Happy 4.2666% New Year

I've just spent some of the waning minutes of 2011 watching people celebrating an event that hasn't occurred on the East Coast of the United States yet--New Year's.

Over in the South Pacific, it has been 2012 for hours already--it's afternoon of January 1. It's already hit Asia, the Middle East and Europe...and it's still 2011 where I sit typing.

Every hour, 4.2666% (or so) of the earth enters a new year. I haven't figured it out exactly, but we'll be roughly 2/3 of the way through the night. So 66% of the world will beat us to the new year.

Somoa moved east recently over the international date line. So it's been 2012 in Somoa for half a day or so.

But how do you get to decide to move across the International Date line? Did the island actually relocate? Do people just on the other side of the IDL resent Samoa for being 23 hours ahead of them? How does all this stuff work? And who said so to begin with?

Anyway, it's foggy as hell here in the Shire. Maybe it's too foggy to see the new year when it arrives.

Can Cheshire decide to change time zones? I so, I choose to be in the same zone as Ireland.

Happy New Year a couple of hours ago....