How much does that quad pentium unit that Philip would like cost? Perhaps if everybody kicked in $20 or so there would be enough to get it. Yes I do know that it is way late in the game for this, but if the initial impact of Y2K is only a BITR with the utilities being down for less than a week, he could get it quickly, maybe. Point is this, short of TEOTWAWKI this forum will be very valuable as Y2K unfolds.

I know that I've certainly gotten a lot more than $20 worth of info from this board, not to mention the entertainment value!

Comment: If we dodge the 1/1/00 utilities failure bullet and everything stays up (I consider a utility outage of only a day or two "up") we should all be thankful that the worst case scenario did not happen.

However, we ain't out of the woods yet.

If train transportation falters and capacity is reduced, that means coal shipments can be reduced. Not stopped, just slowed down. What precise % of slow down = a power shartage? Who knows? I don't? Of course one man's shortage is another man's plenty. Watch for politics to rear its ugly head in the form of forced distribution. This could lead to power shortages this summer, particularily if a few power plants have serious malfunctions requiring months of upgrade or repair.

I know I'm keeping my genset, though I will sell my little 8kw backup multifuel unit.

If nothing bad happens to the spring planting season I will donate most my food stock to the Salvation Army to help out those who in spite of a working infrastructure still can't manage their affairs to be blessed by the bounty of this nation. One big nice deduction there (assuming the IRS survives [insert peals of laughter here]).

One final point. If a person percieves that Y2K is a threat and does not prepare for their family, that in my book is immoral. If a person honestly does not precieve that Y2K is a threat to their family's well being and does not prepare, that is a moral action in my opinion. A person that perceives Y2K as a threat, and prepares to a level to meet that perceived threat, that action is highly moral. If Y2K is a BITR the person that prepared has no more reason to apologize, than a person that uses their seatbelt that did not get involved in a car crash.

Best wishes to all.

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), December 29, 1999

Answers

I'd be happy to kick in more than $20 if Phil would agree to modify the software to allow for global deletes. The sysops shouldn't have to conduct round-the-clock watches to take care of forum spammers.

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), December 29, 1999.

I'm in for $20 (or more). How much does his coveted machine cost? I would love to help him out, considering all that he and MIT have done for us.

C'mon, let's pass the hat!

-- semper paratus (always@ready.now), December 29, 1999.

I looked at the quadpentium site to get a feeling for price. While now prices are quoted there, I did get the feeling that the quad pentium ain't your ordinary pc. Still, I'm good for some reasonable amount. So far, I have received a lot for nothing.

What do you need, Phil?

dave

-- dave (wootendave@hotmail.com), December 29, 1999.

Philip's quad Pentium is $8,900 (without bells and whistles). I'd have no problem chipping in a few bucks, but keep in mind this isn't Philip's machine -- it's MIT's machine. And as such, if it can be justified to their own PTB, MIT is probably in a better position to cough up the bucks than any of us are...

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), December 29, 1999.

If you don't do credit cards (as I don't) you may wish to mail a donation to Phil's requested charity, SARA, at SARA Sanctuary 1050 Rawhide Road Seguin, TX 78155

I put his name on my check and hopefully they will let him know.

-- mommacarestx (nospam@thanks.com), December 30, 1999.

This forum has been worth a whole lot more than 20 bucks to me. It has allowed me to evaluate both the negative and positive views of y2k. Usually, you only get ONE view (ie GN vs. Debunkers).

Phil, if I can help in any way (some $$, some letters, some emails?) let me know.

-- Lobo (atthelair@yahoo.com), December 30, 1999.