It's been a long year

And apparently it's going to be literally so: in an effort to keep the rotation of the Earth and the atomic clocks in sync, the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service will add one second to the very end of 2005.

The last time the Paris-based IERS twiddled with the clock was in 1998; a mid-year correction was made in 1997.

The dropping of the ball will be timed accordingly; revelers are advised to take note.