I was going to mention the lack of attention being paid to the passing of a decade, but many posters have beaten me to it, I see. I am of the school of perception. I understand the position of the school of mathematics, but I don’t subscribe. It is, I think, one of the rare occasions one can choose to ignore the math and be arguably correct. If it were, say, Dec. 31, 2029, you’re never going to convince people “the 30’s” don’t start at midnight.

I think there are two non-mathematical factors, factors of perception if you will, that are in play this time around. Traversing the 00’s to the 10’s just doesn’t sing. It doesn’t grab the imagination as would our hypothetical roll-over of the 20’s to the 30’s, which is why I chose it as an example. The other factor we’ll call “millennium hangover.” It’s only been 10 years since the thousand-year party. Who’s going to break out the tux for the passing of a non-poetic decade? And I said I don’t get involved in weighty issues.