[12/28/2009] So, the last update of 2009!
I’d like to take a moment here to reflect on the divisions between decades. Consider, the years 1980-1989 are considered “the 80s”, 1990-1999 the “90s”, etc. Ergo, on the 1st of the next year, we will enter the “2010s”. All well and good; this makes sense.
However, think back to the year 2000 (yes, it’s actually almost 10 years ago now. Scary.). When January 1st, 2000 came along, people celebrated like crazy for the “new millenium”; I remember hearing about a cruise ship that crossed the International Date Line so that passengers could celebrate twice. However, apparently according to technical defintions, the new millenium actually began in 2001! Consider, if you count 1000 years, you’d start from 1001; starting from the year 1000 would imply that the previous millenium (0-999 AD) was counted starting from 0, which would be … irregular.
But if you follow that definition, the decade of the “80s” runs from … 1981 to 1990, which makes even LESS sense.
I hereby propose that whatever technical convention is there be tossed out of the window in favor of fewer headaches. I hope you’ll all celebrate the start of the “2010s”; I’ll do it by waking up, drinking a cup of sparkling apple cider, and going back to sleep less than half an hour later.
Okay, time for some apple caramel cheesecake. See you all next year!
