I forgot about this ...
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On New Year's Eve, 1999, people the world over will be celebrating wildly (if prematurely) the end of a century, the turn of the millennium -- and, maybe, the triumph of mankind over the Y2K computer bug. But in Panama, the occasion will be marked by something more significant ... On that date, the U.S. flag will come down from a narrow strip of land where it has flown since 1903, when Panama, with an assist from President Teddy Roosevelt, declared independence from Colombia, clearing the way for the United States to push through one of the greatest engineering feats of all time.
cgi.sacbee.com
If you're one of the multitudes concerned about being airborne around the time the infamous Y2K bug is set to strike, you may feel more secure out at sea when the clock ticks over ...
There is a good reason why so many millennium cruises are targeting the Panama Canal around New Year's Eve. The canal will be handed back to the Panamanian people January 1,2000, and cruise companies are promoting first transits through the canal in the new millennium.
The area is sure to be festive during that time as the Panamanians celebrate the shift in ownership. Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises boast that they will be the first two ships to enter the Panama Canal from the Caribbean in the new millennium, while Radisson Seven Seas is taking passengers through before it is officially transferred.
atevo.com
[I DID THE TRIP ON THE SEABORNE A FEW YEARS BACK. Took less than a day to get thru the canal. But had to "wait in line" with other ships for a long time.]
WASHINGTON -- The Panama Canal will not admit ships next Dec. 31
because its traffic-management systems may fail due to the year 2000
computer glitch, a Senate committee will be told today [ March 5, 1999].
That is but one example among many of how countries around the world
remain unprepared for dealing with the so-called Y2K computer-program
flaw less than a year before it strikes, according to testimony to be delivered today to the Special Senate Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem.
Knight Ridder Newspapers obtained advance copies of the testimony.
wichitaeagle.com
Cheryl |
