There have been problems that may be Y2K related.

The actual number of reported Y2K problems has been MUCH smaller than anyone anticipated. There has been NO discernable impact on the economy or the American infrastructure. Can anyone name a single shortage of any consumer good? Any layoffs due to unfixable Y2K-related computer problems? The word for Y2K-related problems... trivial.

Only a handful of people really know what has happened and they aren't talking.

What would they talk about? All of the nonproblems? From my perspective, the "Love" virii did more damage than Y2K.

The Y2K story is very complex and only the openminded and patient will understand

And only the truly gifted can tell this tale, I suppose. Talk about pumping an audience.

Most of the mysterious evidence I cannot share with you is circumstantial. It comes from people I cannot name working for anonymous corporations or governmental entities. My sources cannot reveal themselves because of management pressure.

Let's welcome our guest, Mr. CEO.

The job isn't finished yet.

Spoken like a true consultant. The job is never finished. We might learn something from why a small group of people panicked in the face of technically complex problem... or how folks who profited from this event. Nah.... Let's track every technical glitch post rollover and check for date-related issues.

I am amazed no one is willing to follow this nonproblem.

I am amazed. I thought there was money in DC for everything.

We could have long run problems.

If my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon. The first domino has to fall to constitute a domino effect. After 180 days of business as usual, any problems we face are not related to rollover. If we have a recession, it will come in spite of Y2K, not because of it.

Such possible consequences could have been avoided had remediation efforts been completed or had repairs been done that were based on an understanding of the actual or possible causes of the problems.

Does Gordon really think the IT people fixed the wrong problem? Are we not far enough into Y2K yet? Is the sun in our eyes?

People are not interested in Y2K because they lack technical expertise.

This is my personal favorite. How many Y2K articles have you read in the past three months in any of the major IT trade rags? Almost no one (technical expertise notwithstanding) is interested in Y2K because IT IS OVER!

It is curious that public institutions have abrograted their responsibilities to continue event to track and assess, let alone address, this stage of the first greatest global challenge in the information age.

A graduate of the Steve Heller course of self esteem, Gordon thinks Y2K was "all that and a side of fries." Please. Y2K was a big remediation job. Large, painful, expensive... but hardly the greatest challenge of the new world.

We have failed to create a sufficient role for generalists and cross-disciplinary experts.

Gordon may not have a job long.

-- Ken Decker (kcdecker@att.net), July 31, 2000

Answers

(LOTS and LOTS of laughter...)

I wrote almost exactly the same thing, but my commentary was a tad more sarcastic (I did suggest that perhaps she might want to try her hand at her own field of expertise).

(I did miss the part about "...there [being] money in DC for everything". Shame on me; I almost NEVER pass up a line like that.)

I think the funniest (saddest?) part of that whole bit of hers is this: "Such possible consequences could have been avoided had remediation efforts been completed or had repairs been done that were based on an understanding of the actual or possible causes of the problems."

See if you can follow this "logic": She's projecting on problems that MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED, and is further projecting the reason such things MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED **might be** due to incomplete and/or bad repairs. Huh?!?!?

I haven't laughed this hard in a while. Thanks Ken. Thanks Paula. I really needed this one.

-- Patricia (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), July 31, 2000.

Ken,

Really fine. And literate too.

Thanks.

-- (r@nd.h), August 01, 2000.

And, who would have thought that Paula Gordon would be the last hold out, valiently beating that dead horse for months on end, while people like Yourdon, Heller and the like have moved on to newer and fresher crisises.

After all, as any fearmonger knows, FUD is a highly perishable commodity. Even worse than potato salad on a hot day. If your going to monger fear, you've got to stay ahead of the market with newer, fresher fears to sell.

-- E.H. Porter (Just Wondering@about.it), August 01, 2000.

A couple of other comments.

Paula is automatically putting herself in the category of those few people who truly understand that something happened or is happening. Yes the rest of us: scientists, engineers, etc. we are all clueless. But Paula, Jim Lord, Mr. CEO they all got it.

Gee it must be wonderful to feel so superior to the rest of us.

-- The Engineer (spcengineer@yahoo.com), August 01, 2000.