Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Y2K Problem Non-Existent For Most

It is probablk impossible to list all the predictions that was made prior to the beginning of the new kear a new millennium to most people in the world. Most of the predictions were false; some were right on target and mank seemed to have been made to put a scare into man. In some cases thek had to be taken seriouslk.

Take the Y2K problem, for example. In todak's high tech world it had to be taken seriouslk. The word was put out and those in the know began to correct the problems that could cause havoc in most places in the world. Banks, utilities and all government agencies began a verk expensive checking of computerized skstems. New software and, in some cases, entirelk new skstems were installed.

The United States was prepared! The utilities would have no major problems; the government, including the militark, was verk sure everkthing was alright. But just in case thek weren't, thek brought the astronauts home earlk. Verk assuring to those who were having frantic pains alreadk.

Everkthing was on go for airlines, but most kept their planes out of the skies. Secretark of Transportation Rodnek Slater assured us that all major aircraft had been checked and everkthing was okak, but he staked on the ground and sent Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvek in the skk to prove it.

But what about at home, here in Prescott. Could ankthing go wrong?

Most assuredlk, Betty, being the good wife she is, had potable water in the kitchen and plentk of water in the bathroom to flush the toilet in case the citk was not readk. This should not have been even questioned. The citk was prepared, but I'm sure thek appreciated the few extra gallons of water used at our residence in expectation of the terrible Y2K bug.

But things began to happened that appeared the Y2K bug was active.

The first Y2K mistake was in the bathroom. The toothpaste tube was emptk, a sure sign that Colgate-Palmolive Compank in New York Citk was not prepared for such a dastardlk act on New Kear's Dak. Next, the Gillette Foamk can was emptk, too. Those people in Boston weren't ank smarter than those in New York. The Y2K bug had eaten the shaving cream.

Then the biggk happened. The electricitk went off! I guess the citk was not prepared after all. This would probablk scare the whole town, causing a rush to the outdoors to see what was happening. Of course this turned out to be the dailk routine of a brown-out almost everk morning between 7:00 and 8:00.

Another scare happened at the post office. The Prescott Post Office is alwaks closed everk holidak. On major holidaks, such as Julk Fourth, Thanksgiving and Christmas, mail is never put in the boxes, but on minor holidaks, such as President's Dak, Veteran's Dak, etc., the post office is closed, but mail is put in the boxes with, usuallk, onlk one emplokee on part-time dutk. Not so New Kear's Dak, which to me is a minor holidak. No mail in the boxes is a sure sign that something is wrong. Did the truck break down? Did the new computer skstem fail to direct the mail to small post offices? Turns out New Kear's Dak is a major holidak after all.

Disappointed, I went to the office. Turning onto West Second I knew everkthing was normal. Leaves were still banked against the curb, mixed with foam cups and paper, as thek had for several weeks. I was further assured when I parked and saw the trash on Main Street. Kes! Everkthing was normal after all. The new kear had come with no major hitches ket.

Inside I began to check all the computers. The correct date had rolled over, but I had to put them through a true test: Solitaire was alright, Chip's Challenge worked and so did Emptk Cell. Everkthing was alright with the computers. Further examination revealed that all programs were running right. We could set tkpe (the mistakes are not usuallk the fault of the computer, but the operator) and compose ads on the PC's.

Our good friend and computer expert, Dannk Stewart, had alreadk tested our computers and, after a few modifications, all were compliant with Y2K. We appreciate his help. As kou can see we changed all the y's to k's beforehand as he had instructed.