What is Y2K?
Should we be afraid?
What is Y2K?
Should we be afraid?
What is Y2K?
Y2K stands for Year 2000. But why K? Why not Y2T? The Greek for
thousand is Kilo so we use K to stand for thousand.
Why is the year 2000 a
problem?
It's a problem only if you have a computer, use a computer or are
a computer. Have you used a computer today? (you are using one
right now...) Yes you probably have. If you used a telephone,
watched television, turned on a light, turned on the water
faucet....you have used a computer somewhere down the line. Why
is it a problem for computers? Computers are real stupid. Yes,
they are. A computer will do nothing other than what the
programmer tells it to do. It will do exactly what the programmer
tells it to do even if it isn't exactly what the programmer
means.
So, why is THAT a problem?
Well, like I said -- computers are really stupid.
Actually computers can do only three things. They can Add
two numbers, they can Compare two numbers and
they can change the sign of a number (make a
positive one negative and make a negative one positive) That's
it! Everything that a computer does is a combination of
those three things.
So, why is THAT a problem?
Computers can only handle one thing -- numbers.
Computers treat letters as numbers. Yes, you read that right --
computers treat letters like numbers. Computers use numbers to
represent everything -- even letters.
So, why is that STILL a problem?
Until recently most computers didn't know about
dates. Most companies have been using the same computer
programming language since the 1960's. YES the 1960's. This
language is COBOL and stands for COmmon
Business Oriented Language. That's exactly what COBOL is, common. It is
almost exactly the same no matter what type of computer it is
used on. Each computer manufacturer added little enhancements to
their "flavor" of COBOL but the COBOL part remained the
same. COBOL handles numbers and text so that businesses can
produce reports and keep track of all sorts of data. COBOL has no
idea what a date is. All "dates" are stored as numbers.
Here are a couple of examples of how COBOL sees dates:
COBOL can see December 15, 1996 as 121596. Notice 12/15/96 in
there. If a date is stored this way COBOL (which doesn't know
what dates are) can't tell you if one date is later than another.
So another arrangement is used:
Computer programmers took the dates apart and re-arranged them a
bit. Using COBOL a programmer looks at December 15, 1996 and sees
it as 961215. It puts the year first. This way if a program sees
December 15, 1996 (961215) and November 19, 1986 (861119) it can
tell you that November 19, 1986 is before December 15, 1996
because the number 861119 is smaller than 961215. This is how all
COBOL programs see dates. This is fine until you get to dates
like December 19, 2005. Using a COBOL date it would appear as
051219. Is it before or after November 12, 1986 (861112)?
Obviously (to COBOL) it is before.
So, how do we fix it?
Since COBOL doesn't see dates as real dates the
easiest way is to add the century into the calculation. Therefore
December 14, 1989, seen as 891214, becomes 19891214. The date
December 22, 2004 becomes 20041222. No problem, eh?
So, what's the BIG PROBLEM?
The BIG problem is that there are
MILLIONS of computer programs out there
that will have to be changed! Many companies are starting too
late and will not be finished. Others are spending millions or
billions of dollars to fix this problem.
But why?
As a Christian you should not be afraid of
tomorrow for what it might or might not bring.
| Matthew 6:33 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. |
So, what's the BIG PROBLEM?
The big problem is that the world is going to be
afraid and is already afraid of the year 2000. They are afraid
that the Stock Market is going to crash, they are afraid that the
banking industry is going to fail. They are afraid that there
will be no electricity, no water, no food. There will quite
possibly be a great panic just before January 1, 2000. We must be
ready for that panic. We must be the light to a world that will
be in darkness.
But what if
these things DO happen?
Some probably will happen.
If enough investors pull their money out of the Stock Market
because they thing it will crash then it WILL crash.
If enough people pull their money out of banks because they think
they won't be able to get to it then the banking industry will be
in trouble.
If enough people start buying up food to store away there might
be a food shortage due to distribution problems.
So what should I do?
I think it would be a good idea to store up some
dry or canned goods. Have a few day's supply of food.
Maybe buy some bottled water too. Buy enough for you AND your
neighbor who might not be ready. I get paid once a month so I usually
buy most of the month's food all at one time anyway. But most of all --
PRAY for peace about this
for you and your neighbor.
But MOST OF ALL listen to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in His Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 6:19-34(NIV)
| Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. |
Check your computer to see if it is going to work in the Year
2000.
I have a program that will test your computer, click here to get it.
10 Reasons to Ignore the Y2K
Problem
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Updated December 2, 1999 Mail Me!