OoO

Which department owns the gator pictured?

The way the refreshers work in New York is you take a pretest and then attend lectures for any section that you failed in addition to a bunch of required lectures. Then you take the state practical and written exam at the end. If you do well on the pre-test you only have to go to a handful of classes.

Yea I got several good leads on vendors and pick up on two makers that I have not heard of. Thanks to all who gave an opinion on what works and what doesn't. The main reason is for PCR's we started to use EMS charts as a database and love it we want to take it to the next level. The main problem is while everyone can tell you the best laptop they have no idea on a rugged system. I has seen a lot of the vendors offers a "XP downgrade" Vista is that bad?

Thanks again for all the input.

Vista's really not as bad as people make it out to be. Pretty much all of the compatibility issues have been resolved and the interface is more or less the same. It just takes so getting used to and some tweaking to receive less notifications.

This is being done by the government here in the US in sensitive locations, around critical infrastructure, and even in lower Manhattan. There is no expectation of privacy on a public roadway (numerous court cases had established this). I understand your concern about tracking people but this is only at certain select locations.

E-Zpass is more of a tracker than plate cameras will ever be but everyone installed that in their cars voluntarily.

Exactly, E-Zpasses are used voluntarily and people can choose to either take them down or remove them if they do not want to be tracked. The same cannot be said with your license plate.

If they are understaffed and often go to mutual aid, they may be willing to let you take some calls off of their hands. I would think contacting them is worth a try.

How long is the average response time from the FD? If they will respond in about the same amount of time as you would, you won't really get to do much except respond and then drive back. Why rule out transporting?

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/...ss-use/?apage=3

Apparently, NYC emergency vehicles were given free E-ZPasses, but recently the MTA has reversed this decision and now bills these accounts.

Is there any way to request that the NYS Thruway authority cut out a part of the concrete dividers for an emergency U-Turn? There are many sections of the thruway where there are several miles between exits and a cut out could reduce response times in some cases.

That thing looks absolutely ridiculous, how can they even fill all of that space?

Don't get me started on WPHC, the old/new entrance sucks, security is never there as usual, the automatic doors work some of the time and nothing has changed about the waiting time once you actually get in to the er...

I believe the new entrance is just the beginning and they are building a whole new ER. I agree though, the wait time for a bed is worse there than any other hospital in Westchester.

I should add that I have no problem with scanning plates and checking them against a database, but I have a problem when a log is kept recording every plate scanned along with the location and time.

You could argue Amendment IV:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures , shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue , but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Kwikpoint has some good tools...

Those picture things are helpful, but I find they take forever to find the relevant photo and they are a pain to use.

In an MCI, I believe triage tags can be used instead of a PCR.

What a tragedy. My prayers go out to Mark, his family and his fellow volunteers.

A sad reminder that you need to approach every call with caution.

So if no proof is required, anyone can just write down the name of the local VFD & not pay.......the whole idea was to get people to volunteer.

If your audited I am sure they will request some sort of proof.

Since it is upon all of us, would anyone happen to know what the form is for NY on the tax break/credit? And what proof you need to file it?

No proof required, just list the address of the organization.

Anyone have a link to the picture in question?

Yes, you can still claim the volunteer credit on your NY return. I believe it is $200.

I filed with Turbo Tax's online system last year and it was very easy. I've never used the installed software though. The online system was great, i got my refund check in a week.

So what services can Ham Radio provide?

And for that "torture" nonsense - im convinced its a load of hot air. Water boarding isn't torture and if you personally consider it so, it was used on something like 5 individuals. Including Kahlid Sheik Mohammed the guy who thought up the 9/11 concept while hanging out in Afghanistan. Water boarding doesn't seem all that bad given that he is responsible for 3,000 + individual cases of homicide.

Waterboarding is considered torture by the UN. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0852061620080208

I don't understand his rationale for closing it. Where are we supposed to lodge detainees or combatants in the absence of Gitmo? Are they going to be brought to the US from Iraq or Afghanistan and lodged in a US prison? That's absurd!

The whole recidivism argument may be a weak one but we still have to fight the war on terror. It seems to me that he's eliminating our only option for incarcerating and interrogating terror suspects with nothing to fill the void - or am I missing something?

This prison has become a center for torture and human rights violations. Even if the act was cleaned up there, as long as it is being used, it will portray that image. Closing Guantanamo ends the practice of detaining prisoners overseas so that we don't have to follow US and/or international law.

Perhaps they meant court/state fees?

Yes, he collapsed and apparently had a seizure. Those shadowy bastard children who stare death in the face every day and were absent from the presidential address took him to the hospital.

Who covers the capital for EMS? Is there a special agency for the capital or is it covered by the DC FD?

The hours are Sat rom 10-6 and Sun from 10-5. Its on the bottom left of the flyer.