If for some reason this site goes down, it is because our server is located in New Orleans.
The computers are located on the 10th floor of a secure building, all files are backed up daily, and we have battery back up and a generator that should last a week without outside source.
However, with the chaos and electrical problems going on there, you never know.

If it does go down, please keep checking back. We will do everything we can to keep it running or getting it back in service.
Rick

Who would build a datacentre in a hurricane zone, in a building which is below sea level anyway?

Well, Dave..

Who would build a CITY, in a hurricane zone, below sea level, for that matter? Or who would build a city on the side of a volcano? or a fault line? Well... I guess lots of people would.

Not even TO is immune to hurricanes. Humans have a very short memory when it comes to natural disasters.

At least this guy has his priorities in order:


SAVE THE BEER! (nice hair, too)

That's a hurricane hair doo if I've ever seen one! Note the Heineken in the back pocket too.

Plastic storage bin ... $5.99
Hair Cut at Nappy Cuts ... $7.99
Looting beer instead of necessities in a life threatening crisis....priceless.

At least he got a decent beer.

Excuse me, but since when is beer not a necessity?

Mbounds has it right, there are very few other "comsumables" that after floating around are still edible. This guy's just trying to feed his family!

I kinda wish i was still fighting fires, i might have a chance to go help in person, Since I can't afford to send the monatary help that they are askign for here. On the radio this morning they actually discouraged sending clothes and stuff, and said "Please just bring your checks" That kinda anoyed me, I coulda sent some jackets and other clothes, I can't send money! I'll just have to find another organization that wants this sorta stuf, it must be needed right?

We are hosting around 800 or so refugee's in the town where I live. Thousands in other locations. I will let you know where to send stuff. Several of us here are gathering things, blankets, clothes, etc. We will establish a location to gather these things, then I will post for anyone interested in helping.

Clayton

I also have a problem with the "send money only" thing. After the 9/11 debacle where very little of the donated money went to help the actual victims and their families, I just don't trust them. When CEOs of such organizations are making humungous money, that bothers me.

I remember when three of us decided to canoe down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers from Cincinnati to New Orleans we spend quite a few nights sleeping on the banks and met some really interesting folks.
They all talked about the flood of 19?? or the one of 19??, etc. One restaurant owner told of how Red Cross came and asked for donated sandwiches. He gave them a bunch.
Then he went to the site of the flood and saw the Red Cross selling them. He was so infuriated he went back, made a bunch more, and put up a stand in front of them and gave them away.

Sad!

PS: By the way, we only made it to Louisville! <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />
Rick

If you want unvarnished information about how charities spend their money, look them up on guidestar.org Red Cross Example

You will need to register, for free, but it is important that you know how your money is being put to work (or not).

In the Red Cross Example, you can see they have:
total gross reciepts of 3.3 billion,
expenses of 3.1 billion,
2.8 billion of that is program services,
170 million in management expenses,
2.5 million in officers and directors salaries,
Lost 107 million from previous year in assets,
Paid out 118 million direct to individuals,
10 officers making between 148,000 and 450,000.

and much more if you care to dig in.

I am not saying you should not donate to the Red Cross, only that you should look up anyone you donate your money to and determine if you are satisfied before donating.

Where did this cultural loathing of the Red Cross come from, anyway? Did they do something like help some socialist organization recover from a flood back in the '20s? I heard that something like that sandwich story happening after Andrew and of course there's the outrage on the web about the Re...e the Salvation Army was giving it away.

From charityreports.give.org (you don't have to register)
Programs: 91% Fund Raising: 3% Administrative: 5%

Personally, I don't believe that 5% administrative is too bad for a charitable organization with such long logistical legs.

Just got this message from our tech who lives in Gulfport, MS -- apparently not anymore.
Things are being done about the site:

I am already in the process of transferring files to another location where I have some dedicated servers waiting. You may expierince some down time, but it should be minimal. I was told there is 1 weeks worth of power left in the new orleans data center. They are not sure about their providers. I have already moved backups of all your site data out of new orleans. After I have moved all data for all my sites, I will start setting them up.

That is good news to me, I know.
Thanks,
Rick

I'm sure we have all wondered the same thing. Fact is the city has been sinking.

History of N.O. is longer than I wanted to read at http://www.madere.com/ which does not work any more, but if you are really interested google.com a history of New orleans, some is below.

...........The key to securing the Mississippi was to control access to its mouth on the Gulf of Mexico, but the French explorers discovered there was a problem. From the mouth of the Mississippi to a point about 200 miles upstream (Baton Rouge), there was no ground high enough to provide a natural site for a city. While the great river demanded a splendid port city, it seemed to provide no place for one.
................ Early mariners were forced, then, to ask three basic questions as to where their vessels could go and where a city could be located. The basic questions were: Was there a way for deep-water vessels to reach the river other than by entering its mouth far out in the Gulf? Was there a sheltered way through the delta for coastal vessels to avoid the open waters of the Gulf? Was there a place in the delta's featureless slimy muck where goods could be unloaded and stored without risk of frequent flooding? The answer to each question, the French found, was "yes," but a tentative yes................

I am the sysadmin for catsail. I have moved all backups for catsailor to a datacenter in houston. things will go down within the next couple of days as generator power goes out. All these posts will be lost since the backups were prior to these posts. Please check back, servers are already waiting and ready to be setup.

Would it not be sensible to take the site down now and more it before the servers fall down ?

We have moved it to a Houston data center. It has been slow. There will be some problems.., and there already are. But, we are still surviving.., go my fingers crossed.
Rick

Simon, and all,
It's not quite that simple. Chad himself has lost everything. His office in Gulfport is gone. His home in Gulfport is gone. His brother's home in Gulfport is gone. Their parents' home in Biloxi is gone. Chad left before Katrina arrived and went to Jackson. He is now operating with his laptop out of a coffee shop.

Most of the businesses for which they are (were) servers are no longer in existence.

Chad told us today that he is relocating to Austin, Texas within the next few days and will start his life all over again with a new business.

He has been our server for our website almost since the very beginning, and he has done a wonderful job for us, so we are going to continue to be loyal to him through these difficult circumstances. He is working his butt off to ensure a smooth transition for our web site, as well as others.

I'm sure there are thousands of stories like this for business owners in the area devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

The destruction goes far beyond the piles of toothpicks that used to be houses.

It appears as if our datacenter has lived up to what it advertised. Things have remained up with some minor network problems throughout the katrina disaster. It was reported that fuel is getting to the datacenter and things should remain up. I was also told that the building the datacenter is located in should have power restored shortly. They have 2 local hospitals which have prioirty over them.

I have relocated to Austin, TX for an undetermined amount of time. My house was pretty much ruined. You can view images that I am posting at http://katrina.mississippi.com

If anyone has any pictures they would like to post, please email clarke@ccfconsult.com and I will setup an ftp site for images to be uploaded.