Gimme That Old Time Music - Bonus

An extra piece... an old Shaker hymn, suggested by a post at Mustang Bobby's.

Enjoy.

... And maybe even learn...

Happy Leftovers Day!!!

Now comes the best part of the holiday season... all those yummy leftovers!  And one of the very best ways of disposing of leftover turkey is on a sandwich with fresh ground black pepper and apple butter (instead of mayo). The apple butters moistens the turkey, but also gives it a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg kick.

And remember, there are plenty of Americans -- AMERICANS!! -- in the same position as these kids, so be grateful for what you have. And maybe if you have a dollar or an hour (and a conscience), help those less fortunate than you.



... And for the totally useless 1%...

Screw you.

Happy Thanksgiving... And Some Old Time Music...

I'm going to be hellaciously busy tomorrow, so I'm going to take this opportunity to wish everyone a happy, safe, and healthy Thanksgiving.

For the folks who are working tomorrow -- the cops, firefighters, EMS personnel, toll collectors, cab drivers, radio announcers, c-store crews, Wal Mart folks, tech support staff -- well...

THANK YOU!

And if any of my readers are Red Cross volunteers and you get called out tomorrow to help some family whose Thanksgiving was suddenly destroyed by a house fire or flood or something, a very special thank you, and a "stay safe."

See you all on Friday.

Fresh Mushrooms...

As Saint Ronnie said, "well, there you go again..."

The rethuglicans are returning to one of their previous, less-than-stellarly-successful campaigns. I saw an ad on YouTube, decrying the proposed nuclear agreement with Iran, culminating with the ominous warning that if we don't stop Obama now, we'll have a mushroom cloud next week.

Apparently, the best way to prevent a nuclear (or as they pronounce it, "nukuler") holocaust is to... nuke Iran.

How long has that meme been floating around?

Since friggin' 1980!

Miscellaneous Musings and Random Ratiocinations...

Despite the fact that he was a RWNJ in the mold of Alexander Haig, Darth Cheney and few others, the late novelist Tom Clancy was a helluva storyteller. One of his most endearing (not) techniques was to take the proclivities of the conservatives, and transfer them to liberals. I just finished Locked On, currently the penultimate novel in the Jack Ryan/John Clark series.  Here are some of the things the libruls did, in an effort to oppress the innocent conservatives:

• Out a (former) CIA operative -- John Clark -- for purely political purposes (attempting to prevent the re-election of Jack Ryan as POTUS);
• Use federal law enforcement resources for purely partisan political reasons;
• Assist Islamist terrorists in avoiding justice;
• Use CIA personnel in domestic operations, targeting American nationals.

Of course, Clancy also reprised most of his other favorite themes: the violence inherent in Islam (which, based on current behavior, may not be all that farfetched); the portrayal of Islamists as deluded, ignorant buffoons (despite their having acquired and deployed nuclear weapons in at least three of his novels); the infallibility of the conservative viewpoint, and the concomitant inevitable failure of the liberals; and the belief that violence cures all ills.

Every once in a while, his lack of attention to continuity sticks out like a sore thumb. In The Sum of All Fears, Charles Alden was in the State Department,National Security Advisor and was instrumental in the initial stages of a brokered peace in the Middle East; in the later stories, however, those featuring Jack Ryan, Jr., Alden is a venal, corrupt (liberal) political appointee in the CIA.

Another drawback to Clancy's later novels is his use of the deus ex machina of a secret, extra-governmental agency to protect America (not unlike the Men In Black franchise).

And don't get me started on the lunacy of casting Ben Affleck in the movie version of The Sum of All Fears.

Michael Vick: Why Doesn't He Just DIE?!?

First it was Whoopi Goldberg supporting Michael Vick (saying that dog fighting was accepted in his culture). Now, Chris Rock and Jay Leno both have come out in support of Vick, with Rock saying, "Dogs have never been good to black people!" which might have something to do with the fact that so many blacks like to... umm, beat, torture, electrocute, drown and otherwise MURDER dogs?

Going back to the point I made in the linked article, since dog fighting was acceptable in their culture, maybe we should return to another culturally acceptable pastime: lynching these worthless pieces of shit.

Screw Chris Rock for being a worthless piece of shit, and for supporting another worthless piece of shit.

And for that matter, screw the human chin for supporting TWO worthless pieces of shit.

Dog fighting -- or animal abuse in general -- is NEVER culturally acceptable.

Never.

Screw Vick, Rock, and Leno.

What Attaturk Says...

"When Charles Manson is the SANE half of the couple, that's not a good sign."

Sweet baby Jeebus.

Gimme That Old Time Music

No drugs involved in this one.

None.

At all.

Gimme That Old Time Music

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy...

These guys do one helluva show... although the second time we saw them (in Manchester, NH), their amps were turned up WAY too loud.

At Least I'm Not Alone...

D r i f t g l a s s has a post up that describes my own situation almost perfectly, except for gender and lack of MIT credentials. Of course, the same can be said by countless thousands -- if not millions -- across the country.

Ms. Barrington-Ward, D r i f t g l a s s, Jurassic Pork, and yr humble and obt svt are all in the same boat: unemployed for so long that we're now unemployable, with credit scores that have been "sledgehammered," in JP's words.

I tell you, if there is reincarnation, I don't want to come back and be a nice guy all over again. I did that this time around, and I have nothing to show for it. Next time, I want to be a mean, miserable, nasty SOB... with lots of money.

It SUCKS to be in this situation. And to the jerkwads who say it's our fault, fine. Let's trade places. You take our cushy, lazy-ass lifestyles, and try to feed your families.

And we'll piss all over you.

Sanctimonious assholes.

Gimme That Old Time Music

Yes, Maya Caballero. Again.


I like her music.

She has an album out on BandCamp (http://mayacaballero.bandcamp.com/). Is it still an "album" if it's digital?

Oh, the piece above is not on the album, I simply like it.

Gimme That Old Time Music (That I) Heard Around the Barn...

A couple of weeks ago, two big bales of marijuana washed ashore at Jamison's Cove. Since it was tidal water, we had to notify the Marine Patrol and the Coast Guard.

Well, before either of the law enforcement agencies could get there, the bales were discovered by our local seagulls.

By the time the cops arrived....

.... wait for it....

There was no tern left un-stoned.

 

 

And in honor of our stoned gulls:

 



"If You've Got Nothing to Hide..."

One of the more conservative medical bloggers -- whom I will not link to because he's such a dyed-in-the-wool-right-wing whackjob (but also a helluva medic) -- was bitching about the TSA.

BillyJoeBobBubba "forgot" to remove live ammunition from his bags before heading to the airport to board a plane, and was complaining about the search that ensued.

This from one of those "If you've got nothing to hide, you've got nothing to worry about" types. It was HIS philosophical cronies, after all, who established the TSA (and the rest of DHS) and rammed it down our throats.

Apparently, the fact that they searched a white man instead of a scary brown Moozlum is, well... intolerable.

Got news for ya, Bubba: you're the ones screaming that everybody should be armed, so it makes sense that you're the ones who should pay the price when your gun mania gets you in hot water. You're the ones who say "security trumps everything else", including Fourth Amendment freedoms. You're the ones who demanded the PATRIOT Act. You're the ones who supported the establishment of the American version of the Gestapo. You're the ones who insisted -- screechingly -- that TSA damn near strip search everyone within 5 miles of an airplane.

You wanted it, BillyJoeBobBubba, and you got it. Now YOU get to live with it, too, just like the rest of us.

Moronic redneck LOSER.

Gimme That Old Time Music...

Someone sent me a link to a Justin Bieber video.

Someone who has obviously done more drugs than the Stones, the Beatles, and the Dead.  Combined.

Bieber, fergodsake.  "Simpering saccharine soul-less slush" indeed.

Oh, Fercrissakes...

As Chief Curt Varone* says, "You can't make this stuff up"...

Ohio [was] set to execute a convicted child killer after denying the man's last-minute request to donate organs to his ailing mother and sister before he dies.
[Convicted baby-raping murderer Ronald] Phillips has said through his attorneys that the request was not a delay tactic, but rather an attempt to make a final gesture for good.

 This is the latest chapter in the saga of Ronald Phillips, who in January 18, 1993, murdered his girlfriend's daughter, three-year-old Sheila Marie Evans, at her home in Akron. Phillips had been sexually and physically abusing Sheila for some time. Phillips severely beat Sheila in the head, face and abdomen, threw her against the walls, dragged her by her hair and anally raped her.

Phillips probably figured he could donate his organs, and then claim his physical health prohibited execution. Variations on this tactic include, just before one's scheduled execution, half-assed suicide attempts, assaults resulting in hospitalization, and a few other more creative things.

His attorney said:

"He's been very reflective and prayerful over the last several weeks. I think he was very hopeful that he was going to be granted clemency and/or get relief from the court, so this never really had to come to a head," Sweeney said. "The disappointment on those fronts made this obviously more relevant."

That, of course, makes all the difference: "Ah have found Jee-zuss, and He has forgiven me, so now y'all gotta let me outa here. Hey, y'all need a babysitter?"

It's the same crap we get from the "family values" crowd when they get caught with their pants down (literally).

BUT.....

Republican Gov. John Kasich rescheduled 40-year-old Ronald Phillips' lethal injection to July 2, falling for the "I got religion" ploy just like every other Xristian Xrazy.

As a result, the "law and order" party is allowing a baby-raping murderer to escape the punishment decided by a jury of his peers. Just goes to show, moreover, that their "right to life" stance ends at birth.

Be interesting to see what happens in July, whether the BABY-RAPING MURDERER pulls another fast one out of his ass, and manages to avoid the same death sentence he handed to his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter. 

Oh, he was also claiming that lethal injection would have been cruel and unusual punishment because he was "afraid of needles"... just as Sheila was probably afraid of this needle-dicked dink.

Hey, Phillips: DIE. Slowly, painfully, screaming in agony. DIE, you baby-raping murderous maggot.

________________________
* I am NOT implying, in any way, shape, or form, that Chief Varone agrees with any of the opinions expressed in this blog. I am merely quoting one of his tags, which I adopted: "YCMTSU."

So, There I Was, Balancing My Checkbook...

 

 

My bank is too big to fail because of all my overdraft charges....

 

Yes, I had to learn "New Math" in school.

 

 

 

And for the kids who have never heard of Professor Lehrer, here's an entire concert from Copenhagen

Gimme That Old Time Music

Dawn Wells... one of the prettiest women on earth... after the lovely yet talented Mrs618 and Paulette Goddard.

 

 

 

 

You know what always amazed me? The Professor could build an entire rock band (as in this clip), or make a radio from two cocoanuts, and the whole crew could build a village...

...but no one could patch the damned Minnow???

Oh, and just how many bags did everyone pack for that three-hour tour?!? I don't think I ever saw a character wear the same outfit twice.

___________

Oh, and for the kids who don't know Paulette Goddard:

She was one of Charlie Chaplin's many wives, appearing with him in Modern Times and The Great Dictator. She was also considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With The Wind, but Vivien Leigh won that role.

Another shot of the lovely yet talented Ms. Goddard:

 

 

Maybe it's just me, but I think she looks a lot like Elizabeth Short (a/k/a the "Black Dahlia"):

 



Ooooh, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise...

Fat little murderer Georgie "Porky" Zimmerman stiffed his attorneys!

Porky, who has managed to evade a murder conviction thanks to Florida's Make My Day Law, has since attracted even more attention from the po-po, including numerous traffic stops where he asks if the cop recognizes him from TV. Personally, if I were still a cop, I might be tempted to view that as a threat: "I've killed before and gotten away with it..."

Now, he's managed to get in trouble yet again. After showing up at the home of his estranged wife, Shellie "I've never met a dessert I didn't like" Zimmerman, with a gun, his attorney told the court that he would no longer represent the fat little turdball.

Because the fat little turdball has yet to pay his attorney.

This is despite his legal defense having pulled in more than $300,000 (as of January).

The money went for things like bail (which, having been returned upon his acquittal, should have gone back into the pot), private security (gun nut doesn't want to be approached by someone who may be...well, armed? ... and who might fear Porky? ... and who might shoot his pudgy little ass? ... and then claim he was "standing his ground'?), and -- last but certainly least -- almost $62,000 for eight months of living expenses. That means, for 12 months of living expenses, Quick-Draw Gonzalez would need about $93,000. Ninety-three thousand dollars. Burritos must be awfully expensive in his neck of the woods.

Now, all of those contributions to the Ruger Bandito came from fellow gun nuts, militia members, racists, and other typical redneck scum.

Be interesting to see what they do to Turdball when they finally figure out that HE SCREWED THEM ROYALLY.

Nice knowin' ya, turdball. Not.

Haz-Mat... It's No Laughing Matter...

Well, yes, yes it is.

Sometimes.

This just showed up on Facebook, from one of the emergency management types:

This ranks right up there with the "Pink Shirt Guy"

 

 

HE shows up in just about every Haz-Mat PowerPoint I've ever seen.  Although, to be fair to PSG, if the crew is going to be taping their boots and gloves and wearing respirators, they should probably have their hoods on too.*

 

 

 

*Not that I have any haz mat training above awareness level. I simply use the rule of thumb: if I'm close enough so that I can't cover the entire scene with my thumb... I'm too freakin' close!!

 



Good Morning, Minnesota!

 

I've been getting a fair number of visits from the communities of Owatonna and West Concord, MN. I use the free version of Site Meter, so I don't know if these are repeat or unique visitors, but it doesn't really matter.

Hi, folks, thank you for stopping by. Feel free to poke around and see what's here: everything from fire history to music to politics and pets. Comments are always welcome*.

From reading so many John Sandford books, sounds like I'm missing out by not visiting out there... seems like it's every bit as nice as Maine (albeit with a different regional accent).

Oh, and feel free to tell your friends!


* Unless they're spam comments about vacations in Uruguay or body-part enlargement, of course.

Gimme That Old Time Music

In honor of the 33rd Annual Mid Coast EMS Conference, in Rockport, Maine.

This is from the two-hour pilot. Notice the original Squad 51, and the rest of the classic vehicles. You'll also notice that Martin Milner and Kent McCord (Malloy and Reed from Adam-12) appear. Not surprising, as Emergency! was a spin-off of Adam-12, which in turn was spun off from Dragnet.

A potential spin-off from Emergency! that failed was called 905-Wild, about some LA County Animal Control officers. That one starred Mark Harmon, David Huddleston, and Gary Crosby (Bing's son).
_____________________

When Emergency! debuted in 1972, the whole field of EMS was only a couple of years old. Previously, emergency medical care -- such as it was -- was provided by attendants with roughly 40 hours of Advanced First Aid, and maybe CPR. The vehicles were usually modified station wagons, operated by the local funeral homes (putting in the crews in an interesting situation - take the person to the hospital, or perhaps pick up the funeral?), or by civic groups like the American Legion, or Lions clubs.

Cadillac was the most popular make, but there were others like Pontiac, Chevrolet, Packard, and De Soto.

Some were barely-modified hearses:

Some very progressive services did use vans early on... here's a 1962 Chevy Corvair:

As the old wagons were being phased out, we started using vehicles like the Chevy Suburban or the International Travel-All:

 

 

As you can imagine, there wasn't a whole hell of a lot of room inside to work on patients. Not that it really mattered, since all we did at the time was advanced first aid - no IVs, usually no CPR, certainly nothing like intubation.

 

 

And what do we have these days?

 

 



Gawd, I'm starting to feel like Mustang Bobby with all the classic vehicle pix...

Guns and Racism... No Connection. None Whatsoever.

Via skippy... 

"racism linked to gun ownership" 

Whodathunkit? [All emphasis added] 

A new study of symbolic racism among white American voters yielded strong links between latent biases toward blacks and increased favor of gun ownership and oppositions toward gun control.

Wow, that's is a "stop-the-press" moment... that the small-penis-compensation-device-loving crowd would also be jealous of the stereotypical big black jungle dick?

Published in the journal PLoS One, the study used voter data of white Americans that, after accounting for political ideology, income, and education, still revealed startling connections between racism and gun ownership. For every one point increase in symbolic racism — measured on a five-point scale — the chance someone had a gun in the home rose by 50 percent, and the chance the respondent supported policies that allowed people to carry concealed guns rose by 28 percent.

This would certainly explain the South. As BadTux and others have pointed out, the Southern social norms have traditionally included slavery -- which is racism in it's purest form -- and violence to keeps the slaves from rebelling. When one couples that with the still-extant desire to secede and rebuild the Confederacy, it's obvious that disarming the rednecks isn't going to happen.

"We were initially surprised that no one had studied this issue before,” said study co-author Dr. Dermot Lynott, from Lancaster University, in a statement. “However, the U.S. government cut research funding for gun-related research over decade and a half ago, so research in this area has been somewhat suppressed." 

Well, yes, the funding was cut at the demand of the National Feckin Rifle Association, since they didn't want folks to realize that the gun nuts were also racist bastards (among their many other un-American failings). God forbid anyone should think that guns.. oh, I don't know, kill people?!?

Gun control debates are set against a bleak backdrop of school shootings, homicides, suicides, and gun violence in a country that routinely tops the list for most gun-related deaths in a given year. A study performed earlier this year found that the more guns a U.S. state owns directly relates to an increased homicide rate. Covering 30 years from 1981 to 2010, and controlling for a laundry list of variables, it is the largest and most comprehensive study to date examining homicide’s relationship to gun ownership. 

Part of the answer is simply freedom. Americans whose family is steeped in the traditions of southern conservatism tend to enjoy exercising their second amendment Constitutional right. Another is irrationality, or an ignorance of the facts. Gun ownership often proceeds under the assumption that one will be attacked. So people buy guns fearing someone else will use one on them, despite the supposed closeness of people inhabiting gun-heavy regions. 

And if there is anywhere on Earth that epitomizes “irrationality” and “ignorance,” it is the disease-ridden Trashcanistan hellhole home of our Bible-thumpin’, hooker-humpin’, sister-marryin’, rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup wingnut “breathren” below the Mason-Dixie line.  

This whole concept of "home defense" lead Mrs. Lanza in Newtown to buy a poopload of weapons to protect herself. How did THAT work out for ya, Mrs. L?

The present study also found associations in their data between opposition to gun controls and conservatism, anti-government sentiment, party identification, and being from a southern state. Even controlling for these factors, the team found racism associated with gun control opposition and gun ownership. 

Yeah, I’d say that pretty much covers it.

 

To be fair, though, it's not just the Southern racists that are frickin lunatics. Here in Maine, we've had small-penis-compensators like David Marsters, who advocated the assassination of our President; Steve Collins, who advocated the assassination of our President; we have the Maine Tea Party Patriots -- the ones who support Fat-Ass Paul LePage, he of more chins than a Chinatown phone book; the National Socialist American Labor Party, a buncha neo-Nazi twats and Volksfront, representing the racist skinhead crowd. Every one of these assholes keeps agitating for unfettered access to firearms... especially assault rifles.

 

Since they're such firm believers in guns...

 

They oughta be shot.

 

 

 

 

 

What the Burned Out Medic Sez...

He nailed it on the head.

In a sentence, we drop everything else to respond to other people’s requests for assistance no matter what time it is, how dangerous or safe the neighborhood is, what good or evil or crazy people with or without weapons are at the scene, how clean or disgusting the residence – on fire or not – is, what funky bodily fluids are smeared or not smeared all over someone, and we do what is necessary to get things done, regardless of how much we do or don’t want to do it.

Yup, that pretty much covers it.

Sports? Here?? Well, Yeah, Sorta...

If you've read this blog for more than about three minutes, you'll know I'm not a sports fan. The lovely yet talented Mrs618 could tell you I don't have the faintest idea whether Payton Manning is a shortstop or point guard. I couldn't give a rat's rectum about the Stanley Cup (and I have no idea what A Streetcar Named Desire has to do with hockey) or the Super Bowl or any of the other sports extravaganzas.

But, for these guys, I'll make an exception and post something about sports.

 

As we say in New York,

 

"Ya done good, guys, real good."

 

 



Gimme That Old Time Music

The lovely yet talented Mnozil Brass, an Austrian septet.

This concept works much better than I would have thought... an all-brass-and-vocal cover of Queen's classic Bohemian Rhapsody.

Gimme That Old Time Music - Bonus

Bonus ...

The lovely yet talented Maya Caballero...

 

 

 

Gimme That Old Time Music

The lovely yet talented Stephanie Trick.

It should be illegal for one person to be so young, so talented, and so cute, all at the same time.

 

 

She is one of those obnoxious* people who can play just about anything -- stride, boogie, ragtime, Bach -- and make it look easy.

 

 

* Of course, it's only obnoxious to those of us who can only play a stereo...**

 

** Yes, I'm jealous.

 

 



Oh, HELL, No.

According to NBC Nightly News, the moronic losers at TSA have decided they want to arm some of the TSA goons, in response to yesterday's shooting at LAX.

As you know, I'm not a big fan of TSA. In fact, I regard them as a buncha moronic loser thieving perverts. For example, see these previous posts.

And to prove I'm not alone, if one Googles "tsa screeners arrested," you find 202,000+ hits. They've been grabbed for theft, sexual assault, and all sorts of other crimes of moral turpitude.

Plus, they're completely in-freakin-competent: they can't find bombs or guns in luggage... hell, they couldn't find a frickin BABY that went through one of their Xray machines.

One of those loser screeners will grope some woman's breasts *, she'll complain about it... and he'll shoot her ass.

And they want GUNS?!?

 

 

* And that came from LewRockwell.com, which is far to the right of Faux, Frothy Santorum, and most of the rest of Teabagistan.

as the lovely yet talented skippy would say...

...say hello to "ambulance ranger."

In all honesty, I don't know how skippy can do a zillion blogposts without a single capital letter.

Ambulance Ranger is a Ranger/EMT/Paramedic in training out on the left coast. The impression I get is that she works for the NPS and hence, has her hands full even without medic school.

She has been kind enough to add me to her "waiting list" of blogs she wants to read, which leaves me feeling kinda honored. Of course I'm adding hers to mine.

Good luck in medic school, and stay safe on the job!

I. Am. EVIL.

A few years back, when we were still in Michigan, I set the picture below as my desktop, then called our IT crew to tell them I had some weird error message on my screen. The tech -- fresh out of college -- looked at it and said, "I've never seen anything like this before."

Poor Aunt Lavinia...

My Aunt Lavinia hasn't been feeling well for the past couple of weeks, so we called the doctor. The doctor stopped to see her (yes, in Maine, doctors still make house calls). When he was done, he asked for a glass of water, so we steered him out to the well (there are still some things lacking here at Chez618). The doctor was leaning over a little too far, and fell into the well.

I pulled him out and told him to treat the sick, and leave the well alone.

(H/T Max Morath, the ragtime pianist I mentioned here)

It's That Time of Year...

Don't have your story show up on This Date in Fire History. Change your clock, change your battery.

(Swiped from the Maine Fire Chiefs Association Facebook page. I hope they don't mind)

Schticks of One, Pottersville Edition

Usually, I use this tag for my own conglomeration of bits and pieces that I don't feel like turning into full posts.

The lovely yet talented Jurassic Pork has done his own turn on this theme.

I especially like numbers three and four:

Thanks to the GOP cutting SNAP benefits, last night I had kids showing up at my door begging me for meat and vegetables.

Last night, Paul Ryan threw all his candy on his roof then told kids, "Wait for it to trickle down."

Yup, that sounds like them.

(And if you could toss some coinage their way, they'd appreciate it)

*NO* Frickin Sympathy.

None.

Ronald Phillips, who was convicted of raping and killing his girlfriend's three-year-old daughter, wants his execution delayed*.

Ronald Phillips

CONVICTED RAPIST

and BABY MURDERER

 

Gee, whiz, Ronnie. You think maybe your girlfriend's little girl might have liked having her death postponed? By about 75 years?

 

 

As the lovely yet talented Mrs618 asked, "You think maybe she didn't want your fully-grown penis in her three-year-old body?"

 

 

Hey, Ronnie...

 

 

DIE SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY, ASSHOLE.

 

Don't want to be executed?

 

THEN MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE RAPED AND MURDERED A CHILD!!

 

 

*He says he "deserves" a reprieve because Ohio uses lethal injection... and he's afraid of needles. Cry me a frickin river, jerkwad. 

Some Changes at 618Rants

I have spent virtually my entire working life trying to help people, to make them safe, to make sure they go home to their loved ones at night. All too often, though, I put the needs of the many ahead of the needs of the few, or of the one, as Mr. Spock might say. My career in law enforcement and private-sector security cost me two marriages, a couple of intervening relationships, and almost cost me my life. It left me an alcoholic, vicious, mean, bigoted bastard; it took me almost twenty years to recover from that (I haven't done any drinking since 1989, and had it not been for the lovely yet talented Mrs618, I might never have recovered).

More recently, I've been engaged in firefighting and yet another round in EMS (my third). Because these are paid-on-call jobs, they weren't as time-consuming as police work, but I still tried my very best.

No more.

A couple of things happened yesterday, including hearing my alcoholic, psychologically-abusive father tell my drunk junkie brother that HE was the reliable one... after the lovely yet talented Mrs618 and I left a pair of $50,000-a-year jobs and moved to Maine to take care of my parents. After I've been fixing their house -- at MY expense -- for six years. After putting myself in the hospital a bunch of times with exhaustion, chest pains, bad knees, pneumonias, and a few things that looked like strokes or heart attacks.

Plus, I've been getting some really snotty emails from the local logistics person at the Red Cross, who seems to feel it is MY job to verify all the logistical issues for a class (if that is the case, why do we pay a full-time logistics person? And what does she do to earn her keep?).

I lay awake all night, thinking about things. About 4:00 AM, I felt a door close, then I got really cold, then everything just kind of mellowed out.

I had made my decisions:

• No more caring about anybody other than the lovely yet talented Mrs618, Emily (the Lab), Joey (the cat), and my son.
• I will continue to do the best job I can with the FD and EMS, but that's all it is now, a job. If you live, fine. If you don't, well, sucks to be you.
• Someone else can do the 14 or 15 different functions I'd been filling at the Red Cross for the last six years, including getting up in the middle of the night to go to house fires (I'll still go for the FD, cause they pay me).
• No feelings, no emotion, no empathy, no sympathy. Talk to the hand, dude.
• Ditto with their cultural norms, belief systems, languages, religions or other ethnic crap. You live in the United States, you adjust to OUR way of life. You don't like it? Go back to Trashcanistan.
• I'm not going to worry about watching my tongue anymore. Fat-Ass Paul LePage is a fat-assed teabagging douchbag. So is his fat-assed daughter. So is Rafael Eduardo Hijo de Puta Cruz, Canadian-born anchor baby spawn of cigar-sucking Cuban émigré, Castro supporter and Desi Arnaz wannabe Rafael Bienvenido Chinga tu Madre Cruz. So is Bible Spice and her oxygen-thief brood. And all the other cretinous yahoos who need to chlorinate their little corners of the gene pool, like the various Kardashians: Kleenex, Klepto, Klamato, and Klimax. Half of those fucks oughta be shot. Hell, most of 'em oughta be shot.

I don't know if this blog is going to continue. I may post again, I may not. I don't know.

For those who have stopped by and commented in the past -- the folks like BadTux, Jurassic Pork, The Dark Wraith*, skippy the bush kangaroo, the gone-but-not-forgotten Firestarter5 -- thank you. You gave me the encouragement to continue, and you let me think that maybe I had something worthwhile to offer. For the newer folks, the medical and fire service folks like Michael Morse, Justin Schorr, and Curt Varone, we may not agree on everything, but we tried. By God, we tried. To the folks on the old Yahoo wildlife groups, DLP in particular, thank you for the encouragement (and the occasional ball-busting).

BTW, I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Jurassic Pork and his missus are in pretty tough financial straits; if you can toss a few coins his way, please do. They really do deserve to have a roof over their heads.

* The Dark Wraith has been missing in action for a couple of years now, and Google is now showing his old site (and the companion site BigBrassBlog) as possibly infected with malware, so no links. DW, if you should happen to see this, you are missed. Same for Firestarter5.

_

Speaking of Cats...

 

 

Mr618, the non-cat, non-owned, non-penguin...

Heard Around the Barn...

I was working on the engine outside the Station a few days ago, when I noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle.

The girl was wearing a firefighter's helmet.

The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat.

I walked over to take a closer look.

'That sure is a nice fire truck,' I said with admiration.

'Thanks,' the girl replied. The firefighter looked a little closer. The girl had tied the wagon to her dog's collar and to the cat's testicles.

'Little partner,' I said, 'I don't want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat's collar, I think you could go faster. '

The little girl replied thoughtfully, 'You're probably right, but then I wouldn't have a siren.'

This Date in Fire History: Oct 17, 1966, The Wonder Drug Store Fire

I must have been brain-cramping like mad yesterday. I meant to post this, but forgot all about it.

Which is inexcusable.

Twelve firefighters died, twelve wives lost their husbands (and breadwinners), AND 32 CHILDREN LOST THEIR FATHERS.

And I forgot to post this.
____________________

From the New York Times, Oct 17, 2006:

It is Oct. 17, 1966, and Vinny Dunn, a 31-year-old lieutenant in the Fire Department, is sprinting east on 23rd Street to get his orders on working the rear of a burning building on East 22nd.

He reaches a chief who orders him and his engine company into an adjacent building. Then the chief turns and orders another young lieutenant, Joseph Priore, to have his company pull a hose line into the Wonder Drug store on 23rd Street, which backed up to the burning building. Lieutenant Priore and the men of Engine 18 disappear inside, never to be seen alive again. They were lost in a floor collapse, which killed 12 firefighters, including the commander who ordered the men in, Deputy Chief Thomas A. Reilly.

Among them, the dead men left 12 widows and 32 children. It took 14 hours to dig out the dead. Until Sept. 11, 2001, it was the heaviest loss of life in the Fire Department’s history. A lengthy inquiry showed that a cellar wall had been moved, leaving the drugstore’s five-inch-thick terrazzo floor unsupported and vulnerable to collapse.

This was yet another watershed moment for FDNY, in that it opened the city's eyes to the dangers of illegal building renovations (a cellar wall had been moved,  leading to the collapse of the building).

For once, we do not have the usual suspects to blame: overcrowding, flammable decorations, insufficient exits, etc. This time, it's just greed - moving a wall to increase storage space, without shoring up the ceiling.

Left to right, top to bottom:

 

LT John J Finley, L-7

LT Joseph Priore, E-18

DC Thomas A Reilly, 3rd Div

BC Walter J Higgins, 7th Batt

Fr Bernard A Tepper, E-18

Fr Daniel L Rey, E-18 (probationary)

Fr James V Galanaugh, E-18

Fr Joseph Kelly, E-18

Fr Carl Lee, L-7

Fr John G Berry, L-7

Fr William F McCarron, 3rd Div

Fr Rudolph F Kaminski, L-7

 

 

And, as always, the firefighters stood by their fallen:

 



10,000 firefighters -- ten thousand -- from across the country turned out for the funerals, including firefighters from Anchorage, Alaska, and San Francisco. There were 500 who came from Boston alone.

Good Fire Training Video

Via The Happy Medic...

Exactly!

From the lovely yet talented Mrs618...

Heh, indeedy.

Schticks of One...

...Half a dozen of the other...

 

(I've been using this tag for a few years, but didn't

see someone had posted this last year...)

 

 

Y'know, if it hadn't been for Spike Jones and Victor Borge and Allan Sherman, there might never have been a Weird Al Yankovic.



I. My Dream Job

One that I could never qualify for, but what the hell.

Tillerman on a hook and ladder (that's the guy steering the wheels on the trailer).


II. Heard Around The Barn

Senior Guy: "What kind of lights did Noah have on the Ark?"
Junior Guy: "I dunno..."
Senior Guy: "Flood lights, of course."


III. Pet Blogging

Not by me, but by Michael Morse. He's trying to raise funds for an animal rescue operation (where Cousin Wilson adopted Michael and his wife). He says he won't let Wilson into the house till he has some contributions*. I'd contribute, except I'm so broke, Tim Allen couldn't fix me. If you could go to his blog and toss a couple of bucks Wilson's way, I'd appreciate it.

And Wilson could get back on the couch.


* I don't think Michael is really refusing to let Wilson in, he's just trying to shame us.

Gimme That Old Time Music...

Back when I was a nipper, my parents took me to see a ragtime piano show by a guy named Max Morath for my 13th birthday. They had the album of the show I went to, and I just found it on YouTube. Listen to each part of the album... really good music, and wonderful showmanship. Two of my all-time favorites are "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" (Part 4) and "Where Did Robinson Crusoe Go With Friday On Saturday Night?" (Final Part).  The drinking songs in Part 3 and the "dirty" songs in Part 5 are also wonderful (and John Valby doesn't have to worry about competition from these dirty ditties).

I've been to about 30 of his shows since. And I asked him to autograph that original 1969 program each time. Poor guy would see that battered old program and pop another dozen gray hairs.

Every one of his many albums is well worth the listen.

In fact, here he is, performing Scott Joplin's immortal Maple Leaf Rag.  Hey, if Badtux can do it, so can I.

 

 

Bonus track: Ethan Uslan performing The Blue Danube as a rag.

 



 

And a BONUS bonus track ('cuz I just love me some Spike Jones):

 



I'm Glad I'm Not Jewish.

Not that there's anything wrong with being Jewish, mind you.

Back when I was a kid, I thought it would be great to be Jewish... a whole second set of holidays from school, and their version of Christmas lasted nine days. NINE days of presents!

Then one of my Jewish friends delivered the death blow as far as I was concerned: no bacon, no ham, no sausage, no pork.

The lovely yet talented Mrs618 made a pork roast tonight, with apple stuffing and baby carrots sautéed in butter and brown sugar.

Yeah, for that, I'm glad I gave up the dreidels.

Heh, Indeed...

What "The Cat-Owned Penguin" says...

Attracting, Recruiting, and Retaining Volunteers

One of the biggest problems facing volunteer organizations today is attracting and retaining qualified volunteers. Whether its a volunteer FD or EMS agency, a local Red Cross or Salvation Army chapter, food pantry, pet shelter, whatever, the ranks of volunteers are becoming alarmingly thin. With the economy the way it is these days, those fortunate enough to have jobs often have two jobs, trying to make ends meet. The spouse will often have two jobs, as well. In addition, there is that nebulous conglomeration of housecleaning, cooking, etc, not to mention a couple of things I have heard of, called "sleep" and "having a life." The result is simply insufficient time to engage in volunteer activities.

For skilled volunteer professions like firefighting or EMS, there are ever-increasing training requirements to be met.

For example, the EMT-Basic class is now somewhere around 200 hours, plus clinical rotations and state and national Registry testing. In Maine, an EMT-Basic is also required to have a minimum of 38 hours of Continuing Education, in the following areas: Preparatory, Operations; Airway, Breathing, Circulation; Assessment; Medical; Trauma; Obstetrics, Pediatrics; Psychomotor Skills; and Further Continuing Ed (essentially, electives).

Firefighters are in an even tougher situation: most departments encourage and strive for Firefighter I and II certification, but many also require Haz-Mat Operations, EMT-Basic, commercial driver licenses, or other skills. The career fire departments -- FDNY, Boston, DC, LA -- include these topics in their 3-6 month academies. The volunteers, however, do it a couple of hours a night, a couple of evenings a week... for a couple of YEARS. Yet the public expects volunteer firefighters in Pudunk, Maine, to have the same basic skillset as FDNY (and notice I said basic skill set, not the sophisticated things like high-rise firefighting, urban search and rescue, dive team, or air operations). It is an understandable expectation, even if perhaps currently unattainable.

Volunteers are expected to attend training sessions and meetings without compensation, even if they receive nominal compensation while responding to calls. Many volunteer departments charge annual dues, require members to pay for (required) training out of their own pockets, and some even require members to purchase their own firefighting gear (which runs about $2000 per person).

What's the quick-n-easy solution? There isn't one.

Some not-so-easy solutions:

• Eliminate volunteer fire departments and EMS and go to career departments. This would cost a bloody fortune, which most taxpayers would refuse to authorize. A full-time firefighter costs at least $100,000 per year, depending on base pay, benefits, etc. In rural areas, this would probably take the form of a county department, similar to the situation in Virginia and Maryland.
• Eliminate most of the training requirements for volunteers agencies. This would be unacceptable from a public safety point of view. Firefighting and EMS require highly specialized skills... after all, we are literally talking life and death here. Besides, we don't mind training, we just don't want it to take over our lives, especially if it's training in skills we are not allowed to use (foolish, yes, but it happens).
• Reevaluate training using evidence-based research, and provide government-funded stipends. There is a lot of training that continues simply because "this is the way we've always done it," regardless of the impact on patient outcome (for example, backboarding patients based solely on mechanism of injury as opposed to appropriate assessment); eliminating such outmoded protocols would allow more efficient use of training time and improve patient care. Extending existing stipends to cover training time would reimburse participants somewhat for committing their time to the community. Most stipends, by way the, are nominal at best: $15.00 per call, or $500.00 per year. Nobody will ever get rich working as a volunteer.
• Leave things the way they are. And watch the ranks of volunteers thin even more. We need sufficient staffing and resources to do our jobs properly and safely. But even more importantly, perhaps, we need time off, too, no matter how dedicated we are, time to spend with our wives (or husbands) and children, time to have a couple of beers, time to just kick back and do nothing.

Since I got sidetracked and came back to this a couple of hours later (and since my train of thought left me on the platform), I'll come back to this topic, looking at each aspect of the problem, and -- maybe -- suggesting some possible solutions.

Medical Product Review: BATCLIP

A number of the other medical bloggers have done product reviews, so I figured I would toss in my two cents.

A few months ago, I ran across something that fulfills all three needs.

The BatClip was developed by one of our local ED physicians, and is a great way to keep your stethoscope handy, yet out of the way. (It also looks really cool.)

It clips to your belt (either hip, it's ambidextrous) with a heavy-duty clip, and the flaps are held closed with Velcro. It's made from good solid leather, and is made here in the US. It can be used with any style scope (from the $50.00 ones the physicians and medics use, to the $300 ones the newly-minted EMT-Basics buy). For me, the best part is being able to grab it and slide it onto the belt, instead of slinging it around my neck (and having it fall off almost immediately). Plus, if you get into the habit of popping your scope back into the BatClip (which can be done one-handed with a little practice) as soon as you're done with it, you're far less likely to lose the scope.

The BatClip is available through Amazon. Dr. Li is currently running a "buy 3, get 1 free" promotion; see the "Product Details" section in the amazon posting for the discount code.

And read the reviews from other users... I'm not the only one who likes it... doctors, nurses, medics, EMT-Basics, veterinarians, anyone who needs to use a stethoscope. The biggest complaint seems to be that some folks have difficulty getting the clip off their pants. Personally, I'd rather fight to get it off at the end of a shift than have to worry about losing it.

In fact, as of today, 62 of 65 reviewers gave it either 4 or 5 stars.

I'd give it *6* if I could.

Come to think of it, this is my blog, so I can do whatever I want.

SIX STARS for the BATCLIP.