This is the hard part of these postings. I knew when I started these posts that I would have to get to this part sooner or later. But it is still hard.
Let me set this up for you.
The Problem was caused by the Net failing from too many delay packets. Data was delayed, and then mangled. Money transactions failed. The much-vaunted 'business to business' transactions failed. The 'just-in-time' supply chain failed. Maintenance on equipment failed. The water treatment plants failed from lack of supplies, as did the sewage treatment plants. The medical system broke down. Society broke down. There was the massive destruction of property, and the massive loss of life. All caused by the Problem shutting down Net.
I just took a deep breath. Here goes.
I did it.
I tried to fix it, and I just made it worse. Not just a little bit worse, a lot worse.
As you know. You're in the middle of my mistake.
I didn't do it on purpose. Now I know that sounds like a whiny kid (and when I reviewed this part before posting it, a lot of this particular post sounds like a whiny kid trying to get out of a bad situation), but it's true.
Writing about this has been a little bit of therapy for me, sort of an unburdening of my guilt. But I suspect that you are a bit angry with me right now. You are the survivors of the Problem that I helped cause. You have been living with all the harshness of the world since the Problem. You probably have lost many of your family and friends and your comfortable lifestyle. You are probably in basic survival mode.
It was a good plan, or so I thought at the time. I thought I could fix it myself. I've always been a 'fixer' of things. When I was a kid, I'd take apart my toys to see how they worked, and put them back together again. As a teenager, growing up with electronics and computers, I put together many electronic and computer kits. I got one of the first IBM PC's, and learned many different operating systems and programming languages. I took that knowledge, and the drive to 'fix' things, when I started a computer consulting company to help others.
I worked with individual computers, and small and large networks. I worked with telephone equipment, modems, routers, switches, hubs, all sorts of electronic and computer equipment. I installed things, and I fixed things.
I was pretty confident in my abilities. I had proven those abilities with my list of clients. So when I saw this problem, I took it as a challenge to 'fix', just like I fixed other things.
But I got in over my head. And I made a small mistake. Which turned into a big mistake. It's the little things that get you in the end.