Download Over 150 Free PowerPoint Advanced PowerPoint Slides to Jazz Up Your Presentations

From Lifehacker If you're tired of your PowerPoint presentations being a bit tame, Microsoft has released a collection of PowerPoint slide sets that show how you can push the envelope in slide design and get away from boring slides.

They've collected dozens of slide sets that are not only interesting for their color schemes and animations, but also include instructions on how each was created. If you see a set in the collection that you'd like to not only use but learn how to make, download it and check out the attached notes—they'll detail the creation process slide by slide like an elaborate tutorial. If you have Microsoft Silverlight installed you can check out the video below:

While you're improving your presentation chops you might want to check out how to deliver polished presentations Steve Jobs style, skim over SlideFinder to find inspiration for your next presentation, or grab Theme Builder to help build themes across your Office documents.

Free Picture and Text Effects for PowerPoint [Microsoft via Download Squad]

Remember Ladder placement can be important

California FD’s Love their wooden ladders, guess there are pulses and minuses on your use of either wood or aluminum. Aluminum can also fail when exposed to heat, as least with wood you can see how much of it has burned away. Close call here for two FF’s, ladder was placed upwind of the the window but the fire grew fast and still reached the ladder. Two lucky FF’s on the roof made a hasty retreat when conditions worsened at the this structure fire.  Video from Flashover TV

Ladder Burns - Close Call

Firefighters use a ladder to reach the roof and ventilate, but fire spreads to the ladder and starts burning it before they can get down.
FlashoverTV is powered by FireRescue1.com

Remember Ladder placement can be important

California FD’s Love their wooden ladders, guess there are pulses and minuses on your use of either wood or aluminum. Aluminum can also fail when exposed to heat, as least with wood you can see how much of it has burned away. Close call here for two FF’s, ladder was placed upwind of the the window but the fire grew fast and still reached the ladder. Two lucky FF’s on the roof made a hasty retreat when conditions worsened at the this structure fire.  Video from Flashover TV

Ladder Burns - Close Call

Firefighters use a ladder to reach the roof and ventilate, but fire spreads to the ladder and starts burning it before they can get down.
FlashoverTV is powered by FireRescue1.com

LODD – Two reported from USFA

Notice of Firefighter Fatality: Union, MS

from USFA Firefighter Fatalities

Jerry Thompson of the Linwood Volunteer Fire Department in Union, MS has died as the result of an on-duty incident that occurred on 2010-01-14 While at the scene of a structure fire, Firefighter Thompson collapsed. CPR efforts were started immediately by firefighters on-scene and Firefighter Thompson was transported by LifeCare EMS to Laird Hospital where he succumbed to an apparent heart attack. Incident Location: Road 262 in Neshoba County

 

Joseph Mack McCafferty, Lancaster, Ohio 01/16/2010 Lieutenant McCafferty was incident commander at the scene of a residential structure fire when he collapsed on the fire ground and later succumbed to an apparent stroke.

Interesting - Backdraft caught on tape

As posted to You tube - A Baltimore fire official says five firefighters were injured battling a blaze at a row house.
MD Baltimore N. East Ave Fire Department spokesman Chief Kevin Cartwright says when firefighters arrived at the row house on North East Avenue around 6 a.m. Friday they found heavy smoke and fire coming from the basement spreading to the first floor.
Cartwright says one firefighter suffered a first-degree burn and may have fractured his arm. He was taken to Bayview Burn Center, where he is listed in stable condition.
Four more firefighters with less serious injuries were taken to other hospitals and are also in stable condition.
Cartwright says it took about a half hour to control the blaze and the cause is under investigation. He says its not yet clear whether anyone was home when the fire broke out.

What?

Just goes to show you never know what kind of response you will be called for.

Southampton man cut free after getting penis stuck in steel pipe

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4838562.Trapped_manhood_cut_free_by_grinder/
A MAN who got his genitalia stuck in a steel pipe had to be cut free by eight firefighters using an industrial grinder.

The heavy duty cutting gear had to be used to remove the three-inch long hollow pipe after medics were unable to release it.

The painstaking operation, which involved eight firefighters, took around an hour.

The drama began after the man took himself to the accident and emergency department of Southampton General Hospital.

Restricted blood flow had left the man in a state of arousal, and unable to remove the pipe.

Staff there were so concerned that they phoned the emergency services and a crew from Redbridge Fire Station were initially dispatched.

But they had to bring in backup from St Mary’s station which has a fire truck equipped with specialist cutting gear.

A disc gutter cutter, with a four-and-a-half-inch blade, was used to slice open the stainless steel pipe.

The man, in his 30s, offered no explanation for his predicament but was said to be “quite concerned and anxious”. He had been given an anaesthetic to prepare for the procedure.

St Mary’s crew manager Adrian Johnson said: “It was a very delicate operation. We did not want anything heating up.

The person who did it deserves a commendation for his nerve and steady hand.”

Meanwhile, watch manager Greg Garrett from Redbridge station added: “I’ve only come across this type of thing three or four times in my 17 years as a firefighter. It’s not a daily occurrence.”

The man’s private parts were left bruised and swollen.

Be Proactive and Beat the Fire – From USFA

Be Proactive and Beat the Fire
You and your fire department can help shape the future of fire safety in new homes and building developments. Establish relationships with home builders and renovators in your area and encourage them to install residential fire sprinklers in each new home. Work with construction permit offices to identify new home construction and renovation projects and provide homeowners with information about the benefits of residential fire sprinklers. Your department can establish a community of new and renovated sprinkler-equipped homes that will ultimately put fewer firefighter lives at risk of entering a fully engaged home fire.  Work with builders and homeowners now so that residents and firefighters will be safer in the event of a home fire.
Quick Sprinkler Facts
• Sprinkler systems exceed a 95 percent “fail-safe” status in laboratory testing. Sprinklers are individually activated only if there is a fire in which the heat escalates past that sprinkler’s trigger point.
• Modern residential sprinklers are designed to respond to fire faster than commercial or industrial sprinkler systems, because they are more sensitive to heat.
• A sprinkler costs about $1.61 per square foot. This cost is about the same as upgraded cabinets or carpet.
• Installing a sprinkler system has the potential to lower insurance rates by 5-15% by meeting code requirements.
• When both smoke alarms and fire sprinklers are present in a home, the risk of dying in a fire is reduced by 82 percent, when compared to a residence without either.

You can download a consumer-friendly version of the U.S. Fire Administration’s (USFA) residential fire sprinkler fact sheet from the new Install. Inspect. Protect. smoke alarm campaign Web site at http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/campaigns/smokealarms/ (English) and http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/espanol/detectoresdehumo/ (Spanish).

Too much time on their hands

 

The Christmas holiday is one of the most difficult times of the year to stay 'green,' but rocket launching our Christmas tree was a great way to recycle our trash destined tree. 32 large rocket engines and some careful calculations ensured fun for the whole family.

Only on YOUTUBE

Obamateurism – Interesting reading at this site

 

Obamateurism of the Day

from Hot Air TV by tips@hotair.com (Hot Air Network, LLC)

With Americans suddenly conscious of international terrorism again in the wake of the Fort Hood massacre and the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest 253, the Obama administration has struggled to keep up with the paradigm shift. [...] Read the rest

Not needed often, but nice to have when needed

North Tahoe woman donates pet oxygen ...

North Tahoe woman donates pet oxygen masks to local fire district‎ -

Just ask the North Tahoe Fire Protection District, which recently received six oxygen masks sized specifically for dogs and cats. ...

Marian Jordan, a Kings Beach resident and longtime animal lover, approached Chief Duane Whitelaw about what it would take to outfit fire trucks with the masks after watching a morning television program in which the masks were featured.
“It's something we have talked about in the district, but when Marian decided to talk to Chief Whitelaw, we made it happen,” said Dave Zaski, NTFPD public information officer.

West Coast 911 site

Lots of fire news for the new year

Sen. Greenleaf escapes house fire | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/03/2010
Philadelphia Inquirer
Upper Moreland Township Fire Marshall Robert Drennen said Greenleaf, his wife, son and a friend, raced from the home after they were awakened by smoke ...

Father, Son Killed In Series Of Suspicious Fires In Northampton ...
A father and son died in a house fire early Sunday morning in Northampton as crews struggled to put out more than a dozen fires, authorities said.

3 die in SC mobile home fire
Augusta Chronicle
AP HONEA PATH — Authorities say three people have died in a mobile home fire in South Carolina. Anderson County Deputy Coroner Don McCown says 43-year-old ...

Vigil held for Northampton fire…
My Fox Boston
The fires took the lives of a father and son, and the Northampton community came together Saturday to hold a vigil. “I'm just awe struck by what's happened. ...

4-Alarm Fires Rips Through NJ Town House Complex
New York's PIX11 / WPIX-TV
By MEREDITH TRAINA | wpix.com PISCATAWAY, NJ (WPIX) - Several families have been displaced after a four-alarm fire at a townhouse at a residential complex ...

Man killed in kitchen fire in St. Louis
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (blog)
By Joel Currier A man died early this morning in a kitchen fire in St. Louis, authorities said. The fire started about 4:30 am in the kitchen of a ...

TNA News: Punk Fires Up Hogan, Russo Teases Tension, More
411mania.com
- CM Punk appeared on The BJ Shea Morning Experience before Christmas and made some comments about Hulk Hogan and the TNA product in general. ...

Tacoma: 1 dead, 1 hospitalized in early morning fire Sunday
TheNewsTribune.com (blog)
Tacoma Fire Department personnel responded to the report of a house fire in the 7200 block of South Lawrence in Tacoma at 3:23 am Sunday morning. ...

Jail fires officer for being KKK member
Bloomington Pantagraph
AP | Posted: Sunday, January 3, 2010 12:00 pm | Loading… GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- A county jailer in Florida has been fired after telling investigators he was ...

Abandoned Homes Hazard For Fires WREG
(Memphis 01/03/2009) - The cold weather has arrived and with it comes the likelihood of more house fires. Fire fighters have been busy this weekend all over ...