Time, the final frontier... Or rather a rare commodity. That's why I have been in lurking only mode. Perhaps I am way too much skewed by the concept that if you do not have anything to say, don't say it. :-)

Someone asked a question in the past few days why pollys are so frequent (and fervent) in this forum...

I think that the answer is fairly obvious: they wouldn't be here if they were truly convinced that the Y2k is only a bump on the road. Deep, under the facade of condescence for the doomer-type fools, the worm of fear is tunneling relentlessly the what-if pattern. Maybe if they oppose the doomers, they may overcome it, convince themselves that the life as we know it won't end by the last beat of this year's digital clock.

I know that for some the acceptance of a possibility that we would have to dramatically change our views and lifestyles may be too overwhelming. Especially when one does not have means to countermeasure the effects Y2k may bring about. Living in an appartment in a large city. It is virtually impossible to GI fully in these conditions when one is tied down by a job or other circumstances, the despair would be tremendous. Yet, even a low key pereparation may prove to be highly beneficial.

Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to imply that the bleak scenarios are the only valid ones. It would be dishonest not to say that we simply do not know.

To grasp the complexities of interconnectednes in our world is a task that eludes even those of brightest mind. Each of us may see in a bright moment only a fragment of the whole... We do not know what avenue the events will take. The Y2k does not seem to be the only problem we have at present, but may play the role of a catalyst that provides a channel for whole slew of problems, that have been hidden from general awareness, to surface.

Someone wrote about the possibility that the doomers can invoke the reality they envision into being. Well, so far it seems that bare a few boards on the net, the population at large is virtually unaware about the problem or in denial, at best, the GI's are indeed a rare minority. I think that the opposite is more true: people that refuse to acknowledge the potential of the Y2K problem would be the creators of hellish reality. By the lack of foresight, they may exert a strain on the society. They may provide a precedent for even more gummit meddling in our lives.

It's late, maybe some other time.

-- lgj (ramblings@boydweb.com), May 01, 1999

Answers

I don't think y2k is going to be a disaster, nor do I think it will be without problems. I do think more people are preparing, and keeping a low profile about it, than we suspect. I personally worry more about the wholesale destruction of the planet, the escalating war in Kosovo and the high flying economy than I do y2k.

-- gale (guide @earthling.net), May 01, 1999.

Bravo lgj! Well done indeed.

Might I add an additional reason some pollys are so fervent - self- admitted doomers who push buttons can trigger a fight or flight response in said pollys. The adrenaline rush accompanying such an event can be addicting.

Surely only an addict could argue this forum is not addicting. Addiction to adrenaline. That's the ticket.

Right. That one's solved. Very good. Will there be anythin' else then?

Multiple personalities can be interesting...

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), May 01, 1999.

I'd love to be a pollyanna,but not none of the prevalant ones ever mention SCADA or how much it relates to telcos or power.until the bump in the road crowd qualifies SCADA systems,it's more food and ammo for me

-- zoobie (zoobie@zoob.zab), May 01, 1999.

Thank you lgj "the worm of fear" is priceless. It's starting to seem like the arguement of GI vs DGI could be framed in the timeless "Determinism vs Free Will" debate.

Will

-- Will (sibola@hotmail.com), May 01, 1999.

zoobie:

On SCADA and EMS:

Another Myth, SCADA & EMS Failures Would Crash the Grid - Part 1

Another Myth, SCADA & EMS Failures Would Crash the Grid - Part 2

-- Hoffmeister (hoff_meister@my-dejanews.com), May 01, 1999.

I suppose it's possible that the reason the pollys keep insisting that the moon isn't made of green cheese is because, deep down inside, they fear it might really be green cheese.

But I think there's a simpler explanation available.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), May 01, 1999.

I suspect that we each hve our own internally defined level of evidence required to develop scenarios and to develop expectations. While I may have seen enough of the Systems world to recognize that nothing has changed in 15 years about how large projects finish; and find that not a lot of them were started really early; and let this, coupled with an understanding of both Chaos Theory, and the interconnected ness of the world, be enough to develop my expectations. Others may need more evidence. Still others may need more evidence than self reported compliance from a few companies (rememebering what project progress reports were when we were in the industry).

Oft times one or another person screams that one can't prove a negative. While this is true, perhaps one CAN prove that a particular positive is NOT true, or that the converse of a particular position IS true.

IT probably boils down to what each of us sees as evidence and/or proofs.

Chuck

-- chuck, a Night Driver (rienzoo@en.com), May 01, 1999.

(Wow, lgj, you look just like my husband. It's that unique form of english giving you away? Imagine seeing you around here!) In the end, as someone said to me today, even if you take Y2K out of the picture entirely, you still get a world with what seem to be exponentially increasing problems of warfare, food, disease, crime, and more. Preparing for hard times, whether they are caused by Y2K, war, economics or unemployment, et al. is a wise idea, regardless of what one thinks about Y2K's likely results.

So, one has to ask those around who scorn planning (I don't mean people here, but many I've met in person) if they scorn not only Y2K, but the bare facts and obvious trends in the rest of the world, too.

PJ (pjg) in TX

-- PJ Gaenir (fire@firedocs.com), May 01, 1999.

Hi PJ,

I was wondering about that! {g}

-- Dean -- from (almost) Duh Moines (dtmiller@nevia.net), May 02, 1999.

Dean, you probably recognize the phrasing too. I was just telling him that you and we have ended up hanging out in the same online places for so many years that you feel like an old friend. :-)

PJ in TX

-- PJ Gaenir (fire@firedocs.com), May 02, 1999.