Wednesday Morning – Thanks!

First I want to thank all of you who sent us so many good wishes and congratulaions yesterday (see yesterday's Lineup).  They came in via emails, Facebook messages and website Comments, too.  It's very rewarding to know that our readers enjoy our product and make Firegeezer a regular part of their online time.  A few typical examples:

• Please, keep it going. You are part of my internet ritual every day….

• I'm not sure exactly how long I've been following you , but your site is the one I visit first everyday!

• It’s been a great adventure reading your site and allways lots of unusual, diverse and interesting articles.

• You always maintain my interest by your broad range of articles….  

All of the GeezerGang truly appreciate your sentiments and the fact that you took the time to write to us.  So, Thanks again!

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Do you recall that reference we gave you the other day to a fire-oriented website in Waterloo, Ontario, that showed a couple of ways that the local FD is integrating high-tech stuff into their operations?  (see Firegeezer HERE.)  One of the new tricks they're up to is putting their unique QRC (Quick Response Code) on the sides of their fire apparatus.

I have seen those maze-looking designs showing up here and there, but never really paid any attention to what they are used for.  I know that they are a type of symbol designed to be scanned, like a bar code, but hadn't thought about why.  I didn't even know they are called QRC's or what the letters stand for.  It turns out that these things have been around for years but are only just recently coming into use in North America.  Their purpose is to allow a unique block of information to be very rapidly scanned, as in "high speed."  Not only are they favorable to speedy scanning, but they can hold a tremendous amount of information compared to a bar code.

Toyota invented the thing way back in 1994 as a method to track parts and units in progress on their auto assembly lines.  Because of that, other uses have been explored and utilized in Japan for quite a few years now.  Europe has been way ahead of us in utilizing the codes, too.  Lately, the most common usage that we've been exposed to is largely for commercial ventures where the codes will connect you to a website or replace your ATM card for purchases.  Most smartphones now come with built-in QRC scanners that read the code via your camera function.  If you don't have one built-in, the usual apps are aplenty out there.

They also lend to innovative marketing uses like the company that will emboss your QRC on a piece of chocolate for you to use as handouts.  Customers can scan the chocolate to view your message and then they can eat it.

Leave it to the innovative thinkers at Facebook to dream up the project recently where a bunch of them went up to the roof of one of their buildings and painted a 40-ft. QRC that takes you to a Facebook information website.  It's large enough to be picked up on a satellite map.

That's really neat stuff, isn't it?

Our apparatus are really neat stuff too, and we need to get them checked out now.  I'm going to check the Bunn-O-Matic and get more coffee going.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Facebook Geeks Paint the Roof

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Being in the Right Neighborhood Helps

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, IS THE HOME to high-tech high flyer Reasearch in Motion (RIM), the innovative developers and purveyors of the pioneering Blackberry personal communication device.  So it  was only natural that the Waterloo Fire Rescue Department would readily adapt the Blackberry technology and products into their operations.

Waterloo Region Fire website is an independent photo-oriented website covering the local fire department and the publisher Ian Haight has just posted an interesting article on this topic.  The firefighters figured out that Blackberry's newest tablet, the Playbook fits comfortably in their bunkergear pockets, so the next step was to buy a bunch of them and then develop their own apps to use with them.  WaterlooRegionFire continues:

Waterloo Fire Rescue relies on hundreds of pre-plans which, until now, had been kept in binders on all front line apparatus and command vehicles. Within the last year, these pre-plans were converted into digital format allowing them to be stored directly on the Playbook. Recognizing the limitations of the paper pre-plans, especially for the firefighters already in the building, combining them onto a wireless (handheld) device was an obvious solution. As Deputy Chief of Emergency operations Larry Brassard says, "we’re now able to put our pre-plans in the hands of our firefighters right inside a building." The app was originally designed as a mapping tool to replace the printed run-cards held in each truck; however, it did not take long to adapt the maps to include the tactical surveys of the buildings in the city.

And that was just the beginning of their custom apps for the device that has been issued to every officer.  He tells of other uses they have integrated with the Playbook.

WaterlooRegionFire.com

Also, if you keep scrolling through the article you will learn why their firetrucks have one of those QR Codes stuck on the sides.  In a city that is populated with literally thousands of geeks, it only makes sense that Waterloo is leading the way with this device, too.

Read the article and see what they are doing with it HERE and learn about their Playbook apps.

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Sunday Morning – "We Are Watching You!"

Most computer users are aware that packets of digital information like emails and cellphone calls are loaded with bits of identifying information such as what computer you are using or where you are located while making a call.  Geeks and IT engineers are constantly looking for ways to best utilize those tidbits of 0's and 1's, for both good and evil purposes.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) fine online Technology Review enewsletter has an interesting article published this past Tuesday on how one digital security company is refining the usage of these hidden information clues to prevent thieves and fraudsters from using stolen credit cards over the phone.  From the article:

Just as people's voices betray hints of the region they originate from, so, it turns out, do phone calls. Handsets, telephone exchanges, and other call-routing infrastructure imprint subtle and almost unique fingerprints onto the audio of any phone call, a phenomenon that security company Pindrop hopes to use to prevent fraudsters from using stolen credit cards over the phone.

"We can identify whether a person is using a landline or cell phone, or when a call supposed to come from a mobile in Atlanta comes from a landline in Nigeria," says Vijay Balasubramaniyan, CEO and cofounder of Pindrop. The "secret" answers and words used to protect bank and other accounts are often easily compromised, particularly using data gleaned online, or through tactics like phishing. Spoofing a caller ID to match a victim's number when calling their bank has also become commonplace, he says.

You've probably noticed that calls placed from different places, different devices, and via different networks, such as a cell phone call compared to one made through Internet services like Skype, sound different. When a person makes a call, the chain of technologies between them and the recipient creates a very particular "line noise."

Pindrop's software has been trained to extract specific information from the line noise on a call. It can even estimate a caller's location, thanks to the patchwork of different telecommunications equipment that links up the globe. "The telephone network has been around for a long time, so there are very different fingerprints for different regions," says Mustaque Ahamad, a professor at Georgia Institute of Technology and chief scientist and cofounder of Pindrop.

Calls placed as closely as 100 miles apart can be identified from one another and counter-maneuvers by the criminals are not totally effective either.  Changing handsets for mobile devices, for example, will change some of the identifying "fingerprint" being transmitted, but enough information from the other digital generators will remain to keep the message identifiable.

Read the entire ARTICLE HERE to see just how amazing this digital exploration can be.  It's impressive.

Now let's make our own impression of sorts and get the equipment checked out for today.  I'll get the coffee started and see how the Sunday breakfast is coming along.  We just might get busy today.

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Friday Morning – There's an APP for that…

Do you remember waaaaay back (4 years ago, in fact) when you would get pager notifications whenever an emergency incident was dispatched in the area you were interested in?  There was / is a loose network of fire dispatchers who voluntarily sent out the pages from their work stations for the benefit of buffs and other interested followers of the emergency news scene.  My former colleague, the late Wes Gerald originated this scheme about 25 years ago and it spread up and down the Atlantic coast, eventually moving across the country to hundreds of dispatch centers everywhere.

Our friend Jeff Harkey who publishes FireNews.net keeps the North Carolina system in sync. and cooperates with the other mid-Atlantic networks.  Now he has taken the next logical step and produced a "Mobile App" that works on all popular brand smartphones and tablets.  Why of course, why not?  Nobody carries pagers anymore….they 're dead and buried.  But everyone carries a cell phone now and it's usually turned on to receive incoming calls and text messages.  Now you can receive working fire notifications, too.  And it's a free APP as well.

One thing I find interesting is that Jeff gives you the option of downloading the app by scanning your QR reader (if your phone has one) over the box code that shows up on the website:

This runaway technology is sooo neat.  Naturally you can just download it directly onto your phone or tablet by using your mobile browser to go to the webpage HERE and then clicking.  Even if you don't normally follow the North Carolina dispatches, it's worth the price just to observe how this feature is evolving with the times.  Now if only I could scan my phone over one of those box codes and get a haircut without driving off to somewhere to get it, all would be well in the world.

Let's make sure our equipment is well in the world now, and get it checked out.  I'm going to start some digital coffee before we meet back in the day room.

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Saturday Morning – Cleared For Takeoff

Techno-News abounds these days for good reason, and since we have been chatting off and on recently about Tablets and e-readers, I thought I would pass this bit along this morning.

It makes sense if you stop and think about it, but it's easy to miss the obvious.  Two months ago in December the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) has given approval for major commercial airlines to issue single-purpose iPads to their pilots to replace their mountain of papers that include their flight charts, weather reports, and other flight-related material.  This new "electronic flight bag" will replace those 30-lb. flight bags and also remove the tedious task of sorting out even more papers that are filed in the cockpit for references.  Of course, there is the added feature of instant updating to the forms and charts that are filed in the tablet.

Wired.com

Alaska Airlines was the first major line to begin using the iPad and have already displaced their Flight Operations Manual and the Flight Handbook.  They're working on the charts now.  Coming on line as we write are United, Continental, American, and freight-hauler UPS, each in the process of switching over.

Now comes news that the U. S. Air Force is beginning the massive changeover to tablets also.  International Business Times is reporting that the USAF is ordering 18,000 iPad 2's to go into use in cargo planes, primarily the C-5 Galaxy and the C-17 Globemaster.

"Moving from a paper-based to an electronically based flight publication system will not only enhance operational effectiveness, it can also save the Department of Defense time and money," said Maj. Gen. Rick Martin, the director of operations for the Air Mobility Command. "Electronic flight bags are becoming an industry standard due to their operational, environmental and cost savings benefits."

There are several benefits to using electronic flight bags instead of physical versions. For one, the iPad can instantly update charts electronically, while the AMC would require flying charts to be reprinted every 28 days to stay up to date.

"This equates to approximately 70 pounds of paper per aircraft each month that must be meticulously sorted, accounted for, and updated," said Maj. Pete Birchenough, who head's the AMC's electronic flight bag initiative.

United Airlines photo

The Air Force Special Operations Command will also be purchasing more than 2,800 iPad 2's.  And the digital beat goes on.  The next question that we have raised before is, whenever will a progressive fire department start doing the same thing for their equipment management?

Until they do, we will just have to grab our old 19th-century clipboards and get our own equipment checked out now.  I will get the coffee started before we meet back in the day room.

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Friday Morning

LODD Update

Sadly, we have to pass along the news that Alexandria, Virginia, Paramedic Joshua Weissman succumbed to his injuries yesterday that he received while working a car fire on Interstate 395 on Wednesday evening.

STATter911 has been staying on top of the story since its inception and has all the details and latest updates including yesterday's press conference HERE.  It is being reported that this is Alexandria's first LODD in over 100 years.

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Mike Legeros, the publisher of Raleigh/Wake Firefighting Blog always has something novel on his front page.  Yesterday he posted a photo of a large electric sign being installed on a shopping mall storefront.  What makes this one unique is that the sign company, instead of using the standard sign crane, this outfit uses a 35-yr.-old American LaFrance aerial to do their work.  CLICK HERE to check out the story and follow his link to more photos of the unique rig.

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Is your cellphone contract coming up for renewal this year?  Usually when you go into the shop to sign up for an extension, the service provider will sweeten the deal if you buy a new, replacement phone at the same time.  Best Buy is offering their own sweetener this year by tossing in a $50 gift card that can be used toward the phone purchase if you choose.  The offer is good until December 31, BUT you have to pre-register by Sunday.  No commitment until you use the offer, but you must be signed up.

Go to their website – http://www.bestbuy.com/ - and you'll see the offer right at the top of the front page.  My contract is up next month, so this comes just in time for me.  Just last week I was noticing the good prices they were offering on their full line of smartphones.

We had better get our own equipment checked out now, so while you get started with that I am going to get a fresh pot started.  Then I'll register with Best Buy before we meet back in the day room.  See you there.

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Updates From the Consumer Electronics Show

which runs from Tuesday to Saturday this week

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HERE'S A GOOD video review of a new smartphone from HTC introduced yesterday.  Coming soon via AT&T, it's a 4G Windows phone that has an eye-popping 16 MP camera in it:

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The Associated Press tells us that the theme for this year seems to be "Thin is In"

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Nixie's report starts with Ultra Books, only a mention though, but it's worth waiting through the video to see the new Home Drone, a consumer-operated drone controlled by your smartphone that transmits live video images back to your receiver.  You can check the neighbor's picnic!

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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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Tuesday Morning – What's New?

If you haven't logged on since yesterday morning, then you haven't yet seen the eBook contest we're running.  It's nothing extravagant nor complicated, but just a bit of fun to help you make the transference to the realm of eBooks and other digital publications coming available via instant download.  It's the posting immediately preceding this Lineup, so after you finish reading this, continue scrolling down to the next item.  (Or you can click HERE to go directly to the page.)  Go ahead and give it a try….

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As we mentioned earlier, the Consumer Electronics Show opens today in Las Vegas.  The CES is where all the new toys and fancy-dan gadgets are introduced to electronics afficianados and observers like me who enjoy watching the "next greatest thing" that may or may not amount to anything, show off its stuff.  Yesterday was Press Day where the manufacturers unveil their surprises and better-than-ever products for the journalists who then spread the word.  Apparently this year there is no Great New Product, but instead marked improvements over existing technologies for the most part.  Television monitors seem to be getting the loudest coverage so far.

Something that might interest a lot of Firegeezer readers is a new line of digital projectors that Optoma Industries is introducing.  F & R training divisions and regional fire academies that rely on portable devices to be taken to the firehouse for instruction will like these much smaller projectors.  The smallest of the group is a pocket-sized, battery powered unit that will project a 30-inch image.  Two more slightly larger models will give up to an 80-inch image and have WiFi receivers that can take your PowerPoint slide show without having to run a cable from your laptop.  Check out the write-up from Information Week HERE.

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This month may be your last chance to enjoy America's favorite lunch treat, Twinkies.  According to reports from business publications, Hostess Brands is likely to file for bankruptcy protection sometime this week.  The makers of Twinkies and their anchor product Wonder Bread have been stressed lately due to unusually high costs of flour and sugar putting a squeeze on their sales.  That's worrisome news for their 19,000 employees, not to mention dedicated firehouse snackers.

We had better be dedicated to equipment safety now and get ours checked out for the day.  I am going to give the Bunn-O-Matic a good run-through and make some more coffee.   See you back in the day room in a little while.

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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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