Re: sick and fucking tired of this Y2k shit

[Sunder <sunder@brainlink.com>]

Anonymous wrote:
> 
> No, what you're calling the reality of the problem, I'm calling the
> perception of the problem.  The Y2k problem, in reality, will probably
> not be that bad by the time it rolls around.

I certainly hope that will be the case, but it helps to plan for the worst.
Even if it will be just for laughs.

> Sure, there are going to
> be unforeseen problems that crop up, but the fire and brimstone
> problems will most likely be fixed.  We're not going to be without power,
> without medical care, without money.  The major systems will be
> functional enough for the Y2k thing to be an annoyance, but not a
> complete disruption of society.

That's been discussed to death here and everywhere else.
 
> But do you think that reality matters, when the media gets ahold of
> the issue, sensationalizes it into the vision that this author gives,
> and throws that fundamentally warped picture out to the masses?  Do
> you think the masses question Oprah, or Jerry Springer, or anything
> else they see on TV?  Especially the network news, our country's
> finest in entertainment?

Me: I don't give a rats ass.  I don't watch the news often enough to
be brainwashed by it.  Sure, a headline here or two just to know what's
up, and sometimes the weather, but none of the editorial bullshit.  So it
doesn't affect me if they're feeding propaganda of today's buzzwords or not. 
I'm sure it does affect Joe Sixpack and his family, but I don't fall for that
shit as apparently you don't either.  Only I ignore it, you feel offended 
by it.

> No.  And when people panic because of it,
> what you have on your hands is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  So
> who's responsible?  Programmers?  To say so is remarkably
> irresponsible.  That's the equivalent of the argument that gunmakers
> should be responsible when some wacko shoots someone in the
> head.

No, go back and read my post.  The real cause of the program isn't
directly the programmers, but the assholes in charge of them.  The
assholes that are and have been willing to cut corners left and right
just to save money or foresee making more money later.  

Shit, I'm certainly not going to say that the code I hashed out is anywhere
near perfect or bug free, but a little less moaning and groaning from the
management side about deadlines and doing it "cost effectively" would have
gone a long way to getting it done right.  Hey, my view is this: if someone
isn't willing to let me do something right, fuckem.  I gets my pay either way,
and if it blows up in their face, well maybe next time they'll listen to my
bitching about bad design and proper testing instead of spewing "what's he
know, he just a unix weenie."

Invariably even the moniker "Y2K" is a perfect example.  The very fact that we
have shortened this to an acronym is the very core of why we're in the mess in
the first place.  Had we written everything out longhand, it wouldn't
be an issue -- but that's just the type of lazy creatures we are.

Invariable both the marketing types and the media types are catalysts with the
marketing types being the worst.

Yes, I agree, the media is evil and reprehensible in all aspects.  Hell, even
Declan whom I respect has said some things I disagreed with and flamed him
for.  However, the media aren't the cause of the problem.  They're adding fuel
to it, sure, they're acting as a catalyst and as a government mouthpiece as
usual, sure, but they aren't the cause of it.  Keep it in perspective.

> >Gotta love it, the net's full of nuts.  Can't wait for'em to be culled
> >out of the gene pool.. what only 300 some days left now?
> 
> To call me nuts is ludicrous.  Sure, the idea of actually going out
> and shooting the collective media in the head is far-fetched, but
> the fundamental issue is right on the money.  

Well, spank your ass and call you Charlie.  If you're clear on the fact that
masacring the media is far fetched and you're for it, calling you nuts isn't
so far fetched. :)  Then again if you're like Tim (or infact Tim), then you're
just venting, so no, to call you nuts in that case is ludicrous.  So which is
it?

> Unless of course you're
> a media bitch who needs to suck on the Fox tit for your daily
> ingestion of the Y2k lie.  But that's not the impression I got.

Ah-Yup.  Only thing I watch on Fox is the Simpsons.  And that's when I'm bored
shitless. 


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