I have tried to instill in those about me the seriousness of this situation. Most of them laugh it off as some sort of joke, to be even considered at all. I am through, I will just sit back and wait. I have an opnion as to when the rude awakening will take effect. We have all tried to warn the people, you and I but we are ignored. My opinon of when they will suddenly awaken is on the first day, or whenever the first system breaks down. It matters not how much we talk they refuse to listen. Only when the system begins deteriating will they act, or even take notice. I was in hopes that after Christmas the media would open up and give a warning, but that is not the case, they are insisting on appearing completely dumb till the very last moment. Not much time left. I have used it to stock up on candy, no use making it any harder than it need be. I am as prepped as is possible with my financial standing. Good luck you all of you, and yours during these times that we all must face. I have enjoyed this board so much, after all is over I will miss it.

-- Notforlong (Fsur439@aol.com), December 27, 1999

Answers

I had thought that it would begin in the fall of 1999. I agree that it will take some major system failures to wake people up from their slumber. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined that I would be able to make additional preparations 4 days befor the rollover.

Who would have thunk it?

-- Stars and Stripes (stars_n_stripes@my-deja.com), December 27, 1999.

My wife and I are the only ones at Walmart and Sam's prepping. I felt kind of foolish at the check out when the only paper with dire Y2k predictions was one of the UFO\Elvis rags. One on my wife's friends spied us and asked- Why are you getting all this stuff? "So we don't have to come to town as much." She didn't have a clue.

-- Wm McBride (mcbri29@attglobal.net), December 27, 1999.

Isn't it a crazy world? Just when you think you can figure it out, someone changes the rules..!

I believe there is an understood phenomena among the scientific community that even the process of observing a system brings definite changes to the system. Accordingly, I think many of our "prognostications" and other communications to each other may have been listened to by others, changing (even a bit) their minds and thereby changing the exact course of events--just enough to confound the lot of us!

Or maybe I'm just dumber than I thought...

If we're lucky, there will be some time in the new year for even more preparations--in Central British Columbia, Canada I've seen few-to-no signs of panic buying. Supplies are readily available...

Of course embedded systems could change all this very quickly in the near future.

You all remain on my mind and in my prayers!

Godspeed.

-- (Kurt.Borzel@gems8.gov.bc.ca), December 27, 1999.

This sounds like a K-Tel greatest hits version of past posts. 'When will the awakening begin?' To what,Notforlong? To the idea that the doom crew made one helluva profit off of the fears of the anxiety-riddled? To the idea that yes, some doom prophets like the scary one and Milne actually have been quoted as saying they WANT western civ (i.e., our way of life) to disintegrate?

Is that your point?

Your question has been put forth here---repeatedly---for over 8 months now. Check your calendar pal, I don't know when the great panic is going to take place, but I am not going to hold my breath. (Hey, remember when the scary one said all programmers worth their salt would have headed for the hills by now? What fun!).

Hey Notforlong, just keep believing. I am sure some great calamity will come along to alarm you after this one is all said and done. The scary one will see to it, and you'll be eating out of his hand, just like in the good old days, eh?

As for Kurt, isn't there anything you can hook your doom stance to now, other than embedded systems? I mean, this was addressed over 8 months ago, as well. Why the sudden bluster? I'm all for thoughts and prayers, but I have the funny feeling that the Good Lord doesn't exactly smile on stupidity.

Hey, just ask Andy.

-- Bad Company (johnny@shootingstar.com), December 27, 1999.

People in western culture are notorious procrastinators, the need is not perceived. Tomorrow the earliest hard signs will begin to become clear. They will treat it like a three day storm because that is what they honestly believe it will be. How could the television people lie to them? Over the short term it is true that embeddeds are the question which must be answered. If embededs actually cause noticable problems... you will see the herd start to move. The Oil and not the market will cause the next movement but it will be way too late to move by that time. They will be locked into the track selected for them by the fed. Everyone will accept their rationing cupons and the fed will do all it can to manage and control the relocation of significant portions of an angry population...

-- (...@.......), December 27, 1999.

Here in the Eastern section of So. Calif, it's a total non-event. I gave up any mention of potential problems some time back as I got tired of the snickers, jokes, and general put-down.

The eye-rolling also got on my nerves. So, I shut up.

As of Sunday morning, shelves are full, no bulging shopping carts, plenty of everything on hand in the stores. The local paper has run a series of "feel good articles. Bla-Bla-bla, no information other than everything is under control. No problem.

By all the gods, I hope this is only a BITR, but if it's any more than that, thousands in this small area are going to be up against very hard times. The government Public Relations Spin has worked 100% in this area.

Indeed, I second the motion to extend my best wishes to all who are here and read this.

-- Richard (Astral-Acres@webtv.net), December 27, 1999.

It Starts Friday morning and develops into a crescendo all thru the day in all time zones.

1st-- At the gasoline stations and Grocery stores. 2nd-- Any bets on NO terroism---? no takers--Me neither! viruses etc.

3rd--with fear in the air, all it will take is the normal everyday failures to CAUSE the fear to build even more--ever greater and greater with each passing day.

.

-- d----- (dciinc@aol.com), December 27, 1999.

Update from northern California - Yuba City -

Local big Winco market (discount grocery) much busier with preppers today than ever before (and I go several times per week) - lots of tp and water jugs and snack food and coleman propane cylinders. Water very obvious. Peaceful though, and gas still $1.29/gal and no lines at the pumps.

-- Kristi (securxsys@cs.com), December 27, 1999.

I'm a longtime lurker and rare poster who has also enjoyed this forum every single evening and will miss it a lot. Safeway here in western Colo. looked a little different today...shelves kinda half empty and lots of folks shopping. Good luck, all you sincere and intelligent writers so genuinely concerned about other people.

-- (waiting@inside.com), December 27, 1999.

The media should have told everyone to prepare like they were going on a three day picnic, instead of a storm. At least most folks would have bought fresh batteries and a bottle of booze.

-- Alicia (avan@westol.com), December 27, 1999.

I remember two years ago when I was preppping along with others on this forum. At least two or three times a month, someone would post the same question as you have. Another post was a report of how much was canned goods or propane cylinders were on the shelf. Someone would report and we all thought "it's beginning, people are stocking." And so here we are 4 days from the day we have all waited for and the same question is being asked and the same inventory being reported. I've reported many, many times and even lately about the inventory, and I've come to the conclusion that there are either a sh*t load of people preparing, or a handful of people hoarding. My gut feeling is that people are silently preparing and not hoarding.

-- bardou (bardou@baloney.com), December 27, 1999.

Bad Company--If you sincerely believe, as you evidently do, that this is going to be a non-event then why do you continue to post here? Don't you have better things to do like make a living, enjoy time with friends and family, use the web to research areas of real interest to you, devise investment strategies etc.? It is the precise analogue to someone proclaiming that intellectually he knows, to a certainty that UFO's don't exist and then proceeding to spend a good deal of time posting on a UFO believer site. I honestly just don't understand your interest in a subject that deals with catastrophe scenarios which you know just aren't going to happen.

-- Blew5M (gaf@mindspring.com), December 27, 1999.

Yes, this question has been posted on a regular basis. And there is still no good answer. Can you stand one more example of the coma the sheeple are in? I was in my local Super K-Mart tonight about 8pm. If there were 15 customers in this HUGE store it was a miracle. No evidence of shortages of anything and certainly no panic. Hell, you can't panic without people and there wasn't enough folks there to do much of anything. I was able to buy extra Coleman fuel and bottled water. No supply problems and no empty shelves.

Something is terribly wrong here. Either Joe Sixpack is comatose from beer and video games, or he has been lulled to sleep by the fairy tales of Koskinen and Company. Either way, when he finally wakes up, the situation will be changing.

-- Irving (irvingf@myremarq.com), December 27, 1999.

...I mentioned in a previous thread that my ex is going to go tomorrow and buy a little food and water. She is definitely one of the sheeple. So, my guess is it starts tomorrow. I will definitely make my last minute purchases tomorrow before it snowballs on Wed./Thu./Fri..

-- Vern (bacon17@ibm.net), December 27, 1999.

I think you're right, that "only when the system begins deteriorating will they act" (although I would say IF rather than WHEN). If that happens, I believe we'll find that less than 10% of the populace is actually prepared for a 3-day storm, and less than 5% are prepared for more than 3 days.

-- (RUOK@yesiam.com), December 27, 1999.

Blew5M: Bad Company doesn't have a life other than here. Unfortunately, his parents didn't have any children and that's why he is so compulsive about getting attention.

-- cody (cody@y2ksurvive.com), December 28, 1999.