Spring Break
Student was 'prepared to party like it's 1899' before Y2K
Megan O'Donnell
Issue date: 10/22/07 Section: Culture
- Page 1 of 1
UMKC student Zach Land, 30, is a husband, father and musician. He can play nine instruments, and he aspires to make a career out of this talent.
But Land has something in his past one has to dig deep to find.
He was a Y2K survivalist when the new millennium rolled around.
In July 1998, Land's father read a magazine article about the rising technological concerns the year 2000 could possibly bring.
"He started researching what he'd read about and became concerned soon after," Land said.
Land, 21 at the time, was convinced by his father. They were among many people who were worried about problems computers could have when the year changed from '99 to '00.
According to Land, a lot of people seemed to agree there may have been some potential for a problem.
"I didn't claim to fully understand the technical aspects of the date rollover and its repercussions," Land said. "But I knew that it was being considered a real enough threat to have major corporations and governments spending billions of dollars to remedy the problem."
He believed they had done their research, finding it to be a serious enough problem for concern.
"Our [nation's] lack of alternate means of maintaining our needs would have spiraled out of control very quickly," Land said.
He felt this could have created a negative domino effect and could eventually lead to a state of depression for the nation.
After becoming convinced of possible threats, Land's father set up an online business, which Land helped run. They sold survival goods including water purifiers, bulk foods and small solar-powered well pumps.
"Ironically enough, we used a computer-based business to fund our preparations for a computer-related crisis," Land said.
In January 1999, Land, his father, a good friend and his sister's family moved onto 20 acres of land they had purchased in Trinidad, Colo. to prepare for the new millennium.
They built several structures on the land. "We had two small cabins, a storage building, an outhouse and a separate kitchen with a big wood stove," Land said.
Along with these structures, they had a solar-powered generator if blackouts became an issue.
They were prepared for the worst.
After Y2K came and went, Land and his family found, just as everyone else did, the nation was not affected.
"We were celebrating all day," Land said.
Land claims to still not fully understand the situation and has many unanswered questions.
"Was it never really even going to be a problem in the first place? And why was no one held accountable for the money that was spent [by the government]?" Land said.
Land has no shame or regrets.
"My family and I got to hang out," Land said. "We had fun. We were pretty much prepared to party like it's 1899."
modonnell@unews.com
But Land has something in his past one has to dig deep to find.
He was a Y2K survivalist when the new millennium rolled around.
In July 1998, Land's father read a magazine article about the rising technological concerns the year 2000 could possibly bring.
"He started researching what he'd read about and became concerned soon after," Land said.
Land, 21 at the time, was convinced by his father. They were among many people who were worried about problems computers could have when the year changed from '99 to '00.
According to Land, a lot of people seemed to agree there may have been some potential for a problem.
"I didn't claim to fully understand the technical aspects of the date rollover and its repercussions," Land said. "But I knew that it was being considered a real enough threat to have major corporations and governments spending billions of dollars to remedy the problem."
He believed they had done their research, finding it to be a serious enough problem for concern.
"Our [nation's] lack of alternate means of maintaining our needs would have spiraled out of control very quickly," Land said.
He felt this could have created a negative domino effect and could eventually lead to a state of depression for the nation.
After becoming convinced of possible threats, Land's father set up an online business, which Land helped run. They sold survival goods including water purifiers, bulk foods and small solar-powered well pumps.
"Ironically enough, we used a computer-based business to fund our preparations for a computer-related crisis," Land said.
In January 1999, Land, his father, a good friend and his sister's family moved onto 20 acres of land they had purchased in Trinidad, Colo. to prepare for the new millennium.
They built several structures on the land. "We had two small cabins, a storage building, an outhouse and a separate kitchen with a big wood stove," Land said.
Along with these structures, they had a solar-powered generator if blackouts became an issue.
They were prepared for the worst.
After Y2K came and went, Land and his family found, just as everyone else did, the nation was not affected.
"We were celebrating all day," Land said.
Land claims to still not fully understand the situation and has many unanswered questions.
"Was it never really even going to be a problem in the first place? And why was no one held accountable for the money that was spent [by the government]?" Land said.
Land has no shame or regrets.
"My family and I got to hang out," Land said. "We had fun. We were pretty much prepared to party like it's 1899."
modonnell@unews.com
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