[...]
> It *is* the start of the 21st century. The first
> century had
> only 99 years. spike
A joke, yeah?
There's an essay on this
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/97jul/zero.htm
AFAIK (and according to specialists) the first century DID have 100 years, from 1 A.D. to 100 A.D.. The 2nd century went from 201 to 300, etc.
Denis Exiguus (St Denis) , who invented the Julian Calendar, was working before the introduction of the digit "0" (from Arabic mathematics). He would be using Roman numerals, "I" to "C", etc. He simply jumped from 1 BC to 1 AD. Jesus was born in 1 AD according to this setup.
So the the 3rd millenium begins at 1 + 2000, ie 2001 AD.
To get around this, you have to define "millenium" purely on the actual number (not years since Jesus' (conventionally dated) birth).
This is inconsistent with the way millennia and centuries have been counted. It's winning in popularity, however.
So maybe It's not the Millenium, it's just a very "noughty" year :). (Apologies to Python fans). But anyway, it'll be 2000, yippee!
On madness,
It seems that many people are choosing to avoid the crowds. In Sydney the railways are having a 2 hr hiatus cnetred on midnight to check for Y2K difficulties; this seems to have persuaded many to stay at home. Apparently they cannot simulate NYE on their systems ahead of time.
Have a great NYE 2000!!. Avoid crazies. Check the computer.
Mike