Tom Hodgkinson - clocks and alarms

“Sleep is a powerful seducer, hence the terrifying machinery we have developed to fight it. I mean, the alarm clock. Heavens! What evil genius brought together those two enemies of the idle—clocks and alarms—into one unit? ... The alarm clock is the first stage in the ungodly transformation we force ourselves to endure in the morning, from blissed-out, carefree dreamer to anxiety-ridden toiler, weighted by responsibility and duty.”