Yet another example of how the media is trivializing y2k problems and making kooks out of those who might dare to raise the issue:

Whew! No Y2K problems -- but what else lurks?

By Matthew Barrows Bee Staff Writer (Published Feb. 20, 2000)

Good news for those who stocked their shed full of dehydrated beans, five-day candles and hand-crank radios for the uneventful millennium: The world as we know it could still end!

This according to John Trochmann of the Militia of Montana, who said that even though computers didn't go kaboom on Jan. 1, Americans still should be worried about solar flare-ups, threats from a deep-water navy and, of course, mind-controlling techniques used by the Chinese.

"I hope they don't relax because it's not over," said Trochmann, who sells books with titles like "Black Helicopter II" and "Underground Bases and Tunnels."

"People don't have to be part of the chaos," he said. "If everyone has the supplies they need there will be no chaos."

But despite Trochmann's admonishments, attendance at Saturday's Preparedness Expo 2000 at Cal Expo dipped well below that of last year's exhibit, which capitalized on the then-emerging Y2K bug. In fact, the Preparedness Expo, which stopped in 10 cities last year, is only scheduled to visit six this year. The three-day exhibit at Cal Expo ends today. Though license plates in the half-full parking lot Saturday indicated that people were drawn from as far away as Idaho, Oregon and Nevada, most of those milling through Cal Expos's cavernous halls seemed more interested in browsing than buying.

Craig Fairclough, whose booth was filled with dried strawberries, raspberries and peaches -- hold them in your mouth, he says, and they rehydrate nicely -- said he was selling only 10 percent of the load he sold last year. Business, he said, was even slower than average years because people had stocked up in 1999.

Fairclough said he again has to rely on his regular customers -- hikers, campers and those people who think his dry milk tastes better than the stuff you can buy at the supermarket.

"We're kind of in the bottom of the barrel right now," he said, adding that five survival supply companies in his home state of Utah had dried up since the new year.

To make matters worse, Fairclough said, many buyers started returning items when they realized there wasn't going to be a millennial disaster.

"Some of these stores had 30-day guarantees," he said. "People bought the products in December and returned them in January."

Sometimes it was the buyer who got the raw deal.

Beth Paradise, who was selling water filters at her booth, said she met a woman who bought a $1,500 "water generator" last year. Though the woman's $1,500 is long gone, Paradise said, the water generator has yet to arrive.

While Paradise and Fairclough admitted that many hucksters took advantage of the Y2K hype, they said people need to be prepared year-round, not only at the changing of the millennium.

"Everybody thought that when the clock clicked from '99 to 2000 things were going to go crazy," said

Paradise, who is from Schell City, Mo., and has been selling the water filters for 12 years. "Things don't happen like that. They happen gradually."

Paradise said an earthquake, a flood, even an unexpected pink slip from your boss will make a number of the items on sale at the expo sudden necessities.

But unlike last year, readiness wasn't the first thing on everyone's mind.

"I'll be honest with you," said one man, "I just stumbled in from the boat show next door. I didn't even know it was here."

Others arrived not for the dried fruit and long-last candles, but for the camaraderie.

"I have legitimate concerns about what's happening with this government and with foreign governments," said Frank -- no last name, please -- from Northern California. "A lot of the people here share those concerns."

link ' http://www.sacbee.com/news/news/local06_20000220.html

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), February 20, 2000

Answers

A Water Generator!??!

Some kinda portable fusion reactor, I guess. Too cool; I want one!

I've heard of and seen a lot of prep stuff; some good, some too expensive, some bogus. I NEVER saw the water generator! Can anyone out there point me toward a URL? I'd love to check out the add copy on this!

LOL,

Don

-- Shimoda (enlighten@me.com), February 20, 2000.

No water generator, but I've got a few extra packets of dehydrated water I'd be willing to part with if the price was right.

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), February 20, 2000.

I'm Here

Please tell me that's tongue-in-cheek. :)

Reminds of the friend who did not want to store dehydrated food because "that would require water!"

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), February 20, 2000.

dehydrated water??? i love it ...

-- lou (lanny1@ix.netcom.com), February 20, 2000.

I'll trade you some dehydrated water for some swamp land in the AZ desert...

-- (Kb8um8@yahoo.com), February 20, 2000.

I have that and a caseful of evaporated air .... just in case.

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upina.cellrelaytower), February 20, 2000.