PAGING MR. YOURDON: How Would You Like to be on Oprah Winfrey??

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She's really nice...I was a guest on her show about 8 years ago! :-)

Come on, one last ditch effort to knock some sense into the masses. What do you have to lose? She has a huge viewer base and I can think of no one more qualified for the job.

What do you say?

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), November 11, 1999

Answers

I'm sure that Oprah is really nice -- but my guess is that she will only allocate about 3-5 minutes to a segment on Y2K, with 3-4 guests representing various shades of pollies and doomers. That will give each of us about 1 minute to express a point of view ... not really a good way to talk about a topic that some of feel is relatively complex.

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), November 11, 1999.


It's too late, what could Ed possibly offer the millions of viewers. I doubt the Prez would allow him or any other expert doomer on the Oprah show. Ed and other experts would be blamed for massive panic, etc. I wouldn't touch this one.....I could just see the line-up Gary North, Ed Yourdon, Koskinen, Cory Hamaski, Red Cross, FEMA, FDIC, etc...yeh right!

-- ~~~~~ (~~~~@~~~.com), November 11, 1999.

Please excuse me for butting in but I have strong feelings on this one...

Oprah Winfrey is all about sales, marketing, ratings, and entertainment for the pablum crowd. I sure don't see how any good could come from Ed Yourdon making a personal appearance there. Maybe a year ago. But at this late date, the cards have all been dealt and the bets have been called.

The vast majority of Americans have already decided there is nothing to prepare for. If the majority opinion is correct, having Ed appear in such a venue is of no value. If the majority in not correct, it's far too late for anything that Ed might say at this late date to make much of a difference. In short, check and mate.

Ed has already done more to voice his concerns than should be required from any human being. I've watched as Ed's writings have been continuously misrepresented as predicting TEOTWAWKI. Yet all Ed has said is (1) the problem is real, (2) the precise consequences are uncertain but a range of possibilities exist, (3) there is a non-zero risk of infrastructure disruptions, and (4) there is much that businesses and individuals can do to minimize the risk if they treat it seriously and plan ahead.

For such a moderate position, it has amazed me that so many would rush to brand him with derogatory labels that do a great injustice to what Ed has actually said. It serves only to inflate the egos of the name callers.

-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), November 11, 1999.


Ed is ready. Why would he want to share space with reptilian Kosky of the hydra-forked poisoned tongue?

-- ssssssssssssssssst (sssssssk@slither.underbelly), November 11, 1999.

Your right, or course. What a waste of air time. It would be nice if she had a clue about the issues and potential risks. Perhaps I'll just email her some info to prep for the show. Any suggestions? I guess the best we can hope for is that she'll be informed and ask some tough questions and demand decent answers.

She can be very tenacios and seems to have a good instinct for detecting BS. We'll see how good...

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), November 11, 1999.



I think Tony Brown would be a good choice to be on Oprah. He's black, is a big time GI, hold's Y2K rally's, is a TV and radio syndicated host. I have seen his programs a few times on TV and he has had several Y2K experts on them. He has also written a couple of books. Very credible individual.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), November 11, 1999.

Have to agree with Arnie here: Oprah Winfrey's show would have been an excellent forum for promoting Y2K awareness maybe 18 months ago, when there was still time to inaugurate a club of some sort centered around a Y2K Theme .... "Oprah's MRE of the Month Club" or the "Cooking with Quinoia" Club, etc. It's fart oo late. Oops I mean fart too late ... FAR TOO LATE to get Oprah involved effectively now.

-- SH (squirrel@hunter.com), November 11, 1999.

this whole thread is a hoot as Oprah is looking for pregnant women and hearing their feelings about going to a hospital to have a baby in year 2000. Somehow....without being sexist....I don't think Ed would qualify. LOL

Taz

-- Taz (Taz@aol.com), November 11, 1999.


Taz,

I heard that FEMA & Koskinen are scheduled guests. Perhaps Kosky will be vounteering his midwife services next year...

R.

-- Roland (nottelling@nowhere.com), November 11, 1999.


More like he'll lay some eggs for Oprah's audience ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 11, 1999.


I agree with you Arnie. No one could have written a more objective book like Ed and his daughter did about y2k. Whenever someone critizes them in the form of personal attacks, it has to be taken as a great compliment. Why? Because there are people who cannot refute the facts, are envious of their insight, lack their vision or do not have their courage to face reality and are in denial.

As I have mentioned here before, if someone had predicted on the day I was born all the suffering that I had to endure because of people's denial, greed and stupidity, only the most enthusiastic doomer would have believed it. I still don't believe it myself, even after the fact. Fortunately, this period lasted only one quarter of a century before I pulled myself up by my bootstraps, with God's help of course, to soar to greater heights than most people can only dream about.

People who have read my memoir have suggested that I should be a guest on Oprah's show. But I'm afraid that Y2K will greatly interfere with such an honarable event.

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), November 11, 1999.


Sorry: honorable. Tired, been cutting wood all day.

-- Not Again! (seenit@ww2.com), November 11, 1999.

A&L, You are soooo right !!

-- Rosearbor (Rosearbor@hotmail.com), November 11, 1999.

Yupper, it's fart oo late...

-- Randolph (dinosaur@williams-net.com), November 11, 1999.

Glad to see that you are still lurking TTR/TTF/seenit. If you publish, PLEASE send me a note so I can be first in line.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), November 11, 1999.


Infomagic and Y2K Pro first 20 min., Milne and Flint next 20 and all four in a battle cage for the last 20 min. Oh thats right this is Oprah not Springer.

-- Bill (y2khippo@yahoo.com), November 11, 1999.

Bill! Now I want to see that.

-- telephone the scheduler (pretty@please.that), November 11, 1999.

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