31 December 2008

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  • 07:07 Awake, and not happy about that fact. Need more sleep.
  • 14:19 Louisville Fire Dept. waste no time extinguishing working fires. No wonder I can't ever get any good shots! Working one Hemlock St.
  • 20:40 Bush Presidency summed up in two words: Duck Soup.
  • 22:04 Going to sleep soon. Have to get up at 5am for firehouse shift. Have a safe & happy new year eve.
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30 December 2008

HDR Imaging


Click the photo to see a larger version

This is my first foray into HDR processing. HDR is High Dynamic Range, and it produces some very beautiful images when done correctly. The photographer takes two or more photos with different exposure values. Then the magic of photoshop takes over. The images are merged together with all the tonal ranges represented. After a little tweeking, you get these shown above. The Photomatix water mark are due to the trial version of some software that I used in the processing.

The second image is particularlly pleasing to my eye. This is the closest I have seen digital images come in comparison to Fuji Velvia slide film. I like the rich tonal range of velvia. I think this (once I find a good workflow and refine my processing) is going to appear in many of my images in the future. Enjoy the view!

P.S. Click the photos to see the images correctly. Blogspot has the column set to a very square alignment so some of the image is clipped on the right side.

Twitter Log

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  • 01:54 Some kid had difficulty keeping his car on his side of the road. Hit on comming car. Kid's van on its side. Minor Injs. No sleep.
  • 04:42 Furnace malfunction. Smoked up 3rd floor of Apt. Bldg. Easy fix, 2 hours of sleep.
  • 12:05 Four legged alarm clock, says it's time to get up. I disagree but awake now.
  • 12:53 Project 365 LEGO (AKA Lego 365) legomyphoto.wordpress.com
  • 13:48 Changed the layout of my blog. Thought briefly of moving to wordpress, I didn't. Time to get the day started.
  • 17:15 Anyone know why they are putting brine on the streets? I haven't heard of any ice/snow comming
  • 23:07 Playing with HDR images. Hopefully I can get it to work!
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Lego my Photo



Along the lines of Project 365, one creative individual is shooting all Lego men for the entire year. This is one example. Check out his Lego a day blog

29 December 2008

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  • 06:43 Back to the firehouse. Hopefully another quiet day, but that's doubtful. Admin staff is working today. They always make our jobs difficult!
  • 12:38 Crew is @ gym. I am playing with photo equipment. Trying some strobist techniques.
  • 14:29 1st run of the day, EMS lift assist. Medic's partner couldn't lift using stair chair. She needs to find new job.
  • 14:44 Washing chief's command vehicle. Glamorous life of a fire fighter.
  • 15:35 Fairdale Fire Dept. Working Fire on Gerald Way.
  • 19:18 New photo blog fyrdog21.blogspot.com/ warm up to Project 365.
  • 20:23 Dispatch: "The mighty and all powerful map says......" ROTFLMAO
  • 21:32 Dummy Test: What happens when you put your oven on self clean but leave large chunks in there? THEY FREAKING BURN. Stupid people.
  • 21:38 AT&T Still sucks. Why can't I connect to media net on cooked rom? This is why I had to switch ROMs. Dumass Company.
  • 22:29 Ok I found a MobiTV cab to install. I also have the hack.
  • 22:40 Listening to Fireground Action Photog. Podcast. Hmm...still need to make my bed. Getting sleepy.
  • 22:47 There is a hack that clears the Registry, so it re-sets the trial period every 3 days.
  • 22:50 Ok twits, I;m going to make my bed and lay in it (as the saying goes).
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Test #2


Strobist Test, originally uploaded by fyrdog21.

We have a small cemetary behind the firehouse. I have wanted to take some images of the head stones for quite some time. Now that I am armed with strobes, wireless triggers and a digital SLR, I thought hey why not today? I was please that the wording on the head stone is readable. The tree just provides a little border (and yes I know it is overpowering the main subject).

I am not satisfied with the balance of the lighting, but hey this is only the third time I've tried this off camera lighting. With time (and project 365) hopefully I will get better and more creative. I do need to get some light modifiers, but that costs money. For now I will use what I have and make DIY modifiers as I need.

Test #1


My Office, originally uploaded by fyrdog21.

I told you that I would take photos today, and now I shall share them. This image was taken while my crew was working out at the gym. I am really a newbie when it comes to using off camera flashes to light (and balance with ambient light) the scenes. I wanted to show the interior of the apparatus (as I was calling it my 'office'). This is not a perfect image all polished but ti will help me learn how to achieve my goals. I used two flashes one just off camera right and one off camera left lighting up the background. Both were triggered by cactus remotes (cheep versions of pocket wizards). I did not really find a suitable location for the flashes (also called strobes).

I am still learning this lighting technique so bear with me.

Thoughts from the Cat

  • 10:37 Eating Dog's food. She doesn't mind. SWAT no I said this is MY food now. BAD DOG! #
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28 December 2008

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  • 05:04 Awake and on the way to the OC. Yippy!
  • 10:30 Waiting for the storm. Weather changed last night/this AM so surely EMS runs will pick up. Already made one to a well known regular.
  • 11:05 Media have to comply with DOT highway safety vest rule tinyurl.com/a3um6p
  • 11:08 USDA Issues Recall on Laryngoscope blades tinyurl.com/533ttq
  • 12:43 SUV vs. Cryogenic tanker. People need to slow down while exiting the Highway. It's not that hard.
  • 12:55 Capricorn: A certain someone can say three words to you and suddenly internal chaos insues.
  • 13:25 El Alcopulco for lunch. 5 runs so far today.
  • 14:10 Making the sam guy again. He just left the ER. He is abusing the EMS system.
  • 15:35 Watching Tennessee get whipped by the Colts. And it's over.
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Project 365

Whats this? Actually human input to the blog of the Yankee? Yup, I am actually writing in my blog, not just cross posting twitter snippets.

Project 365 is a photography project where the goal is to take at least on photo every day for an entire year (Last year's would have been project 366). Having freed much of my time by completing the paramedic class, I will take this personal challenge to improve my photography. I will make attempts to post the chosen photo here on the blog with any thoughts or stories that accompany the image. You can also check my flickr photostream for the images.

While waiting around for the next EMS run to come in I just thought, why wait until January 1st? I think I will have a little warm up and start taking photos tomorrow (but I will officially count beginning on Jan. 1 2009). Ambitious? Yes, but why wait?

27 December 2008

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  • 08:37 Loading a few Geocaches into my Tilt. Wife & I are going to take the dogs for a walk this afternoon.
  • 13:07 Running APRS/CE on my Tilt. Kind of neat, but there aren't many APRS stations around me. #hamr
  • 13:08 KY hams don't seem too interested in APRS , D-Star, IRLP. We do have a few Echolink repeaters, but they are not active #hamr
  • 20:02 Dinner at Cafe Mimosa. Mongolian Pot Soup. Yummy.
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Thoughts from the Cat

  • 05:49 Black Pants too clean, they need some gray fur, allow me to fix this Mr. Human. #
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26 December 2008

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  • 05:10 Morning Metro 'Ville. Going back to the firehouse. Admin. Staff is off today, should be peaceful.
  • 08:19 We need to educate people. There is a difference between steam from radiator and fire in the engine. MVA no fire minor injuries.
  • 10:18 Crew is at the gym. I'm engineer today & I'm staying with the truck. Can't wait till we get facilities at new station to workout on my sched
  • 11:00 And I awoke, faintly bouncing around the room. The echo of whom ever spoke (that time and once again I'm bouncing around the room)
  • 19:52 Whoa, Fee you try to live a life that's completely free. Flyod is dead he's nothing but a ripple, cause Millie took that paper and sliced...
  • 20:13 Watching Whale Wars on TV. Apperently HH The Dalai Lama supports their effort. tinyurl.com/7bbbwo
  • 22:59 Going to sleep. G'nite twits.
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25 December 2008

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  • 06:08 Awake early. No particular reason, just up at 5am. Oh well, at least I get a nap today.
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24 December 2008

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  • 08:05 Home. 30 degrees warmer today, lots of rain. Going to try to take 2 days off to elax.
  • 10:37 I must be crazy. I need to get an ethernet card for my computer. I have to goto a store, on xmas eve (day). Cruel world.
  • 12:57 Desktop back up and running. Now to try a few flying games!
  • 19:32 Christmas eve at the in-laws. Lots of people here, I know some of them.
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23 December 2008

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  • 06:30 Back at the fire house for 24. Going to be a messy afternoon/evening with freezing rain after 13:00.
  • 10:36 Crew at the gym. Sgt actually listened to my suggestion, goto gym before freezing rain starts this afternoon. I think it's a miracle.
  • 10:38 Anyone wantto hire new paramedic for regular part-time work? It's going to be challnging to find a job.
  • 10:43 Crap. It's 28 deg. and the rain begins. MVA's begin soon.
  • 12:53 Sprinkler Pipe burst at hotel. Water secured now chief wants us to do a fire inspection. There goes lunch.
  • 14:08 Anxiously checking NREMT website to see if the have the results from Saturday. Hope to get my card in the mail by Jan.5 so I can goto KBEMS
  • 14:21 People in the 'Ville- Roads are becomming ICY use extreme caution!
  • 14:23 I-64 is a mess, Multiple MVA's (one involves 9 vehicles). Taylorsville Lake Rd has serious accident.
  • 14:31 Fatality on Taylorsville Lake Rd. per Eastwood Fire.
  • 14:41 841 & Taylorsville Rd. EMS crew hit, 9902 also hit. Multi patients down.
  • 14:45 J-town Engine on scene now saying need at least 3 Ambulances. 1 EMT, Asst. Chief & 1 other PT hit by vehicle.
  • 16:10 Joel E. Neild NREMT #:P8032355 Level: Paramedic Exp. Date: 31 Mar 2011
  • 16:11 Hell Ya! They scored my practical today and I officially passed! Now to get paperwork by mail.
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22 December 2008

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  • 05:28 Currently it's 3 deg, wind chill (-12) and I'm starting a shift at OC. Too damn cold for 911 runs.
  • 07:43 Sitting at PVFD station untill noon, at least we can sit inside.
  • 09:35 Catching up on Sbemails. Truely original and very funny. Check out the virus email. no viruses are harmed in the making of that flash video
  • 09:36 www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail.html
  • 13:32 Drove an ALS transfer to Baptist east. Both ways in are crowded with holiday shoppers. Could be a long afternoon.
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21 December 2008

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  • 09:32 Thanks to everyone who supported me and put up with me for the past two years!
  • 12:05 Out in the cold & craziness, braving shoppers. I need to pick up a few items. I must have lost my sanity yesterday.
  • 12:35 Grabbing some white castles for lunch. Health food right?
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Thoughts from the Cat

  • 19:54 I JUST REALIZED I NEED TO BE IN THE BASEMENT! scamper run slip turn @?!*@?! #
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20 December 2008

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  • 05:53 Driving to Liberty Twp, OH for NREMT skills test.
  • 07:56 I have arrived. About 1 hour early, but thats good. Butler Comm. College has a nice public safety campus. Wish we did in Metro louisville
  • 15:09 Finished all stations. Waiting to see if I need to re-test. I might need to take 1 or 2 stations again.
  • 15:29 WOOHOOO! I Freaking PASSED!
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Thoughts from the Cat

  • 10:30 My food bowl is almost half empty I demand MORE FOOD #
  • 10:32 I'm sophisticated, I pick up each kibble with my paw then consume. Now I knock the bowl off the table. now you HAVE to fill my bowl hahahaha #
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19 December 2008

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  • 09:29 Good morning Twits. Last day to brush up on Medic skills before I test. Hard driving rain in the metro today, good day to be inside.\
  • 13:14 Bela Fleck & Flecktones: Jingle Bells tinyurl.com/4br6on
  • 14:13 Walked the Dogs. 1.64 miles. They really needed a walk (so did I). Time to get the last Xmas packages in the mail.
  • 19:14 Going out to Smokey Bones to eat. Trying to relax tonight, before the big day. Wish I had the snow New England is getting!
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Thoughts from the Cat

  • 22:42 I will force you to sleep by weighing you down. I lay on you to impose my will. #
  • 22:43 Now to insert subliminal messages while you sleep. MORE FOOD. AND THAT FEATHER THING. #
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18 December 2008

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  • 00:33 ACLS algorithms, IV's, Drug Doses, OPQRST, not exactly sugar plumb fairies dancing through my head.
  • 00:44 Ok, now I really need to sleep. It's 12:45am, I've been up for 20 hours and the biggest test is Saturday.
  • 00:45 G'night all you crazy Twitter monkeys. This primate is sleepy.ZZZZZzzzzzzzz
  • 03:13 Why were they cooking at 3am? Why did they burn their food? Why can't FD cancel on crap like that?
  • 10:18 Been awake since 3am. Been out on fatal plane crash since 4am. Being held over. Crew is sleepy. EMS is busy.
  • 12:21 This is where I was all morning tinyurl.com/3rutrb
  • 15:00 My 4 legged alarm clock says I only get 2 hours of sleep today. Gotta love my dogs
  • 17:40 watching "super size me" after a little study session. We'll see if I still like fast foods after this.
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17 December 2008

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  • 06:34 Guten Aben, HTC weather says high 40 low 40. Sounds like an average day at the firehouse.
  • 17:04 I need a chemist. How does a LOX
  • 17:07 LOX/Asphalt reaction progress to explosion? Tried google w/o luck.
  • 17:21 Quakk doesn't like ampersands (&) so it messed up my first LOX post.
  • 20:57 2nd run today. I'm driving the Quint. Pull station at hotel. Probably false. Big surprise.
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16 December 2008

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  • 00:49 Added a boat load of photos to my Flickr. tinyurl.com/6nuhjw
  • 16:21 Ok, today has been a really off day for me. I have managed to get Most of my packages in the mail. Only 2 left.
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Thoughts from the Cat

  • 12:19 pay attention to me pay attention to me pay attention to me pay attention to me BITE I said pay attention to me #
  • 15:25 Hey there's food in my bowl. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Need more. #
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14 December 2008

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  • 05:51 Awake
  • 06:26 Hmmm...Quakk didn't send all of my last tweet. Strange.
  • 09:15 Dropped our Rescue Trailer off to get Cascade system filled. Fixing things the other two shifts have left untouched.
  • 09:15 So much for "Pride & Ownership" in my department.
  • 10:21 I'm a little concerned about the freezing rain/wintery mix tomorrow. That could be a bad day.
  • 15:42 WooHoo! Whole platoon went geocaching, we found one behind the station!
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13 December 2008

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  • 12:23 I'm thinking of hunting down a few geocaches near my house today.
  • 16:13 Found 2 of 4 Caches today. GPS on Tilt phone has 15-20 sec lag when walking around, so it's hard to pinpoint locations.
  • 21:05 Sitting at home watching Fight Club on G4. Not as good without the curse words.
  • 21:27 'Where did you go psycho boy?' "I wanted to destroy something beautiful"
  • 21:28 "Please return your trays to the upright and locked position"
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12 December 2008

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  • 10:54 Blah. No rest for the wicked. Dogs are too hyper, adn now I have a headache. Sounds like a fun day in store for me.
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11 December 2008

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  • 06:48 Emergency services: Largely forgotten until despirately needed. Thats how the public views us. Another 24 hours of being forgotten.
  • 08:19 Engine check done. I'm driving the beast today so we are sure to make a working fire.
  • 12:40 Panera Bread for lunch. Had a class on basic nutrition this AM. FD has hired a Nutritionist to help us eat better. Not a bad Idea.
  • 13:18 Anyone using a twitter client on windows mobile 6.1? Tiny Twitter is acting weird.
  • 21:03 Reviewing ACLS Algorithms. "The players tried to take the field, but the marching band refused to yeild"
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10 December 2008

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  • 03:37 Awake way earlier than I need to be, didn't get much sleep last night either. Might as well start the day, working OC today.
  • 06:23 Working at OC today. Truck checked, headed for PVFD until noon.
  • 08:42 2 runs so far, just not in my coverage area. Cold, cloudy day.
  • 10:14 Full arrest, just not in my area. Total runs = 4 so far today. Busy for the OC
  • 10:26 Still VERY sleepy. Wondering when this will be over?
  • 11:19 Runs 5&6 went out. Both ALS transports in La Grange. We are rotating back to 9300 at noon.
  • 15:56 Mayor is Closing LFD Engine 7? We should just fire Mayor for life, that would save money.
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09 December 2008

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  • 07:48 Awake, warm morning in the metro. Looks like mostly rain (no snow) todat. Passing time until I go to written test.
  • 11:26 I'm confused. I answered 80 questions and test ended. I either rocked, or blew it completely.
  • 14:08 Playing Aces High II (my online gme addiction)
  • 15:16 Results are in from NREMT........
  • 15:18 NREMT says "Congratulations on successfully completing the cognitive portion of your EMS certification."
  • 15:49 testing
  • 15:50 Twitterfox is acting up. It won't D/L my followed tweets?
  • 18:28 What the hell? Irish Rover doesn't carry Tennants lager anymore? This is not right. Some celebration tonight :(
  • 19:16 Mayor for life is at the rover. BTW sticky toffee pudding rocks here. Props to Cumberland brews for scottish ale!
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08 December 2008

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  • 05:19 It's way too early. At the gym for a little pre-shift workout. We'll see how this goes, I'm still tired.
  • 09:33 Still sleepy. Wish I could nap at work. Not much on the agenda today.
  • 11:33 Out to the grocery store. Chicken for dinner tonight. Not my turn to cook.
  • 11:36 What the?! Tiny Twitter is being really freaking slow today. Is twitter overloaded today?
  • 12:31 NWS predicting 1-3 inches of rain Tomorrow. I hope the temp drops and it all comes down as snow. We get screwed on snow in the Metro.
  • 12:39 <singing> Snow, it won't be long before we'll all be there with snow; Snow, I want to wash my hands, my face and hair with snow
  • 15:38 Did geocashing for training. It was a ton of fun. Need to give that a try!
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07 December 2008

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  • 00:40 Back home. Laying in bed listening to Fireground Action Photog. Podcast.
  • 08:43 Awake, earlier than I want to be. Cold outside. Going to drink tea, wake up then study.
  • 13:23 Won a 1gb mp3 player as door prize last night. Adding music to it now. I think it will work well for me.
  • 13:26 Back to studying for paramedic test. I'm finding it hard to actually sit down and study, but here I go again!
  • 17:32 Consistently scoring 80's on all test prep material. I was hoping to do better, but I guess I'll settle with a passing grade.
  • 19:00 Watching Charlie Wilson's War on demand. Technology can be very cool at times.
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Thoughts from the Cat

  • 07:55 Don't know why they call it dog food, I like it just as well! #
  • 07:56 Displaying my excellent vocal range. i go from soprano to baritone. #
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06 December 2008

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  • 00:35 Watching Silverado on AMC. Bored & tired, but can't sleep. Such is life at the station.
  • 07:51 Home, nap, then back to studying. Was up till 1am so I'm a little sleepy.
  • 12:27 Good afternoon! Time to hit the books. Test in 4 days.
  • 12:50 Rain/Snow/Sleet stuff falling. It's cold & wet outside.
  • 13:10 I bet Metro Govmnt. wasn't prepared to salt the roads today. They are so narrow sighted. Now....cars wrecked everywhere.
  • 13:09 Ambulance Company called, they want to staff more Trucks due to icy roads. It would me more hazardous for me to drive there.
  • 13:27 Damn, I think my DVD player bit the dust also. It's the only CD player I have connected to the stereo.
  • 16:54 Getting ready for Department Banquet tonight. Not all that much fun, but we'll make due.
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05 December 2008

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  • 10:07 Good morning Twits. Been at work for more than 3 hours. Had a fire alarm run @ 06:30 (before my shift) and I drove the quint.
  • 10:07 Command Car checks today (oh boy). Temp 17deg F this AM. No galavanting around in apparatus. Hope to study this afternoon.
  • 10:24 Strobist reference to soul-sucking day job...LOL tinyurl.com/6nwwl5
  • 10:40 Not that my job is soul-sucking, every once in a while we get the chance to positively influence the outcome of someone's Day.
  • 14:40 2nd run today, automatic M/A to Middletown. Drove Quint again. This is getting to be habitual
  • 15:04 3rd & 4th runs simultanious. 3rd was cooking fire out on arrival. 4th was another alarm malfunction. Keep the runs comming!
  • 15:07 Oh yeah I am oficially driver/Chauffer/engineer or any other word for apparatus operator today.
  • 17:25 Dinner time at the station, some days reminds me of slopping hogs. Fill the trough, them hogs is hungry!
  • 18:15 Evening routine is finished. Ripping CD's so I can put them on my HTC Kaiser.
  • 19:37 Listening to Music on my ATT Tilt. Hooray for Technology. Now I need one of two thing: 1. HTC mini USB to 3.5mm headphone adapter or...
  • 19:38 2. Bluetooth stereo headphones.
  • 20:47 Studying for NREMT-P written exam (on Tuesday). My whole weekend will be studying (but not entirely, I need breaks too).
  • 22:51 Crimeny. I only scored an 81% on Trauma. Some questions I just blanked on. Oh well, it's passing. Need more sleep, G'nite Twits!
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  • 10:07 Good morning Twits. Been at work for more than 3 hours. Had a fire alarm run @ 06:30 (before my shift) and I drove the quint.
  • 10:07 Command Car checks today (oh boy). Temp 17deg F this AM. No galavanting around in apparatus. Hope to study this afternoon.
  • 10:24 Strobist reference to soul-sucking day job...LOL tinyurl.com/6nwwl5
  • 10:40 Not that my job is soul-sucking, every once in a while we get the chance to positively influence the outcome of someone's Day.
  • 14:40 2nd run today, automatic M/A to Middletown. Drove Quint again. This is getting to be habitual
  • 15:04 3rd & 4th runs simultanious. 3rd was cooking fire out on arrival. 4th was another alarm malfunction. Keep the runs comming!
  • 15:07 Oh yeah I am oficially driver/Chauffer/engineer or any other word for apparatus operator today.
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