As we ring in the new year, it seems we are faced with a searing enigma.
When I play this game on February 29, 2016 and post something to my journal, what date will be listed? Surely not February 29, 1894 as no such date exists. Will February 28th last 48 hours? Or will March 1,1894 be unusually long?
Am I the only one troubled by this conundrum?
On a completely unrelated note, am I the only one troubled by the fact that the icon for "Strong Backed Labour" has no nipples? edited by vitamancy on 12/31/2015
Sometimes a single action takes weeks and 5 actions takes an afternoon.
When you aren’t subject to the Judgement’s laws, the laws get bent.
. edited by Nigel Overstreet on 12/31/2015
[color=rgb(0, 153, 0)]The 29th of February is a toady. It runs tattling to the Sun, and when the Sun shows it disfavour, it carries tales to the far and hungry stars. The Calendar Council learnt of its propensities, and calendars are a prison for days. They noosed it and bled it and now it limps and cries under the room where they lock the midnight. If you see a 29th walking free and hale, hide your mouth and guard your eyes. It may be the Thief-of-Faces.[/color]
[color=rgb(0, 153, 0)]This post was brought to you by Hemingway’s Death in the Gulf Stream, and his friend Tom Collins. I recommend Tanqueray Rangpur for the Tom Collins: the citrus enters like a queen and leaves like an icebreaker. Happy New Year.[/color]
My dearest Vitamancy, I shall preserve you from searing your enigmas. When the confusing day arrives we shall simply invite that Tom Collins chap for lunch. I get the feeling he could help us conflate any number of days. With regard to ‘Strong Backed Labour’ having no what’s-its, aren’t they clay men? Let me fossick in the library, I’m sure I have something on Adam’s navel.
[quote=Alexis Kennedy][color=rgb(0, 153, 0)]This post was brought to you by Hemingway’s Death in the Gulf Stream[/color][/quote]I didn’t even know he was sick!
I’d have sent a card.
Today is the day! Mr Collins couldn’t come for lunch but his associate, Mr Pimm’s, is here. I just have to wait until 1.00pm (GMT-12+1) to see if my journal will spontaneously combust.
Isn’t this a lovely day for a De Gustibus? edited by Gonen on 2/28/2016[/quote]
Is that a statement there is one- in which case, link, please- or a prediction that one shall appear?
Isn’t this a lovely day for a De Gustibus? edited by Gonen on 2/28/2016[/quote]
Is that a statement there is one- in which case, link, please- or a prediction that one shall appear?[/quote]
On my profile it’s still showing as the 28th, even though both locally and UTC it’s now the 29th.
I’m not sure which time zone the Failbetter Games servers are on, but I suppose we’ll be able to test this more over the next 24 hours to see whether it does the 29th of February 1894.
[quote=Kittenpox]On my profile it’s still showing as the 28th, even though both locally and UTC it’s now the 29th.
I’m not sure which time zone the Failbetter Games servers are on, but I suppose we’ll be able to test this more over the next 24 hours to see whether it does the 29th of February 1894.[/quote]
[li]
My journal remains intact, but is also ignoring the 29th Feb. Would the FL elves go to so much trouble to give us a ‘Groundhog Day’, I wonder, or did the Bazaar make a deal with The Doctor?
“The Doctor?”
“Yes, just that.”
“But, ah,” she looks down at the form she is holding. “Sir, I must insist on a descriptor. The Ministry requires all such Pseudonyms to be in the proper form.”
The Intense Notary ruffles through the volume on her desk.
“Intierent is already taken, but there are many other options available. Could I be of service to make suggestions? What do you do?”
He leans over and flashes a bright smile. “Handsome? Clever?”
“Sir, we prefer to leave such adjectives to our betters at Court.”
“Couldn’t i just use the"The”?"
Clearly London is abiding by the Taiwanese bureaucratic method of accounting for leap days! Bravo.
“If a period fixed by weeks, months, and years does not commence from the beginning of a week, month, or year, it ends with the ending of the day which precedes the day of the last week, month, or year which corresponds to that on which it began to commence. But if there is no corresponding day in the last month, the period ends with the ending of the last day of the last month.”
Civil Code of the Republic of China, Part I, Chapter V (“Dates and Periods”), Article 121
This reminds me of those amusing maths quiz one encounters in primary school.
A quick wiki introduced me to The Pirates of Penzance.
I demand to see some clay nipples.
(Some countries account for a leapling’s birthday in common years on the 28th and others on the 1st. But in the case of Neath 1894 I really can’t see 48-hour 1st of March as a solution. Prolonging the 28th seemed like the more natural conclusion.)
[quote=metasynthie]Clearly London is abiding by the Taiwanese bureaucratic method of accounting for leap days! Bravo.
"If a period fixed by weeks, months, and years does not commence from the beginning of a week, month, or year, it ends with the ending of the day which precedes the day of the last week, month, or year which corresponds to that on which it began to commence. But if there is no corresponding day in the last month, the period ends with the ending of the last day of the last month."
Civil Code of the Republic of China, Part I, Chapter V ("Dates and Periods"), Article 121[/quote]
Goodness, is that deliberately written to make my head hurt?
[quote=Remedan][quote=metasynthie]Clearly London is abiding by the Taiwanese bureaucratic method of accounting for leap days! Bravo.
"If a period fixed by weeks, months, and years does not commence from the beginning of a week, month, or year, it ends with the ending of the day which precedes the day of the last week, month, or year which corresponds to that on which it began to commence. But if there is no corresponding day in the last month, the period ends with the ending of the last day of the last month."
Civil Code of the Republic of China, Part I, Chapter V ("Dates and Periods"), Article 121[/quote]
Goodness, is that deliberately written to make my head hurt?[/quote]
This is interesting. It took me a couple of minutes to understand it, because it seems to be saying a simple thing in an over-complex way. Now that I know what it’s saying, though, it looks simpler to me every time I read it. The last sentence doesn’t refer only to February, by the way: if you stipulate a period of one month beginning on 31 March, it ought to end on the day preceding 31 April, which does not exist, so it simply ends on the last day of April, which is the thirtieth. It works, I suppose, though it rather conflicts with my own interpretation of "after a period of one month", which is "after a number of days equal to that contained in the month in which this period begins". (Actually, scratch that: even I wouldn’t consider one month from March to end in May. The wording of the article is in fact quite sensible.)
(I don’t understand why the article starts with "a period fixed by weeks, months, and years" when "or years" would make more sense given the rest of the text. Then again, I am neither Chinese nor a lawyer.)
FL’s expedient reminds me more of something else: the parliamentary practice of stopping the clock. I was amused by how the discrepancy was handled, even though I failed to record anything on my own journals yesterday. Unfortunately, it probably means that there are no leap days at all in Fallen London. I don’t suppose one extra day was inserted in journals two years ago? (I’d really like to see that.) edited by The Duke of Waltham on 3/1/2016