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Having Fun with Y2K

CDS writes "Fade to Black comedy magazine has a hilarious story on the Y2K problem. Michael Page, the main man @ F2B, e-mails several companies asking if their products (such as Haagen-Dazs, Oil of Olay, and Elmer's Glue) are Y2K compliant. Funny Stuff. " I laughed. I cried. It was better then "Cats". Warning: Some of the material is offensive. To someone. I think.

147 comments

  1. Looks like they're not /. compliant. by Black+Parrot · · Score: 1

    /.ted already?

    --
    It's October 6th. Where's W2K? Over the horizon again, eh?

    --
    Sheesh, evil *and* a jerk. -- Jade
    1. Re:Looks like they're not /. compliant. by matthead · · Score: 1

      No kidding. It took about 5 minutes for the 404 to load! Now that's service.

      After trying the corrected URL I'm still waiting for the page to show up... oh, wait! "An error occurred while processing this directive. Time to reload. I hope it's as good as advertised.

      --

      -Matthead
    2. Re:Looks like they're not /. compliant. by matthead · · Score: 1

      Now I feel like a moron. The real corrected URL is http://www.fadetoblack.com/y2k.

      --

      -Matthead
    3. Re:Looks like they're not /. compliant. by uktimbo · · Score: 1

      Can't get anywhere near it from the UK at 9am local time today. Comprehensively /dotted! //if at first you don't succeed you're clearly not drunk enough//

  2. correct url... by donfede · · Score: 4
    the correct url is...

    www.fadetoblack.com/y2k/

    Fede

    1. Re:correct url... by blj8 · · Score: 1
      Thank you, but I can't get the site to come up -
      Maybe they got Slashdotted [grin]

  3. http://www.fadetoblack.com/y2k by j+a+w+a+d · · Score: 1

    http://www.fadetoblack.com/y2k

    The right link... I think.
    i dont display scores, and my threshhold is -1. post accordingly.

    --
    i dont display scores, and my threshhold is -1. post accordingly.
    Discuss /. policies
  4. Urk! Broken Link! by Peale · · Score: 1

    CmdrTaco needs to fix this. Otherwise it gets a 404!

    I'm sorry. What I meant to say was 'please excuse me.'
    what came out of my mouth was 'Move or I'll kill you!'

    1. Re:Urk! Broken Link! by gargle · · Score: 1

      It's just his way of avoiding slashdotting the site too badly.

  5. Looks like Don Novello... by lar3ry · · Score: 3

    I remember reading the Lazlo Letters by Don Novello (aka Father Guido Sarducci) in the late 1970's, and later during when _Spy_ magazine was still in print.

    It's a funny idea, writing mock letters of gratitude or complaint to various companies ("I got a crushed M&M") and political figures ("I'm pulling for ya!") and seeing who get's it or who falls for his line.

    This is much the same thing...

    That said, I enjoyed reading these letters as well.

    And yes, some of these will be offensive to some people.


    --

    --
    "May I have ten thousand marbles, please?"
    1. Re:Looks like Don Novello... by Squirrel+Killer · · Score: 1
      As funny as the F2B stuff is, I much perfer the Lazlo letters.

      The F2B e-mails are so far over the top that a company either 1) gets the joke (somewhat reducing the humor value) or 2) is so confused that they send either a form letter or nothing. Who wants to read a bunch of form letters, or worse, a bunch of sophmoric writing with a Y2K thing thrown in at the end?

  6. Reporters... by viper21 · · Score: 2

    A paper up near Green Bay has a Y2k Reporter. A friends brother got the job, his responsibility is making up a new story to scare the public every 3 or 4 days. Spread the panic, I always say... Last week he wrote about an appliance repairman charging 100$ per house to make their household appliances Y2K compliant. Sweet Job.

    -
    Check out the new case I built at the address above. Made out of a book, pretty cool.

    -S
    Scott Ruttencutter

    1. Re:Reporters... by ostiguy · · Score: 1

      Actually, I just read about a Chrysler dealership that was charging 299.99 for a so called y2k update. What they were actually doing was firmware upgrades that Chrysler Corp. did not feel necessitated a recall. It looks like the dealership was just trying to make money off the hype. Slimy. if ya wanna read it, scroll down like crazy, and go quickly, as ths Globe will probably remove it shortly

  7. Heh...heh. by j+a+w+a+d · · Score: 1

    It wasn't as funny as promised.. Ivory (the soap people) had the best reply by far...

    Finally, you're concerns are valid about Y2K. It's my understanding that accordion players are particularly at risk when we hit the new millennium. I'd also watch out for the little monkey you dress up and force to dance when you play. It's my advice you seek shelter far, far away from your access to e-mail.

    Other companies had little/no fun with the questions. I would have appreciated if Fade To Black focussed more on the Y2K question rather than making it an afterthought, though.

    Eh, just my thoughts.

    i dont display scores, and my threshhold is -1. post accordingly.

    --
    i dont display scores, and my threshhold is -1. post accordingly.
    Discuss /. policies
  8. Great article! by meckardt · · Score: 1

    What is surprising is not the goofy letters the fadetoblack guys came up with, it is how many of these odd-ball letters actually got responses.
    Mike Eckardt meckardt@yahoo.spam.com

  9. mirror by Zog · · Score: 0

    Anyone have a mirror?
    DynDNS - Dynamic DNS. Source Code.

  10. To bad they forgot Nike by rw2 · · Score: 4

    Dear Nike,

    I'm growing more worried by the day about the catastrophy looming in our immediate future. I'm referring, of course, to Y2K.

    I'm a functionally illiterate jock, as witnessed by my dictation (huh-huh, I said dictation), of this letter to my coach. So I'm quite concerned about whether or not I will still be able to play football in a few weeks.

    You see, if I were not able to hang out with other naked guys and flex for the girls that I was planning to slip a mickey to I don't know what I would do all weekend.

    Please make this problem go away.

    Please.

    1. Re:To bad they forgot Nike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      wow. talk about a sterotype.

    2. Re:To bad they forgot Nike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      haha... Well, I thought it was funny...

      AC

    3. Re:To bad they forgot Nike by cheese63 · · Score: 1

      dude, shut up. why would he post something anonymously if he thought it was funny? calm down, maybe someone should "slip you a mickey"...

    4. Re:To bad they forgot Nike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Another post handled badly by moderators. Hope this shows up on meta-moderation, along with

      This

      This

      This
      and plenty more.

      Slashdot : Where you're entitled to an opinion: the moderator's. Otherwise, get moderated down.

      At least you guys got this right...

    5. Re:To bad they forgot Nike by Grits+Boy · · Score: 1
      Hi people. The gritsboy agrees with cheese here. I certainly wish someone would slip me a hot bowl of grits to pour down my pants !!!

      So sayeth the gritsboy.

      --

      Linux and grits down my pants. Does it get any better?



    6. Re:To bad they forgot Nike by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
      Good God, man... the whole article that we're talking about is based on this type of humor. Are you upset at the comments made about Bic Shavers from the POV of a gay porn star on the fadetoblack.com website too? Or any of the other posts on their site that are of this very nature?

      And what the hell is up with that statement you make about "geeks" and "jocks"? You seem to be implying that "geeks" deserve and even provoke the horrific treatment they tend to recieve from "jocks"!

      But I digress, and my point is, this whole thing was about parody. Hell, we parody geeks too, sometimes. It's just harder for us to make fun of ourselves, though we do occasionally manage. =o)

      ---

      I'm not a real anonymous coward, I just play one on TV.

      ---

      PS--You complained 'cause he posted anonymously... I'll bet you'll be pissed I DID, too. Neener neener neener!

    7. Re:To bad they forgot Nike by Dman33 · · Score: 1

      Did you happen to pay any attention to the site that this is in response to? It is a thing called parody. Man, chill out! Talk about a 'roid rage!'

      I am sure he did not check the AC post because he did not think that someone like you were out there to get all bent out of shape for no real reason. It is no wonder that there are so many problems in the world when people cannot take a little satire here and there. Stereotypes are good criticism too, although they are viewed negatively because they do not portray the target group accurately, they can make you think about the people you associate with and how they are viewed.

      You can use things like this positively...

  11. mmm, NT and IIS? by hime · · Score: 1

    Dumb Quote
    of the Day

    [an error occurred while processing this directive]

    Very appropriate.

    1. Re:mmm, NT and IIS? by gleam · · Score: 2

      That's rather unfair. It's quite possible to generate that error under linux/apache, IIRC. I've done it myself a few times. Just mistype a server-side include and awaaaay you go.

      Why is everything MS bashing on slashdot nowadays? It used to be linux advocacy, which I didn't mind, and geek news, which I love. Now it's linux news, which I don't mind, linux zealotry, which I do mind deeply, MS bashing, and very little pure geek news. Sigh. I know, I know, taco doesn't want us to bash slashdot as a whole, so let it be known that I'm grumbling about the slashdot community, and the articles selected. Today's have been good, in general, though. Just don't read the comments.

      So, really, why must everything be a war? Post relevant stuff, or don't post. Post insightful or informative stuff, or interesting stuff, or don't post. Funny is ok in funny stories, but why the heck does it show up everywhere nowadays? Ugh. I could browse at +4, but I'm an optimist. Sigh.

      Rant rant rant, rant rant rant.

      Sorry you had to be on the receiving end.

      regards,
      -efisher
      ---

      --
      this .sig is not a .sig.
    2. Re:mmm, NT and IIS? by poink · · Score: 2

      No, acually is it RH Linux. (Apache 1.3.3):

      Connected to www.fadetoblack.com.
      Escape character is '^]'.
      GET / HTTP/1.0

      HTTP/1.1 200 OK
      Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1999 03:40:04 GMT
      Server: Apache/1.3.3 (Unix) (Red Hat/Linux)
      Connection: close
      Content-Type: text/html

    3. Re:mmm, NT and IIS? by pod · · Score: 1

      Actually, no, IIS would print out an SSI error and stop generating the page. Anyone know how to prevent this?

      --
      "Hot lesbian witches! It's fucking genius!"
  12. Man! This Y2K hysteria!! by alop · · Score: 3

    This Y2K hysteria is such a perfect example of the blind leading the blind! I've seen that the people who are most frightend by this hype are the one's who know the least about it... I, personally , sleep easy at night, being well aware of the copious hours of work being put in by software engineers to ensure a smooth transition. But you ask joe shmo on the street, and he'll tell you how he's hording supplies and turning his assets into gold bullion! I've had people ask me If I thought their cars were Y2K complient! Now come on! Since when does an automobile even CARE what day it is?! My own mother has even asked me if the Microwave oven was ready fo the new millenium.

    This madness has got to stop! I blame the media for making foolish, un-informed speculations to a largely uneducated (as far as technology goes) crowd.
    The only real thing we have to fear for Y2K are those spooky predictions by that Nostradamous character, now that's something to prepare for ;-)

    --Alop

    --
    --alop
    1. Re:Man! This Y2K hysteria!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1
      My own mother has even asked me if the Microwave oven was ready fo the new millenium.

      I heard from a friend that was consulting with a (unnamed for this message) large airport in Florida for Y2K embedded systems that the only Y2K related failure in all boeing passenger aircraft is the microwave oven in the 747 series. Apparently, a controller board rework was necessary.

      AC

    2. Re:Man! This Y2K hysteria!! by thingy · · Score: 1

      For the most part I think that the well aware are doing the least amount of worrying about this y2k thingy. I thought that until I received an email from my school's computer center about y2k (our school is targeted for science and engineering).

      The letter said that before the new year the school will be shutting down all servers and computers in the machine room not sure if this also means routers and switches also but I think it does. They also encourage students to turn off their computers and even unplug them from the wall over break! I know that the school is trying to be a little over cautious and maybe they are trying to avoid law suits but wow talk about paranoia, they are not even trusting the power company.

      To bring it to a close not all the knowlegable people are sleeping at night about this y2k thingy. Of course I think my school's computer center might be a special case because I don't know many people at other schools who have such a y2k polocy.

      --
      P.S. I can't spel :)
    3. Re:Man! This Y2K hysteria!! by cleancut · · Score: 2

      The problem isn't are the major countries prepared. The real concern is with Thrid World nations that we depend on, that are somewhat computerized.

      If small country that sells a widget that is critical for a bigger product manufactured in the US (or other nation) has serious problems with it's order processing system, causing that widget to not be shipped, it causes major problems for our manufacturing. Same thing with things like oil, coal and food from 3rd world nations. It wouldn't take much of a slight screw up to throw the whole system off.

      Is this serious? I'm not sure. This may not be that big of problem, but it's certainly a possibility. So while our computers are more or less fine, other countries might not be so lucky. If this is a serious problem, keeping some extra food supplies isn't so silly. As always, the devil is in the details.

    4. Re:Man! This Y2K hysteria!! by quarkoid · · Score: 1

      I've had people ask me If I thought their cars were Y2K complient! Now come on! Since when does an automobile even CARE what day it is?

      While I don't believe the problem will be as great as some people's fears, it's attitudes like this which will be the cause of any problems we do experience.

      Rumour has it that the only system to fail Y2K testing on the Boeing 747-400 was the automated machinery which pumps sewerage between holding tanks to maintain balance in the aircraft.

      Now, why on earth would that need to know what date it is, let alone what year?

      So, please don't assume people are stupid because you make assumptions on how other people write/program/build systems. If anything fails, it will be the obscure things which nobody has even considered.

      Nick.

    5. Re:Man! This Y2K hysteria!! by quonsar · · Score: 1
      Chip makers produce generic devices. They cannot predict how engineers and designers may use them, and in conjunction with what other devices. It is a certainty that a chip which has timekeeping functionality but provides other functionality as well has been used in applications which do not care what time it is. And when the timekeeping function on the chip fails, the entire design could fail, even though no use is made of that particular functionality in that particular design.

      I have personal knowledge of one such case - our local fire department had to have some retrofitting on a pumper truck. It seems that the 'brain' which controls the transmission of this truck, contained some chips which are likely to stop or exhibit undefined behavior in the event their "internal clock" goes out of whack.

      The application, control of the automatic transmission, does not care about dates. Some of the parts the controller was built out of, however, apparently do.

      ======
      "Rex unto my cleeb, and thou shalt have everlasting blort." - Zorp 3:16

    6. Re:Man! This Y2K hysteria!! by Azog · · Score: 1

      Well, I disagree with you. I know a lot about the problem. But I think there is a high probability of significant problems that will affect many people. I am not frightened - I am prepared.

      Some facts to keep in mind:

      44% of MAJOR corporations will NOT have their mission critical systems fixed by January. (Source: Cap Gemini, see this ComputerWorld article). And over half a million small companies are fixing nothing in advance, instead hoping to fix on failure.

      Only 13% of small and midsize chemical and petroleum firms in the United States have completed preparations. Many of these are close to residential areas, and an accident could be a significant health risk.

      The US FDA says 4053 high-risk biomedical devices remain noncompliant, and more than half of health-care providers will not be ready.

      The IRS (yes the IRS!) is still doing INVENTORY of the computers in their field offices, and will almost certainly not be completely ready in time.

      The US State Dept: "80 countries are at moderate to high risk, and there will be failures at every economic level in every region of the world."

      Economic disruption is inevitable. It is impossible to predict how bad it will be, as that will depend on what systems fail and how long it will take to repair them. Even if every computer system in North America was completely fixed, we are dependent on trade with many countries who are far, far behind. Like Japan and Germany.

      I am no doomsayer - I think North American banks and stock markets are probably OK, and the electrical grid is probably mostly fixed and will work. So civilization will not come to an end.

      Don't panic. But don't believe that just because people are working on it, that it will be done in time. That is apparently your opinion - maybe you can explain why nearly all software projects are late, buggy, and over budget? Do you think that Y2K repairs will somehow be immune to these inevitable problems?

      You blame the media for being uninformed. I agree - but I think they are far to likely to swallow the happy-happy joy-joy stories of official spokespeople and ignore the very real problems that are out there.

      Not everything will be fixed. Your life may be affected, hopefully only in small ways. Deal.

      Torrey (Azog) Hoffman

      --
      Torrey Hoffman (Azog)
      "HTML needs a rant tag" - Alan Cox
  13. not better than cats by fishbowl · · Score: 2

    performed in portugese by an all-nude all-brazilian cast.

    --
    -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    1. Re:not better than cats by cheese63 · · Score: 1

      what is?

  14. Y2k, Offensiveness, and Directive Processing Error by Deitheres · · Score: 0

    Warning: Some of the material is offensive. To someone. I think."

    Oh come now Hemos, something somewhere is always going to offend someone.

    Dat's just da way it iz.

    :-)

    And how's this for irony: I go to the page, and here's what it says at the top: "[an error occurred while processing this directive]".

    Early Y2K system problems me thinks? MUAHAHAHAHAHA

    Charlie


    --
    Child: Mommy, where do .sig files go when they die?
    Mother: HELL! Straight to hell!
    I've never been the same since.

    --
    Just like driving a car:
    (D) to go forward
    (R) to go backward

  15. I wish he had just sent normal letters by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wish he cut the comedy and just sent normal-sounding letters that asked about Y2K, so we'd actually see what these companies' reactions would be.

    1. Re:I wish he had just sent normal letters by Dreamweaver · · Score: 1

      Well, it Is a comedy net-zine thing..
      Dreamweaver

      --


      "If a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live" -- MLK, Jr.
  16. The 10-Cup Neuro-Fuzzy Deluxe Rice Cooker is ready by glomph · · Score: 1
    So all of you with Neuro-Fuzzy Deluxe Rice will be well fed next year!

    Get cooking!

  17. Disappointing from F2B by andy@petdance.com · · Score: 2
    They've done so much better in the past, like mailing NOW and other women's organizations asking them to participate in a "Babes Of The Women's Movement" pageant or something similar....

    xoxo,
    Andy

    1. Re:Disappointing from F2B by zilym · · Score: 1

      For those wondering, I believe the story the above author is talking about can be found at http://www.fadetoblack.com/now/

    2. Re:Disappointing from F2B by interiot · · Score: 1

      Also mirrored here.

  18. Almost all of my zippers... by Racine · · Score: 5

    ...are Y2K compliant. They even say YKK on them. I think they even said that 10 years ago. Finally, an industry with foresight!

    --
    Tcl my Pico! There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
    1. Re:Almost all of my zippers... by frantzdb · · Score: 1

      Off topic, but do any companies make zippers other than YKK? Take a look at any zippers on anything at all. 99% chance it'll say YKK on it... and I thought microsoft had a monopoly :-)

      --Ben

    2. Re:Almost all of my zippers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Mine says GAP on it...

    3. Re:Almost all of my zippers... by BJH · · Score: 1


      Strangely enough, 1.8 million counterfeit YKK zippers were seized in Beijing on November 8th...

    4. Re:Almost all of my zippers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmmmm, look at them moderators playin with their tools all day!!! I can just see the life of the moderator: 1. read 2. recognition 3. confirmation: look down at own zipper 4. gawdamn! Mine sayes YKK too!! 5. moderate up up up! :o) I'm not saying it's not deserved, just funny to see this get moderated up so much, so quickly. "They call me the Breace"

    5. Re:Almost all of my zippers... by cleancut · · Score: 1

      I'm currently wearing a pair of Bugle Boys. This pair's zipper says BBC, not YKK.

    6. Re:Almost all of my zippers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whoa, how old are those trousers? Or is bugle boy still around?

  19. Lazlo Toth... by Rev+Snow · · Score: 1

    ... The Next Generation.

  20. umm .. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    In my absence the last few days, I've noticed a proliferation of people running around claiming to be the grits boy.
    Umm ..

    I'm the grits boy, you cretin. Just who the hell are you?

    Your "grits boy" account is fooling nobody.
  21. This scares me. by brianm9 · · Score: 1

    This is rather comical. It is going to get really chaotic, and really ridiculous after y2k. I mean, consider the possibilities. 'McDonalds hamburgers weren't y2k compliant, now I have food poisoning' or, heh, my toilet paper wasn't y2k, it raped me :P

    Beware those that are slashers, its gonna get ridiculous. It'll be funny, and something we can mock =)

    1. Re:This scares me. by radja · · Score: 1

      >McDonalds hamburgers weren't y2k compliant, now I have food poisoning

      Impossible, they're not food

      --

      No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
      --Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
  22. F2B by British · · Score: 1

    These guys are hilarious. The writing style they did about how much they hate celebrities(such as Sinbad and Jenny Jones) is the best.

  23. fing lol by fishbowl · · Score: 1

    i'm trying to figure out what hemos found offensive.

    --
    -fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
    1. Re:fing lol by Sunthalazar · · Score: 1

      Probably just the general vulgarity of some of them. (Like the Bic Shaver one)

  24. OT - re: computer case by Bishop · · Score: 0

    that case kicks ass!

    I really should get off my duff and do "something" to (some of) my case(s).

  25. Mirror Here by interiot · · Score: 3

    The site is being mirrored here. It may take a few minutes to complete it.

    1. Re:Mirror Here by blj8 · · Score: 1
      Thank you, very decent of you :)

    2. Re:Mirror Here by ViGe · · Score: 1

      The site is being mirrored here. It may take a few minutes to complete it.

      Too bad it seems that even you are being slashdotted :-( Loads faster than the original site though.
      --

      --
      It has to work - rfc1925
    3. Re:Mirror Here by interiot · · Score: 1
      Tarball available here, if anyone else cares to mirror it.

      Also, fadetoblack's awesome NOW page is mirrored here too. (vote for Molly, maybe she can catch up)

  26. Slightly offtopic: About scares by Jaime+Herazo+B. · · Score: 2
    Look at this page: Computer Virus Myths. (Hint: look at here in the site for the article)

    This guy was a witness of the 1992 Michelangelo Virus scare (so was i, btw). Everybody was running for cover and screaming for help. Then the day came, almost nothing happened, and everything got back to normal, nobody mentioning the embarrasment.

    I think itll be the same here, to some extent. The doomsayers will be back in their caves, and everybody will keep their mouth shut about being wrong in the subject. What do you think?

    "Now you can see that evil will triumph, because good is dumb!"

    1. Re:Slightly offtopic: About scares by Randy+Rathbun · · Score: 2

      Same also goes for when all the planets lined up or that one kook who was predicting earthquakes based on "tidal forces".

      It totally amazes me how time after time people get in a panic over something, nothing happens, they go about their lives, and then turn right around and get in a panic over the next thing to come along.

      Any more I just have fun with these people and make Y2K out to be something just really more horrible than Art Bell and his cronies can come up with. I tell people to make sure their toaster is Y2K compliant or something silly like that. It is amazing how many of them are worried about crap like this - and it is foolish crap too.

  27. War of the Worlds, anyone? by Myself · · Score: 1

    I'm gonna see if I can dig up a copy and play it for new year's. Maybe I can persuade some local radio stations to do the same.

    Seriously tho. I believe these fearmongers should be held responsible if chaos breaks out. There's a fine line between the public just being stupid as usual, and the public not knowing much about technology.

    If the public is coerced into being stupid, that's one thing, and it serves them right. "Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke." right?

    But OTOH, it's realistic to assume that the common person might not understand what makes a system potentially Y2K vulnerable. Therefore I see no difference between the "experts" who predict doom, and the jerks who used to tease the retarded kids in school. In either case, it's taking advantage of the mentally incapable, and it's got to be illegal somehow. I say we rip these doom-sayers some new orifices.

  28. It was better than 'Cats'? by NullGrey · · Score: 1

    I laughed. I cried. It was better then "Cats".

    What did this come from? I frequently say it, but I don't remember where I got it from. I was just kinda shocked to see it in a /. posting. Anyone remember?

    --
    +-- (Score:-1, Moderator on Power Trip)
    1. Re:It was better than 'Cats'? by fornix · · Score: 1
      What did this come from?

      As far as I know, the "much better than Cats" line comes from an old SNL skit in which people are interviewed after attending a performance by a hypnotist. The hypnotist's show got the same great review from everyone: "I loved it. It was much better than Cats. I'm going to see it again and again."

    2. Re:It was better than 'Cats'? by NullGrey · · Score: 1

      Hmm that's not what I remember. That may be where the person that I heard got it, but that wasn't it. I heard it exactly as stated I laughed, I cried, it was better than "Cats." Thanks, tho.

      --
      +-- (Score:-1, Moderator on Power Trip)
    3. Re:It was better than 'Cats'? by pspeed · · Score: 1

      I don't know either, but among the people I hang with it is common to say:

      "I laughed, I cried, it became a part of me. I'd see it again and again."

      It's important to say it completely dead-pan.

      --
      Edu. sig-line: Choose rhymes with lose. Chose rhymes with goes. Loose rhymes with goose.
      Comparing? THEN use THAN.
  29. Funny letters to companies... by drenehtsral · · Score: 3

    My dad once wrote a letter to General Mills about cheerios. He was reading the box, and he got to the part that said "if you are not satisfied with the performance of this general mills product, or if you have any comments or suggenstions, feel free to write us a letter ...bla bla bla"

    So he wrote them a letter citing the text on the box, and stating that he bought a box of cheerios, but he wasn't satisfied by their performance. Infact he poured them out on the table, and they didn't do a damn thing.

    The company wrote back saying that it brightened their day to get that letter, and they send him a coupon for a dicount on cheerios =:-)

    --

    ---
    Play Six Pack Man. I
  30. slippery Ivory Soap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I do so madly want to make wild love to the Ivory Soap girl. She made my day.

    1. Re:slippery Ivory Soap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      you fucking freak

  31. Help for y2k prank! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    OK, I got the perfect y2k prank, I just need some help to pull it off... real simple... crack into the computer that run your local power grid... at midnight y2k, shut down your local station. If everyone does this, we'll have massive blackout to celebrate y2k... now the fun part is you only leave 'em off for 5 minutes or so, then flip 'em back on. It'll be a riot (erm, literally probably).

  32. ykk website (getting off topic) by jesser · · Score: 1

    YKK has a website. Apparently they also sell other types of fasteners.

    (insert joke about being glad there isn't a YKK bug here)

    --
    The shareholder is always right.
    1. Re:ykk website (getting off topic) by AndyL · · Score: 1

      Yea, you keep thinking like that, you'll be sorry when year 1,000,000 comes along.

  33. Companies actually get asked this.. not as a joke by Pyr · · Score: 2

    I work for Helical Products Company, Inc., Manufacturer of flexible couplings, u-joints, and machined springs. what does this mean? We make little bendy things out of metal. That's it.

    According to our receptionist and head of technology, we've feilded hundreds of questions as to whether our products are y2k compliant.

    Some people just don't get it.

  34. It is the law. by Forge · · Score: 1

    I don't know weather I should laugh or cry but it has been the law for over a year now that nobody can import any equipment that is not Y2K compliant.

    This is why Jamaica should stop electing so many lawyers to Parliament :)

    --
    --= Isn't it surprising how badly I spell ?
  35. Not Slashdotted, just slooooowwww..... by Dan+B. · · Score: 3
    --
    Dan. -- So what if it's spelt wrong, nobody's perfect
  36. time_t anyone? by craw · · Score: 2
    Hmm, haven't seen a web site /.ed for a while. Oh well, somebody's ISP is gonna be pissed.

    I hate Y2K. I had to certify a bunch of computers this past year. I hate Y2K.
    On a more serious note, how do you handle time_t? I stopped using this and changed all my time variables to doubles. Hopefully, I will be retired before the next crisis.:-)

    1. Re:time_t anyone? by Bradley · · Score: 2

      On a more serious note, how do you handle time_t?

      "By the time 2038 comes around, nobody will be using 32 bit CPUs". :)

      Seriously though, I think that statement's probably true. People are still using programs from the 60's and 70's but I don't know of anyone using hardware from then. (Excluding that old computer they're trying to restore in Melbourne of course).

      You _do_ have the source to everything, right? :)

      I stopped using this and changed all my time variables to doubles.

      Doesn't that break all the libc interfaces which use time_t? Also, you change CPUs, you'll have to change it back again.

    2. Re:time_t anyone? by Abigail-II · · Score: 1
      "By the time 2038 comes around, nobody will be using 32 bit CPUs".

      Well, that didn't help us much for the Y2K problem, did it? Or are many people still running computers with do decimal arithmetic, and have punchcard interfaces?

      You _do_ have the source to everything, right?

      That doesn't solve a bit. Just switching from a 32 bit time_t value to a 64 bit one might be fine for applications that don't read or write time related data (either to file, or to another process), but it isn't so simple for everything else.
      Take for instance a file system, that somewhere reserves 4 bytes to write the last modification time of a file. Now you recompile your kernel, and suddenly have 8 byte time values. How are you going to fit those 8 bytes in the 4 allocated bytes? How are you going to communicate with computers that haven't upgraded yet?

      Solaris 7 is a 64-bit OS. Sun's Ultra-5 is 64-bit hardware. Yet, time_t still is 32 bits, for good reasons. Somewhere on Sun's website there's a timeline for when Sun will migrate to a 64 bit set of time related functions and data structures. It will be years from now, and the process will take years as well. It's not at all simple. (After all, we couldn't "solve" the y2k problems by just going to 4 digit years either).

      -- Abigail

    3. Re:time_t anyone? by Bradley · · Score: 2

      Well, that didn't help us much for the Y2K problem, did it?

      Note the quotes and the smiley...

      I'm aware of the datafile issues. However, changing from 32->64 bit will affect those as well (sizeof(everything) changes, etc). Why not shove in one additional change at the same time?

      In fact, time_t can remain a long, just the size of it changes... That's why currently time_t and lots of other things are typedef, so they're the same length on all platforms. That's why I diagreed with the person who said he'd converted all his source to use doubles rather than time_t.

    4. Re:time_t anyone? by Abigail-II · · Score: 1
      However, changing from 32->64 bit will affect those as well (sizeof(everything) changes, etc). Why not shove in one additional change at the same time?

      Because that's the *entire* problem. It's fine if you don't have existing data to consider, or synchronize with other computers. But as soon as you have existing data and communication channels, problems occur. If there wouldn't, we would have changed to 4-digit years a decade ago, and there wouldn't have been a Y2K issue. But switching from 2 digit years to 4 digit years, or from years since 1900 to years since 0 was never trivial on a large scale: existing data and synchronization make it a hard problem.

      I gave the example of a file system. Recompiling your kernel such that time_t is now a 64 bit value doesn't magically update the bytes on disk. What happens is that as soon as you bring up the file system, the kernel tries to read 8 bytes - half of them containing bogus data. (And a file system is just an example - there are thousands of other cases which have the same problem)

      -- Abigail

    5. Re:time_t anyone? by craw · · Score: 1
      This far down in the comment chain, but I just want to say that my use of time in my programs use a double is due to several reasons. Part of this is because a need to specify decimal time. I guess that I could use timeval, but I've had some problems due to compiling with the _POSIX_SOURCE flag turned on and off. Additionally, I read something a long time age that time_t might be eventually changed to be a double.

      The eventual conversion from 32 to 64 bits is going to create some problems. I have gotten a painful lesson about how one declares variables. Size_t used to be 4 bytes, but in a 64 bit world it becomes 8 bytes. Pointers become 64 bits. Byte alignment becomes a problem unless one anticipate this change. Sizeof(of some typedef struct) changes.

      The problem is running a program whereby one tries, fread( &utc, sizeof(time_t), 1, stream_id).

  37. More of this kind of thing ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... is available in the "Letters From A Nut" and "More Letters From A Nut" books in which Ted Nancy writes loony letters to companies and often gets equally loony responses.

    In one, he asks a stadium seating vendor whether he should go to his seat ass-first or crotch-first. The vendor says this is the most interesting question he has ever recieved...

    Of course, it's much funnier if you read the whole thing...

  38. Letters from a nut by sfbanutt · · Score: 2

    There's a whole book of this type of letter from a chap by the name of Ted Nancy. The book is titled, appropriately enough, "Letters From a Nut" (ISBN 0-380-97354-5). As far as I know, it's only available on dead trees. The funniest thing about the book is that most of the companies take the letters absolutely seriously....

    --
    I've wrestled with reality for 35 years and I'm happy to say, I finally won out - Elwood P. Dowd
    1. Re:Letters from a nut by donarb · · Score: 1

      That's not exactly an original idea. Read The Lazlo Letters, by Lazlo Toth (Don Novello - Father Guido Sarducci). This book was written 20 years ago.

    2. Re:Letters from a nut by lamour · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I have a book called Wilbur Winkle Has a Complaint, which is similar. a quick Google search turned up this Lazlo book review with a handful of links at the bottom to similar books. If you see the Wilbur Winkle book in a bookstore, stop and read the Calloway Golf letters...I cried.

  39. Y2K compliant? Oh very Y2K compliant :) by blj8 · · Score: 1
    I think the article is hilarious, and I assure you I am not at all offended... It takes FAR more than that to offend me!

    Anyway, in all this, I can be assured in one thing: I know that my coffee mug is Y2K-compliant!

    1. Re:Y2K compliant? Oh very Y2K compliant :) by tenatious · · Score: 2

      Anyway, in all this, I can be assured in one thing: I know that my coffee mug is Y2K-compliant.

      Yeah. But what you have to be worried about is the coffee you put into your pot and the coffee maker itself and carafe. Even if your coffee mug were not Y2K compliant, you could drink directly from the carafe if it is.

      If on the other hand your coffee, coffee maker, or carafe is not compliant, you are screwed.

      I've contacted my coffee supplier, my coffee pot manufacturer, and the manufacturer of the carafe (and mug too, since it's much more convenient to drink from a mug than it is to drink directly from the carafe) and luckily, all are compliant. I suggest you do the same.


      --
      The men who hold high places must be the ones who start to mold a new reality... closer to the heart - RUSH
    2. Re:Y2K compliant? Oh very Y2K compliant :) by blj8 · · Score: 1
      I've contacted my coffee supplier, my coffee pot manufacturer, and the manufacturer of the carafe (and mug too, since it's much more convenient to drink from a mug than it is to drink directly from the carafe) and luckily, all are compliant. I suggest you do the same.

      I'm not worried; I rubbed my magic lamp three times and had my genie fix all that so I'll have coffee on new years day. If the power goes out, he'll even hold the plug in his ear to provide power to the coffeepot [grin]

  40. Re:Install by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Try posting this to www.deja.com or a newsgroup with more detail; due to the fact it is off topic here. Don't give up though; because Linux is a great OS. :-)

  41. PROCTER AND GAMBLE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    This might have turned out better if every "common household item" couldn't be linked back to the Procter and Gamble MegaCorp.

    Doh! Oh well.

  42. The Fleecing of America by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I just wanted to say that

  43. Kudos to Kim, the great gal! by Noel+McK · · Score: 1

    I'm switching to Ivory soap the next time I take a shower! What a sport... Thanks for the best reply of all.

  44. Another example by Noel+McK · · Score: 1

    I actually read an article in Business Week about a gravel pit that had to certify its sand as y2k compliant!

    1. Re:Another example by hawk · · Score: 2

      We have y2k stickers on everything in this university. Hmm, I installed linux *after* they put the sticker on the computer; maybe I should ad a "but not 2038" sticker :)

      The *typewriter* has a sticker. And the college has a manual typewriter on standby, in case there's no power for the electrics--but this building would be unusable without poiwer . . .

  45. Re:Waiting for Linux 6.1.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Actually he meant "Rde $at 6.1" and not the kernel duh

  46. trojans by given_to_fly · · Score: 1

    Man I wish he asked the Trojan guys.. i can imagine a lot of scary things if those arent y2k compliant.

    --
    "I'm like an opening band for the sun" -Pearl Jam ; Yield ; Push Me , Pull Me
  47. oh man. by malign · · Score: 1

    hehe. those are funny.. I'd never read that webpage before. But I laughed my ass off at those. I do believe my workmates thought I was having a fit. grin Thanks for that Made another boring nightshift technical support job slightly more entertaining. Beats idling on irc and reloading /. every 10 minutes anyway :P

    --
    Life is what you make of it.
  48. Oh my goodness.... by madprof · · Score: 1

    This is hilarious.
    My favourites are the Ivory Soap and Oil of Olay ones.
    How I wish I was working for Proctor and Gamble. :-)

  49. "Only the paranoid survive" by Baldrson · · Score: 1
    If "only the paranoid survive" what's going to do these corporations in is that they've failed to detect that they've been infiltrated by a translife-time, inter-galactic conspiracy.

    On the other hand, maybe there's a better way. Perhaps we might rest, for a precious few femtoseconds, and consider that there is more to prediction than pontification -- that testable, quantifiable hypotheses are the cornerstone of the age of enlightenment. Perhaps we should, therefore consider putting our credibility where our keyboards are.

    NNAAHHH

  50. Stranger than fiction by chchchain · · Score: 1

    I just read somewhere (for the life of me I can't remember where) that Duck Head pants is the victim of a "smear campaign" that is spreading rumors that their pants are not Y2K compliant.

    Their sense of humor is pretty strained on this whole thing, as they just got done vindicating themselves from a Duck-Head-Pants-Equals-Satanism scandal. The executive interviewed had a quote to the effect of "I don't know why this always happens to us. All I want to do is sell pants."

    Ahh, if life were only so simple...

  51. 8-2k :Yard sale of the century! by valintin · · Score: 1

    I'm so looking forward to August when all the survivalists start to sell off all their extra supplies. I'll never have to buy camping gear again.

    1. Re:8-2k :Yard sale of the century! by donarb · · Score: 1

      And don't forget to buy stock in Waste Management. The landfills will be bursting with 55 gallon drums of discarded Y2K beans.

  52. Hey - we're looking good! by Matt2000 · · Score: 2

    I know alot of you were worried that Hotnutz wouldn't make the big switch to Y2K, well this seems as good an opportunity as any to let you know we're looking good:

    Y2K Press Release


    Hotnutz.com

    --

  53. Re:Words From The Grits Boy by Field+Marshall+Stack · · Score: 0

    Oh come on, I can't be the only one who thinks this deserves to be moderated up, not down...
    --
    "HORSE."

    --
    "HORSE."
    -Flaming Carrot
  54. Wonders of the new medium! by Wayfarer · · Score: 2

    Damn, I was wondering when somebody would take the Jerky Boys approach to email. I loved the results, especially the one concerning Ivory Soap. I'd be rather disappointed, however, if this was the first case of this happening.

    Anybody know of any other features along these lines out there? These guys can't be the only people with time on their hands...

    --

    -W-

    Is it all journey, or is there landfall?
    --Ellison & van Vogt, 'The Human Operators'

  55. :) by cebe · · Score: 1

    as funny as this is... I laughed my head off reading some of these... it's actually quite interesting to see the responses of companies through email.

    Some of the companies had a personal email send right back.. obviously no matter how outlandish the initial mail... and some (Haagan-Dazs.com) just send back an auto-response type email.

    It's one thing to "get on the web" but using the internet to improve your company, your PR, and your customer service is something completely different.

    in all non seriousness though... quite halarious... I enjoyed these

    --
    You have paid for a total of 0 pages and so far 0 have been used up (0 today).
  56. Joys of Linux installation for newbies by Noel+McK · · Score: 2
    Ha ha, welcome to Linux! Get used to the difficulties - all the Windows experience won't help you much here. This isn't just another application you are installing, it's a whole new operating system. It's okay that no one will install it for you since the sooner you get used to handling things yourself the better. The installation is just the start of "problems" and you don't want to call over a friend every time you get a weird screen or your printer doesn't work! First, get used to going to the web for help and information (Linux was born on the web after all). Here's a couple of starts for your situation:

    Newsgroup for RedHat Linux installation: http://www.deja.com/group/linux.redhat.install/

    Beginners guide for installing Linux: http://www.linux.ie/beginners-linux-guide/

    Remember, not everyone will be helpful if you post in a wrong area, like you did here :-) Try to find a relevant site and be sure you first read what's already there since no one likes duplicate postings or being asked a question that's already been answered. I'm jealous of your machine... what a piece of hardware! Did you build it yourself? If so this will help you since you will need a lot of information on your machine once you actually get into setting up Linux. If you didn't build the machine, write down everything you can about what's inside it before you start installing. You don't have any fancy setup to do this for you like Windows does. For an idea of what you need to know, see section 2.1.5 of Linux Installation and Getting Started. When I first installed Linux, I put it on a machine I had built myself and had a second machine next to it constantly logged onto the web for finding information. My "fun" started when the setup couldn't find my SCSI CD/ROM, so I bypassed the situation by plugging an old CD/ROM into a free IDE port and got started. The only other major hang-up after that involved the wrong video card being identified during setup, and my monitor got very hot and made an unwelcome whining noise that sounded like oncoming death (which made me glad it was an older monitor whose loss would be bearable)... fixing this required changing settings on the X-server.

    Regarding the posts here on the "6.1" thing, here's a little sidenote. Linux distributors (such as RedHat) have their own numbering system that is best thought of as unrelated to the underlying Linux kernel. You may have RedHat 6.1, TurboLinux 3.6, and Slackware Linux 4.0 all out at the same time using the same Linux kernel, which is version 2.2. The second number indicates whether you have a "stable" or "development" version: if that number is even, it is stable. Thus Linux 2.2 is a stable version, while 2.3 is the current development (unstable) version. While you can download and install 2.3 and think you are getting a "newer" version, don't! Wait until you are way beyond the newbie stage to wander there.

    Not that I want to push anyone's products here, but if you are planning to stick with it and get into Linux, you might consider getting a copy of Running Linux. I didn't buy it until I had Linux up and running - reading the first few chapters before I attempted an install would have been helpful, and it is great to have around afterwards to learn from. In the mean time, have fun and hang in there during the installation!

  57. Correction on Deja link - Sorry :-( by Noel+McK · · Score: 1

    it should be... Newsgroup for RedHat Linux installation: http://www.deja.com/group/linux.redhat.install

  58. They forgot KY Jelly by hedgehog_uk · · Score: 5

    KY Jelly is not Y2K compliant. A new product will be launched for the millennium - Y2KY Jelly - which allows you four digits in your date instead of two.

    --
    Yellow tigers crouched in jungles in her dark eyes.
    She's just dressing, goodbye windows, tired starlings.
    1. Re:They forgot KY Jelly by orcrist · · Score: 1

      This is really funny. Although, it might offend some people also ;-)

      Chris

      --
      San Francisco values: compassion, tolerance, respect, intelligence
    2. Re:They forgot KY Jelly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess it offended the person who moderated it down.

    3. Re:They forgot KY Jelly by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's disgusting. But a neat visual image!

    4. Re:They forgot KY Jelly by quonsar · · Score: 1

      KY Jelly is not Y2K compliant. A new product will be launched for the millennium - Y2KY Jelly - which allows you four digits in your date instead of two.

      THIS is FAR funnier than Fade2Black's lame letters!

      ======
      "Rex unto my cleeb, and thou shalt have everlasting blort." - Zorp 3:16

  59. This was too funny by lyrabas · · Score: 1

    This guy is obviously wacked. The one from proctor and gamble had me rolling.

  60. Re:Companies actually get asked this.. not as a jo by mykdavies · · Score: 1

    "our receptionist and head of technology"

    It's always good to see a company that takes its technology issues seriously.

    --
    The world has changed and we all have become metal men.
  61. Crisis? What Crisis!? by ch-chuck · · Score: 2

    Dear Y2K Coordinator:

    Thank you for your inquiry concerning our 'Year 2000'
    readiness and what impact it may have on your business
    continuity.

    As executive manager of all information technology
    at a Fortune 100 firm in charge of 1500 data processing
    professionals, I was completely unaware of this potential
    software 'bug'. Now that you mention it, there may be a few
    mission critical business database programs on our IBM 360
    that could very well be century-date sensitive. As the thing
    has been running a drum memory based database flawlessly for
    the past 35 years, save for routing maintenance, we felt no
    need to upgrade to whatever the latest passing data processing
    fads were at the time.

    Please be assured that I will dispatch a junior programmer
    to look into this situation immediately and recommend any
    corrective actions that need to be taken to ensure that our
    25,000 workstation system will continue to provide the high
    quality of service that you have come to expect from ***.

    Sincerely
    Chuck
    From the 14th hole
    Greenstate Golf club

    --
    try { do() || do_not(); } catch (JediException err) { yoda(err); }
  62. haha by vipw · · Score: 1

    that's rich, however they aren't *neccessarily* the same people

  63. AArrgghh! by radja · · Score: 1

    This has offended me! I gonna sic the PETA on these guys! Gorillas in diapers? and that wasn't even the worst! think of the torture that dog went through! wasn't let out for a whole day! had to eat oil of olay just to stay alive! and then he was made so aggressive that even eyecontact made him jump! this is what gives pittbulls a bad name! stop this abuse of animals immediately!

    //rdj

    --

    No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.
    --Sheikh Abd-Al-Kadir, 1587
  64. TROLL?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FUCK YOU! This was funny... WTF is the problem with all the moderators? Read the fucking MODERATOR GUIDELINES before you go moderating down people's posts you idiots. God damn you are stupid.

    1. Re:TROLL?!?!? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You took the words right out of my mouth. Man, the moderators must have an IQ you gotta dig for... ;-)

  65. I laughed, I cried, I ...... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow, this is really one of the funnest things I have ever read. The concept is so stupid but companies reply. Too bad I cannot read the whole thing- I am in a lab and people are looking at me funnny because of my laughter.

  66. funny by Hard_Code · · Score: 2

    man, I have to read these later

    I got to the crest story and decided that I had better stop or my coworkers might think I'm having an epileptic fit spitting up my coffee.

    --

    It's 10 PM. Do you know if you're un-American?
  67. Re:Words From The Grits Boy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Back off you big phoney baloney Grits-Boy-Wanna-Be, I am the grits boy, in fact I've got a big mushy load of them in my slacks as I type. Now listen up Mr. GB imposter, this internet isn't big enough for the both of us ... it's you or me cowboy.

    There is a new grits-slinger in town and his name is Grits Boy. Don't be fooled by the imposters.

    Be sure to visit my new website www.grits_for_humanity.com. You can donate grits to help save humanity.

  68. Just another me too post... by Maledictus · · Score: 1

    Although my company does need to be Y2K complacent, um...compliant, and although we do have equipment and systems that are date sensitive (the worst thing that can happen is that we don't invoice our customers...oh the horror), we still get some really dumb questions.

    Like the customer who wants to know how we'll communicate with them in the event of an interruption in phone and other communications services. Although that's a serious issue, we're a printing company!! We're hardly responsible for the phone lines.

    Although I won't do this because I'd get in trouble and we'd lose a customer, I'm tempted to tell this particular customer that one of our guys happens to own horses. If communication systems go out, he's volunteered to ride to their offices and pickup and deliver jobs.

    Reminds me of my short stint in radio. Our transmitter went down once. Got a bunch of calls from "listeners" who wanted to know why we didn't go on the air with an explanation.

    --
    Consigned to flames of woe.
  69. Y2K Is All Joy's Fault by InitZero · · Score: 1


    Y2K has been blown out of proportion by geeks such as myself (and probably you, too) who wanted more toys, more attention, more respect, chicks and we saw this as a way to get it.
    Sure, there are real Y2K issues but you're don't have to worry about your bank account, planes falling out of the sky or milk being stamped with an expiration date of February 14, 1900.
    It just ain't going to happen.
    The Y2K Situation...
    It ain't a bug.
    Even in the 1960s and 1970s when the programs were written, everyone in the industry with half a brain knew that there would be problems as the millennium came if the code was not changed.
    Programmers and management just didn't care because disk space and computer memory was very expensive and no one anticipated that the programs would last 10, 20 or even 30 years in some cases.
    That we have a Y2K problem is a testament to how rock-solid computers were built then and how good the early programmers were. Most people upgrade their desktop computer every three years and their software every one or two. These mainframes have been running basically the same hardware and software since Nixon was in office and Godfather was on the big screen.
    Don't you think that the folks who wrote such reliable software have the skills to update their applications to support four-digit numbers? I do.
    (I'm currently administrating a mainframe that was bought by my company before I was even born.)

    The Y2K Panic...
    The computer geek stereotype isn't totally inaccurate.
    Those of us in information systems don't get much attention in a business environment. Corporately-speaking, we are often under- funded and over-worked.
    Part of that is our own fault because when computer geeks rise to management they are as shy at the boardroom table as they were at the school dance. The other part of the problem is that it's not easy to understand what it is we do. It's easy to understand a fleet of trucks or a building. Not many people can grasp bytes, mHz and that millions of electrons are traveling close to the speed of light through sand just to store data on fancy rust (no kidding).
    When the information system manager tried to get money and time out of upper-management in the mid-1990's to fix the Y2K issues, management didn't get it. It was seen as an issue that could wait and was a lot less important than getting onto the internet or buying some new trucks. Besides, it was going to be expensive and would show no return on investment. It was just dull maintenance.
    How can you put a positive spin on that for the shareholders?

    (

    I'm not making this up. Carol was my former boss...

    > Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 17:09:13 -0500
    > From: Carol Carpenter
    > To: Matt Steinhoff
    > Subject: Re: Outstanding Issues
    >
    > At 05:03 PM 2/19/98 -0500, you wrote:
    > > Which reminds me, we are schedueled for a Brite Year 2000
    > > software upgrade sometime this quarter.
    >
    > Year 2000 upgrade, in 1998? I don't get.
    >
    > Carol

    )

    So what's a geek to do? We know that if the Y2K issues aren't addressed, heads are going to roll and it won't be the heads of the people who wouldn't release the purse strings, it'll be us.
    It's at this point that we start concocting disaster scenarios. Planes will fall out of the sky. Banks will lose your money. The stock market will crash. Life as we know it will cease to exist.
    Management started to take notice. Geeks were getting budgets that would allow the problems to be fixed.
    Then world dynamics changed thanks the to internet. Geeks who couldn't get chicks in high school were escorting supermodels to the Oscars and making billions of dollar. And my grandmother got a computer for Christmas.
    And the Y2K problem snowballed because the Unwashed Masses thought they knew something about computers. Computers were on the brain and us geeks milked it for all that it was worth.
    Folks started throwing money at us and we gained respect thanks to Y2K and the boost Y2K got from the internet rush.
    We became addicted to the fame and fortune. We kept cranking out horror stories. The telecommuniation system will shut down. The power grid will shut down. Nuclear weapons will launch all on their own.
    Pop culture then began to endorse the Y2K end-of-the-world panic and the snowball got even bigger.
    Cottage industries started to spring up. Do you have your three-month supply of food and generator? Advertising agencies start to use the Y2K hook (see Nike).
    It's at this point we geeks begin to see what we started and wanted to put the cat back in the bag. We tell folks that it's not a big deal, that most systems are already fixed or close to being fixed. We let folks know about the safeguards we have in effect. We remind people that everything is backed-up to several places including good old fashioned paper.
    Worst case, we tell you, it may take a few days or weeks to find all the glitches that we missed come January 1. Minor stuff. Nothing to freak out about.
    But, of course, it's too late. Folks have already started hoarding their bread. Radio talk show hosts are already whipping the Unwashed Masses into a frenzy.
    And you know what the irony of this entire situation is?
    It could have been prevented. If Joy had just gone to Prom with me instead of that low-life football player, I would have more self-esteem and would not have incited a world-wide, society-ending panic.

    Conclusion...
    Don't worry. We've got the situation under control.

    Y2K Side note...
    To the folks who think that buying gold is a good idea in order to ride-out the financial turmoil of the next few years, get real.
    Why is gold valuable?
    - people like it for jewelry, a luxury item
    - it's the conductive metal used in most computers and other high-tech electrical stuff
    What do you suppose will happen if society as we know it ends, the power grid fails and there is a nuclear holocaust?
    I'll give you a hint. Gold will be devalued.
    Who is going to be wearing gold when they have to raise their own food and struggle for the most basic of human needs? And if computers caused the near-extinction of mankind, do you think there will be much cause for the highly-conductive metal?
    If you want to have a negotiable substance after the apocalypse, start stock-piling gasoline. Folks will still need to get around, power their generators and harvest their crops.

    InitZero

    1. Re:Y2K Is All Joy's Fault by Detritus · · Score: 2
      Don't you think that the folks who wrote such reliable software have the skills to update their applications to support four-digit numbers? I do.

      You mean the programmers that haven't died, retired, quit or been downsized or outsourced.

      I know of many systems where none of the original engineers and programmers are still around, not to mention source code, compilers and development systems.

      Fortunately, most of these systems are being replaced by newer systems.

      The scary thing is that there is no manual backup for most of these systems. The people who had that knowledge were eliminated as part of the cost savings of the new, automated systems.

      --
      Mea navis aericumbens anguillis abundat
    2. Re:Y2K Is All Joy's Fault by bungalow · · Score: 1

      What do you suppose will happen if society as we know it ends, the power grid fails and there is a nuclear holocaust?
      I'll give you a hint. Gold will be devalued.


      First of all, I am a strong believer that we will all be here on January 1, at 0:01.00, yelling "dud!", arguing with each other about how much M$ SUX!!!!! LINUX RULEZ!!! and yelling FIRST P0ST!!!!!!!!! That means the power, the phone co, and "th'Internet" will be "turned on."



      However, there is, IMHO, a striking flaw in your argument:

      If society as we know it ends, then:

      The value of money will take an initial plummet, then gradually decline towards it's weight in paper.

      The monetary system is not based on the value of the paper that it's printed on. Money is inherently worthless absent officially sanctioned assigned value (IE Uncle Sam says it's worth something). Absent this sanction, the green paper with pretty designs would be returned to its essenially worthless state.

      For example: During the Texas revolutionary period, Texan troops commonly refused American "greenbacks" as wages because if Mexico won the war, the American cash would be rendered worthless. Any store that DID accept greenbacks credited 20 cents on the dollar. Even this did not create a great profit margin for the shopkeepers, because it often cost them 60-70 cents to trade it to their suppliers.

      Another example: there is no value to Russian rubles. Granted, there economy is recovering slowly, but until the Russian economy regains its power, the currency represented by their economy is without value.

      Precious metals and stones, however, have consistently retained SOME, albeit fluctuating, value. Gold has been used for centuries as the standard for value and beauty, as have rubies, pearls, emeralds, etc. Hence the draw of these items. "Well, I can't get bread for these 5,000,000,0000 centavos, but he'll trade me a steak for Grandmother's diamond necklace."

      _______________________________

  70. Not a letter but a phone call by walnut · · Score: 1

    After Holloween a bunch of co-workers and I were sitting around the lunch table. I happened to bring some left over candy that the kids didn't take the night before. One of the guys picked up a milkyway bar and noticed the words "MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS" clearly written on the label. Directly below was the phone number. He called. They informed him that this is a warning specifically to people who are allergic to peanuts. The machine used to make Milkyway is also used to produce another product (which the company would not mention - snickers I assume) that contains peanuts. While they (mars?) clean the machine thoroughly after every use, they were afraid of trace residues causing trouble for someone with an exteeme alergy --> hence the warning. They sent him a book of free coupons... It was a good chuckle for us, it was a good chuckle for them...

    --
    You say you want a revolution?
  71. Can Opener Y2K Compliant by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Just before Thanksgiving, I was at the grocery store in the canned foods section. They had these manual can openers on display with a big sign with red letters that asked "Have you taken steps to protect your family from the Y2K virus?" Yes! They called it a virus!

  72. Rice Crispies [and pop tarts, too] by hawk · · Score: 2

    Growing up in the 1940's, my father decided to put on a puppet show. All of the programs at the time had a sponsor, so he wrote to Kellog asking if Rice Crispies would sponsor his puppet show.

    They not only told him yes, they sent him a case of empty boxes to use (and probably had a good chuckle).

    Several months ago, when I actually had a few minutes (/. slow that morning?), i found the Kellog's site, and sent a complaint that the brown sugar pop-tarts were consistently underfrosted. They sent a message back with an 800 number and a reference code, asking me to call, but I still haven't had a chance.

    Harness the /. effect for good rather than evil. If you're frustrated by the failure to fully frost the brown sugar pop-tarts, and normally buy Kellog instead of generic due to the mor thorough frosting, let them know :) [please, no wannabes, and they're not going to GPL poptarts, so don't ask :)]

    Hmm, while I'm on Kellogs . . . .Dr. Kellog produced his corn flakes for the same reason that Dr. Grahm introduced his cracker. These folks were of the Malthusian bent, and were opposed to sex *within* marriage. Both of these products were meant to suppress the sexual appetite. While history has kept this information, it does not record Mrs. Grahm's and Mrs. Kellog's feelings on the matter . . .

    :)

    This is a real fun one to bring up when we hit that unit in my econ classes . . .

  73. Re:IN Y2K, LET'S TURN TEENAGE GIRLS TO STONE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "WE WILL ALL GATHER ROUND AND LOOK AT THE TEENAGE GIRLS WHILE WE.... Y'KNOW. Y'KNOW. NUDGE NUDGE, NUDGE NUDGE, KNOW WHAT I MEAN."

    Wouldn't it just be easier to buy some magazine and "nudge, nudge, nudge, know what I mean" off instead of all that date-rape-statue-petrified stuff?

  74. Re:Companies actually get asked this.. not as a jo by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    So do you do everything by hand or do you have any computers around the place ?

    My guess is that you have complex milling machinery which is driven by computers, and that your customers are actually wondering if your manufacturing, invendory and billing processes are going to work in the new year. If they don't get the right answer they sending all their orders to a new supplier.

    If you look at it in that light, then is isn't so funny is it.

  75. Rich Mackin - Consumer Defense Corporate Poet by Skip666Kent · · Score: 1

    Rich Mackin of Boston is da Main Man when it comes to thoughtful and side-splittingly humorous harrassment of corporations. Most of his work is in 'zine format, but I did find this tidbit on the web. Hopefully more will be posted soon.

    --
    **>>BELCH
  76. Funny story, bad grammar by Kaufmann · · Score: 1

    It's sad to see that supposedly intelligent people don't know the difference between the connective "than" and the adverb "then".

    (I'm sorry, but I had to say it. If it makes me a pedantic ass, so be it.)

    --
    To the editors: your English is as bad as your Perl. Please go back to grade school.
    1. Re:Funny story, bad grammar by pspeed · · Score: 1

      Heh, first off I agree.

      However, picking on spelling and grammar in a slashdot article is like randomly clicking on ad banners at a porn web site. (The web equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel.)

      I will give them this, at least. This is one that wouldln't have been caught by spellcheck.

      --
      Edu. sig-line: Choose rhymes with lose. Chose rhymes with goes. Loose rhymes with goose.
      Comparing? THEN use THAN.
  77. Not an IIS error by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No, that's not an IIS generated error, sorry! I believe that's Apache + CGI. Bummer, huh?

  78. Re:Y2k, Offensiveness, and Directive Processing Er by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It is offensive to those of us who aren't 9 years old anymore because it was a waste of time.

  79. Battery Madness by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This company supplying cordless phones had to recall them all back beacuse they didnt have y2k compliance on the batteries... are batterys now coming with date chips?!

  80. Re:Self love on the eve of the millenium by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What stupid fucking grits sucking asshole.

    Say something funnier next time. Fuckwit.

  81. This reminds me.. by Inoshiro · · Score: 2

    .. of this call I made to my local bank. They sent me cheques with "19___" in the date area. As a form of protest, and to poke fun at them, I called them up to complain of "non-y2k compliant cheques."

    The funniest bit is when I complain, "but what if I write a check in the year 2000, it will say it's written in 1900!" The lady on staff does not at all contradict me -- she even checks with her boss! It's funny as hell. I'll have to figure out how to get it off of my dictaphone (r), and presented in mp3 format on my webpage some day :-)
    ---

    --
    --
    Internet Explorer (n): Another bug -- that is, a feature that can't be turned off -- in Windows.
  82. Some of those were funny, others not so by Fastolfe · · Score: 2

    You'll notice a trend in that the letters that got a good response were those that didn't include the rather tasteless genital references. The cleaner ones I thought were rather amusing, but some of those other ones were bordering on stupid/annoying, and I imagine that's why none of those got much of a response.

  83. Re:Waiting for Linux 6.1.... by GregWebb · · Score: 1

    A little confused? Sure. Flamebait? No way.

    I'm glad this one turned up on my meta moderation. It's been getting silly recently, what gets moderated up and what down.

    Maybe we could go back to having editors doing a big chunk of the moderation for a while to try and improve the quality, then allocate moderator points in proportion to RECENT karma?

    Greg

    --

    Greg

    (Inside a nuclear plant)
    Aaaarrrggh! Run! The canary has mutated!

  84. Re:Words From The Grits Boy by bungalow · · Score: 1

    No kidding! this is the "it's humor...laugh" department, right? I thought this post was hilarious!
    _______________________________