If y2k were to happen tomorrow, where would you stand?

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Suppose tomorrow was new year's eve, and the big cdc were about to occur. Knowing what you know today would you be "a doomzie", "a polly", or undecided.

Now lets make the question a little more interesting. What if you could forsee that in a few short months that oil would be sold for almost $40 a barrel, Firestone tires would be coming apart at the seams on an almost daily basis, all Concorde flights would be put on indefinate hiatus, etc. etc.

-- Duke@of.Somalia (call@me.duke), October 01, 2000

Answers

Is there room for moderate preparers on the continuum between Doomers and Pollys? I suspect that most of us really fell somewhere in between. Most who prepared weren't expecting to have to shoot people trying to take our food. I've still got some neat outdoor gear and toys to play with in the future such as an yet-undeployed solar system and a new ham radio. Too little time right now to have fun with them. Had to take a lot of flack from the wife over it, but am not sorry about the acquisitions.

-- Mr. In-Between (-@doomer.or.polly?), October 01, 2000.

"Knowing what you know today..."????!!!! Is this a trick question?

Am I missing something here? Knowing what I know today, obviously I would expect Y2K to be a complete non-event.

Or, are you asking if, based on hindsight and thinking about WHY I called it wrong over these last few months, perhaps this time I would call it right??? In which case, unfortunately, I suspect I would STILL be a doomer. "Not the odds, its the stakes." "I can afford to be wrong." "If the gov't sees fit to build 'Y2K crisis centers', and the National Guard is preparing for power outages, then I sure am going to do some stocking up." "Nobody knows what will happen." That sort of thing....

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), October 01, 2000.


If y2k were to happen tomorrow, then of course I'd know (with the help of hindsight) that it was going to cause very few problems. On the other hand, with what I know now about just-in-time deliveries and razor-thin inventories, I would feel comfortable in recommending to anyone that they always keep a few weeks of food and water on hand along the lines of what FEMA recommends.

There were schools and businesses which closed in Britain recently because of fuel shortages caused by fuel price protests. That was a reminder to me how much we depend on a properly-functioning society. Scrimping on the pantry is NOT a good idea.

-- (Always@be.prepared), October 01, 2000.


Your honesty and self-introspection is refreshing, KOS.

I've learned a lot about myself in the past 10 months and why I was wrong. Not everyone of us were wrong (or right) for the same reasons. I am putting into practice what I've learned about myself and the world, and I feel much less inclined to repeat the last two years in the same way for any other issues. But I'm cautious by nature, and I'll remain cautious.

-- (smarty@wannabe.one), October 01, 2000.


What if you could forsee that in a few short months that oil would be sold for almost $40 a barrel,

Oil is at $40/barrel?

Firestone tires would be coming apart at the seams on an almost daily basis,

You know something that I don't know. I drove on my defective tires for 40,000 miles with no trouble. Ford insisted on giving me new ones. You really can't argue with large corporations. :^)

all Concorde flights would be put on indefinate hiatus, etc.

I have never flown on the Concorde. It was a bad idea to begin with. This is an excuse to drop an unprofitable service.

Your point was? I didn't believe anything would happen in Jan. If it happened again, my opinion would be the same.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 01, 2000.



Where would "I" stand?

Oh bout 5'2 and in Ohio, um, west side of Cleveland.....

Go TRIBE

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), October 01, 2000.


sorry 'sumer Seattle is in, not the tribe.

-- yippee (we@are.going), October 01, 2000.

Dang it! I'm an old ex-Cleveland boy and was hoping to see the Tribe in the playoffs again this year. Between the Browns and the Indians, it's not a very good sports year for the Forest City.

I'm ALWAYS prepared for any type of reasonably forseeable disaster. Since I live in earthquake country, I always have at least a week's supply of food, water, and lighting available. Since I'm also in charge of our Sheriff's Department Search and Rescue team, I've got a 4-wheel drive with enough junk in the back to sustain an army. Yet, I was a polly as far as Y2K went. Preparing for disasters with a reasonable probabilty of occurance does not make you a doomer any more than lack of preps make you into a polly. Of course, the issue with regard to Y2K has always been "What's Reasonable". IMHO, anything you did that didn't drive the family into debt or end up in a divorce is reasonable.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), October 01, 2000.


Funny Post, Thank God for humor! Thank those who were beside me along the way in keeping a sense of humor, after I bought an expensive wood burning stove ( I live in Florida, but didn't it reach 17 degrees, some years ago?) Thank those who warned me, and don't I have enough T.P., which has lasted one year, enough to last one more year. Used to hate that bulky thing in the cart. Bought wholesale (retailers, you should worry.) Anyone need Wheat? Try to chastise my preparations, and if it takes me a lifetime, I will copy and paste all and every those stupid testimonies before Congress, when the supposedly "experts" said "MY GOD, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN". I visited there. No wonder I had T.P. Think for yourself.

-- Papa was a (rolling@stone.com), October 01, 2000.

So we didnt make it to the playoffs, but HELL what a FINISH!!!!

As for the football team, remember we are still LEARNING, they will be FINE.....

Clevelanders are very PROUD of the INDIANS as well as our Browns!!!

Just look at the stadiums how full they are when you watch our home games. What a great sports TOWN to live in.

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), October 02, 2000.



"Suppose tomorrow was new year's eve, and the big cdc were about to occur. "

Well, if tomorrow were New Year's Eve, then we'd be two days away from the CDC.

"If y2k were to happen tomorrow, where would you stand?"

At the bar, where I should have been last New Year's Eve.

:)

-- Buddy (buddydc@go.com), October 02, 2000.


Does anybody see the striking comparisons between y2k and the current oil problem duh ???. are we not as vunerable to an oil system collapse as we are to a computer collapse. will it not have the same results????. you have to ask yourself this question. last year i was not affected by a single computer y2k bug fact.this year i have seen empty fuel pumps and empty food shelves fact. this happened across the UK FACT. was the y2k bug just a form of warning for those who could be bothered to look. a brief glimse of the future without oil??? the results are the same we depend on both. i dont see any quick fix no magic patch for this one.

BEST WISHES BOB

PS FOLLOW THAT GUT FEELING.

-- bob (Bob@ghoward-oxley.demon.uk.), October 02, 2000.


The only way your question makes sense to me is to interpret it as:

If I knew on Dec. 31, 1999 what would happen in the first nine months of the year 2000, would I think that the effects of the y2k bug would turn out to be inconsequential, catastrophic, or would I decide that there was too little information to make up my mind?

Um, let's see...(thinking hard)....(biting lip)...(squinching up face)...I'd have to say: inconsequential!

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), October 02, 2000.


The end might have been different than what we thought it would be, but I sure learned a LOT on the two year ride of preparation. Having lived in Alaska we knew far more than the ordinary Joe re preparation and had all the tools, etc and knowledge. But in our comfort of living in Florida now, we had let everything slide. No longer bought stuff by the case, ran to the store every few days, etc. So the danger of y2k woke us up. And it sure as hell educated us! Now I make it a point of keeping us prepared. I rotate our foods, and I enjoy very much having the grocery store in my back bedroom. I may not have to worry about getting the supplies in before "freeze up", but I would just as soon not have to worry about a fuel slow down either. Today I went to the local market where they were having their fall sale on canned veggies and came home with 4 cases and a case of tuna. So our preps go on. And how about all that 2000 gallons of diesel we bought for $0.83/gallon? Are we sorry about that? Were we sorry when our power went out for two days, recently, that we have a 40kw generator? I don't think so...I like being prepared and plan on staying that way. If nothing else, I save money and time and damn....I sleep good at night! Taz...who is an arrogant and smug old bitc...er...lady!!

-- Taz (jharal2197@aol.com), October 02, 2000.

Taz, nice to see your handle, after I offended you once, along some mile. I never went the distance with a generator, funds and circumstance devised. But I sure-the-hell stocked up on TP. Gets cheaper if one has the space.

-- Toilet Paper (abode@under.bed.com), October 02, 2000.


Sumer:

So we didnt make it to the playoffs, but HELL what a FINISH!!!!

Growing up as a child, I remember listening to the games on radio. My mother was a big Indians fan. Your statement reminds me of the excuses that I heard as a child.

Thanks.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 02, 2000.


Z:

Yer quite welcome....Just rode by the Jake (Jacob's field) today, saw the Indians pics up....STILL PROUD.....they DID do a great job, they could have just said "Aw screw it, we aint getting there now" but they played their hearts OUT. I am a DIE HARD FAN.....

LOVE THE TRIBE!!!!!!!!WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), October 03, 2000.


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