This is regards Yourdon-recommended V. Porlier Y2K book, "Y2K: What You Must Know...". I was disappointed in the book. Its chapters were very brief and did not seem to cover anything significantly in depth. It did not seem to say much of anything new or unusual, with the minor exception (to me) of recommendations specific to apartment dwellers. I was particularly disappointed with the abbreviated coverage of how to handle financial affairs; I could not find mention of detailed considerations for stocks, mmfs, bank accounts, mortgages, 401Ks, IRAs, and mortgages. This to me is one of the most important and non-ignorable aspects of the Y2K situation, and any Y2K how-to book that ignores it seems to me is ducking a major issue.

Perhaps the reason Ed recommended this book was because there are so many apartment dwellers out there. In any case, I find this forum far more informing than the Porlier book for financial considerations, even given the wobbly and uneven nature of the forum.

Like that article in Worth, I find financial information for Y2K is sparse in the existing literature. Perhaps this is because the stock market today is so speculative. Perhaps this all can be boiled down to imply that the stock market is TOO speculative.

(Has anyone tried to withraw large amounts in cash from liquidating stock? What is the experience out there? Do it $10K at a time?)

Ann

-- Ann Y Body (annybody@nowhere.disorg), February 13, 1999

Answers

Ann, I was in Barnes and Noble the other day killing time on my way to meet a DGI friend. I perused the computer book section to get a quick overview of what Y2K books they had in stock (I do this every once in while as a "pulse reading" exercise). I saw the Porlier book, for the first time, and quickly looked at it.

Remember, I was on my way to go meet someone who didn't have a handle on this issue. I thought about the book in terms of someone who hasn't spent hundreds of hours on the web researching this. In that context, I thought it was very good. I considered buying it for my friend, but was short on cash. True, for someone who already has an overview, it's very basic and won't tell us anything we don't already know. For a newbie, like my friend, it may be perfect. When I was done looking at it, rather than put it back on the shelf, I left it out in the open. Maybe someone else would pick it up and be interested.

By the very virtue that you are on this forum, you are more informed than the average citizen. V.P.'s book seemed to be intended for the less informed. That's a good thing...

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), February 13, 1999.

I'm putting in a strong plug for the book. It isn't intended for us - Porlier wrote it as a primer, and not a thorough treatment of the issues. The book is cheap (apx. $11, paperback) - I bought several copies to distribute to DGI friends along with selected articles to round out the message. The book includes information as recent as December. It is also as close as I have seen to the scenario I would like my friends to consider, along the line of 2 to 4 weeks of disruptions, followed by 3 to 18 months of supply chain problems. It doesn't include anything new for us, but I highly recommend it for your friends and community.

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), February 13, 1999.

"I could not find mention of detailed considerations for stocks, mmfs, bank accounts, mortgages, 401Ks, IRAs, and mortgages."

Hey, this is advice that needs to be tailored to the individual, by an author who is expert in many financial fields.

It might take a year simply to research all of these fields to get up to date on them. Porlier has done an excellent job, in my opinion, in reporting on state and local issues.

-- De (dealtonX@Xconcentric.net), February 13, 1999.

Me too, Ann. I for one am honored that you think this forum a better info source than a Y2K specific author. I haven't seen this book, but if it is more of an intro, so much the better. The more GIs we can find, the better chance we all have, IMHO. <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 13, 1999.

We have that and a few other books reviewed at http://www.y2kculture.com/re views/.

-- Declan McCullagh (declan@y2kculture.com), February 14, 1999.

Hey, PShannon, I thought you were about to say "...rather than put it back on the shelf, I stole it." Oh well. My wife bought me the book last night (for my birthday: I guess she thinks Y2K is just some esoteric manifestation of a mid-life crisis). Way too concise, but WOULD be good for someone unfamiliar with the subject. Certainly NOT worth $11, but I'm always shocked nowadays by the price of books. Imagine trying to make paper in a post-infrastructure collapsed world. Like GN said, even a pencil would be a miracle.

-- Spidey (in@jam.com), February 15, 1999.