I know this isn't new but it is just so disturbing to realize that people will read this at this late date and think "Don't worry, we will know ahead of time."(this is from today - NBC news)

U.S. sets up distant warning for Y2K Officials plan command center in Washington to get early read on problems by monitoring Australia, New Zealand, Guam By Tammy Kupperman and Robert Windrem NBC NEWS WASHINGTON, Oct. 5  The United States will be watching from afar as New Years Eve revelers party in Australia, New Zealand and Guam. U.S. officials will have their eyes on the two Pacific nations and the U.S. territory Dec. 31 for an early read on how Y2K problems may play out at home. SENIOR U.S. OFFICIALS tell NBC News that Washington has made arrangements with the governments of Australia and New Zealand and has wired U.S. military facilities on Guam to have them provide early reads on how Y2K is affecting them. Because of time differences, Australia, New Zealand and Guam will all celebrate New Years early Friday Dec. 31, Washington time. And, say U.S. officials, the White House will give virtually hourly briefings during the day as events unfold down under. The New Zealand capital of Auckland is 17 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, while the Australian capital of Canberra and Guam are 15 hours ahead, meaning the Year 2000 will arrive in New Zealand at 7 a.m. Dec. 31, Washington time, and in Australia and Guam at 9 a.m. The United States hopes to get an early read on the severity of Y2K problems by keeping communications lines to the three sites open constantly, feeding into a White House Y2K command center at 18th and G streets, a block from the White House itself, U.S. officials say. The read from Guam, the first U.S. territory to greet the New Year, will feed through a new Air Force Y2K Fusion Center at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, Ala., home of the Air Force Network Operations Center. From there, notification will go to the Pentagons Y2K operations center in Crystal City, Va., which will operate from Dec. 28 through Jan. 4. The Crystal City facility will feed information to the Pentagons National Military Command Center, which will in turn feed it to 18th and G Streets. (All key Y2K command posts have been set up within blocks of the facilities they serve.

The United States, Australia and New Zealand have similarly developed economies, using many of the same communications and computer systems. In addition, the three countries have a long history of ties that link government agencies. Anderson AFB on Guam has been a crucial Pacific military base for decades, with advanced communications links to the mainland United States as well as Asian nations. By monitoring what is going on in Guam, the Pentagon will determine how its worldwide network and its weapons systems will operate. The so-called Y2K problem exists because many older computers and software programs recognize only the last two digits of the year and could mistakenly interpret 00 as 1900. Even a 17-hour lead, however, will probably not be enough to allow problems to be corrected, but an early read may permit U.S. agencies to prioritize their responses or go to backup systems, say officials. John Koskinen, the White Houses Y2K coordinator, is expected to brief the news media virtually hourly once the date change is under way on New Years Eve. Koskinen is expected to conduct his briefings from the 18th and G Street facility. In addition, as midnight moves around the globe, U.S. embassies will be monitoring Y2K problems as they arise. Midnight in Tokyo, for example, will be 10 a.m. in Washington; Beijing, 11 a.m.; New Delhi, 1:30 p.m.; Riyadh, 3 p.m.; and Moscow, 4 p.m.

-- a mom (wann@cry.com), October 06, 1999

Answers

(1) ...And a full year for testing.

(2) While we have a full 22 hours here in Hawai'i, I am not particularly encouraged. If it is looking like TEOTWAWKI, what can you do in 22 hours that you haven't done in the last 22 months?

(3) They blew the example, above. At midnight in Tokyo, it is 111 p.m. in Beijing... (No wonder we can't trust the media evaluations of the problem...they can't tell time properly!)

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), October 07, 1999.