On This Day Pre-Y2K
Confused by any of the jargon you see below? Check the Y2K Glossary!
January 9, 2000 Permalink
I had always wanted a self-sufficient lifestyle and have been close several times in my life. Five years ago we moved from Phoenix to rural IA and 3 yrs ago bought a farm, which was the dream we had. After realizing that Y2k might be a serious problem over 2 years ago, we stepped up our plans. What was a 5-yr plan became a 2 yr plan and we came close. Close enough that had Y2k been catastrophic, we would have been just fine. Now that we are reasonably sure that it won’t be catastrophic, we are continuing on with our plans to become as self-sufficient as possible.
Having all of those preps has already had its blessings. Last summer I was unexpectedly out of work for 3 mos and it would have hurt a lot more without the preps we had. Once I went back to work, we re-stocked plus some for the end of the year. Right now we will use the preps, but still keeping a few months worth at all times and that will help us this next year trying to pay off the farm and build the farming part of our lives to be able to make some money off of it.
Eventually we still want to put in solar /wind generation for electric and dig a new well and get off of rural water. The woodstove works great at heating most of the house and we really like it. I also have a woodburning cookstove that we didn’t get installed that we will install for the other end of the house.
Did we spend too much money - maybe. I like to think of it as a different kind of savings plan. Nothing we bought will go to waste as we bought only what we would use. Since prices will go up in the future, I have saved money by buying at yesterday’s prices.
As soon as the farm is paid off and I can make some income from it, I will quit my job. Thank goodness.
—beckie, Time Bomb 2000 Forums (LUSENET), 01/09/00
Just this evening I spoke with a person who works for a phone company in a small town. We started talking about Y2K and he said they did test and fix their systems, which needed to be updated anyway. When asked if the “non-event” of rollover was due to these repairs or the possibility that Y2K wasn’t really a concern, he replied that it was definitely due to all the work that had gone into repairing the problems. I tend to agree that things would have been much different if no money had been spent on repairs. Thus, the idea that Y2K was a big hoax is not tenable.
Now, a question that remains to be answered is what about those countries that did not prepare as well and likewise the small companies? It could be that their computer systems are not as complex, and therefore easier to fix on failure. It could also be that there are still many problems that haven’t surfaced yet.
Finally, it seems that before the rollover, everyone was presented with basically the same facts; some chose to interpret them in the most frightening way possible, while others shrugged their shoulders or even laughed out loud or became angry. I do think that there is a tendency in some to look for a calamity. There are some who want to believe in a conspiracy, even when there may not be one. The “mission critical” companies were telling us, after all, that they were ready, and they were indeed. I do know that the media is usually biased, but I think that there can still be a basic trust that we give to people, that in general, they are telling the truth.
What lies ahead? Let’s wait and see.
—BeerMan, Time Bomb 2000 Forums (LUSENET), 01/09/00
