The funniest thing I saw was the first day Costco was open in 2000 the returns line was really, REALLY long. And it was people returning stuff like power generators, Peanut Butter, and even potato chips. It was hilarious.
I had several 25 lb beans to work my way through. I was a Y2K remediation programmer. I know what could happen. I fixed a lot of stuff for several companies that, had we not done anything, would have been catastrophic for them, at least short term. That begs the question - what would have happened if we had done nothing?
The real story.
The Fed flooded the market with cheap and easy money, just in case...
They found it so easy to do - they never stopped.
Anyone who worked in any industry or sector that had technology or product that used two digit datecodes know that they were preparing for Y2K years before it hit. No one wanted to be the ones who ended up with the shame of having caused outages. No one wanted to immortalized in print and media. From financial systems, telcos, and the grid right down to thermostats, GPS receivers and PCs. Everyone was providing patching and updating and it was only the sensationalist tabloid news hacks that were whipping up the hysteria
[[[most computer programs used the last two digits to represent a four-digit year]]]
The issue we had was we were using 2 digit years (97,98,99,00) zero year is invalid.
We converted everything from a 2 digit year to a 4 digit year format.
fun times
Lately I’ve been listening to some of Art Bell’s old Coast 2 Coast overnight broadcasts. He seemed to be doing everything in his power to fuel Y2K doom and gloom. Some of his guests were predicting total technological apocalypse. Remember the visions of planes falling from the sky?
I was working for CBS radio at the time. They paid a company to come in and certify the equipment as Y2K compliant. Every speaker, microphone, amplifier got a “Y2K approved” sticker to the tune of 125 bucks apiece. They refused to certify anything with a microprocessor, like a console. Wish I thought of that scam.
Pretty good summary of the boneheads running CBS.
I told every one I knew in 1999 that because of the Y2K problem that would buy a whole house generator. That is, I would buy it in the summer of 2000 after all the idiots who bought one before Y2K would be dumping them on the market. I bought a 12 KW generator for $300.
“we were all pretty sure the world was going to end on January 1, 2000”
We? Who is this ‘we’ this guy refers to? I wasn’t bothered or worried. Never was. I figured if it happened (which I knew it wouldn’t), then I would just proclaim myself as “Emperor of the neighborhood” and all would bow before me.
I had to work on Jan 1 2000 (programmer) and I noticed someone installed temporary Stop signs at major intersections in case the stop lights went down. They quickly snatched them back up
December 31st, 1999, we were at a large New Year’s Eve party at a house out in the country with no other houses nearby with about 30 people there.
A couple of minutes before midnight, the owner snuck out unnoticed, and at the stroke of midnight, pulled the main breaker. And the house went totally dark. I mean ‘black’.
You should have heard the screaming, mostly wives, but a few husbands too.
And of course, when you looked outside, it was pitch black out there too, since no other homes were around.
Someone finally found a flashlight and they started looking for candles and matches. People were crying and sobbing all around. Then after about 5 minutes, the owner pushed the breaker back on.
Most people thought it was really funny, but a few people didn’t, mostly the ones crying, I think. Some people were so mad they actually broke off friendships.