F-ckin Leap Seconds, how do they work?

Thu Jul 5 16:30:58 UTC 2012

> If you want to run a Google-patched NTP server and talk to it, you're welcome
> to.  The rest of us would prefer to just get it right, so we don't have to 
> get lied to.

The timescale implementation in NTP is correct accoring to how UTC is
defined.  I suggest leaving it alone, chances of improving on this
part over what Mills has done in half a lifetime is slim. 

(For those who want to state more incorrect things on this matter, let
 me just point out that Dave Mills received the PTTI award 2006, so
 NTP's implementioon of time has sufficient peer review of people who
 defined how UTC/TAI works.. )

The time format has a best_before date like Unix, so it will require
outside information to tell what modulos of time we are in after it
runs out of bits. At the IETF TICTOC BOF (a long time ago, and no_one
payed attention, as we where being DOSed by the 1588 and mobile
people) it was suggested to make a timescale represenation that would
be future prof and work on places where time has a different rate
compared to earth at sea level. 

-Peter