10-5-11 updates

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I have not posted in my firefighter1811 blog for a very long time. I thought I should let everyone know whats going on with me. I have been working hard on http://www.strokenow.com and http://www.happyvalleydeals.com so hard in fact that I had not had much time to work on my other projects. However since the wether is getting cooler now I will be able to work more on this blog and website. I am going to have to see what I am going to do about the website. I am considering a few options right now.

Corsair CX500 review

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I had a delivery the other day from Newegg.com. I bought a new power supply for my ubuntu computer. I had a few requirements I specifically needed for this upgrade.

 

  1. More Power – Lets face it the power supplies that come with OEM computers just don’t hack it.
  2. Less noise – Because I hate when I hear a jet engine in my room while I’m working.
  3. Better air flow – Besides looking cool the computer will function better.
  4. Upgradeability – For future projects.
  5. Be able to handle my radeon hd 5450 & an HD monitor in the future.
  6. It must be 80 plus certified

 

So after looking at reviews and knowing that I did not have much money to spend. I chose the Corsair cx500. So after getting it installed witch BTW I found to be the easiest install I had ever done. The braided wiring was a new concept for me. I must say I will not ever buy a power supply ever again that does not have braided wires. Not only does this improve air flow but it greatly improves the looks of the computer as well. Staying on the subject of wires Corsair has really thought about the end user when the developed this PSU, This PSU has extra long cables to fit in taller cases. Here is a list of the connections supplied with this power supply.

 

  • X1 ATX 20-pin & 24-pin compatible
  • x1 ESP/ATX12V 4PIN & 8-PIN compatible
  • X2 PCI-E 6-PIN & 8-PIN compatible
  • X5 SATA
  • X4 4-PIN MOLEX
  • X1 FLOPPY

 

This power supply comes equipped with a very quiet 120MM fan witch BTW was a very big selling point for me. I know what your going to ask next and the answer is yes it is very quite.

 

So in closing I got every thing I needed in this great power supply

  • Value – $49.00
  • quiet – 120MM fan is great I sometimes forget the computer is even running.
  • Quality – I have seen nothing wrong with this PSU so far.
  • Power – for what I need the 500w will be enough for a few years or more.
  • Ease of use – this was very user friendly.

The “Brotherhood” Part 1

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When I first joined the local fire company I had always heard the term “the brotherhood”.  I never really understood this term till I started hanging out at the fire hall.  I found out real fast just what that term meant after the 1st call I responded to.  After arriving on scene one of the fire fighters came up to me and told me to not get to close to the pickup truck,  I asked why and he told me that there were 2 bodies still in there and we had to wait for the corner to get on scene.  This really threw me for a loop!  My very first call was a double fatal.  I kept my distance from the truck and started to direct traffic.  After we got back to the fire hall we all stayed there for some period of time I forget just how long but we all talked about how we were feeling about what we had just seen.  That was my very 1st taste of the brotherhood.  A few days after the call I heard a pager message about “everyone that was involved with the MVA was to meet at the fire station for a debriefing”  So I went.  This was my first “CISD” critical incident stress debriefing.  I sat in the briefing and we talked about how we felt while we were there.  I never thought that would help just talking about it,  Boy was I wrong.  I felt just a little better witch in this case I came to find out means the world.  Since that call I have had to set in on more CIDS meetings that I can count.  Normally the fire company calls in CIDS when it hits just a bit too close to home for us.  They are called when one or more firemen knows the person that has passed away.  Or when there has been a “mass casualty” Meaning one or more persons have passed away.

 

In the next post I hope to talk more about the brotherhood and why we are called brothers

Firefighter’s Memories – Summer Heat Part 1

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When I think of summer heat I am reminded of having to fight fires with all that gear on.  I was at a cabin fire one hot summer day when it was in the mid to upper 90′s and it was all we could do to stay hydrated.  We where all sweating most of the liquids that we put into our bodies as fast as we could get them.  Or at least that’s what it seemed like to me at the time.  The cabin was in a very secluded area in the mountains.  It was not only difficult to get to but also a challenge to control.  It was a very beautiful area though,  As I recall,  The cabin was surrounded with pine trees.  There were many pine needles all over the ground.  

On another fire scene we where called to in the summer,  We where paged to a house fire with flames threw the roof!  This one was just about the same weather as we had at the cabin fire but this was easy to get to as it was on a paved road.  I remember the heat coming off the house was so hot that even standing about 30 feet away you could not be there with out gear on because it could gave you a sun burn. 

One way a firefighter deals with the heat is we will take our helmet and dip it into a drop tank and fill it with water.  We then pour it over our heads.  Now I admit it is not the best way to cool down but it works.  We are protected from the scorching heat while in a building that is on fire with many layers of protection.  1st we do not have any skin exposed at anytime.

 

Personal Blog: What I have been up to?

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I have not posted a new post in a very long time.  Well the main reason is because ever since the weather is getting nice I have other projects that have been keeping me busy.  so I have decided today I would let you know some projects I have going on.  We all know summer is a time to do yard work that has been piling up over time.  This holds even more true for me because the last couple of years I have not been able to do much of anything outside because of health problems.  Well this year I am feeling much better (THANK YOU GOD FOR YOUR HEALING GRACE).  So I have a bunch of catchup work to do this year.  I love to mow grass,  So I have an early 70′s sears 10HP garden tractor that I was givin this year.  I cannot push mow because it is still hard for me yet,  So I made a deal with my neighbor that since I like to mow with my tractor I would mow his yard and he would run the push mower and the weed eater.  Plus he gets to use our deck chairs.  I also let him put a sand box in for his kids to play in under our tree.  So I get to mow more grass witch I wanted to do anyways because I like to mow.  He gets to save money on mowers because he uses my push mower and trimmer.  We all get to share yards.  Since we live in a mobile home park it makes things nice when neighbors can get along with each other.

Ok so other projects I have going on this summer is I have a very old early 60′s electric start wizard 7HP rear engine lawn tractor that I has seen it’s better days.  So I am going to strip it down and try my hand at restoring it as best as I can. Since this is going to be a first for me I plan on starting with removing the deck.  I will keep you posted as to how things are going.

I also have rust repair work to do on both my van and dads van.  Again I love to repair rust and then paint over the repair.

So anyways that is what I have been up to so I will be posting as time permits.

3 ways to bring new life back to an old computer. part 1

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I bet you had no idea that your old computer that is just laying around in your closet collecting dust.  Even if the computer is from the mid to late 90′s you can still put them to good use today.  In this post I will outline 3 ways to use your old computer to serve you.

  1. The first thing you can do is turn it into a backup server for your home network.  You can set this computer to backup every computer on your network.  This is a great option for every home network.
  2. The next reason for reviving that old PC is you can take all your DVD’s and al your cd’s you have in your collection no matter how many you have and rip all of them to your old computer to make a “media server”  Then you network all your devices in your house such as computers, Tv’s if the tv is able to be networked – more on that later. Yes even your smart phones and tablet’s – (IE) ipad and other devices.  You can even network your ipod touch.  This will allow you to watch all your DVD’s and hear all your music on your media server. This is also a great place to put all of your pictures.
  3. You can even turn your old PC into a router for your network if you wanted some extra security.

OK so lets get started.  A backup server is very useful as a means of protecting all of your data you have on all your computers.  I myself am in the process of building a “NAS” (Network Attached Storage) server just for backups.  Now the great part about this is that if your computer crashes you don’t have to worry about what files you might have lost. Because they will be on your backup NAS.  Now I recommend spending a few extra bucks here and getting an external hard drive the dame size as your network drive is.  The reason I recommend this is because you can backup to this drive every month and take it to a safety deposit box.  The reason for this is that in the event of a disaster like a fire or flood or even a theft,  You won’t loose all your pictures, files, And everything else that might be important.  When you get a new computer all you have to do is go get your drive and copy the files onto your new computer.  This holds true for a “media server” as well.

So you might be thinking just how do I go about building these servers anyhow?  Well in part 2 I am going to explain just what you need to do and the software you will need.

 

Website updates planned

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Hi everyone I just wanted everyone to know that I am planning a few changes to http://www.firefighter1811.com  Here is what you can expect to see in the next few weeks.

 

  1. A new look for the website – I want to build a more user friendly experience.
  2. Adding a video section – I will be hosting my own podcast
  3. Adding a Photo area where you can upload pics of your Fire Co. apparatus. – this will take some time to install into the website so watch for it down the road.

Computer upkeep

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When it comes to owning a computer you will have to remember that there is lots of stuff you will need to do to make sure your computer lasts for years to come and works great all the time.  WOW that was a very long sentence.  When you buy a computer you have to figure that you will need to buy anti virus protection every year for it.  This helps catch viruses that might harm your computer.   This also helps protect you against spyware.  There are many good anti-virus programs out there.  I have used several in the past.  I used to use Norton all the time.  I always had problems with it slowing the computer way down because Norton has always been a resource hog.  Don’t get me wrong I like Norton because it does a great job.  I also used and I hate to even swear like this but “Mcaffee”  Sorry to offend everyone for swearing but Mcaffee has always been a terrible program for giving you nothing but a BIG headache!  As you can tell by now I don’t use ether one of these.  I have found that Zone Alarm Extreme has to be bar non the best scanner I have ever used.  With zone alarm.  So far zone alarm has caught stuff the others have not.  It still slows down your system but not near as bad as the others.

 

OK OK OK Enough with the virus talk PLEASE!

Next post will be about cleaning and other jobs that you need to do to own a computer.

Personal log – 04.05.2011

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Personal log – this is the third day I have been on Keppra.  The side effects are interesting to say the least.  The first time I took it I was so uncoordinated I felt drunk.  I could not walk in a straight line.  I had trouble thinking,  Even talking was a challenge.  The funny thing is I felt REALLY GOOD.  Kinda like if you ever had a bit to much to drink and you feel as though nothing can hurt you.  I call it being comfortably numb.  Yes I know what your thinking and yes I used to drink alcohol in my younger more stupider days.  Just to clear everything up NO I do not drink anymore.  So I talked to my cousin that is a nurse and found out that this was all part of getting used to Keppra.  It may take a few days but it will get better.  The next time I felt slightly better and today is better yet.  I just wish the feeling of comfortably numb would stick around.  That is an affect I could live with :-)   Today I started taking the full dosage 1 pill 2x daily.  I only have been taking it at night so I can get used to it.  Each pill is 500mg so I take 1000mg per day now.

I will keep you all posted as to how things are going.