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City lets people keep goats, chickens for Y2K

The Associated Press Web-posted: 1:57 p.m. Dec. 16, 1999

VALPARAISO -- A Y2K disaster will not prevent Valparaiso residents from having fresh milk, eggs and possibly meat. The city council has agreed to make a temporary exception to an ordinance prohibiting livestock so people in this Florida Panhandle city can keep up to two goats per household and two chickens per person for two weeks. The exception, effective the weeks before and after Jan. 1, was sought by Pete Mahon, a computer programmer who works for a private contractor at adjacent Eglin Air Force Base. Mahon said that after much research on the Y2K issue he is unsure if computers mistaking 2000 for 1900 will cause electric power disruptions and other problems, "If I prepare for the worst, and nothing happens, no harm done," he said Wednesday. "If I don't, and the worst happens, I'll feel very foolish." In addition to the goats and chickens, Mahon's family has stored about a month's supply of water, rice, beans and other staples. "The thing that impresses me is nobody knows the real extent of what could happen," Mahon said. "There could be a fairly extended period of disruption." Mayor Bruce Arnold said the request took the council by surprise but he believed Mahon was sincere. Residents will be required to keep goats in fenced yards and chickens in pens and no roosters would be allowed, just laying hens, Arnold said. Mahon said he is planning to retire to a farm and hopes to have land secured in time to put his goat and chickens on it when the livestock exemption expires. If not, he has an alternate plan. "I'll probably sell the goat and get a couple of good chicken dinners," he said.

-- Homer Beanfang (Bats@inbellfry.com), December 17, 1999

Answers

Homer,

SOme day before things get REALLY crazy (or after the bump passes) I just want the opportunity to shake your hand.

Chuck

with the apropo aplologies: "goodnight Mr. Beanfang, whoever you are"

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), December 17, 1999.

A smart programmer and a smart mayor. But the exception should last 6 months ...

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), December 17, 1999.

Right, Ashton and Leska, we won't be able to estimate the Y2k damage until March or so, and by June we should have a pretty complete prognosis.

Amazing how many people think that by the afternoon of 1/1/2000 it will all be back to normal. When you consider that the Deutsche Bank glitch has not YET made it to mainstream media, it seems likely that most info systems failures will be hushed up at least through January.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), December 17, 1999.

Besides, this short-term permission could create a potentially harmful "goat bubble" followed by a devastating goat-crash. It's too late to ramp up our production of goats, given the biological limitations, so we'll have to make do with the animals that are currently on the shelf, so to speak. Can you see customers pushing and shoving each other, fighting over the available goats?

A&L, perhaps you could give us Greenspan's take on irrational exuberance as it applies to goat futures.

-- bw (home@puget.sound), December 17, 1999.

bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa !

-- ;^) (allaha@earthlink.net), December 17, 1999.

Thanks for the tip BW - I almost foolishly rolled my 401K into precious metals - the Ungulate Futures seems a much more logical route to go... ;-)

-- Ford Prefect (bring@your.towel), December 17, 1999.

At last, some sense by another politician... (Our mayor is great!) So many seem to be so clueless...

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), December 17, 1999.