ftp.xmission.com/2014.06.ftp.xmission.com.tar/ftp.xmission.com/pub/lists/gdm/archive/gdm.9811

Internet Message Format | 1998-11-20 | 42KB

From: "Perry L. Porter" <[e-mail]>
Subject: ---> Possible end of the world, (Y2K)
Date: 18 Nov 1998 22:41:52 -0700

------------------

Senator Bob Bennett (Utah) chairs the U.S. Senate's Y2K Committee.
Enclosed also are comments regarding a meeting he had with the 1st
Presidency.

                          -----Original Message-----

I thought people might be interested in what Senator Bennett said about
the year 2,000 computer problem.  He spoke at a McLean Stake Fireside in
October.  The follow are notes taken at the fireside: Notes taken by Steve
Nichols, a member of the Arlington Ward, McLean, Virginia Stake in October
1998.

On Sunday, our stake had a family preparedness fireside on the year 2000
(Y2K).  The speaker was Senator Bennett of Utah who is the chairman of the
Senate Committee on Y2K.  I went to the fireside thinking that it would be
interesting, but also thinking that Y2K was not a big deal.  Senator
Bennett convinced me otherwise.

The Y2K problem will be an unbelievably widespread problem that we each
need to start preparing for right now.  Anything that is controlled by a
computer or a computer chip may malfunction in dangerous and unpredictable
ways at the beginning of the year 2000.

Unfortunately, everything is controlled by a computer these days.

To illustrate the problem, Senator Bennett told the following stories: To
test a water treatment plant, the plant management rolled the clocks ahead
to 2000 to see how the computer systems of the plant would react.

The computer responded by immediately dumping all the chemicals it had
into the water supply instead of slowing dispensing the chemicals as it
was supposed to do.  The water was then poison and unusable.

At a General Motors factory, the management also rolled the clocks ahead
to see what would happen.  The result was that none of the robots on the
assembly line would work.  The factory was useless.

Moreover, when the inspectors tried to leave, the security system refused
to let them out of the building.  Elevators have to be inspected regularly
by law.  When the year 2000 hits, elevators may think they have not been
inspected for 99 years.  When an inspection is missed, most elevators are
programmed to go immediately to the basement and close their doors until
the inspector comes.

Don't get in an elevator New Year's Eve 1999.  In January 2000, Senator
Bennett does not think that the national power grid will fail, but thinks
that some areas will inevitably experience extended brown and black-cuts.

Supplies of natural gas and telephone communications could also be
interrupted.

Long distance telephone communications will almost certainly be
interrupted.

The FAA has been unable to guarantee that its airtraffic control system
will not fail in January 2000.  This may reduce domestic flight by 40% and
make it necessary to ration air travel.  International travel will be
worse.  The Federal Reserve thinks that it will be able to continue to
clear checks and other bank transactions for the country, but each
individual bank or brokerage may be unable to continue to do business.

Chairman Greenspan informed Senator Bennett that the Fed is printing an
extra ten billion in paper money to handle the run on the banks that is
expected as people convert their money into cash before Y2K.  Senator
Bennett told of warning one of his daughters about these problems.  His
daughter asked if he has spoken to the Church.  He thought that was good
idea, so he contacted an employee at Church headquarters responsible for
worrying about these kinds of problems.  That employee assured Senator
Bennett that the Church has, or is, upgrading all of its computer systems
to deal with the problem.  Senator Bennett then asked if he could question
this Church employee.

The senator wanted to know how the Church is going to contact missions,
temples and members around the world when the international and national
phone systems won't work; how the Church is going to transfer funds around
the world with the banking systems not working; how the Church will
respond to members who are out of work for three months or more because
the equipment at the factory or office where they are employed is
malfunctioning. The Church employee had to admit that while the Church has
fixed its own systems, they had never considered how they would be
affected by other systems that had not been fixed.

Senator Bennett was then invited to a meeting with the First Presidency,
Council of the Twelve, Presiding Bishopric, etc. to brief them on the Y2K
problem.  Senator Bennett told the Brethren that he had been asked by
someone in government when the Mormons were going to start warning their
people to get ready for the year 2000.  President Faust immediately
responded, "We've been warning them for thirty years."

A major complication of the Y2K problem is that it will be a problem
world-wide.  While all the problems I have described above will happen in
the U.S., we will be relatively well off.  Senator Bennett said only five
countries in the world including the U.S. are doing anything significant
to address the Y2K problem (Japan is NOT one of the five.

The five are the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Singapore and one other).

This will cause huge economic upheaval in many countries.  Senator Bennett
was informed that the New York Stock Exchange has been refitting and
testing its computers and thinks it will be able to continue trading in
the year 2000.  However, the Senator expects most exchanges in foreign
countries to be shut down.  For this reason, he cautioned us about
investing in foreign stocks.

It is anticipated that the economies of some countries will be devastated
for decades by the Y2K problem.  This anticipated turmoil around the globe
will inevitably cause a deep recession, at least, in the United States.

You may wonder why we don't just fix this problem before it's too late.

The answer is, it isn't possible.  Senator Bennett has been informed that
there are 160 billion lines of computer code around the world that have
the Y2K problem.  For every four lines that are fixed another error in the
program is created.  Therefore, everything has to be fixed, tested and
then re-fixed.  There simply are not enough skilled people or time left to
do the job.  Moreover, that does not include checking all the embedded
computer chips that run everything from your car's transmission to your
thermostat to your elevators to your children's toys.

Senator Bennett illustrated the cause of the Y2K problem with the
following Allegory.  A new wife was making a ham for her new husband.  She
cut off both ends.  When the husband asked why, she replied that it makes
the ham taste better.  "Who told you that?"' he asked. "My mother," she
replied.

The husband went to his mother-in-law and asked if she cut off the ends of
ham.  She replied that she did.  When he asked why, she replied that it
made the ham taste better.  When asked who had told her that, she
indicated that she had learned it from her mother.  The husband then went
to his wife's grandmother and asked if she cut the ends off a ham before
cooking it.  She said she did.  When he asked why, she replied that it was
just habit, when she was young, the family oven was too small for a whole
ham, so they cut the ends off to make it fit.

When computers were first being developed, they were not powerful enough
to easily process dates with a four digit year.  Early programmers used a
two-digit year and saved millions of dollars.

The early programmers, working in the '60s assumed that their programs
would be obsolete by the year 2000 and that later programmers would use
four digit years.  The new programmers learned from copying the old
programmers, and nobody ever started using four-digit years.  Anyway,
that's the problem, the question is what should you do about it.

Here are Senator Bennett's suggestions.

(1) Check with all your banks, brokerages, and other financial
institutions as to their preparedness for the year 2000.  If they can't
assure you that they will be able to continue to do business as usual,
move your assets to a place that can.

(2) Keep hard copies of your financial records and get up-to-date hard
copies near the end of December 1999.

(3) Have everything you need on hand for at least three months by December
1999 (food, water and fuel (January is cold)).

(4) Expect a recession in 2000 and plan your finances accordingly.  Keep
some cash on hand.

Needless to say, after listening to Senator Bennett we are very concerned
and are trying to get better prepared for this-crisis.

We hope this warning may help you do the same.


[This was forwarded to me by a friend, and I don't know what list Chris is
on]

Thanks to subscriber Chris Crosby <[e-mail]> for this reference.
In an article about the Y2K problem, the Richmond (Virginia)
Times-Dispatch mentions a Baptist group using the LDS cannery to preserve
some dried food.

"It's people like these who have transformed the quiet and rather obscure
Mormon cannery -- one of 88 in the country -- into a bustling enterprise,
said cannery manager Susan Henshaw.

"'Since July, everything has mushroomed... like a nuclear bomb,' Henshaw
said. 'It is just incredible.'

"She said they're happy to see the newcomers because it gives them a
chance to spread the Mormon faith, which has long stressed the importance
of food storage and self-sufficiency."

[It appears that Mormons are starting a panic, I hope it isn't a self
fulfilling prophecy]



Journal entry from the personal journal of Joseph Smith concerning the
remarkable Leonid meteor storm of 1833 (which also happened in 1866, 1899,
1932, 1965, and last night). From _The Diaries and Journals of Joseph
Smith_ edited by Scott H. Faulring.

Note: written material inserted above the line in the original has been
inserted into the text and enclosed in right-angled slashes (for example,
/above line/ ). Current editor's correction of mis-spelled items are in [
].

November 13th Nothing of note transpired from the 4th of Nove[m]ber
u[n]til this day. In the morning at 4 Oh clock I was awoke by Brother
Davis knocking at /my/ door saying "Brother Joseph come git /up/ and see
the signs in the heavens." I arrose and beheld to my great Joy the stars
fall from heaven. Yea they fell like hail stones. A litteral fullfillment
of the word of God as recorded in the holy scriptures and a sure sign that
the coming of Christ is clost [close] at hand.

Oh how marvellous are thy works Oh Lord and I thank thee for thy me[r]cy
u/n/to me thy

servent. Oh Lord save me in thy kingdom for Christ['s] sake.  Amen.

November 19th /AD 1833/ From the 13th u[n]till this date nothing of note
has transpired since the great sign in the heavins. This day me /h[e]art/
is somewhat sorrowfull but [I] feel to trust in the Lord the God of Jacob.

I have learned in my travels that man is treche[r]ous and selfish but few
excepted.

(continues on to remark on some weaknesses of Sidney Rigdon, does not
record anything else about the meteor storm.)

[This should temper those that wish to jump to conclusions about the
significance of the turn of the century, that are not justified.]

---------------------


[Now a closer look at what Bob Bennett had to say]


> banking systems not working; how the Church will respond to
> members who are out of work for three months or more because the
> equipment at the factory or office where they are employed is
> malfunctioning. The Church employee had to admit that while the
> Church has fixed its own systems, they had never considered how
> they would be affected by other systems that had not been fixed.


[Ah haaaaa, that is why GBH said last conference to get out the debt, the
Church Welfare can not handle millions of member and even more non-members
out of work for 3 moths!]


> Senator Bennett was then invited to a meeting with the First
> Presidency,
> Council of the Twelve, Presiding Bishopric, etc. to brief them on the
> Y2K

[Isn't this the cart before the horse?  Doesn't the 1st Presidency and 12
have the ear of GOD?  Shouldn't they REALLY know what Y2K problems there
will be?]


> problem.  Senator Bennett told the Brethren that he had been asked by
> someone in government when the Mormons were going to start warning
> their people to get ready for the year 2000.  President Faust
> immediately responded, "We've been warning them for thirty years."


[What!

The Y2K problem is a COBOL and PC problem.  Many Main frames store 4
digit dates properly.

30 years ago there were no PC's, with limited memory and hard disk space,
where 2 digits to represent a year would save something.

And I don't think the Leaders of the church were arguing COBOL programming
standards 30 years ago.

Therefore; Faust must be thinking that the world is ending in 2000?

What else could they be warning us about, the short term thinking of DOS
2.1 !!!!  Or Bios chips in IBM PC's ?

Did anyone see a proclamation by the 1st presidency, in the "Embedded
Systems Journal", for he last 30 years ?

When some Mormons make crack pot remark, many Mormons get worked up, and
then, when it turns out to be bogus, Members just ignore it.]

> A major complication of the Y2K problem is that it will be a problem
> world-wide.  While all the problems I have described above will happen
> in the U.S., we will be relatively well off.  Senator Bennett said only
> five  countries in the world including the U.S. are doing anything
> significant to address the Y2K problem (Japan is NOT one of the five.

[This IS a serious problem.]

> trading in the year 2000.  However, the Senator expects most
> exchanges in foreign countries to be shut down.  For this reason,

[So is the church pulling out of all of it's foreign stocks?

In which stocks does the church keep the lords money anyway?]


> he cautioned us about investing in foreign stocks.  It is anticipated
> that the economies of some countries will be devastated for decades
> by the Y2K problem.  This anticipated turmoil around the globe will
> inevitably cause a deep recession, at least, in the United  States.
> You may wonder why we don't just fix this problem before it's too late.

[We can not fix other countries problems.

Well actually we could.  All male programers, and software managers, could
be called on a 6 month to 12 month mission to SAVE THE WORLD FROM Y2K.
They could go out in Jan of 1999 and be home before Xmas having at least
informed and consulted all major banks and businesses world wide about the
evils of Y2K.

Not that might create major chaos at home in Utah with all of them leaving
work for 6 months to a year, but hardly unlike what was done by their
GGGrand fathers.

And if they saved the world, it could do more PR than all the public
Service Announcements and Free books and warm fuzzy video's could possibly
do.]


> The  answer is, it isn't possible.  Senator Bennett has been informed
> that there are 160 billion lines of computer code around the world
> that have the Y2K problem.  For every four lines that are fixed another
> error in the program is created.  Therefore, everything has to be fixed,


[Oh MY Goodness!  How could we ever get anything done, if we created a bug
for every 4 lines of code.

In software testing the term we use is bugs per kloc or bugs for Thousand
Lines of Code.  If you have 5 or more KLOC, you have bad programmers.  Now
imagine how stupid they would have to be to have 250 mistakes for every
1000 lines of code.

With an average of 1 mistake in every 4 lines or 250 mistakes in a
thousand, how do we ever get computers to work at all!!!

Apparently Bob Bennett doesn't know much about computers.]

I know someone that worked on a project where we had 1,600 programs to
check for Y2K bugs, 35 programs has had at least one problem.  Of the 35
only one or two had a problem in more than one place in the same program.
The largest program was 4,200 lines long.  So they did lots of work, and
came up with only a handful of programs that had any problem.  It only
took a few weeks to change them.  Of the 35 changed programs only one had
needed fixing twice.  In the process there were other programs, not Y2K
related in which bugs were found and fixed.

His company is not typical of other software houses because they do not
use
COBOL, but they use the OS that the church office Building USED to use,
before they went into a more expensive direction.

Note that Australia uses this type of OS/database in many many companies,
therefore watch for them to NOT have Y2K problems like other countries.]


> tested and then re-fixed.  There simply are not enough skilled people
> or time left to do the  job.  Moreover, that does not include checking
> all the embedded computer chips that run everything from your
> car's transmission to your thermostat to your elevators to your
> children's toys.


[When they started the project over a year ago, the deadline to have
everything done and installed was July 1st 1998, now it is July 1999.  So
even though they started early, they got behind.  There are too many lines
of code and not enough programmers and not enough time for other companies
to fix, test and implement all the fixes.

Yes Y2K will be a problem, but if your kids toy fails to work, obviously
you
are not a 3rd world Mormon.]


> When computers were first being developed, they were not powerful
> enough to easily process dates with a four digit year.  Early
> programmers used a two-digit year and saved millions of dollars.

[The extra 2 digits for a 4 digit year, it take up precious memory in Ram
and Hard disk for a personal PC.  Which was a glorified typewriter and
calculator, not a replacement for a mainframe computer.  As the cost of
memory and hard disk space was no longer an issue, then is when the 4
digit year should have been addressed.

Businesses choose to us a personal computer as a business computer and
they
bent over to save millions for a few years, while down the road, it will
cost them Billions for those savings in previous decades.

Typical current quarter bottom line mentality, without long term
analysis.]


> The early programmers, working in the '60s assumed that their
> programs would be obsolete by the year 2000 and that later
> programmers would use four digit years.  The new programmers
> learned from copying the old programmers, and nobody ever
> started using four-digit years.  Anyway, that's the problem, the
> question is what should you do about it.

[More precisely they didn't stop to think, even though 1999 is less then
2000, that mathematically 99 is more than 00.]


> Here are Senator Bennett's suggestions.
> (1) Check with all your banks, brokerages, and other financial
> institutions as to their preparedness for the year 2000.  If they can't
> assure you that they will be able to continue to do business as usual,
> move your assets to a place that can.

[Come on Bob, you LIVE in DC, what Bank is going to tell you the they are
NOT Y2K compliant or that they don't plan to be?  Are they going to tell
you they PLAN to be out of business before 2000 ?

Try getting it in writing, that if you don't have access to your money or
if they debit you with mistaken late fees, that you will richly
compensated
for it.  Or if your Credit card get's wrongly rejected that they will
compensate you for the trouble.

Come on Bob you were once a lawyer.]


> (2) Keep hard copies of your financial records and get
> up-to-date hard copies near the end of December 1999.


[When these businesses are going to be their busiest, Bob is going to
create more work for them, out of paranoia.

A self fulfilling prophecy.]


> (3) Have everything you need on hand for at least three months
> by December 1999 (food, water and fuel (January is cold)).

[It's a TWO years supply, Bob, don't you know how to create hoarding or a
panic!  :)

Now how can I store 3 months of natural Gas ?

And if I do, but it is NOT needed, then what do I do with the Gas and
storage tanks?

What do I do for hot water if it takes 6 months to work things out?

Convert my environmentally friendly gas fireplace to a wood stove?]


> (4) Expect a recession in 2000 and plan your finances
> accordingly.  Keep some cash on hand.


[Create an artificial run on the banks.

Now who is going to make money on this?

Not me for sure.]


> Needless to say, after listening to Senator Bennett we are very
> concerned and are trying to get better prepared for this-crisis.
> We hope this warning  may help you do the same.

[And though a little preparation, like a month of food may be good, much
other than that, will cause problems of their own.  During the Great
Depression, some people lost everything, and a few ended up with all that
the other people lost.  I hope we are not contributors to a situation
where greedy and powerful people can use panic to become even more wealthy
and powerful.]



Perry     <[e-mail]>    http://pobox.com/~plporter

-



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: "Perry L. Porter" <[e-mail]>
Subject: ---> Possible end of the world, (Y2K)
Date: 20 Nov 1998 22:42:00 -0700

------------------

Senator Bob Bennett (Utah) chairs the U.S. Senate's Y2K Committee.
Enclosed also are comments regarding a meeting he had with the 1st
Presidency.

                          -----Original Message-----

I thought people might be interested in what Senator Bennett said about
the year 2,000 computer problem.  He spoke at a McLean Stake Fireside in
October.  The follow are notes taken at the fireside: Notes taken by Steve
Nichols, a member of the Arlington Ward, McLean, Virginia Stake in October
1998.

On Sunday, our stake had a family preparedness fireside on the year 2000
(Y2K).  The speaker was Senator Bennett of Utah who is the chairman of the
Senate Committee on Y2K.  I went to the fireside thinking that it would be
interesting, but also thinking that Y2K was not a big deal.  Senator
Bennett convinced me otherwise.

The Y2K problem will be an unbelievably widespread problem that we each
need to start preparing for right now.  Anything that is controlled by a
computer or a computer chip may malfunction in dangerous and unpredictable
ways at the beginning of the year 2000.

Unfortunately, everything is controlled by a computer these days.

To illustrate the problem, Senator Bennett told the following stories: To
test a water treatment plant, the plant management rolled the clocks ahead
to 2000 to see how the computer systems of the plant would react.

The computer responded by immediately dumping all the chemicals it had
into the water supply instead of slowing dispensing the chemicals as it
was supposed to do.  The water was then poison and unusable.

At a General Motors factory, the management also rolled the clocks ahead
to see what would happen.  The result was that none of the robots on the
assembly line would work.  The factory was useless.

Moreover, when the inspectors tried to leave, the security system refused
to let them out of the building.  Elevators have to be inspected regularly
by law.  When the year 2000 hits, elevators may think they have not been
inspected for 99 years.  When an inspection is missed, most elevators are
programmed to go immediately to the basement and close their doors until
the inspector comes.

Don't get in an elevator New Year's Eve 1999.  In January 2000, Senator
Bennett does not think that the national power grid will fail, but thinks
that some areas will inevitably experience extended brown and black-cuts.

Supplies of natural gas and telephone communications could also be
interrupted.

Long distance telephone communications will almost certainly be
interrupted.

The FAA has been unable to guarantee that its airtraffic control system
will not fail in January 2000.  This may reduce domestic flight by 40% and
make it necessary to ration air travel.  International travel will be
worse.  The Federal Reserve thinks that it will be able to continue to
clear checks and other bank transactions for the country, but each
individual bank or brokerage may be unable to continue to do business.

Chairman Greenspan informed Senator Bennett that the Fed is printing an
extra ten billion in paper money to handle the run on the banks that is
expected as people convert their money into cash before Y2K.  Senator
Bennett told of warning one of his daughters about these problems.  His
daughter asked if he has spoken to the Church.  He thought that was good
idea, so he contacted an employee at Church headquarters responsible for
worrying about these kinds of problems.  That employee assured Senator
Bennett that the Church has, or is, upgrading all of its computer systems
to deal with the problem.  Senator Bennett then asked if he could question
this Church employee.

The senator wanted to know how the Church is going to contact missions,
temples and members around the world when the international and national
phone systems won't work; how the Church is going to transfer funds around
the world with the banking systems not working; how the Church will
respond to members who are out of work for three months or more because
the equipment at the factory or office where they are employed is
malfunctioning. The Church employee had to admit that while the Church has
fixed its own systems, they had never considered how they would be
affected by other systems that had not been fixed.

Senator Bennett was then invited to a meeting with the First Presidency,
Council of the Twelve, Presiding Bishopric, etc. to brief them on the Y2K
problem.  Senator Bennett told the Brethren that he had been asked by
someone in government when the Mormons were going to start warning their
people to get ready for the year 2000.  President Faust immediately
responded, "We've been warning them for thirty years."

A major complication of the Y2K problem is that it will be a problem
world-wide.  While all the problems I have described above will happen in
the U.S., we will be relatively well off.  Senator Bennett said only five
countries in the world including the U.S. are doing anything significant
to address the Y2K problem (Japan is NOT one of the five.

The five are the U.S., Canada, Great Britain, Singapore and one other).

This will cause huge economic upheaval in many countries.  Senator Bennett
was informed that the New York Stock Exchange has been refitting and
testing its computers and thinks it will be able to continue trading in
the year 2000.  However, the Senator expects most exchanges in foreign
countries to be shut down.  For this reason, he cautioned us about
investing in foreign stocks.

It is anticipated that the economies of some countries will be devastated
for decades by the Y2K problem.  This anticipated turmoil around the globe
will inevitably cause a deep recession, at least, in the United States.

You may wonder why we don't just fix this problem before it's too late.

The answer is, it isn't possible.  Senator Bennett has been informed that
there are 160 billion lines of computer code around the world that have
the Y2K problem.  For every four lines that are fixed another error in the
program is created.  Therefore, everything has to be fixed, tested and
then re-fixed.  There simply are not enough skilled people or time left to
do the job.  Moreover, that does not include checking all the embedded
computer chips that run everything from your car's transmission to your
thermostat to your elevators to your children's toys.

Senator Bennett illustrated the cause of the Y2K problem with the
following Allegory.  A new wife was making a ham for her new husband.  She
cut off both ends.  When the husband asked why, she replied that it makes
the ham taste better.  "Who told you that?"' he asked. "My mother," she
replied.

The husband went to his mother-in-law and asked if she cut off the ends of
ham.  She replied that she did.  When he asked why, she replied that it
made the ham taste better.  When asked who had told her that, she
indicated that she had learned it from her mother.  The husband then went
to his wife's grandmother and asked if she cut the ends off a ham before
cooking it.  She said she did.  When he asked why, she replied that it was
just habit, when she was young, the family oven was too small for a whole
ham, so they cut the ends off to make it fit.

When computers were first being developed, they were not powerful enough
to easily process dates with a four digit year.  Early programmers used a
two-digit year and saved millions of dollars.

The early programmers, working in the '60s assumed that their programs
would be obsolete by the year 2000 and that later programmers would use
four digit years.  The new programmers learned from copying the old
programmers, and nobody ever started using four-digit years.  Anyway,
that's the problem, the question is what should you do about it.

Here are Senator Bennett's suggestions.

(1) Check with all your banks, brokerages, and other financial
institutions as to their preparedness for the year 2000.  If they can't
assure you that they will be able to continue to do business as usual,
move your assets to a place that can.

(2) Keep hard copies of your financial records and get up-to-date hard
copies near the end of December 1999.

(3) Have everything you need on hand for at least three months by December
1999 (food, water and fuel (January is cold)).

(4) Expect a recession in 2000 and plan your finances accordingly.  Keep
some cash on hand.

Needless to say, after listening to Senator Bennett we are very concerned
and are trying to get better prepared for this-crisis.

We hope this warning may help you do the same.


[This was forwarded to me by a friend, and I don't know what list Chris is
on]

Thanks to subscriber Chris Crosby <[e-mail]> for this reference.
In an article about the Y2K problem, the Richmond (Virginia)
Times-Dispatch mentions a Baptist group using the LDS cannery to preserve
some dried food.

"It's people like these who have transformed the quiet and rather obscure
Mormon cannery -- one of 88 in the country -- into a bustling enterprise,
said cannery manager Susan Henshaw.

"'Since July, everything has mushroomed... like a nuclear bomb,' Henshaw
said. 'It is just incredible.'

"She said they're happy to see the newcomers because it gives them a
chance to spread the Mormon faith, which has long stressed the importance
of food storage and self-sufficiency."

[It appears that Mormons are starting a panic, I hope it isn't a self
fulfilling prophecy]



Journal entry from the personal journal of Joseph Smith concerning the
remarkable Leonid meteor storm of 1833 (which also happened in 1866, 1899,
1932, 1965, and last night). From _The Diaries and Journals of Joseph
Smith_ edited by Scott H. Faulring.

Note: written material inserted above the line in the original has been
inserted into the text and enclosed in right-angled slashes (for example,
/above line/ ). Current editor's correction of mis-spelled items are in [
].

November 13th Nothing of note transpired from the 4th of Nove[m]ber
u[n]til this day. In the morning at 4 Oh clock I was awoke by Brother
Davis knocking at /my/ door saying "Brother Joseph come git /up/ and see
the signs in the heavens." I arrose and beheld to my great Joy the stars
fall from heaven. Yea they fell like hail stones. A litteral fullfillment
of the word of God as recorded in the holy scriptures and a sure sign that
the coming of Christ is clost [close] at hand.

Oh how marvellous are thy works Oh Lord and I thank thee for thy me[r]cy
u/n/to me thy

servent. Oh Lord save me in thy kingdom for Christ['s] sake.  Amen.

November 19th /AD 1833/ From the 13th u[n]till this date nothing of note
has transpired since the great sign in the heavins. This day me /h[e]art/
is somewhat sorrowfull but [I] feel to trust in the Lord the God of Jacob.

I have learned in my travels that man is treche[r]ous and selfish but few
excepted.

(continues on to remark on some weaknesses of Sidney Rigdon, does not
record anything else about the meteor storm.)

[This should temper those that wish to jump to conclusions about the
significance of the turn of the century, that are not justified.]

---------------------


[Now a closer look at what Bob Bennett had to say]


> banking systems not working; how the Church will respond to
> members who are out of work for three months or more because the
> equipment at the factory or office where they are employed is
> malfunctioning. The Church employee had to admit that while the
> Church has fixed its own systems, they had never considered how
> they would be affected by other systems that had not been fixed.


[Ah haaaaa, that is why GBH said last conference to get out the debt, the
Church Welfare can not handle millions of member and even more non-members
out of work for 3 moths!]


> Senator Bennett was then invited to a meeting with the First
> Presidency,
> Council of the Twelve, Presiding Bishopric, etc. to brief them on the
> Y2K

[Isn't this the cart before the horse?  Doesn't the 1st Presidency and 12
have the ear of GOD?  Shouldn't they REALLY know what Y2K problems there
will be?]


> problem.  Senator Bennett told the Brethren that he had been asked by
> someone in government when the Mormons were going to start warning
> their people to get ready for the year 2000.  President Faust
> immediately responded, "We've been warning them for thirty years."


[What!

The Y2K problem is a COBOL and PC problem.  Many Main frames store 4
digit dates properly.

30 years ago there were no PC's, with limited memory and hard disk space,
where 2 digits to represent a year would save something.

And I don't think the Leaders of the church were arguing COBOL programming
standards 30 years ago.

Therefore; Faust must be thinking that the world is ending in 2000?

What else could they be warning us about, the short term thinking of DOS
2.1 !!!!  Or Bios chips in IBM PC's ?

Did anyone see a proclamation by the 1st presidency, in the "Embedded
Systems Journal", for he last 30 years ?

When some Mormons make crack pot remark, many Mormons get worked up, and
then, when it turns out to be bogus, Members just ignore it.]

> A major complication of the Y2K problem is that it will be a problem
> world-wide.  While all the problems I have described above will happen
> in the U.S., we will be relatively well off.  Senator Bennett said only
> five  countries in the world including the U.S. are doing anything
> significant to address the Y2K problem (Japan is NOT one of the five.

[This IS a serious problem.]

> trading in the year 2000.  However, the Senator expects most
> exchanges in foreign countries to be shut down.  For this reason,

[So is the church pulling out of all of it's foreign stocks?

In which stocks does the church keep the lords money anyway?]


> he cautioned us about investing in foreign stocks.  It is anticipated
> that the economies of some countries will be devastated for decades
> by the Y2K problem.  This anticipated turmoil around the globe will
> inevitably cause a deep recession, at least, in the United  States.
> You may wonder why we don't just fix this problem before it's too late.

[We can not fix other countries problems.

Well actually we could.  All male programers, and software managers, could
be called on a 6 month to 12 month mission to SAVE THE WORLD FROM Y2K.
They could go out in Jan of 1999 and be home before Xmas having at least
informed and consulted all major banks and businesses world wide about the
evils of Y2K.

Not that might create major chaos at home in Utah with all of them leaving
work for 6 months to a year, but hardly unlike what was done by their
GGGrand fathers.

And if they saved the world, it could do more PR than all the public
Service Announcements and Free books and warm fuzzy video's could possibly
do.]


> The  answer is, it isn't possible.  Senator Bennett has been informed
> that there are 160 billion lines of computer code around the world
> that have the Y2K problem.  For every four lines that are fixed another
> error in the program is created.  Therefore, everything has to be fixed,


[Oh MY Goodness!  How could we ever get anything done, if we created a bug
for every 4 lines of code.

In software testing the term we use is bugs per kloc or bugs for Thousand
Lines of Code.  If you have 5 or more KLOC, you have bad programmers.  Now
imagine how stupid they would have to be to have 250 mistakes for every
1000 lines of code.

With an average of 1 mistake in every 4 lines or 250 mistakes in a
thousand, how do we ever get computers to work at all!!!

Apparently Bob Bennett doesn't know much about computers.]

I know someone that worked on a project where we had 1,600 programs to
check for Y2K bugs, 35 programs has had at least one problem.  Of the 35
only one or two had a problem in more than one place in the same program.
The largest program was 4,200 lines long.  So they did lots of work, and
came up with only a handful of programs that had any problem.  It only
took a few weeks to change them.  Of the 35 changed programs only one had
needed fixing twice.  In the process there were other programs, not Y2K
related in which bugs were found and fixed.

His company is not typical of other software houses because they do not
use
COBOL, but they use the OS that the church office Building USED to use,
before they went into a more expensive direction.

Note that Australia uses this type of OS/database in many many companies,
therefore watch for them to NOT have Y2K problems like other countries.]


> tested and then re-fixed.  There simply are not enough skilled people
> or time left to do the  job.  Moreover, that does not include checking
> all the embedded computer chips that run everything from your
> car's transmission to your thermostat to your elevators to your
> children's toys.


[When they started the project over a year ago, the deadline to have
everything done and installed was July 1st 1998, now it is July 1999.  So
even though they started early, they got behind.  There are too many lines
of code and not enough programmers and not enough time for other companies
to fix, test and implement all the fixes.

Yes Y2K will be a problem, but if your kids toy fails to work, obviously
you
are not a 3rd world Mormon.]


> When computers were first being developed, they were not powerful
> enough to easily process dates with a four digit year.  Early
> programmers used a two-digit year and saved millions of dollars.

[The extra 2 digits for a 4 digit year, it take up precious memory in Ram
and Hard disk for a personal PC.  Which was a glorified typewriter and
calculator, not a replacement for a mainframe computer.  As the cost of
memory and hard disk space was no longer an issue, then is when the 4
digit year should have been addressed.

Businesses choose to us a personal computer as a business computer and
they
bent over to save millions for a few years, while down the road, it will
cost them Billions for those savings in previous decades.

Typical current quarter bottom line mentality, without long term
analysis.]


> The early programmers, working in the '60s assumed that their
> programs would be obsolete by the year 2000 and that later
> programmers would use four digit years.  The new programmers
> learned from copying the old programmers, and nobody ever
> started using four-digit years.  Anyway, that's the problem, the
> question is what should you do about it.

[More precisely they didn't stop to think, even though 1999 is less then
2000, that mathematically 99 is more than 00.]


> Here are Senator Bennett's suggestions.
> (1) Check with all your banks, brokerages, and other financial
> institutions as to their preparedness for the year 2000.  If they can't
> assure you that they will be able to continue to do business as usual,
> move your assets to a place that can.

[Come on Bob, you LIVE in DC, what Bank is going to tell you the they are
NOT Y2K compliant or that they don't plan to be?  Are they going to tell
you they PLAN to be out of business before 2000 ?

Try getting it in writing, that if you don't have access to your money or
if they debit you with mistaken late fees, that you will richly
compensated
for it.  Or if your Credit card get's wrongly rejected that they will
compensate you for the trouble.

Come on Bob you were once a lawyer.]


> (2) Keep hard copies of your financial records and get
> up-to-date hard copies near the end of December 1999.


[When these businesses are going to be their busiest, Bob is going to
create more work for them, out of paranoia.

A self fulfilling prophecy.]


> (3) Have everything you need on hand for at least three months
> by December 1999 (food, water and fuel (January is cold)).

[It's a TWO years supply, Bob, don't you know how to create hoarding or a
panic!  :)

Now how can I store 3 months of natural Gas ?

And if I do, but it is NOT needed, then what do I do with the Gas and
storage tanks?

What do I do for hot water if it takes 6 months to work things out?

Convert my environmentally friendly gas fireplace to a wood stove?]


> (4) Expect a recession in 2000 and plan your finances
> accordingly.  Keep some cash on hand.


[Create an artificial run on the banks.

Now who is going to make money on this?

Not me for sure.]


> Needless to say, after listening to Senator Bennett we are very
> concerned and are trying to get better prepared for this-crisis.
> We hope this warning  may help you do the same.

[And though a little preparation, like a month of food may be good, much
other than that, will cause problems of their own.  During the Great
Depression, some people lost everything, and a few ended up with all that
the other people lost.  I hope we are not contributors to a situation
where greedy and powerful people can use panic to become even more wealthy
and powerful.]



Perry     <[e-mail]>    http://pobox.com/~plporter

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