Millennium Controversy

* Your “A Night to Remember” (Nov. 21) highlights an embarrassing mistake that you have perpetuated for some months now--namely, that the millennium (and the 20th century, for that matter) will end at midnight, Dec. 31, 1999. That is simply not true.

The first millennium began with the year 1, and since a millennium consists of 1,000 years, it ended with the year 1000. Thus, the second millennium began with the year 1001 and will end with the year 2000. The new millennium will begin on Jan. 1, 2001. This rather obvious logic also applies to centuries.

Please wait until the correct moment for your celebrations, “People of the Millennium” lists and such. What you might consider is a humorous story on clever merchants and businessmen taking advantage of this popular misconception to sell some kind of “once in a lifetime” product or service while they know full well that they’ll be up to the same shenanigans leading up to Dec. 31, 2000.

But please, no more stories on the end of the millennium for the next six weeks.

RICHARD IMAMURA

Los Angeles

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Am I the only one looking forward to Y2K? Consider some of the benefits if we wake up New Year’s Day and find out that the computers are telling us it’s Jan. 1, 1900.

No more car alarms. No pagers. No cell phones. No leaf blowers. No spray paint.

No customer-service recorded messages telling us to punch in our Social Security number, credit card number, telephone number, ZIP code, blood pressure, birth date and mother’s maiden name if we’d like to talk to a real live human being.

No income tax.

No Carl’s Jr. commercials. No TV anchors and weather people making sophomoric attempts at humor. No stereo car speakers set at decibel levels that can reach Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Monessen, Pa.

And, best of all, no computers.

GEORGE KISEDA

Los Angeles

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If the end of the world occurs at midnight on Dec. 31, will we be able to watch it happen to New York on TV three hours before it hits Los Angeles?

HARRIS FARBER

Los Angeles