Ask Dashdot: Should I Buy a Generator for Y2K? Posted by Hemlock on Tuesday October 12, @10:00PM EDT from the the-power-of-positive-thinking dept. Nervous Ned writes "My brother-in-law has filled his basement with canned beans, a generator, 400 gallons of water and a copy of every Linix distribution on CD. He says I'm a fool for not doing the same. I'm a programmer and I think the power grid will be fine. But I'm only about 95% sure. What are Dashdot readers doing to prepare?" I'm preparing by having a backup of my backups. And beans. Okay, some beans. Ask Dashdot: Should I Buy a Generator for Y2K? | Login/Create an Account | Top | 17 comments | Search Discussion Threshold: -1: 17 comments 0: 16 comments 1: 12 comments 2: 11 comments 3: 8 comments 4: 7 comments 5: 2 comments NestedFlatThreadedNo Comments Oldest FirstNewest FirstHighest Scores First The fine print: the following comments belong to whoever typed them. Dashdot takes no responsibility for them, and frankly, neither do most of the people who typed them. I work at a utility by JavaJunkie on Tuesday October 12, @10:10PM EDT (#3) (User Info) I work at a power utility. We have been testing since 1997. We rolled the clocks forward on every system we could. The grid will be fine. Your brother-in-law will have a lot of beans. [ Reply to This ] Beans are always useful by RetroRaccoon on Tuesday October 12, @10:19PM EDT (#4) (User Info) Even if nothing happens, beans don't go bad. Worst case you have chili for a year. [ Reply to This ] Re:Beans are always useful by WebWeaver on Tuesday October 12, @10:24PM EDT (#5) (User Info) Wait until you see the next version. It's going to be worse. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Re:Beans are always useful by JavaJunkie on Tuesday October 12, @10:25PM EDT (#6) (User Info) Actually, that's a common misconception. The spec explicitly allows it; it's the vendors who didn't implement it. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Interesting, but... by WindowManiac on Tuesday October 12, @10:30PM EDT (#7) (User Info) This is interesting, but I think the article misses the bigger picture. Technology like this only matters when it gets cheap enough for ordinary people. Until then it's a toy for people who read Dashdot. Which, admittedly, is us. [ Reply to This ] I'll be at work by WebWeaver on Tuesday October 12, @10:31PM EDT (#8) (User Info) I'll be at work on New Year's Eve watching logs scroll by. Pizza is provided. Bring your own champagne. In a thermos. Don't tell my boss. [ Reply to This ] Re:I'll be at work by Hemlock on Tuesday October 12, @10:51PM EDT (#9) (User Info) I work in this field, and the parent is basically right, although the details are a bit more complicated than one comment can cover. [ Reply to This | Parent ] Fill the bathtub by MarkupMarcy on Tuesday October 12, @11:00PM EDT (#10) (User Info) Fill your bathtub, have some cash on hand, keep a flashlight. Same thing you'd do for a big storm. That's all the prep anyone sane needs. [ Reply to This ] My experience by kludge_king on Tuesday October 12, @11:06PM EDT (#12) (User Info) I've been working in this industry for 15 years, and I can tell you that this kind of thing comes around every five years with a new name. The underlying ideas don't change much; the marketing does. [ Reply to This ] Re:My experience by ladybug_lisp on Tuesday October 12, @11:36PM EDT (#14) (User Info) Citation needed. Where are you getting these numbers? [ Reply to This | Parent ] Mirror by RailgunRhonda on Tuesday October 12, @11:16PM EDT (#13) (User Info) Mirror here, while it lasts: it's on my cable modem so be gentle. [ Reply to This ] Hmm by ParanoidPolly on Wednesday October 13, @12:06AM EDT (#16) (User Info) I wonder how long until someone ports Doom to it. [ Reply to This ] 5 replies beneath your current threshold. Show them all (threshold -1).

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