Saw a Y2K booklet on the magazine rack at the local grocery store. There was a special section in The Washington Post today too. Debunking the myths and urban legends now seems to be the focus with reasonable emergency preparations the message. It's all over the place. The media have stepped up the coverage and America is talking about it now.

The doom meme is dying.

Funny how Darth Troll seems appropriate when it's really the doomers who are the dark side.

May the force be with you.

-- Darth Troll (troll@darth.doom), May 16, 1999

Answers

You give your home planet away, Barf Troll - "The doom meme is dying."

The only meme team we know is over at Der Planet Boonkah (as you well know) headed by Doc Paulie, who is neither a doctor nor a Paulie, but a Texas real estate shill. The meme team'll be glad to discuss meme themes all night and all day -- and even all week or decade if you so desire.

http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi?acct=mb237006&MyNum=9 23989532&P=Yes&TL=923846196

Debunking Y2k webboard - Tuesday, 13-Apr-1999 03:45:32

208.211.54.153 writes: "...What you might want to consider is the fact your post 'looks' like just so many we have seen over the many hours on these Y2k webboards. Some of us have come to believe in a very real concept called Memes, Memetics. The link at the top of this forum called the Millennium Contagion deals with a meme swirling around Y2k specifically.

What I think I am trying to tell you in a polite way is you are operating from a position not of your own doing. The meme(mind-virus)is operating for you. You will deny this but you are, OK? Many here could write your views on this issue off the top of our heads we have seen it(the meme) so often. There is just too much similarity in view by most that it is impossible it could be anything but a foreign entity at work, it is.

See simple

Doc Paulie (End of quote)

So, better get back to the meme team and their "very real concept." By the way, the word "meme" derives from the running together of the familiar plaintive cry of the meme team: me! me!

(If you're trying to find out if we're here on Sundays - we are.)

-- OutingsR (us@here.yar), May 16, 1999.

Y2K is not about memes or the force or urban legends or silly science fiction movie characters. It's about computers and the probability that X number of them will not function properly and the possible effects to the supply chain and people's reaction to those breakdowns.

Got it? Good...

-- . (.@...), May 16, 1999.

"America is talking about it now."

About freaking time... <:)=

-- Sysman (y2kboard@yahoo.com), May 16, 1999.

On State Road 31 north bound lane in Franklin, Indiana there is a new store called Y2K Diasaster Preparedness in big bold letters. Can't miss it. This will get much attention as about 100,000 cars a day drive by it in a 35 M.P.H. speed zone

-- no spam (no spam@spam.spam), May 16, 1999.

Memes, schmemes. I've posted thishere before but it bears repeating:

'Do not be satisfied with hearsay or with tradition or with legendary lore or with what has come down in scriptures or with conjectures or with logical inference or with weighing evidence or with liking for a view after pondering over it or with someone else's ability or with the thought "The monk is our teacher." When you know in yourselves: "These things are wholesome, blameless, commended by the wise, and being adopted and put into effect they lead to welfare and happiness," then you should practice and abide in them....'

the Buddha is quoted in Stephen Batchelor's translation from Kalama Sutra in his Buddhism Without Beliefs.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), May 17, 1999.

Did I do that? bold off !!

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), May 17, 1999.

Yes Tom--

But Buddaha also said "that man with hand in pocket is most defwinetely Wong"

-- unspun@lright (mikeymac@uswest.net), May 17, 1999.

when did Lord Buddha say that?must not be the pali cannon!

-- ZOOBIE (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), May 17, 1999.

Mr. Carey, yet again you've pulled a mighty big rabbit out of your hat - truly those are words to live by!

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), May 17, 1999.

The meme concept is a useful tool for analysing the spread of ideas and trends. Spread of ideas is likened to a viral infection - described by ordinary differential equations. Just the name of the basis of a mathematical tool - don't put more into it than is there. And I do agree - the TEOTWAWKI idea is dying out - even here the talk is now focussed far more on recession than TEOTW.

And a lot more people are moving into the Eighth Stage of Y2K awareness - Skeptic stage. A belated welcome to Chuck the Night Driver - he seems to have gotten there about 10 days ago - and will probably quit posting soon - most stage eights do drop out save for occasional visits.

-- Paul Davis (davisp1953@yahoo.com), May 17, 1999.

This is MinnesotaSmith, author of the Y2K-preparatory website http://y2ksafeminnesota.hypermart.net. 1) The dark side would have to be considered inhabited by those who would have people make decisions that could quite likely lead to suffering and death. Given the comparative results for "prepared & Y2K = BITR" and "unprepared & Y2K = SHTF (to say nothing of TEOTWAWKI)", I think we can bestow this descriptor on the pollyannas without any further delay.

2) For an excellent discussion on the subject of memes, read "Surviving the Feminization of America" by Rich Zupaty (1994).

Yours in preparation, MinnesotaSmith

-- MinnesotaSmith (y2ksafeminnesota@hotmail.com), May 17, 1999.

No Smith, the dark side includes anybody who starts off every post with something like:

"This is MinnesotaSmith, author of the Y2K-preparatory website http://y2ksafeminnesota.hypermart.net."

-- Polly Skywalker (polly@bright.side), May 17, 1999.

Re: people seeing the "Y2K DISASTER PREPAREDNESS" sign:

I once saw a giant concrete chicken. It was at least 6 feet tall. It was on a backroad near Oxford, NC, in front of a car wash with a sign out front: "SOAP AND HOT WATER!"

It was seen by approximate 100 people per day, and none of them felt the urge to wash a large chicken.

(I asked.)

-- Stephen M. Poole, CET (smpoole7@bellsouth.net), May 18, 1999.