[LEAPSECS] An example

[Mark Calabretta]

On Wed 2010/11/03 02:57:06 -0000, "Poul-Henning Kamp" wrote
in a message to: Leap Second Discussion List <leapsecs at leapsecond.com>


>Being non-religious: No, I don't really care.  Being born in January

>I wouldn't mind seeing a different season on my birthday.


I believe that other non-religious people do care, and not only
astronomers.  Anyway, how long are you proposing to live?!


>Leap seconds are erratic and are announced with only six months warning,

>which is far too short for an economical implementation in many contexts.


It's not the noise but the underlying secular effect that is of
concern.  But as you say, this is an implementation detail.

I agree that it would be a reasonable compromise to tabulate leap
seconds 10 years ahead.  In the short term, though, it may not be
accurate enough to keep DUTC < 0.9s which will break things.
Nevertheless, it seems like a much better solution than what ITU-R
are offering - though it wouldn't have the political clout to
implement it.

Mark Calabretta
ATNF