Hello people. I just wanted to ask if anyone else is having problems convincing friends/family that there is a problem coming ? It seems to my that people have just lost interest (as if they ever had much) in the possible affects of Y2K. Perhaps this is because everytime we were warned of "big dates" like 9-9-99, nothing happened. I dont know, but my friends think I am crazy, my wife thinks I should be commited, and I seem to be alone in my fear.

I work in a maximum security prison. The other day when the months Y2K test was conducted, all access doors to the facility opened, and would not close with the computers. They had to manually be closed. The cell doors remained closed only because the have security pin's in place in case the wrong door was ever opened. I dont know about you, but this concerned me a lot.

Another concern to me is that not only do I work in an extreemly dangerous place (especially if the doo-doo hits the fan on 1-1-00), the prison is an hour drive from home. With only 58 days remaining, isn't there a chance of a fuel ration ? If this happens, I could not possibly make it to work. Hmmmm...Maybe thats not such a bad thing after all : )

And finally, my main concern is for the safety of my 14 month old son. Living in Arizona make the weather conditions not so drastic, but I fear for his well being a lot.

So what do you think ? Do you know of a place I can go to get my head looked at ? Is it normal to loose sleep over this ? I find myself consumed with fear, and have nobody to vent this on. Loss of power, telephones, banking systems, social structure ? Or just a loss of my mind ?

-- Cody Bierman (mindcrime@uswest.net), November 03, 1999

Answers

Sorry about all the typo's. It's late, and Y2K is on the brain

-- Cody Bierman (mindcrime@uswest.net), November 03, 1999.

1) Ti is a Hawaiian plant...used for leis, etc. I guess you could make a hauka lei, and wear it on your head.

2) Seriously...most of us had expected to see more problems by now...but the worst dates are still coming... Even after the rollover, many errors may not be obvious until the data is corrupted and then used...which may take months. Hang in there, and take care of the little one...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), November 03, 1999.

Cody, Read 2 or 3 days worth of the posts here in all categories and ask us again.

Good luck, and if you're sincere, you'll find this a nice place to come to.

-- Gregg (g.abbott@starting-point.com), November 03, 1999.

Cody

Join the club. I think that is why alot of folk are here, cause there aren't to many folk that are well versed on Y2K in our communities and families.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), November 03, 1999.

Can I just toss in something here? On the issue of 9/9/99. Seems a friend of mine attended a funeral. In attendance was a missionary of the church who works out in the field. This person says many third world countries are hurting ritht now for lack of coal and gas because of 9/9/99 glitches that stopped transportation. Anyone hear about this?

-- April (Alwzapril@home.com), November 03, 1999.

Cody

I talked to you earlier in #y2k. Like Gregg said after reading 2 or 3 days worth of the threads in this forum you'll realise it ain't all in your head.

As an aside I live near 2 prisons, I can only wonder what the situation is there.

--Few

-- Few (fewbaby@infoave.net), November 03, 1999.

Cody,

I have to wonder if you've prepared as well as you'd like to. If you're ready, then there is nothing to be afraid of.

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), November 03, 1999.

Hawk,

I don't think that's quite accurate - there is no way to prepare for EVERY possible outcome and that is what keeps even those of us prepared for 1+ years, awake at night sometimes.

Cody,

You are not alone in your worries and wondering. Personally, I have mellowed, sitting on about 1 year plus of preps, have a 3.5 y.o. son and am grateful for the peace of mind this gives me. I do live in a rural farming community though, and would not be in a big city at least for the 2 weeks before and after rollover - just seems reasonable. Sorry, but you are the only one who can decide about being at work..... yikes!

Good luck, and take care! :)

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), November 03, 1999.

Cody, It is a big problem to know what we know and have to act as if we don't. I'm writing something that will allegedly come out in January. January! I don't think so...

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 03, 1999.

Is it all in my head? --NO

Are the issues involved very technical? --YES

Does the public at large understand the issues? --NO

Does the public at large want to understand the issues? --NO

Will the public at large ever understand the issues? --YES

When your relatives understand the issues, will they still think you are crazy? --ABSOLUTELY NOT

Pray that the ramp-up in the faults will be slow enough for them to take steps to protect themselves.

Here are some possible examples to watch for:

The remediation in many instances has been geared toward mission-critical systems only in many companies. This will result in entire divisions of some large companies being shut-down. So, these non-mission-critical systems will fail and will cause massive layoffs. That would be a factor anyone would be able to see and understand.

Many companies have decided that they cannot fix their y2k problems. These companies have a simple solution: "Close the doors and lock them." That would also be a factor anyone would be able to see and understand.

Large interconnected systems are likely to be subject to breakdowns caused by failed remediation efforts or a lack of remediation. That would also be a factor anyone would be able to see and understand.

If there are large breakdowns, there will be widespread attempts to place blame on someone else. In other words the finger pointing brigades will be in full force and this will make the news. That would also be a factor anyone would be able to see and understand.

If the price of gasoline at the pumps, goes sky high. Everyone will notice it.

Many examples can be given, but the bottom line is:

You understand the potential for disruption and you need to be patient with your relatives, they will come around eventually.

If you can, stock up for them.

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), November 03, 1999.

Cody: I know how you feel. I have not EVER in 18 months spoken to anyone in person who feels as I do except my husband. Every single person to a person has not gotten it. All of my family, friends, coworkers. Stopped talking about it MONTHS ago. It's hard not to think maybe you are crazy. I go to school in the morning (I am a teacher) and the sun is shining, its a gorgeous day, I see all my 8th graders in all their complexities and hilariousness and everything just going along like normal and wonder HOW in the world this could be changed. We have about 1 year of preps for up to about a 6-7, MAYBE an 8. At first this made us feel tremendously better, but even though they still help me sleep at night, I still have a lot of anxiety. On the flip side, when petty little things crop up in my life I remind myself that life MIGHT be very different in just several weeks. Helps to keep a good perspective on things.

I have a 4 yr old and she is about 90% of the reason I have done all the prepping. I will admit it does help if your spouse gets it, too. We both got it at the same time around January of 1998.

-- preparing (preparing@home.com), November 03, 1999.

As my husband says, "Hope for the best, plan for the worst." I know the feeling you have. All I can say is watch what the powers that be do -- not what they say. It tells a much truer story. As best as I can tell, no one really knows what will happen. We haven't had an end-to-end test of all of these interrelated computer systems -- and won't have it until after 1/1/2000. Add the question of embedded chips and who knows? Lots of people have opinions but little in the way of verifiable facts are being released to the public. Hang in there.

G.S.

-- G.S. (hateyo@netscape.net), November 03, 1999.

Kristi,

"I don't think that's quite accurate - there is no way to prepare for EVERY possible outcome and that is what keeps even those of us prepared for 1+ years, awake at night sometimes."

Of course you are free to choose to believe that, but I respectfully disagree. Cody says that he is having trouble sleeping, and I would suggest that this may be because he is allowing his concerns about his physical well-being to take priority over his spiritual reality. If you work at it in the reverse order, you'll find that there is nothing to fear. This has been discussed unfortunately only on rare occasions, perhaps because many feel it is a personal issue, but the reality is that We are all One with God. When you know this to be the Truth, all of these things in the physical world with which we concern ourselves are just the props on the stage in this play called life, and the fear of losing them becomes insignificant.

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), November 03, 1999.

Cody, if you look in the archives here you will find half a dozen threads on this very subject, in which many, many of us expressed the very same feelings and thoughts that you are having. You are definitely NOT alone in this, and as the time approaches, many are feeling more and more stressed out. Since you work at and live near a prison, you certainly are correct in being concerned after what you describe having seen. There are also threads in the archives here and at the TB2000 Prep Forum about home protection. Since you are in the right occupation to know a lot about self defense, see what others are doing to safeguard their homes. We have also conjectured here many times about whether those in first-response occupations and prison occupations will have to desert their posts if things go bad at Y2K, so you aren't alone in asking about that. Naturally, one's family comes first. On the other hand, it may be the wisest way to defend them is to stay at your post and keep the bad guys inside. This is a judgement call you alone can make when the time comes. May God be with you and yours as you face this, as will my prayers.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), November 03, 1999.

When you know this to be the Truth, all of these things in the physical world with which we concern ourselves are just the props on the stage in this play called life, and the fear of losing them becomes insignificant.

-- Hawk (flyin@high.again), November 03, 1999.

Hawk...

Beautifully spoken. All the world truely IS a stage, the problem we have is that not enough of us have looked at who the players are. Could you imagine sitting in the audience of a stage production and every time you think you've figured out who's who in the zoo, it turns out that the opposite is the case? Your entire set of assumptions would be flawed.

I believe that if everyone were to read the papers and watch their news on the TeeVee, then believe the exact opposite that's been put forth, we'd all be a lot closer to the truth.

As an aside, on the thread yesterday, I already knew that you knew most of what GN knows, I was speaking to everyone else.

-- Patrick (pmchenry@gradall.com), November 03, 1999.