Mrs Rimmer and I attended a "Y2K community" meeting in Anamosa, Iowa tonight. Since it was the one of the first uses of the words "Y2K" and "community" together in the same sentence in this part of the state, we thought we should go have a look see.

The meeting was held in a small room in the Anamosa community center. The room was overflowing and we were forced to sit out side the doors to the room. Now it was a small room and I estimate there were between 140-180 people in attendence. The room was filled predominently with older folks in the 50-70 range.

The moderator was from a local community college. Turns out the meeeting was being sponsered by two local Anamosa bank. The first and foremost message of the night was ... "Your Money Is Safe In The Bank". Showed a 9 minute video explaining that not only have the banks been addressing the problem for years but that nearly all of them have completed their work.

There were approximately 13 guest panelist from local government, power companies, banks, a computer store, and the sheriff's department. We heard from the banks first, then proceeded to have a regular Y2K survivalist roast. A great many laughs were had by all.

The agenda for the evening was 'we can best prepare by going home and forgetting about it because everyone (or at least almost everyone) is Y2K compliant (or at least nearly Y2K compliant - or very soon they'll be Y2K compliant).

I was rather disappointed in the Alliant (power) rep. He started off by saying that the problem was real and that they have indeed found Y2K-related problems. But then the laughter seemed to stop. So he got around to the part about 'but we're making great progress' and 'expect no blackouts, brownouts, or shortages' during the rollover. Of course they are a bit concerned about telecommunications since they deal with numerous telcos, but things are in great shape, really they are..

Unfortunately, the telco rep (USWest) was a no-show. Not certain why.

The representative from the state prison located in Anamosa was also a no-show. But someone on the panel had spoken to someone at the prison and could assure us that the doors will stay locked (har-har).

The sheriff is not expecting much out of the ordinary. If you have a problem, just call 911 and we'll handle it as usual (did I mention USWest was a no-show). Not much need for contingency planning at the sheriff's department. He displayed his letter from Ford motor company assuring them that their cars would not fail at midnight on rollover (ROFL, ROFL)

The guy from the computer shop was totally clueless - suggested it's mostly hype (So what's the difference between a car salesman and a computer salesman?) Might be a minor inconvenience or two... Best thing you can do is go home and set your computer's date to 2000. If the world as you know doesn't end we'll all be fine (ROFL-har)

The women from the community college then stole the show by saying you "You might want to prepare as if it were going to be a long week-end or maybe a snowstorm but there was certainly no need for anyone to stockpile water or food"

Then came auidience questions.

Is my money safe with a broker? Response: Is it ever? (har-har, ROFL, ROFL -your money is safest - guess where - that's right - the BANK! ho-ho ROFL)

What about sewers? Response: There's no computers in them (har-ROFL-har). Sure, there's a couple of old lift stations but there ain't no 'puters in them either (ROFL!)

Do I need protection in my home? (i.e do I need to buy a gun) Response: The sheriff said that people who ask how much ammunition they need for Y2K scare him more than loss of power or loss of water. (ho-ho-ho!)

They finally got to the question I submitted:

To all panelists and moderator: Have you completely read the report titled "Investigating The Impact Of The Year 2000 Problem" released Feb 25th, 1999 by The United States Senate Special Committee On The Year 2000 Technology Problem"? A simple yes or no answer will suffice.

I watched with disappointment as all 14 'Y2K experts' blankly stared at each other and shook their head "no" in unison.

And then, just for a moment, the laughing stopped...

G'night all.

-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), March 16, 1999

Answers

That's nice Arnie. You imply that the bank is lying, the power company is lying, and on-and-on. If you're going to imply those types of things, I'd like to see some supportive evidence or proof that those things in your town will fail.

Thanks,

john

-- john (i'm@mywitsend.com), March 17, 1999.

John,

So good to see another Pollyanna on the scene here. Let me guess... you're a liberal Democrat who believes that Al Gore invented the Internet.

-- Nabi Davidson (nabi7@yahoo.com), March 17, 1999.

Since Al Gore invented the Internet, he also invented Y2K.

-- blameitonGore (blameitonGore@blame.com), March 17, 1999.

Wrong on all counts, Nabi. I don't believe in the TEOTWAWKI scenario (although I once did), however, so if that makes me a polly, so be it.

I've just been watching the posting here for the last couple of weeks and have noted how GI's aren't held to the same standard of proof that DGI's are. This post is a perfect example. Arnie makes a few allegations, but offers up absolutely nothing to support it. If a DGI pulls this, he is generally gang-flamed and asked for documentation, verification, etc.

Nothing wrong with a little objectivity, is there Nabi? In trying to assess anything, it doesn't hurt to approach both sides from the same angle.

-- john (i'm@mywitsend.com), March 17, 1999.

John says: I didn't read any "allegations" in Arnie's post.

What I did read was his total surprise and dismay at the response of these so-called experts to questions, and their apparent cluelessness as to how some things really work and how suseptible they might well be to potential Y2k problems.

When he asked if any of them had read the senate's report and they all stared back blankly.....well, does any more really need to be said? Really? Think about that for just a second.

Have you read it John? If you haven't, you really should. Really.

Thanks for the info Arnie.

-- Bobbi (bobbia@slic.com), March 17, 1999.

I've read the report, Bobbi. Really

I'm sure that there are quite a few people that have not read the report. I'm not surprised that there are people in Anamosa, Iowa that have not read the report.

What does that have to do with whether or not the banks or power will work in Anamosa? How does that back up Arnie's inferences that the power and banks won't work?

Come on Bobbi, really.

-- john (i'm@mywitsend.com), March 17, 1999.

John (AKA ASSHEAD)

You still haven't done anything but complain. The burden of proof is on your ass supporting shoulders. This forum is for like minded people exploring contingency plans etc... You ain't it.

Please, enlighten me with your knowledge oh great one! You call me a hypocrite, I call you a lazy ASSHEAD. Prove your point please. As a DGI, why not hold yourself to the same standards you expect of us, the GI's. To my knowledge you have offered nothing but complaints. Prove some points Zippy!

-- d (d@usedtobedgi.old), March 17, 1999.

Hi Arnie... if you're interested, I attend the Des Moines Y2K group meetings, which just began including people from the media (not for reporting purposes, but awareness and reporting accuracy in their understanding of the problem). Do you know WHO radio? A popular host of one of their shows is attending these meetings, and I would classify him as a GI. He reads Sanger's daily and was very concerned about the Press and Preventing Panic show by K & K. This media attention will help turn the heat up here in Iowa. If you want to know more about this, feel free to e-mail me. Perhaps this could help you up in Anamosa.

-- Brett (savvydad@aol.com), March 17, 1999.

(killing italics)

Looking for proof in this swamp is a waste of time. There'll never be more than probabilities to work with, and even these are estimates based on individual assessments of what information exists.

It's particularly impossible to prove a negative. For instance -- prove to me that you (or I, or anyone) will not have an accident in the next 48 hours. Contingencies abound.

I say again (knowing how futile it is) -- just accept other folks' conclusions about Y2K. Even if they don't accept yours. Come rollover, we'll find out how good all our guessing was.

-- Tom Carey (tomcarey@mindspring.com), March 17, 1999.

John--

The reason that the panel in this particular instance feel that nothing will go wrong, is because they haven't found it yet. Maybe one of their community systems will be compliant out of luck, however, you can not fix what you do not know is broken.

Does a sheriff usually know how to inventory, assess, fix, test, and implement a 911 system? Usually not. Will he go on the company assurances of the IT people that installed the county system? Sure he will. Are the IT people at that 911 system company buying time until Congress passes a "limited liability" law covering the IT company's ass? Sure they are. It's okay to lie now. Y2K isn't here yet.

Mr. K

***Who knows he doesn't want bankers or sewer people testing or fixing ANY computers***

-- MR. Kennedy (right@home.now), March 17, 1999.

Arnie -- thanks (also for your insightful post on NT yesterday, cool).

While community realities are not binary, bardou is largely on the money about the futility of putting in a lot of energy (especially AT THIS LATE DATE) into preparing communities. Also see the thread yesterday on Berkeley and PG&E. The world DWGI. It's too late. Speaking on the QT to individuals is entirely different and remains viable.

I pulled a biweekly column I was writing on Y2K from our county newspaper a couple of months ago because I sensed that it had already accomplished whatever it could hope to accomplish with those who wanted to pay attention. Unlike some here (believe me, I understand their motives), I certainly believe we need our communities and should take personal risks along the way, but continuing the column would have MERELY drawn unwanted attention to myself. Ironically, the meme-span of most Americans these days is so short that most folks here wouldn't be able to give the name of the person who wrote the articles anyway!

In a way and no offense, I'm sure you'll understand, your post is "no news" and could be repeated by hundreds of like posts from people around the country.

If the Net remains up and free, our work on this forum NEXT year and the year after will be a key factor in helping our communities recover through shared knowledge and experience. After all, there will be 100% GIs in 2000!

-- BigDog (BigDog@duffer.com), March 17, 1999.

d-

I'm not a DGI, nor do I prefer to be labeled as a GI. By labeling me as a DGI, that instantly frees you up to attack me, call me asshead, etc. and discount me. I'm sure that works well for you.

As I have said 10 times before, if people make allegations, they should be able to back them up. The burden of proof is upon them. If someone calls me a liar for instance, they need to prove it. I don't have to prove that I'm not. You did the same thing, when you asked Jennex for documentation regarding the information that he presented. You're no different from me in that regard.

You're very typical of many (I didn't say all) of the folks on this forum. You don't assess and reassess the situation. You're not interested in looking for the truth- you're interested in preserving your truth. If a positive story comes around, you ask for proof and data. Face it: Even if someone sent you documentation, you would find some way to discount it, since it would be incongruent with your views. If a story that reinforces you're belief comes around, you accept it without question.

I don't need to question the "DGI's" on the forum: there are tons of people doing that. I just think that the "GI's" need to be held to the same proof standard as "DGI's".

Does playing on a level field frighten you, d? You seem a little bit angered by my presence. I really don't care. You can run around, label me, and call me names all you want. Knock yourself out.

-- john (i'm@mywitsend.com), March 17, 1999.

What's the point of asking a bank or banker about Y2k? What on earth are they going to say, anyway?

I would have been tempted to walk out of that meeting the moment I realized that a bank was sponsoring it. The information that follows is both useless & depressing to hear.

And the worst part is: fast forward to November/December, & all these people will be pulling their money out of the bank "just to be on the safe side." If you have any thought of doing that, do it NOW. That's the message I get from your post. Thanks, BTW.

-- word (to@the.wise), March 17, 1999.