Comments (and a few of my own) from our Leadership

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Calling 911: Emergency systems need Y2K work

The nation's emergency system and its schools are potential Y2K pitfalls, warns a government report. But don't panic!

By Reuters November 10, 1999 1:30 PM PT

WASHINGTON -- The federal government and vital U.S. services are ready for the Year 2000 technology glitch but many localities, small businesses and schools appear poorly prepared, President Clinton's top Y2K advisor said in a report released Wednesday.

Surveys of more than 2,700 of the nation's "911'' emergency call centers -- most of which are operated by local governments -- found that only 50 percent were Y2K compliant as of Oct. 1, said John Koskinen, chairman of the President's Council on Year 2000 Conversion.

Although this amounted to a 13 percentage point increase since June, "it is clear that a significant amount of work remains for all centers to be ready before January 1,'' he said. (Dad, how are your 911 systems up in your area doing, are they up to snuff. I am not sure if ours is. "I would hope so")

In the council's fourth and final status report, Koskinen also voiced concerns about small businesses that are taking a ''wait-and-see'' approach to Y2K, the design defect that may scramble unprepared computers on Jan. 1.

Warning to small businesses An April 1999 survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found 28 percent of small companies considered vulnerable to Y2K problems did not plan to do anything to head them off. Instead, they would tackle them after they occurred, an approach that U.S. officials said could put companies out of business.

(Very Scary..... 50% of the Gross National Product, a measure of our economic strength, comes from small business. Job production is a direct reflection of this also. Imagine, 28% of the 50% (the bigger picture)...hmmm, that's about 14% of small business across the US will fail because of this wait and see approach. And imagine the larger corporations....many dependent on smaller type business for their "Just in Time" delivery of parts needed to create their products. It is a horrible situation. Just put 2+2 together. Now, I really try to be an optimist......What could help this situation is... If everything else is working (lights, etc), ie, people have confidence in going to work, AND they have access to people and the tools to fix their problems, then this situation, which the government says will occurr (28% not doing anything to fix the problem until it happens), then this could be just a several weeks type of disruption. Still, in the best of all worlds, this will cause lots of inconvenience to many people, dependent on where those 28% of business's that want to wait are doing business.)

"Concerns also exist about organizations that have late- or end-year target dates for completing Y2K work and are not developing continuity of business contingency plans," Koskinen said in a written summary of the council's findings.

"These organizations are not leaving themselves enough time for unexpected delays or problems that may arise in testing," he said.

Smaller health care facilities continue to be difficult to assess on a national level. But "much work remains to be done" to prepare some health care providers, Koskinen said, citing survey data from July and August that found only 40 percent were Y2K ready.

(Only 40? Hope we don't have any medical emergencies )

Playing hooky In another problem area, more than one third of elementary and secondary school districts and higher educational institutions still are not fully Y2K ready, according to fall Education Department survey data.

Four percent of school districts said they would not be compliant by Jan. 1, when computers may misread the zeros in old, two-digits date fields as 1900 rather than 2000.

With 51 days to go until the date change, contingency planning is critical to contain and minimize disruptions that may result from Y2K failures, he said.

"The fact that major disruptions are not expected does not mean that people shouldn't be prepared for glitches that may develop -- and they should not wait until the last minute," Koskinen said.

(I feel like to pop him in the face.... Koskinen feels only glitches will occurr after all that he has said... I hope people are intelligent enough to read between the lines, and not just take at face value the end statement of what he is saying)

Overall, the council said it had "a high degree of confidence'' in the Y2K readiness of financial services, electric power, telecommunications, air and rail travel, oil and gas, and the federal government.

As of Sept. 30, 99.6 percent of federally insured financial institutions had completed testing of critical systems for Y2K.

Danger zones Similarly, bulk electric suppliers report that more than 99 percent of "mission-critical'' systems were Y2K ready as of October, the report said.

Koskinen said it was unlikely there would be "major national failures or breakdowns'' in the United States. He cited predictions by the Central Intelligence Agency and the State Department that Russia, Ukraine, China and Indonesia may suffer "significant failures."

"It is also worth noting that not every Y2K problem will be evident on Jan. 1," Koskinen said. "Difficulties in systems that are not Y2K ready may not surface until days or weeks after the date change."

(TRUE)

-- thomas saul (thomas.saul@yale.edu), November 11, 1999

Answers

I shan't panic. I shall use my AT & T cell phone account to call the Sheriff directly if I suspect anyone hungry, thirsty, cold and uninvited is hovering around my place. When the Sheriff replies that is not possible due to the gas crises, I will encourage him or her to come and syphon my gas so the stranger can be properly dealt with. I'm determined to have anyone lurking in the criminal justice system. I am going to make sure that individual is in the dark and chilly jail that lacks proper food and water, stands before the Judge in the tent, and faces whatever swift punishment on criminals has gone into effect.

-- Paula (chowbabe@pacbell.net), November 11, 1999.

My Dear Lady...

Apparently you have taen at least one too many trips to Disney Land. I don't know what you and Mickey are smoking! But it must be some really good S%%T.

Now, just hope and pray that you can get 911 when/if you should need it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Shakey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-- Shakey (in_a_bunker@forty.feet), November 11, 1999.


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