~ The Food Circle ~

Y2K FAST FOOD FACTS #3

BE INFORMED.

"Healthcare, education, agriculture, construction, food processing, governmentsare lagging way behind in compliance efforts. Many of these will simply not finish critical systems by 2000," the Gartner Group revealed in research testimony to the Senate, October 1998.

Senator Robert Bennett has said, "I am generally concerned about the possibility of power shortagespay attention to the things that are vulnerable in your life and make contin- gency plans."

The problem affects not only computer applications, but operating systems (the software that acts as a mediator between the hardware, the applications and human beings), computer hardware and many millions of "systems" that utilize computerized technology.

Virtually every application that has been designed over the last 30 years will compound the problem. Experts estimate that billions of lines of computer code will have to be examined to correct this problem, and in many cases the original computer codes have been lost.

And this is only one aspect of the problem. Embedded systems remediation will perhaps be the greater problem, according to Nancy Lewis, Professional Investigator and Y2K instructor to armed forces personnel, and author of the report "Y2K, The Year 2000 Problem", from which this material was taken. Few people believe this. Few people are even aware of the threat. Why not, especially when an Executive Order recently made Y2K officially an act of God?

BE CENTERED

Know better now. There's an Elephant in the Room. A poem by Terry Kettering:

There's an elephant in the room. It's large and squatting; so it is hard to get around it. Yet we squeeze by with How are You?" and "I'm fine" And a thousand other forms of trivial chatter. We talk about the weather. We talk about work. We talk about everything else-- except the elephant in the room. There's an elephant in the room. We all know it is there. We are thinking about the elephant as we talk together. It is constantly on our minds. For, you see, it is a very big elephant. It has hurt us all. But we do not talk about the elephant in the room.

Y2K is a very big elephant. Why aren't we hearing very much about it or how big it actually is in newspapers, on radio, television? Sometimes What we don't talk about us can hurt us more than what we do get out in the open..

Start talking about Y2K to people you know. Bring it up in conversation, at work, time out, meetings and get togethers. Don't be afraid to introduce the subject, even if it elicits strong opinion.

Getting people exposed to the subject is a big step. Giving them the opportunity to talk about it is another big step in getting them to work through their issues and process it. Getting people off complacency, avoidance and denial is an important precursor to action and taking steps toward being prepared. But you can't "make" people face the challenge, you can only give them information, and the opportunity to talk about it. It doesn't even matter if you yourself don't know alot about Y2K itself. The important thing is to get it out in the open. The issue is a big one, a big opportunity for all of us, whether we know so or not.

Next time: Processing Y2K mentally, emotionally and spiritually, while you're packing those staples away for rainy days.

BE PREPARED.

So What Should I do FIRST? Hope for the Best. Prepare for the Worst. Some activist quote? NO. This recommendation is right on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's website at http://www.fema.gov.

Decide to ACT. Decide to Cooperate. Decide to BE OK. Start NOW. REMEMBER: There is No Reason to get yourself into a panic. Prudent action will help you keep calm. Remind yourself that people have survived adverse conditions, including no electicity, running water, etc. before, for centuries. YOU CAN SURVIVE.

And if you work with your neighbors and split up the work, then you will also create an instant support network, as well. Everyone--EVERYONE--will be in the same Boat. Cooperating can make it easier to deal with for All of Us. ALL Together NOW.

But before you develop your plan, First, take a LOOK at a Few Basics: Your Attitudes Toward Food: Eat to live or live to eat? What does food mean to you? If you don't have much food around, how will you personally deal with the Y2K and Your Food situation? Do you use food as a companion, a crutch, social status, sharing, a weapon? Food has a lot of meanings to us and impacts us deeply and personally, on many levels. Becoming aware of these now--including just how much we enjoy food beyond just eating to stay alive--is important.. What You Need Versus What You Want: We're used to the most prolific and plentiful food supply the world has ever known. Face it, we all have A LOT more than we really need to survive. Get in touch with this. Do this exercise: Pretend your home is on fire and you have 30 seconds to grab one thing. What would it be?

What We Take for Granted. We've gotten used to being able to get any food from anywhere, any time. In reality we've been spoiled. A lot of the stuff we normally put into our mouths as food really isn't. We need to look at these things, because this situation is just about guaranteed to change. Why Worry About This? Why? You might just have to go cold turkey, faced with the prospects of abruptly being without your morning cup of coffee, soda pop, snack foods, Major supply line disruptions, temporary and long term, are very possible and could mean these "givens" are no longer available at any price. How will you deal with this? Then Think About What You Really Need. No one wants any of this. But what can you do about it? PLENTY. Adapt, Be Flexible, Dig down Deep and find your inner Strength. Be honest with yourself and consider what you really must have in order to live. Contemplating these questions before you get into full planning your Y2K food backup plan can help you be stronger and more aware next year. You will need this additional strength and emotional stamina.

And a thousand other forms of trivial chatter. We talk about the weather. We talk about work. We talk about everything else--except the elephant In the room. There's an elephant in the room. We all know it is there. We are thinking about the elephant as we talk together. It is constantly on our minds. For, you see, it is a very big elephant. It has hurt us all. But we do not talk about the elephant in the room.

Y2K is a very big elephant. Why aren't we hearing very much about it or how big it actually is in newspapers, on radio, television? What we don't talk about us can hurt us more than What we do.

Start talking about Y2K to people you know. Bring it up in conversation, at work, time out, meetings and get togethers. Don't be afraid to introduce the subject, even if it elicits strong opinion.

Getting people exposed to the subject is a big step. Getting them to talk about it is another big step-- Even if they have strong opinions on subject. Many People do. Getting people off complacency, avoidance and denial is an important precursor to action and taking steps toward being prepared. Next time: Processing Y2K mentally, emotionally and spiritually, while you're packing those staples away for rainy days.

BE PREPARED.

So What Should I do FIRST? Hope for the Best. Prepare for the Worst. Some activist quote? NO. This recommendation is right on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's website at http://www.fema.gov.

Decide to ACT. Decide to Cooperate. Decide to BE OK. Start NOW. REMEMBER: There is No Reason to get yourself into a panic. Prudent action will Help you keep calm. Remind yourself that people have survived adverse ccnditions, including no electicity, running water, etc. before, for centuries. YOU CAN SURVIVE. And if you work with your neighbors and split up the work, then you will also create an instant support network, as well. Everyone-- EVERYONE--will be in the same Boat. Cooperating can make it easier for Everyone.

But before you develop your plan, First, take a LOOK at a Few Basics: Your Attitudes Toward Food: Eat to live or live to eat? What does food mean to you? If you don't have much food around, how will you personally deal with the Y2K and Your Food situation? Do you use food as a companion, a crutch, social status, sharing, a weapon? Food has a lot of meanings to us and impacts us deeply and personally, on many levels. Becoming aware of these now--including just how much we enjoy food beyond just eating to stay alive--is important.. What You Need Versus What You Want: We're used to the most prolific and plentiful food supply the world has ever known. Face it, we all have A LOT more than we really need to survive. Get in touch with this. Do this exercise: Pretend your home is on fire and you have 30 seconds to grab one thing. What would it be? What We Take for Granted. We've gotten used to being able to get any food from anywhere, any time. In reality we've been spoiled. A lot of the stuff we normally put into our mouths as food really isn't. We need to look at these things, because this situation is just about guaranteed to change. Why Worry About This? Why? You might just have to go cold turkey, faced with the prospects of abruptly being without your morning cup of coffee, soda pop, snack foods, Major supply line disruptions, temporary and long term, are very possible and could mean these "givens" are no longer available at any price. How will you deal with this? Then Think About What You Really Need. No one wants any of this. But what can you do about it? PLENTY. Adapt, Be Flexible, Dig down Deep and find your inner Strength. Be honest with yourself and consider what you really must have in order to live. Contemplating these questions before you get into full planning your Y2K food backup plan can help you be stronger and more aware next year. You will need this additional strength and emotional stamina.

-- Nancy Lee (Nancy@foodcircle.com), April 28, 1999