Do you remember the TimeBomb 2000 site? (or earlier iterations)...

Where did you experience your first forum postings? Did you believe that we had a real challenge from y2K? (I know, I know, this must seem old by now!).

How do you feel about the future? How much has changed in oh, 3 years or so? Did we learn anything from TEOTWAWKI? Or?

Just curious. I'll post my thoughts after a few responses.

Thanks!

-- Anonymous, June 03, 2003

Answers

I wasn't aware of the TB2K site until after Y2K, so I don't think it influenced me much. My first postings were at the old Countryside board - their website was the first place I went once we got internet service - and once I managed to pry the keyboard away from the kid so that I could use it (see - public school is good for something!)

A challenge from Y2K? Yes and no. I didn't know if anything would happen, and I knew that we would be better off than most folks if anything DID happen; but I did prepare "just in case" since I am a semi-Luddite at heart and have a distrust of the new, modern technology. I think it is wonderful that some people understand all this gobbledegook, but I don't want to. Of course, I said the same thing about computers back in the 70's; and look where I am now! Anyway, back to the preps - a few extra things in the pantry (since I stay pretty well stocked most of the time anyway), made sure the propane, diesel and gas tanks were full, stocked up on pet food, jar lids and ammo for the hunting firearms; and took stock of what we had and what we could do with what we had and for how many people.

How do I feel about the future? Sad. Things are going to hell in a handbasket; as my Granny Leone would say! 8) Rude people, angry people, too many people with borderline and antisocial traits (yeah, I know, I come into contact with more of them than the average bear; but it amazes me how many traits I see in people OUTSIDE of the nut ward.) Too many people doing too many jobs that really don't provide anything useful. Too many big corporations. Too many paper pushers. Too many politicians. Too much waste. Too much credit. Too much debt. Too much consuption, and concentration on "things". Too many people too lazy to work to provide for themselves. Too many people unwilling to do things that are difficult, or unpleasant. Too many snobs. Too much class division.

Did we (general we, not inclusive we) learn anything from TEOTWAWKI? Apparently not. If anything, it's made us (again, general us; not inclusive us) even more dependant on technology; and arrogant about using it as well. How sad is that?

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2003

What's TEOTWAWKI?

I've heard of the TB2k site but never visited there. I didn't discover Countryside magazine or the forum until the fall of 2000 so I missed all the excitement. Y2K really pissed me off because my employer cancelled all vacation time for New Years and made everyone carry pagers "just in case". Like pagers would work if the crap hit the fan anyway.... I got a little extra cash out of the ATM and filled up my gas tank, that was the extent of my y2k preparations.

I have mixed feelings about the future. On the one hand, I think that every generation thinks that the following generation is lazier, greedier, less self-disciplined, etc than they were. On the other hand, I think that a lot of people actually are lazier, greedier, less self-disciplined, etc. I see my siblings and many of my friends struggling to make ends meet in this economy and it worries me. I just read an article about "Operation Dark Winter" in Backwoods Home Magazine that scared the living hell out of me. Watching the "Matrix" movies and thinking about the knot of dread I carry in my stomach all weekend in anticipation of Monday morning has made me realize that I am a slave to the system and my paycheck as surely as if I was just a coppertop in the big machine. I can get all indignant about the way our government has strayed from it's foundations but other than voting Libertarian every 4 years I don't get off my fat duff and do anything about it....

Sorry, I'm rambling. A couple of my friends who I thought were supremely happy together announced last night that they are filing for divorce, and now I'm questioning a lot of my reality.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 2003

The End Of The World As We Know It.

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2003

The End Of The World As We Know It.

Funny, I have an inscription to Mr. S. in a vegetarian cookbook I bought him that references TEOTWAWKI. I guess it must have been a birthday present in 1999!

I'm still too busy to write, but I'm enjoying your posts (at work...I sneak on the internet! I feel like I'm 12 years old!). Can't post replies from work, though.

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2003

Oh good, now I'm going to have that song stuck in my head all day. :)

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2003

As it turned out Y2K was kind of a non-event but things might have been different if there had been no preparation.

As far as the future is concerned---who knows? I'm very concerned about the role big money is playing in electoral politics and with globalization I don't see it getting any better.

I'm not actually against globalization per se. I think it could actually be a good thing in the long run in terms of economic stabilization and more likely to add more pressure to bear for peace provided the emphasis for the various governments is the well being of the people first.

Sadly tho, it seems to me the power of big bucks corrupts the process so thoroughly that the ordinary folks don't understand how it so completely disempowers their voice in government.

-- Anonymous, June 05, 2003

I was into 'survivalism' way before Y2K reared its ugly head. Before the millenium, I was worried that Big Brother was going to take over, and that a police state was going to slowly form.

I actually had hopes for Y2K, that the event would show us just how dependent we have become on a network of people taking care of us. I had hoped that a couple of weeks (months!) of no electricity would shock us back into the realization that 'we feel like a number'(Sorry Sherri C. - rock n' roll! :^)), and that people can really live a satsifying life without ice cubes falling out of a door.

The future? Kinda bleak, I see more and more people becoming dependent on the government telling them how to act. I see more and more people interested in going out and spending what they just earned (work - produce - consume - work - produce - consume) on crap if they gave 24 hours of thought figured they don't need it anyway. I see more and more people more interested what goes on in the T.V. screen and emulating their 'heroes' then taking care to notice what goes on in THEIR everyday lives. And that police state I was worried about . . . boy, are some of my fears starting to show up.

I just fear what our children's lives are becoming. God, I am SO GLAD I'm not a teenager in todays world. Amber alerts, D.C. snipers, etc. When I was ten, my brother and I could walk 30 blocks from the movies to our house and no one would be worried if we would end up on a milk carton. My, how times have changed.

-- Anonymous, June 06, 2003

That's OK j.r. I like Bob Seger. Given my age and that I grew up in SE Michigan I think it's a requirement to be a Seger fan. My youngest sister used to clean his house. :)

-- Anonymous, June 06, 2003

Interesting! I'm too busy to write now, but *soon*. Thanks!

-- Anonymous, June 08, 2003

Know that I know what TEOTWAWKI stands for, I'm glad that it didn't happen at Y2K because I would have been totally unprepaired. I am working on it now, that's a big reason why I've been so anxious to get some land. I know that if TSHTF I would open our home to our small group of friends, so I am planning accordingly. We have skills and abilites that would compliment each other in a post-bad stuff world (weapons skills, mechanical and electronics knowledge, sewing, knitting, etc.) so I think we'd be OK at least for a little while if the world goes "Mad Max". I know a lot of people think that thoughts like this are scary and depressing and negative but planning ahead makes me feel better.

-- Anonymous, June 09, 2003