[2623] in Humor
HUMOR: Makes Y2K problems look like a certainty
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Sharalee M. Field)
Tue Jan 19 13:06:27 1999
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 13:00:53 -0500
To: humor@MIT.EDU, mowu@MIT.EDU, "MEGallagh@aol.com" <MEGallagh@aol.com>,
wheger@wbc-architects.com,
"kris.m.kelly@us.pwcglobal.com" <kris.m.kelly@us.pwcglobal.com>,
jbran18610@aol.com, dunbar@MIT.EDU, dahv@MIT.EDU, mtsai@bqa.com,
immer@MIT.EDU, jack.gingras@ae.ge.com, tlawlor@palmerdodge.com,
nkahn@gph.com, GDeVoe@rimco.com,
"Jean, Marc (GEAE)" <marc.jean@ae.ge.com>, celia_kent@harvard.edu,
Maryellen Fitzgibbon <mfitzgib@fas.harvard.edu>,
cjwells@fas.harvard.edu,
Cheryl Guarino Buccelli <c_buccelli@harvard.edu>,
leite@fas.harvard.edu, Courtney Nichols <crnichol@fas.harvard.edu>
From: "Sharalee M. Field" <sharalee_field@harvard.edu>
>Date: Mon, 18 Jan 1999 20:47:30 -0800
>From: Connie Kleinjans <connie@nanospace.com>
>X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.06 [en] (Win95; U)
>To: connie@nanospace.com
>Subject: HUMOR: Makes Y2K problems look like a certainty
>
>From: "Mary Ann Anthony " <MAANTHON@us.oracle.com>
>
>Computer logic
>
>In March 1992 a man living in Newtown near Boston
>Massachusetts received a bill for his as yet unused
>credit card stating that he owed $0.00. He ignored it
>and threw it away.
>
>In April he received another and threw that one away
>too. The following month the credit card company sent
>him a very nasty note stating they were going to cancel
>his card if he didn't send them $0.00 by return of post.
>
>He called them, talked to them, they said it was a
>computer error and told him they'd take care of it.
>
>The following month he decided that it was about time
>that he tried out the troublesome credit card figuring
>that if there were purchases on his account it would put
>an end to his ridiculous predicament.
>
>However, in the first store that he produced his credit
>card in payment for his purchases he found that his card
>had been canceled. He called the credit card company who
>apologized for the computer error once again and said
>that they would take care of it.
>
>The next day he got a bill for $0.00 stating that payment
>was now overdue. Assuming that having spoken to the
>credit card company only the previous day the latest bill
>was yet another mistake he ignored it, trusting that the
>company would be as good as their word and sort the
>problem out.
>
>The next month he got a bill for $0.00 stating that he
>had 10 days to pay his account or the company would have
>to take steps to recover the debt.
>
>Finally giving in he thought he would play the company at
>their own game and mailed them a check for $0.00. The
>computer duly processed his account and returned a
>statement to the effect that he now owed the credit card
>company nothing at all.
>
>A week later, the man's bank called him asking him what
>he was doing writing a check for $0.00. After a lengthy
>explanation the bank replied that the $0.00 check had
>caused their check processing software to fail. The bank
>could not now process ANY checks from ANY of their
>customers that day because the check for $0.00 was
>causing the computer to crash.
>
>The following month the man received a letter from the
>credit card company claiming that his check had bounced
>and that he now owed them $0.00 and unless he sent a
>check by return of post they would be taking steps to
>recover the debt. The man, who had been considering
>buying his wife a computer for her birthday, bought her a
>typewriter instead.
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sharalee M. Field, Planning Analyst
Faculty of Arts and Sciences Planning Office
Harvard University
Ph: 617.495.8257 Fax: 617.495.7881
