Make the most of your extra second

iSon · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 02.29

nodnirG kraM wrote:2008 may seem a bit longer than previous years - a whole second longer in fact. Yup it's that time again where we have to set our clocks back one second. So I thought I'd jump on the tabloid slow-news-day bandwagon and ask what you're going to do with your extra second from 24:00:00 to 00:00:00 tonight.

I'll be listening to the extra pip.

Jenny · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 09.09

Unfortunately, the extra second doesn't even start to make up for all the seconds I've wasted typing this.

Gavin Scott · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 09.34

I've been trying to think what I can actually do in 1 second. Most things are impossible, but hypothetically one could consume a line of coke in exactly 1 second.

Thinking about it, it seems pretty rude to *time* not to try.

marksi · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 09.46

Isonstine wrote:
nodnirG kraM wrote:2008 may seem a bit longer than previous years - a whole second longer in fact. Yup it's that time again where we have to set our clocks back one second. So I thought I'd jump on the tabloid slow-news-day bandwagon and ask what you're going to do with your extra second from 24:00:00 to 00:00:00 tonight.
I'll be listening to the extra pip.

I *think* the only place you'll hear pips is Radio 2. Radio 4 takes all 12 bongs on New Year's Eve.

Sput · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 10.20

marksi wrote:
Isonstine wrote:
nodnirG kraM wrote:2008 may seem a bit longer than previous years - a whole second longer in fact. Yup it's that time again where we have to set our clocks back one second. So I thought I'd jump on the tabloid slow-news-day bandwagon and ask what you're going to do with your extra second from 24:00:00 to 00:00:00 tonight.
I'll be listening to the extra pip.
I *think* the only place you'll hear pips is Radio 2. Radio 4 takes all 12 bongs on New Year's Eve.

Well with gav's antics I think there might be an extra bong around!

Gavin Scott · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 10.25

Wakka wakka wakka.

Nick Harvey · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 11.06

I shall spend the last 61 seconds of 2008 looking at the display on the radio-controlled clock I had for Christmas 2007, as this will be my first oportunity to see the "Leap Second Approaching" icon that the instruction book says should come up next to where "DST" comes up in the summer.

For those who think that could be a tad more boring than Gav's option, I will be doing that with about twenty units of Cotes du Rhone under my belt, or to be more precise, swilling around at about belt level by that time of night.

Oh, and don't expect Comment (and the bonus of a nice, new, 2009 copyright notice) till all the guests have departed. That'll probably be about 1am.

cdd · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 14.55

I imagine leap seconds make the lives of those in the time industry a living hell. I suspect quite a lot of work has to go into fixing time sources to take account for leap seconds, all for one measly little second. I wonder how many don't bother?

There's a clock I haven't bothered to change the minute on since the last leap second in 2005, it will be 2 sec out now. Interesting little tidbit for you.

Sput · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 15.13

Tell me more about this Time Industry, cdd! I know how to buy time but not how to sell it.

Nick Harvey · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 17.47

Is it like beating time, as in Alice in Wonderland?

marksi · Wed 31 Dec, 2008 18.01

To correct my post of earlier (having now got to work and been fully briefed on the state of the world), if you want to hear a greater than is normal number of pips you will need to tune to BBC Radio 5 Live. All other networks will be taking Big Ben. Which, by the first bong of midnight, will be accurate to include the leap second.