Things that make you go "Hmmmm…"

[science_man_88]

Originally Posted by retina

Yes indeed. That is so much easier than having a default do that for us. Hehe, well then perhaps I'll just let you speculate. There is a good reason actually.

my guess is to stop updates you don't want.

[xilman]

Originally Posted by retina

Hehe, well then perhaps I'll just let you speculate. There is a good reason actually.

You don't wish to pay to renew an expired software license?

[Dr Sardonicus]

(scoffing at proffered date command gleaned from manual)

Originally Posted by retina

Yes indeed. That is so much easier than having a default do that for us.

Well, the commands of UNIX (and its avatars) have never been known as being "user-friendly." If you ask the question, "Why does it display the date the way it does?" I can not give you an answer. You can speculate or do some research, your choice. If you need to sort system dates, you're basically stuck with using what the system provides for the purpose. I'm sure there are things that would be better for sorting dates in specific contexts that what I found in a few minutes of looking at a manual.

(scoffing at speculation about system date anomaly)

Hehe, well then perhaps I'll just let you speculate. There is a good reason actually.

Between "It's a long story" and "There is a good reason actually" my curiosity is sufficiently satisfied that I don't feel the need to speculate. Besides -- I lack sufficient data. In particular, I don't know whether the system date is kept (nearly) constant, or is offset from "real" time by a (nearly) constant amount.

[rogue]

List of paradoxes

[retina]

Originally Posted by science_man_88

my guess is to stop updates you don't want.

No. But I'm not sure how setting a date in the past makes the system think future updates are all done?

Originally Posted by xilman

You don't wish to pay to renew an expired software license?

No. I have no issues with paying for licenses and whatnot if the code is useful and it would cost me more to hire minions to update things for me.

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

(scoffing at speculation about system date anomaly) Between "It's a long story" and "There is a good reason actually" my curiosity is sufficiently satisfied that I don't feel the need to speculate. Besides -- I lack sufficient data. In particular, I don't know whether the system date is kept (nearly) constant, or is offset from "real" time by a (nearly) constant amount.

The difference might be a permanent offset, or a temporary offset, or a gradually increasing or decreasing offset, or a moment fixed in the past.

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

(scoffing at proffered date command gleaned from manual) Well, the commands of UNIX (and its avatars) have never been known as being "user-friendly." If you ask the question, "Why does it display the date the way it does?" I can not give you an answer. You can speculate or do some research, your choice.

My question was meant to be rhetorical, and somewhat sarcastic also.

Originally Posted by Dr Sardonicus

If you need to sort system dates, you're basically stuck with using what the system provides for the purpose. I'm sure there are things that would be better for sorting dates in specific contexts that what I found in a few minutes of looking at a manual.

Date has many options for customising the output. I think everyone already realises that. But the default is basically useless. I just think that at the very least, to make the code look a bit more professional, the default output could have been made more logically ordered. And of course for hysterical historical reasons it can never be changed, ever.

[LaurV]

Ye all OCD people trying to "sort" al kind of thingies in "logic" and "expected" order...

[petrw1]

Just to satisfy my curiosity whenever I am on a moving sidewalk or escalator I test the synchronization of the floor to the handrails. To me that should be a given for safety or stability.

But I can proclaim that after testing dozens and dozens in my travels I have noted about a 1% pass rate.

Where's Sheldon when you need him?

[LaurV]

Same here. (look what i am replying to, instead of going to sleep at 2:00 AM in the night!)
Every time I am on escalator going up, I "pull" the handrail (lean on it), and every time it moves slower then the stairs. This is 100% tested. Maybe the reason is that the handrail is not done to carry weight, so it will stop (quite easy, actually) if you pull it. I still didn't find yet in my life an escalator that has the stairs and handrail sync'd when going up.

[retina]

Originally Posted by LaurV

Ye all OCD people trying to "sort" al kind of thingies in "logic" and "expected" order...

Originally Posted by LaurV

Every time I am on escalator going up, I "pull" the handrail (lean on it), and every time it moves slower then the stairs. This is 100% tested.

Hehe, now who is Mr. OCD?

[Batalov]

"I call my OCD Olivia"

[Dr Sardonicus]

Coincidentally, there's this story about moving walkways at O'Hare Airport. I have a vague recollection about these things making people vertiginous or some such when they first went into use around 30 years ago.