Power grid: First, connect the human grid

greenspun.com : LUSENET : Electric Utilities and Y2K : One Thread

Excerpt: [ Y2K: CRISIS OR OPPORTUNITY?

Welcome to good news about Y2K. The bad news is overwhelming, attacking our need for certainty. What happens if our machines stop being dependable? What happens if we need to rely on ourselves and each other?

That's the good news about Y2K. ]

Source: http://www.preparefory2k.com/

If you'd like to see a game plan for building community connections, this is a fun one.

-- Anonymous, December 30, 1998

Answers

Basically, we go back to things as they were before computers and embedded chips. More people will have to be trained on running things manually. Let's start with cashiers. They'll have to learn how to count change -- starting with the bill amount and counting upward to the dollar amount given to them. Pumping stations may have a person regulating the pressure by operating a hand valve. Railroads go back to the old way of red and green lantern signals to the "engineer". etc. Accounting records might have to be done by using many forms filled out maually. Things will slow down and the, "I want it now" mentality will be tossed out the window. Slowly new computers, programs, and embedded chips will be used again. I hope that our society will learn from the experience and NOT become totally dependent on gadgets. Smart managers will continue to periodically train people for the manual ways.

-- Anonymous, January 06, 1999

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