After reading the forums here for the past week or so. I have decided that the Y2K problem, is a non-event, or at the most, a short lived discomfort, designed to scare people into buying gold/silver, and other survival products. Thankyou Professor K for your reasonable and intelletual approach.

-- Vic (Light_Servant@yahoo.com), July 10, 1998

Answers

Vic,

There are both reasonable and unreasonable people at every point in the spectrum of Y2K opinion. Professor K has no monopoly on reasonableness.

Please keep reading as many different Y2K forums as you can.

It is not necessary to buy precious metals or survival products in order to take measures to prepare for life's little unpleasant surprises. Perhaps, just stock up a little extra on supplies during the next year.

Do you ever have large-scale natural disasters where you live? Blizzards, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods? If you live in an urban area, have you ever had an electrical outage of more than a day? A lot of Y2K preparation can apply to those stiuations, too. Think of it as double-purpose preparation. Perhaps use the guideline of not purchasing anything for Y2K preparation that you can't use in ordinary situations. Some types of preparation cost nothing.

A month ago, a storm here in Wisconsin knocked down so many electric power lines and poles that some places lacked power for six days. Here at my apartment in a Milwaukee suburb, power was out for two and a half days. Not a big deal, but I had some things on hand that I wouldn't have had on hand two years ago before I started heavily investigating Y2K. A small candle lantern providing a safer light source than bare candles, cheaper than batteries. A larger proportion of canned food. Other stuff that I didn't need in the warm weather this time, but which would be handy in wintertime.

Richard

-- Richard B. Woods (ribwoods@execpc.com), July 10, 1998.

Vic,

Enjoy it while you can, man...

-- Nabi Davidson (nabi7@yahoo.com), July 11, 1998.

Have any of you tried to e-mail Vic and got a return unknown back?

-- Barb-Douglas (bardou@yahoo.com), July 11, 1998.

Nabi, What would this discussion group be with such profound remarks as the one you made on this thread. You must have just scared the hell out of poor ole Vic. Vic, Richard's advice is sound at this time of uncertainty. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best and bet your money on something in the middle.

-- Joe (JoeH@usa.net), July 11, 1998.

Vic...

Thank heaven you've got this Y2K thing all figured out. Now, I have a problem with my cars fuel injectors...

Maybe you should call AT&T and tell them to stop spending $500 million on a problem that doesn't exist.

Or call GM and tell them that the robotic assembly lines really will run in 2000 contrary to what the Y2K experts told them.

Or, maybe you should call the IRS and tell them not to worry, tax returns and refunds will not be the problem they testified they would be before the Senate.

Or, maybe you should call Citibank, Chase Manhattan, Visa and Mastercard and tell them them that the millions they spent upgrading their systems was a waste of money.

Or, maybe you should call the Navy and tell them to quit scaring people about the GPS satellite 1024 week change.

Or, maybe you should call Bill Cohen and tell him to quit scaring the Russian Defense Minister about Y2K and their nuclear missle program and the possibilty of a false launch or false launch signal.

Or, maybe you should call the Treasury Dept and tell them not to worry about making sure they can print checks for Social Security. It's just a hoax.

Or, maybe you should call the FAA and tell them not to worry about tracking planes in the year 2000...even though IBM told them their computers wouldn't work years ago, they were lying. Everything will be OK.

Oh, yeah, you might as well call Japan, Europe, Britain, and all of Asia and tell them everything is OK. You've read for a week and Y2K is a non-event.

Oh, one more thing. Would you call everyone in my congregation and tell them, too. It seems that their pastor has been lying to them.

-- Pastor Chris (chrisbr@ptinet.net), July 11, 1998.

Vic, I appreciate the kudos, but once again, some explanation is in order. As a consumer.....jeez, as a citizen, all I want is ALL information on the crisis. I believe disruptions will occur. I believe there will be inconveniences....and I am talking about such occurences at every level, from government, to transportation, to banking/finances....you name it. In essence then, I am not as 'blue sky' as you may believe me to be. However, I am at a loss to understand why both the positive AND the negative sides of the issue are not presented. Why do doom and gloomers scoff at any positive news? I don't believe being close-minded solves anything. Possibly Gary North's view that it'll never be fixed in time, so we can all throw in the chips...has made an impact on the rank and file.

I am no computer guy, but instead wish to keep an open mind and read all stories which come down the line. Admittedly, I am an optimist and tend to smile when good news comes to the fore.

-- Professor K (PROFESSORK@prodigy.com), July 11, 1998.

Amen ProfessorK well put

-- Steve M (ltyw90a@prodigy.com), July 11, 1998.

Pastor Chris, Don't be so hard on yourself. You haven't lied to your congregation, you have simply run off your mouth too much about a topic that is way over your head. The list of companies and expenditures really goes a long way to prove your fatalistic point of view. Was that tirade supposed to present imperical evidence that too little is being done? If you want to trade in your preaching career for a job as a systems analyst you need to get out of your Y2k tunnel and look at what the systems professionals have already accomplished. After all, these systems didn't become complex just in time for Pastor Chris to use their complexity as a means of supporting his end of the world scenario. They have been built over decades. The complexity was there during the merger mania of the 80's and 90's. If you were a real systems expert (rather than someone who plays that role on the Internet and in the pulpit) you would know that all of the corporations which have merged their IT functions have had to manage conversion projects which are several orders of magnitude more complicated than the typical Y2k project. If you were a real systems analyst you would know that eighteen months is a generation in the world of computer technology and you wouldn't bet your real systems expert credentials on the outrageous claims of the Johnny-come-lately techno experts who equate a few dozen/hundred hours of reading information on Y2k with real knowledge of systems. Most of the information on Y2k is presented with technical anecdotes that are a mile wide but only an inch deep. There are a number of experts on this forum who have taken the time to present concrete examples of what is being done to solve the problem. There is evidence even in the shallow reporting on the Internet that most of the key players (if not the pundits) know what needs to be done and how to do it. The rebuttal from the fringe when good news is presented always involves changing the subject or questioning the Inteqrity of the expert claiming progress in her area. The Gospel according to Pastor Chris is one that I would not share with my loved ones. God bless you Pastor, I sincerely hope your faith in your fellow man can be restored in this life.

-- Joe (JoeH@usa.net), July 11, 1998.

Thankyou for your varied responses. I hope nobody views me as just being antagonistic for my above comment when it wasnt really what i thought.

My intention for this post was to hopefully make people think what someone who hadnt followed this issue much might conclude, based on what was written in this forum. I have seen legitamet questions met with a great deal of sarcasm from the the G & D side of things and approval from the the "optimistic" side of things. If i based my decision on an emotional response to this forum I would have probably reached the above conclusion.

I hope nobody views this as a personal attack, or views me as someone just trying to cause dissension, because I am not, and there is already enough dissension here. I just want people to recognize that many people visit this sight, draw conclusions, and leave without a word, with no one here realizing what influence they may have had on another person.

I view the Y2K problem as potentially crippling and a big potential for more government control on our private lives. I plan to be ready for the worst, and hope and pray that my "opinion" is wrong. After all nobody knows with any true accuracy what will happen.

Roast and Toast me, Vic

-- Vic (Light_Servant@yahoo.com), July 11, 1998.

P.S. Not responsible for spelling errors.

-- Vic (Light_Servant@yahoo.com), July 11, 1998.

Joe, Pastor Chris has plenty of faith in mankind, but there is not enough qualified programmers and not enough time to find all the potential errors. Just because you are a systems programmer or analyst, does not give you any special insight into how serious this is going to be. You can help solve your company's problems, but you don't know how serious the other person's problems are and whether they are being honest with you.

I love the game of baseball and this game of Y2k is going into the bottom of the eighth inning and as the home team we are down about 24 to 2 and things look very bad, but I have seen games pulled out in the last two at bats, but unless the government and corporate world start doing things fast, then we are in for some major problems. Not end of the world, but there will be some definite lifestyle changes.

By the way, Pastor Chris knows better than to put his faith in man; in times of trouble we are to seek God first and pray for His wisdom and guidance.

Thunderstorms on the horizon, could be rain, might be a flood.

Walter

-- Walter Whitehurst (walter06@wwisp.com), July 11, 1998.

Vic, May I suggest you Email, fax, call, or write all your various services: bank, phone, electric power, water. I have, and have received answers from all but the phone company, to which I will inquire next. All state they are trying, and have informed me, in some detail, of their meetings, strategies, etc. They are fully aware, but they cannot guarantee success. Today's reply, from my State's electric power commission quite honestly said they cannot, and I admire their saying so. Next April 1 is going to be a real test and indication of what's ahead, I think. New York, Canada, and Japan all start their fiscal 2000 that day. July 1, some 44 states start their; Oct. 1, the Federal Government. We shall see...... Don't wait til then to start a supply of food, water, etc! And remember, if such is not needed, you haven't lost a thing; you can use your paid-for stuff regardless.

-- Holly Allen (Holly3325@juno.com), July 11, 1998.

Just a quick note...

Every issue I mentioned is a legitimate issue. If anyone can prove the issues are not legitimate is free to prove it.

And, by the way, I am an optimist on Y2K. I just believe in being realistic. :)

Oh, yeah, one other thing...I do put a lot of trust in mankind...I just don't trust them to come up with a 48 hour day. :)

-- Pastor Chris (chrisbr@ptinet.net), July 12, 1998.

Pastor Chris says:>>>>Every issue I mentioned is a legitimate issue. If anyone can prove the issues are not legitimate is free to prove it. >>> Sir, the issues should be quite obvious by now. It is the conclusions that leave a lot of room for debate. This forum wouldn't be very useful if it became a mutual admiration society for people on either extreme side of the debate or us namby-pambies (did I spell that right Will?) in the middle. It's gonna be a bright sun shiny day so I'm gonna go outside and play.

-- Oscar Swischne (foaddgc@usa.net), July 12, 1998.