http://www.amcity.com/louisville/stories/1999/03/15/smallb4.html?h=y2k

Y2K is a storm likely to be more sound than fury

Terry Brock

MONDAY, JAN. 31, 2000 -- Whew! Today is Monday, Jan. 31, 2000, and we made it through that whole Y2K thing that we heard about all through 1999.

We're a full month into the year now. As we look around the landscape, we see that the only thing that was severely harmed was the egos of those who predicted such widespread disaster.

They've dragged all their bottled water, canned goods and, sadly, ammo and guns, to the mountains and deserts and now can only hang their head in shame that yet another imminent world disaster didn't materialize.

Yeah, 1999 was quite a year. With the impeachment of President Clinton and all the other political bombshells of the year, I guess we needed the distraction of the doomsayers running around predicting "The End of the World as We Know It" (TEOTWAWKI) to keep us occupied.

Hardware and software sales skyrocketed through the year and particularly at the end of the year. I'll bet that many wished they had purchased that new hardware and software to resolve the Y2K problem way before the end of year crush. Supply and demand just can't seem to be repealed.

Americans pull together

Not one plane has crashed due to the Y2K problem. Yes, a few power glitches occurred here and there, but amazingly, the American people were able to pull together in a time of hardship.

In retrospect, Y2K turned out to be similar to other natural disasters such as hurricanes, tornadoes, snow storms and earthquakes. Some areas had tough times, but the American people were able to pull through it all.

Our friends in other countries are dealing with their own challenges now, but the free market can solve those problems as well.

All the "doom and gloomers" from 1999 who predicted mass panic and problems didn't really understand the free market. When a great need arises, the free market (when left to run without government interference) can meet the need.

Yes, we had lots of lines of COBOL (Common Business Oriented Language) programs that needed to be fixed. Yet, the situation was much as in 1994 when the World Wide Web was created.

We didn't have nearly enough HTML programmers at that time (HTML is the HyperText Markup Language in which much of the Web is written).

Nevertheless, the demand that existed pushed up prices and fledgling entrepreneurs learned the code, figured out a creative way to deliver the solution to the marketplace, and the Web continues to be the hottest place to do business today.

For Y2K, thankfully, we didn't sit back and do nothing. If we hadn't taken action to get ready and be prepared in 1999 we would be in much worse shape now in the Year 2000.

The fact that many small businesses did upgrade their hardware and software helped enormously to avoid problems.

The fact that we did have banks get in full compliance with Y2K saved our banking system. The concerns about runs on the bank were avoided due to their wise measures to assure a skeptical public that its money was indeed safe.

Healthy reality check

Also impressive was how government-protected monopolies such as utilities and phone companies were able to adapt to the Y2K challenge. As they hired additional help and had plans implemented to deal with potential Y2K problems, we saw that we all sailed safely through Jan. 1, 2000, without the much-feared problems.

The situation is almost like that when a person is told by the doctors that he has only six months to live. That warning makes him get off the high-fat diet, give up cigarettes, begin a sensible exercise program and consult with his health-care practitioner. He survives way beyond the anticipated six months because he has taken precautionary steps.

Perhaps we've learned a lesson from the whole Y2K thing. We could have experienced the doom and gloom that many predicted if we hadn't taken the right preventive steps.

We have made it through the crisis.

Now, our only problem is what are we going to do with all that extra canned food, truckloads of bottled water and all that extra ammunition and guns that the doomsayers had stockpiled in the mountains? Maybe they can get the doom and gloom consultants, who now have stockpiles of money from their crisis predicting, to buy some of it back.

Life goes on, and it is wonderful!

Terry Brock is president of Achievement Systems Inc. in Atlanta. He is an internationally recognized speaker and trainer in the areas of productivity and marketing development through computers and technology. E-mail questions and comments to Brock at terrybrock@aol.com.

-- Norm (nwo@hotmail.com), March 15, 1999

Answers

Yep...we all overreacted. I've just sold all my supplies and bought shares of amazon.com.

-- a (a@a.a), March 15, 1999.

Jan. 31, 2000 --- Terry Brock, formerly president of Achievement Systems, Inc, in Atlanta. Now trying to find someone who will let him work on their farm in exchange for food. No luck so far.

Claims he is not THAT Terry Brock who used to be an internationally recognized speaker and trainer in the areas or productivity and marketing development through computers and technology, but is claiming that he has a GREAT idea for saving open-pollinated seeds for 2001 and marketing them to his former clients.

Life goes on, and it is wonderful!

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), March 15, 1999.

Nice fairy tale. Sure put me to sleep. <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), March 15, 1999.

Now, now. Can't we Polly's post our stories too? Fair is fair, right? I read all types of gloom and doom scenarios here. Why not a story with a happy ending for a change.

Life is wonderful!

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 15, 1999.

OK, but...

What about April 31, 2000 when the flow of oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela has been severely disrupted causing prices of gasoline and other fuels and petrochemical products to be so expensive as to be virtually unsuable? With fuel prices beyond the reach of most trucking and rail companies and their clients, what about all the food that is grown in one part of the country and transported to other parts of the country? What about all those household and personal products that we've grown so accustomed to, from the Pacific Rim and other regions that will be unavailable? What about all the small companies that distribute these products in this country? What about all those American dollars invested overseas?

Again, another striking example of someone apparently incapable of thinking outside of the USA and Rollover-centric view of things.

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), March 15, 1999.

April 31, 2000? Have we added another leap day?

-- ??? (just@curious.here), March 15, 1999.

'With the impeachment of President Clinton and all the other political bombshells of the year, I guess we needed the distraction of the doomsayers running around predicting "The End of the World as We Know It" (TEOTWAWKI) to keep us occupied.'

Now that was a twisted spin! I'm absolutely certain the public was distracted by Y2K news...it was where? on the net? and how many people of the percentage on the net read any of it? Please...this isn't happy face this is garbage.

-- Shelia (shelia@active-stream.com), March 15, 1999.

Well, you know, with the calendars non-compliant next year, ANYTHING is possible.

We're just having fun, Deano .... hope this guy is right. In fact, if he is, I'll commit right here and now to calling him up on January 31, 2000 to thank him personally.

But if I'm right (sadly), there won't be any room here on the farm for him.

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), March 15, 1999.

Ooooops, April 31, 2000 - LOL - sorry!

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), March 15, 1999.

This piece of trash is a prime example of Core's Disconnect Effect, posted earlier today:

http://www.y2ktimebomb.com/Media/Articles/lcore9911.htm

Meanwhile, what anyone whose attention has been caught by y2k most wants and needs to know is: exactly what preparations will make whatever is coming along more manageable? Brock talks about "tough times" and the ability of the American people to pull through it together. Sounds like there was something the American people could have done ahead of time, but all Brock offers is to discredit any extreme attempts at self-preservation as though that were the only option.

Brock, please expand your fairy tale to also tell us how it is you know there is no such thing as an embedded systems glitch, no ability for anyone north of Atlanta to freeze to death in one of your natural disaster scenarios, and how you were able to know the full ramifications of y2k in a mere 31 days?

-- Brooks (brooksbie@hotmail.com), March 15, 1999.

BigDog - I thought it was tongue-in-cheek too. Certainly wasn't out to start anything with my comment. Just thought it was as good a 'story' as I've seen on here.

But then you see other comments where the reader wants to skip to the chapter where everyone dies......

Deano

-- Deano (deano@luvthebeach.com), March 15, 1999.

hmmmm..."the ability of the American people to pull through it together".....

The only thing I have seen the majority of the DGI's to "pull through together" is happy hour at Shenaneghan's.....

Mr. K

***got aspirin?***

-- Mr. K (off@beer.30), March 15, 1999.

"Also impressive was how government-protected monopolies such as utilities and phone companies were able to adapt to the Y2K challenge."

What is impressive is this moron's inability to even read the NERC reports.

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), March 15, 1999.

italic off - lets just pull together now. (says Charleton Heston as a galley slave!!)

-- RD. ->H (drherr@erols.com), March 15, 1999.

Jan. 31, 2000 --- Terry Brock, formerly president of Achievement Systems, Inc, in Atlanta, was one of the unfortunate victims of "Y2K vigilantes" currently wreaking havoc in so many of the larger cities on the Eastern seaboard in the wake of widespread infrastructure failures related to the millenium bug that have rocked the nation and the world since the beginning of the New Year. Interviewed while being marched out of Atlanta on a local highway after being tarred and feathered by laid off soft drink factory employees, local gang members and sympathizers, Mr. Brock still proclaimed his innocence to anyone who would still listen in no uncertain terms. "I was one of the first consultants to warn of potential emergency conditions as a result of Y2K. I can't help it if people didn't read my warnings, such as they were, carefully enough. No one can predict the future with 100% certainty. It's not my fault that all these people were inconvenienced. Anyway, the casualties we had in Atlanta weren't as bad as the time after Sherman's march. At least, not yet," Mr. Brock said, wincing as he picked another feather out of his usual neatly trimmed, but now tar-coated hair. People should be thanking me, not the other way around."

Meanwhile, continued reports of widespread looting, arson, and nightly gunfire in the aftermath of the usual power outages have been making even survival difficult, if not dangerous, for the harried citizens of this once proud city...

-- Ann Y Body (annybody@nowhere.disorg), March 15, 1999.

Note to pshannon on all of the disruptions that WILL happen.

You brought them up. Now prove it!

And don't say "Because Gary North said so."

-- it's called a brain-use it (checkyour@head.com), March 15, 1999.