1999-01-10
As a computer professional, I get asked a lot about the Y2K problem.
Well, no, actually, I don't. I get a lot of statements, not questions. Like, "that's really something about the Y2K problem, isn't it?" I always reply, "Well, I won't be flying anywhere on January 1, 2000." And that's true. I have no plans to be flying anywhere at any time in the next few years. I won't be climbing a mountain on January 1, 2000 either. What's the big deal?
Is the Y2K problem real? No it isn't. Ignore it and go back to sleep.
Of course, as everyone knows, the year 2000 is not the first year of the next millennium, therefore, January 1, 2000 is the first day of the last year of the 19th century. Big deal. What people are celebrating is not the first year of the new millennium, but the day on which THREE digits turn over on their watch calendar instead of two. We are so excited by the idea of watching three digits turn over, that we are going to throw a world-wide bash to celebrate it. Well, it is a lot bigger than watching your car odometer turn over to 200,000.