How are bloggers getting through?

[dreamshark]

I've been following links to various blogs coming out of New Orleans reporting the situation hour by hour. Most of them sound perfectly plausible, and I want to believe that I am reading something real. But I'm confused - I thought that electrical service in New Orleans was completely gone, along with all landline phone service and most cell phone towers. How are these people getting these blogs out of the city and onto the Internet? Appparently even the emergency services can't communicate because whatever wireless infrastructure they had been using has been blown apart. But somehow the bloggers are getting through. Even if they had fully charged laptops and cell phones 3 days ago, and their cell phones were among the very few that could get a signal, how are they recharging their batteries?

I know I'm a horrible, cynical, suspicious person, but I can't help wondering if some of these vivid and heartrending descriptions are elaborate hoaxes.

Comments

[wombat-socho.livejournal.com]

interdictor is at an Internet node powered by a diesel generator. Fuel is getting into the city, and apparently there's some (badly clogged) landline phone circuits still active. People are probably recharging cell phones and laptops from vehicle outlets, but you may be right - some of what we're seeing may be bogus.

[dreamshark.livejournal.com]

Yeah, i went back and started reading Interdictor's blog starting on Monday, and it appears to be the real thing. A lot of the posts are about their efforts to obtain additional diesel fuel, and then frustrated posts about the unexpected difficulties of getting the fuel out of the fuel drums and into the generator.

Man, that is one dedicated crew. Holed up in a high-rise, patrolling the permiter of the building against looters, determined to keep their domain-hosting site up against all odds.