That was the decade that was....

Time, it seems, is full of misconception where people are concerned. Firstly, 1/1/10 is the start of a new decade. Anyone who thinks otherwise I'll be more than happy to welcome to the next decade when they get there a year later... But more than just being snarky about it, I can prove it.

Back around Christmas 1999 I was enjoying a Christmas Eve party with some family friends and was conversing with a nice young couple. I wished them well in the new Century and the husband chided me, telling me there was no year zero. He's a nice guy, well-educated and a creditable agent, like his father, with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. I gave him the opportunity to present his case.

I then asked him when he and his wife would have their first child. They smiled and reminded me about their seven-month old boy. I replied, "He's not one yet, so he doesn't exist.

That tattered relationship survived this particular conversation, but the point remains the same. We, as a people, have forgotten how to count. We forgot that fractions are elements of a greater whole. For a year to exist it must surely have started, but since it has not COMPLETED the full cycle it is NOT a year old at birth. Therefore, a seven-month old baby surely exists (unless of course you're baby-killing Liberal with a vacuum cleaner and an Obama bumper sticker....) and is well on his or her way to celebrating their FIRST birthday... or in other words a celebration of having lived one full year.

So when 1999 ended, the 20th century ended, because the 21st century had just been born and was well on its way toward it's first birthday (not a banner year, I'll grant you... but still important none-the-less...). I know it's splitting hairs and it's not really a major issue, however I dislike having to explain the very most basic elements of Temporal mechanics to lay-people. It's demoralizing to think we can't count properly.

But it's important to remember that we must maintain this information. If for no other reason than this...

"The Only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."

I'm Dr. Calamity and I approve this message.
See you in the next decade, my friends...