Big Ben's Silence Baffles Engineers

Associated Press ^ | May 28, 2005 | THOMAS WAGNER

[sourcery]

Actually, the clock is registering its disgust with the wrongheaded practice of inserting leapseconds into civil timekeeping (since 1968, civil seconds have been atomic clock seconds derived from TAI, instead of astronomical seconds derived from mean solar time (UT2.))

[basil]

The difference in 90 degree weather in England and South Texas is that the Brits haven't discovered air conditioning, yet---LOL! They'll get to it as soon as they figure out how to mix both hot and cold water in one faucet.

[yarddog]

In his six volume history of WWII, Churchill comments on just that when he was staying in Stalin's Dacha. He noticed the hot and cold could be mixed in the same spout.

He commented that he was going to have the same thing installed in his home.

[Paleo Conservative]

The difference in 90 degree weather in England and South Texas is that the Brits haven't discovered air conditioning, yet---LOL! They'll get to it as soon as they figure out how to mix both hot and cold water in one faucet.

Tell me about it. They don't even know about ice water. Actually the temperatures were in the high 90s to 100s. Lots of people were cooling off in the fountain at Trafalgar Square in the late afternoon.

[B4Ranch]

A plumbing T is cheaper than another faucet, that's a fact.

[bill1952]

That warm beer isn't a thrill either.

[hershey]

Mice?

[Paleo Conservative]

I was too young to drink it back then.

[Capriole]

I've always thought it was hysterical that the British declare a heat wave and drought if the temperature goes above 60. I can still be shivering in sweaters while they are complaining about "this terrible heat."

And their weather forecasting is just as sidesplitting. There is always a lot of handwaving on the part of the weather forecaster, but it comes down to the same thing every day: some sun, some rain, spots of hail, heavy frost, balmy, windy, ice storms, a few tsunamis, a bit of hurricane, drought, broken cloud, glaciers, the Black Death, and searing heat. And that's just in the morning. Afternoon weather will be more changeable.

[Squawk 8888]

Actually, that sounds like a forecast for Calgary- they say if you're not happy with the weather there, wait five minutes.

[supercat]

Actually, the clock is registering its disgust with the wrongheaded practice of inserting leapseconds into civil timekeeping (since 1968, civil seconds have been atomic clock seconds derived from TAI, instead of astronomical seconds derived from mean solar time (UT2.))

Are all corrections to UCT forward-going? In other words, can one safely assume that the same second in time will never repeat?

[sharktrager]

I think they say that about everywhere but Southern California.

[sourcery]

Leap seconds so far have always been positive additions. However, they can also be negative. In the former case, 23:59:59 is followed by 23:59:60. In the latter case, 23:59:58 is followed by 00:00:00.

[newzjunkey]

Baffled Engineers? Where are they from, NASA?

[djf]

Are those crouton egghead scientists playing with that stop-light thingy again?

[Observer of Life]

I believe the bell is Big Ben, the clock is just a clock.

[supercat]

Leap seconds so far have always been positive additions. However, they can also be negative. In the former case, 23:59:59 is followed by 23:59:60. In the latter case, 23:59:58 is followed by 00:00:00.

How should computer record-keeping systems handle them, especially if they count fractional seconds? A transaction-logging system which uses e.g. Windows timestamp format (10,000,000ths of a second since 1-1-1600 or some such goofy thing) could have some problems with transactions getting logged out of order if the time slipped back at midnight. I'd think that making time run 1.6% slower for the last minute of the day would work better.

[watchin]

No doubt terrorists have just integrated it into their latest timebomb.

[Calvin Locke]

"The Prisoner" noticed a "time displacement error" and realized he was being set up, yet again.

[Miss Marple]

What I want to know is if the ravens have left The Tower.