It's so abysmally ironic. We are witnessing the ultimate enactment of the "builds a house on sand" analogy Jesus used in Matthew 7:24-27. Our society is built on sand - literally. Not only that, the entire _world_ could be brought to its knees...a "mighty crash" indeed!

What an amazing opportunity Christ follower's have to show God's mercies and unfailing love for *all* people in a truly sacrificial way! "Not by power, nor by strength, but by his mercies.."

On a lighter note, one of the first computer jokes I ever heard was: "If architects designed bridges & buildings the way software engineers designed software, the first damn woodpecker to come along would destroy our entire civilization". I think the y2k bug may be _that_ woodpecker!

Sam Loy

-- Sam Loy (sloy@iphase.com), June 10, 1998

Answers

Real software engineers DO design software the way engineers design bridges.

Unfortunately it's a new field and there were no standards and no qualification threshold for practitioners. The true engineers were probably outnumbered 100:1 by software cowboys.

By the way, bridges back in the early days of the industrial revolution often did collapse for much the same reason!

-- Nigel Arnot (nra@maxwell.ph.kcl.ac.uk), June 12, 1998.

Here is another "point to ponder":

There is one group of people in America that will be mostly unaffected by Y2K. They are the Old Order Amish. They don't use electricity, phones, or cars. They make all their own clothing on treadle sewing machines, can hundreds of jars of food each year, are mostly farmers or carpenters, and have gas generators for a few items. Many still use wood cookstoves for heat and cooking, while others use gas stoves or refrigs. They have windmills or hand pumps for water. Many Americans think they are "quaint" or "backward", but I think those opinions will change soon when it becomes apparent that they are well prepared to go through Y2K.

I am in a branch of the Amish church that has accepted some more modern technologies than the Old Order, but part of my preparing for Y2K is to go back to their ways. I think it will be easier and more desireable to be non-dependent on electric than to buy generators in an effort to produce your own electricity. I already make all my family's clothing, but will now use my treadle machine in practice for when my electric one doesn't work. We are riding our bicycles more now too. I always grow a large garden and do alot of canning, but will now use non-hybrid seeds. If you go to the library and get books about the Amish, you can learn how to have a plain and simple lifestyle that is pleasureable and very community-oriented. Hopefully this can take some of the "sting" out of the coming millennial changes. Of course, the main source of strength for the Amish people is our faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that He will be with us no matter what happens.

Mary

-- Mary (Beachyfe@hotmail.com), June 15, 1998.