I have some of my towers under the desk on small pedestals and some on top of the desk, I have a ceiling fan in the room that usually is on except in the dead of winter and under the desk I have a small fan that runs circulating air around those towers at all times, it can get warm under that desk and the fan does help keep air moving. My husband uses his laptop all day long at work, he puts it in the docking station when he gets there in the morning and it stays there and on and running till he comes home at night unless he has a meeting to take it to, but it gets good air flow being on the desk and in the docking station. I think if a laptop caught fire like that it had a serious over heating problem, if it did not have it's vents blocked. I know a lot of bad batteries in laptops have caused fires. they do make laptop bases that have additional fans built in them to help keep them cool.

From CPSC.gov: "Name of Product: Battery packs used with Polaroid-brand portable DVD players Units: About 165,000 Manufacturer/Importer: Petters Consumer Brands LLC, of Minnetonka, Minn. Hazard: The battery can overheat and melt the plastic case while recharging, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers. Incidents/Injuries: Petters Consumer Brands has received eight reports of batteries overheating, melting the plastic case, or units smoking during the recharging process. No injuries have been reported. Description: The recall involves external battery packs used with the Polaroid-brand portable DVD players in 7-inch and 8-inch screen sizes. The 7-inch DVD player has model number PDV-0700 and 8-inch player has a model number of PDV-0800. The players and battery packs are silver in color. The battery packs attach to the bottom of the DVD player. Sold at: Various electronics and department stores nationwide from May 2003 through March 2004 for between $150 and $350. Manufactured in: China Remedy: Consumers should stop using and stop recharging the battery packs immediately and contact Petters Consumer Brands for a free replacement battery pack. Consumers can continue using the portable DVD player without the battery, by detaching it from the unit, and plugging in the DC Cord or the AC Power Adapter. Consumer Contact: Consumers should contact Petters Consumer Brands toll-free at (866) 866-6292 anytime to arrange for a replacement battery pack, or visit the companyÂs Web site at www.Polaroid.com to sign up for the recall." The complete article, with serial numbers and pictures, is linked below... TJ Here is a link that might be useful: CPSC.gov / CPSC, Petters Consumer Brands LLC Announce Recall of Batteries Found In Polaroid Portable DVD Players

There's gotta be a weak or loose battery somewhere (not missing b/c you would have heard it before now). If you can't see a little door on the front of the unit, try twisting it off the mounting plate and look on the back. If you can see a manufacturer's imprint or label on the front or the back you can check out their website. We have Firex (not the ones that were recalled), here is their website. It can really be annoying, ours were going off too while the house was under construction b/c the electrician's apprentice wired them wrong and *left* for the day weekend with them chirping! There were other problems so I just threw the main breaker. I'm assuming that after a year in the house, that's not your problem! You didn't flip a switch you've never flipped before, did you LOL? You can throw the breaker (should be labeled) for your detectors while you hunt down the problem, but don't go to bed with that breaker off! Vacuum them off while you're at it. Thanks for the reminder - gotta go buy new 9V's! Here is a link that might be useful: Firex

Where I grew up, snow never even stuck to the ground, so the school was never closed for snow. But further north in the state, yes, the schools were closed for snow sometimes, in the sixties and seventies. I think it was a good decision. Back then it was much more sensible and cost efficient for schools in the northern part of the state to just stay home rather than keep equipment to plow the roads and everyone to buy show chains or tires. I remember hearing as a little girl about schools up north closed due to triple digit heat waves and laughing. We never closed our schools due to heat, and triple digit temps were business as usual. Now that I'm older and wiser, I realize those schools were wise to close due to the heat, which was probably as unsafe for them as the snow and ice are for us. Atlanta has grown bigger and it's probably better that the metro area invests in the equipment and personnel to keep the roads safe even during the snow. But I'm nostalgic enough to hope we always close the schools here when it snows. I think people are more safety-conscious nowadays. We never used to wear seat belts, put babies in car seats, wear helmets when we biked or snow skied. My mom said when she was a teenager, a fellow 16-year-old student drove the school bus. So sorry about your enforced holiday. I'd rather have a beautiful spring day off, too.