21st century schizoid man (or how I learned to live with the millennium bug).Stockpile freeze-dried and canned rations. Convert greenbacks into gold. Load up the shotgun and bunker in a bunker. Brace for impact. There is no escape. The millennium is coming and with it the end to life as we know it Life As We Know It is an American television drama on the ABC network during the 2004-2005 season. It was created by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. The series was based on the novel Doing It by British writer Melvin Burgess. . Chicken Little would no doubt be proud of this new breed of doomsayers who are preparing for a world turned topsy-turvy when the clock strikes midnight on Jan. 1, 2000. That's when millions (billions?) of unchecked millennium bugs hidden in everything from cars and appliances to laptops and mainframes will be unleashed across the land and around the globe. Communications will be silenced. Power grids will go haywire. Water pumping The pumping of water is a basic and practical technique, far more practical than scooping it up with one's hands or lifting it in a hand-held bucket. This is true whether the water is drawn from a fresh source, moved to a needed location, purified, or used for irrigation, washing, or stations and sewage treatment plants will malfunction. Airplanes will rain from the sky. In the ensuing confusion, the world's population, hung over from celebrating the end of an era, will find itself swept up in a tidal wave of panic. Deadly riots will break out pitting neighbor against neighbor. Cities will burn ... and all because of the failure to cure computers of their inability to distinguish the year 2000 from 1900. Get a Grip on It But wait. Before you go to the trouble of disarming the tools from your CNC (Computerized Numerical Control) See numerical control. CNC - Collaborative Networked Communication machining center, consider the more mundane opinions of emergency experts who recently participated in a House hearing on Capitol Hill. Their general conclusion in assessing the Y2K See Y2K problem and Y2K compliant. Y2K - Year 2000 crisis: People should be prepared to deal with "minor breakdowns" in basic services basic services, n.pl frequently insurance companies split dental procedures into basic and major categories. Basic services usually consist of diagnostic, preventive, and routine restorative dental services. as if they were expecting a seven-day storm, but, should not be influenced by the extremists' points of view, some of which go so far as to link the Y2K problem as being a military conspiracy to put the nation under martial law martial law, temporary government and control by military authorities of a territory or state, when war or overwhelming public disturbance makes the civil authorities of the region unable to enforce its law. . (I'm sure agents Mulder and Scully Mulder and Scully can refer to:
Speaking at the House hearing, Mike Walker of the Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the federal agency responsible for coordinating emergency planning, preparedness, risk reduction, response, and recovery. The agency works closely with state and local governments by funding emergency programs and providing technical , said, "It is important to say the sky is not falling because of Y2K. "There is no need to hoard, no need to take money out of banks, no need to head for the hills." Billions Spent, Billions Made All of this is said not to make light of the Y2K problem. The extermination extermination mass killing of animals or other pests. Implies complete destruction of the species or other group. of millennium bugs has cost businesses and governments billions upon billions of dollars in consulting and programming fees, financial burdens ultimately to be borne by consumers and taxpayers. Even with the billions of dollars 'already spent to address the problem, many corporations and government agencies have not eradicated Y2K bugs from their computer systems. Others, who think they have the bug licked, might find out otherwise when 2000 dawns. It is this gnawing lack of uncertainty that makes many of us eerily fascinated by what. hell the millennium hugs may wreak. Indeed the "what might happen" scenarios are quickly becoming a top topic at trade shows and cocktail parties. The views of the many able and learned men and women I have spoke with on this topic in recent months vary widely and wildly. Most think the masters of disaster's viewpoints are way off target and that the whole Y2K crisis is the latest product of an over-hyped media. Some think we will witness isolated catastrophes, such as a nuclear power plant meltdown in Eastern Europe or regional power outages. When asked for my thoughts on the matter, I offer the following: 1. Come 2000, we'll still be in business and business will be good. 2. Any riots that break out will more likely occur because of crazies who really did party like it was 1999, than millennium bug infestation infestation /in·fes·ta·tion/ (-fes-ta´shun) parasitic attack or subsistence on the skin and/or its appendages, as by insects, mites, or ticks; sometimes used to denote parasitic invasion of the organs and tissues, as by helminths. . 3. Legions of lawyers will be at the ready to file suits against product designers, manufacturers and developers for product liability claims tied to computer malfunctions. 4. I have no plans to fly on New Year's Day New Year's Day, among ancient peoples the first day of the year frequently corresponded to the vernal or autumnal equinox, or to the summer or winter solstice. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated among Christians usually on Mar. 25. . As chance would have it, none of the several dozen people I have spoken to about the millennium bug, plan to fly that day either. |
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