I attended a local chamber of commerce meeting today. 3 hours of reality. No holds barred, suggesting everything from checking on your down and up line vendors to securing a goodly supply of food, water and fuel for your personal needs.

-- Goldi (goldilucks@yahoo.com), September 10, 1998

Answers

Goldi, was this put together locally, or is the information coming down to the local chambers from some national source?

-- whome (anon@anon.com), September 11, 1998.

Goldi: Where did this exercise in basic common sense happen? Here in Maine Senator Olympia Snowe organized a first-in-the-nation series of small business workshops on y2k that woke up a lot of people -- even the local business press is paying attention to it now -- but I find it significant that other business groups are recognizing the potential. I tend to disagree with the often-repeated mantra that big companies will survive and small business will be a disaster. The small companies tend to be PC oriented or better able to go back to paper and pencil.

-- J.D. Clark (yankeejdc@aol.com), September 11, 1998.

Canadian Bakers Assoc is sponsoring a Y2k seminar breakfast in our town next week....if I didn;t need to spend the $17.50 per head on beans we would go. But someone is becoming aware and our local Member of Parliament will be there...he is on our side.

-- Laurane (familyties@rttinc.com), September 11, 1998.

Canadian Bankers Assoc is sponsoring a Y2k seminar breakfast in our town next week....if I didn;t need to spend the $17.50 per head on beans we would go. But someone is becoming aware and our local Member of Parliament will be there...he is on our side.

Sorry that read Bakers..should be Bankers...there is a bit of difference here.

-- Laurane (familyties@rttinc.com), September 11, 1998.

But they both deal with a lot of bread, eh?

-- Max Dixon in Utah (Max.Dixon@gte.net), September 11, 1998.

The event I posted was local. It was a joint effort on the part of the chamber of commerce and one of it's members, a computer company. They offered quite a bit of information, not computer related.

I live in the Colorado rockies.

-- Goldi (goldilucks@yahoo.com), September 13, 1998.

Well, 13.50 is actually a "little bread", not a "lotta bread."

Probably good choice though for your own budget decision. You don't need to be told the things they would have siad there, I feel from hear (and elsewhere) you will be much further ahead than they. Your current level of preparations are likely miles (kilometers) ahead of the average attendee there.

At all sites, your local services (utilities) will only come back up as fast as your local provider (city, county, or municiple) can make repairs and work-arounds.

For example, **nothing** anybody does nationally will be able to help with local sewage or water service (or lack of it.) So , if by your attendance (or sponsership) of this kind of presentation at this kind of group (and I include Kiwanis Clubs, Rotary, Shriners, ToastMasters, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts) you can increase awareness, you will solve (reduce failures) your local infrastructure.

I'm a positive thinker: I'ma positive its a'gonna fail.

OK, so what can I do to get it to fail "less" and for shorter times?

Increase the pressure to fix things early so what does fail is less; and

Increase pressure (from all in local area) to implement contigency plans for these services.

-- Robert A. Cook, P.E. (Kennesaw, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), September 13, 1998.