The pump is just a small part of a larger $14bn plan to seal up New Orleans' levees and bolster the city's disaster preparedness, but it's without a doubt the most visually impressive. PopSci's thrown together a couple of diagrams to give us a sense of scale, and trust me, they're necessary—see that little white thing next to the diesel engine? That's a full-sized human being. There aren't a whole lot of companies that make combustion engines that cartoonishly huge, so my money's on something from a company like Wartsila-Sulzer, which makes engines like this to spin the props on ultramassive cargo ships, and conceivably, pumps:

At any rate, the pump is expected to be operational—and NOLA slightly safer—by 2011. More at [PopSci]

Halo 2 Headsets Benefit Katrina Victims [Xbox via Emerald Halo 2 Headset Helps Katrina Victims]

Armed and dangerous - Flipper the firing dolphin let loose by Katrina [Guardian]

There's a small but real chance that we might be hit by Hurricane Rita. If that happens, all the work we've done will probably be knocked back down to zero, and we'll have to pick up the pieces.

We've finally been able to get some people from the community into the computer lab we set up to sign up for FEMA's Disaster Aid or to look for their family. I won't pretend we've had the numbers through here that I was hoping for, but between those here and the communications support we've been able to provide to the medical clinic, I at least don't feel like it's been a complete waste of time.

There were, of course, far too many volunteers in here checking their email and blogging and generally fucking off. In fact, that was a main point for much of my stress last week: I felt like I had spent thousands of my own dollars to come down to New Orleans to build an internet cafe for adventure tourists volunteer. That's been a lot of why I haven't been blogging, as well. It just didn't feel appropriate given the work to be done.

The guys from Radio Response showed up a few days ago and have been—to a man (and one woman)—fantastic. They gave me a lot of needed perspective on my priorities down here, as well as what the role should be for me in this community project.

We had a report of DSL from a few folks, but haven't yet been able to find a person willing to let us throw up antennas on it. I suspect that we'll be able to locate someone soon, but the DSL service is spotty, even where it operates. But because there is a trickle of internet upstream available in the neighborhood, Radio Response and I agreed not to bring in the point-to-point teams to provide multi-megabit connections to Algiers. With other areas completely destroyed, it doesn't make sense to use the equipment and manpower here when it could be better used elsewhere.

Of course, with Hurricane Rita possibly on the way, we may be up a creek anyway. We've been making heavy use of Verizon's EVDO infrastructure and I confirmed with them today that we are coming off their actual towers here, not the mobile COWs. That's good—that means we should retain at least some internet connectivity unless the storm takes it down.

Right now I'm still trying to find DSL service to use in Algiers, but we also are having to make secondary plans to prepare for a possible hurricane hit. It sucks especially for me right now, because my girlfriend Susie was going to come down and help tomorrow, but now I'm not sure if I want her to fly into New Orleans only to have to hide from a hurricane. We'll have to make that decision tonight and I'm not looking forward to it.

I missed my flight out this morning on American Airlines from Houston. I called them about an hour after the flight left and I was told there was nothing they could do for me. I explained I was a relief worker in New Orleans and asked if they could make a special case, but they told me I should have known better and to suck it up. They're right—I should have called them. If only I hadn't been so busy doing other things I might have been able to call them and try to move it out. It's depressing, but it's yet a few more hundred dollars to toss into the great big hole in my savings that this trip has become.

And just so it doesn't sound like I'm trying to coyly ask for donations, I'm not. There is a chance I may get reimbursed for some of my equipment, vehicle, and travel expenses, but right now I'm not going to go broke, and there is much greater need than helping me. Don't worry—If I fear missing a rent payment or something like that, I'll definitely pipe up.

So on the whole, I'm doing pretty good. Mostly now I'm spending an hour or two each day working on technical things, then hauling around food and water with everybody else. Once we know what will happen with Rita, my tech responsibilities will mainly consist of packing gear in boxes and getting it to higher ground.

This has been a wrenching experience, but the people I have met from both the community and the volunteers have helped make it worthwhile. It's not that my faith in the goodness of humanity has been restored, but that it has been clarified. It's still an awful, horrible world, but there remains a few people whose selflessness and just plain goodness seems to persevere despite its statistical uselessness.

I guess I probably should have put this on my personal blog, but suck it up, nerds.

I'd like to thank all the people who continue to provide both technical and emotional support. Specifically, Justin D'Onofrio and his pal (whose name has already slipped my mind and I can't find in my email) who drove a truck full of laptops and other computer gear down from New York City just for us to use, then turned around and drove right back. Their donation completely changed the tenor of our operation and put us in a space to deploy more internet labs, as well as build some decent EVDO router machines.

Some volunteers came down with a low-power FM station, a hundred feet of coax, and a makeshift antenna. What they didn't have was a tower. I was going to strap a pole onto the chimney of the house we're staying in, but another volunteer named Jackie said she was pretty handy with a Skill saw and would be happy to rig something together.

About 8 hours later, we lofted this home-built antenna tower onto the top of the roof and begin broadcasting 94.5 FM, a station the radio operators are calling 'The Battle for Algiers' (which has a political connotation that I have not had the time to grok).

After the sun set, I walked a little ways down the street (but not too far, because of the curfew), listening to scratchy, mono sounds of John Coltrane beaming our from an community radio tower built from the salvaged lumber of destroyed homes. With the helicopters overhead, it felt like a lull in an 1960's American war in our own streets that never happened.

Legally, the radio operators are pretty sure that under a State of Emergency, the FCC allows low-power stations to operate. I've been asking them to verify this in a way that we can refer to when the Natl. Guard or police inevitably come knocking on their door, but if you are a radio operator familiar with the FCC emergency guidelines for LPFM, please feel free to send me an email at joeljohnson@gmail.com with an relevant information I can pass on to these folks.

Picture by Bradley Stuart, Creative Commons, non-commerical.

EVDO coverage works fine—brilliantly, in fact—which made it painfully simple to bring this house online. The problem is, when we leave, I'll have to take my card with me. (It's been our connection too many times to go without it.) We're trying to get at least another card procurred with service that we can leave here. While we expect power to come back online in Algiers within the next couple of days, there's no way to know if the DSLAMs and other telco equipment will be operating in the neighborhood to provide DSL. For now, it appears that EVDO is the best option.

We've got those 10 AMD 50x15 machines that we can deploy, but we're still looking for monitors. (It's funny, because in my head I was thinking we could just go into a school or something and steal them, until I got into town and realized we're here to help people rebuild their community. I can be so retarded sometimes.)

I think we've finally got a good place to do some work. There's some question as to how many people are immediately in the Ward, but I know the people that are here say they haven't signed up with FEMA yet, so that'll be job one. Then, we have to get a hold of the laptops and monitors necessary to leave in a semi-permanent installation.

I'll keep you guys in the loop on what we're doing, tech-wise. Oh, and I should add: Algiers is not under mandatory evacuation.

Also, I forgot to thank Divya and [Name Not Written Down So I Forgot It Like a Douchebag] for the water donations last night. We are drinking it right now and will be able to chip in to Malik and Co.'s supply.

We do not have an official network connection for this lab, but we are using my laptop to bridge into a wireless network for connectivity. This is definitely a shoe-string operation, but I cannot believe that within a period of mere hours we went from 0 computers to 20 computers and reconnected a survivor with his family.

Update: Here are some photos I uploaded to my Flickr stream from the Astrodome. All are with permission from subjects (except wide shots, of course). Feel free to use any of them as necessary.

To read all of Joel's updates from the Astrodome, click here.

Being a freelance journalist is weird. Often you have to say you are press with offering proper press credentials, even though you are legitimately working as press. For that reason, I always try to register with at least one press org or outlet before I start working, so as to work within the official channels as much as possible. I say this to clarify that I have an official press pass, although it isn't from the outlets through which I will be publishing.

But I always try to work within the official infrastructure as much as possible—clearly declaring that I am with the press, going through press entrances instead of trying to 'sneak in' to areas, etc. By the same token, when I told the police officer who was guarding the entrance to the stairs that led to an office area run by FEMA that I was going upstairs to "help with the computers," that was the truth, too.

He let me in without a second glance, despite my big flopping press pass and green wristband that signifies me as registered press. And that's what I really was there to do—a group was setting up donated computers upstairs and needed help routing an internet connection from FEMA's open wireless network to a series of ethernet switches, and Will Hawkins (one of our CUWireless group) needed his iBook to act as the router (it was in my bag).

So I went upstairs, walked through a room full of FEMA employees (I presume, or possibly volunteers working for FEMA) and into the room where the volunteer group was setting up the PCs. After Will and I set up the router, one of the FEMA employees came over and talked to the volunteer group about "someone from the press posing as a volunteer."

I figured that must be me (although I didn't realize the press weren't allowed in the area in the first place). So I followed the FEMA guys out as I left and stopped them, letting them know that I was with the press, I was there to help set up the network, and that I didn't realize it was a problem for the press to be there. I made it clear that I was leaving right then, and that I was sorry if I wasn't supposed to be there, but that I didn't want them searching for a sneaky press jerk if that sneaky press jerk was in fact me. They seemed perturbed, but unconcerned.

So I walked downstairs, to be apprehended (peacefully) by an officer of the HPD, who said she was going to "report me and revoke my press privileges." I explained to her that I had just spoken to FEMA about my mistake and that I'd be happy to talk to someone upstairs to verify that I did not, as she put it, "lie to the officer."

We turned to go upstairs, when the very same FEMA employees came down the steps. She asked the FEMA employee if I was up there helping with the computers, and he said he didn't know what I was doing up there. The very man who stood in the room of volunteers and saw me working on machines with Will denied that he knew what I was doing.

Anyway—this is taking far too long, but I just felt like I wanted to record what happened—the employees of the volunteer organization (who I am leaving anonymous because I don't want to screw up their relationship with FEMA, if possible) quickly vouched for me, and the HPD officer escorted me downstairs at my request.

I'm not outraged or anything. I mean, if they don't want press in the area, they should have a sign (and it would have been nice if that dude from FEMA wouldn't have been so priggish), but it's just really confusing. If I would have put my press badge and bracelet in my pocket, I would have been able to walk freely, but instead I was trying to be as open as possible and was nearly thrown out. (I don't think they are arresting press that are in the 'forbidden' places, but just ejecting them along w/their access.)

It's just strange. I understand they don't want tons of press in the areas where the evacuees are, but I don't really understand why they are so concerned about press being in places where assistance is being provided. Then again, there's a lot about the mechanism of journalism that I don't understand and am having to learn as I go. Plus, it doesn't make it any easier to be here both as a journalist and as an aide worker. But I'm trying to be as upfront about both as possible, as appropriate.

Here's the big story from inside the FEMA room, though: There are people there, doing work to help other people, on computers.!

Having already secured the 10,000 radios requested by a single Astrodome administrator, this was the final hurdle.

If you have a specific equipment donation for the Houston team, feel free to call or email me directly (joeljohnson.com has both). Right now we don't have a need for a lot of hardware, because we still don't have a concrete deployment plan for Houston or otherwise (that will change as of this evening).

We have had offers of the use of trucks to NOLA, which we will take advantage of if that trip happens (unlikely; see previous post). What we need now, however, is a vehicle to use to haul hardware and equipment to various points within the affected areas. I would prefer to borrow a vehicle (for which I can pay someone for the use) or to purchase a cheap beater rather than rent a car from a service, which will be just as expensive and less flexible. If you can help me with this in Houston, please let me know today. I do have personal funds and possible donations available to purchase a vehicle and fuel.

We will also need fuel containers. If you have access to those, please let us know. Bigger the better.

I feel sort of sick to my stomach knowing how much desire from everyone to help and how little coordination there is in place to accept it. My only consolation is knowing that we are the people who should be setting that structure in place.

Good news, though, is that it sounds like Part-15 is getting a lot of corporate support and is starting to put together plans to deploy. My guess is a week or so before the big guns come rolling in to provide blanket coverage.

We have lots of offers of support from Gizmodo readers, and I appreciate that a lot. Right at this moment I've had to tell almost all of you to 'hold on,' but I'm expecting to be able to give you something specific to do or a place to send your donations soon. We even have a couple of trucks lined up for a trip into DirectNIC—if DirectNIC could confirm what they need.

Drones Over NoLa [Defense Tech]

Email attributed by tipster to "friend at the EPA" after the jump.

This is from a friend at the EPA:

We're naming it Lake George, 'cause it's his frickin fault. Have you seen all that data about the levee projects' funding being cut over the past three years by the Prez, and the funding transferred to Iraq?
The levee, as designed, might not have held back the surge from a direct Class 5 hit, but it certainly would not have crumbled on Monday night from saturation and scour erosion following a glancing blow from a Class 3. The failure was in a spot that had just been rebuilt, not yet compacted, not planted, and not armed (hardened with rock/concrete). The project should have been done two years ago, but the federal gov't diverted 80% of the funding to Iraq. Other areas had settled by a few feet from their design specs, and the money to repair them was diverted to Iraq.

The NO paper raised hell about this time and again, to no avail. And who will take the blame for it? The Army Corps, because they're good soldiers and will never contradict the C in C. But Corps has had
massive budget cuts across all departments (including wetland regulatory) since Bush took office, and now we've reaped what was sown. It really pisses me off to see the Corps get used by the Administration to shield Bush — they do great work when they're funded. This was senseless, useless death caused not by nature but by budget decisions.