http://stand77.com/wwwboard/messages/1047.html

(I like to think they have a warm little spot in their feral little hearts for me... :):):):) )

Gee. I bet they don't call THESE guys doomers! And they say they will be doing what WE have been doing for some time.......

Posted by cpr on October 09, 1999 at 13:23:12:

In Reply to: Boy howdy! For a fella who thinks I'm a nobody, cpr sure brings up my name a lot..... posted by DavePrime on October 09, 1999 at 12:33:16:

: Oh, and by the way, i buy locally. A little of this, a little of that. Over time, it adds up.

: I "really" hope you will be at the new year's celebration in New York this year.

: Please say you'll be there! :):):):)

ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook October 8, 1999 Volume 4, No. 34 Published by the Information Technology Association of America, Arlington, VA

Tinabeth Burton, Editor tburton@itaa.org

Read in over 80 countries around the world

ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is published every Friday to help all organizations deal more effectively with the Year 2000 software conversion. To create a subscription to this free publication, please visit ITAA on the web at https://www.itaa.org/transact/2koutlooksub.htm. To cancel an existing subscription, visit https://www.itaa.org/transact/2kremove.htm. ITAA's Year 2000 Outlook is sponsored in part by CACI International Inc., DMR Consulting Group Inc and Y2Kplus.

In this Issue:

FY2000 Triggers Minor Disruptions in Federal Government Poll Shows CIOs Concerns Business to Business ITAA Y2K Information Center Sponsor Advertising

FY2000 Triggers Minor Disruptions in Federal Government

The start of the federal governments fiscal year, which began on October 1, 1999, is the most recent Y2K benchmark to have passed with, for some, surprisingly little difficultly reported in federal computer systems. We thought we might have a handful of issues come up, Jack Gribben, spokesman for the Presidents Council on the Year 2000 Conversion said, but published accounts indicate little trouble occurred.

The United States Department of Energy reported that a purchasing system temporarily failed, but no systems of critical importance to the department were damaged. The National Science Foundation told the Presidents Council that problems developed in a system that provides information to federal grant recipients. Both problems were resolved within twenty-four hours of being identified.

The United States Department of Justice reported a problem with its financial management information system that was also fixed by days end. The Federal Aviation Administration, which has been a focal point for congressional criticism of its remediation efforts, suffered the collapse of its national automated travel system, but that was also quickly repaired. There was no information given as to whether the systems that failed were the victims of failed remediation efforts or if they had not been yet been subject to repair efforts.

Gribben, speaking for the Council, emphasized that none of the failures in any way threatened public safety. The Council has requested that federal departments and agencies continue to monitor systems for problems connected to the change over to a new fiscal year because some failures could occur days or even weeks after the October 1 date rollover.

There may be some agencies out there that havent tried to use a fiscal application for the year, Gribben said. But, he cautioned, We dont expect we are going to hear much. Most departments and agencies are reporting they are close to finishing repairs on their most important computers, but cautioned that remediation efforts on systems not designated mission critical will not be completed by January 1.

The progress to date has met with praise from outside public policy groups in Washington, D.C. Shaun McBurney, Director of Government Affairs, director of Citizens Against Government waste, a non-partisan public interest group, said The bi-partisan and bi-cameral efforts at fixing this problem have, importantly, prevented the Y2K remediation efforts from becoming a pork-laden, technological nightmare and have, instead, kept everyone focused on the problems posed by the threat.

Fortunately, Chairman Horn took the lead on this issue, stepped in and prodded the Executive Branch and pressed them to take action on this critical issue. The results are not in, and they wont be until after the first of the year, but it appears that the federal efforts at Y2K remediation have made good progress in correcting potential problems and have passed the first test, McBurney said.

That October 1 came and went without massive disruptions of computer system is a benefit to general efforts to maintain calm in the consumer sector. Richard Berner, chief economist Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, says, The Feds goal is to try to neutralize Y2K as a policy constraint.

According to Reuters, Fed officials and an increasing number of Wall Street economists are betting year-end computer problems will not keep the central bank from raising interest rates if it decides that inflation pressures are strong enough. Federal Reserve officials believe there is little danger that the Y2K problem will cause widespread computer failure in the banking system. The greater concern comes from what Fed chairman Alan Greenspan calls a fear induced reaction by corporations stockpiling inventories or consumers taking making an unnecessary run on the money supply.

Dave Murray, director of research for STATS, a non-profit science and policy think-tank, agrees. He points out that, when you look anywhere at societies that go through various disasters, you see a lot of resilience and pulling together. But the more technological advanced a society is, the greater the capacity for failure.

If I build into my thinking the assumption that other people will behave irrationally, then I have to respond and act preemptively. This accelerates the presence of irrationality in the system. The idea that, because of Y2k there may be a collapse in the system, may be the single biggest threat that America faces, Murray added.

With this in mind, the Federal Reserve is working over time to ensure financial markets remain calm and prevent a surge on all sorts of interest rates --- disrupting credit markets. The Fed has announced a series of measures to keep markets functioning smoothly and to meet demands for extra liquidity.

It has ordered $50 billion in extra cash printed to meet increased domestic demand and has set up a special lending facility to help institutions that run into trouble.

Poll Shows CIOs Concerns

Chief information officers (CIOs) and other business executives are planning for Y2K by keeping cash handy on January 1, 2000, according to a new CIO KnowPulse(SM) poll, conducted by IDG's CIO magazine. The majority (65%) of the 191 respondents plan to have more than $500 on hand, with 34% indicating they will have more than $1,000 and 8% indicating they will have more than $5,000.

"CIOs are closer to the realities of Y2K than any other group of people, " says Abbie Lundberg, Editor in Chief of CIO magazine. "While many of them have completed Y2K remediation for their companies and are confident of a Y2K fix, the fact that they are planning to accumulate cash shows there is still a level of doubt or concern."

The poll was released at a CIO Perspectives conference in Orlando, Florida last week. In addition to personal finance plans for Y2K, results also show overwhelming support (74%) for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground all air carriers that failed to respond to an FAA survey on Y2K readiness by October 5, 1999.

CIOs and business executives are preparing for the date rollover in other ways: 80% plan to document financial records; 25% plan to stockpile canned goods; 33% plan to stockpile water; 9% plan to upgrade personal security measures; 53% will not fly on a commercial airplane; and finally, 27% plan to work on New Year's Eve (16% by choice, 11% indicate business requirement).

-- DavePrime (the_tv_guy@hotmail.com), October 09, 1999

Answers

Yuck!

New York City on New Years Eve?

Uh, that's living on the edge isn't it?

I wouldn't do that with armed guards and...never mind.

Yall have fun now.

-- no talking please (breadlines@soupkitchen.gov), October 09, 1999.