For ReEducational Purposes Only..........

Navy Denies It Expects Y2K Failures

"The Navy on Friday denied reports it expects widespread failures in power, water and other utility services in the United States because of the Year 2000 computer bug.

Although the Navy has not verified that all cities and communities near its installations are fully prepared for the Y2K problem, its survey of local utilities is showing a steady improvement, said Rear Adm. Louis M. Smith.

``I don't think we have a problem with utilities,'' Smith, commander of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, told reporters at a hastily called Pentagon news conference.

The Navy also issued a statement saying, ``There are no indications of likely widespread failures of water, electricity, gas or sewer.''

The Navy is compiling a database to track the probability of Y2K problems with electric power, water, natural gas and sewer services in communities near Navy and Marine Corps installations. A recent version of the report showed that partial failures in electric utilities were probable or likely in communities that serve nearly 60 Navy and Marine Corps installations.

Smith said that reflected a ``worst-case scenario'' in which those utilities whose Y2K preparedness was unknown to the Navy were assumed to be likely problems. The most recentversion of the database, dated Aug. 19 and including more complete data, showed about 20 likely problem utilities, he said.

In its own assessment of Y2K readiness, the White House recently concluded that national electrical failures are ``highly unlikely.'' It also called disruptions in water service ``increasingly unlikely.''

Smith said the Navy's assessment is ``right in sync'' with the White House's.

The Year 2000 problem may occur because some computer programs, especially older ones, might fail when the date changes to 2000. Because the programs were written to recognize only the last two digits of a year, such programs could read the digits ``00'' as 1900, potentially causing problems with financial transactions, airline schedules and electrical grids.

The Navy had posted its database on the Internet but took it down because of what it considered inaccurate and misleading reports of what the data means. Rear Adm. Thomas Jurkowsky said the database would be put back on the Internet with accompanying text explaining the data."

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), August 20, 1999

Answers

I can see the "accompanying text" now ...

1 - Fully Y2K compliant and then some!

2 - Fully Y2K compliant!

3 - Fully Y2K compliant but may have teeny-weeny problems every now and then with some basic life sustainging systems that may trigger the need to put Presidential Executive Orders into effect.

4 - Default value, the meaning of which is deferred until January 1, 2000 or at discretion of local commander

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.com), August 20, 1999.

WAG THE SEA-DOG

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), August 20, 1999.

"...a hastily called Pentagon news conference."

Humm. Guess we can all "see" what pushes their buttons.

This has been an "amazing" Y2K truth or consequences exercise. (Notice, they "avoid" dealing with providing documents that the utilites ARE Y2K ready, willing and compliant). Sideways slips.

This fall season should be... "interesting..." as well.

Diane (shakes head)

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), August 20, 1999.

"I don't think we have a problem with utilities." Couldn't you find something a little stronger. In Sync is a teenybopper pop band. Perfectly appropriate that you are "IN SYNC". Duh.

One of my favorite scenes is a great analogy for this situation:

If I say this beach is safe to surf, this beach is safe to surf.

Do you smell that. What. That smell, that gasoline smell. Napalm. Nothing else in world smells like it. I love the smell of Napalm in the morning.

I personally met Jim Lord some time ago at a free talk he gave on Y2K in my hometown. He struck me as an honest straight shooter. I don't think any of these clowns could shoot straight if they tried. It took some rather large cajones to make that move Jim. Many of us realize exactly why you did it. Because you care. You give a damn what happens to the hapless masses who continue to buy into a line of BS longer than the great wall of China (which probably houses most of our nuclear secrets by now).

-- Gordon (g_gecko_69@hotmail.com), August 20, 1999.

We love the utilities. It's the terorists and hoarders we hate. Can we go home now?

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWayne@aol.com), August 20, 1999.

"The Navy had posted its database on the Internet but took it down because of what it considered inaccurate and misleading reports of what the data means."

LOL.

Read that paragraph several times. Then reflect on the events of the past few days. The Lord report was released _after_ the Navy claims it removed its site, yet the Navy is claiming that it removed the site _because of_ "inaccurate reports". Lord is the original report.

Hellooooo!

I hope these guys navigate their ships better than they spin!

-- cgbg jr (cgbgjr@webtv.net), August 21, 1999.