Right, Mike. {I was an anesthesia technician, myself. Truth is, for most medical devices the date function has more to do with recharging schedules and logging than critical function (not that it wouldn't be nice to have that fixed). Medically speaking, I'd fear a whole lot more for the poor sucker who doesn't have a personal relationship with his pharmacist, and doesn't have an extra supply of his heart medication around if and when his credit card stops working or his prescription records are temporarily lost.}
{I'm also, personally, a bit paranoid about nuclear power plants and how their cooling systems are regulated.}
The realest problem, though, would be a run on banks if the media runs with this in a scary way. In fact, the fear of a panic-driven run on banks would be enough to get me to withdraw a few weeks of cash, even if I didn't believe in Y2K at all.
As far as hype, though, I'd have to agree. Still: froth and hype can move the stock and raise awareness. Although the articles and lists may themselves not be factual, their existence as attention-getting media tidbits is real, and it's good for investors to know what word is spreading, and where, however "hyped."
Perhaps these sorts of posts should be preceded by "Media Hype that Helps TPRO" or "Media Hype that Hurts TPRO." This way, it can be distinguished from purely fact-based research. |
