If any of the oldtimers out there want to help these people (I don't feel qualified enough to answer) it's clear the Detroit News isn't providing them with feedback (otherwise it would have appeared beneath their questions). Questions come from all over the world on this forum. Some are quite sad. Anyway here goes. Respond if you feel compelled and qualified to do so.

Date: 3/5/1999 From: craig hartsig City: harrison twp State: mi E-mail: UR15@aol.com

Comments: Distrust of government at Fed & State levels on this problem. If they can't be truthful & forthright on recalls on food from the USDA how can we trust them on what they say about the Y2k problem. I very much do not trust Clinton (who can) or gov. Engler. I am trying to do my own research to prepair myself without any goverment introference

Date: 3/5/1999 From: O. Caldwell City: Detroit State: MI E-mail: caldwelljr@ameritech.net

Comments: Realistically, how should we prepare, how much and when should we start? I have some much hype I can't separate the truth from lies.

Date: 3/5/1999 From: Doug Wakeman City: Mt Arlington State: NJ Country: USA E-mail: dbwakeman@aol.com

Comments: How long do canned goods last? How are canned goods affected by freezing (will they be ruined if home heating cannot be adequately maintained)? Does gasoline break down over time? Thank you

Date: 3/4/1999 From: bob sherman City: rogers State: ar Country: USA E-mail: drbob@mc2k.com

Comments: my questions are: i live in NW Arkansas, home office of Wal-mart stores, inc. and i was wondering what impact will the Y2K bug have on an area as small as this?

Should i be stocking up on food, water, batteries, generators and such? or will this be a "bump in the road" problem, with minor disruptions? will we be without electricity, water,natural gas and gasoline? is the threat of an all out nuclear attack a valid threat? how long will this Y2K problem take to correct, and return to a "normal" life? thank you

Date: 3/4/1999 From: Shirley McKenzie City: Warren State: Mi Country: USA E-mail: buschtrain@aol

Comments: What about the Detroit Edison company?. Are they ready for Y2K???

Date: 3/4/1999 From: amy lavy City: zanesville State: oh E-mail: alavy@msmisp.com Comments:

just one question, if there are to be problems but will be fixed within 72 hours as to alot of articles I have read. Why can we not fix them now..and why would it only take 72 hours to fix them after they go down??? Thank you, Amy Lavy

Date: 3/4/1999 From: Teri Myers City: Apopka State: Fl Country: USA E-mail: terimyers@yahoo.com Comments:

I have family in Elkhart, Indiana and I am very concerned for them. As we know, the turn over will happen in the winter and it's very cold up there. Will my family be okay or do I need to have them come to Florida where I am? Please ease my concerns in this area. Thank you for your time and I appreciate your site and the work you are doing to get the word out on y2k. Teri Myers, Apopka, Fl.

Date: 2/21/1999 From: Cathy Kulland City: Roosevelt State: UT Country: USA E-mail: kulland@ubtanet.com Comments:

I have a son who is diabetic and I am concerned about being able to get insulin and supplies.

I have heard that most of the insulin in the U.S. is shipped from somewhere in Europe. Is this true? How will the Y2K bug affect being able to get these needed prescriptions?

That's it. Respond if you feel compelled to do so.

-- FM (vidprof@aol.com), March 06, 1999

Answers

Wow!

None of us can provide a definitive answer to any of those. People are really searching.

FM, this is what makes me mad about our government's lack of firm direction......I've made up my mind on a lot of things about Y2K, but there are a lot of people searching. They don't know who to turn to.

I'm going to put together a canned response, providing links to sites. To do otherwise would be like trying to play love therapist by radio........it's a real bag of worms

-- De (dealton@concentric.net), March 06, 1999.

To O. in Caldwell, the very basics of short term disaster preparedness are fairly inexpensive and compact, think of a large backpack for each family memeber. At my website http://home.earthlink.net/~kenseger are some simple preparedness hints. You need to keep warm, have sterile water, and food. If you combine the knowledge from the book Nuclear War Survival Skills (available at http://www.oism.org ) the files BLEACH.TXT, MORMAN4.TXT, and others, you will know how to survive.

Shifting from longer term survival preparations from short term is much easier than going from zero to short term. The reason is learning the basics, you need to download or purchase that book and start learning now, after all, your tax dollars paid for the research for this book over the last 5 decades. Yes I know that part of the book is applicable only to nuclear war, but the rest is the best single survival knowledge source I know of. Read the nuclear chapters anyway, it is a great morale and confidence booster to know that you have the knowledge to survive a nuclear war, it will make Y2K look easier once you have this knowedge.

Just because Y2K is coming doesn't mean that floods, huricanes, and tornados have been put on hold. Become prepared for a tornado this month, then you'll be able to expand yout time line as you like, but get the basics NOW.

Doug Wakeman - Most cans have a 1-800 on them for the information you want, the contents and the type of can determine the answer. The lifespan of contents is temperature related and will last longer if in a cool dry place. There are many gasoline anti-oxidants available, one of the most common quality brands is Sta-Bil in 8 & 32 oz., available at better car shops or Wal-Mart. StorX is overpriced in my opinion. (hint: do not look at the cost per bottle, but the # of gallons treated per dollar)

Cathy Culland - Yes a goodly percentage of US insulin comes from western Europe. Y2K effect? Like everything else, unknown. Is son's condition the type that might be helped by going on the Atkin's diet or a variation there of?

All of the above - that's the big kicker about Y2K, nobody knows the precise answer, learn to live with uncertianty. Make your preparations rise to the level that reduces your uncertianty to a level that is comfortable to you. Remember, if you are worrying about over-buying, save all of the reciepts from your preparedness purchases and if it does by some miracle become just a bump in the road, the Salvation Army will be more than happy to give you an itemized tax deductable reciept for the supplies you give them in January of 2001. (hint: you can eat your stored food, you think prices are going to go down!?)

-- Ken Seger (kenseger@earthlink.net), March 06, 1999.

70% of insulin is imported. Primarily from Holland I understand.

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 06, 1999.

Why not fix the problems in 72 hours NOW?

Because they haven't happened yet. Nobody knows just what will go wrong, or when, or how any glitches will affect other parts of the system. Once something does go sour, it may be possible to locate the cause, and it may be possible to fix it in a relatively short time. No guarantees on either of these. And following any fix, starting up again may disclose other errors. And so on, and so on.

This is why recursive end-to-end testing is necessary.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), March 06, 1999.