Stop looking for the 'payoff'

greenspun.com : LUSENET : TimeBomb 2000 (Y2000) : One Thread

Since the rollover seems to have been pretty painless we have now begun to see some people here who appear to be looking for some kind of vindication for their preps.

I prepared for several months of discomforts but all my "stores" are usable either short term or long term. I am not looking for something to justify my preparation, I like many others, prepared for the unknown in a way that made me comfortable. The rollover came and went and now comes the time to re-evaluate the situation, based on facts, to see what the future will bring.

However, some people who beat the drum of doom have now found themselves embarrased and are either disappearing or are looking for something to use as the 'real' trigger for y2k failures.

A word of advice if I may: GIVE IT UP.

Y2k preparation was not and is not about winning an arguement. Its about seeing something unknown, being concerned about the possible outcome and making RATIONAL plans in case some scenarios unfold and impact you in the future. Everyone who prepared has reacted differently, some took measures that most will consider extreme. The biggest problem now for some people is that they not only cannot accept the fact that y2k is looking like less of a problem, but that they are actually counting on some kind of 'payoff' to show everyone they were right.

Living out the year 2000, magnifying every little glitch and pre-judging all upcoming events, is not only counterproductive but will only increase the humilation you will feel if you end up being wrong. We have spent the past year or so trying to dissect everything that came up in the news. We didnt always have coherent conversations, usually because we were visited by doplegangers from debunkers or those who wore the same 'colors' as we did but had bizarre agendas or suffered from doomer-tunnel-vision.

At this moment the new 'trigger' is the opening of the worlds stock markets. All eyes are on it, but some feel that this will be the event which will make it all fall apart. It is unlikely for that to happen so the next event will be how businesses will work over the next full work week. If that doesnt do it then its going to be the 'just in time' production and then the supply of oil, and then......

What we really should be doing is WATCHING these events and hoping they dont cause a problem and as we see each one pass, re-evaluate the situation and take action based on the results of that unfolding. If things actually do prove to be more negative, then re-starting the process of preparing will be justified. If the outcomes turn out rosy then it's time to start planning for a nice summer vacation or that new car.

At some point y2k WILL not be an issue anymore, it cannot live forever and when it's time has come to be pronounced dead or over with, EVERYONE should realize that it has passed and get on with your life.

Those people who feel foolish for making preps obviously didnt evaluate their situation before making their purchases or announcing to the world about how they felt. This doesnt mean you were wrong about your concern, but you should have thought about the downside, a BIG downside to being wrong.

Right now alot of beating up on doomers is going on, but what did you expect?. Some doomers deserve this, others just dont know what they were talking about and having been so vocal they are now worthy of being berated with the 'told you so' rantings from the so called 'pollies'.

The next few weeks or months will be interesting to watch. The time has come to realize that much of y2k has unfolded without catastrophy and what is left to unfold will not likely cause devastation even if y2k keeps popping up its ugly, buggy, little head.

Lets try to get back to discussing y2k related news and stop trying to find something to validate your preparations.

Oh, by the way, dont be surprised if some of the new visitors who are pounding on the doomers are really doomers or preppers themselves hiding behind aliases. Nobody wants to be betting on the losing team, its only human nature. Think about it...........

-- hamster (hamster@mycage.com), January 02, 2000

Answers

Hamster, I think you hit the nail on the head this time.

Happy Sunday everyone, and many blessing for the first day of work in the "new milennium" tomorrow, for everyone!!!

=o)

-- (f@y.i), January 02, 2000.


hamster

Yes, fully agree things are looking better. I'm still keeping an eye on business impacts, this is my bag. It's nice not to rely on those embedded chip experts (or whatever they are) anymore.

I'm now confident that we will get by this. We have an operating infrastrucutre. How sweet it is!!

-- Larry (cobol.programmer@usa.net), January 02, 2000.


Ideally we (individually and collectively) should anticipate the future by preparing for MULTIPLE possible outcomes. Then, as the future unfolds, we can actually feel good about ourselves for covering our bases.

If our approach is more of a gambler betting the farm on one outcome, the consequences will be guilt, rationalization, told-you-so-ing, etc.

True learners are always winners.

-- Chuck (cestin@aa.net), January 02, 2000.


My sentiments were relayed in a thread below. (OT: Random Thoughts)

-- Peace Farmer (peace-farmer@usa.net), January 02, 2000.

Hamster, well said, well said.

-- Michael Erskine (Osiris@urbanna.net), January 02, 2000.


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