>> Another problem I have is trying to understand why so many seemingly intelligent people posting on this thread seem to filter out and discard the mounting evidence that the Y2K problem is being brought under control.
Perhaps it's because some of us don't live in the nice little sandbox that you play in. Some of us have to live in the global village of international markets and national security, where we have to think bigger thoughts and contemplate graver scenarios than the armchair quarterbacks out in la-la land.
Like whether the Port of San Francisco is going to be functional so our plants in Boise, ID, can maintain their real-times inventories and keep production lines running, or whether the telecom system in Italy is going to work and thereby ensure that we will be able to communicate with our European headquarters, which manages the sources and contracts that account for 23 percent of our worldwide revenue (measured in billions, mind you), and so on.
Or how about this: whether the govt. folks were just jivin' us this morning when they talked in terms of "marshalling resources;" "voluntary" corps, i.e., the Feds asking IT companies to provide lists of key personnel that companies may want to make available for overseas assignments re Y2K emergencies (I can envision the following dialog: "excuse me, Mr. CEO from company X, but your company does how many millions of dollars of business with the Federal Government annually?"); the U.S. military (nope, not just the Army this time, but the Marines, Air Force, etc.) stepping out of its traditional domestic role of handing out blankets and helping with evacuations, etc., and actually being used to step in and take over the operation of critical infrastructure, including private resources if necessary (psssst! tell your soulmate Eski that they used municipal waters systems as an example!). The latter scenario will be triggered if it is determined (by whom? FEMA) that such takeovers are necessary to "minimize economic impacts" or for "public safety." The Feds are also drafting contingency plans to "perform" a similar role in areas of the world that are of economic importance. ["Be all you can be. By 7 in the morning on January 1, 2000, we have already taken over the XXX oil fields..."]. Hey, I realize this sounds alarmist, but don't blame me. It's those damn "seemingly intelligent" folks in your government!
I could go on, but I doubt that any of this matters to you and your buddies. You know, for such a minor issue, as you guys are trying like hell to make this out to be, there sure are a lot of "seemingly intelligent people" spending incredible amounts of time and money worrying about Y2K. Go figure!
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