Update

My first tactical mistake. We were unprepared to accept the fuel when it arrived. The fuel arrived way too soon for us and we did not have all the empty drums down on the ground floor when they got here. The driver had other deliveries to make, so rather than waste his time, I told him we'd recoordinate and be ready for him later today or tomorrow.

That's the bad news. Here's the worse news:

All of our providers are dropping. We're down to one. We have enough fuel to keep us powered for a long time, but we could lose internet access soon if our last provider drops.

So I guess what I'm saying is that any moment could be my last moment online. If we do lose internet, Outpost Crystal might have to be abandoned by all but Sig and Myself. I've got to get Crystal out of here safely and relocated to someplace out of this state. I'm working on escape routes now.

Calling any and all Intercosmos and Directnic employees. We need you to contact Donnie in email and on ICQ ASAP.

Situtation is critical.

I'm not leaving, so stop asking. I'm staying. I am staying until this shitstorm has blown itself out. Period. End of discussion.

Now for some updates:

1. Been too busy to debrief the police officer, so that will come later. Low priority now.

2. Buses loading people up on Camp Street to take refugees to Dallas, or so the word on the street (literally) is.

3. Dead bodies everywhere: convention center, down camp street, all over.

4. National Guard shoving water off the backs of trucks. They're just pushing it off without stopping, people don't even know it's there at first -- they drop it on the side in debris, there's no sign or distribution point -- people are scared to go near it at first, because the drop points are guarded by troops or federal agents with assault rifles who don't let people come near them, which scares people off. It is a mess. When people actually get to the water, they are in such a rush to get it that one family left their small child behind and forget about him until Sig carried him back to the family.

5. Lots of pics coming soon when Sig has time to update.

It's raining now and I guess that's a relief from the heat. It's hot as hell down there in the sun. Crime is absolutely rampant: rapes, murders, rape-murder combinations.

I have really cut back answering IMs. Not enough time. I apologize people.

In case anyone in national security is reading this, get the word to President Bush that we need the military in here NOW. The Active Duty Armed Forces. Mr. President, we are losing this city. I don't care what you're hearing on the news. The city is being lost. It is the law of the jungle down here. The command and control structure here is barely functioning. I'm not sure it's anyone's fault -- I'm not sure it could be any other way at this point. We need the kind of logistical support and infrastructure only the Active Duty military can provide. The hospitals are in dire straights. The police barely have any capabilities at this point. The National Guard is doing their best, but the situation is not being contained. I'm here to help in anyway I can, but my capabilities are limited and dropping. Please get the military here to maintain order before this city is lost.

Doing what we can, this is Outpost Crystal getting back to work.

We've got a prayer!
Huge convoy of fuel and generator engineer types affiliated with Bell South just moved down the street toward their building. That's where 2 of our OC3s that went down are at Bell's main.

Finally, this is important:

Message for Tenants of 650 Poydras - Poydras Center

We recieved the below email from building management. We are asking for help from tenants in our building. We need bottled water, hand sanitizer, general cleaning supplies, self cleaning stuff, germx, baby wipes, etc.. Big diesel gloves. underwear. (34, 36, 38's whatever), socks (white), razors/deodorant men's and womens, a portable chemical toilet, .45 ACP ammo if possible

If you have any of the above supplies at the office and you are willing to let us borrow them then please send us: 1) your suite number; 2) the supplies that you are willing to let us borrow; 3) the exact location of where the supplies are located; 4) your contact information; and 5) some form of laundry detergent.

If you do the above we will: 1) be able to get into your suite to obtain the supplies; 2) While getting the supplies we will also check your suite for damage and perform a little work to help you mitigate damage; 3) we will track what we borrow; 4) we will pay you back; and 5) we will eventually send you a status update.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Maurice Faucheux [mailto:denmaur@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 01, 2005 7:04 AM
To: mfaucheux@hertzgroup.com
Subject: Hertz New Orleans Properties


Dear Tenants,

We at Hertz Investment Group sincerely hope that you and your loved ones survived Hurricane Katrina safely and with a minimum of loss. We also hope that the coming period of recovery goes smoothly for you.

I would like to pass on to you Hertz Investment Group's plan for the immediate future.

Members of the Hertz Management Team remained at each of our New Orleans properties throughout Hurricane Katrina, in order to mitigate damage and to survey the effect of the storm on the properties.

We have now retained the services of a specialist in commercial disaster recovery to assist us with repairing and restoring our properties as quickly as possible. The company will deploy a Catastrophic Action Team (CAT), that will being working to return our properties to Class A condition as soon as state and city officials allow access to the city.

In the interim, Hertz Investment Group has created a website www.HertzNewOrleansResponds.Com which will provide our tenants and the community with status reports on our progress.

The website will also offer each tenant the option of creating a password protected bulletin board, which can be used for communicating confidentially with staff and employees directly on the website.

Tenants will also be able to submit questions to Hertz Group management via the website.

Our website is expected to be on line and fully functional tomorrow, (Thursday).

We encourage you to utilize the services that the website offers during this difficult time, to follow our progress and to communicate with your friends, co-workers, staff and employees.

Sincerely,

Maurice A Faucheux
General Manager
Hertz Investment Group

Something Awful, bad news. We have to take you offline for now. We have to get more
OC3s back online and that's down the street. Doing what we can, people.