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Is Heaven really a place where nothing ever happens?

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Serenitree · F
I haven't been. If I get there, I'll let you know that it exists. If you don't hear from me, just assume either I never made it that far, or it doesn't exist. I'll leave it up to you to decide.


Oct. 28/16
11:07 pm
SW-User
I like how your time stamp convention is constantly changing. When are you going to start using Unix Time?
Serenitree · F
@KaliKali: 😂😂😂❤️

It's only just changed this one time. I kind of thought when I first started that if I just put numbers, nobody would even notice. Boy, was I wrong. So I wrote a story to explain it, but then new people kept asking, so it finally clicked in......put the date and time but, I should actually add the time zone too. Or not. I don't know. But the numbers seemed to be a big [b][big]?[/big][/b] so I'm trying it this way.

What is unix time?


Oct. 28/16
11:15 pm
Serenitree · F
@Serenitree: I just looked it up. Why did it start on Jan 1 1970? And I still don't really understand it. It takes someone with some understanding of higher math than just high school math.


Is my erratic behaviour giving you a headache? 😊


Oct.28/16
11:28 pm
SW-User
It starts Jan 1, 1970 because it was first used in the early 70's and the beginning of the decade is a convenient starting point. It isn't very complicated though, it's just how many seconds have passed since Jan 1, 1970.
Serenitree · F
@KaliKali: okay. The explanation is simple enough. The date makes sense. But there was a bunch of stuff about it not counting leap seconds. Doesn't that really mess up the count. I mean that's a lot of uncounted seconds in, what, 11 leap years. Not precise enough for my purposes.


😜


Oct. 28/16
11:40 pm
SW-User
@Serenitree: By not counting leap seconds you have the actual number of seconds that passed. Leap seconds are used to adjust our clocks to match when the sun rises and sets.
Serenitree · F
@KaliKali: oh. So, they aren't skipping those seconds?
SW-User
@Serenitree:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix_time#Leap_seconds

The second table there shows UTC with the extra leap second and Unix Time next to it :D
SW-User
@Serenitree: I was wrong about it being the [i]actual[/i] number of seconds that have passed. It basically just ignores the existence of leap seconds all together by "double counting" them.
Serenitree · F
@KaliKali: now I'm confused again. You're going to force me to run to my grandson and have him laugh at me for not getting it.

How can double counting them work. It only happens every four years. Wouldn't they have to count them four times?
SW-User
@Serenitree: Leap seconds aren't the seconds on the extra day in a leap year, but it is something similar. We add the extra day in a leap year so that our calendar year matches up with our orbital period better. An orbital period is about 365.25 days so every four years we need to add an extra day. Leap seconds are added every once in a while because the rotation of the Earth isn't precisely 24 hours as measured by our clocks.

So like with with leap years, if we ignored them then eventually January would fall in the Northern Hemisphere's summer. With leap seconds, if we didn't add them then eventually it would be light out at midnight.

Unix Time wants the length of every day to be the same, so when a leap second happens then it repeats that one second. So if the leap second falls on 100 (not a realistic time, but works for the illustration) then Unix Time calls still calls it 100, but it also calls the next second 100. Otherwise the day that contained the leap second would have an extra second in it.
Serenitree · F
@KaliKali: Thanks. You're so good to take the time to explain that. And to explain it in such a way that I actually get it. Now Jake doesn't get to make fun of his Nana. Yay! 🤗 hugs.
SW-User
:D