The End of the Millennium?

How to Join	Member's Area	Private Library	Search	Sanctuary		Login
Main Forums	Discussion	Tech Talk	Mature Content	Archives	A home without a wall, Our haven without ends, A circle we all call Our Family of Friends!

RobertB
Senior Member

since 1999-09-26

Posts 1104
Champaign, IL

0 posted 1999-12-16 05:02 PM

The End of the Millennium?

Y2K they call it now….
instead of “the year two thousand”.
Some guy thought that would save
the world several billion syllables.
Wish I had thought of it first
and charged a dollar for every syllable.
I would be as rich as Bill Gates
maybe more so perhaps.

The thing is this:
the numeric system in place today
is base 10, with 0 through 9
as digits which are used to figure
all sorts of things.
Like how old the universe can be
or how long a football field is.
So it should be a fairly easy thing
to figure when a century is over
let alone The end of the Millennium.
Wrong.

Base 10 it seems is so accurate at figuring
tangible objects such as a ruler,
or a mile
or even a light-year
It all starts with 0.
Heck even our lives started at nothing…
Ground zero…..
But not millenniums,
They skipped zero and went straight from 1 B.C.
To 1 A.D.
Base 10 doesn’t apply to intangible things…..
like time!!

So now some learned people,
probably men…they think like this,
say that decades, centuries and Millenniums
all end with 0 and start with 1.
Making it mathematically
as well as politically correct
that the 3rd Millennium will begin
on January 1st, 2001.

This presents some possibilities and problems
as to New Years “Millennium” Eve parties this year.
Should a person explain to the host
that they just might be a tad premature
as to a “Millennium Party”?
I mean you could wait until one minute till midnight
then blow the whole bash…
or just shut up about it altogether.

The real problem I see is
all the extra time I will spend next year
scratching off the 19__ on my checks
and writing 2000 above it
Which will most certainly waste more time
than I will save by saying, “Y2K”.

Robert

if you can dream; you can fly...if you are flying; you are dreaming.

Seymour Tabin
Member Empyrean

since 1999-07-07

Posts 31720
Tamarac Fla

1 posted 1999-12-16 05:21 PM

RobertB'
Clever and I enjoyed the read.

RobertB
Senior Member

since 1999-09-26

Posts 1104
Champaign, IL

2 posted 1999-12-16 05:58 PM

thanks ST....just thought I would share my amusement on this!!!

Nan

Administrator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-05-20

Posts 21191
Cape Cod Massachusetts USA

3 posted 1999-12-16 06:48 PM

I have only one question....

What happened to all that time that passed before we started counting????

RobertB
Senior Member

since 1999-09-26

Posts 1104
Champaign, IL

4 posted 1999-12-16 08:44 PM

I have thought of that too Nan....I guess if we didn't count now, we would be living in 12th month on the 16th of the month in the 8th year of the Presidency of William Clinton.

Not sure of the time of my birth....maybe the first month, the 28th day of the month in the 4th year of the Presidency of Harry S Truman???

lol

Robert

if you can dream; you can fly...if you are flying; you are dreaming.

Elizabeth Santos
Member Rara Avis

since 1999-11-08

Posts 9269
Pennsylvania

5 posted 1999-12-16 08:52 PM

I enjoyed reading this, but I have to agree with those who wouldn't disallow this coming year as New Millenium. I don't agree with the mathematicians on this one. Nor did I ever fall for the Big Bang theory!
Good Reading!
Liz

RobertB
Senior Member

since 1999-09-26

Posts 1104
Champaign, IL

6 posted 1999-12-16 08:53 PM

LOL Liz!!! You're no sucker!!!

Balladeer

Administrator

Member Empyrean

since 1999-06-05

Posts 25505
Ft. Lauderdale, Fl USA

7 posted 1999-12-16 11:35 PM

Shopping malls are behind it all, Robert. They can sell the millenium this year and then around August of 2000, they can say "Oh no! THIS is the real millenium" and sell it again. Big bang theory? You bet. Big bang for the buck

Denise

Moderator

Member Seraphic

since 1999-08-22

Posts 22648

8 posted 1999-12-17 12:10 PM

Entertaining piece, Robert! hehehehe...what year were you born again?!

(I have trouble remembering who the president was before the current one!...I am so not into politics!)

Denise

RobertB
Senior Member

since 1999-09-26

Posts 1104
Champaign, IL

9 posted 1999-12-17 01:34 PM

hahahaha Denise!!! I HOPE I got the right president!!!! I better go look it up or I could have just aged myself beyond my years!!

Robert

hoot_owl_rn
Member Patricius

since 1999-07-05

Posts 10750
Glen Hope, PA USA

10 posted 1999-12-17 02:42 PM

Clever

	⇧ top of page ⇧
All times are ET (US). All dates are in Year-Month-Day format.