WASHINGTON-With the exceptions of 9-pound babies being born and people getting married at the ninth hour of the ninth day of the 99th year in the last century of the millennium, nothing significant happened on Sept. 9.
Why does this matter? Well, with all of the fuss and preparations for the millennium date change on Dec. 31, some computer experts worried that Sept. 9-or 9-9-99-could have wreaked considerable havoc with computer networks and no one would be prepared. It seems that some programs use the code 9999 as a code to shut down (or at least they did).
It didn’t happen-just as nothing really bad happened on April 9-the 99th day of the 99th year. It was just as Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), chairman of the Senate Select Committee on the Year 2000 Technology Problem, predicted Sept. 8.
“Tomorrow will be an interesting test … it is not as significant as Dec. 31 … we had some problems on April 9. You didn’t hear about them. I hope you don’t hear about the problems that happen tomorrow,” Bennett said.
Bennett and the Democratic ranking member, Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), spoke to the National Press Club on Sept. 8, and said the United States is in much better shape than either would have said a year ago.
“In the roughly 60 weeks since I was here, we have accomplished more than I would have ever expected,” said Bennett, referring to a similar speech he gave to the National Press Club in July 1998.
With 115 days before the roll over to the next millennium when two field date codes may interpret the day Jan. 1, 2000, as 1900 and shut down or work improperly, the two men gave a status report on preparations for the event.
Both men now believe panic-unnecessary hoarding of food, water and money-could cause more harm than the original problem.
“Stockpiling creates panic, which is a larger problem … I might not have said that [hoarding] would have been a bigger problem a year ago,” but it could be, said Dodd.
Rather than panic, Americans should prepare as they would for a major storm, Dodd said.
Dodd recommended “normal, sound common-sense thinking about what you would want to have on hand during a hurricane.”
Instead of hoarding provisions, Americans should learn about the problem and its possible impacts and make contingency plans.
“If you stockpile anything, stockpile information,” said Bennett.
Dodd said he is most concerned about the health-care industry.
“Some hospitals in rural America and the inner cities have had a delay in responding to the Y2K problem,” Dodd said.
