On This Day Pre-Y2K
Confused by any of the jargon you see below? Check the Y2K Glossary!
February 2, 1999 Permalink
TELEVISION programme makers have been criticised for encouraging couples to have sex in the hope of having a child on the first day of the new Millennium.
ITV is planning a night of sex-orientated programmes on March 17 “to get the nation in the mood” on the most likely date for anyone wanting to give birth on Jan 1 2000.
Yorkshire Tyne Tees Television Productions has been commissioned to make three programmes for that evening’s schedules, including conception techniques, reproduction in the animal kingdom and classic television seduction scenes.
Church and family groups believe the orchestrated night of mass passion is a devaluation of human life which encourages people to have babies to bring them “15 minutes of television fame”.
A YTTTP spokesman said: “We are trying to find responsible couples who have decided to start a family and think it is a bonus to possibly have a baby with the birthdate 1/1/2000. We don’t feel we will be encouraging people to do it just to get on television.”
—Paul Stokes, The Daily Telegraph, 02/02/99
The oil chain is too long with too many high-tech (read: weak links) in the chain. We have Pump the oil from the ground; Pump the oil to a distribution site; pump the oil onto a tanker; the tanker; Pump the oil off the tanker; Pump the oil to the refinery, The Refinary; Pump the oil to the trucks; The trucks, The gas stations. If each link has a 2% chance of mission critical failure you then have a about a 20% chance of failure for each chain. Given that each oil company maintains their own “chain/refinery” with a 20% chance of failure, (or let’s be generous and claim only a 10% chance of failure), there still is a 100% chance that one or more of the chains will break!
In places like Russia there is closer to a 100% chance that >MOST< of the oil supply chains will break since they are "fixing on failure". China expect to have to shut down at least 1/3 of their oil production. Talking to CA state largest oil producer last year they expected at that time to also have to shut down 1/3 of their pumping, or risk huge environmental problems.
So what will the world be like with 30%-50% less oil flowing??? What will the impact be on manufacturing, food production, food processing, food distribution, your workplace, your job????
If several of the oil chains break (and I still hope they don't), I predict:
1) fuel rationing with gas at $4+/gallon 2) food rationing as we (read Clinton) sends food to Russia and elsewhere for emergency aid, while food production here slips. 3) Unemployment + Inflation 4) Major shortages of "non-essential" consumer goods. 5) Moderate shortages of essential consumer goods.
Recovery Time frame: 0.5-2 years with a potential of war if China, Russia, N Korea or such goes over the edge and trys to annex some oil fields/reserves for themselves.
This is >just< if the oil chain breaks. It doesn’t take into account failures of powerplants in Russia that still supply E. Europe with 40% of their power, or any other techno-breakdowns!
—Bill Vojak, comp.software.year-2000, 02/02/99
