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Wednesday, November 4, 1998

Year 2000 computer glitch

So our brilliant computers lack common sense! Would any ordinary

    accountant have a problem adjusting his records to the year 2000 ?

           Would anybody dependent on computer data REALLY have a big problem

    dealing with the year 2000?  Would any client actually have to explain

    -confronted by a confused computer screen - what year it really was ?

          I recall my personal experience with computer idiocy : I explained

    to a librarian over the phone that I had indeed returned the video " Hoffa "

    ( a hero of mine ? ) to the library. " On no , " she said , " THAT INFORMATION

    would be in our computer. ".  Not until I went to visit her in the audio-

    visual dept.- and SHOWED her video right under her nose - did she understand

    that the computer was indeed wrong. I suspect that she has resented me ever

    since.

             This morning I read in the Providence Journal (Nov. 4, A7 ) that

    a computer in Switzerland ordered a 105 year old woman to attend kindergarten!

          The computer could only understand the last two digits of her birthdate.

          I suppose the same computer glitch ( with the year 2000 ) will could

    start sending out social security checks to five year olds . All sorts of

    crazy things might happen. 

             How right was my old Latin teacher who use to mutter : " TIME IS


    OF THE ESSENCE ! "

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Ron