The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, July 21, 1999 " ^ -------------------------------------------------------- '-- " 'A r ts & E n te rta in m e n t -- '_____________________________________________OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR OF THE OAKVILLE CENTRE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS Oakville Beaver Entertainm ent Editor: Carol Baldwin 845-3824 (Extension 254) Fax: 337-5567 Y2K will affect FO U R D A Y S O N LY ! - JU L Y 2 2 N D T O 2 5 T H everyone's lives By Carol Baldwin ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Predictions concerning what will happen on the stroke of midnight Jan. 1, 2000 range from busi- ness-as-usual to the end of civilization as we know it, and everything in between. Ned Vankevich doesn't agree with either end of the prediction scale. The Massachusetts professor falls some­ where in the middle, suggesting that computers are so intricately entwined with every facet of our daily lives, that something will undoubtedly happen. But it won't be the end of the world. "People are confused. Even the experts can't agree...It's because this is the first time in human history that we have had one problem that is going to effect the whole world at roughly the same time," he said. "You can't always take the assurances of people who are experts in the industry that it's not going to happen...The computers don't care what the politicians say. The com­ puters don't care what the journalists say. The computers don't care what you and I think. The computers are going to do what they're going to do because they're pro­ grammed that way." Vankevich was recently at Alternatives Market in Oakville, discussing some of the common-sense tips out­ lined in his first book, Y2K Made Simple: A Natural Health Resource Guide. As the title of his book implies, it neither delves into complicated, computer-based informa­ tion nor discusses how to save your home computer from crashing. Vankevich is more concerned with the uninter­ rupted operation of the computers that check our water supply, fill the orders for our supermarkets, and keep the electricity surging through the hydro wires. "Computers lay in the background of our lives, and we just don't see how much of our culture depends upon them. So, the Y2K glitch doesn't seem like something too real. People say, 'It's not going to affect my home com­ puter," ' he said in an interview before his talk. "But what they don't realize is computers run everything from the water that comes into their homes to the food they buy, and how these get into their homes. So if there are going to be glitches, it's only prudent that we prepare in some way." Vankevich, who is currently finishing his doctoral dis­ sertation on the politics of 19th and 20th century botanical medicine, advised people to stock up on such things as canned and packaged foods, candles, toilet paper, cooking oil, soaps, echinacea for those winter cold and flu bugs, and lots of water. He also suggested some good, air-tight containers to store the food in. And if the Y2K dragon doesn't attack your home, such supplies have long shelve lives and will eventually be used. "Out of my research on health, I looked at the Y2K issue. I saw that many of the things that people are recom­ mending are not the best things, health wise, or for the environment. So I thought that I'd look at it from a differ­ ent angle," he explained. And his angle is taken right out of the Boy Scout's manual - be prepared. And that means stocking up. During his talk, Vankevich used disposable diapers as an example, explaining that the process that takes those diapers from raw materials to the packaged product on supermarket shelves involves a number of steps, all of which involve a computer in some way. "When one of those computers goes out, it causes what is called the rippling effect. You have what's called upstream/downstream vendor relations. We, the con­ sumers, are far, far down the downstream end," he said. "The Middle East is not ready for this. The price of oil is going to shoot up, and gasoline prices. And when that happens the stuff in supermarkets is going to go up in price." Another reason to stock up, he added - you save (See 'Candles' on page B5) _ ,P! rS0" f sdoppm£ on Y Sale offers g°od Ju|y 22 t0 25, 1999. Savings are on the original.ticketed prices unless otherwise noted. Offers cannot be combined Excludes Warehouse Stores and Clearance Centres. Selection varies by store. **Eaton's w ill deduct the equivalent of the GST and PST from the total purchase price Excludes estate and fine jewellery; jewellery by Du Nouveau, Memoire Paris, Diamond Essence, Royal Canadian Mint, Swarovski and Dior; prestige watches and watches by Armani, Calvin Klein, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Swatch and Yves Saint Laurent. Personal Shopping Only. Selection may vary by store. owntown ditties E A T O N 'S Tim es have changed. Ben Savage, left, of The Trades belts out a tune for onlookers during last Fri­ day's Midnight Madness extravaganza. Peter Apple- yard, right, opened the annual downtown event in Towne Square; and Burt Steen, above, lead singer for the Harvest Moon Trio sang cover tunes made famous by such greats as Blue Rodeo, The Eagles, and Neil Young. Photos by Peter J. Thompson 60% off selected item s storewide • m e n 's, w o m e n 's a n d c h i ld r e n 's o u te rw e a r • a ll m e n 's D is t in c t io n sp o rtsw e a r, in c lu d in g sw e a te rs , s p o rts s h ir ts a n d k n its • w o m e n 's re g u la r p r ic e d d resses 50% off se le c te d b a th & bo dy p ro d u c ts , in c lu d in g c a n d le s , b a th ge ls , bo dy lo tio n s , c o s m e tic s bags a n d c o m p a c t m irro rs • w o m e n 's se le c te d s u m m e r fa s h io n s , in c lu d in g C asua l C o n n e c tio n c o o rd in a te s , Jon es W ear s u it in g , b lo u se s , s h ir ts , k n itw e a r, sw im w e a r, in re gu la r, p e tite a n d E a ton w o m a n s izes • m e n 's se le c te d s w im w e a r • c h ild re n 's s p r in g /s u m m e r T -s h irts , s h o rts , s h o rt se ts , ro m p e rs , s h o r ta lls a n d s w im w e a r • a ll re g u la r p r ic e d m a ttre s s se ts • s u m m e r a c ry lic p a tio w a re , ta b le c lo th s , p la c e m a ts & n a p k in s 40% off re g u la r p r ic e d h o s ie ry fro m H a n e s , S e c re t a n d V a n ity F a ir • a ll C asua l C o n n e c tio n & A t t i tu d e T -s h ir ts a n d s le e ve le ss ta n k s fo r w o m e n • m e n 's se a so n a l a c c e s s o rie s • a l l c h i ld re n 's L e v i's • a ll c h i ld r e n 's s u m m e r h a ts » s e le c te d re g u la r p r ic e d s le e p w e a r, ro b e s a n d lo u n g e w e a r • a ll F re n ch M a id , P a p illo n B la n c a n d H a n n a d a yw e a r 30% off • P in k S oda a n d G im m ie c o o rd in a te s fo r g ir ls • s e le c te d h a n g in g b ras , s p o rts b ra s a n d b r ie fs (e x c lu d e s tw in p a cks ) • E a ton H o m e o p e n s to c k co o kw a re 25% off • a ll re g u la r a n d c le a ra n c e p r ic e d h a n d b a g s 25% to 50% off • s e le c te d F a c to ry O u t le t m e rc h a n d is e No Tax a ll w a tc h e s and je w e lle ry * 10% off • a ll 5 -p ie c e p la c e s e tt in g s by M ik a s a , N o r ita k e , N ik k o , W edg w o od a n d R oya l D o u lto n don't miss these Clearance savings: Additional 4 0 % off all permanently reduced w o m e n 's re g u la r, p e tite an d E aton w o m a n fa s h io n s . E x c lu d e s w o m e n 's d iv e rs ity . • m e n 's fa s h io n s all permanently reduced • c h i ld r e n 's fa s h io n s w o m e n 's s le e p w e a r a n d ro bes • dayw ear and underw ear, in c lu d in g C a lv in K le in all clearance • w o m e n 's N in e W est, E nzo A n g io l i- n i, E van P ic o n e , B a n d o lin o a n d T h e W ork C o n n e c tio n sh o e s • m e n 's s a n d a ls 'Arts & Entertainment Oakville Beaver Entertainment Editor: Carol Baldwin 845-3824 (Extension 254) Fax: 337-5567 Y2K will affect FOUR DAYS ONLY! - JULY 22ND TO 25TH everyone's lives By Carol Baldwin owntown ditties Times have changed. 60% off 50% off 40% off 30% off 25% off 25% to 50% off No Tax 10% off Additional 40% off