RefDesk.com

Hi All,

One of the better reference related websites available on the internet is Refdesk.com.  The site is eclectic - it has something for everyone as this blog post will attest to.

Refdesk has many, many useful features for users including options to check your email from a central location, a debt clock, Contacting Elected Officials, Job Search Resources, USA Gas Price Map, Headline News from Bing, Google, and Yahoo.  There is also a way to select a news source from either AP, BBC, Bing, Fox, Google, NPR, UPI, WSJ,  or Yahoo!. 


Users can search Yahoo! or YouTube from the homepage and also look for the Fact of the Day or Though of the Day or This Day in History.

Users can actually search Refdesk.com - use the search box on the left side of the page.  Users can also use TheFreeDictionary.com as a computing dictionary, medical dictionary, legal dictionary, financial dictionary or an acronym finder.

There are also People White Page Resources available to users.  For example, users can search 50States.com, AnyWho.com, Intelius.com, WhitePages.com.  There are also Reverse Phone Lookup sites and Reverse Address Lookup sites....sigh. 

And, finally, there are good news sites like Amazing News, Gallup Well-Being Index, Good News Broadcast,  and HappyNews.com.

What I just mentioned are just 'some' of the link from the top half of the homepage on RefDesk.com.  When I say that the site is eclectic and chock full of links, I am not kidding.

One last note...toward the middle of the page are various links under the rubric 'Today's Pictures'.  Trust me - this is awesome.  Link under this category are as varied as Botany Picture of the Day, Earth Images, Kodak, Latest Mars Images, National Geographic Photos in the News, Reuters Pictures, Top News Photos, Weather Photo Gallery and Webcam Index.

The pictures and photos are completely addictive so watch the hours flow by as if they were minutes!

Enjoy the site and the many, many links!
Regards,
Stu

Let's Get Cooking

Hi All,

Cookbooks are one of the most popular subjects that we order in the library.  With the prices of cookbooks averaging roughly $25-$35 readers can see why we order so many cookbook titles - it can be expensive for an armchair cook to buy all the cookbooks he/she would like to.

So....the library comes to the rescue.  Did you know that we have basic cookbooks and cookbooks on topics as varied as Italian cooking, Chinese cooking, German cooking, gluten free cooking, heart-healthy cooking, low calorie cooking, crockpot cooking and many, many other categories of cooking.

Yum.

Click on this link to help you evaluate whether or not the cookbook that you have in your hand is a good one (well written, unbiased, pictures, correct recipes, no typos...).  AKA,  click the link to figure out what makes for a good cookbook - at least according to professional cookbook readers. Notice that the link comes from Publishers Weekly - one of the best known book review journals in the world.

Click on this link for another viewpoint on what makes for a good cookbook.  Notice that this link comes from Gourmet.com!!!

Click on this link for a subject search in the library card catalog for the phrase 'cookbooks' - and limited to those cookbooks in the Farmingdale Public Library.  Books were sorted so that the newest cookbooks are shown at the top of the results - the oldest are at the bottom.

And finally, click on this link to learn more about our Laotian Summer Cooking program scheduled for Tuesday, June 17th at 7pm.  Online registration begins on June 3rd for Farmingdale residents. 

Enjoy the links and the cookbooks and the program!

Regards,
Stu

Safercar.gov

Hi All,

Just a quickie post today - actually this afternoon.  Check out Safercar.gov - a US government website that enables you to identify and report problems you might be having with your vehicle, tires, equipment  or car seats.

Readers can find research recalls, investigations and complaints by searching for model year, make or model. 

Users can also find information about child restraint recalls, investigations or complaints by clicking on this link.

The site also has a link for 'Parents'.  Click here for the link.  Click here for a link to Car Seats information from SaferCar.gov.  The main splash page has a very helpful article titled 'How to find the right car seat?'.  On the right side of the page are links for 'Getting Your Car Seat Checked', and 'How to Install Your Car Seat'?

Click on this link from the New York State government website. Link goes to a page titled, 'Child Safety Seat Inspection Stations - Listed by County'.  

So there ya have it.  A few really, really excellent links to help you with your car seat questions for your baby!

Enjoy - hope the links prove to be useful and helpful.

Regards,
Stu

Hi All,

So, you do you really think you know what is in a name? Indeed!  Check out this article from the Farmingdale Patch entitled, 'Half-Century Champ Ousted as Top Baby Name in New York'.

So...yes, we are talking about baby names in today's blog entry.  Here are the top 10 boys and girls names in New York for 2013 - according to the Social Security Administration.

Boys' names
1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Ethan
4. Liam
5. Jayden
6. Mason
7. Joseph
8. Noah
9. Matthew
10. Daniel

Girls' Names
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Mia
6. Ava
7. Emily
8. Madison
9. Abigail
10. Sophia

Click on this next link for Babynames.com.  Users can search for a baby name with the alphabetical list at the top of the page.  There is also an Advanced Search for users.

Other unique parts of the site are lists of Most Popular Names, Boy Names, Girl Names, Celebrity Real Names, Celebrity Baby Names, Pet Names, Cool Name Lists and a Name Glossary.

Other interesting parts of the site are 'BabyNames Newsletter'.  Readers can subscribe to the newsletter - and unsubscribe - very easily.  And....there is a video library on BabyNames.com.  This is a full library of how-to, parenting, and lifestyle videos for parents or interested web surfers.  The are over 1000 titles at last count.  This weeks featured video is 'Bonding With Baby'. 

Now, what readers use most on the site is where they look for the meaning and popularity of a particular name. When users search for a particular name, they have the option of looking for Unisex Names, Girl Names, Boy Names or All Names.  The choices are at the top of the page - and are easy to identify.

One a name is chosen the meaning of the name is give and the origin of the name is displayed. Alternate spellings are given and a notes section is displayed.  Finally, there is a small section titled 'People Who Like the Name XYZ also like'.  It is a way to find look for alternative names using the original name that a user chose.  Neat stuff.


Finally - from the shameless plug section - users can come to the library and pick up a real, live baby name book.  We have a lot of them and they are located in the 929.44 section.  That being said, users can click on this link and you'll go to the library card catalog for the search 'baby names'. 

So there you have it - a full service website - for almost everything baby name related -except the baby of course.  Enjoy the site and the links.

Regards,
Stu

Extreme Weather

Hi All,

Check out this link from the Mother Nature Network.  Said link is titled '6 Snowstorms That Crippled the East Coast'.  Included are 2 or 3 paragraph length descriptions of the storm - interesting. And there are photos to boot!

And speaking of extremes...click on this link from USAToday to view an article titled, 'All of California in Severe Drought For 1st Time This Century'.

Extreme heat is becoming more of an issue lately...click on this link from Ready.gov for an article called 'Extreme Heat'. It'll explain how readers can deal with extreme heat and stay 'cooler'.  There is also a link for 'More Information about Extreme Heat'.

Under the rubric of extreme wind comes Tornadoes and Hurricanes.  Click on this extensive article from Wikipedia that discusses Tornadoes. The article includes definitions of funnel clouds, characteristics of tornadoes, life cycle, types and a large section on tornado detection.

One of the most reputable and well know websites about hurricanes is the National Hurricane Center. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hosts the site. I could spend whole blog entries on this extensive, current, unbiased, easily-navigable website.  However, I won't. I will, however, discuss some of the best parts of the site.

The National Hurricane Center site is available on various devices and in various formats.  There are links to Cyclone Advisories, and Audio/Podcasts,

In addition, users can find marine forecasts for the Atlantic and East Pacific.There are links for Storm Surges, Wind Scales, Most Extreme Storms and Forecast Models. And there is much, much more...

Enjoy the sites!
Regards,
Stu

Photo Sharing Websites

Hi All,

Looking to share a photo or picture with a friend or family member?

Good - glad you came by for today's post.  Click on this link - from Wikipedia - that lists photo sharing websites.  By no means is this list exhaustive.  There are others that exist on the web!

Note that users can sort the list - which is exactly what I did. I sorted by the Registered Users. I sorted from largest to smallest.  The result was that Instagram, Snapfish, Flickr, Photobucket and DeviantART and Lockerz are the top 6 most used photo sharing websites on the web.  Click on any of the links to go to that particular site.  

The chart on the Wikipedia is very extensive and useful.  Columns include 'Name', Location/Owner/Hoster, Description/Focus/Registration Requirements, platform used (iOS, Android, Windows), Number of Registered Users, Storge Space Allowed Per Person (standard usage), and the Global Alexa Page Ranking of the photo sharing site. 

Further down on the Wikipedia page is another table that covers file formats, upload information, folder/album structure, limitations, tags/keywords, comments, rating and downloading originals for all of the photo sharing websites.

So, if you are looking for a way to share photos with friends and family, you might want to consult this Wikipedia link - its extensive, comprehensive and current!

Enjoy the sharing.

Regards,
Stu

Farmingdale Crash

In light of the accident that occurred on Saturday morning, I've generated a set of 6 links for readers to go to in addition to grief counseling.  Counselors will be at Farmingdale High School for grief counseling.


Helping Children Cope With Loss, Death and Grief: Tips for Teachers and Parents

Coping with the Sudden Death of a Student

School Crisis, Grief Counseling and Support Services - Scholastic

Five Tips For Supporting Grieving Students

Grief Resources - School Counseling - Pinterest Link

Five Stages of Grief

Regards,
Stu

One To Ten In the Library...Step by Step...

Hi All,

A few months ago I generated a post titled, 'A to Z in the Library'.  Today's post is similar, but different - this time I'm using numbers!  Kind of cool, eh?

1 - One library building - our address is 116 Merritts Road. Link goes to Google Maps.

2 - Before the new building was built (in 1994), there were two branches of the Farmingdale Public Library.  One on Main Street - where the Library Cafe now stands - and another branch where the CVS resides on Merritts Road.  Click links for more information.

3 -  Three great special collections in the library! Parents Collection material, Home Sweet Home Collection (all things related to home repair, painting, gardening, remodeling and more) of material and our Special Needs Collection of material (all things related to infant, toddler, and children's parenting). All of which circulates!

4 - Four great departments to help you with your various library queries: Children's Department, Young Adult Department, Adult Reference, Reader's Advisory.

5 - Five ways to contact us: phone (516-249-9090), internet, email, visit, snailmail (our mailing address is: 116 Merritts Road, Farmingdale, New York 11735)

6 - Six awesome services you possibly didn't know that we had: Book Club in a Bag, Book Fanatics of Farmingdale, Call Ahead Pick-Up, Career and Education Center, Community Directory, Free computers and free wifi connection anywhere on the first floor of the library.

7 -  Seven spectacular ways we connect you to the digital world! iTunes, Audio Books, Nassau Digital Doorway/Overdrive, Playaways, Zinio, Freegal, video games (seriously, we have them!)

8 - Eight exciting databases you might want to use in the near future: Auto Repair Reference Center, Hoover's Company Profiles, ReferenceUSA, Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, HeritageQuest, Health Reference Center Academic,  Transparent Language Online, General Reference Center Gold

9 - Nine must have links from the library website: Books, Entertainment, Research, Services, Events, Calendar of Events, Newsletter, Library Policies and Contact the Library.

10 - Okay...this is a stretch...from Wayne State University comes this article titled, '10 Ways That Public Libraries Are Using Pinterest'.

So there you have it - 10 ways to use the library in-person or via the computer...and a multitude of other ways to use our varied, free and easy-to-use resources!

Enjoy the ride!!!
Regards,
Stu

The End of the World as We Know It Post - aka Science Fiction Takes Over

Hi All,

One of my favorite genres of books is science fiction. Specifically, I really, really like 'The End of the World as We Know It' (TEOTWAWKI...).

So...without further ado on this rainy, drizzly, grey day, let's discuss some websites that will help readers find the best of the TEOTWAWKI books.

First off, readers should visit Amazon.com. It is a vast repository of book reviews from readers who have read the various books they are writing about.  Review length can range from one sentence to as much as 4 or 5 pages (albeit these are the rare reviews).  Most reviews are a few paragraphs long.  Remember that you get what you pay for.  Since it is free, the Amazon.com reviews can be biased, offensive (to some people or all people...), and have an agenda.  Very few reviews, if any, have profanity in them. That said, it is a great place to get a quick summary of a book.

Click on this link for a list of Science Fiction bestsellers. Note that you can dive even deeper and choose whether you want bestsellers in paperback, hardcover, Kindle Edition or Audio CD format by choosing the tab at the top of the page.

Science Fiction at Amazon.com is broken out into different categories: Adventure, High Tech, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian, Alien Invasion, Alternate History, Genetic Engineering, Military, Space Opera, , Short Stories, Time Travel, Anthologies and Steampunk.

Click on this next link from BestScienceFictionBooks.com.  There are tabs for Top 25 Best Science Fiction, Best Science Fiction Series, Best Stand Alone SF, and Underrated Science Fiction.  There are other tabs on the site, but these are some of the highlights!!!

SFSite is another high quality review/evaluation science fiction website that scifi devotees spend time on. The Site Index link is extremely helpful on the site as it links to Back Issues, Blogs, Awards, links to Asimov's SF (and a whole slew of other scifi authors), SF Topical Lists, and much, much more.

There are review lists that are Sorted by Issue (actually there are three parts to this list!), Author Book Lists, SFSite Inteviews and much, much more...

This is one of the most extensive, comprehensive and current science fiction review sites available on the web!!! Be warned, you might find yourself wading through the sheer mass of the material for days on end! Not that that is a bad thing for the science fiction reader!

Finally, the Farmingdale Public Library has a wonderful free review and evaluation site called NOVELIST.  Users can search among hundreds of popular fiction and readable nonfiction titles, retrieve author read-a-likes, booklists, and more on the site.  Just enter your Farmingdale Library barcode and you'll have access to the database. It is definitely a top 3 science fiction spot to visit for Sci-Fic aficionados!

With Recommended Reads Lists, Audiobooks, Award Winners, Author Read-alikes, Book Discussion Guides and more, the site is an awesome way to appreciate even more the sci-fic books that you read.  You'll understand more, appreciate more, and relate more to what you are reading! How cool is that?

So...enjoy the links and hope for some cloudy and rainy weather - that way you'll have time to review these two sites and get more out of your science fiction reading!

Regards,
Stu

Toning, Shaping, Exercising! Spring is Here - and Summer Will Follow!!

Hi All,

Spring has sprung and you know exactly what that means!  Shorts and t-shirts, blouses and skorts!

Yes - the time has past for bundling up in sweatshirts, sweaters, wintercoats and scarves and earmuffs! Spring is here - and this is the best time for starting an exercise routine. 

So, without further ado...some really helpful exercise links to help get you started on your new routine.
Click on the following link from WEbMD entitled, 'Fitness 101: The Absolute Beginner's Guide'.  Article is authoritative, easy-to-read, and current.   Click on this next link for an article entitled, 'Top Exercises For Your Joints'.  For variety sake, you might want to visit this link from the Mayo Clinic entitled, 'Fitness Programs: 5 Steps to Get Started'.

Okay, so now that you've started an exercise routine, how do you keep going and not give up. AKA, how do you stick with the routine?  Fear not...click on this link from Sparklepeople.com to learn how to stay with an exercise program.

Click here for an exhaustive set of links of materials (books and DVD's) that we have at the library regarding exercising.  Note also that I did a subject search for the phrase 'Physical Fitness'.  I narrowed down the search to the Farmingdale Public Library and then did a Reverse Year sort so that the most current material appeared at the top of the page first. 

Finally, readers might want to signup for a program that the library is hosting on Mondays called Fit Happens: Muscle Moms.  Registration began on April 7th, but there are still 3 classes left.  Also, there are 7 spaces still available.

Enjoy the links - hope they spur you on to exercise more and make it a lifestyle change!

Regards,
Stu

Wedding Anniversary Information

Hi All,

I was just reading an article from Newsday about wedding anniversaries.  Click here for the link to the article that started me thinking about this topic for a blog entry.

Click on this link from Hallmark to find anniversary gifts year by year.
Do note that there are two columns - one for the traditional gift and one for the 'modern' gift.  Users should check out the 1st, 10th, 25th and 50th anniversaries.  Very cool.

1st - Paper/Clocks
10th - Tin or Aluminum/Diamond Jewelry
25th - Silver/Silver
50th - Diamond/Diamond

For more wedding anniversary background, readers might want to click on this entry from Wikipedia entitled 'Wedding Anniversary'.  The entry is quite comprehensive and even has a list of flower gifts and gemstone gifts for each wedding anniversary year.

Click on this next link to see an article from Hallmark titled 'Top Tips For the Perfect Wedding Anniversary Gift'.  Interesting stuff! 

Finally, there is an excellent list of references that readers might want to peruse to get even more information about wedding anniversary'!

Enjoy the links!
Regards,
Stu