Next year there is again a Leap Day (Feb 29), which is on Thursday. I just came up with an idea: I feared leap day when I was younger (until 7-8 years ago), so I would propose that Leap Day would bring US and other places close to a standstill: there would be no sporting events, public transport would not run, taxis would not be available, shops would be closed and if it is on Sunday (next 2032) then there would be no church services. Everyone would hide in their homes.
Leap seconds have definitely caused certain websites/online services/etc. to stop working.
Quote from: 1 on June 20, 2023, 10:19:06 AM
Leap seconds have definitely caused certain websites/online services/etc. to stop working.
Luckily these have not been added since end of 2016. I would fear very much if there were leap minutes or leap hours.
I think it would be more likely that the private-sector law firms would increase their attorneys' billable-hour requirements for that year.
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 20, 2023, 10:21:41 AM
I think it would be more likely that the private-sector law firms would increase their attorneys' billable-hour requirements for that year.
And everyone who's salaried would see slightly smaller paychecks.
I, on the other hand like leap years because they are special. Next (leap) year is year GF (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year_starting_on_Monday) (dominical letter) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominical%20letter). In such years, beginning of DST in Europe is on its latest possible date, March 31, and because leap years have earliest sunrises and latest sunsets for any given calendar date, the earliest possible non-DST sunrises and latest possible non-DST sunsets occur in such years (once every 28 years).
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:16:30 AM
Next year there is again a Leap Day (Feb 29), which is on Thursday. I just came up with an idea: I feared leap day when I was younger (until 7-8 years ago), so I would propose that Leap Day would bring US and other places close to a standstill: there would be no sporting events, public transport would not run, taxis would not be available, shops would be closed and if it is on Sunday (next 2032) then there would be no church services. Everyone would hide in their homes.
But why do any of that? Being inside sucks and if the recent pandemic taught us anything it is that a crap ton of people don't like to be mandated to stay home.
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 20, 2023, 10:23:19 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 20, 2023, 10:21:41 AM
I think it would be more likely that the private-sector law firms would increase their attorneys' billable-hour requirements for that year.
And everyone who's salaried would see slightly smaller paychecks.
How do you figure? When you're salaried, you get the exact same paycheck. Lesser $/hr though for sure.
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:16:30 AM
I would propose that Leap Day would bring US and other places close to a standstill: there would be no sporting events, public transport would not run, taxis would not be available, shops would be closed and if it is on Sunday (next 2032) then there would be no church services. Everyone would hide in their homes.
Why?
Also, it sound like an
absence of traditions.
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 10:42:38 AM
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:16:30 AM
I would propose that Leap Day would bring US and other places close to a standstill: there would be no sporting events, public transport would not run, taxis would not be available, shops would be closed and if it is on Sunday (next 2032) then there would be no church services. Everyone would hide in their homes.
Why?
Also, it sound like an absence of traditions.
Because it is a special day, occurring only every four years.
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:44:35 AM
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 10:42:38 AM
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:16:30 AM
I would propose that Leap Day would bring US and other places close to a standstill: there would be no sporting events, public transport would not run, taxis would not be available, shops would be closed and if it is on Sunday (next 2032) then there would be no church services. Everyone would hide in their homes.
Why?
Also, it sound like an absence of traditions.
Because it is a special day, occurring only every four years.
So is Inauguration Day in the US, and the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and the World Cup final. We don't hide in our houses for those.
Quote from: 1 on June 20, 2023, 10:45:19 AM
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:44:35 AM
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 10:42:38 AM
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:16:30 AM
I would propose that Leap Day would bring US and other places close to a standstill: there would be no sporting events, public transport would not run, taxis would not be available, shops would be closed and if it is on Sunday (next 2032) then there would be no church services. Everyone would hide in their homes.
Why?
Also, it sound like an absence of traditions.
Because it is a special day, occurring only every four years.
So is Inauguration Day in the US, and the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and the World Cup final. We don't hide in our houses for those.
But it is an additional day, and normally there is just 28 days in February.
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:44:35 AM
Because it is a special day, occurring only every four years.
I could get behind that, I suppose. Kind of like how New Year's Day is a holiday for no good reason other than the calendar (although that calendar is at least arbitrarily tied to new moons or solstices or whatever stuff like that, whereas Leap Day isn't in quite the same way). So yeah, I could see it being a holiday.
That still doesn't explain everyone hiding in their houses, though...
Quote from: 1 on June 20, 2023, 10:45:19 AM
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:44:35 AM
Because it is a special day, occurring only every four years.
So is Inauguration Day in the US, and the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and the World Cup final. We don't hide in our houses for those.
Some people in the DC area more or less hide in their houses for Inauguration Day because it's so darn hard to get around with all the road closures and other security issues.
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 20, 2023, 10:56:51 AM
Quote from: 1 on June 20, 2023, 10:45:19 AM
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 10:44:35 AM
Because it is a special day, occurring only every four years.
So is Inauguration Day in the US, and the Summer Olympics opening ceremony, and the World Cup final. We don't hide in our houses for those.
Some people in the DC area more or less hide in their houses for Inauguration Day because it's so darn hard to get around with all the road closures and other security issues.
That is exactly what I did in January 2009.
January 2005 and January 2013, the only other Presidential inaugurations that took place while I lived in DC, were pretty much business-as-usual, though.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on June 20, 2023, 10:40:59 AM
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 20, 2023, 10:23:19 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 20, 2023, 10:21:41 AM
I think it would be more likely that the private-sector law firms would increase their attorneys' billable-hour requirements for that year.
And everyone who's salaried would see slightly smaller paychecks.
How do you figure? When you're salaried, you get the exact same paycheck. Lesser $/hr though for sure.
That's the thing, though; my employer calculates my paycheck using my hourly rate and the number of "hours" I've worked (8 per day, regardless of how long I actually worked that day), and the hourly rate will be slightly smaller when it's calculated assuming a 366-day calendar year.
It should be moved to June 30th so it feels like an extra day of summer instead of an extra day in winter
Quote from: skluth on June 20, 2023, 11:16:48 AM
It should be moved to June 30th so it feels like an extra day of summer instead of an extra day in winter
But we already have a June 30th.
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 11:20:18 AM
Quote from: skluth on June 20, 2023, 11:16:48 AM
It should be moved to June 30th so it feels like an extra day of summer instead of an extra day in winter
But we already have a June 30th.
June 31st.
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 20, 2023, 11:03:52 AM
Quote from: JayhawkCO on June 20, 2023, 10:40:59 AM
Quote from: abefroman329 on June 20, 2023, 10:23:19 AM
Quote from: 1995hoo on June 20, 2023, 10:21:41 AM
I think it would be more likely that the private-sector law firms would increase their attorneys' billable-hour requirements for that year.
And everyone who's salaried would see slightly smaller paychecks.
How do you figure? When you're salaried, you get the exact same paycheck. Lesser $/hr though for sure.
That's the thing, though; my employer calculates my paycheck using my hourly rate and the number of "hours" I've worked (8 per day, regardless of how long I actually worked that day), and the hourly rate will be slightly smaller when it's calculated assuming a 366-day calendar year.
You get paid bi-weekly I suppose? I get paid semi-monthly, so no changes for me.
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 11:27:12 AM
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 11:20:18 AM
Quote from: skluth on June 20, 2023, 11:16:48 AM
It should be moved to June 30th so it feels like an extra day of summer instead of an extra day in winter
But we already have a June 30th.
June 31st.
Ideally, one day in a normal year and two days in a leap year would be made what are sometimes called "blank days," days not assigned a regular weekday name. The benefit of doing that is that the calendar doesn't change from year to year in terms of the day of the week on which a given date falls. The Shire Calendar that appears in the appendix to
The Return of the King is an example of that sort of calendar–the hobbits moved Midyear's Day (and, in leap years, the Overlithe) to a day not assigned to a regular weekday.
Of course, as a practical matter that is highly unlikely to gain any traction for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which are very strenuous objections from several major religions that feel very strongly about the seven-day week; I'm sure there would also be issues regarding accounting calendars or computation of vacation time accruals or similar. The French Republican Calendar in the late 1700s abolished the seven-day week for a ten-day "décade" in which the tenth day was the day of rest. Not surprisingly, the idea of having one day off every ten days instead of one day off every seven days was not especially popular (although I suppose back then if you protested too vocally they'd simply send you to the guillotine).
I don't know about these proposed traditions, but I would be for having Leap day be a national holiday. It really kind of bothers me that it's just another day. I might only be saying this since I celebrated quite strenuously February 29, 2000, which as a centennial leap year, only happens every 400 years, and I've tried to keep that up, with little success admittedly, since.
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 11:20:18 AM
Quote from: skluth on June 20, 2023, 11:16:48 AM
It should be moved to June 30th so it feels like an extra day of summer instead of an extra day in winter
But we already have a June 30th.
There would be two June 30ths. :-D
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 20, 2023, 12:46:07 PM
It really kind of bothers me that it's just another day.
I've occasionally wondered how people in some ancient cultures handled having blocks of intercalary days–days which were simply inserted
between months. But it occurs to me now: why would they have even cared? It's not like their everyday lives would have been affected by any particular day being attached to a month or not.
Similarly, it doesn't bother me that that February 29 is "just another day". It doesn't affect my everyday life in the slightest.
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 12:53:01 PM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 20, 2023, 12:46:07 PM
It really kind of bothers me that it's just another day.
I've occasionally wondered how people in some ancient cultures handled having blocks of intercalary days–days which were simply inserted between months. But it occurs to me now: why would they have even cared? It's not like their everyday lives would have been affected by any particular day being attached to a month or not.
Similarly, it doesn't bother me that that February 29 is "just another day". It doesn't affect my everyday life in the slightest.
Well, every day is an everyday day unless it is decided that it's not.
As far as intercalary stuff goes, though, it matters quite a bit to people in power, since, especially if there is no set system for deciding when they will take place, they can lengthen or shorten their time in office, or that of their rivals, and so on. Additionally, sometimes intercalary stuff is considered lucky or unlucky, and so that can be a factor as well, such as in wartime.
That said, all of this that I'm saying comes from Rome, which didn't set its intercalary period, a month called Mercedonius, at the end of a month, but rather in the middle of February, and so technically doesn't relate to your question.
In any case, a fun fact is that, when Julius Caesar reformed the calendar, this month was replaced with one day, which he put in the same spot as that month, which led to a doubled day 6 days before the Kalends of March, which is why in French a leap year is called an
année bissextile. It's only been slowly over the centuries that the leap day has migrated to the last day of February.
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 20, 2023, 01:23:18 PM
As far as intercalary stuff goes, though, it matters quite a bit to people in power, since, especially if there is no set system for deciding when they will take place, they can lengthen or shorten their time in office, or that of their rivals, and so on.
When I said "people" I meant normies.
I'm stilling wanting an explanation as to why the U.S. should lockdown for the next February 29th.
Eesh. Another painful crap thread.
Quote from: JayhawkCO on June 20, 2023, 11:29:13 AMYou get paid bi-weekly I suppose? I get paid semi-monthly, so no changes for me.
Semi-monthly, but one paycheck will cover February 16-29 rather than February 16-28.
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 01:25:59 PM
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 20, 2023, 01:23:18 PM
As far as intercalary stuff goes, though, it matters quite a bit to people in power, since, especially if there is no set system for deciding when they will take place, they can lengthen or shorten their time in office, or that of their rivals, and so on.
When I said "people" I meant normies.
My apologies.
My wife and I decided it would be fun to get married on February 29, so we did. That means that although we've been married for 7 years our upcoming anniversary will be our 3rd anniversary.
This has the benefit of making our anniversaries more special (since they only come once every four years) and impossible to forget, because they always come around presidential primary voting (which in Oklahoma takes place on Super Tuesday, and in Nevada sometime in February).
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 20, 2023, 05:42:16 PM
My wife and I decided it would be fun to get married on February 29, so we did.
That's a pretty cool way to choose the date.
I once had a boss who got married on Friday the 13th, because nobody else had reserved for that day.
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 20, 2023, 05:42:16 PM
My wife and I decided it would be fun to get married on February 29, so we did. That means that although we've been married for 7 years our upcoming anniversary will be our 3rd anniversary.
That is fantastic. Let me wish you the best a bit early.
The custodian of the building my office used to be in had a birthday of February 29th. He wasn't the type to paint the town red, but since his birthday only comes along every four years, he definitely made an exception. In 2020, this meant that he got one last hurrah before everything shut down.
(Also, just to nitpick, if you were married in 2016, next year would be your second anniversary.)
Quote from: CtrlAltDel on June 20, 2023, 05:50:31 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on June 20, 2023, 05:42:16 PM
My wife and I decided it would be fun to get married on February 29, so we did. That means that although we've been married for 7 years our upcoming anniversary will be our 3rd anniversary.
That is fantastic. Let me wish you the best a bit early.
[...]
(Also, just to nitpick, if you were married in 2016, next year would be your second anniversary.)
Thanks! And duh, I can't count, apparently. (Glad you noticed this instead of my wife. :P )
I've always wondered how people who were born on 2/29 celebrated their birthdays in years where that month only has 28 days. Do they celebrate on 2/28, 3/1, or no date at all?
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 11:27:12 AM
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 11:20:18 AM
Quote from: skluth on June 20, 2023, 11:16:48 AM
It should be moved to June 30th so it feels like an extra day of summer instead of an extra day in winter
But we already have a June 30th.
June 31st.
How about August 32nd? :sombrero:
Quote from: Henry on June 20, 2023, 10:15:20 PM
I've always wondered how people who were born on 2/29 celebrated their birthdays in years where that month only has 28 days. Do they celebrate on 2/28, 3/1, or no date at all?
Quote from: Poiponen13 on June 20, 2023, 11:27:12 AM
Quote from: kphoger on June 20, 2023, 11:20:18 AM
Quote from: skluth on June 20, 2023, 11:16:48 AM
It should be moved to June 30th so it feels like an extra day of summer instead of an extra day in winter
But we already have a June 30th.
June 31st.
How about August 32nd? :sombrero:
How about making Smarch reality?
Makes birthdays interesting, too. If you were born on February 29, when do you celebrate your birthday on non-leap years? February 28 or March 1? I've seen people say both dates.
Quote from: Amaury on June 20, 2023, 11:21:38 PM
Makes birthdays interesting, too. If you were born on February 29, when do you celebrate your birthday on non-leap years? February 28 or March 1? I've seen people say both dates.
In my world, birthday celebrations rarely happen on the actual birthday anyway. They usually get moved to whatever nearby weekend day is clear on the calendar.
My wife and I first talked on the phone on Sunday, February 29th, 2004, having met online the previous Friday. We consider it one of our anniversaries.