All posts by zenuno

Hurricane Katrina II

when i did the first post i forgot some other urls that i had found.

one of them is this blog of a IT team and his business DirectNIC (old address: The Interdictor) – This journal has become the Survival of New Orleans blog. In less perilous times it was simply a blog for me to talk smack and chat with friends. Now this journal exists to share firsthand experience of the disaster and its aftermath with anyone interested.. from them i show some photos: Katrina Aftermath – September 6, 2005, Helicopters vs. Fire and Katrina Aftermath – Stench, Stragglers, and Stagnant Water.

i found this link originally in Slashdot, but then i see that is also on the register: Heroic New Orleans hosting outfit battles on | The Register and What kind of moron are you? | The Register.

and in the meantine we have more links:

New Orleans to enjoy free Wi-Fi access | The RegisterWhile we’re not entirely convinced that the company has actually been watching the TV footage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina – and let’s be honest, swimming to the nearest Starbucks to enjoy a double mocha chocka latte decaf while, ahem, surfing the web as the Louisiana National Guard battle gamely to protect the store’s blueberry muffins from looters – the company can at least be applauded for the gesture.

Drone aircraft to search for Big Easy survivors | The RegisterFive unmanned, remote-controlled drone aircraft, intended to seek out survivors of Hurricane Katrina, are on their way to Baton Rouge after a US congressman took it upon himself to “obtain” the vehicles from a private company.

on slashdot they talk about a wired article: Too Many People in Nature’s Way“The bottom line is we have a very unsafe planet.”.

Slashdot | PayPal Freezes Hurricane Relief Account

Slashdot | Katrina Hits the Gaming WorldWith a tee-shirt you can purchase from Bungie’s store: ‘Just so that we’re clear, of the $19.95 the shirt costs, about $15 in cleared funds will go straight to the Red Cross and directly to the disaster relief. Nobody, not Bungie, the Bungie store, or the distributor will clear a penny profit.’

Wired News: Sonic ‘Lasers’ Head to Flood Zone (from slashdot) – Representatives of both companies say that within days, they will ship some units of their respective products to areas hit by Hurricane Katrina, so authorities can use the tools for crowd control, aid distribution and rescue operations..

Slashdot | Technology In Katrina’s Wake – in here you will find the project: Katrina public web kiosk project wants volunteers.

Slashdot | Post-Katrina Images on Google Maps“Satellite imagery of New Orleans taken on Wednesday, August 31st is now available on Google Maps. Enter ‘New Orleans’ in the search field at the top of the page, or drag and zoom the map to the area. A red ‘Katrina’ button will appear at the top right of the map, next to the existing map buttons. Older images for the area are still available too – click the “Satellite” button to switch to those.”.

we are seeing lots of people trying to help, trying to inform, trying to put people in contact, also collecting money, and unfortunately there is also people trying to get advantage of this all situation… let’s hope the good guys win.

one thing i see that for me is somehow interesting is that the ham people still is typically a good bunch of people, because we start to look in a group that works in telecommunication and helping others and you see them everywhere and in good numbers. a very good example is the VoIP team from Part-15.org, in that list you have, and just to give some names / cases, the Mark from Asterisk / Digium (the open source PBX VoIP that everyone is talking about), the Jeremy from Nufone and Mark Cohen from the Jhai project deploying Pedal Powered PCs and VoIP in Laos as well…

i end with one more quote from Luís Costa Ribas “blog”: Já agora, vinha mesmo a calhar um banho de chuveiro, mas para não variar vou dormir no carro.

and last but not list, i am very proud to have a link in glória facil blog (automatic translation to english by babelfish).

“The Potted Plant Test”

I saw this article in asterisco, that talked about this entry in tlog, but i really wanted the original entry: Way of the Mind » The Potted Plant Test.

Go and read it. i never saw this things in first hand because i am from many time a self-employed person, but this real is a thing someone should pay attention to.

The Potted Plant Test

As an Unix/Linux sysadmin, I’ve worked at many places, compared to many people I know, who have been where they are for 5 years or more. I’ve done several kinds of jobs (thankfully, most of them related to my skills), and met many colleagues… and bosses.

And I tend to have a problem with the latter.
Not real “conflicts”, I don’t usually have them. But I’ve been in several places (and, indeed, am in one now) where everything would be almost perfect – colleagues, environment, the work itself – except for one imbecile who ruins everything – and who happens to be my boss.

Hurricane Katrina

by curiosity and because i really wanted to try and understand what a lot of people is doing to help, i have collected some links. they are not particularly organized.

PART-15.ORG Archives Emergency-Relief List (PART-15.ORG Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts)

VoIP team (from Part-15.org Archives Message) – “We have about 10 people in the team currently. We`re looking for anyone who`s got some VoIP knowledge and isn`t otherwise committed to P15`s efforts. Please don`t sign up if you`re already on another team! I don`t want to suck talent away from WiFi/RF stuff or anything else.” (The P15-voip archive). by curiosity: one of the persons on this list, Mark Cohen, has also been on the Jhai project deploying Pedal Powered PCs and VoIP in Laos.

The Air Care Alliance – “The Air Care Alliance is a nationwide league of humanitarian flying organizations whose volunteer pilots are dedicated to community service.

Hurricane Katrina Resources – “Responding to the devastation in the Gulf Coast region of the U.S. as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) is making every effort to assist in recovery efforts. Our heartfelt and deepest sympathies are extended to those who have lost loved ones as a result of the hurricane.

KatrinaHousing.net | Helping people find housing information

some local blogs (from Glória Fácil, that saw the links in Blasfémias):
Metroblogs
DeadlyKatrina
Kaye’s Hurricane
The Times-Picayune blog
John’s

a “blog” on fox news: FOXNews.com – FOX Fan – Harrigan on the Hunt – Alone and Afraid

the impressions by Luís Costa Ribas, reporter that SIC sent to New Orleans and that said that was sleeping in his car, because there were no other place to go (in portuguese). it seems to be a blog – “Domingo, 4 de Setembro

Acordei às seis e quinze da manhã, dorido e mal descansado. Às sete horas da manhã (hora de Lisboa) tenho o primeiro directo para o Primeiro Jornal. O jantar tinha sido barras de cereais, proteínas e água. O pequeno-almoço foi barras de cereais, proteínas, água e um refresco enlatado de cafeína.

Sinto-me pouco à vontade, tal como os restantes jornalistas. Olhamo-nos por cima do ombro, a passar os toalhetes no tronco e a mudar de t-shirt junto ao carro, na rua, transformando rituais privados em relutantes espectáculos públicos.

# update on 2005/09/06 15:40h
how could i forgot the indymedia link:
New Orleans Independent Media Center


the links i am publishing here are influenced by my attraction to follow one theme that i think is very very important nowadays: the use you can give to the new technologies in places that suffered some natural or not so natural devastation. i am talking about reestablishing communications, give tools to the various organizations that are trying to work side by side. all that coordination and also the talking to the base has to go trough some new channels, and for that you can use Wi-Fi, long distance Wi-Fi, Mesh networks, VoIP, satellite IP communications, and of course all the natural group-ware (web) software you can get to put all those people talking to each-other and to theirs mother-ships…

Fidel Castro oferece ajuda aos EUA (New Orleans)

Li no jornal público, no dossier (sobre o Furacão Katrina) a notícia da oferta de ajuda de Fidel Castro… será que os EUA não vão aceitar essa ajuda?

Furacão “Katrina”: Fidel Castro oferece ajuda de 1100 médicos
Sabado, 3 de Setembro de 2005

O Presidente cubano Fidel Castro propôs ontem aos Estados Unidos o envio de 1100 médicos e 26,4 toneladas de medicamentos para ajudar as vítimas do furacão “Katrina” que na segunda-feira devastou os estados do Luisiana e do Mississipi.

não dá para acreditar…
🙁

iChat AV in CNN interviews…


The big CNN is trying iChat in face-to-face interviews.

I don’t really know why it’s not happening in much more broadcasters.

And i would enjoyed if the people that organizes conferences and such, could use the iChat AV, and it can be very interesting because you can cut costs and time using it.

[ from Macworld UK – CNN commits iChat AV experiment, and the US show is hosted by Wolf Blitzer and is called “Situation Room”. there is one interview with Joi Ito that he talks about in his blog. ]