Our local news has carried a Y2K warning approximately 3 times in the last few days. The warning is: Don't check your lights at midnight, don't pick up your phone to check for a dial tone, and don't call 911 unless you have an emergency (duh!).

My question is about checking the lights. maybe I've become too cynical, but this seems like a rather strange warning. Does the utility company think everyone (who is awake) is going to be sitting around in the dark and then hit the lights at 12:01? Or do they think the older people who have gone to bed will set the clock to wake up and turn on the lights?

Is there real basis for concern that so many people are going to check their lights at midnight that it could cause power problems? After I heard this the third time I started to think maybe it would help if the lights go off for the general public to think that it was caused by too many people "checking their lights" at midnight. Again, assuming all these people are sitting around in the dark.

Actually, I guess their are a lot of people already sitting around in the dark....

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

Answers

Here's all I'm going to say about this: ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

Rick,

Is that some sort of Military acronym, like FUBAR?

Victoria

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

I can't pick up the phone at midnight. I can't flip on the light switch at midnight. I better not call 911 at midnight. For Pete's sake-- is it O.K if I floss?!

I'll have to quit eating while I'm on this forum. I almost choked on a Tostito laughing at those last two posts.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

I suspect the thinking on the "don't check your lights at midnight" has to do with commercial / industrial power users (many of whom will be at their facility). The power companies will have a problem if - say - large loads transfer to generator at 11:45 p.m., and then return to the grid at 12:15 or 12:30......

That would be an ironic problem to have as the clock turns to Jan1....

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

I have to honestly wonder why they say DON'T.

Seems they haven't raised any kids. Alot of times when you say DON'T, it is the very next thing they do.

Besides, how many people are really concerned anyway.

-- Anonymous, December 14, 1999

I think this is the beginning of panic, i.e. "don't use anything or you bring down the world!" When people panic they lose common sense. Whoever put that in the paper has lost common sense. Did a reporter for the paper come up with this or is this news from some local government entity or local power company? Who is the author of this article or warning or whatever it is?

-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999

Marcella,

Those are good questions. The warning is being given on our local tv news, KXAN, channel 36 in Austin, Texas. I've heard it 3 times. I had been thinking about calling them up and asking where the warning originated. I'll try to do that today and post it. It would be interesting to see who came up with this.

-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999

So,... hmmm... we can't use the phone because ?... and we can't use the power because ?... Who's really panicking here? I don't think that this panic is coming from the general public or the infamous "doomsayers." If this is a pre-emptive Y2K blame strike, I would have to say that I detest it, and I hope they all get caught.

-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999