Greek bizman 'fired' again!

From: http://www.nypost.com/

This is the fiery face of Greece’s financial crisis.

A small-business owner, unable to pay off bank loans that have plagued him for months, set himself on fire yesterday -- his third attempt, authorities said.

The unidentified 56-year-old went to a Piraeus Bank branch in Thessaloniki in northern Greece and tried to renegotiate payments on loans he had taken out on his home and failing business, police said.

When bank officials refused, the man went outside, doused himself with gasoline from a can and set his clothing on fire -- as he shouted that he was in debt.

AP

Police rushed to the scene to put out the blaze with fire extinguishers and saved his life.

He was hospitalized with chest burns, and is expected to survive, authorities said.

Authorities said it was the third time he set himself on fire, including once 15 months ago when he also suffered burns, after complaining that he couldn’t pay off his outstanding loans.

Greece’s government, seeking its own loans from the European Union, has imposed drastic cost-cutting measures, which in turn triggered business failures, mounting unemployment and violent street protests.

European finance ministers, meeting in Wroclaw, Poland, yesterday, put off until October a decision about whether to go ahead with another huge loan to Greece.

Uncertainty about whether Greece will default on its outstanding loans has roiled world stock markets for months.

It's National S’mores Day: 16 decadent s'mores recipes & cocktails Continue reading on Examiner.com It's National S’mores Day: 16 decadent s'mores re

From: http://www.examiner.com/

Celebrate National S'mores Day with 16 decadent s'mores recipes & cocktails.

Credits: James Rubio

Continue reading on Examiner.com It's National S’mores Day: 16 decadent s'mores recipes & cocktails - National Holidays | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/holidays-in-national/it-s-national-s-mores-day-16-decadent-s-mores-recipes-cocktails#ixzz1Uf9jBwJj

No matter how you look at it, August 10th is a great day! Not only is today Lazy Day, but it is also National S’mores Day! Just imagine yourself relaxing in the hammock, sipping on a Lazy Day cocktail and munching on one or two decadent s’mores – crisp graham crackers filled with gooey marshmallows and rich chocolate.

While the origins of this annual holiday are unknown, s’mores were probably “invented” by the Campfire Girls decades ago. Gobbled up by both young and old alike, s’mores are tasty treats frequently made at campfires.

Don’t know how to make ‘em? You’re in luck: Whether you use an open fire, toaster oven or microwave, Kraft shows you just how it’s done with these simple step-by-step s'mores directions. If you have a camping trip coming up, have the kids practice making s’mores with this fun game by Hershey’s.

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Hershey's S'mores Photo Contest

In honor of National S’mores Day, Hershey’s is asking folks to share their favorite s’mores memories by uploading your favorite s’mores-themed photo and sharing with friends. S’mores-themed prizes include a camera, photo printing gift card, outdoor fire pit, roasting skewers and more. But hurry – the contest ends today.

Give Me S’more S’mores Recipes!

• Campfire S’mores Recipe – You’ll need graham crackers, chocolate bars and large marshmallows for this simple recipe. Don’t forget skewers or long sticks and a fire!
• Golden Grahams S’mores – This recipe, from Betty Crocker, calls for Golden Graham cereal, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, light corn syrup, butter and vanilla.
• Sure Fire, No Fire S’mores – Paula Deen shares her top-rated recipe that calls for graham crackers, mini marshmallows and Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars. No fire needed for this one – you’ll need your oven broiler.
• S’mores Cookies – Fair warning - this recipe looks amazing!
• Chocolate and Peanut Butter S’mores Recipe – You’ll need peanut butter, thin chocolate wafers and marshmallows.
• S’more Turtles – You’ll need caramel, honey grahams, chocolate candy kisses, marshmallows and pecans for this recipe from Kraft.
• Strawberry and Chocolate S’mores – Just add strawberry slices to graham crackers, dark chocolate and roasted marshmallows and you are good to go!
• S’more Brownies – You’ll need graham crackers, unsweetened chocolate, sugar, eggs, vanilla, flour, mini marshmallows and semi-sweet chocolate chunks for this recipe from Kraft Foods.
• S'more Brownies – This homemade recipe, from the Food Network, looks fabulous.
• Cookie S’mores Recipe – The folks at Hershey’s shows you how it's done with this simple downloadable recipe.
• S'mores Cheesecake Squares – ‘Nuff said!
• Caramel-Drizzled S’mores – You’ll need peanut butter cookies, bittersweet chocolate, caramel sauce and marshmallows for this one.
• S’more Cupcakes – This made-from-scratch recipe looks divine and doesn’t require a campfire!
• S’mores in a Jar Recipe – This recipe is a great gift idea! You’ll need 16-ounce Mason jars, graham crackers, butter, flour, cocoa powder, brown sugar, vanilla extract, milk, heavy cream, baking soda, egg and marshmallows.
• S'mores Martini - You'll need Toasted Marshmallow Syrup, chocolate vodka and chocolate sauce for this adult drink.
• Smokin’ S’mores Cocktail – Wow – this adults-only recipe is smokin' HOT! You’ll need Teddy Grahams, Bacardi vanilla, butterscotch schnapps, Bailey’s Irish Cream and Bacardi 151, mini marshmallows, toothpicks, matches and chocolate shot glasses.

Happy National S’mores Day! Enjoy!

Ghostbusters Firehouse Being Put Out Of Business

Author: Josh Tyler
From http://www.cinemablend.com/

When someone says the word “firehouse” the image that pops up in my head isn’t of the one-story structure about two blocks from my house with the big, red fire engine parted out front. The picture indelibly burned into my brain is of the firehouse from Ghostbusters, complete with fire pole and ghost fighting gear stacked up somewhere in the corner.

The iconic firehouse used in the Ghostbusters films is actually a real, working, New York City firehouse. Or at least it has been. New York Mayor Bloomberg is pushing a plan to shut it down.

According to the NYPost the Ghostbusters station is one among 20 different firehouses which the city is considering closing due to budget cuts. It’s home to Ladder 8 and while you’d hate to see them out of a job, if they do shut it down maybe someone in New York should have the good sense to turn it into a tourist destination to help that sagging city budget.

Judging from the picture including with the Post story, the place is in good repair, even 20 years later. Look:


And here’s what it looked like in the film:





The ironic thing here is, of course, that in the 1984 film Bill Murray, Dan Akyroyd, and their ghost busting team were only able to move in to the firehouse because the city had closed it down. If you’re planning to start your own ghost busting business, the ideal location for your headquarters may soon show up on the real estate market.

Fire at Redington and Humphrey Street, Swampscott 3/1/2011

This is what I dealt with last night. Got zero sleep, due to the fact that my house/corner became a mobile command center, for other town’s 15+ fire trucks.

Stupid people all night long were trying to get down to see the “Fire” and obviously police made them turn around; you would think that people would pay attention to the detour. Even 10 hours later, there are still people parking in front of my driveway, trying to walk down to see the fire.

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Flames were through the roof at 132 Humphrey Street.  Credit Terry Date

 

Firefighters battled the blaze from all angles.  Credit Terry Date

 

Fire scene on the ground at 132 Humphrey Street.  Credit Terry Date

Firefighters blast the blaze with water cannons and fire lines.  Credit Terry Date

Fire and smoke through the rood at 132 Humphrey Street.  Credit Terry Date

Flames were through the roof at 132 Humphrey Street.  Credit Terry Date

10 Drink Recipes You Can Light On Fire

Written by Alex Nolette

From: http://matadornetwork.com/

Photo by gribanov

Note: Please take precaution when igniting your drinks.

Flaming drinks are a great way to start a party or entertain guests. The uses of igniting your drink go far beyond just lighting yourself on fire and ending up on College Humor. It can actually enhance the flavor.

Pumpkin Pie

1/3 shot Kahlua
1/3 shot Bailey’s Irish Cream
1/3 shot Tequila (white)
1 dash cinnamon
Carefully layer this shot with Kahlua on the bottom, Bailey’s in the middle, and tequila on top. Light the tequila on fire and sprinkle with cinnamon. Down it. It’s just like warm pumpkin pie.
Courtesy of Drink Nation Drink Nation

Flaming Lamborghini

1 oz Kahlua
1 oz Sambuca
1 oz Blue Curacao
1 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
Pour the Sambuca and Kahlua into a cocktail glass and give the drinker a straw. Pour the Bailey’s and blue curacao into two separate shot glasses on either side of the cocktail glass. Set the concoction ablaze in the cocktail glass and start to drink through the straw (this drink should be drank in one suck) . Once the glass is almost empty, pour the Bailey’s and blue curacao into the cocktail glass and keep drinking till it’s all gone!!
Now is not the time to operate a vehicle, unless it’s a beer bike.
Courtesy of The Webtender.

Flaming Dr. Pepper

¾ shot Amaretto
¼ shot of 151 rum
½ glass of beer
Fill the shot glass about ¾ full with amaretto and top it off with enough 151 proof rum to make it burn. Put the shot glass in a pint glass or beer mug and fill the glass with beer (right up to the level of the shot glass). Light the amaretto/151 and let it burn awhile. Blow it out and slam it. Tastes just like Dr. Pepper.
Courtesy of Drink’s Mixer Drinks Mixer

Photo by annia316

Flaming B-52

1/3 shot Kahlua
1/3 shot Irish Cream
1/3 shot Grand Marnier or Cointreau
Couple drops of 151 rum
Fill a shot glass 1/3 full of Kahlua. Then layer the Irish Cream on top by pouring it onto the back of the spoon that is held against the rim of the shot glass. Layer the Grand Marnier the exact same way. Then add a drop or two of 151 and light it! You can consume by blowing out the shot or sucking it down with a long straw.
Courtesy of About.com
There is also a great video on how to make this shot.

Bailey’s Comet

1 ½ oz Bailey’s Irish Cream
1 ½ oz Butterscotch Schnapps
¾ oz Goldschlager
1 tbsp 151 Rum
1 dash Cinnamon
Shake the Bailey‘s, butterscotch schnapps and Goldschlager with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Put a shallow layer of 151-proof rum on top. Light the rum on fire, then immediately sprinkle a generous dash of cinnamon on top. The cinnamon will sparkle and flame. Don’t let it burn too long, or the Bailey’s will curdle! Prepare for a hangover.

Photo by lilibear

Courtesy of Drink Nation

Backdraft

Warning: This shot is intense. Just take a look at  Jim Bo taking one .
1 ½ oz Cointreau
1 ½ oz Sambuca
Few shakes of Cinnamon
Ice Cubes
Here’s one that is as complicated as Queimada (Galicia’s fiery drink ritual).
Place a saucer down on a table or bar. Put a shot glass filled with Sambuca in the middle of the saucer. Grab a pint glass and pour a shot or so of Cointreau into the glass. Light the Cointreau and swirl the glass until the sides are warm. Pour the lit Cointreau into the shot glass, igniting the Sambuca and spilling the flaming mixture onto the saucer. While swirling the pint glass over the flames to capture the alcohol vapor, shake some cinnamon from a safe distance on to the drink and then cover the shot glass with the pint glass.
Blow out the flames and then take the pint glass off of the saucer. Quickly drop in a few ice cubes into the glass and immediately seal in the alcohol vapor in with your palm. Shake the glass vigorously a few times and have the consumer stick a straw through your fingers and suck in all the vapor. Then the straw should be used to take down the shot and clean the saucer. All of this should be done as quickly and safely as possible for full effect.
Courtesy of Wikipedia .

Flaming Asshole

¼ Grenadine
¼ Green Crème de Menthe
¼ Crème de Banana
¼ 151 rum
This one is as bizarre as some of the most out-there drinks. Layer in a shot glass in this order: Grenadine, Crème de Menthe, Crème de Banana, Rum. Light the rum and then suck it down with a straw.
Courtesy of Super Cocktails

Flaming Sambuca

1 oz Black Sambuca
3 Coffee Beans

Photo by cavealierhorn

Put 3 coffee beans in a shot glass and add the Sambuca. Light the Sambuca and let burn for 10 seconds or so. Cover the glass with your hand to extinguish, then inhale the air underneath your hand. Drink the shot.
Courtesy of Drinks Mixer

Flaming Gorilla

1 part Peppermint Schnapps
1 part Kahlua
1 part 151 Rum
Pour into shot glass, layering ingredients in this order: peppermint schnapps, Kahlua, rum. Light on fire and extinguish after 15 seconds.
Courtesy of Drinks Heaven

Flaming Mouthwash

½ oz Blue Curacao Liqueur
½ oz Green Crème de Menthe
1 tsp Everclear
Pour the green creme de menthe into a shot glass. Add blue curacao, top with Everclear, and ignite. Take care, and extinguish before consuming.
Courtesy of Drink Swap

Testing Largest Solid Rocket, NASA Outdoes All Homemade Flamethrower Videos

Posted by videodrome

From: http://motherboard.tv/

Today, on a hillside in Promontory, Utah, NASA and its contractor ATK Aerospace Systems successfully completed a two-minute, full-scale test of the largest and most powerful solid rocket motor ever designed for flight.

But the motor has nowhere to go. Borrowed from the nearly extinct Space Shuttle system, which uses solid rocket boosters to get to space, the latest rocket was originally intended for the Constellation program, whose future has been cast in doubt by the Obama administration. And now critics are raising more questions than ever about the wisdom of using solid rockets, which are considered expensive and inapplicable to other uses.

But they are generally lighter than liquid fuel, and they’re proven to work. As the New York Times explains, solid rockets have a long history, dating back to the gunpowder-packed rockets invented by the Chinese perhaps a millennium ago. Solid rocket fuel is a mix of aluminum, ammonium perchlorate, a polymer called polybutadiene acrylonitrile, epoxy and iron oxide poured into cylindrical steel casings 12 feet wide, where it hardens into the consistency of a pencil eraser. Burning the fuel expels hot gases that generate thrust. A lot of thrust.

And for a moment, all of these crazy kids shut up.

The Roof...The Roof...The Roof is on FIRE!!

Definition Of Calm

Lemme just finish my cig...then my beer...then I'll go. Maybe.

Female firefighters in wet T-Shirt row, joined Facebook petition to get new shirts

• Gemma Jones, Political Reporter
• From: The Daily Telegraph

Mary Anne Berndt ... a female RFS member has joined a chorus of complaints regarding their yellow uniform shirt top which is see-through when wet. Pic: Adam Ward Source: The Daily Telegraph

A WET T-shirt controversy has broken out among female firefighters who have complained their new Rural Fire Service shirts become see-through when wet.

More than 600 volunteers joined a Facebook petition to object to the issuing of the bright yellow shirts to replace existing navy blue ones.

Women complained that when they sweat, handle leaking hoses, wash or fill their trucks and even when it rains, their male colleagues can see through their new shirts.

"Most women aren't too happy about it. We're not doing the job to be glamorous. We're not sex objects," Sydney volunteer Maryann Berndt, 34, said yesterday.

"You can get quite wet on the fire ground, you always get wet from leaking hoses or filling up the trucks."

In an email forwarded to Opposition emergency services spokeswoman Melinda Pavey, another female firefighter wrote: "I do not like the yellow long sleeved T-shirts for the fact that after you have rolled a few wet hoses or ended up with water all over you they become completely see-through.

"This isn't much of an issue for the guys but not so flattering for the girlies."

Ms Pavey said the shirts were issued to firefighters without consultation.

"It is demeaning there is no thought for women volunteers and what may happen if the shirts get wet. It shows a lack of respect for what women do in the RFS," Ms Pavey said.

There were dozens of posts on the Facebook petition site to save the blue drill shirts, including firefighters comparing the new all yellow look to the yellow member of the The Wiggles.

"RFS Wiggles," one member wrote.

Another wrote: "Hope this [petition] works. The yellow life saver shirts are bloody ugly."

An RFS spokesman said the shirts would be issued to volunteers free, unlike the navy ones which members have to pay for and which will remain for sale.

He added that while first yellow shirts issued were of thinner fabric, the next ones due to be issued would have pockets over the chest and would not be see through when wet.

"The colour yellow has been used due to its high visibility. Also, during independent testing in Alberta, Canada, it has been identified that the blue coloured clothing absorbs more heat," he said.

50 California Fire Pics That Will Blow Your Mind!

latimes.com — More than 26,000 residents were evacuated and 3,500 structures remained threatened as the Triangle Complex fire moved north from Orange County. At least 150 homes have been damaged or destroyed as 1,200 firefighters assembled along fire lines. As three heat- and wind-driven fires ravaged Southern California.

Click here for these amazing but Sad Pics