Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans is just terrifying at the moment.

You know there's the saying that we're all just three meals away from anarchy and New Orleans is bearing that out.

And there's simply no such thing as a simple explanation. It makes sense that those in dire situations would loot food and water, even clothing. And you can completely understand how those under such strain and in such desperate straits would. Then you see someone hauling out a big screen TV and go "WTF?" I have to think that there's some sort of underlying psychology to that, some sort of seizing control or power over a situation, because you sort of sit there and wonder what good a big screen tv would do if your house is under water. It has to be something else fueling that.

And then there's the scariness of the looting of guns and how guns and gangs are increasing the danger within the city (even in the unflooded areas of the city).

There's so much pain and death and desperation. You understand why it's spinning out of control. At the same time, it's terrifying that it's spinning out of control.

The logistics of rescues are just staggering. How do you reach a city when the port is closed and clogged with damage, the airports are flooded, and all the bridges are out?

And you have to feel for the rescuers. The police in New Orleans have also lost their homes. In fact, I would suspect so have most of the Coast Guard that we're seeing. I remembered this afternoon that the son of one of my old co-workers worked for the Coast Guard, and he was stationed in New Orleans which has a major Coast Guard base. The rescuers also have little in the way of communication with the cell towers down. And they also haven't slept or eaten.

It's staggering. Simply staggering.

You want to reach out and ... the human desire is to try to 'fix' this, to say "This could be coordinated BETTER!" Yet you know that they're only human too. They're working under incredibly trying conditions.

Ultimately you think, it shouldn't be this way, and yet...that's what a catastrophe is. Everything by definition is out of control. It's just so terrible to watch (and has to be exponentially terrible to LIVE through).

My heart goes out to all of those in such terrible and trying circumstances.

My thoughts are with pfeifferpack who hasn't heard from her neices since they evacuated Biloxi, heading to Mobile prior to the storm. Hopefully they will check-in from Mobile soon.

On a brighter note, hazel75 has reported in from Mississippi, safe and sound -- though she still doesn't have power.

Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans is just terrifying at the moment.

You know there's the saying that we're all just three meals away from anarchy and New Orleans is bearing that out.

And there's simply no such thing as a simple explanation. It makes sense that those in dire situations would loot food and water, even clothing. And you can completely understand how those under such strain and in such desperate straits would. Then you see someone hauling out a big screen TV and go "WTF?" I have to think that there's some sort of underlying psychology to that, some sort of seizing control or power over a situation, because you sort of sit there and wonder what good a big screen tv would do if your house is under water. It has to be something else fueling that.

And then there's the scariness of the looting of guns and how guns and gangs are increasing the danger within the city (even in the unflooded areas of the city).

There's so much pain and death and desperation. You understand why it's spinning out of control. At the same time, it's terrifying that it's spinning out of control.

The logistics of rescues are just staggering. How do you reach a city when the port is closed and clogged with damage, the airports are flooded, and all the bridges are out?

And you have to feel for the rescuers. The police in New Orleans have also lost their homes. In fact, I would suspect so have most of the Coast Guard that we're seeing. I remembered this afternoon that the son of one of my old co-workers worked for the Coast Guard, and he was stationed in New Orleans which has a major Coast Guard base. The rescuers also have little in the way of communication with the cell towers down. And they also haven't slept or eaten.

It's staggering. Simply staggering.

You want to reach out and ... the human desire is to try to 'fix' this, to say "This could be coordinated BETTER!" Yet you know that they're only human too. They're working under incredibly trying conditions.

Ultimately you think, it shouldn't be this way, and yet...that's what a catastrophe is. Everything by definition is out of control. It's just so terrible to watch (and has to be exponentially terrible to LIVE through).

My heart goes out to all of those in such terrible and trying circumstances.

My thoughts are with pfeifferpack who hasn't heard from her neices since they evacuated Biloxi, heading to Mobile prior to the storm. Hopefully they will check-in from Mobile soon.

On a brighter note, hazel75 has reported in from Mississippi, safe and sound -- though she still doesn't have power.

Hurricane Katrina

New Orleans is just terrifying at the moment.

You know there's the saying that we're all just three meals away from anarchy and New Orleans is bearing that out.

And there's simply no such thing as a simple explanation. It makes sense that those in dire situations would loot food and water, even clothing. And you can completely understand how those under such strain and in such desperate straits would. Then you see someone hauling out a big screen TV and go "WTF?" I have to think that there's some sort of underlying psychology to that, some sort of seizing control or power over a situation, because you sort of sit there and wonder what good a big screen tv would do if your house is under water. It has to be something else fueling that.

And then there's the scariness of the looting of guns and how guns and gangs are increasing the danger within the city (even in the unflooded areas of the city).

There's so much pain and death and desperation. You understand why it's spinning out of control. At the same time, it's terrifying that it's spinning out of control.

The logistics of rescues are just staggering. How do you reach a city when the port is closed and clogged with damage, the airports are flooded, and all the bridges are out?

And you have to feel for the rescuers. The police in New Orleans have also lost their homes. In fact, I would suspect so have most of the Coast Guard that we're seeing. I remembered this afternoon that the son of one of my old co-workers worked for the Coast Guard, and he was stationed in New Orleans which has a major Coast Guard base. The rescuers also have little in the way of communication with the cell towers down. And they also haven't slept or eaten.

It's staggering. Simply staggering.

You want to reach out and ... the human desire is to try to 'fix' this, to say "This could be coordinated BETTER!" Yet you know that they're only human too. They're working under incredibly trying conditions.

Ultimately you think, it shouldn't be this way, and yet...that's what a catastrophe is. Everything by definition is out of control. It's just so terrible to watch (and has to be exponentially terrible to LIVE through).

My heart goes out to all of those in such terrible and trying circumstances.

My thoughts are with pfeifferpack who hasn't heard from her neices since they evacuated Biloxi, heading to Mobile prior to the storm. Hopefully they will check-in from Mobile soon.

On a brighter note, hazel75 has reported in from Mississippi, safe and sound -- though she still doesn't have power.

Rational Advice

From boingnoing.net. Rational advice:

Erik V. Olson says,

People want to help. That's good. The problem is they often can't, but they think they can. And, in the end, all they really do is get in the way.

The single best thing Joe Geek can do is give cash. Not stuff, cash. Cash is portable, fast, and useful. Everything else has problems -- even if it is something they really and truly need, because it isn't there, and people and resources are needed to get it there.

The canonical example: Bottled water. Something otherwise useless that is critical in this sort of emergency. So you give a few flats to the ARC. Well, you bought them at retail, and now, the ARC has to put them on a truck (which costs money) and ship them down there (which cost money, and time.)

Let's say you give them $20 instead. The ARC notes that they need water. So, they call a bottler in a city close to, but not affected by, the storm. They get wholesale or cost prices, as opposed to retail. For the same amount of money, they get far more water, far closer to where they need to be. In six hours, you're delivering your flats to the local ARC office. In six hours with cash,
they're handing water to people who desperately need it.

Finally, of course, if what they really need is food, your flats of water aren't helpful, but your cash is. So, the lesson:

Give cash. That's the best thing you can do from your home.

Red Cross
Salvation Army

Rational Advice

From boingnoing.net. Rational advice:

Erik V. Olson says,

People want to help. That's good. The problem is they often can't, but they think they can. And, in the end, all they really do is get in the way.

The single best thing Joe Geek can do is give cash. Not stuff, cash. Cash is portable, fast, and useful. Everything else has problems -- even if it is something they really and truly need, because it isn't there, and people and resources are needed to get it there.

The canonical example: Bottled water. Something otherwise useless that is critical in this sort of emergency. So you give a few flats to the ARC. Well, you bought them at retail, and now, the ARC has to put them on a truck (which costs money) and ship them down there (which cost money, and time.)

Let's say you give them $20 instead. The ARC notes that they need water. So, they call a bottler in a city close to, but not affected by, the storm. They get wholesale or cost prices, as opposed to retail. For the same amount of money, they get far more water, far closer to where they need to be. In six hours, you're delivering your flats to the local ARC office. In six hours with cash,
they're handing water to people who desperately need it.

Finally, of course, if what they really need is food, your flats of water aren't helpful, but your cash is. So, the lesson:

Give cash. That's the best thing you can do from your home.

Red Cross
Salvation Army

Rational Advice

From boingnoing.net. Rational advice:

Erik V. Olson says,

People want to help. That's good. The problem is they often can't, but they think they can. And, in the end, all they really do is get in the way.

The single best thing Joe Geek can do is give cash. Not stuff, cash. Cash is portable, fast, and useful. Everything else has problems -- even if it is something they really and truly need, because it isn't there, and people and resources are needed to get it there.

The canonical example: Bottled water. Something otherwise useless that is critical in this sort of emergency. So you give a few flats to the ARC. Well, you bought them at retail, and now, the ARC has to put them on a truck (which costs money) and ship them down there (which cost money, and time.)

Let's say you give them $20 instead. The ARC notes that they need water. So, they call a bottler in a city close to, but not affected by, the storm. They get wholesale or cost prices, as opposed to retail. For the same amount of money, they get far more water, far closer to where they need to be. In six hours, you're delivering your flats to the local ARC office. In six hours with cash,
they're handing water to people who desperately need it.

Finally, of course, if what they really need is food, your flats of water aren't helpful, but your cash is. So, the lesson:

Give cash. That's the best thing you can do from your home.

Red Cross
Salvation Army