Sorta.

...prepare for the New Year weekend with the same caution as they would for any unexpected natural disaster, Koskinen said.

The Red Cross suggests keeping a three-to-seven day store of food and water, as well as flashlights and a battery-powered radio.

They conveniently forget that PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric Company) has indicated, in the past...

When the Hayward Fault snaps, expect to be without power, lights, gasoline, water & natural gas for 2 to 8 weeks... until services can be repaired!

A natural disaster for 3 to 7 days?

Uh, huh.

*Big Sigh*

Diane

The City's Y2K-set; are you?
By Vanessa Hua
OF THE EXAMINER STAFF
Wednesday, October 20, 1999
)1999 San Francisco Examiner

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/examiner/hotnews/stories/20/By2k.dtl

[Fair Use: For Educational/Research Purposes Only]

Bay Area residents advised to prepare

Although officials said they were very confident that The City would be prepared for potential Year 2000 computer problems, caution underscored their comments Tuesday during a community meeting at the Main Library.

Officials who work in law enforcement, fire and emergency services, utilities, transportation, finance and hospitals repeatedly gave assurances that their systems would work on Jan. 1, 2000. However, they warned residents to stock up on supplies and to keep paper financial records from now through January.

Some of the 120 attendees also asked about how nonprofits could get funding to fix their computers, how to perform outreach to low-income communities, and whether the the United States was vulnerable to computer problems originating in other countries.

The General Accounting Office previously has said that San Francisco lags behind other large cities in Y2K readiness. Local officials say The City is now on track to being fully prepared by year-end. Police, fire and emergency officials said they would be out in full force through the New Year's weekend, to stem potential technology problems and handle the expected crush of revelers.

John Koskinen, the federal Y2K czar, also reported at the meeting that federal government fixes, from the Department of Defense to the Social Security Administration, were nearly complete.

The billions of dollars and months of testing, fixes and creating back-ups stemmed from fears that some computers would crash because of a programming space-saving measure that could cause processors to misread the date 2000 as 1900.

The public's initial gloom over government and business grinding into chaos as a result of the computer problem has given way to more confidence about the nation's infrastructure, Koskinen said.

Koskinen himself plans to hop onto a 6:30 p.m. flight -- the airlines' New Year, which is set to Greenwich Standard Time -- from Washington, D.C., to New York and then back the same night. His trip reflects his underlying confidence in the nation's airlines and other systems, he said. Ultimately, the panic of people -- not a technology failure -- could create a serious problem.

"I don't want people to overreact and create a self-fulfilling prophecy," Koskinen said. "But I also encourage them not to be complacent."

Bay Area residents, who have withstood fires, floods and earthquakes, should prepare for the New Year weekend with the same caution as they would for any unexpected natural disaster, Koskinen said.

Other officials offered advice on how to get ready:

-- "Keep (financial) statements and check them," said Linda Ortega, an officer with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Withdrawals, deposits, credit card bills and mortgage statements should all be kept as a paper trail. "But if there's discrepancies, fix them on the spot," she said. "Don't wait until March."

-- People looking for official sources of information should turn to media broadcasts, rather than testing systems on their own, an effort to avoid having everyone checking the dial tone or flushing the toilet at midnight.

-- Senior citizens and people with physical disabilities can also join a disaster registry, (415) 554-9976, that alerts emergency workers to check on their safety.

The Red Cross suggests keeping a three-to-seven day store of food and water, as well as flashlights and a battery-powered radio.

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), October 20, 1999

Answers

See threads...

S.F. Y2K Community Conversation Today! Koskinen, Y2K Czar Says Thousands Of Businesses Still At Risk (San Francisco Chronicle)

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 001bpF

And...

Am I on the same planet as Ko-Skin-um?

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 001bum

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), October 20, 1999.

Its not Ko-skin-em, Its Go-Spin-Em.

-- Earl (earl.shuholm@worldnet.att.net), October 20, 1999.

Diane

Any mention about the "great" turn out? 120 folks show up in a major city that was singled out by the Senate Committee and then you read about the success of John K's travelling road show else where. Do you know of anyone that went?

Our regional meeting is tomorow, looking forward to see what they say. It is actually going to be broadcast on a radio station. And I bet we are going to get alot more than 120 folks showing up.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), October 20, 1999.

No Brian.

It was highly "unpublicized."

Just happened to read about it at S.F. Gate site two hours before the event and was unable to make it. So far, don't know anyone who went.

Bummer.

And I SO want to look Koskinen in the eyes!

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), October 20, 1999.

For a sobering disconnect, take a look at this thread...

Why has the military taken over Arizona?

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id= 001cBA

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), October 20, 1999.

Bay Area residents, who have withstood fires, floods and earthquakes, should prepare for the New Year weekend with the same caution as they would for any unexpected natural disaster, Koskinen said.

I just heard today that North Carolina is still recovering from their last unexpected natural disaster and just how long was that?? Has it been more than 3 days???

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), October 20, 1999.

Hi, Brian, Care to report here after that meeting tomorrow re its contents? Thanks.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), October 20, 1999.