After months of reading and studying the experts, Gurus and news groups I have come away with the following: We could fix all the software if only there was enough time. Even if we could fix the software, The embedded chips would get us. Even if we could fix all the software, hardware, embedded chips, the public panic and resulting riots would get us. Even if we could calm the public, the rest of the world will not be ready for y2k and we would slowly starve to death except of course if our ICBMs accidentaly fire and start WWIII.

We must also take care that our traditional enemies don't panic and send theirs first. I have not even mentioned the terrorists from all over, mid east, far east and home grown, who will sieze the opportunity to poison and bomb us. Lets not forget all the nuclear reactors made by the Russians and Chinese that will probably melt down and kill us all with their lethal radio active clouds.

Even if y2k is a bump in the road, the Government is planning to turn us over to the the UN and all dissidents will be confined in concentration camps spread out all over the country and administered by soldiers from ex soviet block soldiers. Please add to this list because I am sure that I have left a lot of things out.

If all of these scenarios are correct, there will be no world to conquer and no profit to the conquerors who if they step outside of their bunkers will die from the bugs and gas and radiation which will have killed their armies anyway. Do I have it right? Or is this like a menu in a Chinese restaurant and I can select 1 from column a and 2 from column b and when do I get egg roll? Everybody can't be right, or can they?

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), June 24, 1998

Answers

Do I note just a *hint* of sarcasm?

Personally, I'll have just an economic collapse to go...

-- anon (anon@anon.com), June 24, 1998.

Yep. That pretty much sums it up!

Point well taken.

-- Sam Loy (sloy@iphase.com), June 24, 1998.

But Anon, With just a side order of rioting and looting, you get egg roll The truth is I am "Overloading" with all of the information. With so many theories, many of which contradict each other, if not in goals, at least in method, one can only conclude that they can't all be correct hence some, many, are wrong. In another thread, someone correctly pointed out, "How are they gonna get the foreign troops over here if there is no transportaton." This is exactly my point. Whats the use of electrified fences with no electricity? How about facist police and soldiers with no pay checks? Please forgive my sarcasm, I think I have earned it. There is plenty of it around, you can help yourself to all the sarcasm you can find. It's almost as good as humor.

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), June 24, 1998.

I'm on over load too! But it's nice that someone has a sense of humor. But I'll tell you what, I'm going to the P'O'd if nothing happens! I feel like someone is playing minds games with us! But hey, disasters sell! Look at all the books, magazines, newsletters, etc. Everyone who is out to make a buck is jumping on the banb wagon while they can to squeeze out a few more dollars our of you!

-- Barb-Douglas (bardou@yahoo.com), June 24, 1998.

Bill,

I like humor better.

In dealing with something like this it's not how much attention you pay, it's what you pay attention TO that counts. Pilots call it compartmentalizing- that's what you have to do when several things can kill you but you have to take care of the one that will kill you FIRST, first. The Mark from Michigan theories have upset people for several years now, for no really serious reasons that I can see (and I've been looking. Yes, I saw the tapes. I listen to the shortwave. I still am not convinced there's a Plot In Place. I dare say my sources are as good as MfM's, if not better. But of course I could be one of THEM, too... . Hmmm... .)

There are some things that you can do which will help ameliorate some of the bad things that might happen due to bug bytes. Just do 'em. None of the reasonable ones would hurt in MfM scenarios either, interestingly enough. But I wouldn't loose sleep worrying about stray Albanian soldiers (wonder if the ones who went AWOL from LeJeune this week would have done that if they only knew... ?) taking over the neighborhood.

Chill out, dude. You're workin' too hard. Just remember how to untie Gordian knots. You'll be fine.

LPL

-- Lee P. Lapin (lplapin@hotmail.com), June 24, 1998.

You are going to be PO'd if nothing happens? I plan on jumping for joy if nothing happens. Nothing would give me more pleasure than to hand over a ton of food to a foodbank. I can't believe anyone would actually look forward to Y2K. I'm scared to death. Get real!

-- Annie (anniegaff@mailexcite.com), June 24, 1998.

Hillarious, Bill! Your little essay is wonderfully clever. Here's another aspect of all this, a "mixed blessing", perhaps?? With all the communications down, we won't know what's going on anywhere--except in our own immediate neighborhood, perhaps, if we dare peek outside! No more daily/nightly local-national-world broadcasts of the murder and mayhem dumping on us out of our TVs! I'm on "overload", too, so tomorrow this great granny is joining a bus tour down to Portland, Or, then going aboard a cruise ship up the Columbia River. If any of the other seniors on the trip mention Y2K, I shall immediately change the subject! It'll be a 14-hour trip, all together, and this gadget I'm using now will not even be turned on for the entire day! Hope you can take a break soon, too!

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

Granny, Thats Great:

Have a lot of fun and forget all this stuff for a while. Don't get sea sick, and if they have Chinese food on board, Don't forget the egg roll Bill

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), June 24, 1998.

Lee: You are right. One night, eons ago when I was a young patrolman in East Los Angeles, my partner and I were locked up in our radio car while being barraged with rocks and bottles thrown by the local citizens. (in todays parlance, you would say that they were acting out their aggressions) I asked my older partner if he thought our assailants would be joined by another gang (of equally dissapointed youths) before our back up arrived. His answer was much like your pilot's view point, but said in a much more "earthy" and urgent way, Boy, he says,"When your surrounded by Indians, DON'T LOOK FOR ANY MORE F---KING INDIANS"

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), June 24, 1998.

Annie!

All the hype, all the buying, storing, preparing, got you scared to your wits about all these scenarios. Your friends and family think your nuts, your employer is keeping an eye on you in case you go postal, you have a lot of money and time invested in this potential disaster before it even happens! Yea, we are depending on "the experts," to feed us information, that is to purchase their books, etc., because if and when the disaster never materilizes, the "doomsdayers" will have made their fortune and you will never hear from them again....no credability left so to speak! Yea, we all should be P'O'd! As for turning my food over to a food bank? NO WAY! I paid hell for that food! Anyone see any humor in this? I do, cause maybe we'll all look back and say, WOW WAS I EVER GULLIBLE!

-- Barb-Douglas (bardou@yahoo.com), June 25, 1998.

I don't think we'll look back and say "Boy was I gullible". I just don't see how the other countries will make it. We all have heard about the problems that have already emerged here in the US. If other countries are going to take a "Wait and See" attitude, we could assume that at the very least some will be thrown into the dark, have manufacturing problems, and add on severe banking problems to the ones that are already happening. I think at the very least you will be happy to have your food during the coming global recession/depression, especially if food prices rise.

-- Kay P (Y2kay@usa.net), June 25, 1998.

I tend to separate Y2K into two groups: structural consequences (electricity, transportation, banking, and the ripple effects they might generate), and social consequences. Now it's easy to see how the first leads to the second, but they're still two separate (but interrelated) problems & are easier to deal with separately. Are you confused yet? :-) Another writer talked about compartmentalizing things, I'll expand on that.

First, structural problems. I mentioned what I consider the big ones (electricity, transportation, banking). Take 'em one at a time -- let's start with electricity. Assess the likelihood that nuclear plants will temporarily (at least) shut down some time in late 1999. The effects depend on what region of the country you live in (big-time in New England and Illinois, not so much west). In January 2000, what might happen to the plants still operating? It's winter. Can you heat your house if power is flaky from December 1999 through March 2000? If not, what would you need for heat & light?

Take each possible problem in turn. Presto, you have your personal preparedness list.

And I'll have a jumbo recession with unsweetened tea, please.

-- Larry Kollar (lekollar@nyx.net), June 25, 1998.