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>>>I think the real logic here is that here in the USA, we don't give a 2nd thought about ripping down a building to put up a bigger one - and this is a very common practice. So...since the odds are you're going to take down your 4 story building within 50 years to put up a 30 story building anyway...why bother to make it last?
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>>Hi Victor,
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>>That's the same attitude that got us into the y2k mess 5-6 years ago. No one cares about the consequences of what they do. I believe this should change or this country will be left eating others' dust.
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>>Alex
>
>Interesting point of view.
>I don't see how you can really compare the two - the y2k problem started in the 60's and 70's because it was important to save those bytes of data - and I don't really recall any big y2k mess - the world didn't quit spinning and there was no giant computer falures.

Hi Victor,

I actually never bought into the crisis mentality with the y2k thing. I found it dumb to believe that the world would end, but those 2 bytes that were shaved off were a real problem for many businesses, and that is something that could've been foreseen 5, 10, or 50 years before the "chocolate" hit the fan.

The real problem was that people that should've been working on productive development were taken off those tasks and put to work into y2k-proofing everything from software to toasters.

Reading what I just wrote and in hindisght, I think it's fair to believe that software development suffered a major setback between 1995 and 2000 because of this diversion of resources. Hmmmm... isn't that when outsourcing started as a trend? I don't know. Someone more familiar with recent history, please jump in.

>As far as making the buildings last a zillion years...I'm not so sure that's a good idea either....now obviously if you're building in a hurricane zone or on a earthquake faultline - then yeah you should take some time and money and make the building a bit more durable. But otherwise - what's the point? Hey if I had my choice between working in a tiny squat building made in 1492 with some..uhhh.. 'history'... or sitting on the 80th floor of a fine new hi-tech glass skyscrapper - I'll take the fine new one.

I'd take the new one too, but I still don't think it's right for a dwelling to become an "old house" after 20 or 30 years.

Alex