Show Opinion 12 Classified 15 T- The Herald Journal Logan Utah Wednesday August 19 1998 Is your PC Y2K compliant? By Deborah and Eric Ray In our last column we talked about the Y2K problem as it applies to PCs Your PC uses a two-dig- it dating system that uses the year 1980 as the base year rather than 1900 (as do mainframe computers) So when the year 2000 arrives computers won't know what year it really is (Remember Macintosh computers are all compliant— lucky them!) The t2K problem affects three differ k e - Craters of tlhe Soora For early travelers the lava fields were a formidable barrier Goodale’s Cutoff of the Oregon Trail passed along a wandering route past lava flows Pioneer J C Merrill wrote of his 1864 passage “At one placehad we gone a foot to the right or left the wagon would have rolled over” ent parts of PC computing: hardware software ami data In this last (for now) column on the Y2K issue we’ll show you some ways to investigate these areas of your computer's compliance Hardware: Imagine you’ve just turned on your monitor and pressed the power button on your computer The computer The area became better perks and churns for a few seconds beeps a few limes and displays a bunch of cryptic stuff on your screen What your computer is doing during these few seconds is looking around in the system and finding all the physical parts of the computer This information is then fed to the operating system (Windows 95 Windows 98 Windows NT etc) which starts and lets you go on about your business : All of this information about the computer is stored in the BIOS which basically is just a set of instructions that tells the computer how to start up Included in datthe BIOS is the computer’s two-dig- it ing system which stores only the final two digits of years (96 97 98 and so on) So to determine whether your computer's hardware is Y2K compliant you need to see what the BIOS does with dates like 00 01 or 02 If you’re a wee bit computer savvy you can quickly check for compliance using die steps in the sidebar accompanying this article Or consider letting your friendly computer geek — er urn expert— check it out or make an appointment with a local computer store if you don't have an expat handy The process should take about IS minutes or so What should you do if your hardware U not compliant? Well that depends If ypu plan to buy a new computer between now and December 31 1999 don’t worry about it Just make sure that the new computer you purchase is fully Y2K compliant — and get it in writing If you plan to keep your computer yop’u need to check with your favorite computer store about BIOS upgrades or replacements or about getting a new motherboard A BIOS upgradeupdatereplacement will range from free to $100 or so and Will take care of the problem A motherboard replacement (likely with a new CPU) will cost more but it will give you a newer and spiffier computer that's Y2K Compliant Software: Checking for software compliance is a bit easier than checking hardware compliance: Visit ViaSoft’s Web site at http:wwwonmarkviasoftcomy2k and compare the software in the database to the programs and versions you have Check with the software’s manufac- turer for information Most software companies will have relevant informa- tion on their Web site but you can also probably contact them via email or phone ' Keep checking these resources as the ypar 2000 approaches as the information will likely become more definitive as 6at big date approaches Data: Data — which refers to the information yon provide while using a program — is pretty difficult to test for and be sure of Different software programs ure different "windows’’ for the two-dig- it dating system Some programs consider a two-dig- it date greater than 70 to be a date while others consider anything greater than 80 to be a 1 date The other Aatn default to known when Robert W Limbert visionary explorer and Idaho promoter hiked photographed and described it in newspaper and magazine articles The area was dedicated as a national monument on June 15 Volcanic activity of an earlier time left jagged rock formations a! Cretan of the Moon National Monument Text and photos by J R AH rad Last time we visited Craters of the Moon it was December and we were looking for snow This time it was August and we were hardly looking for snow but to our surprise we found sane! A little patch of snow that persists throughout the hot summer because it lies clearly visible at the bottom of one of the volcanic cones is just one of the peculiar wonders of the fascinating exotic landscape of Craters of the Moon Craters of the Moon National Monument is open but in winter the seven-mil-e year-rouloop road to most of the visitor attractions is closed to automobiles skiers That was the and opened only to cross-countfocus of our December visit But most of the monument’s 250000 annual visitors come in the summer months when you can view the contorted landscape from several viewpoints on the highway that passes by or drive through the lava fields on the loop road Short hikes take you closer to some of the attractions Displays and a dramatic video at the visitor center give a good orientation for your Craters of the Moon visit TTiey explain how the lava flows cinder cones and craters were formed and help with recognizing the plants and animals in the park Ranger-conducttours from foe visitor center give more intimate views of the park seven-mil- e The loop road drive including several short walks to pants of special interest can be made in a couple of hours or you can take longer hikes to some of the scenic areas — but take water with you on longer hikes because it is available in the park only at the Visitor Center and the nd ry ed campground 1924 One of the short hikes lets you find the summer snow It’s oily a few hundred feet from a loop road parking lot to die Spatter Cones where you can look through a protective fence down into the mouth of craters One of them is called Snow Cone In die bottom shaded from the 90'ish heat outside is a pile of d snow A half-mi- le hike through Devil’s Orchard is the easiest hike of all An almost level concrete sidewalk makes this particular area readily available to the most casual hiker to wheelchairs An eruption some 2000 yean ago sent chunks of crater wall floating on a river of lava into this area The hardened lava surrounds limber pine and rabbit brush that have gradually gained a foothold in the cracks A hundred years ago a visiting minister said the jumble of rocks shrubs and trees were a garden fit far the devil himself giving rise to the name Devil’s Orchard For the more hardy hiker the next stop oa die loop is fa Inferno Cone Viewpoint You can look you can climb the cone Thousands of visitor feet have indented a fairly smooth and short but steep trail over fine cinders to the top This is a good viewpoint for Big Cinder Butte and the chain of some 25 cinder cones that were once small volcanoes They string out i a long fissure that formed much of the mile national monument Millions of years of volcanic activity filled the Snake River Plain and nutrients in die lava sol bene fit the rich crops rtf potatoes hay and grain you drive through on the way to the monument today In foe Craters of the Moon area however the lava began pushing up only about 15000 years ago year-roun- a a 40-mi- le 83-squ- a Barkley president of Crystal-Barkle- y career management firm based in New ByREDBOOK A Hearst Magazine a ne a ed (Let me note that the park is not clogged with tourists like a Yellowstone the day we went there was a flow in and out of the Visitor Center but traffic on roads and trails was light and there were times when you could enjoy solitude along the trail) See CRATERS on PAGE 20 For AP Special Features York It takes more than good organizational skills to stay on an upward track at work You need to delegate when you can wrote Louise Tutelian Morgenstern in an article in the August issue of Red-boo- k concentrate your energy on the projects your boss deems important — and you nave to be tuned into die boss herself to make sure your work style meshes with hers You also have to be wise about your some can become potential rs career The time gobbler The person who perches on the edge of your desk for rs back-stabbe- time-nibbli- ng chats is a well-kno- nuisance in most offices But what if the gobbler is someone you have to work with? Or die time-wastiis work related? ftopose a ng update every morning and have to leave suggests Nella G boss that conflicts with yours it sends you back to your desk where you spend way too much time checking and your info to make sure it’s solid double-c- If the time gobbler is your boss you might ask for a flextime arrangement Then you can come in early to give yourself a period to work when otters aren't in the office to interrupt you You could also work at home if you are technologically prepared with items such as fax and The glory grabber Getting credit for your wok whether as part of a ail two-pers- on endeavor or a Large team is obviously crucial to advancing So what to do when a manages to hog all the glory? When it's an equal try focusing on a good point your made and £0 mi to talk about your hecking It’s better to ask the to get you her information in writing Either she’ll never get it foe’ll see that she was wrong done and let it drop Keep in mind too that this type is just looking fa air time Giving ha a compliment could make thinks-she-knows-it-- all a her fed more secure and less competitive Your office friend You can’t con- - er own contribution If it’s your boss that grabs all of the attention try to be comptimentary about your boss’s work fust then malw dear tint you deserve some credit too The type is dangerous because she usually gets it all wrong — at your expense When this type of person gives information to your i you a favors — and she’ll make sure your boss knows it By letting others including your friend grab extra projects whenyou are unavailable you've officially announced that you’re available only for the routine assignments that can tie completed between nine and five Guess who’s gang to get ahead? If you are unavailable to finish a pro-- ject at work ask if you can do it at hone and him it in to the boss the next morning Volunteer for out-of-to- assignments when it's easiest for you to travel The big brother A big brother's need to feed his own ego by being protective of you can damage your credibility When you’re struggling to keep family responsibilities from interfering at work you don’t want to be perceived as anything less than totally professional An overly “helpful” colleague will damage that image by needing you to be weak Fa comments that truly seem paternalistic pull the big brother aside and say “I know that you meant to be helpful If foe big brother runs too quickly to your aid in a meeting thereby undercutting your contribution put you hand on his arm and say “Hang on for a second You're lulling me with ttiwriiteM here’’ in a friendly but firm lone of voice but" Features: Religion: LDS adoption R copy) Rangers say visitors often ask “Where’s foe volcano?" There is none now of course although there was activity as recently as 2000 years ago and the possibility it could occur again Even then these were mostly “safe" volcanoes with little violent eruption but a steady flow of pahochoe lava running in rivers like that on the Big Island of Hawaii For early travelers the lava fields were a formidable barrier Goodale’s Cutoff of the Oregon Trail passed along a wandering route past lava flows Pioneer J C Merrill wrote of his 1864 passage “At one place had left the wagon would we gone a foot to the right have rolled over” The area became better known when Robert W Limbert a visionary explorer and Idaho promoter hiked photographed and described it in newspaper and magazine articles Largely through Limbert's efforts the area was dedicated as a national monument on June IS 1924 June 15 is a favorite time to visit now because wild flowers surprisingly profuse in such a severe-lookin- g area peak in mid-JuQuite a few were still blooming adding cola to the rocky cinder-coverlandscape when Glenn Shirk and I went there in August A fall visit when the weather cools a little and crowds lessen seems like a idea— we vowed to come again maybe in Octo-good Secret skills needed to succeed at workplace schedule something right after it so you Sec RAYS on Page 20 a 4 752-212- 1 - |