All About the Eclipse

Hi All,

Eclipse Day 2017 has arrived.  Lots of links follow on the '411' on everything eclipse related.  Enjoy!

NASA - Eclipse 101 - Eye Safety

New York Times -  Eclipse Path Across the USA

NASA - Solar Eclipse 2017

NASA - Live Stream of the Eclipse 

Eclipse 2017 - Science/Background 

NASA - How Eclipses Work? 

NASA - Eclipse Misconceptions  

NASA - Eclipse History 

Space.com - Total Solar Eclipse 2017: When, Where and How to See It Safely 

Wikipedia - Solar Eclipse 2017 

Enjoy the links!

Regards,
Stu

Nature Soundmap - Hear The World Like Never Before!

Hi All,

While answering reference questions for patrons I come across lots of interesting sites.  My 'internet' travels take me far, far away sometimes.  And with that I get to see sites that I like to discuss on the blog...Nature Soundmap.com is one such site!

What is Nature Soundmap.com you ask?  As usual, great questions and the answer is..." group of professional nature recordists from around the globe have collaborated to develop Nature Soundmap. 
The site is an enjoyable and interactive way of exploring the natural sounds of our planet"

Click here for the main map to listen to various sounds on the site. Users can manually move the map over to any part of the world- then just click on one of the pushpins and you'll be able to listen to recordings of that particular animal.

Viewers can help support the site - if interested - by clicking on this link. 

Click here for the Nature SoundMap blog - you'll learn more about the site and Wild Ambience - which developed the website.

For a direct link to Wild Ambience, click on this link.

Enjoy the animal and nature and forest sounds!

Regards,
Stu

50 Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things

Hi All,

The Family Handyman is a do-it-yourself, home repair, tips magazine that is published monthly.  We have a subscription to it at the Farmingdale Public Library. 

And it is a winner.  The magazine publishes articles on a huge variety of topics - including plumbing, electrical, cleaning, organizing, carpentry, drywall, sheetrock, painting, tiling, masonry, becoming a smart homeowner, storage/organization, tools and more - monthly. 

However, the magazine has an accompanying website - which can be visited by clicking here - that has even more information for consumers. 

One of the goofy articles - but by no means unhelpful - they published recently was titled '50 Extraordinary Uses For Ordinary Things'. Users can view the article as either an article or in a list format. Take your pick! Three of my favorites ideas were the three ring binders, foam ball hand protector and the mattress sling. Oh, okay...I also thought the power cord coilers, accessorizing your lawn mower and the wrench caddy were great suggestions as well.

The site itself has a sort of table of contents on the homepage. Options on the TOC include:
How to Repair, Rooms, Outdoors, Smart Homeowner, Stuff We Love, Do It Yourself Insider, DIY University and Get DIY Tips to Your Inbox.

Hopefully you'll find the site as useful as I do!

Regards,
Stu

Library Sites of Interest

Hi All,

Prepare for an extended library plug in today's post!

Who doesn't love libraries?  Indeed, check out this survey and see how much people really like their library! And check out this survey about library love!

So without further ado, check out this  article from MentalFloss.com titled '24 Library-Centric Sites We Love'.  The article might be somewhat old, but library love never is!

Three of the more interesting links in the article are:
1. 'Love the Liberry',
2. Librarian's Guide to Etiquette 
3. Books and Other Geekery

Enjoy the links - and remember, there are 21 other sites to visit! :)
Oh, and check out (get it) the best library of them all!

Regards,
Stu

Scams and Frauds Information From the Government

Hi All,

I'm back again with another blog entry - courtesy of the United States Government. This time I'll discuss a part of the government website (USA.gov) that deals with Scams and Frauds.

The Scams and Frauds section of the site helps consumers learn how to protect themselves and respond to scams and frauds that can occur.  There are a lot of links on the page - pay special attention to the following:

Telephone Scams

Financial Fraud

IRS Imposter Scams

Charity Scams  

Lottery and Sweepstakes Scams

Pyramid Schemes 

Tax-Related Identity Theft

Census Related Fraud

An important part of the website deals with how to identify and report scams and frauds.  Click on this link to find more information on these topics. 

Some very useful parts of this page include information on Common Types of Fraud, Most Popular Scams and How to Report Frauds and Scams. 

The page also has information on Identity Theft and Online Safety.  Both of which deserve of a whole blog entry of their own since they are so prevalent and important to understand.

As a matter of fact, look for a future blog entry or two on just these two topics!

Enjoy the links and hopefully the information is helpful to you!

Regards,
Stu