This guy cracks me up. He should substitute host for Leno.

Article at: http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0299/021299b4.htm

"I do not think there will be any major failures in any of the critical infrastructure," John Koskinen, chairman of President Clinton's Council on Y2K Conversion, said in an interview with CongressDaily. "There's no evidence there will be failures, except at the local level."

So, Johnny, where is all the evidence that there WON'T be failures, by way of remediated, tested, verified, installed, and up-and-running compliant systems in all these critical infrastructure industries?

-- rick blaine (y2kazoo@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999

Answers

"I do not think..." - Whatever he says after this doesn't have to turn out to be true. If it does then he just thought incorrectly.

"...major failures..." -- Now he can say that this wasn't a major failure.

"...critical infrastructures..." -- If some of them are undeniably major, then as long as they aren't critical then he is still correct.

"... except at the local level." -- Where does it count most to us as citizens? Where will we actually be affected? It would be easy now to blame anyone more local than the federal government if a major critical problem occurrs.

This is slick...

-- Reporter (foo@foo.bar), February 12, 1999.

Koskinen is my absolute favorite object in the Y2K universe.

Sometimes he'll let relevant material slip, if he feels he's in no- freak company/audience. Some days, he just goes --ddzzzzzttttt!!!-- goes postal out about people preparing.

"With the outlook good for key industrial sectors, including the nation's power grid, federal concern has shifted to difficulties that may be experienced at the local level. "We are continuing to focus on the fact that some cities, towns and counties and some small to medium companies" may have outages, Koskinen said..."

He knows where, too. That's what kills me, he KNOWS.

He's mailing out 87,000 letters - probably saying what he said here - to all the mayors in the country. I'll develop my final opinion of him based on the content of the letter. I'm going to try to get a copy electronically; if unable, I'll hijack a copy from a mayor friend of mine and publish it here.

-- Lisa (lisa@work.com), February 12, 1999.

Guys like this make me sick! OK NOW I AM MAD...So lets just push the clocks ahead and see how great were going to do? Krotchkinen is a joke. At least Yourdon says he isn't sure but he does know that Humpty is coming down, the question is how hard!!! What this country needs is some honest leadership not some guy running around saying it won't hurt MUCH. (Honest leadership) now there is an oxymoron...Tman...

Oxymoron = 2 words that don't go together! mad mad mad!!!!!

-- Tman (Tman@IBAgeek.com), February 12, 1999.

What a bunch of freaking y2k cultists. Plain and simple. The only place that Y2K is ever going to do any real harm is in your little heads. Proof that there WON'T be failures... ha.

Next thing you'll be screaming is that you don't have any proof that martians WON'T attack the earth next year. Y2K is innocent and has obviously not been proven guilty. So why the hell do you people post here with your subtle little doom and gloom opinions? (Gossiping like a gaggle of Puritanical witch hunters. Looking for someone to blame and for the LOVE OF GOD some way to save yourself!!!!)

double ha

I'll tell you why. Because your a cult, and you need the support of your fellow cult members to feel normal. But outside in the real world your just a freak with no hope.

Sad but true. Turn off your computer now and repent to the life you once knew before it's too late. Before you get some crazy idea into your head that maybe it's "rational" to go out and buy a shotgun and a thousand rounds to ward off the post Y2K scavengers.

-- (john32@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999.

C'mon, gang. This is all part of the big PR Disinformation campaign to keep the Stock Market from crashing yet. You know that. Ignore this tripe. Do what ya gotta do and don't get all freaky-deaky about what these jokers say.

My response to Koskinen is this statement -

A year+ from now, there won't be any evidence of GOVERNMENT, except at the local level.

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 12, 1999.

Um, John, that'd be "you're a cult", thanks.

-- Blue Himalayan (bh@k2.y), February 12, 1999.

Bite me, John32, I'm just tracking the man because he DIRECTLY has control over whether people prepare or not. If he said, tomorrow, everybody stock up for two months, just in case, guarantee you that'd happen.

Which is what we need, at a minimum.

The man DIRECTLY influences media reporting, as well.

pshannon, you don't think Koskinen has the influence to instigate personal preparation among the (currently) DGIs?

-- Lisa (what?@cult?.me?), February 12, 1999.

Blue, your a classic example of an anal retentive cult member, and you can take your grammar lesson and go to hell. What a good example of denial. Take one little bit of my message and try and discredit me because of a spelling error. Like since I'm not an english professor what could I possibly know about common sense... hardy har har

Well, have fun packing your bags for the end of the world... and "fuk off".

-- (john32@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999.

Hey, is John32 really Krotchkinen's hotmail address?

-- rick blaine (y2kazoo@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999.

...and John32 will soon find himself with the Duke in a wild ass free-for-all fight keep their asscheeks out of the stomachs of starving suburbians that gave up eating their SUV's for dinner in the next Saga's installment.

Stay tuned. Will their asses make it....or not?

What fun we'll have.

-- INVAR (gundark@aol.com), February 12, 1999.

Good God, Rick, ya think?

I'd love to know that John lurks here, but you think he actually f(*&(s with us, too?

Wow.

-- Lisa (lisa@work.com), February 12, 1999.

Mr. Koskinen is disposable. Who ever heard of him before his appointment? He is a straw man. So what if he is publicly shamed and clearly wrong? He will graciously fall upon his sword, get a pot full of money for taking all the bruises and go on his merry way back to the oblivian that he came from. Our glorious young fearless president will not take as many knocks from the public that loves him. He will tell us how he was mislead by bad advice and personally take up the reins to get us out of a situation that he as well as the American public were put into by bad advice. He might even accuse Koskinen of stalking him as well. I am looking into the possibility of leaving the country.

Bill in South Carolina

-- Bill Solorzano (notaclue@webtv.net), February 12, 1999.

John32 says that asking for proof that y2k won't cause failures is as looney as asking for proof that martians won't attack the earth next year.

Actually, there is a way to prove that y2k won't cause failures, as I mentioned in the original post: remediated, tested, verified, installed, and up-and-running compliant systems in all the critical infrastructure industries. Show me this, Mr. K., and I'll donate my stash of Dinty Moore to the homeless shelter. Otherwise, I'll continue to stock up.

y2k is guilty until proven innocent.

BTW, clean up your mouth, youngster.

-- rick blaine (y2kazoo@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999.

I don't lurk here, I stopped by today after weeks and weeks of not reading one post. Now I'm sorry I did because it's obvious that your all more demented then you were weeks and weeks ago.

Just a bunch of gossip mongering little fools.

Good riddance to the whole foolish lot of you.

-- (john32@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999.

Hey, J32, just think how demented we'll all be on 12-31-99. Maybe *you'd* better "go out and buy a shotgun and a thousand rounds."

PS - not sad to hear you're moving on to bother other folks.

-- rick blaine (y2kazoo@hotmail.com), February 12, 1999.

Thanks, John32.

Bill: wrong. He has the power to make preparation look, smell and feel like something lunatics do - and he's GD vocal about it.

Again, we'll see what's in his letter.

-- Lisa (lisa@work.com), February 12, 1999.

Bye, john32. Have a nice life!

lisa, I DO think Koskinen could influence people to stcok up on two months of food. It's just that he won't do it. He won't say it. His masters won't let him. They have other things in mind...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 12, 1999.

"Hardy har har"??? "Double ha"??? "The whole foolish lot of you"???

-- Who writes this stuff?? (soundsEerilyEdwardian@times.com), February 12, 1999.

Uuuuaaap!! Too bad! John32 lost his ass. Apparently lost his mind to logic and reason a long time ago.

-- INVAR (gundark@aol.com), February 12, 1999.

Oooh, John, you're such a petulant little minx when you're perturbed. Come here.

-- You're cute when you're mad. (I'm@overhere.com), February 12, 1999.

Um, John, that'd be "you're a classic example of an anal retentive cult member..."

-- Blue Himalayan (bh@k2.y), February 12, 1999.

hey John, The Martinis are attacking next year? Olive it up till then. Hey invaar, fuck you.

-- Foster Brooks (setemup@joe.com), February 12, 1999.

See ya wouldn't want to be ya (J).Tman...and one last thing "deal with it"!

-- Tman (Tman@IBAgeek.com), February 12, 1999.

er john,

that'd be "you're all more demented than you were

-- Konan the Grammarian (learnitnow@orelse.com), February 12, 1999.

OK, flame me if you want. But although I disagree with him, John has just as much right to his opinion as we do ours. I truly hope he is right. If he is, I'll just grin from ear to ear, keep a month's supply of food and take the rest to the homeless mission.

I don't think we should assume that everyone who disagrees with our take on y2k is a disinformation hack. He may genuinely feel this way. Check our Viewer Feedback for other points of view. Would someone please help me with a link. http://www.angelfire.com/oh/justanumber/feedback.html It's worth visiting and used to have some funny stuff.

-- gilda jessie (jess@listbot.com), February 13, 1999.

So if this guy is wrong, then there must be some evidence out there, but I can't find it. So lets hear it. How is the year changing from 99 to 00 going to change the world? How will it keep my car from starting January 1st? I hear a lot about what "could", "potentially", and "might" happen; I even hear some "experts" say what "will" happen. None of you can, have, or will convince me that this thing is going to cause a catastrophe. So instead of spreading fear and ridiculing those who say there is no evidence, why don't you shed some light on the subject and explain how you know this is going to be a problem. Just because you beleive a pile of BS and you're scared doesn't make you an expert. I know what the "Y" means. I know what the "2K" means. I know why a COBOL program that is date dependant needs to be updated. Tell me how the power grid is going down, tell me how my car is going to be disabled, tell me how the farmers' tractors are going to be disabled, and tell me how my PC is going to stop working. OR shut up!

-- Elmer (Elmer@nunya.bsness.com), February 16, 1999.

Elmer -

If you want me to answer your question I will. Please respond yes. I don't want to do all the typing if you're not going to back to read it...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 16, 1999.

Yeah. I'll read it.

I've learned since my last posting, that the GPS system uses a 10-bit field to count weeks. Since it started counting in 1980, it will run out this August when it reaches 1024. Why it cares what week it is, I don't know. Why anyone would spend millions of dollars putting something like that in space without planning on replacing it, I don't know. Whats going to happen when the field goes from 11 1111 1111 to 00 0000 0000, I don't know. But that's the kind of information I'm looking for - how many bits is the field and what is it used for.

Something worth distinguishing when discussing these matters, is whether it is a bug that will show up 1-1-00 or if it is a bug that will show sometime in the next decade but for the same reason as the y2k bugs. Namely, gross short-sightedness.

Any other concrete facts that will lead to an understanding of the nature of the problem would be sincerely appreciated. Something of particular interest to me is "How could an embedded chip stop working on 1-1-00?". Since the year itself is irrelevant, this seems like a ridiculous possibility.

-- Elmer (foo@bar.com), February 17, 1999.