. Then we can't let them out for their morning run in the dark because the raccoons get them. You need to start a campaign to get this time change stopped," said Centi Thomson of Canaveral Groves in Cocoa, Fla.

My advice is to lay off the caffeine on Saturday so you can get to bed earlier. Also, be extra careful when you are driving. Per the National Road Safety Foundation's spokesperson, David Reich:

"Drowsiness, a condition most drivers fail to recognize, can be as dangerous as drinking and driving. Studies show 60 percent of us have driven while feeling sleepy, and more than a third admit to having fallen asleep at the wheel in the past year."

That being said, enjoy your weekend and plan accordingly for Monday.

[clock pic courtesy of Examiner.com.]

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