I just had to share with you this one message/jmurphy: >From: INDYTALK-D-request@rootsweb.com >Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 09:52:00 -0700 (PDT) >______________________________ >X-Message: #1 >Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 17:23:19 -0500 >From: Lori <lhoffman@seidata.com> >To: INDYTALK-L@rootsweb.com >Message-ID: <35859ED7.7758@seidata.com> >Subject: 2000 >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii >Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > >Hi Ya'll... > >Just wanted to pass this on, it's a thought and a smile. > >Lori > > >***** > >quote: > >I just found the first (and creepiest) instance where the year >2000 crisis is not just a digital problem, but a very "analog" >one, as well. It seems that the burial industry (or whatever you >call it) is faced with an oversupply of headstones precarved with >a "19" prefix. > >This is pretty out of my league, but apparently it's common to >preorder your tombstone, specify an inscription, and then leave a >space blank for the actual date. Because it's cheaper to precarve >(who knew?), people add the "19" prefix and then leave the >remaining part of the date for loved ones to fill in. > >The companies responsible for holding onto these precarved >tombstones have started worrying that they'll have a lot of >useless "19xx" grave markers unless an awful lot of people, >pardon the crassness, drop dead over the next year and a half. >One company is experimenting with a cementlike paste to fill in >the number "19" and has had results buffing the stone to hide the >error, while others are experimenting with brass plates that fit >over the "19." > >I find this particularly fascinating from an archaeological >viewpoint, because centuries from now, archaeologists will wonder >what the mystery brass plate meant on some of our markers. Were >we hiding dates? Did some people in our culture die twice? Was >brass plating a sign of nobility? Or poverty? Anyway, you get the >idea, and I've obviously had way too much coffee, but I think >this one helps us keep our perspective. > >Of course, the truly dark and morbidly missing link in all of >this is the opportunity to buy them up wholesale and offer them >up to the poor data managers who can't face another day >struggling with the digital year 2000 crisis. > >"unquote" > >______________________________ >X-Message: #2 >Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1998 23:26:26 -0400 (EDT) >From: jmurphy@erinet.com (judith murphy) (snipped) >http://www.census-online.com/links/IN_data.html (Indiana online census' page) >http://www.census-online.com/links/index.html (USA online census' page) > >Judy M. >