INFORMATION UPDATE January, 2004 Number 49 A Monthly Publication of Shamel Information Services http://shamelinfo.com "Offering Information Solutions" Welcome to INFORMATION UPDATE, the free monthly newsletter for people who need to know. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ IN THIS ISSUE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ => Do It Yourself - Following the News, Minute by Minute => Did You Know? - Time is Money => Notes, News and Announcements => Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information ************************************************************ DO IT YOURSELF - Following the News, Minute by Minute ************************************************************ Following the news minute by minute is not something I do on a daily basis. Conducting business and science research for clients is my normal preoccupation. The week of the fires was very different, as we in Southern California experienced the greatest fires in state history. Beginning on Sunday, October 26, many of us became inter- ested in very detailed, very current coverage of conditions as the wind blew, firefighters and their equipment got into place, police evacuated neighborhoods, highway patrol offi- cers closed roads, and we all tried to stay informed on conditions which might affect our homes, our families, our friends, and our businesses. What are some good online sources to satisfy this intense need for current, detailed information? Here's what I used: The local newspaper has an excellent site offering pictures, video and audio clips, maps, and reports from key agencies. After the fire began taking homes, the paper's site also listed specific street addresses where structures had burned. The San Diego Union-Tribune web site continues to offer up to the minute news and archives at: http://signonsandiego.com. If you don't know the web site for your local paper, try a search engine search on the paper's name, or check out the U.S. News Archives on the Web, maintained by News Librarians in the Special Libraries Assn. http://www.ibiblio.org/slanews/internet/archives.html The local television stations' web sites are also up to the minute with the latest developments. Newsdirectory.com provides links to all sorts of media outlets, including television news sites and newspapers. U.S. television news listings are arranged by state and then by area code. You can also sort by network. http://www.newsdirectory.com/ The other areas of interest for those of us monitoring fire related news related to weather, firefighting activies and statistics related to the blaze, evacuations, and road con- ditions. For weather I like The Weather Channel at http://weather.com Their home page was updated to offer a link to fire-related weather. You can also go to The National Oceanic and Atmos- pheric Administration web site for weather information. At http://www.noaa.gov/ I found satellite images, fire related weather, maps, and forecasts. In California, forest and brush fires are managed by the California Department of Forestry. They own the heavy equipment such as the airplanes and helicopters that drop water and flame retardents. Their web site includes the statistics such as the fire's size, how many firefighters are on the job, the % contained, and the projected date of containment. http://www.fire.ca.gov/php/index.php The CDF list of cooperating agencies gives an idea of what other agency web sites might offer pertienent information. The two best sources of information I found on road closures were the local newspaper and the highway patrol web site. To locate your highway patrol site, try the directory at http://www.state.ma.us/msp/spdepts.htm, on the site of the Massachusetts State Patrol. Here's hoping you never need to use these sites as they have been used so recently by so many in Southern California. ************************************************************ DID YOU KNOW? - "Time is Money" Ben Franklin ************************************************************ Franklin summed it up nicely, but a 20th century colleague said it just as well. "Do what you do best, and hire the rest." Entrepreneur Sue Rugge mentored us all to remember that we are most productive if we focus our time and energy on our areas of expertise, and hire help when we need it. Most busy decision makers and business leaders these days do not have time to locate, absorb, analyze and summarize the material they need for excellent, informed decision makers. So, what are the alternatives? Professional research consultants or information analysts have just such skills. An excellent info pro can not only conduct the research you need, but he or she can also eval- uate it and analyze it. Info pro's will filter (sort out the irrelevant stuff) and summarize research results and reformat it as needed into tables, charts, or executive summaries. Don't worry about "missing something." The backup data and text can be delivered along with the report, and follow-up research is always an option. Do what you do best, and hire the rest. Hire an information professional to provide you with the knowledge you need to do your best. To bring the experience and knowledge of professional search skills to your business decisions, contact Shamel Information Services at 858-673-4763. ************************************************************* Notes, News, and Announcements ************************************************************* Subscribe to ResourceShelf for excellent research source suggestions: http://www.resourceshelf.com/ Join a global community of web researchers. Subscribe to Free Pint: http://www.freepint.com/ Please let us know what you like or would rather see changed about Information Update. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The Shamel Information Services web site at http://shamelinfo.com contains Information Update archives. Just click on "Newsletters" and check for any issues you might have missed. Cynthia L. Shamel, editor Shamel Information Services AIIP President, 2003-2004 http://www.aiip.org Telephone: 858-673-4673 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Subscriptions to INFORMATION UPDATE are free. You may subscribe or unsubscribe by sending a message to: e-mail InfoUpdate at shamelinfo.com with SUBSCRIBE or UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line. Copyright 2004 Shamel Information Services Please feel free to forward this issue to colleagues, in its entirety. 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