Editing 1514: PermaCal
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | This comic proposes a new calendar system | + | This comic proposes a new calendar system. This is similar to comic [[1061: EST]]. In this new calendar system, the date stays constant, and only changes with {{w|February 29|leap days}}. This means that ''all'' days are now leap days. PermaCal is a portmanteau of the words "permanent" and "calendar". |
| − | In the comic, | + | In the comic, the {{w|Gregorian calendar|real date}} is Monday April 20, 2015 (the date the comic was published). [[Cueball]] has not yet added a leap day to PermaCal today, so his calendar still states it is Sunday April 19. Upon learning from [[Megan]] that the date has changed since yesterday, he is now forced to add another leap day (and is presumably becoming frustrated that he has to do this every day). |
| − | Leap days in the {{w|Gregorian calendar}} are days added to the end of {{w|February}} every year that is a multiple of 4, but not by 100, unless it's also a multiple of 400. The purpose is to synchronize the calendar with Earth's orbit without having a partial day each year. {{w|Leap second|Leap seconds}} are necessary because the earth rotation is not constant, but speeds up and slows down over time. The leap seconds account for the differences in the length of our 24 hour day and a solar day (the time taken for Earth to rotate | + | Leap days in the {{w|Gregorian calendar}} are days added to the end of {{w|February}} every year that is a multiple of 4, but not by 100, unless it's also a multiple of 400. The purpose is to synchronize the calendar with Earth's orbit without having a partial day each year. {{w|Leap second|Leap seconds}} are necessary because the earth rotation is not constant, but speeds up and slows down over time. The leap seconds account for the differences in the length of our 24 hour day and a solar day (the time taken for Earth to rotate so the same point points towards the sun), and are announced several months before hand. |
| − | + | NTP servers are used to keep local computer time from drifting. In the context of this comic {{w|Leap second|Leap seconds}} would refer to a system with constant time, and the time is adjusted by an NTP call every second. The title text refers to the bandwidth used by correcting the time in every millisecond resolution which for a system with constant time would result in 1000 updates being requested every second using significant network bandwidth and resulting in a {{w|DDoS}} situation. | |
| − | + | See here, an example of a [http://comments.gmane.org/gmane.org.operators.swinog/10055 real-life unintentional DDOS attack involving NTP servers]. | |
| − | Part of the humor stems from the problems that leap seconds are causing for some computers. [http://www.livescience.com/49370-leap-second-added-2015.html] The last leap second disrupted computers at big companies such as {{w|Reddit}}, {{w|LinkedIn}}, {{w|Gizmodo}} and {{w|FourSquare}}. {{w|Google}} | + | Part of the humor stems from the problems that leap seconds are causing for some computers. [http://www.livescience.com/49370-leap-second-added-2015.html] The last leap second disrupted computers at big companies such as {{w|Reddit}}, {{w|LinkedIn}}, {{w|Gizmodo}} and {{w|FourSquare}}. {{w|Google}} has coped by adding adding microseconds stretched out over the year, rather than a single disruptive second, possibly the reason for the reference to microsecond resolution. |
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==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
| − | :[Megan and Cueball are in the panel. Cueball appears to be holding a phone, tapping.] | + | :[Megan and Cueball are in the panel. Cueball appears to be holding a phone, tapping.] |
:Megan: What day is it? | :Megan: What day is it? | ||
:Cueball: Sunday the 19<sup>th</sup>. | :Cueball: Sunday the 19<sup>th</sup>. | ||
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{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
| + | <!-- Include any categories below this line. --> | ||
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]] | ||
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | [[Category:Comics featuring Megan]] | ||
[[Category:Time management]] | [[Category:Time management]] | ||
[[Category:Portmanteau]] | [[Category:Portmanteau]] | ||
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