4 ms·

I have a solution that no one will like, but it's probably the least insane one in practice. 1. We move from using leap seconds to leap minutes. 2. We move le

I have a solution that no one will like, but it's probably the least insane one in practice. 1. We move from using leap seconds to leap minutes. 2. We move leap minutes to timezone offset, because time zones are already a clusterfuck and you can't make them any worse anyway. 3. One-time adjustment to all timezones to get the system started. Result: Z timezone is equivalent to TAI. When you want to account for planet-related BS, you apply a timezone offset. You can definitely criticize this, but with a caveat: if you believe that Unix timestamp doesn't have leap seconds or that timezones only come in 1-hour increments you clearly have no idea how computer time really works and should probably read up on that first.

layer8 4y ago
It would probably even be okay to make the corrections only in whole-hour or half-hour steps, to avoid odd timezone offsets. The Brits however won’t like losing the 0-offset GMT.
- lucb1e 4y ago
  Maybe it's more acceptable if the public is told they're likely to get it back at some undefined time in the future. (Or is that too soon after they severed EU relations only to immediately try and get those relations back in order?)
gowld 4y ago
> if you believe that Unix timestamp doesn't have leap seconds If you have a source for leap seconds in Unix timestamp, please post a correction to Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time UTC has leap seconds, and so Unix time can be converted to UTC, for the era in which UTC-with-leap-seconds is defined (after ~1972)
lovecg 4y ago
But why do we need leap anything at all? Leap years are useful because the calendar drifts quickly (well, over centuries) enough for seasons shifting to become noticeable. Leap seconds correct for a problem that’s much slower, with already existing much larger errors (time zones anyone?). It’s a science project with no useful application in the real world.

layer8 4y ago

It would probably even be okay to make the corrections only in whole-hour or half-hour steps, to avoid odd timezone offsets. The Brits however won’t like losing the 0-offset GMT.

lucb1e 4y ago
Maybe it's more acceptable if the public is told they're likely to get it back at some undefined time in the future. (Or is that too soon after they severed EU relations only to immediately try and get those relations back in order?)

gowld 4y ago

> if you believe that Unix timestamp doesn't have leap seconds If you have a source for leap seconds in Unix timestamp, please post a correction to Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time UTC has leap seconds, and so Unix time can be converted to UTC, for the era in which UTC-with-leap-seconds is defined (after ~1972)

lovecg 4y ago

But why do we need leap anything at all? Leap years are useful because the calendar drifts quickly (well, over centuries) enough for seasons shifting to become noticeable. Leap seconds correct for a problem that’s much slower, with already existing much larger errors (time zones anyone?). It’s a science project with no useful application in the real world.