I regret to inform that Mr. CEO has decideded not to be interviewed live next week as recently announced.

He feels that the little that might be accomplished at this late date is outweighed by the risk to his company and its employees.

I will be on the Y2K News program as scheduled and will provide my feelings and analysis of his decision to first be on the program and then to decline.

I apologize for stirring up any tempest on this issue.

I must tell you, having been through one of these events personally with the "Pentagon Papers" story, I cannot criticize MR. CEO in any way for changing his mind. He is an honorable and decent man who is doing what he thinks is best.

Jim Lord

-- Jim Lord (JimLordY2k@aol.com), November 26, 1999

Answers

Thanks for the update Jim.

Do well.

Diane

-- Diane J. Squire (sacredspaces@yahoo.com), November 26, 1999.

Funny, that was my first reaction last night when I saw the initial thread on this: "Not gonna happen."

So what got to him? Was he worried about what might happen to his company if his forecast turned out wrong? Was he that unsure of his forecast?

-- inquiring (minds@and.therestofthat), November 26, 1999.

The following would in FACT have been the result were "Mr. CEO" to have proceeded with the interview.

FACT: His identity would have been learned.

FACT: The following 'powers' would have visciously attacked him by any and every means possible:

- Utility industry and their lawyers

- Every branch and every level of government - Colleagues in his industry who may not happen to agree with his assessment.

- the press

Nonetheless, were this individual to yet come forward, even revealing his identity, even naming (utility) names, even providing documentation on rates of failure, devices, etc. There would be no net result.

That's right, no result. As in zip, zero, nada, nothing.

It appears that he truly is, as others have commented, a wise man.

-- Me (me@me.me), November 26, 1999.

Doesn't "MR.CEO" Owe it to humanity to come forth if it bad news??? Is his "STORY" so full of holes that it is so easily refuted?? JIM,JIM,JIM!!!!! I think this is a lot of BULLS**T from bean peddlers!!! Disgusted with the whole lot of you!! "Thou Shall Not Bear False Witness" Let this day be recorded against you.

-- Huh???? (arewedead@home.now?), November 26, 1999.

Mr. Lord-- thank you so much for the update. But mostly, thank you SO much for your incredible bravery. A big thanks to Mr. CEO too!! It must be extraordinarily painful-- I know you are doing all you feel you can. Certainly more than nearly ANYone else!

Jim Lord and Mr. CEO, you are apparently a dying breed, as we look at the current government (and local posters too!). The few who stand strong shall save the many. Thank you.

May your honor be appreciated.

-- nohelp (4thosewho@wonthelp.selves), November 26, 1999.

Kind of sorry to hear about the cancellation... Was really interested to hear what Mr. CEO had to say on the Embedded Systems remediation. In fact, was going to have a small group of engineers (myself, brother and two friends) that are SOC (System on Chip, read trade mags like EDN to get a good idea as to the tech/industry) Designers to listen in on the interview. Oh well, perhaps he will have a change of heart and we will have an opportunity to check out the "facts" and shoot down any fallacies. Regards,

-- william holst (w_holst@hotmail.com), November 26, 1999.

---

Dear Mr. Lord,

Perhaps there is another way for Mr. CEO to provide substantial information without so much personal risk.

You and others hold some powerful cards in your hands. Possibly by playing some of those cards and playing them in the correct sequence, will allow him the peace of mind he no doubt seeks; as well as, protecting his anonymity.

Think about options. Think about methods. Think about the material facts.

Thanks for the good work that you are doing. Not many have your courage.

---

-- snooze button (alarmclock_2000@yahoo.com), November 26, 1999.

If this guy has important information, he can contact the Washington Times or another conservative newspaper and his identity would be withheld publicly. If the story's that hot, a reporter there would most likely be willing to risk jail rather than reveal the source.

If that doesn't happen,in the next few days, well...

-- inquiring (minds@the.restofthat), November 26, 1999.

Inquiring Minds has nailed it on the head...If Mr. CEO's story could be verified there are several journalists who would go to Jail in order to publish such a NEWSBREAKER. Consider how long Woodward and Berstein have protected the identity of "Deep Throat" - over 25 yrs and counting. Lets see if anyone can broker a deal between one of the leading newspapers and Mr. CEO...

-- paul dirac (pdirac@hotmail.com), November 26, 1999.

If I was really cynical - would think that Mr. Lord was being a "tease" with this story. Of course it would have made more sense to let the drama build a bit before termination of the interview. Why dont they just hold the interview on this message board kinda of like Dale Way's Q & A session.

-- joe thomas (jthomas@excite.com), November 26, 1999.

Jim,

Can you get mr CEO to do the radio program anonymously? Can he come to the forum and answer questions anonymously? If he can't, maybee he can post an article about some specifics, without divulging names? Specifics like what types of problems they are most frequently finding or what components are problems? what types of plants are having the most problems? What regions might be more effected? Are the noncompliant parts that earlier in the year were stated to be compliant posing problems? Are embedded systems a problem? Is the S.C.A.D.A a problem? Are the types of problems his company is finding the type of problem that would be problematic for other industries like Telecom, Banking, Oil refinries? Has he seen any plants accually fail to the point that they are not going to be able to generate power? Can he direct us to any articles that have the right answers? I think he can do this in such a way not to divulge who he or his clients are? He is one of a handfull of people that knows in what shape we are really in. There has to be something more this person can do? I believe this person can do more. He can make a difference. It is exactly this information that will turn people from DGI's to GI's. It's not to late for more people to prepare. There will be a panic, it will just happen after there is already a problem. For every person that is prepared before the problem that makes one more person that can help other people after the problem.

-- Gambler (scotanna@arosnet.com), November 26, 1999.

Why not do the interview first? .... Then broadcast it. Just once I'd like to see something materialize.

All due respect to Mr. Lord.

-- (Polly@troll.com), November 26, 1999.

When I first started reading about this situation late in '97, I remember Gary North saying that people in IT would be heading for the hills during the final quarter---if not before---and that many people would be issuing doom warnings.

I don't personally put much credence in anything Mr.North says, in retrospect, but I DO believe that if things were as dismal as some here believe--and as Mr.North described at the time---we'd have had a few people blowing whistles, going on talk shows, writing articles and basically ensuring a financial windfall at the end of all of this.

This has not been the case. Mr.Lord's notation about the CEO undoubtedly raised eyebrows on both sides of the camp issue, but this 'cancellation'--regardless of the reason--brings us back to square one. There is no code of silence among those in IT and there is no brotherhood when so many have their own problems, and their own families. The interview would've been interesting but I am forced to ask just where is everyone else?

Aside from the conspiracy theories, the idea that so many are scared to come forward and the like, it seems apparent now that the answer is---doing their jobs.

Regards

-- Bad Company (johnny@shootingstar.com), November 26, 1999.

This has to do with the insurance companies if this was not true about y2k why arn't the insurance co.out there selling all kinds of y2k insurance just think of the fortune they could make just like life,auto,and any other thing they can insure.If they didn't know something they are sure missing a big chance to get richer.Can any one venture to answer this question????????

-- wondering (I @wonder.com), November 26, 1999.

Me,

If one life is saved, it would be worth it. If this person only speaks to the forum anonymously,it will be worth it. I can make this information work in my own area. Several people I know are fence sitting. I already told some of these people about Mr CEO going on the radio, they are intereasted in hearing the broadcast. They have been waiting for information like this to help validate that there is a problem. The problem is we have plenty of people in business and Government that are saying "No Problem" and Knowone that is in a position to Know anything is saying anything.

-- Gambler (scotanna@arowsnt.com), November 26, 1999.

Hey Jim,,, Here are some you can get!!

Subject: Y2K's bounty runs out for many

Date: Fri, 26 Nov 1999 11:48:00 -0600 (CST) From:

From:webster@newsbytes.com

It isn't New Year's Day, but computer programmers and companies who milked fortunes from the Year 2000 bug already have a hangover.

Since midyear, when most of the software fixes were completed, tens of thousands of programmers have lost jobs, and hundreds of firms have gone belly-up or seen profits plunge. While many are reinventing themselves for a new electronic-commerce era, others "have the wrong skills," says high-tech analyst Howard Rubin.

Consulting firms and their employees had struck gold in the Y2K crisis, which stemmed from computers' use of two-digit dates and the fear they would mistake 2000 for 1900.

Many at-risk computers are big mainframes that handle payroll or inventory. Demand for programmers for those computers had been ebbing as businesses shifted to nimble networks. But as awareness of the Y2K bug grew, programmers fluent in the COBOL language used by mainframes became hot commodities. Annual salaries of $65,000 soared as high as $200,000.

About 80 percent of the 500,000 Y2K workers will have jobs after Jan. 1 -- either maintaining the mainframes or being retrained to develop e-commerce software, Rubin says.

But 100,000 COBOL programmers will be job-hunting, despite 350,000 high-tech openings, experts say. Many businesses used Y2K as an excuse to phase out older systems, says Michael Poehner, chief of DMR Consulting, which has slashed 1,000 jobs as Y2K work slowed. And COBOL skills don't necessarily translate to e-commerce, he says.

Larry Finnerty, 52, a veteran COBOL programmer in Boise, lost his job at Metamor Worldwide in July after spending 2 1/2 years fixing Y2K glitches for Idaho's pension system.

"They said they'd come up with something else for me. I was naive," says Finnerty, who sends out 50 resumes a week. While he is confident he can learn Internet languages like Java, "most employers want experience," he says.

Firms that drew up to 40 percent of their revenue from Y2K have seen profits nose dive. All are frantically retooling for e-commerce, but only some will succeed. Data Dimensions, for instance, saw sales soar from $1 million to $115 million thanks to Y2K, then plunge 37 percent last quarter. "It's like replacing the wings and engine while you're flying the plane," says CEO Peter Allen.

Reported by USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com

11:44 CST

(19991126/Copyright 1999/WIRES Y2K, BUSINESS/)

By: Paul Davidson Date: 11/26/99 Location: USA TODAY,

For more Newsbytes see http://www.newsbytes.com.

-- ????? (a@b.c), November 26, 1999.

Thanks for the update. I hope the rumors circulating about Mr. CEO have not already caused him and his business irreparable harm. Our quest for information has caused many casualties, on many levels. My prayers are with Mr. CEO and all techies who have struggled through countless hours of repairs only to come home and endure the hardships that come with the struggle to educate us so that we are able to prepare in whatever manner.

-- Hokie (nn@va.com), November 26, 1999.

Check out the fortunes of this Y2K Co.!!

Click here for whistle blowers

-- gh (morebs@thelord.site), November 26, 1999.

Character assassination is the least of his worries.

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), November 26, 1999.

I will state here that I believe that Jim Lord is not giving us the FULL story on why "Mr. CEO" cancelled out.

Last night, I posted that the RealAudio preview stated that CNN, AP, and others would be "monitoring" or "covering" this, and I was wondering out loud what spin would be put on it.

Well, my view is that the "ultimate" spin WAS put on it before it was aired--a personal threat delivered to Mr. CEO by you-know-who. Is that blunt enough?

It's just too bad that Mr. CEO didn't learn how to protect himself ahead of time like Griffin, who lived to see his book "The Creature From JEKYLL Island" published. Now there was a death-defying feat if there ever was one!

Unfortunately, whereas perhaps many more tens of thousands could have prepared in time if that interview was aired, it looks now like the whole world will carry on sleepwalking over the abyss.

-- profit of doom (doom@helltopay.ca), November 26, 1999.

Profit ,I just finished that amazing book. I did not know that Griffin had died.

-- Mike Lang (webflier@erols.com), November 26, 1999.

Dirac - the press is in lockstep on this. Remember the "media management" agenda delivered by Koski & Co. back, when was it, this spring? Perhaps someone has the URL from Wired or some other source handy. It was fairly well-covered at the time.

Remember, we have nothing to fear but fear of itself.

Or was that, we have nothing to fear but fear of fear?

Whatever. The important thing is to remember that we have nothing to fear, period.

GET IT?

Koski loves me this I know For the TV told me so Little minds in him shall trust As the infrastructure rusts

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), November 26, 1999.

*grumble* *fume* *sputter* *rant* Steeenkin' LF-eatin' BBS non-escapin'-out HTML-non-handler... Lemme try that again. Koski loves me this I know

For the TV told me so

Little minds in him shall trust

As the infrastructure rusts

-- Ron Schwarz (rs@clubvb.com.delete.this), November 26, 1999.

Thanks, Jim. I think we all have a lot of information. More is always good, but it is not to be from Mr. CEO. God bless all...

-- Mara (MaraWayne@aol.com), November 27, 1999.

wondering,

I suspect that insurance companies have refrained from offering policies for Y2K because of its potential to affect all of us.

Issuing insurance is based on the premise that a single incident is unlikely to trigger claims from many policy holders. Auto and health insurance meet this criterion, but even those policies have exclusions for events such as war, that would likely cause widespread harm. Since Y2K could potentially cause widespread harm, writing policies for it would be feasible only to the extent that could be subsidized by an insurance company's other products.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), November 27, 1999.

wondering, David;

Another reason can also be because insurance companies have no actuarial data (read: odds) for such an event. They base the premiums on the odds that the policyholder will collect before they can make enough money off the premiums to offset the "payout" and make a few bucks, too. No actuarial data, no policy (or the premiums will be so high -- $900,000 for a $1 million policy, say -- that no one would buy it anyway). And since it's never happened before, there's no historical data...

-- I'm Here, I'm There (I'm Everywhere@so.beware), November 27, 1999.

In response to the lady asking about online schools, check out this site http://www.medical-transcription-course.com/home.html. I think you will be impressed with the benefits and services.

-- Fred (a@a.com), July 10, 2002.

Found this great site that has a bunch of courses that you can do from your home. I am training with them to become a medical transcriptionist. I thought some of you may be interested. My selling point for this course is that they have a partnership to possibly get us jobs afterwards with the top transcription companies.

Anyway, the address is http://www.homeworkers.org/vlc.html

-- Perl (FE@fe.org), July 10, 2002.