Most write about Y2K and warn to make preparation knowing our complacency. We are so busy that we put things off and before you know it, we are faced with it and it is too late. The reports coming through are more encouraging then they were at the beginning. In example the Florida Power Company (I believe the most important issue especially in cold country is gas and electricity) wrote that they will be compliant which brought a thigh of relief. I watched a Y2K conference in Washington D.C. led by Senator Bennett from Utah, who is pretty hard-driving, thank God, and Utah had fairly good reports as a state. Most of the reports presented by attendees were from Utah. The emphasis now is on contingency preparations because it is too late for many who got started late with the fixes. They want people to concentrate on alternative ways to take care of services. They have covered the U.S. with information as to how to go about getting fixes. They have a hotline where you can get information about just anything to get leads. We list Y2K news at our website http:\\www. ichthus-fast-track. net\ go to the y2k area.
Mr. Greenspan looked promising about the Federal Reserve when I last heard his discussion. The banking industry is supposed to be 90% compliant. He is optimistic that the Federal Reserve will be compliant. They are another most important factor because all the money moved goes through the Federal Reserve, don't ask me why. Another good news is that Internet is not in this situation for the most part. Servers driven by Unix which are used by most, are home free. Telephones don't seem to enter into discussions which might not be an issue. Postoffice personnel say they have worked on Y2K for some time already but no assurance that they are compliant yet.
The State of Colorado, governmental offices, has done one of the finest jobs in the country getting problems ironed out and are looked to for help. People can get in touch with their agency for information on how to. They have spent $55 million so far to get their computerized systems fixed. That is one of the reasons I'm worried about other industries who are on shoestrings, and there are many who are interlinked with each other. Since the White House neglected to get money out to small businesses but do have guaranteed loans available now, money is the big handicap.
Senator Bennett said that we have to get an "icestrom" mentality which means get ready for some extremely bad weather. I am planning on a three months food supply of canned goods, cereals that can be eaten without milk and various products which don't perish without refrigeration. We are saving all our plastic bottles like milk and pop containers to store water with a few drops of clorox when the time comes. The factor in this scenario is the unforeseen. There are some areas that they have no control over. They claim only 60% compliance thus far operational, overall. There is much misinformation running around, miscalculation and lies.
The deadline for compliance reports to the government is March 30, 1999 which will give them a better feel for the situation. One man reported that it took three months to work out a problem on one piece of equipment. Now put this into after Y2K hits and communication, shipping, etc.. is down, how long it would take.
Food is what worries us the most. They expect businesses to go under that is already happening. People are selling out who can't see their way clear.
What is coming up on Internet, that are many military maneuvers conducted in certain parts of the country. They do not notify people and people become very upset. In an article in Florida it stated : National Guard units nationwide are being trained to deal with phone- system outages and other chaos that could result from computer crashes when the year 2000 begins. "It is viewed as a safety measure that will be in position to move quickly if needed," said the Florida Department of Military Affairs. We are treating this like we treat preparation for a hurricane."We have 15,000 people and certain kinds of units, so we are not going to replace public utilities," he said. "We are going to assist law enforcement if needed. There are plans to mobilize the force if needed. Blackouts might occur like the one in San Francisco recently from a domino effect, when thousands of people where stranded across the city. Governors of each state are in charge. They are not expecting civil disorder but plan to be ready for the unforeseen. The glitch may affect home appliances. We are told in a report that by the time you get through your morning routine, you have encountered at least 10 chips: your alarm clock, coffeemaker, VCR (your daily workout), microwave, curling iron, washing machine spins, CD player for background music. Most of them are going to be working after all because they don't use the year digits only day and month. But even optimists say some glitches are likely because computer chips are hard to reach and it is difficult to know what information is on them. "You can't just pop a chip open like the hood of your car. They can't really know what is going out and what isn't until it happens." The trade commission, in a consumer alert noted that VCRs, cameras, camcorders, wristwatches and pocket electronic organizers could begin displaying incorrect information in 2000. Programmable electronics probably are home free. Refrigerators, heating and cooling equipment - may have chips that keep track of cycles rather than dates, so they may be okay. General Motors [GM] cars would start up and function normally. They have been aware of this problem for years and its checked on a continuous basis.
What is happening in the computer industry. I just lost one of my computers with everything on it to a unrepairable crash by trying to get compliant using "Norton's System Works." It went through my computer and made hundreds of changes, was not in tune with it and that was the end of me. Luckily I had two other hard drives inside and transferred the files from the damaged drive by a Dos command, which was okay to use after the crash. All I have to do now is reestablish everything to run the programs. Be careful what you buy to get a fix. They add fixes to the latest software products as a program and the fix is a patch to the BIOS and it is supposed to address the Y2K bug. An email had a complaint that their computer was compliant and when they got a test program it showed non compliant which was not so swift. The computer I use to do my newsletter is old and it will be noncompliant. I changed the date in the system to 1909 and it works except for my accounting system year end. The file dates are wrong and it does cause problems forwarding to the new year. Within the fiscal year it seems to accumulate correctly, one has to set up the new year manually, better than loosing the whole computer. We are going to have fun getting through the coming year, I no doubt of that.