My wife just got home from Sam's Club with another $300 worth of canned/dry goods, chlorine bleach, soap, etc.. She said they were offering a two-burner propane stove on legs for $99. Also said a man in line with her bought 30 (yes, thirty) cases of Ozarka drinking water in 1/2 litre bottles. Things are heating up here in south-central Kansas.

Our house is the only one with a wood-burning fireplace in our immediate family. We are also the only ones who don't have to live hand-to-mouth (yet) so we are planning on having an extra 10-12 people to care for when TSHTF. We have spent $500 to date on supplies, but we are not in good shape yet. I am still waiting to buy guns and ammo, extra fuel, water, silver dollars, etc.

My brother-in-law and I are old country boys who know how to farm, gunsmith, make ammo, and fix things, however, we are both in our fifties and we have both sustained major injuries in the last two years. I guess we will have to pass these things along to our sons and daughters as we go through this. It will be interesting to see how they will exist without CDs, TVs, hot cars, movies and Mcdonalds.

I want this problem to get fixed, go away, leave us alone - but I don't think it will. My wife (nurse practitioner) and I (progammer/analyst) are spending our retirement money in hopes of surviving the rollover. I don't want to whine because we are in a lot better position to come out O.K. than millions of other folks, I just resent the hell of it.

This discussion group is invaluable to us for it's (mostly) thoughtful and informative content. The main group (and you know who you are) have been very helpful and encouraging to listen to. Thank you.

I just don't know if I am doing enough, and I don't know exactly how to keep our money (the little that we have) safe. I am sure that there will be bank runs. The public's perception of the Y2K problem will be worse, in some respects, than the actual infrastructure failures. Everyone I know personally and at work is going to draw down as much of their cash as they can get there hands on.

The large mainframe applications that I have been working on here are finished as of this week. By finished, I mean that my team has completed final testing of remediated code and the inventory systems for this large manufacturer are working - that is projecting requirements correctly out into the 21st century. I have no idea how the other departments are coming along.

My point is this - I should be tackling another non-compliant system. I put my resume' on four internet sites, including a large gov't site, but have not received one phone call in three months. What is going on? I am a heavy-weight with thirty plus years of experience on almost all U.S. computers that have been made since the fifties. I can solve almost any problem on almost any system. If the corporate/gov't world is serious about fixing this problem, they should keep people like me buried in work.

The number of DGI's in this area is decreasing at an exponential rate. There are still too many of them, but it looks like the media is getting ready to stampede the ones who can prepare, and make predators out of the ones who can't.

Good luck to all, and know that we will help anyone who asks. I read the postings here twice a day, and will continue until it stops.

Mike.

-- Michael H. Cumbie (Mikecumbie@aol.com), February 18, 1999

Answers

$500? $500!!! Man, when you've spent $5000, you get your first gold star.

Matches $200 = 100,000 matches Candles 200 Water jugs $60 Baygen flashlight/radio 200 Wood cookstove 350 Woodstove (airtight) 300 Old fashion bucking saw 200 Pipe for both stoves 100 Pipe cleaner for the creosote 20 1000 pds of wheat kernals 1200 400 pds of rice 500 400 pds of beans 700 seed for a garden 200 seed potatoes 60 deer fencing 300 8 pound maul x2 60 axes 60 deep well pump or artesian well 200 clothing 200 gun and ammo 100 gum boots 12 shovels 40 cooking pots and pans/knives 200

Start spending!

Shadow */*

-- shadow */* (foo@foo.com), February 18, 1999.

Shadow is buying food at highly inflated prices. He must live in Russia!

-- Freddie the Freeloader (freddie@aol.com), February 18, 1999.

Good to see another pro here Mike. I've been at it for 31 years myself. Bunch of us lurking here. Interesting that you have no reply to your resume. I get about 1 call per month looking to lure me away to work on Y2K projects, but I'm very happy where I am. If you want, I'll send the next call your way. This is a real e-mail address if you want to send me any info. Anyway, keep those posts flowing. We need all the help we can get here! <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), February 19, 1999.

Hi Mike, I'm in your neighboring state. We're only stocking for 2 people, plus a little extra help for two neighbors, but I haven't bought nearly as much food as Shadow. I think he must be feeding his private army. Even if I bought that much, I wouldn't have any place to store it.

My husband and I are in our early 60's, we both retired 3 years ago. He worked with computer phone systems,and we too resent having to go back to chopping wood and lighting lamps. We had plans for our "golden years" that didn't include so much hard work!! Been there-done that. haha Glad to hear from someone from my part of the U.S.

-- gilda jessie (jess@listbot.com), February 19, 1999.

Michael, Sysman: I'm a recruiter (headhunter). I belong to a large, nationwide network of independent (mostly small) agencies.

I have been very disturbed by the lack of demand for programmers for Y2K remediation. I feel that if the level of activity that companies and government SAY is going on were actually occurring, we would be virtually flooded with desperate pleas for personnel.

Nor do you see columns of newspaper ads for Y2K remediators. Why? If this great remediation "push" that is being publicized is going on, where are they getting the people??

More and more I suspect that much of the work going on is being done primarily with an eye to establishing "Due Diligence" for future lawsuits.........

Just a thought from someone on a non technical part of the "front lines"

-- Jon Williamson (pssomerville@sprintmail.com), February 19, 1999.

With reference to lack of demand for remediation programmers: lots of that remediation is farmed out offshore, especially to places like India.

Money - Is there anyone who believes that if controls are put on withdrawals the government will give us notice? Bear in mind they can't afford to wait until it's a real problem.

Mike, do you go to yard, garage and estate sales in your part of the world? Check also storage units near you, see when they'll next have a sale on abandoned goods. At yard sales I've been able to pick up all sorts of tools, camping equipment, oil lamps, candles, grills, low-tech food processors (graters, slicers, strainers, grinders), on and on. I'll be looking for a good kerosene heater now that srping is almost here and sales are being held again. For groceries, it might be worth your while to locate and trek over to a Big Lots or other surplus/salvage type grocery store--there are great bargains to be had in canned goods and cleaning supplies. Is there a food co-op in your area where you can load up on bulk supplies? Check your yellow pages, you never know. Good hunting!

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 19, 1999.

Shadow */*, did you say "400 pds of rice 500" ? Do you mean you spent $500.00 on 400 pounds of rice? Gads. Rice here is about $6-$7 for a 20 lb bag. By my math that means 400 lbs should equal $120-$140. I understand that if you buy 50 lb bags (I haven't) the price goes down a bit.

Or do you mean pallets?

-- what (are@you.saying), February 19, 1999.

Do any of your relatives live in the country in Oklahoma, that need some extra hands for the rollover? got my own stuff.

-- sam (we're@theend.com), February 19, 1999.

Mike, I wouldn't buy too much chlorine bleach just yet. It doesn't have all that great a shelf life. I'll agree with the posting above that $500 is just a small start. I've projected to spend about $5000 on food and personal items. I've already bought a 12KW diesel genset and 1500 gallon of fuel (stabilized). I also have my water system in place for the most part. I have an adequate supply of guns and ammo. Self-protection orientation is taking place with my family now. Most of this is not all that new to me as I was one of the few who prepared for a thermo-nuclear war several years ago. I have dusted off and refurbished much of those preparations, too. I'm an old fart, too, and I will have to rely on the younger and stronger; like you, I can provide the expertise.

-- Gerald R. Cox (grcox@internetwork.net), February 19, 1999.

Gerald, you're right about the bleach. From what I understand, it generally starts to lose its effectiveness at six months, so that by one year, you have to use twice as much. I believe the strength of the smell is an indication of its power.

For storing tap water, I understand you just rinse out the containers with a solution of 4 drops bleach:1 quart of water, then store your clean water in the coolest dark place you have. For other types of water, see Water thread in the forum archives.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), February 19, 1999.

Hi Mike,

Hi, again. Since you are a farmboy you can relate to this - why not buy several hundred pounds of survival grains: corn, wheat, soybeans, barley, whatever; from your local feed mill. Cheap, cheap, who cares if it is sold for feeding animals? At least you will have a large quantity of bulk food - and fast. Store it in 5-gal buckets or even 55-gal drums. Not all of us can afford those expensive survival food packs.

-- Sheila Bjeletich (sheilabj@hotmail.com), February 19, 1999.