PRESS RELEASE:  From R&M Video Productions (Hazy Management and Information Group for release on April 1, 2012):

The current rage on a number of the lesser known TV channels these days is "make over" or "business rescue" shows, where an expert is brought in to fix a formerly successful business that an inattentive or uncaring manager/owner has driven into the ground. We've seen the success stories of numerous bars, pubs, restaurants and hair salons but now stand by for " Fire Station Salvation", a new show coming to The Weather Channel in the fall.

Fire Station Salvation will focus on efforts to save fire stations and even whole fire departments around the world that have run into significant issues that have impeded performance of their jobs. Manpower issues, Hitler-like leaders, ancient apparatus, morale killing over-the-top regulations, demanding and unreasonable union officers and ill informed elected leaders all play a part in this insightful and exciting new series.

A board of expert, nationally known retired Fire Chiefs have been quietly assembled to act as Fire Station Salvation's Chief Engineers, with one of the former Fire Chiefs to be appointed as "Acting Chief" in the target fire station for a complete fiscal quarter, with full authority to make changes within the problem department, within existing budgetary guidelines. The Acting Fire Chief will have 90 days to show that their changes and ideas have turned the department around or led it to ruin. Each show will also feature a discussion panel of the department's existing officers who will express their opinions on the changes as they happen. Mixed in with all of this will be the unscripted and often chaotic emergency calls where life and limb are constantly at risk! Each episode will feature 3 different fire stations in rotation through the course of the 60 minute show but the show will re-visit fire stations at different times to update viewers on the Acting Fire Chief’s progress during his/her 90 days of change.

This Firehouse Needs Salvation!

The Fire Chiefs who have agreed to sit on our Board of Engineers will compete against each other for points that will determine who the winner is at the end of the season. The winner will get a much deserved vacation while the losers will have the option to return next season to compete again in a new, problem fire station.

While many of these "reality" shows use scripted conflict to generate fireworks between the cast members, Fire Station Salvation will rely on the personality conflicts between these tight-knit Fire and Rescue co-workers who seem to be constantly at odds with each other, their supervisors and the people they are supposed to protect.

Still unclear on the concept? Think of it as "Cops" meets "Rescue Me" with a little "Super Nanny" and "Wife Swap" thrown in!

Fire Station Salvation, a Rowan & Martin Production.

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Just for Fun

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(Sorry, attribution unavailable)

Thanks to the Gnome Handler

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VOTING IS NOW OPEN

Last week at the March 7 Morning Lineup we told you about the 3rd Annual Fire and EMS Blogs of the Year Contest open for nominations.  The contest is hosted by EMS1, FireRescue1 and FireCritic.com, and sponsored by the American Military University, and has the goal of finding the best bloggers in the EMS and fire industries.

The nominations closed last weekend and the judges winnowed them down to ten fire and EMS blogs contesting for this year's title.  There are two changes from the previous years' contests, one of them has two awards in each category.  There will be one winner chosen by the judges, and another chosen by the readers' voting.  The second change is that you can only vote once, where previously you could vote once each day.  So you only get one vote for the blog that is your personal favorite.

The Geezer Guys are proud to announce that we are among the ten finalists this year, so you will be able to consider Firegeezer during your deliberations on who to vote for.

CLICK HERE to go to this year's Best Fire and EMS Blog ballot and choose your favorite. There are links to each of the finalists on the ballot page, so you can visit each blog and sample them before you vote.

Voting is only open through Wednesday March 21, so watch the date and don't put it off for too long.  Join in the fun and VOTE.

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Some People Just Can't Take a Joke

EMMA BARRETT IS AN EDITOR for the London Telegraph, thus able to reach wide numbers of people in a single bound.  The other day she was poking around in her boyfriend's pants (don't look at me like that) and she noticed something a little different on the washing care label:

Photo by Emma Barrett

Now Emma, who knows full well the power of the press and Twitter, didn't know whether to laugh or get angry, so she decided to post it on her Twitter account and see what would come unzipped from it.  Within hours the purveyor of the politically-incorrect trousers, Madhouse Menswear, had caught an earful from Tweetsters around the globe and issued a statement:

"The chinos in question are manufactured by a jeans brand that we stock but the care insructions on this product were not proofed by our buyers who normally concern themselves with quality, style and price of the products they order.The first Madhouse was aware of the care instruction on this product was today.

"The wording was not instigated or ordered by Madhouse.The wording is clearly meant as a joke but now it has been pointed out to us it is something we will need to be more careful about in the future."

Read Emma's full column in the Telegraph HERE and then catch the Tweet hashtag #sexisttrousers .

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Introducing KA-BOOM Ball !
Some Sunday Morning Silliness ©

MY SON RECENTLY COMPLAINED ABOUT THE TWO TEAMS facing each other in the upcoming Superbowl, saying that the last time these two played, the ratings were near record lows for the Superbowl.

In other sporting events, things have gotten so bad, that promoters have even tried near-nudity to bring the fans into their taxpayer provided stadiums and arenas. The Lingerie Football League is steadily growing in attendance thanks to us pervs, but other sports have begun to wane in attendance. 

Lingerie Football League photo

Well I think I can fix that with just a little bit more work. Let's face reality. Many people watch stock car racing not for the race…but for the CRASHES!

It's a fact of human nature that we are inexplicably drawn to images of death and disaster. That's why so many TV shows now feature disaster footage and themes. They know you will watch. News shows lead off with the latest video just in from some God-forsaken place that just got hit by earthquake, volcanic eruptions or tornado….Why? Because you watch!  YouTube videos that feature explosions, stupid people and car crashes are among the top draws there.  Why? Because you watch!  So let's take advantage of that urge.

I propose that the powers-that-be in each of the respective professional sports replace the ball, puck or object used in the game with one that will at some point in the game….explode. Nothing huge, just enough to get your attention…and remove nearby body parts of the slow or unlucky.

The explosion has to be totally random so that there is an even chance that it will explode while no one is around it, or go off while the highest paid player is holding it.

This will accomplish several things:

* People will tune in to see if someone gets killed or maimed this week.* It will help thin out the herd of pampered, spoiled and waaaaaaay overpaid players, making way for the new and upcoming players with potential and motivation.

* We the fans will get to see just who really wants to play and who is just there for the pay check.

* It will be a financial shot in the arm for prosthetics manufacturers, physical therapy specialists, funeral homes and collectible sports cards makers, who will be busy constantly issuing new cards for all the new players and memorial cards for those who were slow on the draw.

* It will generate lots of new jobs and immediately start a whole new industry making exploding sports equipment!

As technology progresses, we could eventually eliminate the yellow penalty flag used in football with player-worn taser belts. Next time a linesman goes off sides, we all get to see the real punishment, not just some lame 10 yard penalty. BZZZZZZZZZZZZ YAH!!!!!!!

I can imagine the play-by-play now…..Jones throws a long bomb ….Richards is in the clear near the 5-yard line….OH NO! Richards and 2 of the CowboyS defenders have disappeared in a KA-BOOM penalty detonation!

You see? I have answers to all of the world's problems but no one asks me!

Reprinted from the Gnome Handler Steve Marshall's e-newspaper Meadville Live.

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A Bit of Mid-day Fun

IF YOU NEED A PAUSE FOR SOME light entertainment, try out this  "through the earth" map program.  It shows you exactly where you would come out if you bored directly through the center of the earth to the other side of the globe.

The directions are listed on the page, but basically you will see a cross-hairs in the center of each of the two maps.  You use standard map-scrolling maneuvers around either one of the maps until the cross-hair is directly over your chosen spot.  The other map then shows where you would come out.

You can use the zoom-in, zoom-out tools to fine-tune your selection.  Just click on the Map Tunneling Tool HERE and have some fun.

p.s.:  I hope you like salt water.

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Enter the Contest and Start Your eBook Reading Now

Only Three Days Left to Enter

TO HELP INTRODUCE YOU TO the world of eBooks,  Dave Diamantes, author of top-selling eBook Dead Pen Pals has created this simple exercise combined with a contest for your enjoyment and enlightenment.

One of the unique features of eBook purchasing is the ability to download the first chapter of the book for free so you can "browse" and decide if you want to buy it or not.  Our contest is based on this feature and you begin playing by first going to the book's webpage:  www.deadpenpals.com

After you enter the site, move your cursor to the upper left corner of the page and click on "DEAD PEN PALS Chapter One"

That will bring you a .pdf  file containing Chapter One (my download was 5 pages, but the file contracted the spaces between paragraphs.  Don't worry, the actual eBook is formatted properly).  Read Chapter One and then…..

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the name of Duncan Weller's company?
2. What is Beverly Hartley's claim to fame?
3. What is Neil Hartley's cyber-girlfriend's name?

Enter your answers in an email addressed to us:  geezerguys(at)yahoo(dot)com.  Put CONTEST in the Subject line and send it to us by midnight Saturday January 14.

We will draw three names from all the correct entries and those three winners will receive a free copy of Dead Pen Pals.  It will play on all the major brand e-readers, not just Kindle.  If you do not have an e-reader yet, then Dave will send you a paperback version of the book, so everybody has a chance to win!  If you don't want to wait that long for a copy, you can go ahead and order one off the website we linked above.

Ok..get started and Good Luck!

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Kindle Prices Begin at $79

CLICK HERE to compare all models and order.

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Start Your eBook Reading Now

TO HELP INTRODUCE YOU TO the world of eBooks,  Dave Diamantes, author of top-selling eBook Dead Pen Pals has created this simple exercise combined with a contest for your enjoyment and enlightenment.

One of the unique features of eBook purchasing is the ability to download the first chapter of the book for free so you can "browse" and decide if you want to buy it or not.  Our contest is based on this feature and you begin playing by first going to the book's webpage:  www.deadpenpals.com

After you enter the site, move your cursor to the upper left corner of the page and click on "DEAD PEN PALS Chapter One"

That will bring you a .pdf  file containing Chapter One (my download was 5 pages, but the file contracted the spaces between paragraphs.  Don't worry, the actual eBook is formatted properly).  Read Chapter One and then…..

Answer the following questions:

1. What is the name of Duncan Weller's company?
2. What is Beverly Hartley's claim to fame?
3. What is Neil Hartley's cyber-girlfriend's name?

Enter your answers in an email addressed to us:  geezerguys(at)yahoo(dot)com.  Put CONTEST in the Subject line and send it to us by midnight Saturday January 14.

We will draw three names from all the correct entries and those three winners will receive a free copy of Dead Pen Pals.  It will play on all the major brand e-readers, not just Kindle.  If you do not have an e-reader yet, then Dave will send you a paperback version of the book, so everybody has a chance to win!  If you don't want to wait that long for a copy, you can go ahead and order one off the website we linked above.

Ok..get started and Good Luck!

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Kindle Prices Begin at $79

CLICK HERE to compare all models and order.

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A Participatory Event for Firefighters AND Spectators

THE NEW EVENT HERO RUSH is making its official debut this year.  A press release from the organization explains it all:

Hero Rush, the dynamic new firefighter-themed obstacle race and experience, has opened registration for 12 U.S. events, the company announced today. Designed for mainstream consumers by lifelong firefighters, Hero Rush will challenge participants from all walks of life to experience what firefighters face every day.

"Runners will tackle a 5K+ course studded with 15-17 obstacles that simulate real emergencies," said co-founder Dave J. Iannone. "They’ll crawl through a smoke-filled maze, scale steep roofs, drag a massive fire hose to the blaze, climb ladders and bust through windows to find victims trapped inside – and a few surprises, too."

Events are currently scheduled for Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan, North Texas, Los Angeles, Oregon, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, North Carolina, Central Florida and Central Texas.

Obstacle races are one of the fastest growing segments of the running industry, according to a recent Wall Street Journal article, with thousands of participants expected at each Hero Rush.

"These events have become very popular over the last two years," said co-founder Christopher Hebert. "They’re perfect for everyone, from experienced runners looking for a new challenge, to teenagers and college students, to people of all ages who just want to get out and get active."

All events will feature an Inferno Midway where both runners and spectators can practice their firefighter skills on stand-alone obstacles and challenges. Local fire departments will give demonstrations and put a fun spin on fire safety education. This family-friendly festival area will also include two kid’s courses, food and drinks, apparel and merchandise tents, music and entertainment.

Hero Rush will give back to the firefighting community through national and local fire-related charities. As the designated national charity, the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation will receive a $20 donation for each runner who chooses to run in the "343 Wave" honoring the firefighters killed in the World Trade Center on 9/11.

Hero Rush will also identify a local fire-related charity in each city to receive the proceeds from the Kid’s Firefighter Adventure Course.

Details and registration are available at www.herorush.com.

Hero Rush is currently seeking local fire departments, charities and sponsors to get involved – for more information visit www.herorush.com or email resonders@herorush.com.

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The Only Way to Watch the Tournament of Roses Parade

CABLE TELECASTER HGTV WILL BE BROADCASTING the Tournament of Roses Parade from Pasadena, California, again this year.  Regular Firegeezer readers know that the HGTV broadcast has NO commercials or incessant chatter about upcoming shows in the future.  Their expert commentators talk about the parade instead of themselves and you are able to see every float, every marching band, and every equestrian unit in the parade.

In years past, Firegeezer had given up trying to watch the parade on network tv becuase they spent most of their time talking to each other between hundreds of commercials and the viewers never get to see much of the parade at all.  But thanks to HGTV cable channel we can now truly enjoy the parade.

This year, since New Year's Day is on a Sunday, the Tournament of Roses will be held on Monday, January 2.  The parade begins at 8 am Pacific, 11 am Eastern.

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