Y2K READINESS: PERSONAL CHECKLIST
=====================================
(compiled from various sources, Oct 1999)

I don't think it will be bad. I work in IT. I know what's been done.
But "I don't think it will be bad" is not the same as "I am certain
it will be fine," and being certain is stupid, so:


DONE:
  [x] Cash withdrawal (2 weeks of expenses, in small notes)
  [x] Water (10 litres stored, more available from taps assuming
      water treatment holds)
  [x] Tinned food (2 weeks: sardines, beans, tomatoes, soup)
  [x] Torch + batteries (checked, working)
  [x] Battery radio (to get information if internet/TV goes down)
  [x] First aid kit (had one already, checked contents)
  [x] Backup of important files (personal documents, photos,
      work files, copied to ZIP disks and stored separately)
  [x] Confirmed UPS on home server is functional


TO DO:
  [ ] Gas camping stove + fuel canister (if power goes out for
      more than a day, cooking becomes an issue)
  [ ] Extra medications (prescription runs out Jan 8, get early)
  [ ] Photocopy of important documents (passport, insurance, etc)
  [ ] Talk to letting agent about building's backup power situation


NOTES:
  The honest assessment is that nothing significant will happen.
  Critical infrastructure (power grid, water, telecoms, banking)
  has been audited extensively. The government says it's fine.
  The banks say it's fine. The utilities say it's fine.

  The things I'm not sure about:
    - Third-party systems that interact with the audited ones
    - Small businesses that didn't have resources to fully remediate
    - Public reaction if ANYTHING goes wrong, even minor things
    - Edge cases nobody thought to look for

  The thing that actually worries me, which I haven't heard many
  people talk about: the assumption that the date rollover is a
  binary event. Either it fails or it doesn't. But complex systems
  don't fail like that. They degrade. They produce wrong outputs
  quietly for a while before anyone notices something is wrong.

  I am more worried about quiet corruption than I am about a crash.


TARGET: Have everything sorted by December 15. Give myself
two weeks of margin before the event itself.
