Fiedler Library Blog

Your car need fixing?

ChiltonLibrary.com has a fabulous range of information that can be very useful to anyone who has a car.  Not only can you access the Chilton repair manuals for any make of car, you can find all the technical service bulletins that the manufacturers have issued for a given make, model and year of a car.  I have found service bulletins that identify simple repair kits that I can install myself and fix some very annoying little problems. You can find the ChiltonLibrary.com by going to Databases, letter C, and scroll down to ChiltonLibrary.com.  Check it out!

Fiedler Engineering Library Hours for summer:

Saturday and Sunday                    Closed
Monday - Friday                          Open    8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Monday, May 25th, 2009            Closed
Friday, July 3rd, 2009                 Closed
Monday, August 24th, 2009       Open at 8:00 am, normal hours resume

Fiedler Engineering Library Spring Break Hours:

Closed: Saturday, Mar. 14, 2009 & Sunday, Mar.15, 2009
Open: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday, Mar. 16, 2009 through Friday, Mar. 20, 2009
Closed: Saturday, Mar.21, 2009
Open: 1:00 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.  Sunday, Mar.  22, 2009 (Resume Regular Hours)

Two new titles available through Safari

Safari is a database we subscribe to that supplies us with full-text books focused on IT and computing.  Today I have added two new books to the subscription list:

Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual, 1st Edition  by Barbara Brundage.  What does this book tell us?

"Photoshop Elements 7 includes lots of new tools for sprucing up your photos, like the Scene Cleaner that lets you get rid of unwanted elements and the Smart Brush that makes touch-ups a breeze. But the one thing you won't find in Elements is reader-friendly guidance on how to get the most out of this powerful program. Enter Photoshop Elements 7: The Missing Manual, ready to explain not only how the tools and commands work, but when to use them. With this bestselling book (now in its 5th edition), you'll learn everything from the basics of loading photos into Elements to the new online photo-sharing and storage service that Adobe's offering (for free!) at Photoshop.com. There's so much to Elements 7 that knowing what to do -- and when to do it -- is tricky. That's why this book carefully explains all the tools and options by putting each one into a clear, easy-to-understand context.

• Learn to import, organize, and fix photos quickly and easily

• Repair and restore old and damaged photos, and retouch any image

• Jazz up your pictures with dozens of filters, frames, and special effects

• Learn which tools the pros use -- you'll finally understand how layers work!

• Create collages and photo layout pages for scrapbooks and other projects

• Fix your photos online and synch the changes to your own photo library"

The second book that has been added today is Take Control of Font Problems in Leopard, 1st Edition  By Sharon Zardetto

"Learn how to solve your font problems today! Are you suffering from mysterious font problems using Microsoft Office, the Adobe Creative Suite, or other programs in Mac OS X Leopard? Help is at hand, with troubleshooting steps and real-world advice that help you solve problems fast. If you've experienced seemingly inexplicable trouble with characters displaying incorrectly, being unable to type a particular character, fonts missing from Font menus, Font Book crashing, or Character Palette misbehaving, turn to font expert Sharon Zardetto for help. Read this ebook to find the answers to questions such as:

• Where do fonts belong on my hard drive?

• In what order do fonts load, and what happens if I have multiple copies?

• How do I use Safe Mode to troubleshoot a font problem?

• How do I use another user account to troubleshoot a font problem?"

Thanks to the folks at Proquest Safari for the descriptions I have copied here.

To read these and other full text IT books, go to any K-State Library page, click on Databases, and then select S and Safari Books Online.

Live streaming of Inauguration available

Per CNN at   How to Watch Obama's inauguration online

(CNET) -- More than 2 million Americans lost their jobs last year, the stock market fell by almost 45 percent from its peak, and comparisons with the Great Depression are becoming disturbingly commonplace.

You'll find lots of places online to watch president-elect Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday.

But that isn't stopping Washington from throwing a $160 million party, the most lavish ever, for Barack Obama's presidential inauguration on Tuesday.

Technology companies are joining the festivities by hosting a number of inaugural parties, and a collection of news and other Web sites are aiming to let anyone who can't be in the nation's capital--or who doesn't want to brave probably-freezing temperatures--follow along online.

Here's a partial list:

• The Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, which is in charge of all the inaugural activities at the Capitol, will stream the entire event at its Web site, complete with closed captioning. The site has a wealth of information about what happens on Inauguration Day, including a handful of inaugural videos dating back to President Dwight Eisenhower's 1957 swearing-in ceremony, as well as videos of presidential luncheons dating back to the inauguration of John Kennedy. (It also reveals, for those interested, the recipe for Obama's luncheon meal, which features a main course of pheasant and duck served with sour cherry chutney.)

• Our sister site CBS News will have day-long live coverage January 20 on TV and the Web, starting at 7 a.m. EDT. Katie Couric will also host a special Webcast that night with reporters and punditry, for which viewers can submit questions.

Don't Miss

• Latest CNET News videos
• CNET News image galleries
• More technology news from CNET

• CBS streaming coverage will also be Webcast on Joost's Everything Obama page, which also features interviews, campaign highlights, and satire clips.

• MSNBC will be live streaming the event on its home page and politics section, and visitors can embed the video into their own sites. Its inauguration page also features videos of inaugurations from decades past.

• Fox News will provide live streaming coverage via Hulu beginning at noon for about two hours. After the live stream, Hulu will provide on-demand access to the ceremony. The live stream is embeddable, as is an inauguration countdown from Hulu. The video site's Obama Presidency page also features related content like speeches, commentary, satire, and past inaugural speeches.

• C-SPAN will debut its Inauguration Hub on January 20, featuring an online "control room"--a multichannel grid designed by Mogulus with Webcasts of inauguration activities. Visitors will be able to choose from one of four live feeds featuring events like the swearing in at the Capitol, the parade, and a number of inaugural balls.

• CNN is partnering with Facebook to provide live streaming of the swearing in and Obama's speech. Viewers can "RSVP" for the event on Facebook, and as they watch, they will be able to provide status updates with their thoughts on the events. A Facebook window on the CNN.com Live channel will show viewers their friends' relevant status updates.

• Current TV and Twitter are teaming up, as they did during the election, to add real-time tweets to Current's broadcast and Webcast of the swearing in, which starts at 11:30 a.m. EDT and will be replayed throughout the day.

• The New York Times, the AP's online video network, and the Online NewsHour will also live stream inauguration coverage.

Welcome back--and be thankful you aren't in Minot.

Welcome back to Fielder for the Spring 2009 semester. It's hard to believe that the year has passed by so quickly.

Everything is pretty much the same in Fiedler this semester as last semester with a couple of exceptions:

1--We now have 15 laptops available for checkout!  Big thank you's are sent to the College of Engineering Computing Services for the addition of 5 laptops.

2--The online laptop reservation page now has more specific information about the terms and conditions of the checkout. 

	Do not take the laptop off campus. The laptop must remain on campus.
	Do not leave the laptop unattended.
	Do not loan the laptop to others.
	Patrons are responsible for any damage to the laptop and for lost parts/components.
	On the reservation page, you will be asked to agree to the terms shown on this page. By checking the checkbox, you agree to pay all costs associated with damage to the laptop computer or its associated peripheral components or replacement costs should it be lost or stolen. The replacement cost for a laptop will be no less than $2,400 plus overdue fines and a non-refundable $10 processing charge.

You must check the box acknowledging this responsibility in order to get the laptop checked out to you. By putting these requirements on the reservation page, we have eliminated the paper form requiring your signature.

Now on to the last part of my headline.  It's been cold in Manhattan today, but not nearly as cold & miserable as the weather has been for the poor folks in Minot North Dakota.  Yesterday their low was -27 and their high was -13, and neither of those count wind chills. They have also had 52" of snow between October -- January.  Not only is the snow a lot to shovel from the walks, driveways and sidewalks, but it actually needs to be removed from roofs. A shopping center has closed today due to fear of the roof collapsing due to snow accumulation.  The roof of at least one home has collapsed today, and someone I know who lives there is saying HIS roof started making really odd popping noises last night even though he has removed part of the snow already. He has called a company to come remove the rest of the snow from the roof of his home.

Before the latest round of shoveling, the personal picture of the home of my acquaintance "up in minot":
 

After shoveling--which apparently took until after dark:
 

Fiedler Engineering Library Winter Break hours :

Here is a listing of Fiedler Library Winter Break Hours......

Saturday, December 20, 2008 & Sunday, December 21, 2008 – Closed 
Monday, December 22, 2008 and Tuesday, December 23, 2008 – 8:00 am - 5:00 pm
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 – Close at 2:00 pm
Thursday, December 25, 2008 through Sunday, January 4, 2009 – Closed
Monday, January 5, 2009 through Wednesday January 14, 2009 – 8:00 am-5:00 pm
Saturday, January 10, 2009 & Sunday, January 11, 2009 – Closed
Thursday, January 15, 2009 – 8:00 am - 11:30 pm (Regular Hours Resume)

 

NBAF Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Available

The NBAF Final Environmental Impact Statement, the Executive Summary and Comment Response Document (CRD) are available online at the NBAF Web page http://www.dhs.gov/nbaf.  The specific EIS Executive Summary naming Manhattan as the Preferred Alternative site is at http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/nbaf_feis_executive_summary.pdf.

Per page 7-8:
Based on the numerous strengths that were evident when evaluating against the evaluation criteria, the steering committee found that the Manhattan Campus Site best met the purpose and need to site, construct and operate the NBAF. These strengths include its location near Kansas State University (KSU), which provides site proximity to existing research capabilities that can be linked to NBAF mission requirements. Additionally, the Site provides proximity to a workforce relevant to the NBAF mission, as it is adjacent to the KSU College of Veterinary Medicine, KSU College of Agriculture, and the Biosecurity Research Institute.  The EIS demonstrated that for the Manhattan Campus Site, almost all environmental impacts fell in the “no impacts to minor impacts” category. The steering committee concurred with the EIS that the risk of release of a pathogen was independent of where the NBAF was located. The findings for the Manhattan Campus Site in the Threat and Risk Assessment were found to be comparable to the other Site Alternatives. The Manhattan Campus Site also demonstrated a very strong community acceptance from local, state, and Federal officials and stakeholders. Finally, taking into consideration the “in-kind” contributions offered by the consortia, the Manhattan Campus Site was among the least expensive to construct and had among the lowest planned operation costs of all the Site Alternatives. Following a comparison of this site to the no action alternative, the steering committee unanimously agreed that the Manhattan Campus Site is the preferred alternative.

The environmentally preferable alternative is the alternative that causes the least impact to the environment; it is also the alternative that best protects, preserves, and enhances historic, cultural and natural resources, but is not necessarily the same as the agency’s Preferred Alternative. DHS identified the No Action Alternative as the environmentally preferable alternative due to it having the smallest environmental impact. Under this No Action Alternative, continued operations of the PIADC would have little or no incremental environmental impacts, except for minor and temporary effects from construction of ongoing infrastructure upgrades. Nevertheless, the No Action Alternative does not satisfy DHS’s purpose and need for action and associated mission drivers.   

Thanksgiving Holiday

Fiedler Engineering Library will open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Tuesday, November 25th and on Wednesday, November 26th.
Fiedler Engineering Library will be closed from Thursday, November 27,2007 through Saturday, November 29, 2007 for Thanksgiving. The library will reopen on Sunday, November 30th at 2:00 PM.

Have a safe Thanksgiving Holiday!!!

Fiedler Engineering Library Hours:

Fiedler Engineering Library will be closed on Saturday, November 22, 2008, for Home Football Game and the library will resume regular hours on Sunday, November 23, 2008.