swamp_thing

Karl, first let me ask what brand are you working with. If it is HP or Compaq then you will probably find all drives set for cable select. If so, you will need to change them all away from that. Just remove the cable select jumpers from the drives. Secondly, get in your bios and make sure that it is set so that the first boot device is the cdrom. If it is set as the second or third after a floppy or harddrive it often will not boot if it does not recognize the hard drive. Is the frive not recognized at all, or will it just not read it? If it has been fdisk and the partition deleted it will show in the bios as installed but will not show as a c:drive when you try to access it. Let me know if I can be of any help and I will try to advise any way I can. swamp thing

Karl, I would agree with FC that they most likely wiped the drives so that nothing could be used that might have been on them. I have in the past formatted and then fdisk the drives, deleting the partition tables so that when they were passed on the data that was there would be gone. Maybe it is possible to retrieve even after this proceedure, but the average person is not going to be able to do so. I fdisk and delete the partitions on any used drives I get prior to my using them as well. It simply eliminates unwanted problems. Also, if the drive was formatted for windows 98 and I want to use it for xp, then there is no problems with xp seeing a different operating system when loading. For xp use after I delete the partitions I do not repartition prior to loading. This is what works best for me. I cannot speak for Linux as I have had absolutely no experience with it. swamp thing.

Things sure have been slow around here for a couple of days. I guess that everyone is out enjoying the weekend. I suppose with the cooler days in many places it makes for a good time to get out and do the outdoor things. Still pretty warm in my neck of the woods. Hopefully in a few more weeks things here in Georgia will cool down to a point that it is bearable to get out and throw some lead around. It is hard to shoot when you can't keep your glasses dry and the guns are wringing wet. For those of you that live in the south this is nothing that you don't already know. Of course, in January when the north is snowbound, we will be enjoying the warmer climate. Hope you have all had a great weekend. swamp thing

Well said Emul8 and I totally agree. Was raised in tornado country as well, (nebraska), and fully understand that warnings were just that. They meant what they were telling you and one needed to heed the warnings. You are right that a raft of something would be prudent if living in a low area subject to severe flooding. I figured you were referring to getting yourself ready to go, but was only meaning so many did not. It only reinforces the need for planning according to your locality, which was mentioned in another post. The amount of warning time on a hurricane is days, while a tornado is minutes at best. Even at that most people are prepared and avoid injury or death from these storms. Granted a tornado wouldn't cover the vast area and most likely would not creat this amount of chaos but the fact that good planning is a must still remains. swamp thing

Tony, sure sorry to hear that you are winged at this time. Things can happen so fast and with every passing year the results are a bit more predictable. Know that you will have our prayers for quick recovery. Hang in there buddy and as already stated, take advantage of the extra family time. Jeez, you mentioned the wife ask about all the time you spend on the computer with the site, but this is a drastic measure to modify that.HA Seriously take care of that arm and keep it elevated. Had a bennet fracture many years ago which I had pinned together. The very next day I thoughtlessly tried to open a car door with it and shattered it again. Second surgery and much swelling and pain taught me better real quick. I learned how to keep it elevated and not use it for the next several weeks. I quess the moral to this is stay off them terraces until you get healed. swamp thing

Emul8, that would be a logical plan as well, with only one exception that I can see. In the case at hand, many that stayed found themselves unable to leave after the flooding. At that point, then the choice becomes only to turn over to those that are hauling you out unarmed, or to choose to fight and hope to win. Maybe there are no good answers, and of course we can all speculate as to what we would do. Really I suppose none of us know. Unregistered quest, I don't believe I said you or anyone else inlisted. Further, it was not the military that ordered the evacuation but rather the not so fine mayor of NO. If this touched a nerve, then I must assume that it has a personal meaning to you. While what I have said had no purpose of offending others, I suppose it may have. I don't however wish to have what I said construed to be something other than what it was. Now if you can point out where I said the military ordered you out, then I stand corrected. swamp thing

Karl, I do agree with you that freedom means that you do as you wish, not be herded. Not an argument there at all. It is unfortunate that too many times big brother decides for us what we as adults should already know. However, once one is ordered to evacuate and you are aware of what is to come, then the only logical choice I see is to get yourself to an area that no longer puts you in eminent danger of having someone else choose for you. Truly, they have already made the first choice so why would one assume that they won't follow through with the next. It seems totally unreasonable to sit back and wait for the next occurance. We have all seen from past experience that our rights are dwindling one by one and it is likely that unless all Americans stand together they will continue to do so. What are the chances that we can all come together for a common goal? Most often, we can't even agree on what is right or wrong. In light of what I have stated, I stand by my former thoughts that one is better off to get out of Dodge and make one's own stand on their grounds, not on the terms of others. It seems that those that stay and wait to be hauled out, unarmed, are indeed the foolish children here. swamp thing

I have read all the posts here about NO and the surrounding area and the fallout effects of it. The case of the people being disarmed and trucked out seems to be a real issue. How would you handle this situation if you were involved. I for one figure that it is simply a matter of the folks there totally mishandling the thing to begin with. Leaving all matters of race or ethics out of it, here are my thoughts. When a situation such as New Orleans arrises, it seems totally obsurd to stay around, guns in hand, waiting for someone to show up and disarm you and haul you out. As has been stated repeatedly, many of the folks there had no way to leave. But what of those that simply would not. First off, what was left to stay for? If you do, and you are directly disobeying orders to evacuate, aren't you already sitting yourself up for the obvious? And when they do come get you, do you think they are going to say get in the boat with your weapons? Come on, these folks are already fired up and looking for a fight. Faced with the situation that arose in the gulf area, it would seem that the prudent thing to have done was to properly arms ones self, then leave the area prior to it becoming the mess that it did. What would be the best for yourself and your family? As I already said, some could not leave, but a vast number were and are still there out of simple choice, and a poor one at that. Seems that in this case, as with others, they are the product of their own poor choices. I do not and will not condone disarmament, but given this situation, I sure wouldn't want to be the ones trying to move a bunch of pissed off armed civilians. They are already looking for a reason to do harm. I guess what I am saying in all this is that the best alternative would be to load up the family and get the heck out of Dodge, of course adequetely protected, but on your own terms instead of the terms of others. What are everyones thoughts as to this? Please remember that I refer to those that would not leave when they could have.

To further express the point on this issue, as printed in todays news, ABC will now broadcast all their primetime shows in spanish. They say that the spanish market is now so large that they wish to capture them as well. There you have it, so we shall cater to them some more. swamp thing

FC, this is part of a trend that really disturbs me. For many years it was the accepted fact that if you came to the United States you were expected to adapt to our cultures and language. In recent years it has become more and more that we as Americans are to adapt to the cultures and languages of our new immigrants. I have seen entire small towns in Nebraska become so overtaken by spanish speaking people that all the businesses were covered with only spanish signs. If you don't speak it, you have no idea what the business is. Try calling any number of places, like your credit card companies and be prepared to have their menu recited in spanish before english. This is absolutely bull in my opinion. Why are we being sold out as the minority in our own land. At what point did the United States of America become the land of the spanish instead of the country that our forefathers established. If these people want their cultures, their language and their towns all fashioned around them, let them go back where they came from. The last I knew, you could cross the borders going out just as well as coming in. Now if they choose to adapt to our cultures and become part of our society, then very well. Let it be so, but on our terms, not theirs. I have no problem with those that wish to become a viable part of our country. I have read of schools mostly on the west coast that are requiring the teaching of spanish, but not english. I have read that ebonics is now to be used in the classroom so that the students can better understand the classes being taught. Again I say, bull, either learn english as it was meant to be, or go away and live your cultural choices some where else. We don't need anyone whom thinks that they must turn our country into an extension of the one they left. If what they had was so good, why then did they leave it. This has been an editorial opinion from one pissed off American. swamp thing

All this snake talk makes me think back to the areas I have lived in that had an assortment of slithering occupents. Spent several years in the Arkansas Ozarks with it fine assortment of crawling creatures. Rattlers, cottonmouth water mocassins, copperheads, scorpions, tarantulas and oh yes, seed ticks. Always managed to avoid the snake bites, but it was an impossibility to avoid the ticks. One can only really appreciate them if they have lived in an area that has them. Like getting into the worst case of chiggers you can ever imagine. Scorpions were an almost daily occurence and you learned to avoid them quickly. With all the tromping around in them hills that I did, it is nothing short of a miracle that I never got bitten by at least one snake. Now that I am a resident of Georgia, I only have the rattlesnakes, mocassins, an occasional copperhead and the gators to watch for. Oops, almost forgot those dang fireants. When folks start to talk about how cold it is in the winter up north I just smile and agree. Was born and raised in Nebraska, and I can tell you that snow doesn't bite. Guess everyplace has it problems in one sort or another, be we soon adapt to our surroundings. Take care fritz and remember my motto, the only good snake is a dead snake. Horesfly, sounds like the Ozarks your describing there to me.

That Wal Mart stores has stopped selling guns. This quote, taken from Yahoo news seems to say that. I made a call to our local store and their reply was that they had not gotten that memo yet. It would appear that either the news has misquoted the stores, or that they simply have not contacted all their stores yet. I wondered if the storm would have effects that we had not considered. Here is a link to the article. http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20050906/...swamphostcities swamp thing

Well, there has been a lot of good input on this subject and the list has grown quiet large. I would have to say that it would be necessary to fashion ones BOB according to what purpose we want it to serve. First off, it would probably be wise to have multiple bags. You could set this up so that if the option of driving existed, they could all go. If the feces hits the rotary oscilator and driving out is not an option, then the most needed bag would be the one to take. Personally I would advise two bags. As for the water, I do agree that carrying much water on foot is not going to happen for very far. The water purifier would be the ideal situation, and Iodine would be a better alternative than bleach. My reasoning for bleach was the availability of it. It is stated in the articles that I have read that the water treated with bleach needs to stand for 24 hours before use. After this time, clorine tends to burn itself out, becoming residual clorine rather than active clorine. Over clorination of course would extend this time frame. I would think that the deciding factors in what to take would have to include the area in which each of us lives, and where we would plan to have to go in the event of a given disaster. Hopefully though it has given each of us some ideas as to what we need to fashion together to help assure our safety should the need arise. Thanks to all on your thoughts and suggestions. swamp thing

I have taken the suggestions submitted thus far and combined them with the list that I originally posted. I apoligize if I have omitted anything. The list so far is as follows: Stored water, at least three day supply Nonperishable foods, MRE's etc. Spare set of clothing for each member of family At least two changes of socks and foot powder Good pair of shoes/boots, broken in Tolietries, hygene items, roll of toilet paper with tube removed and flattened out List of families prescriptions Portable shelter, ie tarps, light tent etc. First aid kit with antibiotics and pain relievers Two week supply of all medications that you take Defense/survival weapons Matches and disposable lighter (both) Flashlight (maybe one of the new shake up type) Battery or crank radio Survival Knife/Bayonet Coleman type three in one blanket Plastic bags to be used for solar still for water (black) 6in1 type survival kit that has whistle with built in compass, flint, mirror, matches Magnesium firestarter Fishing tackle Emergency reflective blanket Clorine bleach for purifying water 5% Shovel, preferably folding type Small tree saw and or hatchet This is of course a general list only and would need to be adjusted to fit one's own needs, but at least gives a good basis to use when compiling your personal BOB. swamp thing

Good advice fritz. I do have the crank up radio with am,fm and three short wave bands on it. They are real neat and will play for 15 to 30 minutes on each crank up. Need to get one of those shake flash lights too. Jason, would definately be a good time to think about gathering a few essentials for if the need arises. swamp thing

Prior to the hurricane in the gulf region I had been reading a string on TFL about what people had in their bug out bags. Of course, there were those that made fun of people even having a BOB, but I wonder what they think now? That being said, I thought it would be interesting to find out how many here have such a provision, or at least a stock of survival supplies laid in store in the event they would need them. This might be a great oppurtunity to share ideas and suggestions as to what one needs to have. Could help us all to consider things we could, should be gathering up for unforseen circumstances. A short list that I see as necessary follows: Stored water, at least a three day supply Nonperishable foods including a means to open them spare set of clothing for each member of household toiletries and hygene items some type of portable shelter, ie tarp, light tent etc. first aid kit and a two week supply of medications that one might take defense/survival weapons matches, utensils, rope What else can you think of that would be bare essentials? It should be interesting to see everyones thoughts on this. swamp thing

Jerry, wishing your son the best in this situation. Will keep you and him in our prayers.

8:30 am this morning @2.51, at 1:00 this afternoon @2.75. That was in a 4-1/2 hour period. I am afraid we will see the $3.00 stuff in the next day or two. Cant wait to see what morning brings. swamp thing

fritz, not sure what a burdizzo is, but I do remember using very thick rubber bands on bull calves that were installed with a tool that spread them out. After a couple of weeks or so, the equiptment dried up and fell off. Worked wonders on the calves and might do the same on these guys. The good part is they would have a couple of weeks to watch the progress as they contimplated what brought them to this point. Hum, wonder what the ACLU would have to say on this one. swamp thing

Tony, I too would have to agree that if you can get the masters degree it would be a big asset in the long run. I know how sometimes it is hard to get oneself motivated to do something like this, but in the end run the benifits seem to make the effort justifiable. Hang in there and it will come. I am sure that with work, the new misses and the hassles that you have had with the site one more thing probably seems overwhelming. Sounds like the misses is a real plus and I have no doubt she will be there for support as well. As they say, good things come to good people and you have proven to be that around here. Good luck with the endeavers. swamp thing

I scares the heck out of me to think that these people can repeatedly offend and get a basic hand slap and return to society to offend again. When one thinks of a person that has 15 prior convictions, and is free to do so again that is really an eye opener. It is obvious that they will continue to do so. Sometimes it is unfortunate that the victims families don't get first chance at them. I don't know the answer, but something needs to change for sure. swamp thing

Made it through the weekend but sure missed the forums. I was having a bit of withdrawels by yesterday afternoon. Started to get that nervous feeling down in the gut there, but awoke this morning to being able to once again get to the site. Sure glad we're back again. I actually had to find other things to do to pass the time for two days. swamp thing

Hey folks, I just noticed that on the bottom of each page it no longer lists us as on the free trial version. I would take that to mean that Elliot has gotten that fixed now. Has anyone else noticed that yet? Looks like all Tony's efferts have paid off now. swamp thing

Mine was a no brainer. I live in close proximity to a couple of swamp areas and as far as the thing part of it, figured it best described myself. Thus, swamp thing was born so to speak. Afterwords, I realised we had a swamprat and felt that he might have thought I was infringing on his territory. Hope that is not the case, because there was nothing like that intended. I could have changed my name, but I did not want to cause further confusion or appear to be trying to have multiple sign ins. Thats my story and I sticken to it!!! swamp thing

Horsefly, I too really like the new board and figure that with time the bugs will work out. As far as spell check, after rereading some of my posts, I could us it also. I am just glad we have this place to come to and spend a bit of time each day. Now if I get in gear and get some new projects going I will have some things to talk about again. Going to be ordering some new wood for a couple of projects this week coming up. Then the wait begins. swamp thing