Post by @sundogplanets@mastodon.social
Just had a 5:30pm surprise CBC interview about leap seconds: https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/13/science/leap-second-elimination-time-standard
I didn't really have much of an opinion on leap seconds until I talked through it with the journalist. But wow, leap seconds are such a bad idea! What a silly way to get our timekeeping to work with the imperfect, constantly changing orbital system we live in.
I like the quote they chose for me at the end of this article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/leap-second-decision-9.7381049
"This is a real human problem that we've been struggling with forever, as long as we've been watching the stars move across the sky and tracking when the sun rises and sets, and trying to get the patterns right," Lawler said.
"It's always going to be a little bit wrong, and I think we just have to accept that."
That's right, everybody. No clocks. I want chaos! Hahaha I'm going to get some weird emails...
I don't mind if they miss a few leap seconds. I'm getting too old for leaping, even for a second.
@sundogplanets let's get rid of calendars too! We can switch to a system that is based on "when I feel like it" lol
That's quite an article. Crazy to think a one second adjustment can cause things to crash. It makes sense.. but also makes systems appear so fragile
@sundogplanets words to live by. "It's always going to be a little bit wrong, and I think we just have to accept that."
@sundogplanets Simple solution, everyone switch to UTC, disambiguate time from the which side of the earth is facing the sun. No more timezones!
@sundogplanets software helped cause negative leap seconds (with a little help from gas turbines), so software can accept negative leap second consequences
I loved this; thank you! I'll offer:
"All models are wrong, but some are useful” -- attributed to George E. P. Box
Clocks are just a model of the earth's rotation around its axis and its sun.
Sundials are accurate: the gnomon's shadow indicates the exact position of the sun; on any given day the minutes and hours are relatively squishy or stretchy.
Clocks, on the other hand, are merely precise -- unless they have stopped, in which case they are accurate twice a day.
🌞 ⏰ 🤪
@sundogplanets See? This is what happens when time gets woke! No rules. People can choose what time it is. Don't like the time? Change it. "I'm not late for work! You're all early!" Even the units are up for grabs. Instead of hours, I'm going to call them blorps. In five blorps, I can go home.
@sundogplanets So, it looks like you're supporting the idea of a BIG clock change once in a generation instead of multiple fiddly little changes. Just like Y2K caused generational stress for tech folk.
If you're quick, get out there and NAME this approach in interviews.
#goatzilla
@sundogplanets If the clocks and earth are drifting apart, can't we just get anchors to keep them together? Or just glue the clocks to the ground?
...and I now have a live radio interview about timekeeping scheduled tomorrow at 12:30 on 880 CHED in Edmonton and QR 770 in Calgary. Hahaha!
