A Long Day

Today is going to be a long day – not just here at the Boggy Thicket, but all over the world.

It seems that the gravitational pull of the moon has slowed the earth’s rotation, so whoever does that sort of stuff is adding a second today at 6:59:59 local time. 

This slowing isn’t anything new, it is constant and ongoing.  The last time a “Leap Second” was added was in 2012.

You probably won’t notice the difference.  About the only people directly affected are internet systems administrators, folks involved in electronic stock market trading and, of course, the guy who sets the atomic clock.

Actually, I do the same thing here. 

We have a grandfather clock that I have to reset occasionally.  The clock has an adjusting nut at the bottom of its pendulum; running the nut up speeds up the clock, and lowering it slows the clock down.  I suspect that things like temperature and humidity (and for all I know, the moon) affect its accuracy – anyway, every few weeks the clock will be a minute or two fast or slow, so I adjust the hands accordingly.