I've been thinking back to
the numerous times I've been to New Orleans over the past 19 years (church music
convention when I was 19, 2 Mardi Gras, visiting a former girlfriend,
conferences, etc.). Here I am writing from a cushy office in downtown Washington
DC, where I drove in my cushy car from my cushy uptown DC neighborhood....and
it's almost unfathomable to me to see that what is taking place there now (from
all aspects - health, hunger, social disorder, etc.) is happening in the same
country in which I live.
God bless all those affected by this
terrible tragedy.
Joe
* Betty Harvey <harvey@eccnet.com> [2005-09-01
23:27]:
>
> Alan:
>
> Anything I can do to help let me
know. I have family in Slidell and
> Picayune that "THANK GOD" will
be in my home tomorrow! Phones and cell
> phones failed but text messages
did work. Homes and jobs lost but
> thankfully no loss of life - we
are some of the fortunate ones!
>
> I have been reading http://www.nola.com/forums/sttamtownhall/index.ssf/
>
for information.
>
> There isn't much that we can do for
information for people left in the
> affected area. They are cut off
- no phones, no radio, no TV. The one
> time I did get through to my
brother-in-law and tried to tell him about
> the situation in New Orleans
(he worked at Tulane University Hospital)
> he didn't believe me - thought
I was exagerating. I am really worried
> about his reaction when he
gets to a hotel tonight and sees CNN news!
People are
holed up, but some information is still getting
through.
Last I checked, text messaging was working.
> However, for those who
evacuated and left that is where the help can
> come from but I don't know
where to start to help answer all the
> questions they may
have:
I'm going to sound really flip in my soultions,
I know you guys
are thurough, but here's what I'm working
on.
> 1. I have a loved one - I haven't heard from them? What
happened to
> my
neighbor?
http://www.familymessages.org/index.php
We are talking about new features, designing them, and
knocking
them out, right here:
http://thinknola.com/wiki/index.php?title=Family_Messages#Adding_Tags
You can help Dan Chaney by giving him ideas on how to
implement
that new tagging feature. I think it is a key
feature for this
application.
> 2. What
happened to my home? Pictures of specific neighborhoods
are
> coveted. My brother-in-law will have
pictures of his house in
> Eagle Point in Slidell
tomorrow. Reading The Times Picayune
forums,
> pictures of neighborhoods of people who
can't get home are coveted.
I'm using Wiki for that,
but I need more editors. It's a loose
format that allows
people to gather information based on block,
aparatment
complex, neighborhood, church, business, etc.
http://thinknola.com/wiki/
>
3. Help me with my pet. I have read where people left their
pets
> behind and are looking for someone to
breakin and feed them - they
> thought they would
be gone overnight.
That's a new one. There's a think
called Noah's Ark.
> If they need ice, water, food they can't get to
the internet. I heard
> that a temporary cell tower was being
installed in Mandeville but it isn't
> working yet. I haven't been
able to reach phones in Baton Rouge, Slidell,
> Picayune, Hattiesburg or
Tylertown.
I think there's an information crsis. There
is a lot of
information out there, but it is poorly
organized.
I'm gather information about the Xavier
exacuation. People are
starting to count on it, so I can't
stop, but I can't take on
any more info-gathering
tasks.
If you watch the forums, the candidates for a
Wiki page are
OBVIOUS, but there's only one of
me.
That just became a Wiki
entry.
http://thinknola.com/wiki/index.php?title=Wiki_Editors#What_to_Wiki
--
Alan
Gutierrez - alan@engrm.com
- http://engrm.com/blogometer/index.html
- http://engrm.com/blogometer/rss.2.0.xml
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