Last Friday we were in Home Depot & boy did they have alot of generators in stock!! There was a couple of folks talking to the salesperson & I overheard them asking if it was enough to run their fridge, freezer, (ok! I was eavesdropping!);o) They did buy the 2nd largest one. I was dying to know if they were preparing for y2k but was to chicken to ask!!! Anyway, I just thought that it was interesting, and wondered if someone at Home Depot knew what was coming. I guess being y2k aware totally changes the way you look at things! They could have just as easily been preparing for "natural" disasters (I live on the coast remember), but now since becoming y2k savy, it puts a whole new "spin" on everything! Good luck to all! Donna

-- Donna B (Dd0143@aol.com), September 23, 1998

Answers

Donna, I too have noticed that there are generators being sold in places where they weren't before. Price Club (Costco) in Arlington, VA is now selling generators. Why would you need one in a metropolitan area if it weren't for projected y2k power outages? Have also noticed that storage containers and water containers are being sold in places where I hadn't noticed them before. Often on a weekend I notice that the shelves for bottled water in grocery stores are almost empty as they await Monday morning delivery. Makes me wonder too!

-- Libby Alexander (libbyalex@aol.com), September 23, 1998.

The Atlantic & Gulf coasts are under the hurricane gun this time of year. I saw a report from Antigua this morning where Georges did a number on them. Power is out all over the place, but almost everybody has bottled water & generators so they're coping OK.

You would think that any moderately intelligent coastal dweller would have hurricane preparations in place. Once you have that, it's not a long stretch to Y2K.

-- Larry Kollar (lekollar@nyx.net), September 23, 1998.

I have been running my own little survey the past few weeks. checking several stores that sell oil lamps and oil. Last week the bottles of oil were gone and replaced by scented candles. Today the oil lamps were gone and replaced by more candles. Now why would there be such a demand for oil lamps in September here in Washington state. The only time people usually buy these items is when there is snow in the forecast. Interesting.

Martin

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 23, 1998.

Today is the first day of Fall. It is also the first cool day in New England in a long time. Out my way, they are predicting near-freezing temperatures for tonight. All of this put a lot of people I know thinking about winter preparations, and Y2K had not one thing to do with it.

What form would such preparations be? Well, I know at least one person who has been saying since last year's ice storms in Canada, "Gee, I really ought to go buy a generator in case that happens again." That person was on his way to Home Depot tonight, becuase the sudden change in temperature suddenly brought the point home. I myself have been putting off getting my snow blower tuned up, but the cool snap has reminded me that I might not have that much time left.

Oil lamps being replaced by candles in stores? Oil lamps have been a "fad" item over the last two years but are now falling out of favor and sales are slumping. Many stores are not restocking after current inventories are depleted and are instead devoting shelf space to candles, always a high-traffic item.

Y2K might have an impact here but let's not get crazy, folks. There are lots of other explanations out there, several of which may be true.

-- Paul Neuhardt (neuhardt@ultranet.com), September 23, 1998.

Spoke with my 74 yr old mom tonight, who moved to Florida 2 years ago, and who is watching Georges come closer. She told me that she had gone to the store to buy dishsoap and tea, and was astounded at the crush of people in the store buying stuff and stocking up. Told me that "they" advise people to keep 2 wks of supply on hand, because of hurricane-related shortages, etc. "How am I supposed to buy an extra 2 wks worth of stuff on my income?" she asked me. Broke my heart. She has been totally unwilling to hear about Y2K from me, and ADAMANTLY opposed to spending the New Year in Iowa that year. ("I moved out of that d*** cold for a reason!") I am scared to death for her.

-- Melissa (financed@forbin.com), September 24, 1998.

Melissa, prepare for her anyway. Maybe if she sees things getting bad enough next year, she'll come stay with you in spite of the cold!

-- Gayla Dunbar (privacy@please.com), September 25, 1998.

On Sunday I was in Home depot and decided to look at the generators in stock. I asked the salesman how "Generac" compared with "Onan" as far as reliability, etc. His response was "so are you getting ready for Y2K?" He then went on to say that if I am getting a generator, it would be a good idea to get one soon before Y2K gets bad. I guess some folks are talking about it (and doing something about it.)

-- Dave Harris (HarrisCrew@aol.com), September 30, 1998.

Tell me if I'm missing something... but electricity is last on my list of preparations for Y2K, for the simple reason that I can prepare for a year without food for the same expense as preparing to provide myself with electricity for a week. I haven't seen much in my town that indicates that many people are aware of or preparing for Y2K. People don't use dry beans anymore, they get hardly any shelf space, and the shelves are always full. When this changes, I'll know it's starting.

-- Ned (politely@decline.com), September 30, 1998.

I too am not worried about having electric. (while worrying greatly about society having it) I would sing a different tune if I lived where it was cold, but I figure that if the power does stay out for an extended period, we might as well get used to living without it.

-- Uncle Deedah (oncebitten@twiceshy.com), September 30, 1998.

Uncle:

I have to agree with you about electricity. I DO live where it gets real cold, and I'm putting my money into kerosene heat, an LP stove and candles, batteries and lamp oil. I'm no energy genius, but it seems that converting liquid fuel to electricity, then electricity to heat is pretty inefficient. If TSHTF I'm sure gonna miss my PC, though. :o(

-- Mike (gartner@execpc.com), September 30, 1998.