dacs.doc electric

Twas the tick before 2K
And at every site,
Not a user was sleeping
They all were up tight.

The systems were programmed
With infinite care,
In hopes that disaster
Would never hit there.

Our May meeting was the second Y2K conference presented by DACS. The presentation was structured to the concerns of individuals and small businesses, which is the essence of DACS
membership. The meeting was organized and presented by DACS. The format was a panel of six people who live and work in the greater Danbury area or Hartford with each presenting a unique concern for Y2K preparation.

Our panel moderator was DACS's own Ed Heere, President and CEO of AMSYS Computer, which he founded. Ed has been a major factor in almost every facet of DACS over its entire existence. For the May meeting, Ed once again contributed his insight and technical knowledge of the computer industry. He emphasized right up front that "Y2K compliance" is only in the eye of the beholder, Y2K readiness is what it really is.

Our first panelist was Bob Mitchell, Department of Information Technology in Hartford. Bob told us about the extensive work that the state of Connecticut is doing both to get the state government prepared and to provide support services for CT residents and businesses. He cited the state web site http://www.doit.state.ct.us/y2k which contains a treasure of very useful and practical information. As did all the panelists, Bob emphasized planning and testing, His viewgraphs hammered "test, test, test".

Fred Rhines was our second panelist to speak. He is with READY Intelligent Staffing, a technical personnel agency which he started. Fred told us that it is currently quite difficult to fill the demand for IT workers because the needs of the companies are so specific. He projected the need for another million people through 2005, computer scientists, system analysts, and programmers. The newer requirements tend towards familiarity with Visual Basic more so than Cobol.

Lori Scott of Danbury Health Systems directs the Y2K preparations for Danbury Hospital. She presented a very detailed account of what is involved when management takes potential risk very seriously. Danbury Hospital has made Y2K preparation a priority and has fully supported the project for more than two years. Lori explained that a responsible Y2K plan must be both thorough and comprehensive. There must be extensive dialog with suppliers, testing their systems to your requirements, not theirs. Lori emphasized that a meaningful plan must be total and the focus must be on managing the risk. The slides she displayed were a convincing demonstration of what a Y2K plan can and should be.

Next on the program was Bill Stax, Regional Manager of Connecticut Light and Power. He gave us the management type report that CL&P is now 84% compliant with completion expected by June 30, and they feel confident that power will be there when needed. Bill spoke from a manager's perspective and introduced the wider implications of preparing for whatever may happen. He told us that CL&P is reviewed by five regulatory agencies for readiness. They are not scheduling any maintenance activities for "that night", they will be at full staffing and on storm alert. Interestingly, they predict that they will only see 40% of the peak load that night because everybody who can, will switch to their own power backup systems.

Paul Estefan is Director of Civil Preparedness for the city of Danbury. Y2K is just one more item on his agenda, with his concern being on the physical problems of civil preparedness. No vacations will be allowed over the 2K transition, and contingency plans are in readiness for no lights, no heat, no gas, no telephones, and anything else in the realm of possibility. Paul gave us the assurance that Danbury will be ready just in case the "grid" (everything) goes down.

The final panelist was Tom McIntyre, Senior Vice President-Investments and Trust Specialist at A.G. Edwards' Danbury office. Tom has been a major factor at DACS over the years. He, along with Dick Sperry, developed dacs.doc from a simple newsletter to a contender for national recognition, he was President of DACS for four years, and served for many years on the board of directors.

Tom introduced reality to the discussion by quoting, "Those who can keep their head when all about them are losing theirs, just don't understand the problem". He told us that while the financial community is better prepared than other groups, many people, especially in other countries, actively reject the Y2K problem. On the other hand, a number of scams are currently preying on the panic prone. The Fed is even printing an extra quantity of new currency, in anticipation of those who will prepare for Y2K by stuffing their mattresses.

The general message coming to us from all the panelists, and especially Ed, is that the problem is real, but manageable. The way to cope is plan, test, and have Plan B around just in case.

Several gems emerged during the evening. The total cost of handling Y2K is estimated at $1.5 trillion for preparation, followed by another $1.5 trillion after 2000 for litigation. My favorite, however, was the observation that although Russia has not been very active in preparing, there probably won't be any nuclear warheads inadvertently set off in our direction. No source was cited for this reassuring information.

As moderator, Ed ran a tight ship. All the panelists got their allotted time slot and there was a lively windup of discussion and questions. The meeting demonstrated that local talent and a relevant topic can deliver the information content that we want from DACS meetings. Congratulations are in order to Ed and Tom for organizing this meeting and making it meaningful to us.

Tick !!!

When out on the Net
There arose such a clatter,
I sprang to my screen
To see what was the matter.

When what to my wondering Eyes
should appear,
But an AOL message
That made it all clear.

"The worst is all over,
There's not much more strife,
Happy 2K to all,
Now go get a life.".