I raise a glass to all the forum regulars who have made this a long, strange trip throughout the past year. With few exceptions, we all share delight in the positive early reports. Those who have studied Y2K know many issues will unfold over the coming days, weeks and months. The problems may eventually pierce a speculative market bubble and end the longest expansion in our history... but it is increasingly difficult to claim the end of the world is upon us. For this fact alone, we should raise a glass together in the spirit of a new century. As I have said before, we owe a tremendous debt to those professionals who worked and fixed the problems... and to those who are working tonight rather than joining our toast. We owe a debt to those who stayed, and did not "bug out." Cheers.

In the coming days we'll have a better idea of who was wrong and who was right. But we were not Titanic, and Y2K was not our iceberg. The band plays on.

In offering holiday wishes, there have been a handful of thoughtful optimists who have stayed throughout the last year. Hoff and Flint are two regulars, but it is a much longer list. There are optimists crowing all over the forum tonight, but only a few have been here through the darker days when the outcome of Y2K was far less certain. For those who stayed the course, bloodied but unbowed, I salute you.

Finally, there are thoughtful, intelligent people who made the decision to prepare... I mean really, really prepare. They did so with their own time and money, without rancor or anger towards the optimists. They debated Y2K, but with reason. For them was never about money or ego, but about genuine concern. You deserve a tall glass.

Warm regards,

-- Ken Decker (kcdecker@worldnet.att.net), December 31, 1999

Answers

What are you trying to prove?

How gracious you are?

What a ***gentleman***?

OFFSKI

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), December 31, 1999.

A Happy New Year to you and your family, Ken.

Casey

-- Casey DeFranco (caseyd@silcom.com), December 31, 1999.

Yeah, Andy, what does one do with an engorged tick that's finally been extracted from one's skin? Give it a nice hot bath and a tumbler of scotch? And read it a bedtime story?

Interesting, Decker, that you choose today to make friends.

-- lisa (lisa@work.now), December 31, 1999.

Glasses up Mr. Decker, I mean Ken. Seems we've all gotten a little more real.

-- Carlos (riffraff1@cybertime.net), December 31, 1999.

Lisa, still in a good mood, eh?

-- Johnny Canuck (j_canuck@hotmail.com), December 31, 1999.

What the hell. I raise my glass in toast, too. And look forward to all of us, perhaps -- maybe, perhaps -- being on somewhat less shakey ground to figure out what unfolds in the next few weeks.

A cautious Happy New Year.

-- King of Spain (madrid@aol.cum), December 31, 1999.

Happy New Year Mr. Decker.

Gawd Lisa, who rattled your cage? Do you always hit on the guys in the chat rooms? Sicko.

-- (he@ha.ho), December 31, 1999.

Thanks Ken. Life is beautiful, and that ain't bad.

-- (roark@Not.now), December 31, 1999.

Cheers Ken.

Ya know, I always formed this mental image when I read your posts and the responses they elicited...

You were the guy in the tux playing chess, and on the opposite side of the board was a guy in a plaid shirt playing checkers.

Thanks for being a voice of reason.

Best,

-- CD (not@here.com), December 31, 1999.

Bottoms up Ken... nobility becomes you...

-- Billy Boy (Rakkasan101st@Aol.com), December 31, 1999.

And a Happy New Year to you as well, Ken. I hope that the repairs will continue to hold as well as they appear to have done thus far. I am surprised that everything has held together so flawlessly.

But, having said that, I want to echo the appreciation for the debates that have taken place over the past year or so. I still don't understand all the issues involved, but at least I have been exposed to a lot more information that ever before in my life.

If all you pollies turn out to be right, I am delighted. I didn't really want all those relatives living with me anyway. At the same time, I enjoy having a degree of independence from my normal sources of support. If necessary, I now can get along for awhile if something happens to the power, or water or food deliveries. There is a measure of comfort in that.

I have learned a lot in this past year or so. Much of it is due to the information shared on these forums. Thanks to all. May you all, even the abominable trolls, be blessed in the coming year. And may the King of Spain discover the mother of all mudholes.

regards,

gene

-- gene (ekbaker@essex1.com), December 31, 1999.

Cheers to you as well Mr. Decker. Oh, BTW, Andy are you and Lisa somehow related? Scary thought.

-- Look (at@the.facts), December 31, 1999.

Hi Ken,

A toast to you, too. Let's hope the rest of 2000 goes as good as it has so far (11 PM, CST).

-- Dean--from (almost) DuhMoyn (dtmiller@midiowa.net), January 01, 2000.

Cheers to you as well Mr. Decker. Oh, BTW, Andy are you and Lisa somehow related? Scary thought.

-- Look (at@the.facts), December 31, 1999. ======================================================================

Nah just that when a guy that's been kicking eceryone in the balls all year raises a toast...

I kinda......

don't believe a frickin word he says...

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), January 01, 2000.

Andy, my words were meant for the reasonable on this forum. During the past year you have been both loud and obnoxious. With rollover, we can add "wrong" to your list of attributes. As for kicking people in the balls... I usually hit higher and only when pushed around a bit first. Let's agree not to like one another and move on.

Casey, thanks.

Lisa, see my comments to Andy... except that Andy actually tried to contribute to the Y2K debate, in a cut-and-paste sort of way.

Spain, caution agreed, but with more optimism than this forum has seen in many days.

CD, not much of a tux guy, but it was a gracious thought. Thanks. You've hung in there as well. All good things come to those who wait.

Billy, mucho gracias. (Forgive the lack of nobility with Andy, Lisa, and Will Continue when she shows her face. I try, but I am far from perfect.)

Gene, reasonable comments from a reasonable fellow.

-- Ken Decker (kcdecker@worldnet.att.net), January 01, 2000.

A toast to you too Ken in these early morning hours of the 21st century :)

I spent the year prepping with my family and am still very glad I did...2 little ones and one on the way, it was the only course of action that made sense.

However, I am Thrilled to wake up to electricity and the internet this morning and be able to go about my normal online addict routine with all the everyday comforts we are all used to.

I look forward to the continuation of the forum and good, honest, CIVIL debate. Happy New Year Everyone

-- Tiara (sorceress5@hotmail.com), January 01, 2000.

Kenney, you're still "Kenney the Cockroach" to me. (I haven't forgotten how much you insulted others on this forum over the last ...months.)

-- (................@........................), January 01, 2000.