#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