Hello! I am just trying frantically to catch up on all the hubbub of y2k. so far, I am convinced it is very serious and I am making plans to prepare my family. That is part of my question: Does anyone out there have advice on helping your spouse to understand the impact of this crisis? The othe question I have is: Is it realistic to consider scrapping all the hardware etc. and get new stuff? Do the lines HAVE to be recoded, or made compliant? If so, isn't it feasable that one of the biggies: Dell, Microsoft, etc have something in the wings just waiting to present to the world as the FIX? I know these questions sound stupid and perhaps uninformed, but I have yet to read all the info. on all these sites. I am seriously seeking to convince the people of my church to take action now and prepare themselves for the worst. I am seriously considering getting out of town and going back to the North East, although I live in a very rural town now. There is little fresh water, and hardly any game to hunt here. Would it be wise to consider New England. The winters are very harsh, but I grew up there and we heated with wood as our only source of heat for years. The part that scares me is the growing of food, and having enough supplies, and right now, I am on a very limited income. Any thoughts on all this is much appreciated. I apologize for going on. Thanks, and God Bless. gab..

-- Gabor Siklosi (GabZiklo@aol.com), June 24, 1998

Answers

You might try and get your lady to read the stuff on Karen Anderson's Y2k web page for women: www.y2kwomen.com She presents the problem from a female point of view. I think my wife is so p*ssed off at me that she won't read *anything* that supports my viewpoint that we're in for serious trouble. She has already left me.

-- David_Harvey@mercantilemutual.com.au (vk2dmh@rivernet.com.au), June 24, 1998.

Gabor...

Helping your spouse with Y2K is the same as helping her with anything else that would scare her or make her feel insecure. You have to be patient, controlled, caring, and assuring, even if Y2K scares you half to death.

Moving to the Northeast puts you in an area that is 40% dependent on nuclear power. Virtually no one expects nuclear power plants to be operational on 1/1/2000, therefore you can expect severe power disruptions in the Northeast. Couple that with the normal weather patterns and you can see that a more moderate climate would better comfort your wife.

I agree with the post above; y2kwomen.com is a great site for women.

The best thing you can do (and anyone else) is to read everything you can on Y2K. This helps the feeling of skepticism and denial. I suggest you go to my Y2K web site and start going through the links. The mainstream press is finally putting out some accurate accounts of Y2K.

Everyone reading this note has, or is, going through the 'steps' of Y2K: Disbelief, skepticism, denial, acknowledgment, distress, sobering acceptance, and preparation. (There are others, I'm sure, but this sums it up for me.) As each person goes through the 'steps' we all have to be patient, just as others were patient with us.

The problem for all of us, of course, is time...it just keeps ticking away and with each passing second some one else is buying a generator, purchasing extra food, buying a grain grinder, etc. If one waits too long to begin the process, some items won't be available. This just adds to the strain, especially if one is already hurting financially.

So, what is one to do? I say, Pray & Prepare. Pray to God for wisdom and peace, and Prepare as He leads.

Blessings to you!

http://www.lifetel.com/y2k2000.htm

-- Pastor Chris (chrisbr@ptinet.net), June 24, 1998.

Hi, gab,

There's a lot to absorb, isn't there? First, though, recognize that there are several parts to a computer, including both hardware and software. Both can be a y2k problem. With the old main frame computers, it's mainly the software that needs to be fixed. Most of this is custom stuff, so you can't run down to your local Comp USA and buy Bill Gates latest. With embedded systems, the 'software' may be built in as firmware. In many cases the entire thing must be replaced. That's a real broad brush overview. The bottom line is, don't look for someone to step in with a solution.

Second, definitely have your wife look at Karen Anderson's site material. It's great. I printed it out, put it in a folder, and made it available to our church as part of the y2k resource material.

You don't mention what part of the country you're living in now. Things to consider include remoteness, length of growing season, neighbors (do you know them?), what you might do after Jan 1, 2000.

Definitely read as much as you can. I'll suggest that you key off of

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Forum/8948/Y2K.html

which gives you a good selection of sites that provide information. From there, you may want to look at The Cassandra Project, Y2Kchaos, and the Gary North sites. North's discussion groups are divided by topic which is nice. Look at food and food storagge, home power generation, non-hybrid gardening first.

Think things through carefully, and get a plan. You'll get tips on how to prepare that'll fit within your budget.

Keep working at things, start making preparations, and do it according to some plan. As Nike say, "Just Do It."

Good luck,

Rocky

-- Rocky Knolls (rknolls@hotmail.com), June 24, 1998.

Chris, what areas of the country do you think will be most likely to have power (ie, not as dependant on nuclear power)? Do you have a reference for where each state gets its power and the percentage of nuclear, hydro, coal each provider uses?

-- Kay p (Y2Kay@usa.net), June 24, 1998.

Kay...

First place to start is the graphic at the following URL:

http://www.lifetel.com/y2k/reactorsmap.gif

This shows where all the nuclear reactors are in the US. Then, I would go through the links on my page dealing with electrical power, such as Rick Cowles site at http://www.euy2k.com/index.htm and Roleigh's site at http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roleigh_martin/ .

This should give you plenty of info. If you need more, please write me. My e-mail address is actually a real one. :)

http://www.lifetel.com/y2k2000.htm

-- Pastor Chris (chrisbr@ptinet.net), June 24, 1998.

Gabor, Your post reminds me of a story that went around after the US tested the first A-bomb: A Wash. D.C. resident immediately moved to the midwest, onto a farm. He felt the enemy, when they got their bomb, would strike at the US Capital first. Next, he realized "they" would probably want to destroy our food, and would target right where he was living. So, he moved out to the desert, and was killed in another U.S. test! The ultimate fear many have is death, isn't it? This great granny does not fear death, however. I know, because of my faith, "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord."

-- Holly Allen (Holly3325@juno.com), June 24, 1998.

As long as many have talked about nuclear power, here's a web site I found very useful. It has maps and breakdowns of power sources for various regions.

http://www.nrdc.org/nrdc/nrdc/nrdcpro/utilprof/utilitys.html

It tells me that Virginia, where I live, obtains 43% of its power from just two nuclear plants. I would think that they would have reserve fossil plants, so if/when nukes are shut down, we would still have more than 67% power. One rural fellow with whom I've been talking tells me that the best stove for heating is called an "airtight wood stove." I've found some in our trading post for $125 - $300. I have also found a catalog with natural gas appliances; I plan to get one of those big tanks you can put outside your house. You can cook, heat, and get hot water (with an on-demand water heater). Send me email if you want more info, or want to know about getting food supplies at (potentially) a reduced price.

-- Gary Carlson (gscarlsn@erols.com), June 25, 1998.

Regarding how to help your wife I agree with Pastor Chris, regarding moving to a different area the following was told me by a friend living in Colorado Springs.

A family living in the Colorado Springs are in the early 1980's became alarmed when they discovered Cheyenne Mountain was the site for NORAD. All the military weapons and communication systems were buried deep in the rock to withstand an Atomic blast "when" the Soviet Union launched a missle attack.

Feeling extrtemely vulnerable to living in a community with certainly a high-priority on the Missle Attack Plan of the Soviet Union Military they began a search of the World to locate a peaceful remote area far, far from the atmosphere of war, famine and pestilence. They found just such a place and moved all their belongings to The Falkland Islands when all hell broke lose between England and Argentina.

Draw your own conclusions.

-- Charlie Bench (cbench@talent-sws.com), June 25, 1998.