Thank you Dan Allen, I needed a good chuckle.
<Best news I have seen in a while. I have been VERY worried about the potential power system failures. I don't think we are out of the woods, by any means, but it is certainly encouraging to read a few optimistic views from an obviously knowledgable source.>
Am I missing something here? Is this rebuttal(?) supposed to reassure me? If so, it sure didn't!
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DICK MILLS REBUTTAL(?) TO YOURDAN'S Y2K "FALLBACK" BOOK DRAFT: (Excerpts)
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I expect politicians to sponsor bills declaring moratoriums on cutting off of electric service, phone service, foreclosure on mortgages, non-payment of rent, or all past due bills of all kinds until the evil corporation doing the billing is certified to be fully Y2K compliant. It will be a general amnesty for debtors. If you doubt this prediction, then try to count on your fingers all the politicians who will have the backbone to vote no on the proposal.
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Common sense tells us that the effects of publicity, fear and demagoguery, will aggravate some Y2K problems and mitigate others. Financial institutions like banks are likely to suffer the negative
effects.
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Embedded controllers have some special properties. One weakness is that the software is embedded in ROM chips or other permanent storage that is difficult or impossible to change. Think of the chip in the watch on your wrist. If it has a Y2K bug, how will it be repaired? The answer is obvious; it won't. On the other hand, these systems also have the fortunate property of being duplicated in many identical copies. That means that the manufacturer can examine the product for
Y2K bugs. If found, he can alert all customers in advance.
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No giant company like General Motors, will be able to ignore the problem or to be silent about Y2K exposure in their products in the post-fade era. Every 11 O'clock news team in the country will be camped on their doorsteps, and all too eager to report that the company refuses to comment.
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In a large facility like a power plant or an oil refinery, the prudent thing to do on New Years Eve 1999 would be to call in extra help, and to put all feedback loops on temporarily on manual. After midnight, the operators could begin putting them back into automatic mode while monitoring their operation.
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But, you ask, won't many people overreact, panic, and cause general chaos and disruption in reaction to the publicity? I'm sure they will. That too is attributable to the overall Y2K problem, albeit indirectly.
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<Cheryl, don't you think this Mills article rings very true? I do.
I agree that MUCH of what he says, is true.
Cheryl |
