Unfortunately I moved to the Gulf Coast the week before Katrina, to work for
a local casino. Here's a list of some of
the supplies we've found invaluable for personal and professional computer
recovery work:
1. CAT5 and an unmanaged switch
a. Either have a dozen sets of various lengths
b. Bring a box of cable & a crimping tool
2. Gaffers tape (duct tape leaves residue all over the place, gaff won't)
3. USB Keys (I can't tell you how invaluable these are!)
4. USB hard drives (I have a 250Gb with dozens of.iso images and gigs upon gigs
of "personal files" people would store on their local machines)
5. Small KVM (I use a 4-port from Belkin)
6. Small computer toolkit (I use a 55 piece kit from Belkin)
7. USB external drive kit/enclosure (I use it to pop drives out of computers,
then connect the bare drive to my laptop via the USB enclosure and this thing
has been a lifesaver)
8. Leatherman (of course)
9. Cellular connection (I use T-Mobile and a v330 that has been getting me
connected at nearly ISDN speeds)
9. TETANUS SHOT!
Sidenote, I (currently) live off E. Second Street in Pass Christian, MS, and in my area (about 2 miles EAST of downtown) we have power and water. Food is easy
to come by thanks to the generous relief efforts of churches such as yours.
However downtown Pass Christian is obliterated. It is unimaginably ruined and
will be years before businesses or residents are able to have a "normal"
life there. The area simply must be leveled and everything rebuilt from scratch.
The level of destruction is so complete that very few, if any, locations can be
"repaired."
Also, you don't need boots. I didn't have any and haven't worn any and I've been
climbing through anything and everything for a month. Converse has served me
well! And you don't need any other "survival" supplies. There is plenty of water
and food and shelter. Right now we just need sheer manpower and (for complex
technology-related issues) expertise. If you want to do home repair work, bring
your power tools. If you want to help recover PCs, bring your tech tools.
Finally, thank you. I say that 50 times a day. To the FEMA guys who
helped 3400 people at my casino fill out their paper work, to the linemen who
came from North Dakota to restore power to our neighborhood, to the CableOne
crew who connected a new connection for our office, to the Bellsouth repairmen
who hooked up my grandparents line on their only day off in three weeks, to the
National Guardsmen from Arkansas who gave us water and ice for two weeks, to the
Cops from Winter Park FL who patrolled our areas at night to keep out looters,
and to the endless churches who brought food and HOPE to us when we needed it
the most. -Jon
Slashdot Mirror
Unfortunately I moved to the Gulf Coast the week before Katrina, to work for a local casino. Here's a list of some of the supplies we've found invaluable for personal and professional computer recovery work:
.iso images and gigs upon gigs
of "personal files" people would store on their local machines)
1. CAT5 and an unmanaged switch
a. Either have a dozen sets of various lengths
b. Bring a box of cable & a crimping tool
2. Gaffers tape (duct tape leaves residue all over the place, gaff won't)
3. USB Keys (I can't tell you how invaluable these are!)
4. USB hard drives (I have a 250Gb with dozens of
5. Small KVM (I use a 4-port from Belkin)
6. Small computer toolkit (I use a 55 piece kit from Belkin)
7. USB external drive kit/enclosure (I use it to pop drives out of computers, then connect the bare drive to my laptop via the USB enclosure and this thing has been a lifesaver)
8. Leatherman (of course)
9. Cellular connection (I use T-Mobile and a v330 that has been getting me connected at nearly ISDN speeds)
9. TETANUS SHOT!
Sidenote, I (currently) live off E. Second Street in Pass Christian, MS, and in my area (about 2 miles EAST of downtown) we have power and water. Food is easy to come by thanks to the generous relief efforts of churches such as yours. However downtown Pass Christian is obliterated. It is unimaginably ruined and will be years before businesses or residents are able to have a "normal" life there. The area simply must be leveled and everything rebuilt from scratch. The level of destruction is so complete that very few, if any, locations can be "repaired."
Also, you don't need boots. I didn't have any and haven't worn any and I've been climbing through anything and everything for a month. Converse has served me well! And you don't need any other "survival" supplies. There is plenty of water and food and shelter. Right now we just need sheer manpower and (for complex technology-related issues) expertise. If you want to do home repair work, bring your power tools. If you want to help recover PCs, bring your tech tools.
Finally, thank you. I say that 50 times a day. To the FEMA guys who helped 3400 people at my casino fill out their paper work, to the linemen who came from North Dakota to restore power to our neighborhood, to the CableOne crew who connected a new connection for our office, to the Bellsouth repairmen who hooked up my grandparents line on their only day off in three weeks, to the National Guardsmen from Arkansas who gave us water and ice for two weeks, to the Cops from Winter Park FL who patrolled our areas at night to keep out looters, and to the endless churches who brought food and HOPE to us when we needed it the most.
-Jon