----- Original Message ----- From: "John Hawkinson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Leap Second Discussion List" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2007 10:06 AM Subject: Re: [LEAPSECS] ATT drops time
Though frankly, this afternoon is even more depressing. Calling, it is not even consistent. At 12:57:42, it beeps claiming to be 12:57:30. At 12:57:53, it beeps claiming to be 12:57:50. At 12:58:05, it beeps claiming to be 12:58:10. At 12:58:17, it beeps claiming to be 12:58:20. :( The other great irony is that the clocks on digital cellular networks aren't so hot either, often off by a few seconds, at least last I checked. And, of course, they don't tend to get daylight saving changes instantly either... [gesnippt]
Back in the mid-1990's the USNO had on their website a page dedicated to the "Cuckoo Clock Award", their humorous tribute to the most egregiously erroneous "official" time source they'd heard of that week (one could submit entries via email.) Once, they gave the award to themselves, as their website's own clock had somehow gotten unsync'ed to the point it was off by several minutes!
I see AT&T's point, but this is truly the end of an era. The telephone time-of-day service here in southern California has always been spot-on, nearly as I can tell; even the semi-annual DST shifts were done precisely at 2:00 a.m. on the occasions I bothered to check them.
Since it was the time-of-day recording (or speaking clock as they say Across The Pond) that got me interested in precise timekeeping at the age of ten, it's with a bit of nostalgia that I recognize their obsolescence in this day of radio-controlled watches and CDMA-synced cell phones. The fascination with the idea that there *is* a correct time, and that it's someone's job to make sure people know what it is, is something that has never entirely left me.
Brian Garrett _______________________________________________ LEAPSECS mailing list [email protected] http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/leapsecs
