Rotary Presentation Report

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Thanks for the suggestions for the Rotary presentation. 25 members attended, average age about 60. First thing I did was have them take a quiz with questions like "Who is the Federal Government's Y2k Czar?" and "How many suppliers does GM have, and what percentage of those suppliers shut GM down for several weeks when they went on strike?" Test results for question one: not a single one knew who John Koskinen was. DOH!!! I kinda expected as much, but it kind of floored me that not a single person, and we're not talking dummies, either, knew who the Y2k Czar was. None of them knew, or seemed to know, that most compliance info was self-reported. None of them knew that it was 1/100th of one percent of GM's suppliers who shut them down last year. I gave them the quiz in order to give them information, but also to prove to them that the media they relied upon for information was giving them superficial, incomplete data. I did the wallet/wager exercise, the insurance exercise. There was a doctor present, a member of my church, so I addressed the "It won't be the end of the world" (so go back to sleep) stance thus: Suppose you felt ill and went to see Dr. Raines and he did tests, took blood, did an exam. When the results came back in, he sat you down and said, "Well, you're not going to die tonight!" Would you then leave, satisfied? Or would you say, "Okay, I'm not going to die tonight. That's the worst case scenario. But what's really going to happen to me? Am I sick? When will I feel better?"

A good response, no denialist challenges. One question just whacked me upside the head, though. An old feller raises his hand and says,

SIGNIFICANT PAUSE

"What's 'software'?"

I shit thee not.

I got invited back for Dec 11 to do a "final analysis." Dinner was pretty good and they gave me a pen that reads: "In appreciation to our guest speaker." Imo use that puppy to record my deep thoughts next year when the dirty power makes using the computer impractical.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), October 07, 1999

Answers

Congratulations, Kurt! I have a feeling there'll be more people at your next presentation. And I wonder how many at the meeting didn't understand "software" but didn't say anything.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 07, 1999.

Kurt,

Thanks for the report, very interesting. Rotarians are usually very astute businessmen. There must have been bankers there, service clubs are known for having several as members. Any discussion on cash?

-- the Virginian (Whatissoftware@ISTN.com), October 07, 1999.


The quiz included questions on bank deposits, currency in circulation. We talked about cash and bank runs afterward. One guy said, "They can't close the banks!" To which I and others said, "Oh, yes they can!"

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), October 07, 1999.

The quiz included questions on bank deposits, currency in circulation. We talked about cash and bank runs afterward. One guy said, "They can't close the banks!" To which I and others said, "Oh, yes they can!" No bankers there that I could tell, though when I posed general questions to "businessmen," I got nods.

I gave a presentation to my church's elders last year at this time, but only one of them did anything to prepare and my ideas for church preparation were allowed to wither on the vine, so to speak. Last year most folks weren't ready to listen; this year, they're beginning to awaken to the "possibilities."

One interesting thing was one Rotarian who runs a local radio station. He fessed up that his station's advertising scheduling program won't accept dates into 2000 and that they have ordered an upgrade. If it comes in in time, fine. If not, they'll be doing the ole manual workaround.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), October 07, 1999.


Kurt,

I am not surprised. The news MANAGER of a local news organization in Cedar Rapids didn't know who the Y2K czar was when I ask him a month ago. Aspleep at the wheel is not a very good driving technique.

-- y2k dave (xsdaa111@hotmail.com), October 08, 1999.



Kurt,

You are an idiot. This is an example of how older citizens get duped with crazy ideas and thoughts. I hope you go back and talk to them after 1/1/2000 and explain how you came to your conclusions.

-- You Knowwho (debunk@doomeridiots.com), October 08, 1999.


Dear Mr. YouKnowWho, I'm sorry, but I didn't quite get your point.

-- Kurt Ayau (Ayau@iwinet.com), October 08, 1999.

"I shit thee not"

"pity the man whos poetic ability is aroused by the smell of it?

-- D.B. (dciinc@aol.com), October 08, 1999.


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