That's a problem with libraries and computing literature. They end up with a big pile of mostly useless publisher-specific volumes on stuff like productivity in DOS 5.2. Should the library have bought a manual on Windows for Workgroups or the full set of _The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_? Certainly Gibbon. As somebody else pointed out, the old FORTRAN manuals with differential equation solvers are useful, and I'm sure that only a little tweaking is required to make them work in whatever brand of FORTRAN you're using now. Perhaps the library's acquisition department needs to look at better methods for finding technical books.
And for the OP, look at better implementation for ILL. If the local library doesn't have it, get them hooked up to a larger lending network so they can get it. Try getting in with some university libraries. develop something that will allow the user at the local library to search the local collection and the ILL network with the same interface. Oh, yeah, add more books.
This is great if you only do modelling now and then. If I do a really big STAAD model, say over 100K nodes, it shuts down my desktop for 60 to 90 seconds - nothing else can be done concurrently. Multiply that by fifteen iterations per revision, and you really can't get anything else done in the background. If the system does what I tink it does, I upload the first version of the model, run it in some sort of browser window, minimize and go back to CAD/Excel/Mathcad, whatever. This assumes that when I send the data, I get instant CPU time.
We don't need a big box in-house because those sort of big projects only pop up every month or so. I'd save four billable hours and charge $4 to the purchasing card.
The target audience might be overflow from big research projects and universities, but also small jobs from outside the research realms.
There's probably not many of us left. I must be an atypical user - I only know enough to keep myself in games and pr0n.
I give Mindspring credit, they've never asked if I would change addresses and all the forms still recognize the address. The accunt comes with six email addresses, so I gave one to my wife and one to my mother. I'm sure they were hoping for fewer addresses.
Customer service and connection reliability were great wtih Netcom, certainly better than with Mindspring. I kept Mindspring when I moved and got DSL just so I could keep my *@ix.netcom.com addresses. I've had that address longer than any physical address.
Teachers for grades K through 8 are, barring alternative certification methods, graduates with a bachelor of science in elementary education. They are extensively trained in instructional techniques but unless they take an outside interest in some other subject, they don't know it. This is true as much for technology as it is for United States History. Lots of the background knowledge comes from the textbook they're using.
Another problem is that with the advent of state testing to measure student and teacher performance, technology is pushed by the wayside. In order for schools to retain a quality rating, the administration to retain their jobs and the teachers to get new contracts, they have to teach to the state test curriculum. They eliminate computer time to allow more time to present the material in the reading, writing, math and social studies requirements. This is true with more than just technology. Science and spelling are marginalized except where they assist in the test standards.
I am not a techie. My wife has an MS in instruction and teaches fifth grade.
Call the local department of buildings. They're the people listed on your building permit, the piece of paper taped to your front window. Find out what the local building code is and where to find local modifications to the code. With that information, go to the local library and find the code. Don't read it there, it is harder to read than/. comments. Photocopy the sections on HVAC, fire protection, telecom and wiring. The telecom and wiring information are probably in a different book. Take it home and peruse it while looking at your proposed house plans. When the inspector asks about all the weird wires and spaghetti, show him your copies of the code and be prepared to discuss it intelligibly. If he says "no" to something, ask for clarification, but don't argue. He is the proverbial 227-kilo gorilla and he can ensure you never get a certificate of occupancy for your house.
The local code for the US is most probably the International Building Code with the companion International Electrical Code. BOCA or locally-written ones are still floating around, but that's getting less common.
I would suggest finding a dedicated commercially-available system already designed for room-zone control of lighting and HVAC. Hack a port to a box if you must, but the dedicated system will have far better resale value than a box-controlled system. If you do hack it, keep notes on returning it to the original state. Unless the guy who buys the house is teh 133t, he'll ask you to take it out or pay for removal as a condition of the sale contract.
IANAI,BIAASE. (I am not an inspector but I am a structural engineer.)
My father told me that the IOC once sued several small businesses in rural western Washington for use of the "O" word. It was summarily dismissed because these local establishments were situated on the Olympic Peninsula, near the boundaries of the Olympic National Park.
I'm interested to see how this gets rehashed for the Vancouver games, being that Vancouver is but a short ferry ride from the Olympic Peninsula.
Slashdot Mirror
Get the giant Mercator world map with the blinking lights randdomly scattered over it and a big SPECTRE logo.
That's a problem with libraries and computing literature. They end up with a big pile of mostly useless publisher-specific volumes on stuff like productivity in DOS 5.2. Should the library have bought a manual on Windows for Workgroups or the full set of _The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_? Certainly Gibbon. As somebody else pointed out, the old FORTRAN manuals with differential equation solvers are useful, and I'm sure that only a little tweaking is required to make them work in whatever brand of FORTRAN you're using now. Perhaps the library's acquisition department needs to look at better methods for finding technical books.
And for the OP, look at better implementation for ILL. If the local library doesn't have it, get them hooked up to a larger lending network so they can get it. Try getting in with some university libraries. develop something that will allow the user at the local library to search the local collection and the ILL network with the same interface. Oh, yeah, add more books.
This is great if you only do modelling now and then. If I do a really big STAAD model, say over 100K nodes, it shuts down my desktop for 60 to 90 seconds - nothing else can be done concurrently. Multiply that by fifteen iterations per revision, and you really can't get anything else done in the background. If the system does what I tink it does, I upload the first version of the model, run it in some sort of browser window, minimize and go back to CAD/Excel/Mathcad, whatever. This assumes that when I send the data, I get instant CPU time.
We don't need a big box in-house because those sort of big projects only pop up every month or so. I'd save four billable hours and charge $4 to the purchasing card.
The target audience might be overflow from big research projects and universities, but also small jobs from outside the research realms.
There's probably not many of us left. I must be an atypical user - I only know enough to keep myself in games and pr0n.
I give Mindspring credit, they've never asked if I would change addresses and all the forms still recognize the address. The accunt comes with six email addresses, so I gave one to my wife and one to my mother. I'm sure they were hoping for fewer addresses.
Customer service and connection reliability were great wtih Netcom, certainly better than with Mindspring. I kept Mindspring when I moved and got DSL just so I could keep my *@ix.netcom.com addresses. I've had that address longer than any physical address.
If I read this book, will I be qualified to begin a long /. career of M$-bashing?
Teachers for grades K through 8 are, barring alternative certification methods, graduates with a bachelor of science in elementary education. They are extensively trained in instructional techniques but unless they take an outside interest in some other subject, they don't know it. This is true as much for technology as it is for United States History. Lots of the background knowledge comes from the textbook they're using.
Another problem is that with the advent of state testing to measure student and teacher performance, technology is pushed by the wayside. In order for schools to retain a quality rating, the administration to retain their jobs and the teachers to get new contracts, they have to teach to the state test curriculum. They eliminate computer time to allow more time to present the material in the reading, writing, math and social studies requirements. This is true with more than just technology. Science and spelling are marginalized except where they assist in the test standards.
I am not a techie. My wife has an MS in instruction and teaches fifth grade.
Call the local department of buildings. They're the people listed on your building permit, the piece of paper taped to your front window. Find out what the local building code is and where to find local modifications to the code. With that information, go to the local library and find the code. Don't read it there, it is harder to read than /. comments. Photocopy the sections on HVAC, fire protection, telecom and wiring. The telecom and wiring information are probably in a different book. Take it home and peruse it while looking at your proposed house plans. When the inspector asks about all the weird wires and spaghetti, show him your copies of the code and be prepared to discuss it intelligibly. If he says "no" to something, ask for clarification, but don't argue. He is the proverbial 227-kilo gorilla and he can ensure you never get a certificate of occupancy for your house.
The local code for the US is most probably the International Building Code with the companion International Electrical Code. BOCA or locally-written ones are still floating around, but that's getting less common.
I would suggest finding a dedicated commercially-available system already designed for room-zone control of lighting and HVAC. Hack a port to a box if you must, but the dedicated system will have far better resale value than a box-controlled system. If you do hack it, keep notes on returning it to the original state. Unless the guy who buys the house is teh 133t, he'll ask you to take it out or pay for removal as a condition of the sale contract.
IANAI,BIAASE. (I am not an inspector but I am a structural engineer.)
My father told me that the IOC once sued several small businesses in rural western Washington for use of the "O" word. It was summarily dismissed because these local establishments were situated on the Olympic Peninsula, near the boundaries of the Olympic National Park. I'm interested to see how this gets rehashed for the Vancouver games, being that Vancouver is but a short ferry ride from the Olympic Peninsula.
If the aforementioned $0.69 notepad isn't cool enough, use a Molskine. http://www.moleskine.com/eng/default.htm