New Years' Eve 2014!!!

Hi All,

Well, its that time of year again.  Another year has gone by and we're at the end of December...Its New Years' Eve time.  So get ready for the parties, the Champagne; and get ready for the countdown, and the ball dropping in Times Square...and of course the actual New Year!

So, without further ado...here are a bunch of things that you can on New Years' Eve on Long Island...

If you are into posh parties and elegance, you might want to visit the Garden City Hotel...click here for the link.  For 'just' $175 you ge an open premium bar, live DJ, a 'hangover breakfast bar' and more.

For another gorgeous venue, try out Villa Lombardi's New Year's Eve Candelight Ball in Holbrook.
What's included at Villa Lombardi's you ask?  For $135 you get Live DJ Entertainment, a live simulcast from Times Square New York City,  a premium  five hour open bar, champagne and a really, really excellent menu with options galore for dinner.  Click here for the menu.

Other places that are offering New Year's Eve events include Maxwell's in Islip, Gurney's Inn in Montauk and others.  Click here for a list that will link you to some other fun New Years' Eve parties.

So...how can you pick a Champagne for New Year's Eve that you'll like?  Click on this link from Kitchen Daily which explains 'How to Pick the Perfect Champagne?'   For an alternative take on how how to pick a great Champagne for New Year's Eve, click on this link from the Huffington Post for the article entitled, 'A Guide to Champagne and Sparkling Wine: Choosing a Bottle for New Year's Eve'.

Finally, if you are hosting a New Year's Eve party, click on the following links - the suggestions might make the party even more fun - and take the stress out from hosting the shindig.

From the  Albuquerque Journal comes this blog entry entitled, 'Have a Family-Friendly New Year's Eve Party'.   From the ever popular HGTV website comes this entry entitled 'Hosting a Sparkling New Year's Eve Party'.  Finally, click on this last link - from Money Crashers.com - entitled '11 Fun New Year's Eve Party Ideas For Food, Games & Decorations'.

So there you have it...how to host a great New Year's Eve party, how to pick the Champagne, and how to have fun at the party!  What more do you need for a great New Year's Eve/

Enjoy the links - and of course, Happy New Year!

Regards,
Stu

Identity Theft

Hi All,

Well, now that the holidays are in full swing, you might want to learn a bit more about identity theft.  What is identity theft you ask?  Click here for an article from Wikipedia about identity theft.

Click on this link for the article that I read that got me thinking about identity theft as a possible topic for this blog.  Interesting article - entitled, '5 Ways Identity Thieves Are Targeting You', courtesy of CNNMoney - a very useful financial related website. 

As you probably know, Target has reported a breach that resulted in over 40 million credit cards have been compromised by hackers.  Click on this link to learn more about how this credit card breach affects you and your credit card.

For a quick peak at what individuals can do to try to stop identity theft, click on this link.

And now...for a whole host of links about identity theft and fraud, click on the following links from various governmental, university and 'think tank' agencies.

FTC - Identity Theft - what to do right away when you find that you're identity has been compromised.
President's Task For on Identity Theft - Report identity theft and victims' rights.
Open Directory Project - DMOZ - link to Identity Theft - all about fake identification and phishing
Carnegie Mellon University - all about identity theft - protective measures, legal issues and more links.
FTC Consumer Information -  privacy and identity links
Dateline from MSNBC - 'To Catch an ID Thief' - video from an episode about hunting for id thieves
Free Credit Report.com - official site to request a free credit report

Hope the links are helpful - especially the last one (Free Credit Report.com).

Regards and Happy holidays,
Stu

Save Your Sanity During the Holidays

Hi All,

The last minute rush is getting here. Get ready, get set...go.  There is officially less than a week to go before Christmas Day 2013.  And it is probably getting a bit hectic in your life right about now.

So this is the perfect time to offer up a quick and easy blog entry about 'Saving Your Sanity During the Holidays'. As a matter of fact, that is the title of the first link I'm going to share with you this morning.  Click on this link to connect to the article. Note that the article comes from the Farmingdale Patch - a local, Farmingdale based, newspaper.

This next link comes from a law firm - no, I am not advertising for the firm. I'm just connecting to an article from Panish, Shea & Boyle, entitled 'Exercise Patience and Common Sense During Holiday Shopping'. The article talks about shopping mall safety, credit card safety and long check out lines.

The holiday season brings with it its own set of stresses and strains. Families get together and there is a limited amount of time to get a lot accomplished (shopping, wrapping presents, buying presents, cleaning the house, coordinating plans with family members, possible flights in airplanes and possible pickups at airports...and more.)

Hence the appropriate topic of this last article - which comes from the Mayo Clinic website.  Entitled, 'Stress, Depression and the Holidays: Tips For Coping', the article is timely, well-written, and unbiased.  It also gives a lot of information to the reader on how to de-stress from the holidays.

Here's to a stress-free, entertaining, pleasant holiday season.  Enjoy the sites.

Regards,
Stu

What is in Store For Technology in the Next Five Years?

Hi All,

I just came across this very, very interesting article from a website called VentureBeat.com.  (VentureBeat - as they explain in their 'About' section on the website - provides news about innovation for forward-thinking executives. It covers a range of technology trends, from social media to mobile, clean technology, games and chips. We try to explain what these trends mean for business leaders, executives and other thought leaders in the industry.)

That all said, you can understand why VentureBeat would post an article entitled,'IBM reveals its top five innovation predictions for the next five years'.  Click on the prior link to find the full text of the article. 

So, just exactly what are the five innovations predicted in the next five years?
1. The classroom will learn you.
2. Buying local will beat online.
3. Doctors will use your DNA to keep you well.
4. A digital guardian will protect you online.
5. The city will help you live in it.

Simply put it means that the computers are going to get smarter, faster and their will be more appropriate safeguards for privacy and security...  "As computers get smarter and more compact, they will be built into more devices that help us do things when we need them done. IBM believes that these breakthroughs in computing will amplify our human abilities."

For computer enthusiasts (read: geeks and technologically savvy folks) there are many, many websites that can help you learn about these trends in real-time websites.  Some of the better technology websites available include:

www.PCWorld.com

www.PCMag.com

www.Cnet.com

www.Extremetech.com

www.Techcrunch.com

www.thenextweb.com

www.wired.com (future web trends and at one time a print magazine)

www.digitaltrends.com

www.techradar.com

All of these sites have are current, reliable, and focus on technological news related to computer, tablet computers, privacy, networking, the internet, software, hardware, and basically anything related to computers or technology.   Go forth and enjoy the many, many links and articles from the sites.  

Regards, 

Stu

Oh My Aching Back!

Hi All,

You know how it is....grocery shopping and you pick up 20lb grocery bags. Or, if you are going to Home Depot or Lowes this weekend and you pick up bushes and pots of plants...those darn things are heavy also.  And lets not forget picking up baby.  I suspect you realize that a 2 year old toddler can way anywhere up to 25lbs or so.  Don't forget all the daily bending, reaching and stretching for all the ordinary day-to-day things that we do (reaching for glasses in a cupboard, putting on shoes, wearing shoes, standing in line...) And all of this 'stuff' is hard on your back.

And therein lies the topic of todays' blog entry.  Back pain...and how to minimize it (and possibly even reduce it).  Ack...my back hurts just thinking about it.

So...click on this link (from the New York Times) which got me thinking about the whole back pain topic.  Click on this graphic to see how to lift things easily and without causing back pain.

From WebMD comes this list of the 'Top Causes of Chronic Low Back Pain' - and there is a section on prevention at the end of the article.   Note that degenerative disks and herniated discs are big, big culprits of lower back pain.   
Straight from the NIAMSD (also known as the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) comes this article entitled 'Fast Facts: An Easy-to-Read Series of Publications for the Public'.  Topics in the article include, 'Who Gets Back Pain?', 'What Are the Causes of Back Pain?', 'Can Back Pain Be Prevented?', 'When Should I See a Doctor For Pain?', 'How is Back Pain Diagnosed?', 'What is the Difference Between Acute and Chronic Pain?', 'How is Back Pain Treated?' and 'What Kind of Research is Being Done?'

From Prevention.com comes an article entitled, 'Habits that Cause Back Pain'.  Warning - if you do any of these activities, you might want to stop immediately so you don't get back pain.  And, if you already have back pain, you might want to stop so that you don't make it worse!!!

To get a very, very comprehensive view of back pain, click on this link from the National Institute of Health website called MedlinePlus.org. On the right side of the page is a link entitled, 'Back Pain - When You See the Doctor.'  This might be the most important link in the blog entry.

Finally, click on this link to find a whole bunch of 'Exercises for Lower Back Pain'.

But...before jumping in and starting some exercises, you might want to consult with your physician so you can learn more about the condition that you are suffering from. 

For those of you who like to read a bit about a condition before you see the doctor, click on this link.  It is a subject search (for back pain) for books that the Farmingdale Public Library owns in its circulation collection.  In other words, this link will take you to the card catalog and you'll find a list of books on back pain that you can take out.

Hope the links are what you are looking for - because back problems can be devastating - and you deserve to live life back pain free!

Regards,
Stu

Friday the 13th - Boo!

Hi All,

Today is Friday.  It is also the 13th day of December.  That means it is Friday the 13th. I hope I didn't scare you.   This makes for a very, very easy blog post today.  Yep - you guessed it. I'm going to write about Friday the 13th - and movies, and its history and black cats.

So, how did Friday the 13th come into being?  Great question and here is an interesting answer - brought to you by Wikipedia. 

Readers might also want to click on this link from Urban Legends. It also discusses the history of Friday the 13th and puts it in perspective. Also, click here for the Snopes.com version of what Friday the 13th is all about.  Cool stuff.

Is the origin of Friday the 13th a combination of two unlucky superstitions? (Friday being an unlucky day and the unlucky number 13?)  Read on....for an answer.

Click on this link - again from Wikipedia - to see a list of notable people who died on Friday the 13th - some examples....Gioachino Rossini,  Hubert Humphrey, Benny Goodman, Tim Russert and Tupac Shakur.

Click on this clever website that has 13 Years of Friday the 13th. 

Like horror and slasher movies?  Well, we've got a load of them on Friday the 13th. In particular the whole series (aptly titled) 'Friday the 13th' can be found at the prior link.  Users can learn all about the movies and there is a link for fans, an archive and a place where visitors can buy 'all things related to F13' (aka, movies, apparel, books, figures, posters and more).  If you want some reviews for various 'Friday the 13th' movies, click on this link - courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes.


And if you want to try to 'ward off the fears of Friday the 13th', click on this link, care of NPR (National Public Radio).

Finally, click on this link to get the low-down on black cats and Friday the 13th - trust me, you won't want to let this pass you on by. :)

Lest we end on a scary note, click on this link from Youtube for a cute little spoof on Friday the 13th.  Really, its quite harmless - and pretty cute! 

Enjoy the links and hopefully you won't have an unlucky day!


Regards,
Stu

Happiness and Holiday Cheer - Season's Greetings!

Hi All,

It's that time of year again! You know what I'm talking about, right?  It's holiday time - a time of year when seasons greetings meet you at every turn.  Where dreams come true and snow falls at just the right time to make the Christmas lights glow and cast shadows on beautiful snow drifts in your backyard. 

It can also be a time of great happiness and entertainment!  And why am I waxing so nostalgic over this season of giving?  Well, click on this link from the New York Times for an article entitled, 'Denmark, Where Joy Is Always in Season'.  What an article - what a county! I want to visit!  Now you see why I'm writing this blog entry!

Click on this link - which goes to the Farmingdale library card catalog - which will send you to a link for travel books about Denmark in the Farmingdale PL.  Based on the New York Times article, I suspect quite a few readers will now want to visit Scandinavia.  With that thought in mind...

click on this link from Wikipedia about 'Scandinavia' - which commonly describes the three countries of 'Denmark, Sweden, and Norway'.

So just exactly why am I writing about Scandinavia?  Because of a survey called the 'Satisfaction with Life Index'.  Learn more about this by clicking on this link from Wikipedia.

Top 10 countries on the Satisfaction with Life Index are: 
1. Denmark
2. Switzerland
3. Austria
4. Iceland
5. Bahamas
6. Finland
7. Sweden
8. Bhutan
9. Brunei
10. Canada

and for perspective...here is a very, very partial list of where other well-known countries stand on this list....
11. Ireland
23. United States
31. Saudi Arabia
35. Germany
41. United Kingdom
42. Dominican Republic
46. Spain
50. Italy
51. Mexico
58. Israel
62. France
63. Hong Kong

81. Brazil
82. China
83. Cuba
90. Japan
96. Iran
133. Turkey
142. Syria
151. Egypt
166. Pakistan
167. Russia
174. Ukraine
178. Burundi

Finally, click on these links to find out how to make the holiday season count:
Chicago Tribune - Procrastinator's Guide to Making Holidays' Count
Berkeley Beacon - Health Matters: Making the Holidays Count
Forbes - How to Make Your Holiday Giving Count

Enjoy the links and the holidays!  Promise, there will be more holiday related blog entries in the near future!

Regards,
Stu

Productivity, Efficiency - Getting Things Done!

Hi All,

There is a way for folks to become more productive and efficient at work. Its an important skill to master in these busy times and it might just make your work life less stressful. It make just also make your job easier. Wouldn't that be helpful?

So...follow this link to find an article entitled '6 Things Really Productive People Do'.  Simply put the 6 things are:
1. Picking Your Priorities
2. Becoming More Efficient
3. Integrating Your Activities
4. Actively Managing Time Wasters
5. Being an Active Learner
6. Lighten Up!

Readers of this blog know by now that I like to plug the libraries' resources.  This subject matter - productivity and efficiency and getting things done at work - is no different.  The library has a large and continually growing collection of management, job efficiency, and productivity related titles.  One of the most well known titles is 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic'.   Of which, we have a copy of this bestselling title.  Click on this link to find out whether or not the book is in the library or if someone has taken it out.

First written in 1989, the book is quite possibly one of the most well known self-help, personal growth, job/career productivity books ever written.  With chapters that deal with topics like:
1. Being Proactive
2. Focusing at the Beginning With the End in Mind
3. Practically Fulfilling habits 1 and 2.
4. Six Paradigms of Interaction
5. Effective Communication
6. Combing Habits 1-5 and Creating Synergy
7. Recognizing and Amplifying the Greatest Asset You Have: Yourself.  Renewing Your Physical, Emotional, Mental and Social Nature....

I suspect that if you were to read this book it will start you on a lifelong journey of self-exploration, personal growth and quite possibly a more successful life than if you hadn't read the book.

Enjoy the title!  I hope the entry helps you become more effective and efficient in life and in your job!

Regards,
Stu

Oddly Enough! (The Lighter Side Entry...)

Hi All,

Oddly enough.  It sounds interesting and by gosh it is interesting.  What are we talking about?

Many news and news-related websites have various sections for users to pick and choose from while viewing their website.

But....did you realize that many of these website have interesting parts?  Didn't think so.  Generally the 'fun' part of the website is called 'Oddly Enough' or 'Funstuff' or names something like that.

For example, Yahoo!'s section is called 'Odd News', while Reuters' section is called 'Weird News, Odd News'.  Lots of sites have this type of section....click on the various links below for a whole bunch of interesting, weird, fascinating, unique, rare and just plain fun news!  Google Spotlight, Huffington Post, and MakeUseof, and Happy News!

Enjoy the sites - hope it makes you day a bit brighter and more fun!

Regards,
Stu

Getting Ready For the Holidays

Hi All,

It is that time of year again...we are between Thanksgiving and the Christmas/New Year's Holidays - and that means parties, holiday gift giving, shopping, invitations to mail out, wrapping, cards to send and much, much more...

How is a person supposed to make head or tail from all the anxiety that this season begets?  Easy, click on the following links and you'll be well on your way to holiday season bliss.

Click on this link that will relieve you of the stress any time you have guests coming over during the holiday season.    For another perspective on simplifying the holidays, you can click on this link so that you can be organized this holiday season - and celebrate the season to boot!

From Styleathome.com comes this article entitled, '99 Ways To Get Ready For the Holidays'.  Yes, this is a long article, and yes it is an actual list - from 1-99 - on how to prepare for the holidays.  Cool stuff!  Especially number 12, 46 (who would have thought!) and 85.

Well, if you are having guests over, you will probably have to vacuum, or at least get rid of some of the clutter.  Click here to learn just how to do that....one room at at time.

Finally, click on this link - from MyWell-Being.com - which will, like the other links above, help you get ready for the holidays. 

Enjoy the holidays - hopefully they'll be stress-free, relaxing and filled with classic family get-togethers.

Regards,
Stu

American Presidency Project

Hi All,

The President of the United States is commonly thought of as being 'the Leader of the Free World'.  As such, leaders of the free world should have their own website filled with data, documents, election material and more.  One site that fills this need admirably is the 'American Presidency Project' - which I'll talk about in todays blog entry.

Hosted by the University of California at Santa Barbara, the site has a wealth of primary material for students, researchers and the just-plain interested folks in the various US presidents.  Click on this link for access to the site - which is free and very well organized. 

The American Presidency Project was established in 1999 and the archives contains over 104,400 documents related to the study of the Presidency.  The scope of the archives is vast - so if you are interested in 'anything Presidential' expect to spend a lot of time on the site.

For example, the APP (American Presidency Project hereafter) is the only online resource that has consolidated, coded, and organized the material into a single searchable database.  Click on this link to search the APP archives. When you visit this link, on the lift side of the page you'll find a box with the 'Ten Most Viewed Documents' - which by itself is darn interesting.

From the main page, users have access to:
- Presidential data - examples of categories include, 'Presidential Popularity', 'Public Appearances' and 'State of the Union and Inaugural Address Charts' and more.
- Presidential documents - includes 'Messages and Papers of the Presidents', 'Public Papers of the Presidents', 'News Conferences', 'Executive Orders' and much, much more.
- Presidential election information - includes Presidential Elections data in a very, very digestible and understandable manner.  Sorted by Presidential Election year, each link has state by state talley's for the candidates. Links to the Federal Election Commission are included as well!
- Presidential links is where users can connect to the various Presidential Libraries that exist.  Simple table - easy interface to use.

Click on this link for the Media Archive which contains audio and videos of the various Presidents.

So there you have it. A wonderfully well organized, accurate, unbiased, easily accessible website for 'all things Presidential'.

Enjoy the links and the information.
Regards,
Stu