The Boulder Y2K Group were one of the first in Y2K community involvement so folks will get prepping. But it is now toast.

Got to hand it to John K. If such an idea won't work in Boulder it won't work anywhere. Everything is just great, see you at Times Square.

Y2K panel will break up before 2000

 Y2K panel will break up before 2000

'We don't want to be targets for people's anger if there are problems'

By Kevin McCullen
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

---

BOULDER -- The Boulder County Y2K Community Preparedness group intends to close by mid-November just as interest in the potential computer problem may be slowly picking up.

 The group, which was formed last year, will run out of money by Nov. 15, said Kathy Garcia, the group's executive director. Volunteers with the community preparedness group also want to be out of the public spotlight in case there are computer-related glitches when the new century dawns, she said.

 "We don't want to be targets for people's anger if there are problems," Garcia said. "We don't want to be accused -- even though we've been teaching preparedness for months -- of inciting people into panic buying."

 An office the group used in Crossroads Mall closed in late September, said volunteer Karen Kos. Since last year, the group has held community meetings at city halls, in senior centers and with neighborhood groups to encourage preparedness for potential short-term disruptions in commercial or utility services.

 "We're getting a few more calls now as the end of the year approaches," Garcia said. "Most of the requests we're getting are from senior centers or churches, on what people can do to prepare."

 Much of the group's focus has been on planning, including stocking up on the right kinds of nonperishable food items, storing water, filling necessary medications and having the right kinds of portable stoves or heating units available.

 The year 2000 problem, or the Y2K bug, is the disruption that might occur when old computers or microchips implanted in critical systems read the date 2000 as 1900 and fail. Businesses, governments and utilities have spent millions of dollars checking or replacing computer software to prevent potential problems.

 The Boulder County Y2K group has encouraged homeowners to stock up now on canned goods, water and other items to weather a short-term disruption in utility services or shortages at supermarkets. But the emphasis has been on making preparations for any kind of emergency, from a natural disaster to a computer-related problem, Garcia said.
 
 

Stockpile now to avoid panic later, Boulder Y2K group says

 

 
 
 

"Y2K is one of the biggest unknowns we've faced in some time," Garcia said. "Assurances that there aren't going to be any problems are great, but no one can guarantee anything."

 The Boulder County group is encouraging homeowners to stockpile supplies now to lessen the possibility of panic buying in late December, Garcia said. She said she's concerned about wholesale rushes on supermarkets and stores Dec. 31 as people see what kind of computer problems, if any, greet nations with time zones hours ahead of the United States.

 "Some people are going to watch CNN to see what happens in other countries. That's when we could have problems with shortages caused by panic buying," she said.

 But the Boulder County Y2K group and other activists nationwide have seen dwindling interest in their message of planning and preparation as some businesses, states and the federal government have declared they'll be Y2K-compliant well before the year's end.

 Some community Y2K activists from around the nation held a conference in Boulder this month to rejuvenate themselves after months of preaching to dwindling audiences, Garcia said. She has praised Boulder and the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management for their planning efforts. But other activists from around the country complained of a reluctance by local governments to encourage preparedness.

 "To some degree, everyone is experiencing some burnout because the message from the federal government, the media and everywhere else is: 'Don't worry, there are no problems,"' Kos said.
 
 

November 1, 1999

-- Brian (imager@home.com), November 02, 1999

Answers

Our condolences to Ben Levi.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 02, 1999.

"The conveniences and comforts of humanity in general will be linked up by one mechanism, which will produce comforts and conveniences beyond human imagination. But the smallest mistake will bring the whole mechanism to a certain collapse. In this way the end of the world will be brought about."

Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan (Complete Works, 1922 I, p. 158-9)

Thanks, Ben

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), November 02, 1999.

The hip community of Boulder.

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 02, 1999.

Volunteers with the community preparedness group also want to be out of the public spotlight in case there are computer-related glitches when the new century dawns, she said.

"We don't want to be targets for people's anger if there are problems," Garcia said. "We don't want to be accused -- even though we've been teaching preparedness for months -- of inciting people into panic buying."

This forum has received a lot of criticism lately about failed stock market predictions. It's a pretty safe bet though that if the stock market takes a big drop at the end of the year or if panic buying starts due to Y2k, those who say we've destroyed our credibility and ask why anyone should pay attention to what's said here will be quick to lay blame on this forum.

Think about it.

-- Just (another@forum.regular), November 02, 1999.

Just,

You nailed it!

I would be slipping quietly out of the spotlight too if I were these folks.

They didn't fail. This is just the next step in a good survival plan.

-- DOC (doc@...), November 02, 1999.

Think about it.

-- Just (another@forum.regular), November 02, 1999.

I think that the public will never get it till Hollywood gets it. Once the soups have prep ideas then the folks will get it.

This forum is still a microcosom of the Y2K situation and isn't that influential. Even CSY2K doesn't pick stuff up here and they would be the closest group to this group. (Not sure if the IEEE y2k chair article made it there yet).

-- Brian (imager@home.com), November 02, 1999.

Thats when soaps get it not soups (gag)

-- Brian (imager@home.com), November 02, 1999.