Ways to Spend New Year's Eve

Hi All,

Welcome to the last blog post for 2011. 2012 is just about 32 hours away so I need to get started on this post...

So, how do you spend your New Year's Eve? Well, that's the topic for today's post.

The first entry comes to you care of About.com - from their Long Island, New York section. Click on this link to visit the page where the information comes from.

Some ideas they mention include the Garden City Hotel's New Year's Even Dinner at Rein and Gurney's Inn Annual New Year's Eve Party.

From a website called Activerain.com come these suggestions: Lily Flanagan's Annual New Year's Even Extravagana or New Year's Eve 2012 at the Long Island Huntington Hilton.

From a website called Opentable.com (where you an make restaurant reservations online instantly - and get confirmations of the reservation) comes suggestions from dozens of restaurants in New York City, in Nassau and Suffolk counties'. The site lets you make the reservation in real time and get a confirmation. Information about the restaurant is included - as well as the type of cuisine (American, Cuban, French, Italian, etc...) the restaurant serves.

For a more local perspective, click on this link from the FarmingdalePatch site. This link goes to the patch link for the search 'New Year's Eve'. Some suggestions that appear include Caracara Mexican Grill, Melting Pot, Library Cafe, New Year's Eve Party at Croxley Ales, and an event at the Farmingdale Knights of Columbus.

By the way, did you notice how all the links on the Farmingdale Patch page are local venues? That's because of the local nature of the FarmingdalePatch site - a good site to visit for local information any time of the year!!!

Finally, click on this link for local taxi services (Farmingdale, Massapequa, Bethpage and Plainedge) that you can call in the even that you've had so much to drink that you can't drive.

So, with that all said - have a happy and safe New Year's Eve. And have a great 2012!

Enjoy the links!

Stu

L is for...

Hi All,

Back again for one of 2011's last blog entries'...

We are almost halfway done with the alphabet now - one letter left to get to the mid-point. Which means we are up to the letter 'L'. Lots of great websites begin with the letter 'L'!!!

Long Island Railroad - great link - easy to navigate and figure out - for train schedules and to find out what train fares are for the LIRR. Also has link to MTA, service changes, maps and branches with various stops included. Not to be missed for the traveler!

LinkedIn - the website says it all...'over 135 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities'. Excellent social networking site for the busy business professional.

Lord and Taylor - premier retailer of shoes, handbaags, jewelry and accessories, beauty and fragrance products, men's clothing and kid's clothing as well as women's apparel. Has a store locator and promotional advertisements on the site. Can buy merchandise online.

Louis Vuitton - luxury retailer of men's and women's watches, leather goods, handbags, shoes and much more. Also has a store locator.

Land's End - clothing for men, women, boys and girls. School uniforms, luggage and outerware can also be bought on the site. Can buy merchandise online.

Lowe's - national retailer of appliances, home decor goods, kitchen renovation materials, electrical supplies, plumbing supplies, bath, flooring, paint, lighting/fans, lawn/garden supplies
and storage/organization systems. Store locator available on the site. Promotional discounts on site also. Ideas for projects, home idea projects and more is available on the site.

One interesting note - many of the sites above are retailers. I wonder what it is that makes the letter 'L' so popular for retailers...hmmmm

Enjoy the sites!

Stu

It's About Time - History and Timelines

Hi All,

We are in the final days of 2011! Where on earth did the year go? The year went so fast - but individually, each day kind of goes slow. But before you know it, another week has gone by.

Sigh, and then another month has gone by -and boom, the half year mark has been reached. And then it is all down hill from there...anyway, here are some websites to find out what happened on a particular day in history. Kind of similar, but different.

The AP has a website that includes events from this day in history. Click here for the site.

The venerable New York Times also has a this day in history section - again, click here for the site. One thing that is different on this site is that you can actually choose a date - using some drop down menus - to find a particular day in history. Then you'll find the specific events on that date. Neat stuff.

Now, I'm sure you could go to the History Channel website or other history websites and get the same information...but I didn't want to just keep listing more of the same old websites.

So, I did a Google search using the phrase 'timelines'. One interesting site that came up in the results was 'Timelines of History: World Timelines, Current and Historical'. Users who visit the site can pick and choose a time span and then the events appear when you click on the link. Interesting - but the interface - ie the website - is a bit dated and somewhat static. You'll see. But it is still a useful site.

Another timeline site comes from FactMonster.com - it is a bit more 'child' oriented with a few differences. Users can click on a drop down menu that has categories like 'world', 'disasters', 'history', 'biography', 'sports', 'entertainment', 'society and culture', and 'health and science'.

Note that users can break down World history and US history into further categories like time periods and but subject. Very helpful and the site is definitely colorful and easy to navigate.

Finally, click onthis link from TimelineIndex.com. What is interesting about this site, you ask? Indeed, good question. You might remember back in elementary school one your teachers mentioned the 5 questions that all newspaper reports ask? (The question are 'who, what when, where and why..')

Well, Timelineindex.com organizes itself based on these 5 questions. For example, under the 'Who' category, users can find information about 'People, Personalities, Heroes....'. Under the 'What' category, users can find information about 'Events, Subjects, Issues...' And so on...
Categories can be linked by clicking on each of these words:

Who - covers people, personalities, heroes
What - covers events, subjects and issues
When - covers periods, ages, and episodes
Where - covers places, countries, continents
Which - covers objects, things, creations

Enjoy the sites and I hope this entry makes history!!! :)
Stu

The #4

Hi All,

Four - a nice, even number. A multiple of 2, a divisor of 8 and 16...it has lots of significance - with respect to sports, mathematics, computers and in many other subjects. I'll talk about these various meanings in this blog entry...

Four...
'four balls' and you get a walk - you get a free pass to first base...

4 Line in New York City's subway system - click on this link to the MTA

4shared - free online storage, upload, access, share your music, video and photos

4Kids.org - latest tech knowledge for kids on the web - links to games, videos; has a Kid Quest and links to Cool Spots. Has back issues.

4Teachers.org - teacher tools

Apple - iPhone 4 - specifications and more

BBC Radio 4 - listen to radio 4 programmes from the BBC in the UK

Foursquare - helps users meet up with friends nearby, keep up with friends around the world, and share experiences through photos and comments - great for figuring out what and where friends are...

NBC 4 - television station in the New York City metro area (Long Island, New York City, parts of New Jersey and Connecticut)

Wikipedia entry for the number 4 - the entry has the meaning for the number four in science (astronomy, biology, chemistry and physics), logic/philosophy, technology, transportation, music and has external links.

Who would have thought there is so much symbolism and meaning to the number four? Go figure!

Regards,
Stu

How to Wrap a Holiday Gift or Present?

Hi All,

Holidays are right around the corner and I just thought of a great topic: how to wrap gifts and presents.

First some facts: how much wrapping paper is used each year during the holidays? Click here for a link to Ask.com for the answer. Click on this link that help you figure out how much wrapping paper you need for all your holiday presents!

Click on this very intuitive and interesting link that will help you estimate how much wrapping paper to use for a single present - cool site!

Okay, now that you've figure out how much wrapping paper you need, click on this link that is basically a 'tutorial' on what you need to know about wrapping paper.

Did you know that you can recycle wrapping paper? Yep - you can! Click on this link that will help you start recycling your leftover wrapping paper after the holiday season!

Now you get to the fun part - how to wrap the present!

Here are x links to videos from various sources that show you how to wrap a gift!
1. Wikihow video - how to wrap a gift
2. eHow.com - not a video - just written instructions on how to wrap a gift.
3. RealSimple.com - how to wrap a gift
4. YouTube.com - how to wrap a gift professionally

You can also do a search on Youtube for the phrase 'wrapping gifts' and you'll find many, many other videos on how to wrap gifts.

Hope this makes your holidays a bit easier! Happy wrapping!
Stu

Fruits with the Letter E...

Hi All,

Wow, if you thought finding the name of a fruit that began with the letter D was difficult (think 'dates'), than you are in for quite a surprise with the letter D...

Here are some fruits that begin with the letter E: egg fruit, eggplant, elderberry, elephant apple, emblic, emu apple, entawak, and etrog...quite the limited list, eh?

Being that many of these fruits are relatively obscure, I'm going to talk about eggplant in today's blog entry. Just for kicks, click on this link for the source where I got this list of fruit that begin with the letter E.

So - what are the health effects of eggplant? Click here for a link from Self.com - the charts and tables regarding eggplant are very helpful! And guess what - eggplant is really, really healthy and nutritious.

Click on this link for the Wikipedia article on eggplant. The entry includes a history of eggplant, cooking information about it, health properties, varieties, synonyms for eggplant and a gallery of them! Wow - that's a comprehensive entry!

Regular readers probably already realize that I am a big fan of About.com. Well, it seems that they have a really good page for quick information about eggplant.

Now for the fun part - click here for a link to Allrecipes.com - this link goes to - obviously - eggplant recipes. This link goes to the just plain and simple eggplant recipes. Examples of recipes from this page include: Spicy Eggplant, Eggplant Rollatini, Eggplants with Pesto, Eggplant Pizzas and Eggplant Bake.

Click on this link from Tablespoon.com - it has delectable recipes for eggplant related meals including Eggplant Parmesan, Eggplant and Basil Sandwiches, Steamed Chinese Vegetables with Brown Rice, Rataouille Appetizer Pizza and Spicy Split Peas with Vegetables...yum yum!

So there you have it - a bunch of recipes sites that discuss eggplant meals; and other sites that give the reader some background about eggplants!

Enjoy - and I hope your eggplant recipes come out great!
Stu

Sleeping - What a Pleasure!!!

Hi All,

Did you know that the Mayo Clinic recommends 7 to 9 hours of sleep for healthy adults? Did you know that school age children should be getting 10 to 11 hours of sleep and that toddlers should be getting 12 to 14 hours of sleep? And the little ones - infants - should be getting 14-15 hours of sleep per day?

Here is some information about sleep deprivation. Included are statistics and various facts that come from the CDC (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention).

This link goes to a page entitled 'Insufficient Sleep is a Public Health Epidemic'. The article links to an excellent website by the name of 'National Sleep Foundation'. Click here to visit the NSF site. Like many other sites, the NSF has sections on Sleep Facts and Information, Finding a Sleep Professional, Linking to an Online Community, and much, much more.

Did you also know that millions of American adults are sleep deprived? Click on this link from the American Psychological Association that explains why sleep is important and what happens when you don't get enough sleep (think irritability, sluggishness, susceptibility to colds in addition to falling asleep at work).


Click on this link from the National Institute of Health - the site is from a Teacher's Guide regarding 'Information About Sleep'. Issues such as NREM, REM sleep and more are discussed in the article. Charts and diagrams are also included.

American Sleep Association - this is an excellent link that has tabs on sleep related topics like 'Sleep Information', 'Forums', 'Newsletter', 'Chat Rooms', 'Sleep Lab Directory' and a whole area (toward the bottom of the homepage) on popular sleep related topics like: Sleep Apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome, Narcolepsy, Insomnia Information and Ask the Sleep Doctor.

Click on this link about Sleep Apnea (SA) - the information comes from the American Association of Sleep Apnea. There are links to Learning About SA, Diagnosing and Treating SA, Support of SA Patients and a link to SA Resources

So there you have it - a whole host of sleep related websites and resources! Hopefully the links and information will help you get some good sleep and good shut eye!

Regards,
Stu

Marriage Quotes

Hi All,

Trying to come up with an idea for a blog entry today was somewhat difficult this morning. My thought process went something like this...

Checked online version of Newsday for some local news or tidbit to write about. Nothing of interest really appeared. I did see the Obits byline at the top of the page though. I thought about an entry talking about obituaries - that's too easy. Just go to the Social Security Death Index page from Rootsweb.

Besides a blog entry about obituaries is too depressing for this time of the year. I wanted something more upbeat and a bit less depressing. So...I looked for sites that had birth announcements...no such luck and what I did find were sites that actually sold the birth announcment itself. Not what I was looking for.

What about marriages? Hmmmm...I felt like I was getting a bit closer to a good idea for a blog post. What about marriage announcements? Okay - click on this link from the New York Times to see some fancy marriage announcements in and around New York City.

More to the point, I was looking for a whole bunch of quotes about what marriage does to a man and a woman; and to the relationship. Lots of the quotes talk about change and what happens after the honeymoon is over. There is a bit of truth in each and everyone of these quotes related to marriage. You'll see. And some of them are very, very clever - all of them are, in one way or another true.


This next set of married related quotes comes from QuoteGarden - an interesting quote related website. Note that if you want to find a particular word on the page, just click on the Edit option at the top left side of the page. When the drop down menu appears, click on the Find option and a dialog box will appear where you can type in the word you are looking for. Upon hitting the enter key the first appearance of the word will be shown. Hitting enter again will show the next appearance of the word you are looking for.

Finally, click on this link from Poemslovers.com for yet more quotes on the worlds oldest institution: marriage.

Enjoy the links and the quotes!
Stu

#3

Hi All,

Get ready, get set...go.

We are up to #3 in our ongoing search for interesting, useful, playful, educational topics...

There is a lot of history behind the number 3. For example:

#3: Babe Ruth - of baseball fame. Not only possibly the best baseball player ever - possibly the most influential and charismatic. Click here for a link to all his stats via Baseball-Reference.com (#3 was his uniform number!)

Britney Spears had a song by the name of '3'. Click here to watch the video on YouTube.com

3 Blind Mice - click here for the origin and history of the old nursery rhyme. Also, click here for Wikipedia entry entitled 'Three Blind Mice'. The entry has lyrics, origins, meaning and variations of the nursery rhyme. Interesting stuff.

3 Wise Men - in the traditional version of the Christmas story, the (3) wise men (magi) are Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar...click here for some information about them from About.com's section on Ancient/Classical History.

Triple Play - in baseball this is a rare play in which 3 outs are made during the same continuous play. Wikipedia has an interesting entry about this. Note that types of plays are very, very rare.

3 (Holy Trinity) - the central doctrine of the Christian religion - represents the truth that in the unity of the Godhead there are three Persons: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit...click here for a link from the Catholic Encyclopedia for more information.

Hat Trick (3 Goals in one game) - From WiseGeek.com comes this answer of 'what is a hat trick in hockey'?

The first nuclear explosion was called Trinity. Click here for the site that discusses the history and importance of this event. Also, click on this link - from the Nuclear Weapons Archive. It talks about the Trinity nuclear explosion in even more detail.

Finally, from a site called Spiritual Numerology comes this site that discusses the numerological meanings of the number 3. Interesting stuff for sure.

Enjoy!
Stu

Modern Shopping - Easier, Faster and You Save Money

Hi All,

I was just reading an article from the New York Times titled, 'A New Secret Weapon For Electronics Shoppers'.

It was an interesting and timely article - especially since we are in the middle of the holiday shopping season.

Essentially the article discusses the fact that when purchasing various items (think cars, camera's smartphones and other electronic equipment) shoppers are at a disadvantage when shopping. Retailers and manufacturers know about you and the potential purchases you might make...so they can send out advertisements for sales and for coupons.

The playing field has been leveled the article goes on to say with websites like Pricegrabber.com and Bizrate.com and NexTag.com (historical price information). Finally a site like FreePriceAlerts.com has been very helpful in that it notifies customers via email when the price of a particular item drops. Cool stuff, eh?

Now a new site by the name of Decide.com has gone live. Decide.com collects and mines billions of transactions to determine what the best price is and whether there will be an even better price in the near future. Wow! Think of the computing power necessary to generate this data!
The unique aspect of the site is the predictive power of it...now we have a website that essentially suggests whether or not buyers should hold off making a purchase (because the price of the item might drop in the future) or whether they should make the purchase now (because the price of the item might increase in the future). Cool stuff!

Enjoy your purchases!
Stu

K is For...

Hi All,

Who would have thought that the letter K has so many different services and organizations and companies associated with it?

K is For...

Keurig - manufacturer of the K-cup - single cups of coffee. Can buy the coffee and/or the machine via the website. Oh, and it is very, very tasty coffee - trust me, a family member has a Keurig coffee maker. Yum!

K-Mart - national retailer of clothing, toys, electronics, home goods and more - can buy online or in the store...

Kayak - great online travel site - similar to Expedia but different. Can make flights, rent hotel rooms and cars and schedule whole vacations. Very helpful site.

Kohl's - another national retailer - Kohl's specializes in bedding, clothing for men and women, kids and babies, and has toys, jewelry, watches and more. Can buy online or in the store. Expect great things :)

Kate Spade - luxury retailer of handbags, wallets, clothing, shoes, jewelry and more...can also buy online or in the store.

Kindle Fire - Amazon.com's e-reader that enables users to also surf the web, watch movies on the web, plays games, read and download apps to the device.

Enjoy the sites.

Stu

PS: (I didn't realize that there are so many retailers that begin with the letter K!)

Declutter Your House!

Hi All,

You've got stuff - lots of stuff. We buy stuff a lot: food to eat, books, tv's, clothing, toys for kids, bicycles, clothing for kids and well, more...amazing how we have all this stuff. And manage to keep it in our houses' or apartments' or attic's or basements or wherever.

So, we've all got a lot of stuff - now what do we do with all of it?

Click on this link from a website called Unclutter.com - the tips are really, really excellent - and very easy to implement. I like the caveats at the end of the article that discuss when to 'stop decluttering' - the advice makes sense and is simple! Double high five for the author! (Note that readers can double click on the picture at the right - the site goes to Declutteryourhomeinfo.com)

From Zenhabits.com comes this article titled, '15 Great Decluttering Tips'. Take note of tip number 1, 2, and 3...really. Interesting stuff!

I bet your house is your number one clutter zone - that's not uncommon! Click here for a link that'll get you started decluttering your house.

Some of the advice they give you is very obvious - but still helpful. For example, the article suggests that you should start deluttering slowly; but do it in a steady, consistent manner. Common sense for sure, but how about this advice to schedule regular declutter sessions. Now th'at's something I would not have thought about. This link - again, from Organizedhome.com - is helpful. For example, the four box method is very clever: gather three boxes and a large trash can. Label the boxes 'Put Away', 'Give Away/Sell', and 'Storage', garbage pail is obvious. Pick up each item and ask yourself the question, 'Do I want to put this away in another place, donate it (or sell it at a yard sale), store it, or throw it away?' Voila - you'll declutter in no time!

Click on this link to find out how to stay clutter free in the future! Simply put the article talks about how all your 'stuff' (everything from jackets, to toys, to books, to newspapers, hats, dishes, etc) needs to have its proper place in the house. Makes sense and it is intuitive. Check out the articles' take on 'clutter preserves' - its pretty funny; clever and helpful!

Finally, we have a bunch of books on how to declutter. Click on this link for books that we have in the library on the topic of decluttering.

So there you have it - a lot of good ideas on how to stay clutter free and how to declutter your home, office and anywhere else you spend a lot of time - good stuff.

Enjoy and get to work! :)

Stu

Chase's Calendar of Events

Hi All,

What are the special events that various towns, organizations, states, celebrate each day of the year? Trying to find information like this on the web would take a long, long time! But Chase's Calendar of Events comes to the rescue. (The prior link sends you to the Farmingdale PL card catalog; where you can find the location of Chase's Calendar of Events in the library.)

What the heck is Chase's Calendar of Events? It is a day by day account of specials days, weeks and months that are celebrated or notable by local organizations, cities, states, and other groups. Birthdates, anniversaries, celebrations and more are included in this reference book.

The book is organized in the most logical way for the topic - by date. And....at the end of each day is a list of birthdays. For example, on December 1st the following people are celebrating birthdays: Wood Allen (filmmaker) , Bette Midler (singer, actress, entertainer) , Carol Alt (model) and Treat Williams (actor).

The book is very, very easy to use - just open to the date that you are interested in learning about and the information is at your fingertips! Voila - done!

So, for example, you can find out that on December 1st the city of Demopolis, Alabama is celebrating 'Christmas on the River' (event actually runs from December 1st - December 4th). A description of the event follows: 'Fun with arts and crafts, childre's parade, Alabama State Barbecue Cookoff and a riverboat parade'. Cool stuff. Contact information is also given - in this case there is a phone number, an email address and the Demopolis, Alabama website for those interested in finding out more about the event.

Users can also go to the Chase's website and see what specific events are occurring or notable on a specific day. Click here to visit the Chase's website.

So...what other specials events can be followed, shared or noted on December 1st? Today is....

Basketball Created: December 1, 1891
Bingo's Birthday Month: December 1-December 31
Cookie Cutter Week: December 1 - December 7
Day With(out) Art: December 1
National Write Your Business Plan Month: December 1-December 31
Lou Rawls birthday: December 1, 1940
Rosa Parks Day: Anniversary of Arrest - December 1, 1955
Safe Toys and Gifts Month: December 1 - December 31
Christmas on the River: December 1 - December 4
Operation Santa Paws: December 1 - December 24
Spiritual Literacy Month: December 1 - December 31
A Colonial Christmas: December 1 - December 31

Note that the blue links above are links - users can click on the title of the event and you'll be directed to the website.

Enjoy the sites!
Regards,
Stu

#2 - Not as Good as #1...

Hi All,

In a post that I wrote about a week ago, I said that I was going to start a new thread concerning numbers. A few days after that, I wrote an entry on the number 1. That blog entry has become a favorite - it ranks in the top 20 blog entries that I've written. Who knew that number 1 would be so popular? Go figure - but hey...it is the number 1!

So...without further ado...here is a blog entry dealing with the number 2!

Well, as usual, I've included a link from Wikipedia. Click on this link from Wikipedia about the number 2. So, what does this entry have that is interesting about the number 2? Indeed, the entry has a section on numerological significance, the number 2 with respect to technology and to religion and more.

Click on this link to connect to the 2nd Avenue Deli - a kosher restaurant and caterer in New York City. Note that there are two locations of the deli - one on 33rd Street and another locaton on First Avenue.

Did you know that they (the MTA - as in the Metropolitan Transit Authority in New York City) are trying to build a Second Avenue Subway? I didn't think so...Click on this link to the section on the MTA website that has links about the project. Topics of included links are background, construction, documents and outreach. Interesting stuff - oh, and the project is expected to be finished some time after 2016...

I never heard about this theory before - click here for a link that discusses the 'Theory of Second Best'. Link is from Wikipedia and the theory is economic in nature - kind of interesting if you think about it.

Click on this link from a blog post that was written in 2003 on a blog named Legal Theory Lexicon. Pretty esoteric stuff - sort of interesting.

From a website called Virtuescience comes this long entry and link that describes the number 2 in mathematical terms - links follow on the page.

This link is from a site called Constitution.org and introduces the reader to the Federalist Paper #2 - link has the full-text of the document. FYI, the document title is 'Concerning Dangers from Foreign Force and Influence' and was written by John Jay.

Click here for an answer to the oft asked question, 'why do we use number 2 pencils to take tests?'. Fun stuff!

And for those of you who have a little tyke (child) on your hands, you might want to click on this link for mathematics for children - very cute and entertaining for the kids!

Enjoy the sites!
Stu

K is For...

Hi All,

Almost halfway there...K is For...

Kraft - site has corporation information, but the real interesting part of the site if the recipe and product information part of the site. There are sections on recipes, holidays, budget cooking, healthy living, your kids, entertaining, cooking school and a large community bulletin board page. Users can get recipe ideas by email as well.

Kazaa - online digital music service - fee based. Has a huge amount of music - in a wide variety of genres and fields and subjects.

Kayak - find and book cheap flights, hotel rooms, buy airline ticket, rental cars and more...

Kohls - the venerable retailers' website. Almost everything that users can find in the store can be found - and ordered online. Site has areas in categories as varied as 'for the home', 'bedding', 'women', 'men', 'teens', 'kids and baby', 'toys', 'shoes', 'jewelry and watches', 'sports fan shop' and 'clearance'. Wow. Site also has a place for users to buy gift cards, sign up for a gift registry, a store locator, and a link to today's deals.

Kindle - link to Amazon.com's e-reader. Lots of choices - and the prices seem reasonable!

Enjoy the sites!
Stu

Anti-Black Friday Shopping

Hi All,

As you probably know, the day after Thanksgiving is known as 'Black Friday'. It is a huge, absolutely huge shopping day for US retailers. It is also the traditional start of the holiday shopping season.

Because of all the hype and advertising and publicity that Black Friday is receiving, there is now a sort of grass-roots organization that is 'anti black friday' shopping. Click here for the link to a newspaper article from a newspaper in Minnesota that talks about this.

From a site called the Geeko System comes this link discussing buying nothing today.

Click on this link for an article from the New York Times discussing whether or not shoppers are actually spending money when they are in the malls and stores this year.

From Hubspot comes these fascinating Black Friday tidbits. These are marketing/advertising type nuggets that are great to mention at cocktail parties!

Click on this link for the homepage of the National Retail Federation - the world's largest retail trade association and the voice of retailing worldwide. It represents retailers of all types and sizes from the US and from 45 countries abroad!

Click here for some news regarding Black Friday 2011. Makes you think a bit!
1. Big Biz, some black eyes on Black Friday.
2. Black Friday shopper pepper sprays rivals.

Enjoy the shopping and I hope the lines aren't too long for you today.

Regards,
Stu

The Number One!!!

Hi All,

And you all thought that I was a 'words' type person? Nope, I love numbers as much as the next person. As I promised a few days ago (see entry called, 'Numbers, Numbers, Everywhere') I said I was going to start a set of entries with numbers. Starting with the number 1....forthwith, that entry!

Google +1 Button - let's users know that whatever you are +1 gets your seal of approval. Click here to go to Google+

1(Number) - entry from Wikipedia that talks about the number 1 as a number, digit and in fiction (yes, fiction). Also, the entry talks about the number in technology, science, sports and more.

ONE - Taken from the 'About Us' part of the their website, 'ONE is a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa, by raising public awareness and pressuring political leaders to support smart and effective policies and programs that are saving lives, helping to put kids in school and improving futures.'

1% of the Planet (Keep Earth in Business) - organization that (and I'm quoting from the sites' 'About Us' page), 'Since 2001, 1% for the Planet has inspired members of the business community to contribute 1% of sales to environmental groups around the world. In return, this growing alliance of companies is given the opportunity not only to see their self-worth rise, but their net worth climb as well'...

1(New York City Subway Service) - everything you wanted to know about the 1 train that goes from Van Cortlandt Park-242nd to South Ferry in Manhattan. Schedules, stops and more are included on the page.

The Big Red One - link is from Wikipedia and summarizes the movie of the same name that came out in 1980. The movie details the experiences of several US soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division during World War II. Click here for the direct link to the Big Red One website. There is a huge amount of information regarding this unit on their page!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Stu

11/22/63

Hi All,

48 years ago today, John F. Kennedy was assassinated. This blog entry includes multiple links to the various aspects of this tragic, historic day in American history.

Click here for a link from the New York Times for a very, very quick summary of the assassination.

This link is from Youtube and includes CBS TV's coverage starting the day after the assassination.

Click on this link for the Warren Commission Report which was commissioned by President Johnson after the assassination.

Click on this link from Wikipedia for a quick and concise summary of the Warren Commission report. At the bottom of the entry there are othe links to the actual assassination of JFK, the lone gunman theory, JFK assassination conspiracy theories, the single bullet theory and the Presidential Commission.

Click on this link for the full-text of the Warren Commission Hearings

This link goes to a JFK Database search from the National Archives in Washington, DC.

The link below goes to the Wikipedia entry for the Zapruder film - one of the few videos that captured the assassination of JFK.

Click on this link to view the actual Zapruder film via Youtube.

For a very authoritative and complete look at JFK's presidency and legacy, click on this link to the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.

For a non-academic, more lay-person type website, click here for 'The Kennedy Assassination Home Page' by John McAdams.

For links to multiple biographies of JFK, click on this link from a library database entitled 'Biography Resource Center'. There are many, many entries from which to choose from. You will need your Farmingdale PL library card number in order to access the database from home though.

Finally, click here for a link to Google Images - I did a JFK search...

Regards - and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Stu

Numbers, Numbers, Numbers Everywhere!

Hi All,

Don't know if you know this about me, but I am a numbers guy. From memorizing baseball statistics, to learning the DDC (Dewey Decimal Classification code for you library newbies...), to well, just liking math...I really, really love numbers.

So, in keeping with the A is for...fruit/vegetable entries and the A is for...(using Google seeing what auto-fill in results pop up) set of entries; I just thought of a new set of entries! What about using numbers and typing said number into Google?

What would happen if I put in - for example - the number 1 or 2 or 3 and so on...and what would happen with special numbers like '4' (July 4th - Independence Day) or 1776 (year of the founding of the United States) or other fun/special/unique numbers? We'll find out since I'm going to start a whole new set of blog posts on this theme very shortly! Wish me well -and of course, enjoy the posts!


Click on this link for the phrase 'numbers' - the link goes to an old favorite of mine: Wikipedia. The entry is interesting, but you might also want to scroll down to the bottom of the page and select a few of the external links like 'What is the World's Favorite Number?' from NPR...click here for the link.

FYI, I'll start with the number '1' in a future entry - be sure to check it out!

Regards,
Stu

Shopping on Black Friday

Hi All,

Traditionally the day after Thanksgiving is known as 'Black Friday'. Click on this link for the derivation of this name - interesting little factoid! Simply put it is the traditional starting day of the Christmas holiday shopping season.

Click on this to find all sorts of black friday holiday deals from various stores. Basically this is a Google search using the terms 'black friday holiday 2011'. The list came back with over...ah well, it was a ridiculous number, but suffice to say there are dozens of results...there were holidays deals on the page from Wal-Mart, Target and other retailers.

For those who are 'newcomers' to shopping on Black Friday you would do well take a look at this article from the Washington Post. This is an article that talks about ten tips to be aware of if you are a Black Friday shopping newbie.

Not satisfied with just regular black friday sales? Click on this link from BlackFriday.info (notice the address change - it isn't just a .com) and you'll find some of the very best links to Black Friday sales.

One of the really good things about the site are the articles that deal with shopping and the various guides that are incorporated on the site. For example, clicking on this link will get you to camcorder buying guides, gps buying guides, smart phone buying guides, tablet buying guides and more.

Unfortunately Black Friday shopping comes with its own set of dangers. Click here for a link from ABC News entitled '5 Pitfalls To Shopping on Black Friday'. Interesting article to say the least.

Click here for an article from 'Sign On San Diego' entitled 'How to have a holiday safe from identity theft'. The article discusses online safety when people buy goods online (ie. stores like Wal-Mart, Target, Kohls, Sears, Best Buy and other retailers).

For an article that discusses in-store credit card safety (and general credit card safety) click here for a link from Scambusters - cute name...

Click here for a general article from Citibank on how to keep your credit card safe - when you are purchasing stuff online or in stores.

Have a great Black Friday - hope you get all the sales you want and need

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble...Thanksgiving is Coming!

Hi All,

If you look at your calendar, you'll realize that Thanksgiving Day is right around the proverbial corner. Coming straight at you in 7 days. Click here for a link to a Thanksgiving Day countdown! Seriously! Who would have thought that there would be such a thing as a Thanksgiving Day timer?

Not all Thanksgiving dinners start at the house. Recently there has been an increase in the number of restaurants that serve Thanksgiving Day meals. Click on this link for a bunch of restaurants that are having Thanksgiving Day meals on Long Island. Note that the link is from Newsday.

Click on this link for an article from Newsday that is a good primer - with even more links - to Thanksgiving Day dinner. For example, the author will be answering any and all cooking questions about Thanksgiving dinner. She'll post answers to the site. Click on this link for recipes and tips from Newsday from prior years.

Click on this link and you will get a feel for the types of links that Newsday has regarding Thanksgiving - the link is for 'Basic Turkey Cooking Tips'.

Click here for a link to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

For the absolute Thanksgiving day beginner, you might want to visit this site called Thanksgiving Dinner Planning - How to Plan Thanksgiving Dinner - Stress Free.

Note that the site has a countdown of sorts - for example, it gives you suggestions about what the host/hostess should be doing for Thanksgiving 2 week, 1 week, 4 days, 2 days, and 1 day before Thanksgiving. Clever idea and pretty darn helpful.

Starting from the top - pretty much the most important traditional food on the Thanksgiving Day table is the turkey. Click on this link to learn about how to choose and buy and defrost the turkey.

For another, similar site that talks about how to buy a turkey, click on this link.

If you've got kids coming to your Thanksgiving Day dinner you might want to click on this link which discusses various fun games to play with kids so that day doesn't become a cranky, yelling affair.

Click on this link (from Apples4TheTeacher) for more kids games for Thanksgiving Day.

Finally, click on this link - from the NFL - to learn a bit more about the 3 football games that will be played on Thanksgiving day (Packers vs. Lions, Dolphins vs. Cowboys, and 49ers vs. Ravens).

Enjoy Thanksgiving Day - and I'll probably do a followup Thanksgiving blog entry next week - it might be about the various 'fixin's that folks can serve on Thanksgiving.

Regards,

Stu

More Birding

Hi All,

I did a birding post on November 2nd and since then it has been one of the best viewed blog entries! Go figure - who knew that birding was such a hot topic among my blog readers?

Well, I am very glad to find a topic that I was able to tap into - and which my readers find interesting! Onward and upward!

Here is another entry on birding. Specifically this entry is about the various organizations and groups on Long Island dedicated to birding. There are quite a few of them, so birding enthusiasts have plenty of choices!

Click here for a site called LIBirds.com. On the homepage of the site you'll find links to Sightings, Seasonal Spots, Backyard, Photo Page (don't miss this - great pictures of birds!), Bird ID, Featured Bird and Links. For those who are interested in the Audubon society, the Links page has a list - and links - to local Audubon chapters! Very helpful!

Click on this link for a page on About.com called 'Bird Watching on Long Island'. There are 9 different links on the page that discuss bird watching. Locations as varied as Garvies Point Preserve, Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary & Audubon Center, Garden City Bird Sanctuary and the Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge are mentioned.

Blog readers who are out in the field and who are looking at birds and want to identify them should click on this link called Whatbird.com. On the site you can identify birds by location, shape, size, primary color, secondary color, habitat, bill shape, bill length, wing shape, conservation status, song patter (amazing) and more....great stuff. Don't miss Whatbird.com!

Finally, click on this link from Audubon.com - the link is to a subsite on the Audubon entitled 'Birds'. You can find more information on birds, including bird profiles, a link to state of the birds, important bird areas and a link to the Great Backyard Bird Count. Neat stuff...

FYI, if you do a Google search for the term 'birding' you'll find over 16 million hits...ack. If you do a Google search for the term 'birding long island', you'll find just under 1.3 million hits...ack again.

Enjoy the links and the birds - its a great time of year to view them!
Stu

J is For...

Hi All,

J is for the following topics and websites! Who knew that the letter 'J' had so many interesting topics? Enjoy!

JetBlue - airline that is based on New York - excellent rates and in-flight tv. Reservations can be made on the website.

JFK (airport) - major Long Island based airport; handles domestic and international flights. Users can get flight information, an airport guide, alerts and advisories, telephone numbers and contact information and more on the page.

JFK (president) - from the U of Virginia Miller Center...learn all about JFK via a multimedia gallery, audiotapes and more. Miller Center presentations by scholars are available for viewing. ,

Jazz - general website about what has been called 'America's only original art form': Jazz. You can find a blog, interviews, a jazz encyclopedia, forums for discussion and more.

Jets (New York - football) - professional football team based in New York. Website has news, statistics, reports, video, interviews and of course, tickets to the games.

JCPenney - nationally known retailer for clothing and housewares and more

Jailbreakme - free your device

Java - computer programming language - learn all about it on this site. Downloads and help available on the website also.

Regards,
Stu

Breathtaking Views of Earth From International Space Station!

Hi All,

Just found this video on Google news - great stuff. Just wanted to share it with you! Click here for a time-lapsed video of the earth - taken from the International Space Station.

Click here for a link to information about the International Space Station.

Enjoy!

Stu

7 'New' Natural Wonders...

Hi All,

I was just perusing the Newsday.com website when I found this article. It is aptly called '7 New Natural Wonders of the World Announced'. Click here for the link to it from the Newsday site.

Now, specifically, what are these 7 new wonders?

1. The Amazon Rainforest
2. Halong Bay, Vietnam
3. Iguazu Falls, on Brazil-Argentina border
4. Jeju Island, South Korea
5. Komodo National Park, Indonesia
6. Puerto Princessa Underground River, Philippines
7. Table Mountain, South Africa

Click on this link for the actual website to find out more about the New 7 Wonders were chosen. You'll also find a list of the other 21 sites (not websites) that were nominated but were not chosen as being one of the 7 New Wonders!!

Note that if you click on this link for the 28 finalists you can learn more about that particular wonder. Clicking on the link to a particular wonder leads you to photographs of the finalists as well as new about the topic. There are also videos and a place where visitors can support a particular natural wonder.

Very clever and well designed site! And very educational without being heavy handed or having an agenda!

Regards,

Stu

Veteran's Day

Hi All,

Tomorrow is a very special day. It is November 11th - which means it is Veteran's Day. There are going to be a lot of parades in honor of all of our Veteran's. Click here for a link to parades on Long Island for veterans. Note that some of the links might possibly be a bit old...this was the best site that I found for links to Veterans Day parades.

Click on this link for various restaurants and stores on Long Island that are having specials/sales for veterans.

Click on this link for a bunch of very relevant quotes concerning Veterans Day.

Did you know that the Farmingdale Public Library is hosting the Field of Honor tribute to veterans? Click here for quick link - and a quick look at what 200 flags looks like - for more information. The flags will be displayed from November 5th to December 3rd at the Farmingdale PL. It is quite a moving and touching site to see over 200 American flags waving in the wind. Don't miss it!

I would be remiss if I did not mention one of the best veterans related websites on the web - the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. Click here to go to the site. Users can click on links and get information as varied as Veterans Services, connecting to the VA via Twitter and Facebook, find information on VA benefits, get info on VA health care information and find out about pension information.

There is so much information on the site that users would be best served if they visited the site. To describe the site does not do it justice - there is so much information just a mouse click away!

Click here for a link to books and videos in the Farmingdale Public Library that deal with Veterans Day - note that there are both books and videos in the search results.

Have a good Veteran's Day!

Regards,
Stu

Google Image Search...New and Improved

Hi All,

Just when I was trying to come up with an idea for a blog post (heck, after 211 previous posts, you would expect me to at least start to run out of idea...) I saw something of interest on the Google homepage.

Simply put, users can drag an image into the search box and then Google - in all its infinite glory and wisdom - will perform a search using that very same image. How cool is that?

Give it a shot by going to Google's homepage by clicking on this link. Click on this link to find a small tutorial - and video - on how this new Google search feature works - very cool stuff.

One example of how you can use this new feature: find an image that you would like to get similar examples of...(Albert Pujols for example - baseball player fyi). Just drag - really, just drag the image! - the image to the Google search bar and paste it in. Then Google does the search - super cool and super easy!

Regards,
Stu

Calling All Readers, Calling All Readers...

Hi All,

Just want to get back to some grass roots librarianship today. So, you've been reading a really, really great book by XYZ - and you want to find books with similar themes and topics to this one.

Where you you go?

Never fear, Novelist Plus is here! Click here for a link to the database. Alternatively, you can visit the library website by clicking on this link and then clicking on the 'Reference' tab. Click on the Literature tab. Novelist Plus is the fifth entry in the list under Literature. (Just remember to have your valid Farmingdale PL library card handy since you'll need to enter the barcode to gain access to the database.)

So, what exactly is Novelist Plus? Well, Novelist Plus (hereafter denoted 'NP') is an online database that all Farmingdale Public Library patrons have free access to. Specifically Novelist Plus lets users search among hundreds of thousands of popular fiction (made up) and non-fiction (real topics) to get summaries of books. Users can retriever author read-alikes, book lists, book discussion guides and more!

Users can also search by author, title, book series title and more. Advanced searching lets users search by genre, Dewey Decimal Classification number and by review.

One very new feature that Novelist has recently added is a section of reviews by readers. These reviews come from a website called Goodreads. Note that Goodreads has thousands upon thousands of reviews of well, thousands upon thousands of books.

You can visit Goodreads.com by clicking on this link.

Hope this entry helps you find books that you really, really want to read!

Regards,
Stu

D is For...

Hi All,

Do you realize how few fruits and vegetables begin with the letter 'D'? Ugh...it took me a good few minutes to get the name of this fruit...'dates'. Yeah, that's the fruit!

Seriously, has anyone heard of durian, dragon fruit, drupe, dewberry or dyeberry? Yep - me neither. Thankfully one of the other librarians pointed me in the right direction with respect to fruit names that begin with the letter 'd'. So, I'm going to talk all about dates today.

You might remember that dates are talked about a lot in the bible - click here for a link to a brief discussion of dates and the bible.

This link comes from Purdue University and talks about the history, background, soil, food uses and more of dates - interesting, but definitely for folks who already know a bit about dates.

If this blog entry is making you hungry for dates - click here to buy them online. I'm not endorsing this site - I'm just saying that this is one of many sites where you can buy dates.

I bet you didn't think that there are many recipes with dates...you'd be wrong. Click on this link from AllRecipes.com for some date filled recipes. Some of the better sounding recipes on the site include date cookies, date rolls, sticky date pudding and date nut bread....yum!

Click here for a link where you can buy some more Medjool dates - again, it is one of many sites on the web where you can buy them!!!

Click here for a link to pictures of dates - lookin' good!

Enjoy the dates - who would have thunk it - a whole blog entry on dates? Go figure.
Enjoy,
Stu

It's For the Birds!

Hi All,

Birds - they are everywhere we look: in trees, on telephone pole wires, the roofs of houses and sitting on fences. And they come in so many different colors and shapes and sizes.

They are just so darn colorful and adorable and when they sing....and chirp. How could you do anything else other than look at photos of birds - or go birdwatching.

From time to time, I'll probably do some more entries regarding birds and birdwatching and bird related activities. Its becoming an interest of mine recently and the blog lets me write a bit about this newly found interest.

So...here are a bunch of websites related to bird watching. Note that you could type in the phrase 'bird watching' in Google and you'll find links to many, many different websites. Or...you could just use some of these excellent links:

BirdWatcher'sDigest.com - comprehensive site with info on bird identification, bird feeding, bird conservation, links to their newsletter, a really good photo gallery and a section on optics!

Birdwatching.com - a more 'sedate' website than BWD mentioned above...has birding FAQ's, birding tips, bird's stories, software and links to optics. Similar, but different than first birding site - but still worth a visit.

One of the premier website for birdwatching comes from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology - click here for the link. The site deals with exploring and conserving nature...in particular there is a bird guide, a link to birding basics, and links for how viewers can get involved with birding.

This is really one of the seminal - and I don't use that word often - websites for and about birding - you don't want to miss it!

Regards and happy birding!
Stu

How To Start Your Own Book Discussion Group

Hi All,

So the fall is here and winter is slowly approaching. Now is a great time for readers and book-lovers alike to get ready for this foul weather by starting a book discussion group.

And while for many people reading can be a solitary endeavor, many other folks like to read and talk about the book with other people. Enter book discussion groups and you have the making of a beautiful relationship - reading books and talking about them in a collegial, adult, pleasant environment. What could be better than that?

A good book discussion group has the following characteristics:
1. A book that all members are willing to try to read.

2. The book - unless all members agree - probably should not be a huge, esoteric, difficult-to-read tome.

3. A good book discussion group usually - notice I said 'usually' - has a moderator. While this isn't always the case, I've found that free form book discussion groups tend to run off the topic of the book.

4. The moderator should have a few general questions to get the discussion started.

5. Finally - and readers would be wise not to underestimate this point - bringing food (coffee, tea, crumb cake, cookies, etc) will help increase attendance to a book discussion group.

Click on this link from ReadingGroupGuides.com - an interesting website that discusses 'How to Start a Book Discussion Group', 'Choosing What to Read for a Book Discussion Group' and more.
The site also has a blog and an interesting newsletter link.

Click on this link from the Amherst town Library - in New Hampshire - that has a veritable treasure trove of book discussion group links. Included in these links are sections' from Amazon.com Reading Group Guides, BookBrowse.com, a link to Reading Group Choices.com, and a link to SparkNotes (similar idea to Cliffs Notes - summaries of some of the worlds' great titles).

Click on this link for a great list of books to read so that you can get your book discussion group off to a great start. The titles are on book discussion groups' choices - your satisfaction and appreciation of the books in the list might vary....Also note that you can type in the phrase 'book discussion group title list' into Google and you'll find many, many different lists from different book discussion groups and the books that they feel are good for a discussion.

Finally, readers might want to visit this link from About.com entitled, 'How to Lead a Book Discussion Group'. Reading this article might give you insight on how to make a more interesting and educational book discussion group experience.

Enjoy the links and enjoy the books! Have a great time!
Stu

Questions, Questions, Questions...

Hi All,

Just a quick question about the blog...I've been publishing this using Google's product called 'Blogger'.

There are other blog software tools available on the web and I was thinking - and I emphasize the ''thinking' part - of migrating to another platform.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the matter? Does anybody care?

FYI, I was thinking of moving to Wordpress - a good website and blog tool...click here for the link to Wordpress.com

Thoughts, comments, etc can be emailed to me at mailto:fdaleref@nassaulibrary.org

Thanks in advance,

Stu

I is For....

Hi All,

Just another blog post in the series of 'A is for...B is for...' that I started a few months ago...

I is For...

IBM - internationally known computer and computer consulting/services firm

Ipod - Apple's great music invention from mid-1990's! The gadget that spawned a revolution.

Ipad - one of the great digital devices - sexy and practical and usable!

Ikea - Swedish furniture that can be bought online or in showrooms. There is a store on Route 107 in Hicksville - and the Swedish meatballs are really, really good. Trust me.
IMDB - Internet Movie Database - great site for info on past and current movies (actors and actresses, movie plots and more)

Iphone 4s - Apple says it is the best Iphone yet - go and check it out for yourself!

I Heart Radio.com - listen to radio online for free!

IJJI - free online gaming site

Enjoy the site and the games!
Stu