You know folks, I've about had it with this stupid "Three day storm" idiocy. Exactly what is stopping normal humans from asking the most obvious question possible when they hear this?? Are they (much cursing) morons?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Him: "The Goobermint says I should have three days food on hand for Y2K just in case. That should be enough."

Me: "Excuse me? What did you say? WHY would you need three days food stored?"

Him: "In case of Y2K"

Me: " WHY would Y2K stop you from getting food? It's not like a storm where the roads close. HOW could Y2K possibly stop you from getting food?"

Him: "Ahh.... the computers could mess up...?"

Me: "THINK about that. How could the computers messing up stop food deliveries? Could it be because there might not be any fuel for the trucks due to screwed up computers at the refinery? How about because the grocery store can't get it's orders placed if their inventory computer goes belly up? Maybe it's because all the chemicals that go into the products and packaging come from overseas and those countries have serious problems? Maybe it's because the banks have problems and won't process your checks and credit cards at the grocery store?"

Him: "Ah ah ah ah......"

Me: "Ask yourself how in the world a computer problem like that can stop you from getting FOOD. Then, ask yourself if it's anything that can be fixed in three days! After you answer these questions, ask the most obvious question of all..... Exactly HOW did the government come up with 'THREE DAYS' ? Do you want to know how they come up with 3 days?"

Him: "Well.... how?"

Me: "Because that's how long they figure it will take them to move YOUR butt to a SHELTER in an emergency! You DID want to go live in a shelter with 1400 of your closest neighbors, didn't you? They've been working on Y2K for years. What makes you think if it causes failures bad enough to stop you from buying food they'll get it fixed in THREE DAYS?"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Lady: "I was thinking of getting one of those windup radios for Y2K"

Me: "WHY?" (the question they NEVER seem to ask themselves)

Lady: "What do you mean why?"

Me: "Just what I said, WHY would you want a windup radio?"

Lady: "In case I need it!"

Me: "Have you stopped to think about what you are saying? The only reason you would need a portable radio would be if the power had failed. The only reason you would want a high priced windup is if you could not get any more batteries and expected the power to be off longer than the batteries you have on hand will last. That's at least a few weeks! What would happen to the area you live in if the power is off for weeks at a time? How would you heat your home? Where would you get food and water?" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Too many of these idiots are just failing to ask HOW and WHY. HOW can Y2k stop me from getting electricity or food or a paycheck? WHY will it be fixed in '3 days'?

THREE DAYS is a snow storm, VRoom VroOOM, listen to the plows coming to get you out! THREE DAYS is a flood, SWooosh, listen to the water receding. THREE DAYS is a black out from a squirrel chewing thru the wrong power line, FZZZzzzt, see the carbonized squirrel drifting to the ground.

Y2K is not a snowstorm, not a rainstorm, not a God forsaken squirrel. It's a worldwide systemic basic computer problem. It's a man made flaw that stretches across the entire computer industry, settling here and there to screw things up.

Y2K is NOT an accident on the bridge that takes all day to clear off while you sit in your car cursing at the Volvo in front of you for taking up the 12 feet YOU could be occupying. Y2K is a basic flaw in the building of the bridge, it's bad steel in the rivets that are starting to pop and fly even as you drive onto the first ramp up to the center span. 'PING'.... (what was that?) 'TWANG'.....(was that a rock from the truck up there?)... 'GROOOAAAN'.... (boy, the wind is really bouncing the bridge around today. Sure glad I got my government approved THREE DAY survival kit with me!!!)

-- Art Welling (artw@lancnews.infi.net), September 14, 1999

Answers

"Three days" has nothing to do with the expected Y2k problem. They say "three days" because they've ALWAYS said "three days".

I was at a convention of emergency preparedness managers, and when they all gave little talks based on the "three day" message, I told them they were clueless. Several of them immediately said that they were personally prepped for a month, minimum. (Their response was fascinating, as an outsider criticized them just after they had finished congratulating each other on how wonderful they were.) So I asked why they all say three days, and they said that if they changed the message, people would be confused. Their take was: if they give more than one message, people will tune it out rather than try to understand distinctions. Doesn't matter how bad they think Y2k will be, what matters is CONSISTENCY. Ok, I said, you aren't clueless, you're dishonest.

The people who are giving the advice are under no illusions about Y2k, but they have an incredibly low opinion of the public's ability to cope with new ideas. After watching the public response to the looming Y2k problem, it's easy to understand their low opinion. But they are still dishonest.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), September 14, 1999.

I asked Kosky that EXACT question Friday on CNN online. Here is the way I phrased it.

What are the qualifing factors that you have used to determine that the Y2K problem is akin to a three day event?

My meaning of a three day event was snowstorm, flood, earthquake, hurricane, or whatever based on where you live.

The last part they forgot to include. It seems if you hit enter during your typing it was considered one question.

Here is his exact answer:

We have not said that it was akin to a three day event. What we have determined is that on a national basis, we are confident that the basic national infrastructure will hold. We expect that the most at risk people will be for 2 or 3 days. However,the reason we are running a nationwide initiative on hat (sic) we can community conversations is to try to get people to understand that they need to determine at the local leverl (sic) what if any preparations are necessary in light of concerns they may have about the lack of Y2K readiness of critical service providers or local govt. or, has (sic) I noted earlier, in light of the experiences their community has had with previous natural emergencies.

Now did that answer my question?? Did that answer even the first part of my question.

I have a screen shot of the chat session in case anybody wants to see it. Just ask by e-mail

-- dragoneyez (dragoneyez@mindspring.com), September 14, 1999.

A classic thread about well-stocked pantries:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000kue

"Stocking just one week's supplies. Balderdash! A story from the perspective of experience. (Long)"

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), September 14, 1999.

Art

GREAT POST!! Loved the bit about the snow plows :o)

Linkdude

Great link, I would advice everyone to read Bonnie's thread.

-- Brian (imager@home.com), September 14, 1999.

Art,

I define the governments 3-day storm warning as more like:

"3 Hurricanes in one day," all with the same fury as Floyd as it bordered on a Category - 5 storm.

-- (snowleopard6@webtv.net), September 16, 1999.

Snowleopard, I always think of a 3 day storm as a storm that lasts 3 days - imagine Floyd sitting right by you for 3 days. Betcha there wouldn't be much infrastructure left, nor much else!

-- T the C (tricia_canuck@hotmail.com), September 16, 1999.