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Year 2000 shutdowns could have surprising effect - bringingpeople together
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Year 2000 shutdowns could have surprising effect - bringing people
together
Copyright © 1999 Nando Media
Copyright © 1999 Christian Science Monitor Service
http://www.techserver.com/noframes/story/0,2294,12902-21790-146227-0,0
0.html
By JENNIFER WOLCOTT
(January 30, 1999 12:31 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) -
When Larry Shook and his wife, Judy Laddon, invited the neighbors
over on a recent Sunday afternoon, their intent wasn't to coordinate
carpools, watch football, or hawk Tupperware. The Spokane, Wash.,
couple had a more serious agenda: a discussion about Y2K, what could
happen, and how to help each other.
The meeting, says Judy, was a huge success. "We talked about a
severe ice storm here when we lost power for two weeks. We decided
that was our dress rehearsal for Y2K." The couple and their eight
guests agreed to share key resources - from wells to wood stoves, gas
heat to grain mills - if the power goes out and the water dries up on
New Year's Eve. And if Y2K turns out to be a mere blip, they'll break
out the party hats and horns.
Neighborhood meetings like Larry and Judy's are becoming more common
as word spreads of the potential impact of Y2K, shorthand for the
year 2000, or the so-called "millennium bug."
In an article for The Inlander, a Pacific Northwest weekly, Larry
Shook explains its relevance to daily life: "Y2K is a widespread
computer programming error that could cause many systems to
malfunction by not recognizing the millennium date change. Because
computers regulate modern life from soup to nuts, some inconvenience
is considered inevitable. Will it be worse than that? No one knows,
and there's the rub. Clearly, the most conservative response is to
plan for protracted interruption of electricity, food, water,
transportation, medical services." What's most fascinating, he adds,
is the moral of the story: We are in this together.
Not everyone agrees. Some shrug off Y2K as a simple computer glitch
that will be fixed by the likes of Bill Gates. Others have been
swept into a buying frenzy and are squirreling away provisions. But a
growing number of Americans are calmly taking precautionary steps on
a personal level as well as within their communities.
At the Spokane gathering, two households realized they could have
helped each other during the ice storm: One had gas heat but no
electricity for hot water, the other had hot water but no heat. That
discovery sparked a lively discussion about who has what, and how
they can collaborate in the event of Y2K meltdown. One neighbor
invited everyone to dip a bucket into her well, the hostess offered
her grain mill, and others volunteered to share food.
Each guest lives on a different block, so they appointed themselves
"block leaders," and decided each block should have a "hub house"
with alternative heat, food storage, and other basics. They agreed to
distribute surveys to other neighbors - asking about special needs
or resources - and finally, to meet again in a month.
These folks are demonstrating just what Eric Utne, founder of Utne
Reader, means when he says "As we prepare for Y2K, something
surprising and quite wonderful is going to happen. We're going to
get to know our neighbors."
Not only in Spokane, but also in places like Kauai, Hawaii; Boulder,
Colo.; and Lowell, Mass., neighbors are meeting with one another as
well as with local politicians, farmers, and religious and community
leaders to plan for Y2K.
Such grass-roots efforts are growing partly out of frustration with
inactivity in Washington, but mostly out of determination to avoid
last-minute panic and make the best of a potentially challenging
time.
"We are having a quality conversation in our society that I haven't
seen in my lifetime. This event is pulling something profound out of
our national character," says Shook. He and his wife are members of
the Spokane City County Y2K Task Force and co-editors (with Tom
Atlee) of "Awakenings: The Upside of Y2K," a collection of writings
by some of America's leading thinkers.
The idea of connecting with neighbors is dear to the heart of
Unitarian-Universalist minister Rev. Dacia Reid, who preaches
exclusively on Y2K. "Unitarians talk often about the interconnected
web of life, so I was naturally drawn to this," she says.
In her sermons, Reid illustrates the need for preparedness with a
familiar disaster - the sinking of the Titanic. "The ship was
considered unsinkable, the pinnacle of technological achievement of
its time," says Reid. "The real disaster was that so many people
died because of too few lifeboats, inappropriate use of what
lifeboats there were, denial, inaction, and disbelief. I have a
carpenter friend who says that he can't believe that with all the
materials on that ship and all the people on board that they couldn't
have devised flotation platforms for virtually everyone in the
two-plus hours it took that ship to sink. It would have been a lot
better than having the band play on."
Reid suggests ways to start "making lifeboats": "Think of Y2K as a
technical storm," by stocking up on enough food, water, and
emergency supplies for a couple of weeks. For specifics, she
recommends following guidelines outlined by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency or the American Red Cross.
She also urges people to network. Churches, especially, could play a
vital role, she says. For starters, churchgoers could meet with
community leaders, organize ways to help needy residents, and devise
a plan for checking in with one another.
Schools also play an important role, says Jeannette Thomas of
Becket, Mass. When she's not with her fourth-grader, Thomas is
teaching other children, school leaders, and PTA groups about Y2K.
"I don't prepare the kids in a fearful way," she explains, "but they
need to know we could lose power, that they can help by toting
water, gathering wood, or taking care of little children."
Her daughter, Samantha, used to be frightened by Y2K. Not anymore.
"It'll be kind of fun to learn how to live naturally," she says.
"Some of my friends don't think it will happen. Others think it'll be
really cool. And my grandmother, who lives with us, says we don't
really need electricity."
The Thomas pantry is already brimming with food. And plans are under
way to install a wood stove and a manual pump on the well.
What if the Y2K bug doesn't bite? "We won't have to buy groceries
for weeks, and we'll be all set for winter storms," says Thomas.
Larry Shook is equally nonplussed by the possibility of a nonevent.
"We have nothing to lose," he says. "We will have greatly improved
the quality of life in our towns and become a more caring society."
Look at those folks in Florida who were hit by major hurricanes, he
adds. "They are bonded. They still get together for potlucks. They
don't ever want to go back to the way things used to be."
--------------
Also in this issue:
- 1999 Yearly Review, Courtesy NUA, Ireland
NUA'S HOW MANY ONLINE? - 153.25 Million
* Africa: 1.14 million.
* Asia/Pacific: 26.55 million
* Europe: 33.39 million.
* Middle East: 0.78 million.
* Canada & USA: 87. million.
* South America: 4.5 million.
- Barnes & Noble college texts online
The bookstore joins E-commerce 101 a little late, after it announces
the opening of textbook.com for college students.
- Eudora still lives!
Qualcomm denies rumors that it will kill popular e-mail program, but
other products may be at risk.
- 'Digital Library' offered in 2000 White House budget
Web surfers may be taking virtual tours of the Apollo 11 space
capsule, sifting through decades of Ellis Island immigration records
or freely downloading copies of Mark Twain's classic novel Huck Finn
under a new White House initiative announced Friday.
- Bill would protect high-tech legal aid
A San Jose legislator, inspired by the legal warfare in the Avant!
criminal trade secrets case, has introduced a bill to make it easier
for prosecutors to accept help from corporations who consider
themselves victims of high-tech piracy.
- Net Salary Trends Revealed In Survey
How to make more money than your CEO
Internet executives that bring specific technical expertise to the
table are, on average, receiving greater compensation than the chief
executives at their companies, a new survey has revealed.
- E-MAILS MAKE STORMY WEATHER FOR REPORTER
Dallas Company Subpoenas Reporter For Sources
A reporter for The Dallas Observer is refusing to reveal her sources
over a story detailing internal management and financial problems at
a software gaming company.
- China steps up aggression against online sedition
In its latest move to tighten government control over the Internet,
China has ordered police to hunt down people posting anti-government
remarks on computer networks, a human rights group reported Friday.
- Net frontier getting tamed
Every time I go to San Diego it rains. Maybe that's because I'm
usually there in January, attending David Coursey's Showcase
conference, and if southern California has a rainy season it seems
to peak in January.
- Personal Web pages a growing trend
Kristine Scott's contractions began almost three months before her
baby was due.
- Year 2000 shutdowns could have surprising effect - bringing people
together
When Larry Shook and his wife, Judy Laddon, invited the neighbors
over on a recent Sunday afternoon, their intent wasn't to coordinate
carpools, watch football, or hawk Tupperware. The Spokane, Wash.,
couple had a more serious agenda: a discussion about Y2K, what could
happen, and how to help each other.
- Computer opens Shakespeare library treasures to visitors
Shakespeare lovers now can use computers at the Folger Shakespeare
Library to view centuries-old pages from the first published edition
of the playwright's works, once restricted to authorized scholars.
- New Lists and Journals
1) Applied Artificial Intelligence
2) Behaviour & Information Technology
3) Biomarkers
4) Brain Injury
5) Contemporary Physics
6) International Journal of Control
7) Culture, Health & Sexuality
8) Journal of Curriculum Studies
9) Death Studies
10) International Journal of Electronics
11) Ergonomics
12) International Journal of Geographical Information Science
- Sunday Supplement
SURVEYS THIS WEEK:
INTERNATIONAL : Chinese Net User Gets Two Years
: Vietnam Slashes Internet Access Charges
: Australian Users Willing to Shop Online
E-COMMERCE : 3.1 Billion in Online Hotel Bookings by 2002
: Number of Happy Online Consumers Drops
: Online Consumers and Trust
: Online Shoppers Satisfied Says Visa
: B-to-B Ecommerce Will Foster Closed Trading
: Report Reviews 1998 Net Shopping Trends
USAGE PATTERNS : US Homes Increasingly Digitalised
: Internet Access and the European Divide
GOV/LEGISLATION : France To Liberalise Cryptography Law
: UNESCO Targets Online Paedophiles
: Chinese Police to Patrol the Net
TECHNICAL : 75.6 Percent of DNSs Poorly Configured
- 1999 Yearly Review, Courtesy NUA, Ireland
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