The Year Is Coming To An End!!!!
Marty Helgesen
the amount of stuff I have to get done before it comes to an end is
more than I thought, so I will not be posting for a few days. I
should be back on the 31st.
-----
Marty Helgesen
Mygmailuseridis mnhccatcunyvm
Support the Emergency Committee to Defend the Third Amendment!
Keith F. Lynch
> Well, you probably knew that.
I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the *decade* is also coming
to an end? (It's just as well, as I could never figure out what to
call it.)
In less than 51 hours it will be the case that:
* 10 years ago it was the year 2000
* 20 years ago it was the 1990s
* 30 years ago it was the 1980s
* 40 years ago it was the 1970s
* All of the 1950s and parts of the 1960s are closer to a century ago
than to the present
Feeling old yet?
> I did, too, but I didn't realize that the amount of stuff I have to
> get done before it comes to an end is more than I thought, so I will
> not be posting for a few days.
"Objects in calendar are closer than they appear."
--
Keith F. Lynch - http://keithlynch.net/
Please see http://keithlynch.net/email.html before emailing me.
Paul Ciszek
In article <hhed9r$cn3$2...@reader1.panix.com>,
Keith F. Lynch <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>* All of the 1950s and parts of the 1960s are closer to a century ago
> than to the present
John Glenn's flight is closer in time to the death of the last "wild"
Indian than it is to the present. And yet, Sputnik is still closer to
the present than it is to the Wright Brother's first flight at Kitty
Hawk.
--
Please reply to: | "Any sufficiently advanced incompetence is
pciszek at panix dot com | indistinguishable from malice."
Autoreply is disabled |
Dan Goodman
> Marty Helgesen <mn...@cunyvm.cuny.edu> wrote:
> > Well, you probably knew that.
>
> I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the decade is also coming
> to an end? (It's just as well, as I could never figure out what to
> call it.)
Nor have members of the American Dialect Society mailing list.
> In less than 51 hours it will be the case that:
>
> * 10 years ago it was the year 2000
> * 20 years ago it was the 1990s
> * 30 years ago it was the 1980s
> * 40 years ago it was the 1970s
> * All of the 1950s and parts of the 1960s are closer to a century ago
> than to the present
>
> Feeling old yet?
I remember when 1970 was the default future year for sf.
What makes ME feel old: digital watches are becoming obsolete.
> > I did, too, but I didn't realize that the amount of stuff I have to
> > get done before it comes to an end is more than I thought, so I will
> > not be posting for a few days.
>
> "Objects in calendar are closer than they appear."
--
Dan Goodman
Journal at:
dsgood.livejournal.com
dsgood.dreamwidth.org
dsgood.insanejournal.com
Alan Woodford
>Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>
--snip--
>>
>> Feeling old yet?
>
>I remember when 1970 was the default future year for sf.
>
>What makes ME feel old: digital watches are becoming obsolete.
>
Hah. My wristwatch of choice has a spring and balance wheel, and has
throughout the zeros, or naughties, or whatever they are called.
It was a present from Anne for my 40th, back when there were three
nines in the year, and the Millennium Bug was going to bite us all :-)
>> > I did, too, but I didn't realize that the amount of stuff I have to
>> > get done before it comes to an end is more than I thought, so I will
>> > not be posting for a few days.
>>
>> "Objects in calendar are closer than they appear."
Alan Woodford
The Greying Lensman!
Alan Woodford
<k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>Marty Helgesen <mn...@cunyvm.cuny.edu> wrote:
>> Well, you probably knew that.
>
>I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the *decade* is also coming
>to an end? (It's just as well, as I could never figure out what to
>call it.)
>
>In less than 51 hours it will be the case that:
>
>* 10 years ago it was the year 2000
>* 20 years ago it was the 1990s
>* 30 years ago it was the 1980s
>* 40 years ago it was the 1970s
>* All of the 1950s and parts of the 1960s are closer to a century ago
> than to the present
>
>Feeling old yet?
>
>> I did, too, but I didn't realize that the amount of stuff I have to
>> get done before it comes to an end is more than I thought, so I will
>> not be posting for a few days.
>
>"Objects in calendar are closer than they appear."
Have another Gold Star :-) :-) :-)
Your last line there is waaay too close to the basic truth of the
universe!
Happy New Year, everyone.
Keith F. Lynch
> "Keith F. Lynch" <k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>> Marty Helgesen <mn...@cunyvm.cuny.edu> wrote:
>>> Well, you probably knew that.
>> I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the *decade* is also
>> coming to an end? (It's just as well, as I could never figure out
>> what to call it.)
>> In less than 51 hours it will be the case that:
Now 27 hours. 22 hours in your time zone.
>> * 10 years ago it was the year 2000
>> * 20 years ago it was the 1990s
>> * 30 years ago it was the 1980s
>> * 40 years ago it was the 1970s
>> * All of the 1950s and parts of the 1960s are closer to a century ago
>> than to the present
>> Feeling old yet?
>>> I did, too, but I didn't realize that the amount of stuff I have
>>> to get done before it comes to an end is more than I thought, so I
>>> will not be posting for a few days.
>> "Objects in calendar are closer than they appear."
> Have another Gold Star :-) :-) :-)
> Your last line there is waaay too close to the basic truth of the
> universe!
Thanks. But that last line isn't original with me. The rest of the
message is.
> Happy New Year, everyone.
Happy New Decade.
Keith F. Lynch
> I remember when 1970 was the default future year for sf.
I wish there was a good index of SF stories by when they were set,
so I could read more of them in realtime.
> What makes ME feel old: digital watches are becoming obsolete.
They are? What's replacing them?
Karl Johanson
news:hhed9r$cn3$2...@reader1.panix.com...
> Marty Helgesen <mn...@cunyvm.cuny.edu> wrote:
>> Well, you probably knew that.
>
> I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the *decade* is also coming
> to an end? (It's just as well, as I could never figure out what to
> call it.)
>
> In less than 51 hours it will be the case that:
>
> * 10 years ago it was the year 2000
> * 20 years ago it was the 1990s
> * 30 years ago it was the 1980s
> * 40 years ago it was the 1970s
> * All of the 1950s and parts of the 1960s are closer to a century ago
> than to the present
>
> Feeling old yet?
I decided not to feel old until I'm 90. I come close to feeling it sometimes
though. I was playing basketball with some co-workers & one of them brought
his father along. I wasn't just older than my co-worker, I was older than
his father. The morning after a particularly intense game of dodgeball I was
pulling myself the stairs to work by the banister. Lots of muscles in my
legs & back were making themselves acutely aware to me and I was making some
of the noises humans make in such a situation. Some of the guys about 20
years younger than me arrived about the same time, & were making the same
noises as they climbed the stairs, so I realized it wasn't an issue of age
(or 'just age').
Karl Johanson
Karl Johanson
> What makes ME feel old: digital watches are becoming obsolete.
Digital watches? That's a pretty neat idea!
Karl Johanson
Keith F. Lynch
> John Glenn's flight is closer in time to the death of the last
> "wild" Indian than it is to the present.
What's the definition of "wild"? Aren't there still plenty who have
never been off the reservation?
> And yet, Sputnik is still closer to the present than it is to the
> Wright Brother's first flight at Kitty Hawk.
Yes, but only for about a year and a half more. After that the space
age will have been longer than the air age.
As I posted last month, the publication of _Gone With the Wind_ was
closer to the Civil War than to the present, but was closer to the
Moon landings than they are to the present.
Keith F. Lynch
> I decided not to feel old until I'm 90.
I doubt I'll feel old even then. When I was raised I was always
taught that I was young, and the lesson stuck. And at my age I'm
rather set in my ways, so I'll probably always think of myself as
young and flexible.
(I still remember when I realized that I *wasn't* the youngest in the
household -- the cat was slightly younger!)
> I come close to feeling it sometimes though. I was playing
> basketball with some co-workers & one of them brought his father
> along. I wasn't just older than my co-worker, I was older than
> his father.
I don't usually notice. I'm no good at estimating age, anyway. I've
tried to become better by looking up the ages of the actors after I
watch a movie. It's rather disturbing when I find that I'm older than
*any* of them were when the movie was made -- and that they're all
dead even though the movie is not really all that old. ("Not really
all that old" == in color.)
> The morning after a particularly intense game of dodgeball I was
> pulling myself the stairs to work by the banister. Lots of muscles
> in my legs & back were making themselves acutely aware to me and I
> was making some of the noises humans make in such a situation. Some
> of the guys about 20 years younger than me arrived about the same
> time, & were making the same noises as they climbed the stairs, so I
> realized it wasn't an issue of age (or 'just age').
I too have always made noises. As long as there's no associated pain
or disability, I don't worry about it.
I'm certainly far more physically fit than I was in high school.
Keith F. Lynch
> Digital watches? That's a pretty neat idea!
You are amazingly primitive.
David Loewe, Jr.
<k...@KeithLynch.net> wrote:
>Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:
>> What makes ME feel old: digital watches are becoming obsolete.
>
>They are? What's replacing them?
People are getting the time off of their cell phones.
--
"The hammer of the gods will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying: Valhalla, I am coming!
On we sweep with threshing oar, Our only goal will be the
western shore."
Jimmy Page & Robert Plant
Andre Lieven
> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> > Marty Helgesen <mn...@cunyvm.cuny.edu> wrote:
> > > Well, you probably knew that.
>
> > I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the decade is also coming
> > to an end?
Um... Wrong. The decade, as with all decades, starts on 1 Jan of
the year ending with "1", and ends on 31 Dec of the year ending with
"0".
Because decade #1 was years 1-10, inclusive. Clearly there never
was a full year 0, so the first (AD et al) decade HAD to start with
year 1, run 10 years, and thus end at the end of year 10.
> > (It's just as well, as I could never figure out what to
> > call it.)
>
> Nor have members of the American Dialect Society mailing list.
Andre
David V. Loewe, Jr
<andre...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>> > I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the decade is also coming
>> > to an end?
>
>Um... Wrong. The decade, as with all decades, starts on 1 Jan of
>the year ending with "1", and ends on 31 Dec of the year ending with
>"0".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decade
"Although any period of ten years is a decade, a convenient and
frequently referenced interval is based on the tens digit of the
calendar year, as in using 1960s to represent the decade from 1960 to
1969."
>Because decade #1 was years 1-10, inclusive. Clearly there never
>was a full year 0, so the first (AD et al) decade HAD to start with
>year 1, run 10 years, and thus end at the end of year 10.
--
"Quantum particles: the dreams that stuff is made of."
- David Moser
Kip Williams
> Karl Johanson<karljo...@shaw.ca> wrote:
>> Digital watches? That's a pretty neat idea!
>
> You are amazingly primitive.
I wear mine on my wrist. A watch worn on a digit would have too small a
display.
Kip W
Lowell Gilbert
> On Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:56:42 -0800 (PST), Andre Lieven
> <andre...@yahoo.ca> wrote:
>
>>> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
>
>>> > I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the decade is also coming
>>> > to an end?
>>
>>Um... Wrong. The decade, as with all decades, starts on 1 Jan of
>>the year ending with "1", and ends on 31 Dec of the year ending with
>>"0".
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decade
>
> "Although any period of ten years is a decade, a convenient and
> frequently referenced interval is based on the tens digit of the
> calendar year, as in using 1960s to represent the decade from 1960 to
> 1969."
I chose to celebrate the turn of the millennium in the middle of a
summer afternoon. The calendar is fairly arbitrary anyway, so I see no
reason why *my* arbitrarily scheduled parties should conflict with
everyone else's.
Tim McDaniel
NonObSF: doesn't Heinlein have a character with a finger watch? As
best I recall, it replaced or was in the area of a fingernail.
--
Tim McDaniel, tm...@panix.com
Karl Johanson
news:hhj69t$6b9$2...@reader1.panix.com...
Niven had a character with a subcutaneous watch, in "A Taste of Anarchy."
Karl Johanson
William December Starr
"Karl Johanson" <karljo...@shaw.ca> said:
> Niven had a character with a subcutaneous watch, in "A Taste of
> Anarchy."
Nitpick: "Cloak of Anarchy."
I also recall, in one of his non-Known Space stories, a "Rip van
Winkle" who'd been retrieved from a slower-than-lightship (I can't
recall whether the ship's passengers experienced time retardation
because of relativistic effects or they were just frozen) being
amazed at someone's tattoo watch. Which I suppose technically _is_
a subcutaneous watch, just in either very small or very soft pieces.
-- wds
j...@cix.compulink.co.uk
Johanson) wrote:
> Niven had a character with a subcutaneous watch, in "A Taste of
> Anarchy."
ObGoonShow: "The hairs on my wrist say it's half past three".
--
John Dallman, j...@cix.co.uk, HTML mail is treated as probable spam.
cryptoguy
wrote:
> On Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:56:42 -0800 (PST), Andre Lieven
>
> >> Keith F. Lynch wrote:
> >> > I hate to alarm you, but did you know that the decade is also coming
> >> > to an end?
>
> >Um... Wrong. The decade, as with all decades, starts on 1 Jan of
> >the year ending with "1", and ends on 31 Dec of the year ending with
> >"0".
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decade
>
> "Although any period of ten years is a decade, a convenient and
> frequently referenced interval is based on the tens digit of the
> calendar year, as in using 1960s to represent the decade from 1960 to
> 1969."
>
> >Because decade #1 was years 1-10, inclusive. Clearly there never
> >was a full year 0, so the first (AD et al) decade HAD to start with
> >year 1, run 10 years, and thus end at the end of year 10.
Andre's error is thinking that decades are named for their position in
a count of decades beginning at year 1. They aren't.
We don't call 2010 the last year of the 201st decade, which it is. We
call it the first decade of the Teens, which is also true. Decade
naming is descriptive; all years in which the first three digits are
'201' are part of the Teens.
Century naming is different. We name centuries for their position in
an enumerated count, unlike decades. We're in the 21st Century now,
and while it is technically correct to say it began Jan 1, 2001,
people are so used to the decade naming convention, and seeing the 4th
digit roll over is the event to watch for, and that was, of course,
Jan. 1 2000. The "2000s" unquestionably began on that date, and that
is what we all celebrated, not the start of the 21st Century, which
was a year later.
The Calendar Nerds only have a right to get snarky for the century
roll-overs, not the decades. But that's not as fun.
pt
Paul Dormer
j...@cix.compulink.co.uk () wrote:
>
> In article <v6d%m.114$%P5...@newsfe21.iad>, karljo...@shaw.ca
> (Karl Johanson) wrote:
>
> > Niven had a character with a subcutaneous watch, in "A Taste of
> > Anarchy."
>
> ObGoonShow: "The hairs on my wrist say it's half past three".
Ying tong iddle-eye po!
Karl Johanson
Dan Goodman
> Dan Goodman <dsg...@iphouse.com> wrote:
> > I remember when 1970 was the default future year for sf.
>
> I wish there was a good index of SF stories by when they were set,
> so I could read more of them in realtime.
>
> > What makes ME feel old: digital watches are becoming obsolete.
>
> They are? What's replacing them?
All I've been able to find lately in stores is analog watches.
Karl Johanson
> In article <v6d%m.114$%P5...@newsfe21.iad>,
> "Karl Johanson" <karljo...@shaw.ca> said:
>
>> Niven had a character with a subcutaneous watch, in "A Taste of
>> Anarchy."
>
> Nitpick: "Cloak of Anarchy."
Thanks.
Kip Williams
Anyone, provided they've paid first.
Kip W
Karl Johanson
news:Ocf0n.14142$DY5....@newsfe08.iad...
Pay for an argument when you could be spending your money on being hit on
the head lessons?
Karl Johanson
Kip Williams
That is my bald and unconvincing narrative, and I'm sticking to it with
limpet-like tenacity.
Kip W
Keith F. Lynch
> I chose to celebrate the turn of the millennium in the middle of a
> summer afternoon. The calendar is fairly arbitrary anyway, so I see
> no reason why *my* arbitrarily scheduled parties should conflict
> with everyone else's.
Indeed. I was invited to three New Year's Eve parties, but they were
all scheduled for the same night. Why couldn't they spread out some?
One person I know used to host procrastinator's New Year's Eve
parties, usually in the spring or summer. He recorded the TV
broadcast of the Times Square ball drop to be played back during
those parties.
(He hasn't gotten around to hosting such parties for a few years.)
Another friend once hosted a party to celebrate the 250 millionth
anniversary of the end of the Paleozoic. He picked an arbitrary
date, since nobody knows exactly when that age ended. He promises
to do it again for the 300 millionth anniversary.
Kip Williams
> Another friend once hosted a party to celebrate the 250 millionth
> anniversary of the end of the Paleozoic. He picked an arbitrary
> date, since nobody knows exactly when that age ended. He promises
> to do it again for the 300 millionth anniversary.
Somebody hears a museum guard say that a certain artifact is twenty
thousand and six years old. "How can you be so exact?" he asks.
The guard explains, "They told me it was 20,000 years old when I came to
work here. That was six years ago."
Kip W
Karl Johanson
Marty Helgesen
> Well, you probably knew that. I did, too, but I didn't realize that
> the amount of stuff I have to get done before it comes to an end is
> more than I thought, so I will not be posting for a few days. I
> should be back on the 31st.
I should have been. I got done what I had to get done before the end
of the year, with envelopes postmarked in 2009, but other things came
up, mostly mudane impedimenta. A lingering cold that had me sleeping
for hours, didn't help, but that's pretty much gone.
-----
Marty Helgesen
Mygmailuseridis mnhccatcunyvm
Support the Emergency Committee to Defend the Third Amendment!