[LEAPSECS] a modest proposal

[Rob Seaman]

Folks,

Don't you think Steve's plan - heck, any coherently expressed  
suggestion - is worth a hearing?  Must the integrated role timekeeping  
plays in our society's systems be belabored?  Any viable plan moving  
forward is going to face challenges of communication, bureaucracy,  
technology, standards, funding and so forth and so on.

The "to hell with leap seconds" notion is an attempt to sweep most of  
that natural complexity under the table.  There is no plan - viable or  
otherwise.  Rather, any competent system engineering management plan  
would take all of the issues into account.

If you believe that solar time is merely a quaint oddment, the way to  
make the case would be a trade-off study or formal risk analysis.   
Sell a design, not a gimmick.

Rob Seaman
National Optical Astronomy Observatory