https://www.youtube.com/embed/pSwEq8Pym8k

NO! NO! Not Mr. Spong Cake!

Sick as a ...?

Sick as a ...?

Not happy today. Woke up with an odd feeling, had to pee &  when I did I started feeling my stomach rising. I threw up...Twice then went back to bed. energy level is unusually low and rather then accomplish a lot, sent most of the day in bed.! Only as the sun is setting do I have any energy at all. Sucks! have a long week planned and while this isn't affecting it- it could. think I'm going to get myself some OTC medication. Not very inspiring today, but that's Life... Hopethis finds you well.

Today's Thought:

     Always be the Best Person you can be. Be kind, even when you're Tired. Be Understanding, even when you're Angry. Do more then you're asked & don't look for anything in return. Don't silently expect anything either. Listen when someone talks and really listen too. Stop just thinking of what you'll reply. Tell people you Love them & Appreciate them. Go out of your way to do things for people. be the Greatest person you can possibly be & when you mess up (& we All do!) make up for it, the next moment, minute or day. One thing you should Never do: try to prove to anyone you are great. Your Actions will speak for themselves. We only have a Limited time on this earth- don't waste it. If someone doesn't see your light, don't worry, like moths, good people are attracted to heat & light & they will come.

     The Coolest people I've ever met have the most colorful pasts. they've lived lives of risk, made bad choices, learned lessons, explored and they aren't afraid of being Real. Tattered tapestries, woven of similar threads, they are my kind of people, my favorite shades of crazy.

I am #TheResistance

     Although it has been Quite some time since I have used this weblog or blog, I am again going to start posting. For those of you following me, I have been safely ensconced in a lovely house only one town down from my previous place and starting to make plans for my future. I have been active, happy in spots and relatively well off. That part is Great, make no mistake. I am also Not a supporter of our "so-called" government. I believe that a Weak candidate, in debt up to his eyeballs to the Russian Oligarchs (hope I nailed the spelling) sought & received back channel support as well as open election meddling and Cheated his way into the Highest office in our government!

     He brought nothing but the Worst with him, emboldened by the Wealthy to erode our democratic form of government and toss even More money to the rich. He has Not Disappointed them! He is an Incompetent leader, a neglectful official, a Violator of the Emoluments clause of the US Constitution and a Moral Black Hole. I oppose him, his Minions, his Agenda, his Party & anyone he praises as "fine people" I only hope that the many investigations into his doings result in Impeachment. In case any of you care.

      Opinions are like assholes: everyone has them and they usually stink. But the Difference is: I will both lend my voice to the chorus and I will Work to change the system. I support Everyone who feels the same and is willing to help. Loyalty, Honor, a willing heart- I can ask no more then that. Let me kn ow what you think in the comments.

The End of an Era

     Soon, I am going to start looking for another place to live. I have not had to do this for many years', so It's Anxiety-producing time. Oh, I'm allright of course, I've got a job, I'm not quite destitute & I'd like to think I have some choice where I might go. Angst, just the same though. I'm going to Miss this Quiet place Very much & expect never again to find anywhere like it. But it's Time... Wish me luck as I start the "Hunt" slowly, but Ernestly

An open letter to FDNY commissioner S. Cassano

* The following letter was published by The Chief newspaper under the Title of: EMT's Shortchanged. They did correctly discribe it as an Open letter underneath, but it's an Open Letter, just the same*

The following open letter to Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano is printed here at the request of its author.)
Dear Commissioner Cassano:

I noted with interest your comment on the recent story about the physical fitness (or lack thereof) of the recent firefighting class. Many things were said about the former FDNY/EMS command. While there might be several good reasons to attack these men and women in public, they serve to highlight the chasm between standards and practices in standards and practices between firefighting and its EMS counterpart. There is also a suggestion on how to avoid this going forward.
 

Firefighting is an inherently dangerous occupation; of that there is no doubt. Running into burning buildings, hauling equipment and hoses up multiple flights, and operating safely at fire and accident scenes requires top physical conditioning, expert training, and experience. You have a right and a duty to expect this of your employees and candidates. That is not in dispute. What is in dispute is what was not done to adequately prepare and encourage those already in the department to meet (or exceed) those expectations. A more-jaded person than myself might conclude that it was done on purpose.
 

EMS is a very different occupation and is practiced under conditions that would frankly be deemed intolerable by most firemen! Let’s have an experiment: Take a busy engine company and for the next 12 months, treat them exactly as the department currently treats its EMTs and Paramedics. To wit:
 

• At the start of their tour, have them bring all their equipment and go sit in the engine.
 

• Take them out and away from the firehouse and park outside somewhere in or close to their area.
 

• Unless they are working, cleaning up (20 minutes max) or using the facilities (bathroom–same amount of time=20 mins) they are to sit in the engine and monitor the radio. No exercising outside or doing mutuals— they are to keep the exact same schedule, whatever that entails—up to 24 hours just sitting there. They are not allowed to go back to the firehouse and cook or even eat a meal in the engine—they have to eat out.
 

Would you like to bet now on what their physical/emotional condition will be at the end? The average firefighter makes this job his (or her) career, but the average EMT lasts approximately three years; the average Paramedic, five years. Our injury and sick rates match or exceed yours. Our workload is also 2-4 times greater, bringing stressors that strain even the most even-tempered folks. This is not an excuse, merely a statement of fact.
 

When the current rules regarding FDNY advancement were put into place, it was generally believed that those FDNY/EMS employees would not have long to wait between the time they were hired and their admission to the academy. Who knew that a judge would halt all hiring for 5-7 years? Even the most motivated of people must have grown discouraged by the events that unfolded. To the best of my knowledge, this department made no attempt to reach out to these members specifically or any FDNY/EMS MOS to encourage, motivate or train them, outside of the annual medical day.
 

One would have thought that the department would go out of its way to actively encourage members to meet the physical challenges of the job: After all, they knew these members would show up at the academy sooner or later. Those in the upper echelons of the department were aware of this situation and have known (or should have known) that the failure to do this would result in this awful merry-go-round of failure. I’m going to use a word I’ve oft heard bandied about this department in other fields: pro-active.
 

Now, perhaps I’m wrong (I’ve been wrong before and I’m sure I’ll be wrong again) but it is nonetheless true that failure to plan is planning to fail. This lack of planning seems more...deliberate then a mere oversight. Again, a more jaded person then myself might try to use this situation to advantage:
 

• It highlights the argument that minority hiring would somehow lower the standards of the department.
 

• It allows the department to sever its hiring connection to FDNY/EMS “for cause.”
 

• It plays out great in the press: “Fat FDNY medics/EMTs fail fire academy.”
 

Now I believe in Chief Mannix’s assertion that the only measurement that counts is the ability to do the job, without any concern of race or sex, but I cannot help but think that these employees, who have proven their worth under fire, were cruelly used as cannon fodder to advance the agenda of some.
 

Like it or not, the FDNY/EMS command is here to stay. We are all one department with the mission of protecting and preserving the lives and property of the people of New York. Being pro-active means acknowledging where problems are and moving to address them.
 

If I were to speculate on how to turn this situation around going forward (I’m sad to say that it’s too late for the current candidates) I would suggest that the department establish training facilities for all department employees, in all boroughs, using both dedicated and light-duty personnel, to provide training, motivation, diet/meal planning etc... Also, those employees wanting to advance to Firefighter join dedicated training groups (much like the Navy S.E.A.L.S) to encourage each other to get and keep in the kind of condition the department desires. I am aware that this will cost money—nothing worthwhile is ever cheap—however, the benefits of the program to the department (fitter employees, lower LOD injury rates, lower Workers’ Comp claims) more than outweigh the risks of doing nothing. It also lets the people of this city know and believe in the FDNY’s Bravest!

IPv6: What it means to You

     The internet has just about run out of addresses! Who would have believed that could happen (& so Quickly!)? Certinly not the original  engineers; they thought 4.2 Billion addresses were plenty, back in the days when Very Few folks had home computers. The current Internet Address Protocol is named IPv4. Many of you are familar with it as it is the string of numbers, seperated by a dot (Period) Example: 96.233.174.23 These could route you to Any site on the Internet, regardless if you knew the actual name of the site or not.

     Worldwide work has been done to come up with a Working solution and that solution is IPv6 which can provide (and I warn you, I have yet to look up the exact name for this number) 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 addresses! If anyone wants to let me/us know what that number is exactly named, please feel free to leave a comment! In the Absence of a name, I will just refer to it as: A Whole Lot! (see what I just did there?)

     The main difference you will notice is that 1- A Colon(:) is used between numbers, 2-A long string of Zeros can be shortened by a Double Colon(::) For example: This is what a complete IPv6 address would look like, if written out:  2001:0DB8:0000:0003:0000:01FF:0000:002E  (really Un-Wieldy!) Instead it can be notated as: 2001:DB8::3:0:1FF:0:2E or 2001:DB8:0:3:0:1FF::2E It's a Math type of notation, allowing for more concise addressing.

     The Big Question you're asking yourself is: Why the hell do I need to know Any of this? Simply put, you need to know it because it is the future of computing! All providers of the content on the Internet are Going to use this new system! Unix, Linux, MAC & Windows are already there! Right now IPv4 & IPv6 are most commonly used in something caled a Dual Stack,(depending on ISP availability) coexisting on the same connection. The Bad News is that they are Not Compatable! Eventually, you will Need to know how to Navigate this! The Good News is that there IS information out there you can use to access, use, establish a IPv6 connection so you won't be the Last Kid on the Block! As my former union president was Well Known for saying: Change is a Process, Not an Event!

     If you are interested, go to www.ipv6.he.net that's the site for Hurricane Electric, a leader in this field. You can find anything you need to know about IPv6 there! If you have any comments, please leave them below. Thanks!