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Morning Lineup – February 9

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Thursday Morning – Things to Read

There was a tragic accident last evening involving a fire department paramedic that is also notable for its unusual occurrence.  An automobile fire on I-395 in Arlington County, Virginia, during the evening rush hour brought units from both Arlington and Alexandria FRD's.  The location of the incident was on a stretch of highway that bridges a rocky creek about 30 or more feet below and one of the Alexandria paramedics fell over the guardrail and dropped to the creekbed where he was critically injured.

Dave Statter has been keeping up with the developing story on STATter911 since it occurred and I recommend that you check on the STORY HERE to both learn a lesson and be informed of the unfolding narrative.  It is not known yet what led to the medic's plunge.

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For the past month I have been getting emails and FB messages from people telling me that they have been acquiring e-readers, mostly as gifts, and they are really pleased (shall I add "excited"?) with their new devices.  Most of them have been getting the Amazon Kindle e-reader, although sales reports show that Barnes & Noble's Nook is doing pretty well, too.  The Sony e-reader is a distant third, but I think that's due to a heavy advertising imbalance rather than quality of product.  One acquaintence of mine said that his wife gave him one for an early Valentine's gift.  And from the joy I "heard" in his announcement, I could tell that she really hit the spot with that one.

You know by now that I, too, am an enthusiastic booster of the eBook readers and am equally fascinated by the rapid growth of their usage in what is an inevitable transfer of reading habits from print to digital.  A recent article in Wireless and Mobile News reported,

The share of adults in the United States who own tablets or eReaders nearly doubled (in the past year…ed.) reported Pew Research. The main reason for this surge apparently is the introduction of the lower-priced Kindle Fire and Nook as well as the price drop of eReaders below $100.

This is the kind of information we expected because Amazon sold a record number of Kindle Fire tablets. When tablets like the HP TouchPad cost less than $200 they sold-out.

They go on to tell us that the share of adults in the United States who own tablets went from 10% to 19% between mid-December and early January. The same surge in growth also applied to eBook readers, which also jumped from 10% to 19% over the same time period. The number of Americans owning one tablet or e-reader went from 18% in December to 29% in January.  Now that is an impressive statistic.

Now let's make an impressive statistic ourselves and fill out our morning equipment check sheets.  I'll get the coffee started.   See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Amazon Kindle prices begin at $79.

CLICK HERE to review the different models offered.
(Firegeezer recommends the Touch-3G model)

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Posted by on February 9, 2012 • Filed under: Kindle, morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – February 8

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Wednesday Morning – New Learning Opportunities Await

Let's talk a little more about this internet technology stuff this morning.  To begin with, there has been a lot of buzz about Google's new plan (already being phased in) to consolodate all their various operations such as YouTube, Gmail, Google+ and about 30 others, so that your every move online will be noticed by their Master-of-the-Universe computer that will then more effectively select what ads to serve up when you click onto any Google site.

They have been posting the new Privacy Notices on all the sites that you bring up with a password and thus become sucked into the Great Network.  One prominent example is played out if you, for instance, log onto a Gmail account and remain logged on (even though you leave the page) while you resume other activities.  If you use Google Search later on, then the topics you select and the sites you click onto will be duly noted by the Master.

If you are rightfully concerned about this intrusion into your personal computing activities, WIRED emagazine has published a good, concise guide on How to Hide From Google.  It's basic stuff and easy to follow.  In fact, much of it is passive action that simply reminds you to segment your email accounts and similar activities.  They also cover protecting your smartphone usage, too.  I recommend that you CLICK HERE and read through the article.  It's not long, so you don't have to set aside any time block to read it.

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Another topic we've been touching on recently is the rapid growth of what is often called "distance learning."  While many colleges and universities are putting more and more courses online, thus expanding the numbers of students of higher education, many new schools are opening up that are online-only facilities.  They are more often than not offering classes and "degrees" that are not properly accredited, thus not fully recognized as acceptable alternatives to genuine colleges.  But that will change rapidly as more of them get online and pressure the accrediting services to start recognizing their programs.

But it is not only scholarly learning that is going online.  Other traditional training and learning centers are now online, too.  For example, now you can go online and learn how to belly dance.  Now don't laugh, we're talking serious physical fitness programs here.  Belly Motions Online is already up and running dancing and offering their services where you can "learn to dance, exercise, and immerse yourself into a new way of living healthy and happy, all from the comfort of your own home; anywhere, anytime!"

No longer do you have to put on your harem costume and drive to some seedy shopping center to get your muscles toned.  You can do it right in the comfort or your own tent home.  So go ahead and CLICK HERE to view their program outlines and videos.  You can even buy a coin belt from their belly dance store.  Tell then the Geeze sent you.

Now let's shimmy and sway over to the apparatus and get the equipment checked out.  I'll get some more high-octane coffee going for us before we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 8, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – February 7

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Tuesday Morning – We Go Through the Looking Glass

Somewhere, Lewis Carroll is laughing and taking notes.  Carroll (the pen name of Charles Dodgson) is immortalized as the author of the Alice in Wonderland stories that told of the political absurdities of 150 years ago couched in writing designed as children's books.  I say he's laughing now because the absurdities live on and have popped up this week in the U. S. fire and rescue service.  And as Carroll's nonsense was in  the 1850's, today's nonsense is rooted in loopy judicial behavior.

Earlier this week the Fire Critic pointed out to us that as a result of an illogical court decision, one of the more unusual methods now being taken by the FDNY to encourage more hiring of minorities is to watch firefighters going out door-to-door and try to entice people who are so undereducated that they cannot fill out a basic employment application to try again, this time with help.  Just the kind of person you need to fill out a recruit class ….. somebody who can't understand basic instructions.

But a little ways west of NYC in Erie, Pennsylvania, absurdity was kicked up two notches yesterday when a judge and jury both equally mush-brained, in the spirit of "fairness" ordered the  Erie Fire Department to rehire (with back pay) a firefighter who had been dismissed after setting a fire in her own house in a pathetic suicide attempt.  At the time she was under the care of a psychiatrist and taking six medications, all of which had potential side effects of inducing suicidal thoughts.

Nearly four years ago on March 25, 2008, Firegeezer reported HERE on Mary Wolski's attempt to get her job back by filing an appeal with the Civil Service Commission.

On April 11 of last year Fire Chief Tony Pol wrote her a letter of termination and detailed what Pol said was her attempt to set her father’s house on fire.

Pol wrote that Wolski disconnected the smoke detectors in the house, located in the 1800 block of East 34th Street. He said she took an overdose of medication before starting a fire.

“This incident renders you presumptively unsuited to be a firefighter, as you pose an ongoing threat to the safety of the public, other firefighters and yourself,” Pol wrote.

After appealing the termination, the Civil Service Commission upheld the firing with the admonishment, “(S)etting a fire … is the single most significant act a fire fighter may not commit. The act of establishing a fire in a residence is wholly incompatible with the role of the fire fighter….”

Failing at that attempt for reinstatement, Wolski then began a long trudge through the courts claiming unfairness, violation of her constitutional rights, violaton of the Americans With Disability Act, etc., etc.  (Firegeezer report HERE.)  Wolski and her lawyer finally found the "perfect storm" of judicial disconnect with  the team of Judge Sean J. McLaughlin and an 8-member jury whose concern with fairness overrides their concern about public safety.  The Erie Times-News has a complete summation of yesterday's court decision with background of the trial HERE.

Apparently nobody representing the city was able to impress on the jurors the necessity of holding emergency personnel of police, fire and EMS agencies to a higher standard of ethical and behavioral practice than that of the standard work force.  Mary Wolski may indeed have been an exemplary employee for her first ten years in the fire department.  But the citizens of Erie cannot be holding the same level of trust and confidence in their fire department that they had before yesterday.

It is time now for us to confidently check out our equipment for the day.  In the spirit of fairness I will get more coffee started for all of us before we meet back in the digital day room in a little while.

……. Bill Schumm, Firegeezer.

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Posted by on February 7, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup

Morning Lineup – February 6

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Monday Morning – Talk About An Equipment Check!

Have you ever heard of the Last Resort Fire Department?  It kind of sounds like something out of the Old West and that's just where they are located.  Our friends in Washington State no doubt are familiar with the LRFD because their HQ and main station is in Seattle.

If you haven't figured out yet, it's a very quaint and imaginative name for an organization that saves and restores antique firetrucks with an emphasis on the Seattle FD and immediate area.  According to their WEBSITE, they are in their 44th year of service and have accumulated what they claim is the largest collection of antique motorized fire apparatus in the Pacific Northwest.  Their storage and maintenance shop house about a dozen of their restored pieces including four ladder trucks while some of their collection is also on display in the Seattle Fire Department museum downtown.  From their website:

Our primary mission has always been the preservation of Seattle Fire Department history. Our collection is comprised of several unique fire apparatus from the SFD. Included are Seattle's only Ahrens-Fox, which was fully restored in the mid-1960's, and three of Seattle's tillered aerials – their last wooden aerial – a 1929 Mack, their first metal aerial – a 1937 Seagrave, and their last "conventional-cab" tillered aerial – a 1969 Kenworth/Maxim. We also have the SFD's last city-service ladder truck – a 1950 Kenworth, and what we believe to be the oldest surviving motorized fire apparatus from the SFD – a 1913 Seagrave City Service Ladder. The SFD's only Bulldog Mack is included in our collection, although it has yet to be restored.

We work closely with the Seattle Fire Department, providing apparatus for fire prevention activities, fire station dedications and open houses, as well as recruit graduation ceremonies. In addition, upon request, we transport their horse-drawn and motorized steamers to parades and displays. We strive to promote a professional image in keeping with fire service tradition.

Looks like a great outfit, doesn't it?  I suggest that you take a few minutes and stroll around their informative WEBSITE and take a look at their handiwork and collection.  Lots of good photos if you click around.

And just be glad your Monday morning check sheet isn't as big as the LRFD's.  But we'd better get started on ours now, so while you do that I will get the Bunn-O-Matic fired up for a fresh pot before we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 6, 2012 • Filed under: antique apparatus, morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – February 5

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Sunday Morning – Where Do We Land?

Everybody is aware of the ineptitude of centralized government when it comes to getting things done efficiently.  Instead of allowing professionals to build or operate complex projects, the legislature or council will try and do it on their own (usually because they want the big contracts to go to their friends).  I don't know what the motives or origins of the design work for a new children's hospital in Melbourne, Australia were, but the results are familiar.  The new Royal Children's Hospital was built by the state government to replace an old, outmoded building and they laid out more than $1 billion for it.  That's right, a billion dollars (Aus.) for one hospital.

After it was built last year, it was found that the roof-top helipad is inadequate for some instances, primarily weather changes and weight limits.  The old hospital a few blocks away had its helipad on the ground and weight limits were never  consideration.  But apparently this new heliport which is on what appears to be a 5th-floor level, is right at the limit for a routine helicopter with crew and patient.  This being the state's primary children's hospital, it is also used frequently for advanced pediatric transports that require the hospital staff to load up equipment such as repirators, etc., along with a cadre of doctors and nurses.  But all that puts helicopter over the limit for safety on this roof.  (See article from The Age HERE.)

Currently their only alternative is to use the helipad at a hospital in Essenden which is a 25-minute drive (one-way) in the best of traffic conditions.  Rush hour and business day traffic will slow it down considerably, so that a mercy flight requiring the staft to travel out, retrieve, and return will require the staff to be gone from the hospital for more than two hours longer than should be. 

Another consideration overlooked is the occasional times that windy conditions prevent rooftop landings and a regulation that does not permit rooftop ops when the temperature goes over 30º C.  That has something to do with the air being "too thin," but I don't understand why you can take off in this thin air from the ground, but not from 50 ft. higher.  But then, that's government regulations for you.

Danger Zone photo by Joe Armao
for The Age newspaper.

So why not just build a new pad on the site of the old hospital which is only a couple of minutes away, to be used when the rooftop is unsafe?  Ohhh, noooo!!!   The old hospital grounds are designated to be turned into a park with valuable "green space" and when that alternative was advanced, the public outcry was politically deafening.  They just will not tolerate a playground and green area to be polluted with an occasional helicopter arriving to save an infant's life.  They have their priorities in Melbourne.

Right now our priority is to get this equipment checked out while cook gets the Sunday breakfast ready.  I'm going to make sure the Bunn-O-Matic is still operating at all temperatures.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 5, 2012 • Filed under: aircraft, EMS Topics, morning lineup

Morning Lineup – February 4

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Saturday Morning – Power Up

File this under How to Make a Million.  This little plug-thingy is a power adaptor for the Amazon Kindle e-reader.  A USB cord plugs into the other end of it and when you connect the two, it enables you to recharge the permanent battery in the device.  You don't have to use the power adaptor because you can plug the USB cord into your computer and charge your Kindle from there.  But not only is it much slower that way, but you have to have access to a computer (that is plugged in) to use it.  So this little power adaptor is virtually a necessity, but not absolutely required.

Prior to December 1 this power adaptor was included with your Kindle purchase, so you were all set to go, right out of the box.  But sensing the strong demand for Kindles likely to occur during the Christmas rush, some marketing whiz-kid convinced the policy-makers to include only the USB cord in the sales box and offer the power adaptor separately for $15.  When you take into account that perhaps as many as 5 million Kindle e-readers were sold over the holiday season (Amazon doesn't release the numbers), you can figure for yourself how that boosted the sales figures for the 4th-quarter.

This morning I see that Amazon is selling the adaptor for $10 if you buy it with a Kindle.  That's a welcome concession, but really, guys.  For all the money that your customers are spending already for your device and future eBook sales, you really oughta' go back to including this plug that probably doesn't cost more than 12 cents to make.

Here's a stat for you:  The number of Americans who own a tablet or e-reader is estimated to be 29% of the adult population.

Let's start on another set of stats now and get this equipment checked out.  I'm going to get more coffee started for us… a Saturday kicker.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 4, 2012 • Filed under: Kindle, morning lineup

Morning Lineup – February 3

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Friday Morning – Where's the Checkbook?

Once again we had the disappointing duty to report yesterday on a volunteer fire company officer who was nabbed for embezzling funds from his department.  See "Another VFD Officer Goes to Jail" HERE.  This guy was something special, though.  He managed to hit the Top Ten All Time list for amount stolen by pocketing more than $800,000.  While his thefts were spread out over an 8-year span, it's still a remarkable amount, especially for a small community that has a limited number of emergency calls.  Look at the photo of their apparatus bays and you will see that they haven't been swimming in donations over the years.  But to have collected that much to have 100-Grand go missing on average each year and still have enough left to purchase fuel and supplies shows that this department had some great community support.

But that support has to be thin now after this fiasco.  In all that time, the members of the Windber Fire Company never accepted the responsibility of monitoring and accounting for their citizens' generosity.  Even when the house-of-cards started collapsing and suppliers began complaining about not getting paid, their only response was to accept the thief's claim that it was because of the hard economic times and they needed to concentrate on holding more fundraisers.

Just how many times over the past five years have we gathered around the Bunn-O-Matic and emphasized the need necessity of having professional, outside audits done on the department's financial records?  How many times have we iterated that it is the department's further responsibility to take out performance bonds on all their officers?  They don't cost that much at all, and are a very cheap way to protect yourself.  The good citizens are out 800-thousand dollars now…never to be seen again.  That could have been prevented by purchasing a low-cost bond from their insurance agent. 

So once again, we will shout it out….. AUDITS!!! ….. BONDS!!! ….. and another good practice followed by many departments is term-limits on all administrative officers positions.  Don't let one of these disasters happen to you, ok?

Now let's get this equipment checked out.  I'll get some more coffee started and see you back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 3, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup

Morning Lineup – February 2

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Thursday Morning – In the Shadows, International Bouts Past and Present

First, let's start with the important stuff….  This is Groundhog Day (did you remember?) and the world's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil did most certainly see his shadow at sunup this morning.  So another six weeks of whatever kind of winter you've been having is now predicted to continue.

 

February 2nd has been the Christian feast day known as Candlemas since the very early days of the Catholic church and was based on the even-older Mosaic tradition of the Fortieth Day. It is also deliberately timed to occur at the midpoint between the Winter Solstice (first day of Winter) and the Vernal Equinox (first day of Spring).

The multitude of German immigrants who populated the bulk of Pennsylvania brought the Candlemas celebration with them to the New World and in the 1880′s a hunting club in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held a groundhog hunt every Candlemas.

In 1887 the editor of the local newspaper, who was a member of the club, promoted the hunt and announced that their ancient tradition of using rodents (badgers were used in Europe) to predict the coming of Spring would be practiced in Punxsutawney with their own pet groundhog. And the rest, as they say, is history. According to tradition, if a groundhog peeps out from his burrow following his winter hibernation and sees his shadow, then there will be six more weeks of winter weather. A dull or overcast day preventing his shadow from being cast will announce the coming of an early Spring.

 If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,
Winter will have another fight.
If Candlemas Day brings cloud and rain,
Winter won’t come again.

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The death toll from the so-called "riot" in Egypt has risen to 79 so far.  I normally don't cover such events, but the immediately-high numbers of casualties made me wonder what kind of medical response they would get.  Unsurprisingly it wasn't much, if any at all.  It was also evident that  this was neither a spontaneous action, nor did it have anything to do with a soccer game.  To me it looks like it was a planned civil disturbance mounted for political reasons, thus continuing the ideological turmoil that has risen in the past year.  Therefore I will not bother saying any more about it unless an ambulance ever does show up there.  That would be newsworthy.

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First thing this morning I see that famed boxing trainer Angelo Dundee passed away yesterday at age 90.  Boxing doesn't have anywhere near the popularity that it had for most of the 20th century, but during that time Dundee was already a legend.  His ability to take a boxer and elevate them to their maximum performance level was unmatched.  He became famous outside the boxing community for his record with Cassius Clay / Muhammed Ali, taking him on after his Olympic success and directing his professional career from start to finish.

He also trained more than six other world champions.  Dundee was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1992 and they have a good review of Angelo Dundee's professional career posted in their website HERE.

Now let's devote ourselves to our own training program and get this equipment checked out.  I'm going to start some championship coffee so it will be ready when we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 2, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – February 1

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Wednesday Morning – Take Aim

Entering into a leap-year February.  All of you Feb. 29 birthday people get to celebrate on the real day this year.  It might be February already, but I'm still finding Christmas tree tinsel (icicles for you youngsters) in stray spots on the floor.  How do they get there and where have they been?  It's an annual chase for me.

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Still another amazing technological advance has been disclosed.  It's not fire-ems related, so I'm talking about it here instead of a regular posting.  The Sandia Laboratories have been overseeing development of a special round of ammunition that has a self-guiding feature that will direct the bullet right to the target.

Sandia Labs photo

The object was to enhance the ability of a .50-caliber sniper rifle to hit a target from a mile or more away.  And it looks like they just about have the prototype ready now.  Part of the challenge facing a long-range sniper is the environmental obstructions, namely air movements (winds) and air density that alter the course of a bullet.  From a 1+ mile range, these tiny alterations can cause the bullet to miss the target by a significant amount.  A recent report from Wired emagazine tells,

Each self-guided bullet is around 4 inches in length. At the tip is an optical sensor, that can detect a laser beam being shone on a far-off target. Actuators inside the bullet get intel from the bullet’s sensor, and then "steer tiny fins that guide the bullet to the target." The bullet can self-correct its navigational path 30 times a second, all while flying more than twice the speed of sound.

The innovation involved some major changes to typical bullet design, which involves grooves inside the barrel to make the bullet spin and therefore fly in a straight line. Researchers had to eliminate that spinning to allow the bullets to twist and turn towards their target. Instead, they used those tiny fins — similar to those on a dart — to keep the bullet aloft while allowing it a full range of motion to navigate through the air.

Sandia Labs photo

Even with an ace marksman, researchers found that a typical unguided bullet — operating in real world conditions that might include crosswinds or changes in air density — would miss a target that was a half-mile away by nine meters. A guided bullet, however, could get within eight inches of that same target.

Sandia says that with commercially available gunpowder, the bullet will travel at speeds of 2,400 feet per second. But with customized gunpowder, it could hit military speeds. A Sandia field test demonstrated that the bullet's internal electronics and battery can survive the rigors of flying from rifle barrel to target. Presumably, they would not survive striking the target.

Part of this new development is to have the laser beam generated from the sniper's own scope, presumably to allow him more freedom of movement.  Simply amazing.

Let's do some amazing equipment checking now.  We're close enough that we don't need laser guidance to find our apparatus.  The Bunn-O-Matic now, that's different.  I'll track it down and get another pot going.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on February 1, 2012 • Filed under: Guns, morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 31

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Tuesday Morning – Who-ray?

Granted, my circle of friends and acquaintences is not at all representative of the population at large.  In fact, it's not representative of anything.  But within my limited scope, I do not know of anybody who has switched their dvd purchases and viewing over to the Blu-ray format.  This grand refinement of video disc entertainment was supposed to launch the world into super-enjoyment of videos that match the quality abilities of the new HDTV, or Hi-Def television sets.  But I don't see where "the world" has knuckled under like a bunch of sheeple to the crafty sales ploys of the video entertainment industry.

You see all the ads for the enhanced video discs, and many tv retailers are conveniently tossing in a free Blu-ray video disc player with a tv purchase.  Just what it this Blu-ray thingy anyway?  Well, Blu-ray.com (of course!) explains in simple language:

Blu-ray, (not Blue-ray) also known as Blu-ray Disc (BD), is the name of a new optical disc format jointly developed by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), a group of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer and media manufacturers (including Apple, Dell, Hitachi, HP, JVC, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Pioneer, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, TDK and Thomson). The format was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. The format offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

While current optical disc technologies such as DVD, DVD±R, DVD±RW, and DVD-RAM rely on a red laser to read and write data, the new format uses a blue-violet laser instead, hence the name Blu-ray. Despite the different type of lasers used, Blu-ray products can easily be made backwards compatible with CDs and DVDs through the use of a BD/DVD/CD compatible optical pickup unit. The benefit of using a blue-violet laser (405nm) is that it has a shorter wavelength than a red laser (650nm), which makes it possible to focus the laser spot with even greater precision. This allows data to be packed more tightly and stored in less space, so it's possible to fit more data on the disc even though it's the same size as a CD/DVD.

Blu-ray is currently supported by about 200 of the world's leading consumer electronics, personal computer, recording media, video game and music companies. The format also has support from all Hollywood studios and countless smaller studios as a successor to today's DVD format.

Wow!  With all that firepower behind them, why haven't we all rolled over and accepted this magnificent advance of televiewing pleasure?  I don't know about you, but for me the slightly (yes, slightly) improved sharpness of the HD picture just isn't worth the significantly-greater cost of the Blu-ray dvd's over the standard models.  It's not like the disc sellers are adding an extra buck or two to the price, but they are jacking them up by 25% or more.  I realize that there are movie afficianados out there who truly enjoy any little bit of refinement to the picture of their $5,000 tv set, but I am watching purely for some plain entertainment and a good story.  And I get all that just fine now, thank you.

What about you?  Have you joined the Blu-ray club yet?  Do you know anyone who has?  Am I just out in left field here?  Inquiring minds want to know.

We'd better switch from Blu-ray to Roto-ray now and get this equipment checked out.  I am going to get some more hi-def coffee brewing before we head back to the day room.

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From Amazon:  30% Markdowns and
more on Blu-ray dvd players

Including Wi-Fi models.  CLICK HERE to see the wide selection.

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Posted by on January 31, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – January 30

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Monday Morning – Into the Wild Blue Yonder…

I have to start off this week with another personal announcement involving close family members, but I'm sure that you don't mind.  While I am writing this, my #2 grandson Colin is getting lined up with a batch of other young men down in Ft. Lee, Virginia, where they will all raise their right hands and be sworn into the U. S. Air Force.  Yesterday was his last shot at "sleeping in" until 10 or 11 am, so he took advantage of it.  Last evening he had to report to a hotel in Richmond where many of the recruits were gathering to stay the night (on your dime, by the way) and then bused this morning down to the army post in Petersburg. 

After this morning's  swearing-in procedure, they will have a minute to tell their parents good-bye before boarding a plane to fly down to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.  That is where the Air Force's only basic training school is located.  I didn't know that before last week.

Sayin' our good-byes on Thursday.  Yeah, he's
a big kid…. I'm 6-ft. tall.

Times have really changed in military recruitment over the years.  When I was Colin's age, if you wanted to join up you went to the recruiting station where the non-com cheerfully gave you a simple aptitude test to take, then graded it while you waited.  If you passed the test – an almost certainty – then you were given 24 hours to go home, tell your Mom what you've gone and done, then pack your things and get back to the recruiting station to be sent on your way to drill sergeant hell.  By contrast, Colin spent slightly more than a year getting the ok-to-go orders.  All kinds of tests, 3 or 4 interviews, medicals, background checks, on and on.  I guess that's partly due to a tight job market creating more than enough applicants, so the AF can be choosey.

Anyway, I'm glad he finally got in.  He's been after this for a long time.  He's got four years to think about it now.

 

And we had better think about getting our own equipment checked out now before we have to take off.  I'm heading for the Bunn-O-Matic to make sure we have plenty of good coffee.  See you later in the digital day room.

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Posted by on January 30, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – January 29

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Sunday Morning – What's On TV?

It looks like the television people are going to give it another go with a new firefighter-based show.  What with Rescue Me being allowed to expire as it degenerated into a daytime soap storyline, NBC has looked at it as an opening for a replacement.  Apparently the TV masterminds believe that there is only room for one hunky firefighter show at a time.

This past Monday the Peacock Network announced that they had picked up the option for a new series following a proposal by the producers and have ordered a pilot episode to be produced under the title Chicago Fire (how original).  The publicity office tells us, "This action-driven drama explores the complex and heroic men and women of the Chicago Fire Dept."  Wow!

This one might have some promise, though.  This new series is being produced by Dick Wolf, a well-regarded producer who gave us the Miami Vice series and the four Law & Order series that were all successful.  Both the pilot and the series (if it's picked up) will be filmed completely in Chicago.

Let's all hope that it turns out to be a lot better than that recent San Francisco paramedic series that crashed almost every night it was run.  Jack Webb showed a long time ago that the best way to be successful with police and fire dramas is to stick to reality with the people and story lines.

Let's stick with our own storyline now and get the equipment checked out.  I'm going to see how the Sunday breakfast is coming along and then start some more coffee.

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Posted by on January 29, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – January 28

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Saturday Morning

I have some insider-news from the blogging world to share with you this morning.  One of our fire blog colleagues in Germany, Irakli West has revised and refreshed his widely-read blog that was formerly known as FW Netz.  Yes, it's a German-language publication, so it wasn't nearly as widely read in the  Western Hemisphere as it was over there.  But Firegeezer has had a casual relationship with Irakli's site ever since went online nearly five years ago.

I don't remember how or why we first came in contact with each other, but it was shortly after I started publishing.  Irakli reads and writes English, so we had some emailing back and forth and he graciously provided me with some of his postings re-written in English for my readers.  Over the years we have linked to each other's stories that are of universal interest and thus widened our offerings to our respective readers.  About a year later, maybe a little sooner, Irakli expanded his blog into more of a magazine format including non-news articles, training videos and more of a variety of topics.

This past August the FWNetz site took a breather while Irakli took a sabbatical of sorts and stepped away to rest up.  He has now returned online with a new look and a more basic format that resembles his initial blog purpose.  While the area of coverage has been whittled back, he expects the news and information postings will be expanded and will allow for more opinionated articles along with the usual news items.  He intends to continue with training articles, too.  His small group of contributors remains including one that you are familiar with by now, Christian Lewalter who serves as our liaison and keeps us informed of what's going on in their neighborhood.  And the name has been changed to Feuerwehr Weblog.  FW Netz is no more.

The web address has been changed, too.  If you like to read the German language sites and you had FWNetz in your Favorites file, then be sure to change it to the new URL:  http://www.feuerwehr-weblog.org/

And join the Geezerguys in giving our friends a warm "Welcome Back."

Now let's welcome back our checksheet clipboards and get this equipment checked out for today.  I need to get some more coffee going, so I'll see you back in the digital day room in a little while.

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Posted by on January 28, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – January 27

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Friday Morning – Let's Vote

While researching stories about events in the fire and EMS systems around the world, one of the interesting topics that seeps out is just how nutty, irresponsible and in some cases, criminal some of the town governments are.  The outrageous incompetence and/or corruption that lives in city halls in every state are both pitiful and funny.  Everybody is already familiar with the ongoing criminal enterprise known as the Detroit City Council, but they don't have a monopoly on foolishness.

Recently one of our readers brought to my attention the little whistle-stop of Norway, South Carolina.  Attention was focused on their newly-elected mayor last week after he used his blue lights and siren mounted in his car to pull over a state trooper.  Just a few minutes prior to that, the trooper had issued him a speeding ticket for going about 30 mph over the limit.  After the paperwork was finished and signed, etc., the trooper started driving away and Mayor Jim Preacher flipped on his warning devices and pulled the trooper over.  After checking his license and registration (of the state police car) he sent him on his way.  He can do this because in Norway the mayor is also the Town Constable.  The bankrupt town disbanded its police department last year.

But that was just the latest adventure that Preacher has been involved in since winning election to office.  He was scheduled to be sworn in as mayor on January 9, the date of the next town council meeting.  But he received word that the disguntled and worried outgoing mayor who lost to him in the election was "moving stuff out" of the town hall during the Christmas-New Year's break.  So Preacher enlisted a smallish-friend to crawl through a back window early on New Year's morning to open the door and let Preacher in.  He is claiming it was perfectly legal and not a burglary because he became mayor effectively at midnight Jan. 1.  He also had a locksmith there to install all new locks on the town hall doors to stop the removal of whatever the former mayor was taking.  She claimed that she was mereley transferring the "stuff' to the "new town hall," referring to an old school building that the town was renovating, but not really moving into yet.

While Preacher was changing the locks, he posted a notice on the town hall door proclaiming an emergency meeting of the town council to be held the next day, January 2.  At the hastily-called meeting he had himself sworn in early.  This has all the makings of an entertaining year ahead for all the folks in Orangeburg County who get to watch this vaudeville show up close.

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An entirely different mayoral election is being held in the southern coastal city of Taranto, Italy, where the incumbent mayor, Ipazzio Stefano is facing two formidable foes in next month's election.  Two attractive ladies, Amandha Fox and Luana Borgia are challenging him in a race that is certainly grabbing the attention of the voter.  Both women are well-known porn movie stars and are serious about turning the election into a bust-up and returning the office to the non-political class.

Poles apart, candidates Borgia (left) and Fox.

As part of their campaigns, they have agreed to hold an open debate combined with a pole-dancing performance so that the voters can see for themselves what the big issues really are.  They have invited Mayor Stefano to participate, but so far he hasn't indicated whether or not he will.  But then again, we don't know if the voters even want to see him joining in.

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We'd better start thinking about pike poles instead of the other kind and get this equipment checked out now.  I'm heading for the Bunn-O-Matic to get some more coffee started.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on January 27, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 26

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Thursday Morning – What Am I Bid?

Has anybody checked out eBay lately?  I don't hear as much about people bidding in the online auction sales as I did several years ago.  If you want to point out somebody who really fumbled the ball when it comes to running an internet business, eBay has to be right at the top of the list.  They took their success and tried to turn it into some sort of control over their sellers with the result of many of them leaving the dynamic sales room.

It was going so good for a while there, anything you wanted seemed to be available and not just one of them, but dozens of the same type of item giving you lots of choices and chances to win.  There was a real thrill of the chase when I would be trying to win a contested auction with several bidders.  At one time I was trying to build up a good collection of pre-1940 postcards of my hometown for my father, so not a lot of money was involved in playing the "game" of winning  the item.  And when I would win one, I would simply drop a check in the mail for the 5 or 6 dollars to the seller and in a few days the postcard would arrive.  Simple, efficient and satisfying for both the seller and the buyer.  After delivery, I would post a rating on the seller about their promptness and veracity of their product, and the seller would do the same for me as I built up a good public record of purchasing ethics.  Everybody was happy.  Except for the eBay people, though.

With their remarkable success and fast growth, a strong surge of corporate greed set in and eBay began a gradual change of their rules that were inexplicably designed to take away any safeguards that the sellers had from unscrupulous buyers.  One of the biggest was the changing of the rating system.  The sellers were no longer able to rate the buyers, so that other sellers were not able to learn that so-and-do refused to pay, for instance.  The buyers were still permitted to rate the sellers though, and some malicious-types were able to zing an honest seller with no recourse.  Nobody ever knew why they did that, but it started the exodus of the higher-quality and the volume sellers leaving mostly 2nd-rate merchandise for sale.

And then not long ago, eBay made it a requirement that all sales be completed using PayPal (which is owned by eBay).  Since PayPal takes a set percentage of the selling price, the people selling all those $3 and $5 goodies were suddenly losing money on every sale, so they dropped out, too.  Just think, if only eBay had done a better job of protecting their sellers, they would have continued to grow much like Facebook has been doing lately.  Instead it has become largely a retail site with most items available on the Buy It Now option, which is the only type of purchase I have been doing from them for at least five years now.  And even that has slowed down considerably for me.  No more of those late-night vigils with the eBay Clock in one window and the filled-out bid form in another, as I try to time the button punching to arrive at the last second and shut out the competing bidders.  It was fun while it lasted, but the digital world spins rapidly and we move on.

Now we need to move on to the apparatus and get the equipment checked out for today.  I'm heading for the Bunn-O-Matic and where I will press the Brew It Now button.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on January 26, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 25

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Wednesday Morning – Let's Eat!

Our Upcoming Events postings are understandably confined to Fire and EMS events, but we also like to let you know when something is coming up that is generally of interest to our readers, such as the Bonnie & Clyde gun auction last weekend (HERE).  Our Keeper of the Culinary Calendar, Mark Donovan has already begun locating choice eating events and has passed along a couple for you to keep in mind while you're filling out your vacation requests this month.

First of all is the long-awaited announcement of the date for this year's Baconfest Chicago.  This is a VBE (Very Big Event) that brings in crowds of bacon lovers to celebrate America's favorite breakfast meat and luncheon menu planner.

Last year Firegeezer noted the Baconfest and we told you in part,

Baconfest is Chicago’s annual celebration of America’s favorite cured meat. Over 50 of Chicago’s best chefs concocted amazing bacon recipes and served them up to 1500 of our closest friends on April 9, 2011. We also featured 7 liquor sponsors serving bacon cocktails or other refreshing beverages that pair beautifully with bacon. To celebrate special achievement, we give out Golden Rasher awards to chefs that prepare especially delicious dishes.

One of their features was the Bacon Poetry Contest. This year's winner was "Johnny Baconseed: A Poem For the Hopeless Romantics" by Joel Chmara. It's no surprise that Joel's entry was the winner. How could you not enjoy a bit of literary jewelry that includes thoughts like,

Garments perfumed with slight bacon splatter is no call for stain-lifter.
Nay, it simply ensures that one will carry the greatest foodstuff essence
for the rest of the day.

You sure don't want to miss out on a good time like that, so mark your calendars now for Saturday April 14.  Go to the Baconfest Website HERE to get the details.

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The other memorial to gluttony that we want to tell you about this morning is the National Buffalo Wing Festival that is scheduled to be held on Saturday and Sunday, September 1 and 2 in (where else?) Buffalo, New York, the home of the spicy treat.

This one is an ever bigger VBE than Baconfest.  Last year they had 85,000 vistors who scarfed down 37 tons of wings.  They have an action-packed weekend planned and you can check out their colorful and informative website HERE.

Now let's check out our own equipment and get ready for the day.  I'll get the coffee started and see you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on January 25, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 24

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Tuesday Morning – Our Serve

I am going to stray off-topic this morning and present some personal puffery for a change.  (I can do that because it's my website, you know.)  I have just recently learned about the unknown world of girls volleyball competition.  When I was in school (foggy memories, for sure) volleyball was something we did in P.E. class when it was too cold or wet to go outside.  But like so many other cultural activities, it has grown into an organized sport with layers of competetive levels. 

Enter Firegeezer's #3 granddaughter Presley.  For those of you who have visited the Firegeezer booth at the Firehouse Expo in the past couple of years, you might remember Presley who was in charge of selling the Firegeezer coffee mugs at our booth.  You'll recognize her from the photo below taken at the 2011 Expo by Mike Legeros, standing between her grandpa and her mother, Tami (GeezerDotter).

This past year Presley has taken an interest in volleyball and it was also just about the same time as another growing spurt was going on.  To make a longer story shorter, as she was learning the skills and playing in after-school organized games, she was spotted as having a natural talent for the game and in December she became a member of an advanced level club that concentrates on national-level competition.  Presley's team in the 14-and-under age bracket is just getting settled in after some more recent player acquisitions and last weekend they had their first competitive games in a tournament that brought teams from many states in the eastern half of the country.

It looks like the combination of top-notch  players along with great coaching and good training facilities has started to pay off already, because in their first real competition together they did very well for a bunch of upstarts.  In the  32-team tourney, they placed #11.  I might have to start learning some more about the playmaking strategies and tactics of what I always thought was just a "punch the ball over the net" game.  Nothing is simple anymore.  The next big tournement is in February over the Washington's Birthday long weekend.

Presley is 2nd from right in the back row in this current team photo.
She plays setter on the net.

We need to get our own team together for some emergency work now, so let's get this equipment checked out.  I'm going to get some more coffee started (and no, it does not stunt your growth), then we'll meet back in the day room later.

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Posted by on January 24, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – January 23

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Monday Morning – Drive Carefully

Here we go into another new week of the new year.  And we have lots of newsy things to pass along to you, so let's get started.

ChicagoAreaFire is continuing to broaden their scope and coverage by adding a new occasional feature.  They're going to be including some vintage photos of large Chicago fires from out of the past.  Those things are always fun to look at, and Saturday's installment is no exception.  There's something about ice-covered fire engines that fascinates observers.  CLICK HERE to see this posting from Bill Friedrich.  Be sure to read the Comments as their knowledgeable readers fill in the blanks on the details and wherefors of these fires.

I hope you have ChicagoAreaFire on your Favorites list because webmaster Larry "Smoke Showing" Shapiro does a great job of maintaining it.  Most of the members are quality fire photographers or historians and as they compile what is soon to be a catalogue of every firehouse and apparatus in the greater Chicago area, they keep us up to date on current events and major fires.  When you go to the Home Page, click on News to enter the blog where the daily postings are placed.

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Periodically we get stories about some nutty and/or embarrassing actions performed by local polititicians, mayors, fire chiefs, etc.  But the Lancaster, Massachusetts, Town Manager Orlando Pacheco is currently leading the parade of administrators who have embarrassed their residents and taxpayers. 

CBS News image

Just last week the information was released on his escapade last August where he re-wrote the definition of "Really, really drunk" after being picked up by the Westborough Police when they found him passed out on the hood of his car in a gas station parking lot.  He was on his way home after visiting a Worcester strip club and couldn't go any further.

"When I arrived on scene he was unconscious on the hood of his car, his pants were around his ankles," said Westborough Police officer Steve Reale. He had also vomited on himself.  The good folks in Lancaster are kind of wondering why he's still got a job, as you will see in this video report from CBS News:

 

At least everybody here made it to work this mornng, so let's get started with the equipment check.  I need to get some good, strong coffee started before we meet back in the digital day room in a little while.

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Posted by on January 23, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, Videos • Tagged: , , , , , ,

Morning Lineup – January 22

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Sunday Morning - ($ave Hundred$ on Your Car Insurance!)

There's nothing free in this world, everything comes with a cost.  If you are not charged directly for a product or service, you usually pay for it in some other way, and that includes spending part of your time looking at (or listening to) an advertisement.  Somebody has to pay the freight somehow and when it comes to things like newspapers or tv/radio broadcasts, the primary revenue comes from advertisers who hope their tantalizing message convinces you to do business with them.

This method of financing pertains to websites just as much as any other information-delivery source.  That's why you see some ads on Firegeezer and just about every other premiere website.  There are costs involved in running a website, including blogs like this one, and unless you have a beneficial trust fund supporting you, then you need some help in keeping the website up and running smoothly and reliably.

But you have no doubt come across some websites that appear to exist not for trading information, but to act as a bulletin board for ads that take up 90% of the space on the webpage.  They are irritating and are never anyone's first choice of what to read when they sit down before the monitor and start browsing.  Those junk sites get their action by placing key words and phrases that are currently popular in their meager content in the hopes of being brought to your attention when you key in these words on a search engine.  When you click on their link in the hopes of finding something worthwhile, you get these pages that are overloaded with ads placed helter-skelter around the page creating a confusing visual that is more irritating than helpful.

Well, Google (who helps create many of those ads) says that help for you is on the way.  They announced last week that they have made an adjustment to their search engine algorithms (whatever those are) so that websites theat have "too much" ad content on the front page will not be posted on search results, or at best way down the rankings.  eWeek tells us:

Google Search Distinguished Engineer Matt Cutts said the algorithm tweak looks at the layout of a Web page and the amount of content a user sees on the page once they've clicked on a search result.

"If you click on a Website and the part of the Website you see first either doesn't have a lot of visible content above-the-fold or dedicates a large fraction of the site's initial screen real estate to ads, that's not a very good user experience," Cutts explained in a corporate blog post. "Such sites may not rank as highly going forward."

Cutts was careful to note that Google recognizes ads placed above the fold perform well for Websites. Accordingly, Google isn't punishing Websites that place ads at the top of Web pages "to a normal degree."

Rather, he and his team are penalizing Websites that put what they deem an "excessive" amount of ads up top, or simply make it hard to find content on the page.

To wit, he estimated the change would impact less than 1 percent of searches to Google.com worldwide.

One percent?  Really?  Just a moment ago I went to Google's search engine and entered "dvd players" to see what kind of websites would be displayed.  Below is a screen cap of what showed up, a page full of ads and only one link to a search result above "the fold."

Way to go, Google!!

Unfortunately for the readers, this move does not affect pop-ups or pop-unders, just static ads on the front page "above the fold."  But every little bit helps, I suppose.

Now let's help ourselves and get our equipment checked out for today.  I'm going to get some more coffee started before we meet back in the day room.  And don't forget:  Please support our advertisers.

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Posted by on January 22, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 21

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Saturday Morning – One Last Kodak Moment

Unless you have been buried under a snowbank for the last three days, you have heard or read somewhere that Kodak has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday.  Chapter 11 provides certain protections from creditors allowing a company to reorganzie itself and (hopefully) get back into a profitable situation.  This is going to be a very tough task for the former photography giant whose only valuable assets right now are some patents for imaging and related chemical processes.

This has to bring some nostalgia and disappointment to almost everybody because the monsterous company founded by George Eastman 131 years ago was a major part of our lifestyles for so many decades.  Eastman Kodak was primarily a photographic film and developing producer and truly led the world in both innovation and sales success.  Spotting an untapped market out there in ordinary households, the created and marketed a low-cost and easy to use box camera, the Brownie, that suddenly made family photos quick and inexpensive, not to mention the vacation memories that were now able to be saved in albums.

In the 1960's they upgraded the everyday camera with the introduction of the Insta-Matic, a much smaller camera that used pre-packaged film cartidges instead of requiring the tedious and risky threading of unexposed film onto spools in the back of the Brownie.  As the leading producer of 35 mm. film used by motion picture studios and the growing slide picture photo market, they were on top of the world raking in the dough and employing more than 145,000 people.  In their home base of Rochester, New York, where their plants covered block after block of space, they had 62,000 local residents employed there.

Their focus on growth was always in the film business, not in the cheapo cameras that were merely the delivery devices to keep people buying more film.  So when in 1973 Steve Sasson, one of their research engineers invented, built and showed them the world's first digital camera, the corporate offices treated it like the plague and told him to get it out of there because it would kill their film industry….their only reason for existance.  He did, and in 1978 Sasson and his supervisor Gareth Lloyd filed for and received United States Patent 4,131,919 for the device.  It was issued in their names and not in Kodak's.  That was the fatal Kodak moment that started them down the path to this week's bankruptcy.

Steve Sasson displays his original prototype
digital camera in this 2009 (digital) photo.

The rest, as they say, is history.  Completely ignoring the possibility that just maybe non-film photography could become dominant, Koday was left at the gate as the digital revolution swept by them.  Today only 6,000 Rochester residents work in the remnants of their factory complex.  They are still making some film and processing chemicals for some specialty uses, and focusing heavily on electronic imaging systems, but it's hard to catch up when the industry is changing so drastically from week to week.  George Eastman left a major legacy in the history of American industrialism, but it will soon be only a memory.  Too bad.

We had better turn our memories toward getting this equipment checked out now.  I'm going to start some more coffee thanks to another industy giant, Bunn-O-Matic.  See you back in the day room.

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From Amazon:

Some Great Markdowns This Weekend
on Digital Cameras

CLICK HERE to find one that is just right for you.

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Posted by on January 21, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, photography • Tagged: , , , , ,

Morning Lineup – January 20

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Friday Morning – The Music World Mourns Today

Johnny Otis died Tuesday, it was announced yesterday.  The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer was 90 years old and largely unknown to the current generation that is under 50 years of age.  But he was a giant in the music world during his heyday as a songwriter, performer, disc jockey, band leader, record producer and on and on.

Born John Veliotes in December 1921 to Greek immigrant parents, his father ran a grocery store in a predominantly black neighborhood of Berkeley, California, where he became immersed in the black music culture and steered his personal ambitions in that direction.  He began his career as a drummer in a Rhythm & Blues band and started writing songs also, many of them becoming standards in the R & B genre such as So Fine and All Night Long.  It was in 1958 that he wrote and recorded the monster hit that made his fame nationwide, Willie and the Hand Jive.

As a record producer and D.J. he "discovered" several budding performers and set them on the path to stardom, inluding Hank Ballard, Etta James, Little Richard, and Jackie Wilson, to name just a few.  His accomplishments led to his introduction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and was as deserving as any others enshrined.

We are fortunate that his early "music video" of him performing his signature song Willie and the Hand Jive has been preserved and posted on YouTube.  Otis is the singer and pianist in this classic performance:

 

For detailed obituaries of Johnny Otis, read these:
Los Angeles Times 
Washington Post
New York Times

Let's jive on over to the apparatus and get the equipment checked out now.  I'm going to get some groovy coffee going before we meet back in the day room in a little while.

Update, 4 pm:
It was announced today that Etta James (mentioned above from being discovered by Otis) passed away today at age 73.  More in the Los Angeles Times HERE.

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Posted by on January 20, 2012 • Filed under: culture, morning lineup, News • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – January 19

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Thursday Morning – "That's My Car!!!"

There are two kinds of lockouts that you have to be cautious about how you handle them.  One is somebody who claims to be locked out of their apartment, and the other is gaining entry into a car to free a child or a pet.

The apartment ploy is pretty well known, but still easy to fall for.  It usually begins when someone calls to report their lockout and they expect the fire department to just force the door open and let them in.  More often than not, they are locked out because the landlord changed the locks for delinquent rent payments.  Once in a while it's a former roomate who has been pitched out by the tenant and wants to take some stuff, whether it's theirs to take or not.  Checking ID is useless because former tenants, or evicted ones, can still be carrying drivers licenses with the improper address on them.

Long ago my department learned to put a ladder to the window to peek inside and see if any smoke was showing.  If not, we would send them to the rental office to make arrangements.  Sometimes it is a bona fide lockout, but the tenant does not want to pay the service fee that is often charged by the landlord for letting them in.  Another trick they use is to call 9-1-1 and report that they stepped out and got locked out with some food cooking on the stove.  That will surely cause the firefighters to bust down the door and rush in, right?  Again, do a window peek and call for the PD.

The car "entrapment" is something else.  It will usually involve a small child locked inside and left unattended, or a pet left in the vehicle and perhaps in some form of distress.  The locked-child call is properly handled like the apartment problem with extra careful attention given to the identification of the person claiming to be the parent.  If the infant has been left alone, then an immediate call for police assistance is mandatory.  I can honestly tell you that I have run a call where a mother was in a shopping center doing her thing on a hot summer's day with her infant locked inside the car with the motor running to keep the air conditioner going while she shopped and shopped.  When a child is endangered, whether they are suffering yet or not, in most states you will have the legal right to immediately force entry and begin patient care.

But animals (pets) are a bit different.  They are somebody's property and you have a lot less discretion when it comes to alleviating a similar situation.  Unless the car is on fire, you will never go wrong by getting LEO on the scene first.  Remember, in almost all cases they are the only ones who have the authority to break into the vehicle.

A good case in point is THIS STORY published yesterday in an animal welfare-related website.  The owners of a pair of well-kept little doggies went shopping in Dallas and left their little dears in the car.  The outside temperature was mild and not an issue.  They didn't want to leave the dogs loose inside the car because they are able to unlock the doors (according to their owners).  So they put them into the storage space (no trunks in many vehicles these days) and tilted the back seat forward enough to allow the dogs to see into the passenger compartment but not enough to allow entry.  The dogs didn't like having to stay there, so they began complaining and a passerby took note, called 9-1-1 bringing an engine and a cruiser to the scene.  You can guess what happened next.  The article in Care2 tells:

Firefighters and police arrived at the scene and after a bit of a struggle they pried back the side of the trunk door of the Hyundai, like a can of sardines and freed the little dogs. Then they called the Shipman’s saying, "This is the Dallas Police and you need to come out to your car immediately. The fire department has broken into your car and we have your dogs."

The Shipman’s think Dallas firefighters overstepped their authority. The couple is suing for $5,000 in damages to their brand new car.

Dallas police have charged John Shipman with animal cruelty because regardless of his intentions he endangered his pets. He faces a penalty of up to one year in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Perhaps instead of a "can of sardines," a can of worms would be better used in this case.  Fortunately for the firefighters, the police are taking the initiative to determine whether the dogs were truly endangered or not.  But let's hope the FF's got the cop's blessing first before they ripped into the car.  If you read the article, you can see that the dogs' owner may well have a good defense because it seems apparent that the dogs were not endangered, but just being dogs and barking to express their point of view about the situation.

So what do you think?  Can the FD be held responsible for the damage done to the car?  Did the police and fire go too far in determining if an emergency existed or not?  Let's all learn some things from this story.

And let's learn how our equipment is functioning this morning and get it checked out.  I'm going to get some good people-coffee started before we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on January 19, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup

Morning Lineup – January 18

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Wednesday Morning – Dark Spots Online

What is SOPA / PIP ? you will be asking today.  As you travel around the worldwideweb today you will come across some protest banners as well as a few outright blackouts on some or your favorite websites.  Most prominently, Wikipedia and Reddit are going the full blackout route while Google Search is running a modified banner that calls attention to the attempt by the U. S. Congress to impose unheard-of restrictions on websites.

Naturally, I have been following the dispute for several weeks now because if the two bills now working their way through the House of Representatives and the Senate were to pass, almost all blogs such as this one will have to shut down out of necessity, not just the major information websites including YouTube, eBay and Yahoo!, all of whom are actively lobbying against these bills.

Wikipedia is in full blackout mode.  No researching today.

So what are these proposals that are scaring the pants off the major internet giants?  It's complicated (as all bills are these days in a corrupt Congress) and I have difficulty myself trying to explain it.  Basically they are proposals sponsored by the movie and recording industries that are seeking ways to shutdown foreign websites that deal in pirated dvd's and musical recordings.  These offshore criminal ventures that are mostly based in Asia and Russia are costing American businesses billions of dollars annually by peddling stolen, copyrighted material.  Nobody is complaining about the outward purpose of the legislation, so what's the beef?

The main objection is to enforcement procedures that will require the major websites like Google Search and eBay to monitor and takedown search results that go to designated pirate websites.  It is an almost-impossible task in itself, but there is a kicker that even affects lowly websites and blogs such as Firegeezer.  The bills not only provide that copyright holders can legally charge Google for running a rogue website in their search engine, but even a third-party can enter a complaint, without a shred of evidence, against a website even if they have no financial or proprietary interest in the transaction.  That means any Joe Shmoe can file a complaint against anybody, which would certainly lead to a lot of malicious activity.  Originally the bills called for suspension of the website's domain name, again without any evidence or despite the best efforts of the website to comply.  In the last week, amid the unprecedented flurry of complaints to the Representatives, the domain suspension has been taken out.  But as long as the bills are still being considered, that kind of crap is usually dropped back in later.  Once a congressman is bought, he usually stays bought.

Google remains operational today, but visitors
are greeted with this message.

How does that affect Firegeezer (and other blogs)?  Take for example our practice of posting news clips and informational videos from YouTube.  Somebody who has no affiliation with the producer or the copyright holder could stick his nose into the affair and file a complaint.  Presto! Gone.  That's a very simplified explanation, but I hope it gives you an understanding of what the threat is within these bills.

Over the past few months, the web industry leaders have been actively addressing the flaws to the Congress and since October a grassroots response from bloggers has been launched with some good effect on the House of Representatives.  A major domain registry website, GoDaddy broke ranks and publicly supported SOPA and within three days, more than 50,000 customers transferred their domains to other locations.  And that is not a simple procedure, believe me.  Before the week was out, GoDaddy caved and reversed their position, but nobody takes their word seriously anymore and not only are they still losing paying customers, but growth of new sales has stalled.

As a result of the massive public outcry, both bills have been taken off the original debate schedule in order to be reworked.  It's a start, but close watch of the sneaky politicians will be necessary.  I hope this gives you a basic picture of the potential problem these proposed laws would create.  And not being a lawyer myself, I cannot fully explain the details that have Google's and Yahoo!'s high-dollar legal teams working at full speed.  But I trust them before I would trust the movie and recording industries.

Now we need to get this equipment checked out, so let's get started while I go make some more coffee.  See you back in the day room (while it's still legal).

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Posted by on January 18, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 17

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Tuesday Morning – Learning Anything New?

The CES – Consumer Electronics Show – is over now, but so what?  If you're wondering why I didn't post much on this year's event, it's because I lost interest in it after the first day.  The theme seemed to be "Thin is In" but no new, exciting products.  All of the news coming out from Las Vegas was about thinner tv sets, thinner monitors, thinner cellphones, thinner e-tablets, etc., etc., etc.  If there were any genuinely new products worth getting excited over, then the visitors to the show will have to send me the info because the "press" was so enamored with computer monitors that can roll up like a paper document that they couldn't think of anything else.  Are you really interested in a $50,000 tv that shows the same programs you're watching now?

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We have been concentrating a lot on so-called eBooks here at Firegeezer lately and you might be wondering why we are doing that and what does that have to do with firefighters and paramedics, anyway?  Well, let me explain why.

We are in the midst of a genuine revolution in the delivery of information that is rapidly changing the way we share the visual word and methods of how that is done.  The fact that you are reading this blog, and probably a few others as well, is proof that you are already participating in this sea change.  Five years ago there was no such thing as a selection of websites that give you timely articles and stories that concentrate on fire and EMS topics.  Your exposure to fire-related events taking place was limited to things happening in your own area, providing the local tv station chose to cover it.  Now a fire captain in Florida can read about a notable fire event that happened a few hours ago in western Canada.  Firegeezer readers know much more now than they ever did before about fire operations and apparatus used in European countries.  Never before was this even considered to become so handy and easy to take advantage of.  You have been subtly drawn into the publishing revolution without hardly noticing it.

Now back to the e-Books wing of the digital publishing world.  This change in written delivery methods is literally flying in here faster than you are aware of, and I want to make sure that you are able to stay on the leading edge of this change for your own benefit.  As I have said several times previously, for nearly a year now the sales of eBooks have outsold the printed, paper editions, and it's widening more every week.  So back to my earlier question, what does this have to do with you?

For one thing, more and more publications are switching over to a digital-only availability including magazines.  I predict that before long you will see this method used to send departmental memo's directly to your personal ereader, for instance.  Another good reason is the arriving-now technology for textbooks.  Besides the fact that a $40 textbook can NOW be made available for $3.00, this instant downloading is part and parcel of the growing movement called Distance Learning.  Qualified and accredited schools are springing up (some of them offshoots of physical campae) that offer advance degrees that you can study for at your convenience from wherever you are.  No more having to swap shifts to get off a few hours for class, or driving in all kinds of weather to get to the classroom.  Your textbooks are delivered instantly to your e-reader along with your class syllabus and instructor's notes.

If there is a correction or an updated entry to be made, it's done immediately and automatically via download.  You don't have to do nuttin' to have the latest copy of the text.  And these DL schools are far, far cheaper than the physical schools that have to build and maintain very expensive buildings and related necessities, so your tuition costs will drop dramatically.  This is truly an information revolution, if you'll excuse my redundancy.

I strongly encourage you to take that first step by picking up an e-reader and getting used to it now.  I can assure you that you will be pleased with it plus having the advantage of being ready for this great new opportunity to expand your own knowledge and educational achievement.  It's not really cost prohibitive to jump in with a beginner's model because you can get a basic Kindle e-reader for only $79.  If you have a few more bucks to spare, I encourage folks to upgrade a bit to get a model that also has the 3G wireless connection.  The next one I get will be the Touch model, for sure.

So join the movement and CLICK HERE to get started.  The link takes you to a Kindle page that has a comparison chart (scroll down to see it) showing all the differences between the various models.  You can also order one from that same page. 

Before we start marching out together though, we need to get this equipment checked out for today.  I'll get the coffee started and see you back in the digital day room in a little while.

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Posted by on January 17, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – January 16

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Monday Morning – Start Making Your Plans

We have some winners from our eBook Contest that was held last week (HERE).  As we announced earlier, three names will be drawn at random to receive their choice of Dead Pen Pals by David Diamantes in either eBook or printed paper.  They will be notified later today.

If you're keeping track, the answers to the contest questions are:

  1. ENOKUS
  2. Miss North Carolina first runner-up
  3. Karin

Congratulations to the winners and watch for my upcoming book review of Dead Pen Pals.

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We will be resuming out Upcoming Events column this week.  While there aren't any outdoor musters and parades, etc., in the dead of winter, we know that many people have to get their vacation leave slips filled out this month, so we'll post some long-range events that we have received so far.

If you are involved in any upcoming fire- or EMS-related event this year, make sure that your organization sends us the information on it as soon as you firm up your plans.  We need to know:  1) the name of the event; 2) dates and location; 3) a public contact name with phone number and email address; and 4) link to the event's webpage, if there is one.

No leave requests will be granted until we get this equipment checked out, though.  So let's get started with that while I make some more coffee.  We'll meet back in the day room right after.

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Posted by on January 16, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup