All the photos on this page were taken by JACOB APPELBAUM and posted to Flickr, who describes himself as "a photographer, unix hacker and world traveler." APPELBAUM spent Wednesday inside the Astrodome in Houston, Texas where at least 25,000 of Hurricane Katrina's refugees, a majority of them at the New Orleans Superdome, are now being sheltered. His weblog was created on Sept. 5th 2005 to document his trip to the areas affected by hurricane Katrina.

What follows is a transcript of an AIM chat between Dose and APPELBAUM in Houston on Thursday — just before he stepped out for lunch.
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Some of Jacob's photos
 See all of Jacob's photos on Flickr.com
 Jacob's blog
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AIM IM with Jacob <ioerrortype23> (DOSE in BOLD)
4:31 PM

Hi
hey. thanks for responding. where are you right now? still in houston?
I am currently eating in Houston.
what's your deal anyway, jacob? why did you go down to check out the scene after katrina?
I normally work with NGOs and NP groups. I think the thing to do is the right thing
so you want to help?
I think its important to contribute in anyway that people can. I made some calls when I saw the massive fuck up on the part of my pathetic government..
what was the most disturbing thing you saw inside the dome? from your blog it sounded pretty dire?
I said that I've got tech skill and photography gear.
did the authorities try to shut you down?
Xeni Jardin told me to speak with Joel Johnson, I bought my ticket the next day. I should clairify. My liveblog was simply what people were saying to me directly when I asked them where they were from, how they got here and what they wanted the world to know. many people are fed, happy and alive. There was some serious sadness that the celebs wouldn't touch the people in the shelter. When I would shake their hands, their eyes lit up.
true enough. i'm not trying to direct you in any way, just get a clear -unfiltered- picture. it's tough to know what's real based on the TV images.
I agree.
celebs were in the dome?
Many of the people in the dome said the national guard came in when Bush showed up
what's next for you, jacob? are you going to continue the blog created around katrina?
Sorry, thrown off again I need to step away to eat Give me 15 or 20
k. thx.

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