This thread is categorized under awareness.

Y2K barometers are those things that we are keeping track of to gauge awareness of Y2K, as well as other related things. I first started talking about this last November, and then followed up by asking the question again in January. Six months have gone by since we last talked about this (as far as I know) and there are a lot of new folks on the forum that were not here then. I was reminded about barometers when searching the archives recently, as I put together the Y2K for Newcomers thread. I thought now would be a good time to bring it up once again, as a lots happened since January. Just as importantly, a lot hasnt.

Some examples of what folks have been using as barometers are supply availability and delivery times, spike dates, SEC filings, number and types of Y2K-related failures reported, level of Y2K activity in the mainstream press, etc.,

For those of you who found this worthwhile before, and especially for those of you that have come to the forum since January, the question is: What is your Y2K barometer now?

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), July 16, 1999

Answers

My water delivery company is having shortages. Summer? Or Y2k?

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 16, 1999.

US better-off than I anticipated, ignoring the rest of the world.

Considering problems with "Global Market" due to problems "over there", and emerging wars, worse than I expected.

-- Anonymous99 (Anonymous99@Anonymous99.xxx), July 16, 1999.

I have been on the road a bit this summer, and from my discussions from CA,NV to IA,IL The everyday person on the corner could care less about Y2K. "Oh yeah, I'll take some extra cash from the ATM on New Years eve"

That may be the most sailient point, the panic will not start till Dec 31, 1999.

I have a $20 bet with one guy that there will be at least one major failure of ANY big computer system. He is convinced it is all a hoax. It is scarry, if there are problems, very very few will be prepared, and then there will be real problems. I can not feed the whole neighborhood.

Y2K is just no on the radar scope of the average Joe.

-- helium (heliumavid@yahoo.com), July 16, 1999.

In war the element of suprise is key. The government won't wait until the new year to declare martial law, it would be to late. They have to do it NLT November. Most sheople won't be expecting it during the holidays.

-- Rick (rsarge@aol.com), July 16, 1999.

Rob,

My main barometer right now is what investors, the stock market and the government are doing. My guess is that the financial community and the government will show by their actions what they think Y2K's effects might be before the general public ever catches on.

-- Linkmeister (link@librarian.edu), July 16, 1999.

Rick,

Absolutely. Do you think they will want to do it before or during the holidays? If you were going to declare martial law would you want to do it when lots of people were out of town with their families or while life was going on as usual? I am sure they would prefer not to interfere with the Christmas buying frenzy.

-- (riversoma@aol.com), July 16, 1999.

If you want to check out the two previous threads to see what folks thought back then, here are the urls:

What is your Y2K awareness barometer? 11/15/1998

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000FW7

What is your Y2K barometer now? 1/2/1999

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000LmQ

I find it interesting, in contrast to the older two threads, to see war mentioned in two of the first four responses. With the events in Europe since January, the very recent concerns coming to light nationally about being unprepared for terrorist attacks, heightened tensions in 'strategic' parts of the world, plus other related issues, it isn't any wonder I guess.

Linkmeister: Agreed. Actions speak louder...

BFN, Rob.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), July 16, 1999.

I'm watching the stock market, the state of international finance (Japan's debt problem, Brazil's loans, state of the euro), the price of precious metals as well as the international tension points; China/Tiawan, No and So Korea, Iraq/US, etc.

-- Leslie (***@***.net), July 16, 1999.

The total lack of large numbers of entities _finished - anywhere.

Currencies, markets, precious metals.

CIA reports, BIS contingency plan, FBI cancelling vacations, local police cancelling vacations, Canadian military contingency plans, scared govt's promulgating potentially repressive laws with windows of enaction late this year or early next year. Various GAO reports. Local failures either due to the JAE or July 1 fiscal turnover.

Increasing numbers of CP'ers & CIO's in big organizations and big cities or states fessing up with their knowledge of what they _know_ is going to fail.

-- Mitchell Barnes (spanda@inreach.com), July 17, 1999.

Alot of people are in pre-awareness STILL....

7/17: 160 checked in on a roll call of this forum. There should be thousands if Y2K is at all on the radar screen.

160 WORLDWIDE!!!!!!!

This number is proof of the panic that we are we are about to witness...

-- PJC (paulchri@msn.com), July 17, 1999.