New Years Eve, Charlotte, NC. Plaza-Midwood neighborhood, to be exact. It was 10 minutes to midnight, and a dozen adults, and even more children, were in an unfurnished home that our friends had closed on that morning. There was no cable or Internet access. In a rare moment of sobriety, it dawns on the adults that we don't have a way to know when the exact countdown begins in Times Square. Everyone panics. I turned to Twitter. With only about…