Replies

As one who managed Y2K projects in the utility industry, let me be the first to tell you it was no hoax. If we had not marshaled the industry and spent huge amounts of money fixing the problem 1995 to 1999, you WOULD have been in the dark for a long time. It was very real. The reason you didn’t experience anything is hundreds of thousands of professionals in every industry worked diligently to fix the systems prior to the big day. BTW, thank you for paying for that big project — its cost was buried in every good and service you bought.

Now, can you get back on topic, UB355? The topic is CW II, not Y2K.

Thanks for posting, vannrox. Good and thoughtful article. Regarding his “steps that will lead to actual civil war,” #6 (”People actively avoid being near those of opposing ideology. Might move from communities or states just because of ideology”) really resonated with me. My wife and I are absolutely disgusted with California and bought a house in Northern Idaho for many reasons. His #6 was a factor in our decision.

" The reason you didn’t experience anything is hundreds of thousands of professionals in every industry worked diligently to fix the systems prior to the big day"

Initech !

You're correct -- Y2K was no hoax. I did a bunch of work on some COBOL systems, as well as some smaller apps in less well-known languages, and if we hadn't piled on and had everything retrofitted by the time 2000 AD rolled over, it would have been chaos.

It was actually quite eye-opening how insidious some of the problems were and how things would instantly fly, not run, but fly off the tracks.

Made a nice chunk of change for the work, too.