Buy a bug

Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 2, 1999

A bug that costs billions Y2K may lead to why not sue Coaxing computers to comply with 2000 For economy, Y2K bug is contagious As Y2K work wanes, companies search for new niches Preparedness progress report Their Y2K motto: Be prepared Calm, not calamity, in local forecast for Y2K Firms say they're prepared for Y2K

From the Y2K Bug, a cross-eyed stuffed toy that looks more goofy than fearsome, to $250 bomber jackets, merchandisers are making the most of the year 2000 computer problem.

They also are competing to claim trademark and copyright exclusivity for their ideas.

Want to market a "Y2K" throw pillow? Call Hanna Irwin of Looking Glass Partners in Indianapolis.

And "Year 2000" has been snapped up by Planet Marketing Inc., so don't get any ideas about that "I survived Year 2000, and all I got was this stupid T-shirt" T-shirt without first giving them a call.

Walker Group/Design has filed or registered 28 trademarks covering "01-01-00." Irwin has 45 trademarks filed or pending for "Y2K" and related phrases, including "The end of the world as we 00 it," and "Uh 00h."

Get out of town

A Web site, http://www.Y2Kland.com, has listings of properties for sale that might make good hideaways for those who expect global chaos Jan. 1.

The site scores the properties on Y2K suitability. The farther away from a congested, technology-dependent major city, the higher the score.

The keepers of the site give bonus points to properties with good wells for drinking water, generators in case of power failure and fend-for-yourself food sources such as wild game, fruit and nuts and ponds and streams. Local ordinances friendly to gun ownership also are noted.

Six of the 121 property listings on the site are in Florida.

Robert Beasley, who is selling 10 lots outside of Sebring for $5,000 to $8,000, has had response to his listing on the Web site. He says an executive for Columbia Records has signed a contract to buy one of his 1.1-acre lots.

"We've got orange groves, farms, cows," Beasley said. While Beasley thinks the year 2000 threat is real, he stresses that his lots are good getaways from other potential disasters as well.

The hurricane threat is low because the land is high and away from the coast, he said. Plus, he figures, "If a war broke out, they are not going to bomb Sebring."

Curl up with a book

Fortunately, the publishing industry is coming up with books brimming with thoughtful analysis of the Y2K problem. Among the titles:

Mongo's Y2K Survival Plan for the Complete Idiot! for $14.95 and Y2K: It's Already Too Late for $29.97

And if you're seeking reassurance, there's Panic Now! The Y2K Millennium Bug Will Affect You! for $17.95.

Comfort a cow

So how's the Y2K scare playing in Peoria? At Fred Rosenbohm's dairy farm in Peoria, Ill., word is the cows don't really care what year it is as long as they get fed.

Come Jan. 1, they will get their regularly scheduled meal even though the computer that runs the feed machines isn't programed to recognize the year 2000.

"It will just go back to the year 1900," Rosenbohm said, "but the machine will keep feeding the cows."

Pay your dues

An 87-year-old broker in West Virginia has discovered that Y2K can wreak havoc even on the technologically bereft.

Last summer, Ralph Hinzman was sent a set of forms by the National Association of Securities Dealers so he could provide information about his firm's year 2000 readiness to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Hinzman, who makes about $20,000 a year selling mutual funds out of a home office in Weston, W.Va., doesn't even own a fax machine, so he wrote across the top page, "I don't have a computer. I don't know how to fill out these forms," and mailed it back.

A second set of forms arrived several months later, and Hinzman repeated the process. Phone calls followed, and he explained that he wasn't expecting any year 2000 problems, because he had no PC.

Nevertheless, Hinzman's business, Allegheny Financial Programs, was among the dozens of brokers charged by the SEC with missing the deadline for filing the forms. He paid $5,000 to settle the case and is still angry about it.

"The form wasn't properly designed," Hinzman said. "They should have had on the first page, "Does your company use computers?' And if you answered no, you wouldn't have to look at 17 pages of utter nonsense."

Party on ... at work

Sure, we're Y2K-ready, companies and government agencies say. In case they're wrong though, they are ordering key workers to spend the New Year's holiday on the job or nearby.

Brokerage Merrill Lynch, with 64,000 employees worldwide, has asked managers and other key personnel not to take time off from Dec. 1 through Feb. 15.

At Tampa International Airport, officials plan to have all personnel on standby and many of them present in the airport on New Year's Eve.

"We have canceled all vacations for before and after and have 25 rooms on standby at the hotel," said Sharon Harrell, director of administration at the airport.

"I hope it will be a very boring New Year's Eve for everyone."

-- Times staff writers Teresa Burney and Jean Heller contributed to this report, and information from Times wires and the Wall Street Journal was used.