IOWA-The Lloyed Veterinary Medical Center at Iowa recently diagnosed the first cat with H1N1. It seems the animal's owners were suffering from flu like symptoms and then suddenly so was the cat. Needless to say their vet looked at them strange when they asked to get him tested for H1N1, but sure enough he had it. Prior to this case, experts didn't believe household pets could catch H1N1 but recently some ferrets were also diagnosed with the virus. Now they're telling people to protect their animals the same way you protect other humans. Wash your hands, cough in your arm and if your pet begins to exhibits abnormal behavior take them to a doctor.

The curious saga of the Beatles catalog finally going on sale online at a little-known site called BlueBeat just became even curiouser.

Hank Risan, owner of BlueBeat and other companies named as defendants in the lawsuit EMI filed on Tuesday, has a novel defense to allegations he is unlawfully selling the entire stereo Beatles catalog without permission. He claims in a court filling that he — and not EMI or the Beatles’ Apple Corp — owns these sound recordings, because he re-recorded new versions of the songs using what he termed “psycho-acoustic simulation.”

Risan faces perhaps millions of dollars in damages under the Copyright Act. And copyright attorneys said his defense is laughable and carries no weight. If successful, however, it would turn copyright on its head, leaving musical rightsholders defenseless against wanton infringement.

“They’re hosed. That just doesn’t make any sense,” said Scott Mackenzie, a Dallas copyright attorney. “I don’t even see the basis of their theory.”

Ben Sheffner, of the Copyrights and Campaigns blog, points out that BlueBeat’s defense rests on copyright law allowing musicians to produce cover versions of songs for a licensing fee.

“It does not permit a company to re-record a recording by some new technical means — even a ‘psycho-acoustic simulation’ device — and then sell the ‘new’ recordings,” Sheffner, a copyright attorney, wrote.

Risan told EMI in an e-mail (Exhibit A, below) that he successfully registered his “new” copyrights with the United States Copyright Office. The ID3 tags of the Beatles songs sold on BlueBeat.com list “2009 BlueBeat.com” as the copyright holder.

“Defendants independently developed their own original sounds,” BlueBeat told the court.

Neither Risan nor his attorneys returned inquiries for comment.

A Los Angeles federal judge will decide whether BlueBeat actually owns new copyrights to the sound recordings. A decision is expected soon.

To get a sense of how much these “new” recordings resemble the originals, listen to this short sample of The Beatles’ “Sun King,” which I purchased from BlueBeat.com on Friday:

As of midday Thursday, BlueBeat continues to offer the Beatles catalog for free stream and for sale as 25-cent, 160 Kbps MP3 files.

Here’s Risan’s opposition to EMI’s application for a restraining order to stop BlueBeat from selling the files, filed on Wednesday:

And here’s his Exhibit A, an e-mail to RIAA executive vice president and general counsel Steven Marks in which he claims to have copyrighted new sound recordings of the Beatles catalog:

Bluebeat TRO Opposition Ex. A

Staff Writer David Kravets contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy of Flickr/Dunechaser

See Also:

• Beatles Finally for Sale Online … on BlueBeat?
• EMI Sues BlueBeat for Selling Beatles Tunes Online
• Remastered Beatles Tracks: BitTorrent Today, iTunes Tomorrow
• The Beatles Make the Leap to Rock Band
• Review: Beatles: Rock Band Comes Together Beautifully

Well, that will be a business name that we see disappear down the drain. Nice knowin' you (for the brief glimmer of a moment) BlueBeat.

Helmet camera for firefighter

  In one video clip that garnered worldwide attention, a Houston firefighter's helmet camera shows a life being saved as burglar bars are cut and a man is pulled from a blazing home.

 The 'Jaws of Life' went to work in another online clip, as HFD Engine 68 handled a car that had slammed into a FedEx truck in southwest Houston.

In both videos, people get a look at the point of view from one of the toughest and most dangerous jobs, but now HFD headquarters is putting a stop to it.

The Houston Fire Department has issued a rule for all firefighters that no helmet cameras are allowed.   If any clip shows up online now that the rule has passed, firefighters say they know they'll face suspension or firing.

KPRC Local 2 covered the story last year when an amazing rescue was recorded on a captain Houston firefighter's helmet camera.    A terrified man is seen cowering near the burglar bars as flames rage around him.   Then, HFD Capt. Brad Stewart's camera records rescue saws cutting the bars and the man being saved from a certain fiery death.

Firefighters on Engine 68 posted a rescue from a car crash that also shows what fire crews go through on a daily basis.   In that video, posted online in January 2008, viewers watch as the siren blares with the fire truck moving toward the wreck.    They arrive and find a woman trapped in a car that has slammed into a delivery truck.   Then Hurst Tools (known as the "Jaws of Life") go to work to cut the car from around the victim.

While those clips may show heroics, fire department headquarters is clearly moving to avoid the flip side of that coin.   What happens if a helmet camera is recording when something goes terribly wrong?   Even if it doesn't end up online, it could lead to liability for the city, or images that could scar a grieving family for life.

Ask any firefighter and they'll tell you that things always go wrong, even at fires that seem 'textbook' from afar.   Nothing is predictable when a house is burning and crews are scurrying to deploy their training to put it out.    Even when a seasoned firefighter encounters something that he's done a thousand times before, one tiny variable can send things into chaos at a fire.

The Houston Fire Department's new policy makes it a fireable offense to possess a helmet camera on the job.   Any captain is responsible for making sure his team doesn't have one.

Technology has made tiny cameras much easier to deploy.   With 2 gigabytes of memory in most models, it's simple to push a button as a firefighter is leaving the station, or a motorcyclist or ATV rider is starting on a tricky ride.   Of course, enthusiasts of any sport, hobby, or profession are bound to deploy this technology to show off what they do.

Several websites focus on displaying firefighting helmet camera videos from around the nation, but this new policy is aimed at making sure no Houston Fire Department videos are added to that collection in the future.

For more info:          Helmet cam rescue coverage on KPRC Local 2

                                           Car crash rescue from HFD Engine 68 from January '08

How to make costumes flame-resistant

Recipe for safety only takes three ingredients

Updated: Wednesday, 28 Oct 2009, 10:06 AM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 28 Oct 2009, 10:05 AM EDT

(KXAN/NBC) - With cute trick-or-treaters standing at your door right next to a spooky, lit jack-lantern, this typical Halloween vignette can become disastrous quickly.

Halloween costumes look harmless: a cute devil, a lovely princess, a scary evil eye. However it is the combination of costumes and open flames where the trouble cannot start. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said costumes should be flame resistant.

If a costume is flame resistant, if it comes in contact with fire, but then the fire is removed, the costume should self-extinguish.

Watch the video attached to this story to see what happens when fire is touched to an evil eye skull costume, a devil costume and a princess costume. Two of the three are destroyed in less than a minute.

For children and adults, accessories like a feather boa makes a great Halloween costume, but watch out: The boa burns up in less than 90 seconds. And a hula skirt? Same fiery fate, but in less time.

One of the most popular items for making a homemade costume is using a sheet to make a ghost. But, those 100 percent cotton sheets are one of the most dangerous. Within 45 seconds, a ghost costume will be a sheet of fire instead of a sheet of white.

If you want to reduce the risk of your costume going up in flames, the Washington Hospital Center has a recipe that can make your costume more fire resistant.

Recipe:

• Mix 4 oz. of Boric acid with 9 oz of Borax
  
• Dissolve that mixture in a gallon of warm water
  
• Soak the costume and let it drip dry

As a homeowner, maybe it is a good idea to keep the lit jack-o-lanterns out of the path of trick-or-treaters, or use a flashlight to illuminate the carved pumpkins.

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By Katherine Ullmer, Staff Writer Updated 11:53 AM Friday, October 23, 2009

WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — Washington Twp. Fire Department has four engines fighting a fire at the U-Store-It, 435 Congress Park Drive.

Rich Palmer, Washington Twp. public information officer, said a call came in at 9:33 a.m. Friday, Oct. 23, reporting the fire. Firefighters arrived at 9:39 a.m., he said.

Palmer said the fire was sending up heavy smoke in the area. They’ve called the fire marshal in to investigate what might have started the fire and are trying to get in touch with the owner of the property.

Palmer said it appears some of the units on fire may be back-to-back, but he had just arrived at the fire and was still gathering information.

“There’s still a lot of smoke coming out of there,” he said at 10:05 a.m.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDailyNews.com.

An early report of the fire from this morning.