Blame Y2K? We honestly can't, but we'd sure like to.

With the 20th century winding down, the possibility of a computer meltdown of cosmic proportions seems to be fading as the federal government, major financial institutions, and most significant businesses confidently predicting that they are "Y2K compliant." Even Alan Greenspan is relaxing a bit. But the progress that has been made does not mean that some problems won't occur. And we still find it hard to locate right-thinking people who are eager to be on airplanes or in elevators on December 31 as the clock strikes midnight, though that may have something to do with the fact that it will be the middle of the night!

The possibility of anticipatory Y2K snafus wreaking havoc recently prompted The Tax Executive to investigate whether TEI members had been the victims of errant computer programming in two unrelated instances. The investigation is not yet complete, but there is growing evidence that only a Luddite would lay the blame on end-of-the-century technology screw-ups. (Efforts to blame them on Rio or to invoke Milli Vanilli and blame them on the rain should also prove unsuccessful.)

First, the Guide to TEI On-Line -- which was highlighted on the coyer of the July-August 1999 issue of The Tax Executive -- was inserted so firmly in the binding of that issue that readers seeking to remove it would have had to disassemble the magazine to extract the TOL Guide. The sticky situation has been rectified by mailing an additional Guide to all TEI members (courtesy of the printer), but Kurt Larrick, TEI's Publication Coordinator, remains disappointed. "The Advanced Technology Committee and the staff of Tax News Network worked hard and well to produce an excellent product. Although the pamphlet retains all its value, it is frustrating that a production error delayed its receipt by TEI members. If members have not received their Guide to TEI On-Line by October 15 or if their July-August issue was damaged in an attempt to remove the Guide, they should call (202) 638-5601 to request a replacement copy."

Second, the 1990-2000 Membership Roster -- which was mailed to all TEI members shortly before Labor Day -- regrettably does not contain complete, up-to-date information on all members of the Institute. Perhaps the most irritating glitch was the truncation of the zip codes of many members. Specifically, where a member's zip code begins with a zero, that first digit is omitted. Hence, the listings of members in New Jersey and New England contain only...