January - February - March
MARCH 31
I just wanted to let all of the visitors to NFH
know that I'm going to take a few days off... maybe a week. I need to recharge
my batteries, clear out some cobwebs, and catch up with a few things that have
fallen behind. I actually just need to take a break from the daily routine for a
little while. Things are status quo with the site and going well. keep those
cards and letters comin' in! If anything urgent crops up, I'll be sure to post
it. Otherwise, I'll catch up with everything when I return to duty.
MARCH 25
New content and photos have been added to the "NFD News" for
March. "Newark's Multiple Alarm Fires Of 1907" has been added in the "Fires"
feature.
MARCH 21
All of the weekly features are up-to-date, and
new content has been added to the "NFD News" for March.
MARCH 19
As well as all the weekly features being brought
up-to-date, new content was added in the "Personnel" section entitled, "The
First Captains Of The NFD."
MARCH 18
I am happy to report that all of the site's weekly features are
up-to-date. In addition, new and updated content has been entered for February
and March in the "NFD News" section. More news will be coming soon. Check it
out!
MARCH 17
A new category and button has been added to the
home page entitled "General." This will cover general NFD history items that may
not necessarily fall into one specific category. Nothing has been added to this
area as yet, but it is where the new feature of looking back 100 years ago will
be located. The microfilms for 1908 and 1909 are in the process of being
digitized in order for this feature to be researched to the fullest extent, at
this time.
MARCH 14
Hi, everyone. The "Commissioner" asked me a while
back if there was any way of letting visitors to the site know when features
have been updated. I explained to him that it would be very time consuming for
me to have to post every time I make a change to the site's features. The weekly
features alone would keep me here all day. Then it came to me while I was making
my omelet this morning. As the site grows, visitors will have to visit each and
every feature to see if anything new has been added. I did some experimenting on
my own and found that it will prove to be very frustrating in the future to see
what has been added to the permanent features here at NFH. While I found the
weekly features easy enough to go through, I found that the permanent content
that doesn't change, but gets constantly added to, was not. I put myself into
the shoes of a regular NFH visitor and found myself having to go through each
and every story to see if something was added, or updated, and past stories DO
get updated, whether with pictures, updated content, or both. A lot of you can
probably go back through past NFD News stories and find pictures that weren't
there before. So, in order to allay future problems that I can see cropping up
for visitors to the site, I will meet the Commish halfway. Henceforth, whenever
new content to the permanent features has been added, or old content
updated, I will make an entry here in the NFH Site News. However, this will not
apply to the weekly features. They are easy enough to check, and do follow a
somewhat regular schedule. After all, I can't do ALL the work! Please keep this
in mind... as you can see by this decision, and policy change, just because you
don't see new content here every day, doesn't mean NFH isn't being worked on.
There are always projects and new features being considered for NFH, but there
is a lot of work that has to go into them to make them reality. The site is now
getting over 100 visitors a day regularly, and I have gotten nothing but good
words from a lot of you. Thank you all for your continued support, and I hope
you'll continue to stick with the site as it grows. Please pass the word about
NFH to friends, family, and past or present members of the NFD you might know.
MARCH 11
It's been a while since my last report, but there hasn't been a
whole lot to report. The site is moving along, slowly but surely. I try to keep
it updated the best I can. I may fall behind a day or two, but then I spend a
day catching everything up. There are a few new articles and stories, and the
"Boys Who Fight The Flames" feature is moving along slowly. I have been working
on several NFD history projects, including researching old newspapers and
scanning old negatives, several of which have appeared on NFH in the past few
weeks. I am planning to start a new feature in the future, in which we take a
look back to see what was happening in the NFD 100 years ago. I need to get the
microfilms digitized first, then the research can start. It could take one to
two months to get it going, but it will definitely start with January, 1909.
More and more people have been submitting items for use on the site, which is
great to see. While most of my time is spent doing NFD historical research, I do
need to take some time off now and again for me. I love what I do, but there are
also other things that I like to do... like gaming, having friends 'round, or
just watching a good movie on the Cyclops.
But it isn't long before I'm back in my office on the computer. I do love it so!
FEBRUARY 20
You may ask, "Why doesn't he put more stuff up?
How hard can it be?" Let's take a look at what it takes to add a "Boys Who Fight
The Flames" feature. A decision is made as to which story will appear next. The
photo is scanned, carefully trying to iron out wrinkles, but yet not causing
damage to the original 100-year-old copy. The scan is then resized, formatted,
cleaned, tweaked, and fine-tuned so that the best possible image can be placed
on the site. A blank Word document is created and the story then has to be
transcribed, word-for-word, just as it appears in the original. The file is
saved as a DOC file for future reference, as well as a TXT file for use on the
site. The FrontPage program is opened and a blank page is chosen. The page then
has to be formatted as to colors, margins, fonts, etc. The image to be used in
the story is then added, along with a title. The image is then aligned and
framed. The TXT file is opened, copied, and pasted under the image. The proper
line and paragraph breaks are then added, making sure the story lines up. It is
then previewed, to make sure it appears properly on the website, and finally,
it's published to the site. Then entire process can take anywhere from 60 to 90
minutes for each feature, depending on the condition of the original image and
text. So, for me to do two articles for this feature, it can take anywhere from
two to three hours. As you can see, it's a tad more involved than just throwing
some pictures and writing onto the site. And my motto always has been is,
"Quality Over Quantity." I hope this helps you to understand what it takes to
run NFH.
FEBRUARY 20
At 13:48 hours, EST, the button was pushed to
delete the original Newark Fire History site, at MSN Groups. The closing of all
MSN Groups will take place Saturday, February 21, 2009. I wanted to make sure I
had the site emptied by then so I could delete it myself. I created it... I
wanted to be the one to delete it. I had mixed emotions as I took the last few
bits of information from the message boards. There was a lot of hard work put
into that site, as there is here. There was a lot of interactivity, which was
nice. Unfortunately, that is the one thing lacking with the new site. However,
like the mythical Phoenix, a newer and better site has risen from the ashes. I
have had nothing but pleasant compliments about the new site, with everyone
feeling it's much better than the old. I'd have to agree. It's a bit more work,
but the freedom and end results are well worth it. Rest in peace, old Phoenix,
and long life to the new!
FEBRUARY 17
I have taken a bit
of a break from NFH for a while in order to get other things done. I am working
on several large NFD historical projects that require a fair bit of my time. I
am trying to keep the weekly features updated, and I hope to get some new
content on the site in the way of items of historical interest. I have gotten a
fair amount of submissions from site visitors, which is great! These images will
appear on the site as I get to them. As there is no effective way for me to let
visitors know when there is new content, you'll just have to keep coming back!
JANUARY 29
Nothing really major to report about the site
other than slow, but constant progress. I have been receiving nothing but
compliments about the site, which makes it all worthwhile. I have also been
making contact with various people who are willing to supply the site with
photos and info.
The main point of this update is about semantics. Recently, the NFD has changed the terminology regarding the rigs that carry all the ladders, forcible entry tools, and such, from "Truck Company" to "Ladder Company." Well, that's all well and good if you like the term "ladder company," and for departments that have been using that term for eons, good for them. However, being a die-hard NFD historian, and a non-conformist, I refuse to refer to a Newark truck company as a "ladder company." It will always be referred to here on NFH as a TRUCK company. That's they way it's always been since the hand-drawn days, and that's the way it will always be on NFH. For those that don't like it, too bad. The site will still be here whether you visit it or not, and it will still say TRUCK company. OOPS! There's my Leo arrogance showing! LOL!!
Now for my rant...
Now, of course I'm sure some shithead will be quick to mutter, "That's right... 200 years of progress impeded by tradition." BITE ME! What we are talkin' about here is a friggin' word, so stick that saying up your fat ass! I'm sick o' hearin' that line o' bullshit already! I'm not talkin' about somethin' that affects a firefighter's life... it's a fuckin' word, asswipe! I've seen LOTS of changes in the fire service that certainly weren't for the BETTERMENT of it!
Take this fucked up turnout shit everyone is being forced to wear, even though it's cooking their innards!! It's all well and great that the gear can withstand 1,000 degrees F. What about the poor schmuck wearin' it??? Can HE, or SHE??? Can the face pieces on the masks withstand that sort of temperature?? This is what happens when you allow self-serving industrial assholes to serve on firefighting committees. Does anyone ever think someone will come forward and say, "We made a terrible mistake by producing these "cocoons" that totally deaden every sense a person has?" They'll let thousands of firefighters die before they would ever say it was a mistake. You can take that to the bank!
Then you get the idiot who says, "If it wasn't for my turnout gear, I certainly would've been killed in that flashover!!" DUH!!! Maybe it was the turnout gear that let you go in so far, in the first place, that resulted in you getting caught in a flashover!! Ever think of that, Einstein?? Then you get the geniuses who say, "Yeah, but it allows us to go into hotter atmospheres to rescue people." Are you shittin' me??? THE PERSON IS DEAD!! If YOU couldn't survive in there without your gear, what makes you think THEY can??? Jesus! Use some common sense!
You pull up and people tell you a child is trapped on the second floor. The place is ripe and looks like a coked-up steam locomotive running in place! You seal up your Superman cocoon and rush in to save the child, who was dead long before you even turned outta quarters. With extremely limited vision, and no sense of taste, hearing, smell, or touch, you rush in to do what you raised your hand to vow to do. You make it to the second floor. Now, had you had some sort of sensory input, you would've known immediately to get outta the hell outta there as soon as you made the landing. But, noooooo. So, you crawl down the hall, not knowing that all Hell is about to swallow you alive, because your 1,000-degree cocoon says, "Well, it's warm, but not too bad."
Then it happens... in an instant, it becomes too hot to bear. You can't see, feel, hear, smell, or touch a thing! You stumble around... maybe you manage to find your way back to the stairs. More likely, however, you find a window and leap for your life. You fall, striking a fence on the way down, severing your spinal cord. You'll never walk again... if you survive the burns. In a few weeks, the company who made the turnout gear wants to use you in their next advertising campaign to show how their gear saves lives!! Never mind the fact you'll never run with your children again... you're alive, thanks to their gear!! NO ONE one will say that it was BECAUSE of the gear, and a false sense of security incited by ADVERTISING HYPE, that you went in TOO far!! You shoulda walked away from that fire with maybe a couple of scorched ears, but instead, you're in a wheelchair for the rest of your life.
So much for tradition impeding progress...
GOD, in His infinite wisdom, has given us five extraordinary senses with which to make our way around this dangerous world. Any one, or all, will warn us of danger that could jeopardize our lives, allowing us to take the proper action to prevent harm. So what does MAN do, in his LACK of infinite wisdom?? He takes a person, wraps them in a cocoon of MANMADE shit that deadens every one of these God-given senses, tells them they're safer than ever before, and then sends them into the most hostile and life-threatening environment known to man! Pure genius! These would be the same people who believe in words such as fireproof, unsinkable, crushproof, waterproof, etc.
Then you get the fire service administrator who goes along with this bullshit program, and then when asked what he's going to do to help his firefighters battle the heat and fatigue produced by wearing the "cocoons" in the summer months, answers, "Nothing! Let 'em drink from the hydrant like I used to!!"
For the record, any and all information I have ever received, and will receive, from present members of the NFD, have used the "politically" correct term of "ladder company." I have changed it, and always will, to "Truck Company." I say this so that no issue will be made with the reporting NFD members regarding proper terminology. They DO refer to the units as "Ladder Companies." I don't... and never will.
JANUARY 23
Hi, all. As you can see, NFH is moving along
slowly but surely, with new content being added all the time. The newest feature
is the "Boys Who Fight The Flames" series of news articles that was run in
Newark's Morning Star newspaper, starting in March of 1908. They are
brief articles, but are full of NFD historical content. These can be found in
the "Companies" area of NFH. Several other articles have been placed on the site
as well. It's impossible for me to make postings to the NFH News section each
time something new is added, so visitors should check all the feature areas
often, as you never know what new info may have been posted since your last
visit.
There are some minor layout changes that have been made, most of which really wouldn't be noticeable to visitors. Changes in some of the graphics on feature pages have been made. Some errors have been corrected, especially in the area of photos not displaying. This was the result of a change I made in my image storage system for the site, which was becoming a bit unwieldy.
Even though I have several major NFD historical research projects going on at the moment, I still try to devote time to NFH to keep it fresh and interesting. It can only get better as time goes by, folks!
JANUARY 10
I hope
everyone had a joyous and wonderful holiday season.
I have been hard at work and very busy with the NFH site. I finally have all the latest NFD News updated, and had to create a similar system for the NFH News. All poll features have been removed, and new content has been added in a couple of different categories. I am still working on removing pertinent data from the old site, but it is very time consuming. I know some of the weekly features haven't been updated, but I've had to put the website on hold to tend to some other matters and projects.
Ever since I started the new NFH, a lot of other things were pushed aside allowing me to concentrate on the site. Well, it's time to catch up on those things now, so NFH may suffer a few erratic "hiccups" over the next couple of weeks. It's very easy to see why places that have very large websites have a full staff of people tending to it!
I'm getting some new office furniture in so that I can better store items I need ready access to, and since my office looks like a tornado barreled through it, I need to get it somewhat straight so that when the furniture arrives I can move it right in.
I have a few really neat NFD historical projects lined up for 2009, and if they all pan out, I hope to be bringing more interesting info to NFH.
I have a lot of ideas for the site, but they take time to plan, lay out, and put into operation. I'm not one for just slapping something up on the site just to say it's there, and then have to re-do it all several times at later dates.
Check in often because you never know may be just around the corner.