They Come In Three’s, Don’t They?

Late yesterday afternoon the word came out that famed TV comedian Harvey Korman had died at age 81.  Back in January he was successfully operated on for a non-cancerous brain tumor.  But a couple of days later he suffered an aneurysm and despite several operations to fix it, he passed away yesterday.

For years he was a struggling comedian, trying to find success in New York and then later in Hollywood where he finally caught on with Danny Kaye and did sketches on his TV show in the early 1960’s.  The cancellation of Kaye’s show in 1967 was a Godsend for Korman because he bounced right onto the regular cast of the Carol Burnett show during its first season that same year.

His memorable roles on the Burnett show with co-stars Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence are too numerous to try and list.  The spontaneous skits with Conway had millions of people literally doubled over in laughter every week.

And who could forget his movie role as the crooked politician Hedley Lamarr in “Blazing Saddles,” one of the true film classics?

Korman’s death followed by only four days the passing of another stand-up comedian who helped shape television comedy in the 1970’s, Dick Martin.

Martin was the zany half of the team Rowen & Martin, an established nightclub act that had perfected their joke lines and timing over the years.  In 1968 they were tabbed to headline a new type of TV comedy show, “Rowen and Martin’s Laugh-In.”

It was an instant success that broke all the established rules of television comedic production.  It relied on a fast-paced track of one-liners and mini-skits that made stars of people like Goldie Hawn, Lili Tomlin and Ruth Buzzi.  Their clever development of catch-phrases left our culture with lines that are still heard today, “Sock it to me!”, “You bet your Bippie,” and “Look that up in your Funk and Wagnall’s.”

Each week, Dan Rowen (l.) and Dick Martin (r.)
would award the Fickle Finger of Fate to
a hapless recipient who had made the news recently.

Rowan and Martin amicably dissolved their act in 1977 and went wherever fortune would take them.  Dan Rowan died in 1987 of complicatins from diabetes.  Dick Martin started a new career as television director, most notably on the “Bob Newhart Show.”

Martin had lost a lung at age 17 and suffered severe respiratory distress all of his life.  It was that problem that hastened his passing on Saturday, May 24.

For a while anyway, let’s hope that they just come in “two’s” this time around.

Ok, let’s get this equipment checked out.  I’ve got to start the coffee.

Updated, scroll down. 

A LARGE FIRE IN THE F. X. MATT BREWERY IN UTICA, NEW YORK, broke out around 5 pm this evening in the bottling plant.

The fire has built rapidly because of large stocks of packaging materials stored in the building.  Reporters on the scene say that they can already see cracks in the building’s walls.

Observer-Dispatch

The FD is also concerned with the storage of ammonia on the site that is used in the brewing process and they have warned citizens in the area to keep windows closed and avoid any black smoke.

New Hartford, Whitesboro and New York Mills FD’s are assisting the Utica FD on the fire.

WSTM

 Update, 10:20 pm:
As of 10 pm, Utica Fire Chief Russ Brooks said that the fire is still out of control.

The fire is believed to have started on the 2nd floor of the bottle building in a “high cone machine” which puts the plastic loops around the six-pack cans.  The roof and the third floor have both collapsed and they expect the entire bottling building to be a total loss.

Right now their main concern is a large ammonia tank and the FD is working to keep the fire from forcing a pressure explosion.  The explosive devastation and the health hazard would be massive if that happened.  A 5-block area around the fire has been evacuated.

The Utica Observer-Dispatch has the full, ongoing story and is constantly being updated HERE.

WKTV has this early video report with some fire scenes:

Firegeezer is concerned, too.  One of my favorite brews, Saranac Pale Ale is brewed here.  I have to get out to the store early tomorrow and stock up before supplies dwindle.

A LARGE FIRE IS RUNNING THE ROOF of a Peabody, Massachusetts, apartment complex.  The 5-story connected buildings are fully involved and spreading rapidly.

WCVB

The fire began just over an hour ago around 4 pm Eastern time and no details are available yet.  It is a windy day there, just north of Boston, and the job went to four alarms rapidly.

From the views that we have seen so far, it looks like there is a common attic area that connects at least three buildings.

WBZ-TV is streaming live helicopter video HERE.  Click on “Live: 4th Alarm…” at the very top of the page.

WFXT is also live-streaming HERE.

Update, 5:40 pm:
The fire has burned all the way down to the bottom floor of the entire building.  The FD never had a chance with it.  It appeared that the fire was overwhelming their resources before they even got set up.  Just looking at the videos, it looks like all-wood construction and I haven’t seen a firewall yet.  There might be one, but I haven’t seen it.  There certainly weren’t any in the attic. 

WBZ-TV images

Update, 6:30 pm:
The helicopters are leaving the fire scene now.  There’s nothing left to look at and they have their other evening news shots to cover.

The FD has confirmed that the center portion of one building was fully involved when they arrived and the fire soon had spread to a second building.  Within a half-hour they had to pull out of the building before the roof started coming down.  All resources were then directed to containment.

Water supply was a problem.  The hydrants didn’t have sufficient fire flow and an 8,000 gal. tanker was special-called from Middleton.

Approx. 30 families have been displaced.

The Associated Press has filed this video report:

HERE IT IS…….THE PERFECT RETIREMENT GIFT !

After you retire, you don’t really care what the time is.  You get up when you feel like it and eat whenever you want to.  And you’re never late for work because you don’t go there anymore.  In fact, you don’t even want to know what time it is.

But the older you get, the harder it is to remember what day it is.  And that’s why you will need….

The Geezer’s Day Clock

If you have a friend or co-worker who is retiring soon, this is the ideal going-away present for them.  It costs only $39.95 and will probably last longer than they do.

Read more about it and place your order for one HERE.

IN GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, THIS MORNING an Aero-Med helicopter struck a rooftop radio tower at the Spectrum Hospital and crashed onto the heliport, breaking into flames and spewing raw fuel into the stairwell.

WXMI photo

The helicopter was on a training mission with an FAA official riding with the sole pilot as he performed “touch and go” landings at the heliport.  An eyewitness told Ch. 13 that the plane touched down and then rose up quite high when the tail rotor clipped the tower, crashed back down on the helipad and was thrown over onto its side.  The two men on board both bailed out and safely got away from the craft before it burst into flames.  The fuel spill into the stairway caused further confusion inside the pediatric unit which is located just under the landing zone.

The hospital went immediately into shutdown and the three floors immediately beneath the crash zone were evacuated.  Early reports say that it went very smoothly and there were no injuries at all during this incident.

Grand Rapids Press/Bird photo

The fire, which generated a spectacular smoke plume, was apparently confined to the crash scene and was controlled soon after.  What could have become a major disaster was quickly quelled into just a bad rooftop fire.  All the patients that had been evacuated were returned to their rooms about an hour later.

The Sikorski helicopter was similar
to this one from the same fleet.  (WOOD)

The Grand Rapids Press has a timeline of the event HERE.

ABC News has about a half-minute of raw video taken early on in the fire:

Firegeezer can’t help but think of all the paperwork this one’s going to generate.

ROBERT BIELAN, A BAYONNE, NEW JERSEY FIREFIGHTER, has just been awarded a Distinguished Service Award from the BFD at the Medals Day ceremonies on May 26.

FF Robert Bielan
(NJCU photo)

On June 4, 2007, Bielan was off duty and traveling in his personal auto to a training session at Lakehurst Naval Station when he came upon an accident on the Garden State Parkway.  A van carrying six passengers had struck a guardrail and overturned. 

Bielan stopped and, since he had his personal running gear with him for the training class, donned his protective clothing and began rescue efforts, first stabilizing the van and then the victims, some of whom were killed in the crash.  After the emergency crews arrived on the scene, FF Bielan returned to his own car and left without leaving his name.  The State Police tracked him down and later wrote a special commendation for him to the Bayonne FD.

Bielan is quoted:

“The honors are nice and I appreciate the recognition from the Bayonne Fire Department, but I did what any other professional emergency responder would do.  When situations happen, being a fireman, cop or anyone else with specialty training, there are only a handful of people who are in high pressure situations and constantly know how to react. Most people in their daily lives are not routinely in emergency situations. The fire department trained me to react and save lives and even when you’re off duty, you’re a fireman 24/7. I was trained by the best.”

“Someone once said ‘Bad things happen when good people stand idly by.’ As a firefighter, we are trained to save lives and property, and it’s a part of you to help people. That day I was put there for a reason. I look at it like the “pay it forward” philosophy. Everyone would hope that if you had a friend or family member that needed help someone would help them.”

FF Bielan, 38, has worked for the Bayonne FD since 1995 and also coaches the women’s soccer team at nearby New Jersey City University where he has built a winning team since taking the reins two years ago.

The NJCU Athletics department posted a good article about him on the school’s website and you can read it HERE.

THE CROCKER, MISSOURI, CITY COUNCIL HAS DECIDED to take a 46-yr.-old “parade piece” pumper and donate it to a local volunteer fire department that doesn’t have a servicable fire engine of its own anymore.

Daily Guide/Maurina photo

The 1962 fire engine was the first one that the city had bought “brand new” and has lately been used for ceremonial events.  But on the recommendation of the Fire Chief, the aldermen were told of the greater need of the nearby Raymondville VFD and suggested the donation.

The Waynesville Daily Guide has the full STORY.

Firegeezer notes:  I would expect a savvy collecter to step in and trade a more modern pumper to them in exchange for this jewel.  It’s a beautiful-looking pumper.

YESTERDAY WE REPORTED (HERE) ON THE STRANGE STORY of the Hudson Valley liquor store owner who claimed he was set upon by four men, then left for dead after they set his business on fire.

Journal News/Becerra photo

The tale raised some questions at the time because the man magically made it outside with his hands tied behind him even though he claimed he was unconscious.  The bad guys tied up his hands, but not his feet.  Reports from locals were saying that business was bad since the owner Frank Ricca lost his lottery franchise.

Today the Westchester Journal News is reporting that a bank had already begun foreclosure procedings on the property for a $365,000 mortgage that is in default.

Further, the Journal News found that the State Tax Commission had secured three judgements against Ricca totalling more than $39,000.

Ricca has stopped giving interviews claiming that he is recovering from a concussion and having trouble remembering the events of last Saturday night.

Read today’s story from the Journal News HERE.
Check Firegeezer story and video report from yesterday HERE.

A WOMAN IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, pumped a serving of gasoline into her car last evening (Wednesday)  and then drove away.  Apparently she had either sloshed some of the gas onto her clothing, or some fumes collected inside the car.  Shortly after starting off down the street, she tried to light a cigarette and caused an ignition setting herself on fire.

Understandably losing control of her car, she crashed into a bale of hay and set that on fire, too.  She’s now in the hospital being treated for burns.  The car and the hay bale were both destroyed.

WOAI Ch. 4 has this video report:

The eBay sales deadline for Donna’s pumper has come and gone and there were no bids at all.  What a surprise, eh?  Keeping a $3,500 reserve on a piece of junk wasn’t really a wise decision.  I can’t imagine anybody even going to the time and expense of picking it up for free.  Even a scrap dealer wouldn’t get enough brass off of it to make it pay.  With this loon you can’t begin to guess what he’ll be doing next with it.

Keep your eyes open, folks.  If you see this junker driving through your neighborhood looking for a parking place, call the cops and clue them in.

*  *  *

My phono/tape-to-CD recorder was delivered yesterday afternoon.  That was pretty fast service.  I ordered it during the holiday weekend (It was on Friday night, to be exact), so I didn’t expect any action on it right away.  But Tuesday morning when everybody came back to work, they processed the order and shipped it out.  And yesterday, Wednesday, the Fed-Ex truck left it on my porch.  Good ol’ Fed-Ex.

I was surprised to find that this machine is bigger than it looks in the pictures.  It’s 19 inches wide, 13 in. deep and 12 in. tall.  The cabinet is solid wood and the whole thing weighs 35 lbs.  I definitely have to find some dedicated space for this thing.

Last night I looked through the instruction manual and got another pleasant surprise…..it’s all in one language. 

Something that I learned while reading through it, is that my blank computer CD’s won’t work.  Nuts.  And I’ve got plenty of those, too.  You have to use discs that have the phrase “digital audio” printed under the CD logo.  They’re similar to the blank DVD’s that have to be initialized and then finalized after you’re finished recording on them.  So I’ve got an unplanned trip to Best Buy today to pick up a pack of those.

Another interesting feature is the way you can separate the tunes onto separate tracks.  A cassette tape is continuous and one song runs into the next without any separation other than a pause in the audio.  But when you are recording onto a CD, there is a button on the machine, and the remote control unit, that you can press and it will create a separate track on the disc.  So at the end of a song, and before the next one begins, you just give a quick press and a new, individual track is created on the CD.

If you cannot sit around while the recording session is going on, then you can set it to an automatic mode and it will make the track separations itself whenever there is an audio gap of 2 seconds or more.  That’ll be fine when doing the old LP’s, but I don’t think my home-made cassettes have that big a time gap between tunes.

This is going to be interesting, but I have to get out and buy some blank CD’s and a couple of extra phonograph needles.  First, though, we have to get this equipment checked out.  And I’ll go start the coffee.

COMMUTER TRAINS ARE GOING GREEN TODAY…. but for all the wrong reasons.

This morning an L train on Chicago’s Green Line went through a red signal and derailed at a thrown switch, leaving the passengers just inches from a full-blown disaster.

Chicago Tribune

Then this evening, two Green Line trains on Boston’s MTA collided head-on rear ender, leaving a real mess.

STATter911 is posting the current videos and story updates HERE. 

FATAL FALLS FROM TOWERS OF ALL KINDS, water, communications, electric, in the U. S. totalled 10 in number last year.

This year there were none for the first three months, then over a span of 5 weeks there were 6 deaths on cell-phone towers alone.  Five of them were during a 12-day span and half of the six were AT&T contractors.

Wireless Estimator photo

A lot of people are speculating that AT&T has been pressuring the tower workers to work faster in order to meet a June deadline for enhanced service capability for Apple’s iPhone project.

Fortune Magazine reports:

On May 21, AT&T issued a press release describing its $20 billion roll-out of a nationwide 3G network. It promised to have 275 of the markets it serves in the U.S. 3G-ready by the end of June, and to finish the remaining 75 by the end of the year.  AT&T is the exclusive U.S. carrier for Apple’s iPhone. A new, 3G version of that device is widely expected to be released in June.

A spokesman for AT&T Mobile confirms that Jonathan Guilford was working on a tower for an AT&T 3G network, but denies that his death or the others had anything to do with the June deadline. “That is a software upgrade,” says William Marks. “You go to each tower and use a laptop to perform the upgrade at the base station at the bottom of the tower. There is no need to climb towers.”

What he didn’t say, however, is that the workers have to climb the towers to trouble-shoot any problems.  After all, they were up there before they fell.

Read the complete Fortune Magazine article HERE.