Today is NerdZone's First Leap Year!

[Retro]

I registered domain nerdzone.uk on 20.12.2021 so today, 29.02.2024, is NerdZone's first leap year, which feels a little bit special.

In a nutshell, leap years exist because the earth actually takes 365.25 days to orbit the sun, so it keeps the calendar in sync with it.

Here's a few articles explaining leap years, each with their own take on it.

Leap Day on February 29!

Traditionally, women take the ring into their own hands and propose on leap day. But did you know that it was Julius Caesar who first invented leap years?

www.timeanddate.com

Leap Year 2024: What's the day all about?

February 2024 is very special because it's what's known as a leap year.

www.bbc.co.uk

Leap Day 2024 is tomorrow! Here's what it is and how to celebrate

Everything to know about the unique day that comes every four years.

reviewed.usatoday.com

February 29 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Geffers]

Instead of complicating it with an extra day every 4 years they could have just had 60.04 seconds in a minute Guess that is a leap second every 25 minutes.

Mind you, having a leap year lets us know when the Olympics are.

Geffers

 

[Retro]

Oh, I like that. You're full of practical ideas, Geffers!

@TheURL take note.

 

[TheURL]

It's been suggested that the extra day should be 31st June - which would be in the summer, and of course a longer day than 29th Feb. Which sounds good but is of course flawed. It's a bit like saying that it gets late much earlier when the clocks change.

 

[Tiffany]

Congrats @Retro to Nerdzone's first leapyear.

 

[Geffers]

It's been suggested that the extra day should be 31st June - which would be in the summer, and of course a longer day than 29th Feb. Which sounds good but is of course flawed. It's a bit like saying that it gets late much earlier when the clocks change.

All psychological but agree, 31 June much better but that buggers up the rhyme for remembering which months have 30 days and which have 31.

Geffers

 

[Retro]

It's been suggested that the extra day should be 31st June - which would be in the summer, and of course a longer day than 29th Feb. Which sounds good but is of course flawed. It's a bit like saying that it gets late much earlier when the clocks change.

The calendar is baked right into the very core of every computer ever made with a clock and every system of tracking dates, so imagine the chaos if this was ever changed. Might be worth it for the comedy value lol.

 

[Geffers]

The calendar is baked right into the very core of every computer ever made with a clock and every system of tracking dates, so imagine the chaos if this was ever changed. Might be worth it for the comedy value lol.

Good point, Feb 29th it remains. Australia quite happy though, they get an extra summer day.

Geffers

 

[TheURL]

You can always write some patch code, eg

If > 28th Feb in leap year and < 1 Jul in leap year then...else...

etc, then download that everywhere.

That will fix the Australian problem as well!

 

[live627]

Do we really want more date-related bugs? I'm sure I speak for all software devs when I say that any more date/time changes will make us even more insanely crazy.

 

[Geffers]

Do we really want more date-related bugs? I'm sure I speak for all software devs when I say that any more date/time changes will make us even more insanely crazy.

Don't computers actually use the Julian Calendar?

Geffers

 

[Retro]

I don't think they do, since they're the same as the calendar one puts on the wall and that's the Gregorian one.

It's possible that there might be some variations to this for specific cases though. I'd need to do some furious Googling to be sure.

 

[Ian]

On the subject of calendars, I had the idea of making December 90 days long and cancelling January and February. Just think:
* 90 days to get all your Xmas socials in "sorry I'm busy on the 28th but I can make the 77th"
* What is now Jan and Feb becomes part of the Christmas fun run
* That depressing day around 24th January now becomes an enjoyable 53rd December
* Xmas day is near the end of Feb, lighter and warmer and equally a chance of a white Christmas
* New Years Eve is lighter and warmer
* And then we are straight into 1st March for the New Year!

 

[Retro]

Ian, that's crazy lol, but would technically work as long as the year overall would be kept to 365 days with a leap year every four years.

I like it, sounds like one big holiday during that period.