Victor Porlier continues his excellent editorial work in Westergaards Year 2000 site with

A Bump in the Road

One quote:

" If I study a problem and say it has a low probability of having any impact, I am still saying it could have an impact. So when the Senate report says:

"There is a low to medium probability of terrorist exploitation of Y2K.

"There is a medium probability of economic disruptions that will lead to civil unrest in certain sectors of the world.

"There is a high probability of economic disruptions in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

"In the U.S., some disruptions may be significant.

"Self-reporting has yielded unreliable assessments for most industry sectors.

"It is analogous to letting students grade their own test.

"Most affected industries and organizations started Y2K remediation too late.

"Local and regional power outages remain a distinct possibility."

(The reported probabilities and problems are far more extensive than these.)

Do these statements add up to a probable "bump in the road" to you?"

-- at work (not@now.com), March 10, 1999

Answers

No, they add up to running out of gas forty times on a trans-american road trip with no provisions...

-- Lisa (lisa@work.too), March 10, 1999.

Excellent notation of specific quotes. Thanks from at work.

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 10, 1999.

Some "bumps in the road" can be quite bad, as anyone can attest after surviving a motorcycle accident or the capsizing of their vehicle.

-- coprolith (coprolith@rocketship.com), March 10, 1999.

To: 'from at work'. Excellent post. Thank you Do you suppose that 1974-75 in Da Nang would qualify as a 'pebble' in the road? I wonder also how Mr. K catalogs the Bosnia mess, Afganistan, Biafra, etc...... as bumps or just minor nuisances? I think I believe what I must believe. My government has lied and deliberately mislead me several times over my life. I think this is just a repeat.

-- Lobo (Hiding@woods.com), March 10, 1999.

Ever hit a speedbump going 90?

-- R. Wright (blaklodg@aol.com), March 11, 1999.

The iceburg was a "bump in the road" in the path of the Titanic.

The speed the ship was travelling and the ability of the ship's structure to withstand the impact of the "bump" is the real issue ... then, and now.

-- Sara Nealy (keithn@ptd.net), March 11, 1999.