[michaelrpeskin]

This doesn't really answer the sign problem (which is just an arbitrarily chosen convention), but I view it more as "the field makes the electrons move".

The rule of thumb I always use is that at household voltages and currents in copper the electrons move a few tens of microns per second. If your lights are on all day the electrons might move a meter or so from where they were when you turned the switch on.