Back From Orlando

Last night, I got back from a very nice weekend in Orlando. with Kristen It was awesome to meet and spend time with Kristen's friends. Unfortunetly, I didn't have much time or oppurtunity to shoot anything much. Here are some of my reflections on the trip.

We flew out of LaGuardia Aiport. I've never flown out of Laguardia before, what a DUMP! At least the gates we flew out of (B-5) were very run down, dirty, cramped, and outdated. The jetBlue flight down was OK, the plane "Bippity Boppity Blue" was nice, it had the new larger screen jetBlue seatback monitors, which were real nice, yet still not upgraded for XM radio. The one benefit of flying out of and back into Laguardia are the awesome views it affords you of Manhattan. It is closer then JFK, but I still feel JFK is an easier and cleaner airport to deal with.

Orlando, what to say about Orlando? The people are very friendly, and other then theme parks and tourist attractions, there's not much to do. We did not go to any theme parks, as I really have no interest in them. We did go to "Downtown Disney", which is a collection of shops, resturants nightclubs, and entertainment venues on Disney's property. It's pretty amazing the stronghold Disney and the tourism industry has on the area. We ate lunch Saturday at Too-Jays, a local "deli-resturant" chain down there which was really really good, and they had great deserts, and Sunday we ate out the House Of Blues, the food was good but nothing too exciting. Saturday niight was spent at Dustin and Michelle's house, eating some home cooking and playing "Crainium" turbo edition.

Orlando is deep south, especially when you get to the outskirts. One of the things I wanted to see while I was down there was a real, live alligator. Not one in a park or anything, I wanted to see one in the wild. Dustin took me to some alligator prone areas, and I did not see a single one...anywhere. I am very doubtful that alligators exist as much as people say they do down there now. Everything is a new development. And Orlando is very, very flat.

Here's are some of the photos I got during this trip. This one is from one of the rivers we went looking for alligators at.

One of the Walt Disney World fire hydrants. The valves are on the back of the hydrant. This is wierd, I've never seen a wet-barrel like this before.
Here's me trying on some hats at the Disney Store. This one fit me perfectly.

A Florida squirrel. Their tails are nowhere nearly as bushy as NY squirrels.


The boat "Jenny" from "Forrest Gump" at Downtown Disney.



A really cool Lego sculpture at Downtown Disney. I wonder who gets paid to do this kind of work?




One of Disney's newer shuttle buses. Never seen a model like this, looks real good. Anyone know the brand?


These are "lovebugs". Apparently, these were some lab experiment gone very wrong, and now these bugs are everywhere. It's mating season for them, and apparently they mate by attaching at the butt and stay attached to each other like that for weeks.





A crane set up at one of MCO (Orlando International Airports) gates.







A very nicely landscaped area to look at while you are waiting for your plane at Orlando's beautiful airport. Did I mention I also got to see jetBlue's LiveTV hangar?




A Southwest Boeing 737 with blended winglets sits at one of Southwest's gates.





And here's the plane we flew back to NY-LGA on, jetBlue's "Blues Brothers". This one did not have the upgraded seatback monitors, or XM yet.



And here's Bippity Boppity Blue, the plane we flew to MCO on, at an adjacent gate.





Shortly after takeoff from MCO, I believe we were over Daytona Beach.


And sunset from Seat 23A on the way back to NY-LGA



And here's the video of the above photo.

All in all, a great trip and we had fun. Thanks to Bernie and Timmy for covering my mutuals so I could take this trip.

This coming Sunday, it's off to San Francisco, then LA. for a full out buff, err, I mean enthusiasty trip. I may photo-blog my way through this trip, so stay tuned for details on that. Then, I return home for a day, and it's off to Oregon for a week.

That's it for now.

-Seth

Where Old Metro North Trains Go To Die..

Today, while driving home from Fishkill, I decided to peek around Croton to see if I could get any train photos. Well, I did. I found where Metro-North puts old trains to die, right before they get scrapped. They are visible from a road that leads to many yacht clubs and marinas. It is where the old "Croton North" train station was. There were some M-1's there, in bad shape. And north of this yard was really cool, it was a freight yard for CSX, which I never knew existed up until a couple of months ago.

Here are the photos:

And while taking my photos, a Metro North Genenis Diesel train roared by...

Oh, and yesterday on my Chipotle Mexican Grill run in Manhattan, I saw a MTA PD car marked for "Highway Patrol" with the highway patrol bar.

That's all for now.....

My Visit To Empire Ambulance

Today, I was invited to Empire Ambulance Corps headquarters in Fishkill, NY on Route 9 just north of the Putnam County line, to photograph their new Hummer H3 flycars.

Sure, everyone has something to say about every commercial agency, whether they actually know the facts or not is a different story. Today's visit to Empire State Ambulance was enlightening to me, and even cleared up some misconceptions I had. This is surely a progressive company that's looking toward the future. And a different Empire then times past.

First, before I even introduced myself, I was greeted by a friendly field staff, who were inuniforms, outside headquarters awaiting assignment. I then met with the operations staff of Empire, who were awesome and started off by showing me the companies newest addition to it's fleet....it's 3 new Hummer H3 flycars, which will be used to serve the Putnam County ALS contract they were recently awarded. That service will begin September 29th.

The choice of the Hummer H3 impressed me. They are cheaper then Tahoes or Expedition of similar package, and also use less fuel. Their spacious build and wide tracking make them well suited as use for flycars in rural-esque Putnam County. The siren/light console was intergrated with the dashboard in an easy to reach fashion, making for a very uncluttered layout. Each flycar is equipped with a Panasonic Toughbook touch-screen laptop, that has GPS navigation and the Putnam County CAD on it. The vehicle is also equipped with AVL, so the dispatcher can see exactly where in the county the flycar is on a live map, and the paramedic can see where the other cars are. Another nice feature of the laptop is that it has full Windows capability, allowing Medics to write on Word, or use a paramedic reference installed on the computer. All the paramedic gear for these flycars was purchased new with input from Empire's staff. This includes brand new fully loaded Lifepak 12's, and Braslow Pediatric bags.

Here's a video of the lighting package. My little camera has only limited video capabilities, so the lights aren't shown as intense or fast as they are in person. The lighting package is impressive.


And from the rear of the vehicle:

I also did not know Empire had such extensive fleet maintence, including their own body shop and EVS trained mechanic staff. They are currently in the process of building 2 7,000 square foot buildings, so all their vehicles are house indoors when not on the road.

Empire also has a complete education center. While I was there, they were hosting an EMD class. Some of the classes they give are AHSI, CPR, CME's, etc. Plans for the future are to be a complete non stop EMS training facility, including EMT original and refresher classes.

Empire State Ambulance is a full service ambulance provider, providing BLS, ALS, ambulette and educational services over a 7 county region in southern New York State. They operate a 24/7 dispatch center with an elaborate CAD system from their headquarter on the Putnam County/Dutchess County border.

Empire State Ambulance Corp. is also a charter sponsor of EMTBravo.com

I thank the Empire staff for showing me Putnam County's new ALS provider and its extensive capabilities.

European Health Spa & Central Ave. Real Estate

Today, I took photos of a property that's been abandoned since I was a kid. It sits on Central Ave in Greenburgh, passed by by thousands each day going between White Plains, Hartsdale, Scarsdale and Yonkers. It used to be a health club and spa, a thriving one opened in the 1960's with this unique architecture. The statue out front is Atlas, but the globe he held up seems to have disappeared within the very recent past. One cool thing I always remember my grandmother and her freinds telling us about this place is that, at one time, they had a cage with a live tiger inside as a publicity thing. Eventually, animal rights activists made them remove it. For those familiar with the area, this is right across the street from the Candlelight Inn, next door to Burger King.

It suprises me that this property has sat vacant for so long. Then again, it's hard to get business built in Greenburgh, nearly impossible. I guess that explains the lack of diversity in retail on Central Ave, which is predominantly banks, furniture stores, standard chains like Staples, and other boring retail outlets, with hardly ANY down-to-earth resturants. I fault the town board and the NIMBY residents who seemingly enjoy paying high taxes and want churches, McMansions, and parks, but no businesses.

It would be nice to see this property restored and become a nice resturant or something like that, but I have a feeling it will be demolished and become yet another high-end furniture store.

A great site to check out abandoned Hudson Valley Ruins is:http://www.hudsonvalleyruins.org/yasinsac/links1.html

Anyways, here are the photos. As you can see, it is quite a large piece of property in the middle of prime real estate. It's its been sitting vacant for at least 25 years, if not more.

Sun Rises Over JFK Terminal 6

This morning, I had a day off from work, and went to pick up Kristen bright and early from the airport. Happy she is back.

Lucky for me, she was flying jetBlue, which means I had an oopurtunity to visit my favorite airline terminal, jetBlues Terminal 6 at JFK. And it looks like they are moving right along with contstruction of their new terminal, the site of the classic former TWA Terminal

As I said, construction is moving along quite rapidly. They say the new terminal will open in early 2009, but I think and hope maybe sooner. Doesn't look like they've begun work yet on restoring the original TWA terminal.

Here is another view of the construction. In the back of the site, you can see the temporary satellite terminal. They are using this for 7 additional gates until their new terminal is open. You get there by taking a looping shuttlebus from Terminal 6. It seems that most of the Embraer E-190 flights use the satellite terminal.

Here, you can see one of the loop shuttles and the path it takes.

And here's another view of the contruction:

And finally, here is a neat shot I got of a jetBlue tail:

This Friday, I will be flying jetBlue out of LaGuardia, to visit Kristen's friends in Orlando, FL. I've never flown out of LaGuardia before, so that experience should be cool.

And a week after that, is my jetBlue flight to San Francisco (actually into Oakland) then a jetBlue flight the next day down the coast into L.A. Then, when I'm back from that, it's off to Oregon on American Airlines.....hey, can't turn down a free flight.

Ardsley's Old Firehouse Almost Gone....Rubble

Stopped by Ardsley's old firehouse this evening, to continue photographically tracking the progress being made (check previous blog entries for more demolition photos). The demolition is almost complete, and some concrete rubble remains. You can see clearly the foundation of the original building, built in 1896 as a schoolhouse.

Noroton Heights Engine 23

Today, on my way to my doctors appointments in Stamford, I stopped by Noroton Heights, CT. Exit 10 off I-95, between Stamford and Norwalk, in the Town Of Darien. I am a huge Mack CF fan and fan of this fleet. If you remember, myself and x901 shot their fleet back in Fenruary. Here's a link to that photo shoot:

Noroton Heights FD Mack Mecca

This department has one of the most beautiful and most unique fleets around, and in addition, are set up to work. They are housed in a firehouse that compliments these rigs nicely. The fleet is standardized, consisting entirely of Macks, with all but one being CF's. Most have been recently completly overhauled, and are in basically new condition.

Recently, their newest engine, Engine 23, was delivered. Here'a a video of it pulling out of quarters.

Listen to that Mack purr!!!!!!!!!!!!

Noroton Heights FD Engine 23 a 2006 Mack CF/Marion Rescue Engine. Its former life was spent entirely at "The Rock", FDNY's training academy (notice the Taz breaking through the rock graphic on the cab door). It was aqquired at auction in very good condtion in 2004, never seeing much street action or abuse at The Rock. The chasis was completly gutted and rebuilt by Mid-Hudson Mack and Marion. A new aluminum body was fabricated, and customized to fit the departments needs. Mostly every part under the hood is new. I was extremly impressed with the amount of space on this engine, and how everything was layed out according to firefighters needs. The exhaust stack, keeps diesel exhaust out of firefighters faces and lungs at scenes. The absorbent hopper was a very convienent feature, and the first time I've seen it on an engine. I liked the large arrowstickl on the back, which makes it noticeable on the interstate. The pump panel is uncluttered and simple. And with all the engine carries, it is relatively compact in wheelbase and size. And I was shocked at the price tag, which is considerably less then many new rescue engines.

This engine is first out on all I-95 and Automotive Rescue calls, and sees a lot of work with Route 1 and I-95 intersecting through their district.

Noroton Heights Engine 23 is one of my newest favorite engines.

CHECK OUT THE COMPLETE SET OF PHOTOS OF ENGINE 23 BY CLICKING HERE

By the way, here is Engine 23 BEFORE it was refurbed (courtesy NHFD website)

And here's a really crappy video I took, walking around the rig. Hey, I'm still learning this video thing:

My Last Shift As A Probie.....

Well, I'm pretty sure at this point that I will be permenantely appointed to the Hartsdale Fire Department ( I have 'til midnight according to County Civil Servie rules tonight to get a letter saying otherwise, and the mail has already come!). Tonight, I will work my last shift as a Probie on Engine 171 in Hartsdale with my Group 2, under the command of Deputy Chief Macwhirter and Captain Vicari. I was appointed to the Hartsdale Fire Department as a Probationary Firefighter on 9-12-05, and assigned to "Probie School" at the Westchester County Fire Training Center in Vahalla, NY. At midnight tonight, I will be a full, regular, firefighter.

The previous year has been the best year of my life, and it all began in Probie School. I wish I had blogged my way through Probie school and since then, but I didn't. But let me tell you about my life and new career over the past year.

I spent my entire childhood growing up in Hartsdale, always passing by the Hartsdale firehouses and seeing Hartsdale firefighters and fire trucks go by and in my neighborhood for as long as I can remember. I don't remember ever wanting to do anything else, I always dreamt of becoming a firefighter. For a number of reasons based on experiences I've had with them, Hartsdale FD would be my ideal department, and as I waited and waited for my time to come, I began to have my doubts that this dream would come true. I have spent years building myself as the ideal canidate for the position when the time came, but would that time ever come? I had just finished my application process for Los Angeles FD, and that oppurtunity seemed like a more viable option at the time. It was well known that Hartsdale is very hard to get into, and they hadn't hired probies in a while. But, on September 8th of 2005, I recieived a letter appointing me as a Probationary Firefighter in the Hartsdale Fire District and assigning me to Probie School effective 9-12-05. I realized that I had not accomplished my dream, but that it only had just begun. I am blessed to have begun my dream career that so many others are afte and don't have a chance to get, in a department that is so respected and awesome

I walked into probie school as Seth, but walked out as a different Seth. Before school started, I knew that I would be attending with Timmy Mentrasti, who was also appointed to HFD with me. Other then that, I wondered about the other probies in the class, how the instructors would treat us, how demanding it would be. Over the course of the three months, I faced many challenges, and grew with every one. I am so proud to have attended school with the probies and instructors I did. Each and every one of them I learned something from, each and every one of them were supportive and enthusiastic. I, we, got through school as succesfully as I did because of them. I feel I had THE best probie class ever. Upon graduation, I was awarded the Instructors Award for Enthusiasm and Postivie Attitude, which not only was shown by me but the entire class. That plaque hangs on my wall today, as does a class photo of my probie class. It reminds me of what an awesome start I had to my career, and I will forever remember and be proud to be a part of Class 03-2005. The lessons I learned there, both professionally and personally, I will carry with high regard for the rest of my life. I hope all my fellow probies had just a great a year as I. "17".

Going on to the firehouse after graduation, I had the same nervous yet excited feelings about starting. What would the guys be like, would I be able to learn everything, and worse yet...how am I ever going to learn to drive that massive tower ladder down Hartsdale's tight and congested roadways? As the days went on, I learned more and more, adjusted to firehouse life and the equipment, and was assigned to Group 2 after being cycled through all the Groups on day shift. I am so proud to work with the 36 men and officers that I do. Each and EVERY one of them is completly awesome and has a HUGE heart, and I look up to and respect all of them. There is not one of them that will refuse to lend a hand when needed. In fact, they will automatically be there when you need them-it's like a sixth sense to them. They are very willing to teach and share their knowledge. They are very caring, always looking out for me and one another. Even the guys with 30 or more years on the job have just as much enthusiasm and energy as I do, with 1 year on the job. I have taken something and grown from each one of them. I am so thankful everyday I go into work to have the opportunity to work with, what in my opinion is the best fire department in the world, with the best firefighters in the world. I am proud to be a Hartsdale Firefighter, and will do my best to continue to learn from my brothers so I to can be like them. Coming up from a background as a Paramedic and 911 Dispatcher, I am so lucky to be able to have the privledge to work in the enviroment I now do and am truly appreciative of this dream.

And on another note, although HFD Groups 1 & 3 have seen fires, pin jobs, etc this year, I have yet to see a single flame. I know my "spurt" will come. I knew that Hartsdale, like many other department's, doesn't see as many fires as some other departments coming into the job. But we do have very large highly populated buildings, and very old dangerous structures, and that's why we are there. But as I've been taught, being a firefighter goes way beyond just putting out the fire......a firefighter can have a far reaching impact in their community, and I've witnessed that this year.

I will always remember 2006, being a HFD probie, as a great year. This year, I got engaged to the love of my life who enables me to suceed in this career, bought a home, and tommorow morning will walk out the door of HFD Station 2 as a permenately appointed Hartsdale Firefighter, with the term "Probie" a part of my past. I am very lucky and thankful for what I have, and for who I get to work with, and the experiences I have had over the past year. I remember where I came from, who I worked with, and everyone along the way that led me up to this year. My mother, sister, fiance', Orlando R,, friends, previous coworkers, brothers that are too numerous to list, and the City and County of LA FD's...you have supported and inpisred me throughout this to make this dream a reality,and I will never ever forget what you have done for me.

9-11-06 In Midtown Manhattan

This morning, I had an appointment in midtown Manhattan. On this somber morning, I'm glad I could observe the moments of silence in the city where this tragedy took place.

I have published an article on how I remember 9/11 on FireEMSAlpha.com
http://www.fireemsalpha.com/node/53

As usual, I took the train into the city. The 9:06AM express from Hartsdale was quite a suprise and treat....it was a diesel train, being pushed by a Metro North Genesis #211. The Bombadier cars on these trains ride so smooth, and the cars and seats seem more spacious then the M-series.

I arrived at Grand Central, and exited via Grand Central North, on my way to 59th St. and Central Park West. This trip brought me Rockefeller Center, where the Today Show was just finishing it's broadcast. I heard Al Roker announcing Toby Keith, and I managed to weave my way through the crowd quickly just as he began to sing a song about America.

After the Today Show stop, I continued on my way to my destination. As I passed 51st St & 7th Ave, I saw a NYPD Dodge Charger for the first time in person. This car is hot! Seems a little wide for city driving though.

After my appointment, it was time to head home. I caught the 11:02 local train to Hartsdale, and it was a new M-7, thankfully, ending my M-7 drought that had lasted nearly a month.

As I said, it was quite a somber and sad mood in the air in the city today. But life must go on, and the city is stronger then ever. It makes me proud, and sad at the same time.