Thanks Gary, Ed and Philip for all you've done for us. If Y2K is indeed real bad, you'll have saved many thousands of lives! Because of you we have prepared! My hat is off to you in gratitude! You're my hero's always!

-- Freddie the Freeloader (freddie@thefreeloader.com), December 30, 1999

Answers

Lars,

Did it ever occur to you that I might have lived in a house BEFORE y2k came along? Did it ever occur to you that real estate (and "pueblos", as you call them) might be cheaper in Taos (the poorest county in one of the poorest states) than Manhattan?

Ed

-- Ed Yourdon (ed@yourdon.com), December 31, 1999.

I agree. Thank you all. I have mostly lurked here for quite awhile now, but this is where I have learned most. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. If nothing happens, my pantry is well stocked; if TSHTF, my family WILL survive.

Best wishes to all of you.

Pam

-- Pam (Readyas@CanBe.Com), December 30, 1999.

Can't say thanks enough. My family of six has found the information here of great worth. Many parts of what was learned here will be used for years to come. Big thanks.

-- Carpenter (Staying@home.com), December 30, 1999.

Hear hear!

-- Phil (sspicer@nas.net), December 30, 1999.

Yeah, right. Us outside-the-box, independent thinkers would have got it backwards if we hadn't been told the right thoughts to think. Praise be to Yourdon and North. Let us pray.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), December 30, 1999.

Especially to Philip... his design of this board is outstanding, and putting up with this ornery crowd free of charge has been unappreciated, by myself included.

I don't know about the rest of you, but when he threw his hands up yesterday, I felt lost...

Thanks again Philip...

-- Carl (clilly@goentre.com), December 30, 1999.

Thanks for all of your help, insight, and information over the past year and a half. Your efforts are sincerely appreciated, more than you will probably know. Best of luck to each of you in 2000.

-- Suzy (HAYSandCO@aol.com), December 30, 1999.

Flint...

You ought to try that pray thing Flint. It does wonders on our box.

Best to you for a happy rollover.

-- Tommy Rogers (Been there@Just a Thought.com), December 30, 1999.

Flint

North scared the Sh*t out of me, got me off my butt and looking for rational arguments, backed by fact, that tempered or negated his proposition.

Yourdon provided a moderate base, logical, cautious...

Greenspun gave a forum to hear all sides of the issue discussed... from rabid_polly->polly->middle_of_the_road->doomer->rabid_doomer... where I could form my own opinion after bouncing my ideas, and lurking and watching ideas being bounced by others....

I am grateful to all of them, as well as your sometimes thorny assed devils_advocate inputs...

Some of us do like to hear other opinions before forming our own...

-- Carl (clilly@goentre.com), December 30, 1999.

Carl:

I think it's equally important to hear other opinions *after* forming your own. At least, I try to regard my opinions as things that can be changed, or honed, or better informed. I appreciate the exposure all of these people have facilitated, and I understand that they have been instrumental in broadening that exposure.

My take here, all too often, is that these people have had the opposite effect on many here, who would prefer to *limit* their exposure to opinions most closely resembling their own, and wish other opinions would go away. I have always found the clear rejection of any legitimacy of differing opinions distressing. Really, can you name any proponent of minor problems, however intelligent or well informed, who has garnered any respect on this forum? Even one?

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), December 30, 1999.

Flint

Homer comes to mind. Many of his posts are about minor problems, but he diligently cruises the news feeds and posts relavent links, without subtext to skew opinions...

Many posters here DO try and present information that supports their particular mind set, but isn't that the purpose of debate, to influence and/or be influenced?

-- Carl (clilly@goentre.com), December 30, 1999.

Carl:

Yes, Homer is an interesting case, and I look forward to his posts. What he posts is stories of every computer-related (or even possibly computer related) problem he can find. These are all fairly minor problems because that's all we've had. I don't recall Homer expressing any opinions, however. Has he, and I missed it?

What's interesting is that (1) He is finding problems many here have expected almost to the point of craving them, however minor they have been; and (2) Selecting *only* problems to post is hardly a balanced picture of what's happening out there.

In fact, I once jokingly suggested that Homer was an alias for Hoffmeister, since Homer's efforts have so amply documented Hoffmeister's contention that we have already suffered through the worst, with all the new systems and stirred-up code, and it's hardly anything. I don't agree that we're waiting today on pins and needles for an event that has already passed, but it's possible.

-- Flint (flintc@mindspring.com), December 31, 1999.

I tip my hat to Ed, Gary and Phillip, as well as the countless others here.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), December 31, 1999.

Flint

I'm sorry, but I really don't consider those poor children that were torched to death in Washington "minor" glitches, especially being the father of 3 children myself, including my baby, my 9 year old son.

Being in the pc side of the computer world, I have seen many "minor" problems that in the next few weeks are oing to graduate.

One that comes to mind is a small trucking company, that bought a P60 computer about four years ago, still running Windows 3.0, and Quickbooks 5.0... his 14 employees are going to be in for a surprise when his payroll hits the dirt on 01/05/00... magnify that by tens of thousands of companies across this country alone... well, you seem intelligent enough to see the end result... He's waiting to fix on failure :)

It's the little things that we didn't prepare for that scare me...

-- Carl (clilly@goentre.com), December 31, 1999.

I especially agree with Carl about the pleasing configuration of this forum. Compare it to the Debunker forum. Yikes, that place is depressing and confusing to these tired eyes. Gary North? I have to say that I don't like him but he has given me cause for thought. Ed Yourdon? Again, not much feeling. He comes across as a gentleman and I find it hard to believe he made a killing on y2k. Still, it takes money to live in style in Taos, NM and my guess is that Ed does not live in a pueblo.

-- Lars (lars@indy.net), December 31, 1999.

Flint

Let me state my position just this once. I seldom post to this forum, yet it has given me insight into govn/business and social problems I may never have aquired through any other Media. My "box" has been expanded beyond the problems of Y2K, and whatever comfort my preparation offers to my families security for any future event, I will be better prepared to deal with it.

Where did this knowledge come from? As I look over the past year I can point out the Sept. 98 minutes of the Electical Industry, where the most important item was to convince the public of they were 100% compliant. Not a word about problems that were corrected. Lets not forget the House and Senate reports, World bank reports, CIA, GAO, Commerce Dept., etc., and many others I feel gave us their best judgements. I well remember professionals in your field laying out the requirements (including timeframes)for remediation and testing in early 1999. It looked impossible then; I hope they have created a miracle.

I'm doubtful. The SPIN has been too shill in my ears. Because the problem was so heavily covered up by the govn.,I had no option BUT to prepare. Thats thinking outside the box Flint.

You believe in FOF. This has been going on throughout industry/govn all this year. And yes, much more will be accomplished through FOF after the rollover. Let us hope all those companys w/o inhouse IT employees can find the personnal available to do the same.

Oh, one other thing Flint. A "doomer" definition to me means "One without HOPE". I do not ascribe to this. Just call me PRUDENT!

Flint said:

"Really, can you name any proponent of minor problems, however intelligent or well informed, who has garnered any respect on this forum? Even one?"

I respect you! You've been like a pendulum balancing my clock.

May we all have a successful NEW YEAR!

-- Tommy Rogers (Been there@Just a Thought.com), December 31, 1999.