How did you come back from miserable failure? [more inside]
posted by serazin on Nov 1, 2009 - 19 answers

How best to help out on the ground in Samoa after tsunami? [more inside]
posted by metaseeker on Oct 1, 2009 - 6 answers

Satellite photos: what interesting features can be seen or measured in them (or other aerial photos), and where can I get a supply of images? [more inside]
posted by k. on Sep 30, 2009 - 12 answers

Does anyone have an outline or template for an IT Disaster Recovery Plan? [more inside]
posted by MattScully on Aug 12, 2009 - 9 answers

2-Part question: 1) Why did my wok catch fire? 2) Why did it turn blue? [more inside]
posted by chicago2penn on Jul 20, 2009 - 8 answers

Inspired by this thread, I am trying to remember the name of a tornado special that aired, I think, on HBO several years ago. [more inside]
posted by LeeJay on Jul 11, 2009 - 2 answers

How do I get a job in the field of disaster relief? [more inside]
posted by tr0ubley on Jul 9, 2009 - 7 answers

What are stories like this about making huge mistakes, and then recovering from it? [more inside]
posted by ADoubtfulTrout on Jun 24, 2009 - 4 answers

The milk in my oyster stew boiled over. Is it salvageable? I've got an oyster stew on the stove, ingredients are half and half, a tonne of butter, oysters, shallots and celery. I left it (I know, I know) in the care of a roomate for two minutes, and it boiled over. Now the milk is a little clotty. Is there a fix, or has this been ruined?
posted by thatbrunette on Apr 12, 2009 - 6 answers

HousingFilter: Given the incentives to buy a house this year, we're seriously considering buying something in the low $200s this year. Given that we live in Portland, most available properties in that range are townhome/condo/rowhouse style homes. Would anyone care to provide me with a scholarly or trade-related projection how these sorts of homes will be viewed in 15 years? [more inside]
posted by fiercekitten on Feb 25, 2009 - 9 answers

Help my friends play an epic prank on their vacationing roommate! Ideas, please. [more inside]
posted by troika on Dec 8, 2008 - 24 answers

Looking at setting up a simple web site (no CGI) but needs to be up 24/7 and reasonably disaster proof (earthquake, hurricane, regional fires, etc.). Hosting company needs to be multisite with automagic failover assuming one site goes down. [more inside]
posted by benzenedream on Nov 10, 2008 - 7 answers

How do I de-stress during and after an awful, expensive vacation? I am in the midst of a disappointing, stressful vacation and will be returning in a couple of days to my stressful, low-paying job. The breaking point is near. Help it to not happen. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Aug 18, 2008 - 33 answers

Please recommend a data recovery/harddrive recovery firm, familiarity with HFS+ filesystems a plus. I've got a dead harddrive that spins up and shows one partition, but I cannot repair it either under OS X or with a Linux live CD. I've tried a few software packages, but none of them get any data off the drive. (Though Data Rescue II does show a list of the file names, when I restored a file, it didn't open, so it can see the files, it's just returning corrupt data.) [more inside]
posted by Brian Puccio on Aug 17, 2008 - 7 answers

Post-Katrina Recovery: I recently caught corners of Lakeview and New Orleans East. While Lakeview seemed more affluent and maybe older and more established, it didn't seem like it would have great advantages over NOE that would account for the relative degree to which it appeared that Lakeview was recovered compared to NOE. Is NOE really behind the curve in recovery and if so, why? [more inside]
posted by Ogre Lawless on Jul 29, 2008 - 11 answers

A book that is very personal and valuable to me got damaged due to a leak in a car which allowed rainwater in. The book cover acted like a sponge dragging up the water as well as dirt from the upholstery. I've talked to two book repair places, but I have my reservations. Any suggestions? Even more desired: anyone have EXPERIENCE with book repair shops? [more inside]
posted by arniec on Jul 15, 2008 - 7 answers

In the aftermath of major natural disasters like, for example, an earthquake, hurricane or tornado, there exist certain conventions and procedures for communication - like, for example, channel 19 on a CB radio, or the emergency broadcast network on TV. When speaking in terms of RADIO-based communication, what are the protocols and technologies that are in place now that are most likely to be used in a crisis such as this? CB? AM/FM? [more inside]
posted by kbanas on Feb 12, 2008 - 14 answers

I was given (gifts) federal savings bonds throughout my early childhood. When I was starting college, I cashed the bonds. Then, we had a devastating home fire disaster. I lost ALL of the paperwork for these bonds. The IRS came back regarding my taxes and wants to tax me on ALL of the redemtion. How can I construct the proper cost basis with NO information? Continue on for more details ... [more inside]
posted by Ryaske on Jan 12, 2008 - 7 answers

Should I be scared of these 3 big storms about to slam into San Francisco? [more inside]
posted by mto on Jan 2, 2008 - 42 answers

My 11 lb rib roast is about to be finished early (4:00 for a 6:30 dinner). The roast is currently out of the oven, wrapped in foil and a towel, sitting at 115 degrees. [more inside]
posted by donpardo on Dec 24, 2007 - 10 answers

Where, in Canada, can I buy emergency/disaster kit items such as water rations? [more inside]
posted by acoutu on Nov 24, 2007 - 33 answers

I've just been informed by my ISP, which hosts all of my client's sites and email, that the email servers are being switched tonight and tomorrow morning all my clients have to add new email accounts with new user names (but same email address.) In addition, the new accounts will not have any of the old emails.... [more inside]
posted by juiceCake on Oct 25, 2007 - 10 answers

Besides the obvious collateral benefits to producers and consumers of news, what is the logic of using the time and resources of government officials during an emergency to calculate and report the death/injury toll of a natural or man-made disaster? Does this task aid rescue or recovery efforts in any way?
posted by Saucy Intruder on Oct 19, 2007 - 11 answers

I read and loved “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex” by Nathaniel Philbrick. What other books should I read? [more inside]
posted by 2bucksplus on Aug 23, 2007 - 17 answers

I live in Minneapolis, a few blocks from where the bridge collapsed. I wasn't there at the time, nor was anyone I know, but I went over that bridge earlier that day, and every day before that. I've been feeling a lot of anxiety since it fell; it could easily have been me or anyone I know, and I'm scared that something will happen suddenly to me or to the people I love. I know that the way I'm feeling isn't rational, especially since I wasn't personally affected by it, but it's very real and it's affecting my life. I also know that we can all go at any time and so we need to live life to the fullest, but how can I get over it and get from here to there?
posted by anonymous on Aug 6, 2007 - 14 answers

Seattle: seems like a nice place to live. But I'm somewhat concerned about Inevitable Volcanic Death. Should I be? [more inside]
posted by electric_counterpoint on May 31, 2007 - 20 answers

It’s cyclone season where I am. There’s a pretty good chance we’ll loose power and / or water. What should I put in my emergency food box? [more inside]
posted by t0astie on Feb 7, 2007 - 7 answers

What are the best survivalist's reference books? That is, if the power went out tomorrow for an indefinite period of town, what are the books on first aid, shelter, hunting, farming, nature, tool use & making etc. that you'd want to have and be familiar with?
posted by luriete on Dec 7, 2006 - 22 answers

I need some valid reasons for a (business) subtenant to get his own DSL service instead of sharing ours. Besides the fact that we're not 23 year old singles sharing a flat. [more inside]
posted by bartleby on Nov 28, 2006 - 14 answers

Any ideas on the effects of a prolonged solar eclipse, say 10-30 years? [more inside]
posted by Sevenupcan on Oct 7, 2006 - 43 answers

The Merrimack River in Massachusetts decided to become part of my backyard these past few days, but thankfully has receded. My question is, how do I disinfect my lawn from all the bacteria and what not that was in the river without actually killing the lawn?
posted by kraagenskul on May 17, 2006 - 15 answers

Where did I read the claim that organized society as we know it here in the US could fall apart in as little as 72 hours? [more inside]
posted by junkbox on May 8, 2006 - 21 answers

Why was there no effort made to rescue those trapped on the upper floors of the World Trade Center with helicopters? [more inside]
posted by terrier319 on Apr 25, 2006 - 19 answers

What are the current challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina? [more inside]
posted by photoslob on Apr 9, 2006 - 3 answers

I'm not afraid of bird flu. I'm afraid of waking up broke one day. How do I avoid this? [more inside]
posted by clearlynuts on Mar 20, 2006 - 19 answers

My brother claims that the miners who died "could have walked right out". Is he full of it?
posted by goethean on Jan 6, 2006 - 43 answers

What is the importance of the "Utstein-style" in (disaster) medicine? Specifically, I was looking at this publication.
posted by about_time on Nov 9, 2005 - 2 answers

So, on Tuesday, the Red Cross is deploying me to the gulf coast for three weeks to assist in their ongoing hurricane relief efforts there. What should I bring with me? [more inside]
posted by dersins on Oct 28, 2005 - 3 answers

What's your 72 disaster preparedness kit like? [more inside]
posted by Scoo on Sep 14, 2005 - 31 answers

Apparently there is an effort to rethink the role of the internet (and other communications technologies) in disaster relief. The idea is that a well-thought out information consodlidation and distribution would not require government and could be done cheaply and rapidly. Does anyone know more about this and where I could go to help? I believe there may even be a conference later this year.
posted by kingfisher, his musclebound cat on Sep 13, 2005 - 7 answers

I am looking for a recording of a recent radio interview with New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin on radio with WWL's Garland Robinette. The interview took place sometime around 6 or 6:30 am UTC (- or roughly a half hour to an hour ago as I am posting this), and is the most amazing thing I've ever heard from a politician. Some quick-on-the-draw person must have recorded it. [more inside]
posted by taz on Sep 2, 2005 - 41 answers

Geeks want to help too. Not to duplicate other posts or anything, but more generally speaking, both in disasters and not, what are ways techie geeks can make a difference? I've heard HAM operators are helping out where they can. But i havn't heard anything else. Ideas? More on the year-round type, i've looked at GeekCorps but being younger than their target market i don't have the time or means to litterally take off and volunteer for extended amounts of time. Have you used your skillz for anything good?
posted by joshgray on Aug 31, 2005 - 6 answers

As much as I would like to help by donating to the victims of Katrina, I want to know that my donated money is really going to go help them. What are some trustworthy organizations to donate to?
posted by Gooney on Aug 31, 2005 - 19 answers

Are there any penalties for those ignoring a mandatory evacuation? [more inside]
posted by tuxster on Aug 30, 2005 - 17 answers

How can I help after the hurricane? [more inside]
posted by atchafalaya on Aug 30, 2005 - 12 answers

Does anyone know the make, brand, or availability of the semi-geodesic three-walled pop-up emergency shelters being used in the London tube bombing response? [more inside]
posted by loquacious on Jul 7, 2005 - 3 answers

Terrorists destroy the sun.... How long does humanity survive??? (the inside... there's more???) [more inside]
posted by John Kenneth Fisher on Dec 22, 2004 - 32 answers