Open Source Homeland

But will they have the discipline to show up for work after a disaster?

Mail carriers test ability to deliver medicine in event of attack – Boston.com
Postal carriers fanned out Sunday in the South End and West Roxbury, delivering some 23,000 empty cardboard boxes to homes in the neighborhood. The object of the drill was to determine how quickly life-saving medicine could be delivered to residents in the event terrorists staged an anthrax attack.

Here’s a primary example of Open Source Homeland— private citizens collecting public data to fill information gaps in government data using inexpensive technology and social networking methodology:

Who is Sick? is a Google Maps mashup of illness symptoms:

• Runny nose (Stuffy nose/Sneeze/Allergies)
• Cough (Sore throat)
• Fever (Chills)
• Head ache (Dizzy)
• Muscle ache (Body ache/Tired)
• Stomach ache (Diarrhea/Nausea/Vomit)

And then the ever-popular “other”. You put in the info anonymously, along with your address, and we’ve all got raw data about local disease patterns. Just like any social networking tool, its real value is in the number of people who submit info, so it’s real utility would be in the event of a pandemic (or maybe just flu season).

Who Is Sick? is a user-powered database of illness symptoms near you.