I've been moving and dumping 55 gallon drums all day. It's back breaking work, but it's a good thing I've got a strong back. I haven't fooled with that much diesel since I was on shit-burning detail in the first Gulf War. I used to volunteer for it because it meant I could skip morning formation. Never been much of a garrison soldier. I was always a field soldier.

So here at Outpost Crystal, we're set pretty good. Thanks for the heads up on the 12-15 feet of water that you guys are telling me I can expect in the CBD tomorrow. That's fine, I'm trained for water operations too. I appreciate all the recommendations, but we're not going.

Exmilitary guy who runs a datacenter in a tower in NOLA is still there and his systems are operational! He has a Livejournal and several cam feeds running. In a way I think all this effort and risk to keep some computers running is a bit silly. On the otherhand, this is absolutely the most hard core systems administration that I have ever heard of.

The Interdictor: Admining in Hell

John Hall, a spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, said last night that the corps and other agencies were "in a great frenzy" to figure out how to plug the 300-foot gap along the 17th Street Canal.The narrow canal, which is used to drain water pumped out of the eternally soggy city, is not accessible by barge, in part because a newly built low bridge and hurricane barrier sits 700 feet down the canal toward the lake end. "We can't get at it," Mr. Hall said.

Engineering challenges... is putting it lightly. Its going to be a hard week in the Big Easy.

I must admit that the full impact of this storm was not clear to me until I saw the TV last night, even though I expected it to be bad.

For years I have made the joke that I'd like to see New Orleans before its completely destroyed. Today, I'm feeling bad about making that joke. And its not because I still have not spent any time down in New Orleans.

The sheer human tragedy present on everyone TV screens today is heartbreaking. What's worse, is we saw this coming. The failures present here were all preventable at multiple stages. It starts with the fact that its not a good idea to build a city below sea level, and it ends with evacuation plans that were clearly not mature enough to deal with the reality everyone knew was coming.

The big question: What do we rebuild? And what do we abandon?

Geography Complicates Levee Repair - New York Times

Could it be part of a greater geopolitical game? In other words, what President Bush is really worried about in Asia is North Korea. He does not really care about the RMB; he just pretends to care. This allows him, in negotiations with the Chinese, to say: "I will fold on the RMB, if you give North Korea up; in that way, you guys can give up your embarrassing ally without losing face".

North Korea IS China. Intrigue.

The Big Picture: Playing With Fire?

Acidus gives Elonka a run for the money. Way to go Acidus!

How scary. And how refreshing.

Make, a new quarterly put out by O'Reilly Media, is a throwback to an earlier time, before personal computers, to the prehistory of geekiness - the age of how-to manuals for clever boys, from the 1920's to the 50's.

The technology has changed, but not the creative impulse. Make's first issue, out in February, explained how to take aerial photographs with a kite, a disposable camera and a rig of Popsicle sticks, rubber bands and Silly Putty. It also showed how to build a video-camera stabilizer - a Steadicam, basically - with $14 worth of steel pipes, bolts and washers; how to boost a laptop computer's Wi-Fi signal with foil from an Indian take-out restaurant; and how to read credit card magnetic stripes with a device made with mail-order parts and a glue gun.

Congratulations to Acidus on being the first MemeStreams user to make the New York Times op-ed page. And on a Sunday, no less! (14:59, 14:58, 14:57, ...)

A New Magazine's Rebellious Credo: Void the Warranty!

] Locations marked show total or near-total destruction of
] structures and do not convey lesser damage not visible
] from satellite images of this resolution. While there is
] reported extensive damage to the city and its inhabitants
] the 26 locations marked appear to indicate that major
] devastation is limited. A more complete and accurate
] account awaits the availability of comprehensive ground
] level images and reports.

Be sure to check out Cryptome's Fallujah coverage. This is one example. There are many, many others.

Eyeballing the Fallujah Kill Zone - 7

] Despite his popularity, Powell will be remembered for
] presenting flawed evidence about Iraq's weapons of mass
] destruction to the United Nations when he made the case
] for war on behalf of Bush.

...as he did so with Tenet sitting behind him, who is also no longer part of this governments leadership either.

I guess in the end, the secret service are not the only ones who will take a bullet, real or otherwise, for the president. Powell and his legacy are riddled with holes at this point, and its unclear how many of them were ones he leapt for versus hit him directly.

Rice may be his replacement.

] Powell is the highest-level official to quit since Bush
] won re-election, and one of four cabinet members whose
] resignations were announced on Monday. The others were
] Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, Education Secretary Rod
] Paige and Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman.

... and that's not all. Major shakeup. This isn't last term's administration.

Powell Resigns!!

The Marines know they are being hunted. Boxed from the east and the west in a treacherous kill zone by an enemy they can feel -- but can't see. Their superior firepower is checked by the insurgent's knowledge of the city -- their cunning in using blind alleyways and the crooks and crannies of buildings to pick off the Marines.

Kevin Sites checks in from the front lines of the Battle of Fallujah. You can almost smell the gunpowder, as you sit safely behind your monitor.

Semper fidelis!

Kevin Sites Blog: Fallujah Street by Street

] Government experts are investigating a claim that an
] unarmed nuclear bomb, lost off the Georgia coast at the
] height of the Cold War, might have been found, an Air
] Force spokesman said Monday.
]
] The hydrogen bomb was lost in the Atlantic Ocean in 1958
] following a collision of a B-47 bomber and an F-86
] fighter.

And to think treasure hunters have been focusing all their attention on the Caribbean.

] The United States lost 11 nuclear bombs in accidents
] during the Cold War that were never recovered, according
] to the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

Collect em' all!

CNN.com - Lost nuclear bomb possibly found - Sep 13, 2004

] Observation this year of Veterans Day comes as about
] 130,000 troops 102,000 active military and 28,000
] reserve — remain on duty in Iraq. As of yesterday,
] according to the Pentagon, 394 have died in the war.
]
] Below are excerpts from among the final letters home of
] some soldiers who died there.

Veterans Day: The Things They Wrote

] The American Library Association (ALA) is investigating
] whether its relationship with law firm Jenner & Block is
] a conflict of interest, as the firm has represented the
] Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in its
] recent efforts to gather the names of those suspected of
] illegal file-sharing. In a letter to ALA executive
] director Keith Fiels, Emily Sheketoff, executive director
] of ALA's Washington Office, said that the office has
] grown "very uncomfortable" with Jenner & Block's legal
] activities on behalf of the RIAA. ALA is seeking a letter
] from the firm setting forth how it would handle any
] potential conflict.

This is an odd newsbite in that it only appears in one journal and isn't very detailed. No formal statements on the ALA's website.

ALA might toss their lawyers...