I picked the following quote out of csy2k today. Thanks to Bob Benson for bringing it (and the man) back to my attention:

"Responsibility is a unique concept: it can only reside and inhere within a single individual. You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished. You may delegate it, but it is still with you. You may disclaim it, but you cannot divest youself of it. Even if you do not recognize it or admit its presence, you cannot escape it. If the responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else. Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong, then you have never had anyone really responsible."

Admiral Hyman G. Rickover (1900-1986)

I profess an unabashed admiration of the man, having rubbed elbows with him on a few occasions. I also wonder what he would have to say about the current state of affairs vis-a-vis Y2k in the electric industry? The Admiral was one of the primary go-to guys in the wake of Three Mile Island with respect to putting the pieces back together in the commercial nuclear industry (even though he was still a commissioned Admiral) and safety regulations resulting from lessons learned at TMI.

The Admiral must be turning over in his grave right about now.

-- Anonymous, February 07, 1999

Answers

In light of the fact that we do not have a leader with the qualities that Admiral Rickover would have brought to the Y2K table, I suspect we will all be hearing a version of "responsibility" more in line with this quote by Ambrose Bierce in the early 1900's. "Responsibility, a detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, Fate, Fortune, Luck or one's neighbor."

-- Anonymous, February 07, 1999

Contrast Adm. Rickover's sterling, stop-the-buck character, his willingess to face the facts, with the current occupant of the White House.

Keep stockpiling...

-- Anonymous, February 15, 1999