Online Trends - What's Hot and What's Hotter

Hi All,

We all like to be 'trendy' and 'in-the-loop', right?  Well, some of us at least....now there is a way to follow what's hot in fashion, entertainment, music, news and much, much more.

Google has a site called Google Trends - click here to visit the site - that enables users to follow cocktails, Colleges and Universities and People. Other areas to find popular trends include DJ's, Dog Breeds, Foods, Games, Quick Service Restaurants, Reality Shows and much more.

At the top of the page, users can narrow down their search by year by using the drop down dialog box.  Searches go back to 2004 and can be searched by month or by the whole year.

On the initial Google Trends page, users can find charts in categories like Business & Politics, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Nature & Science, Shopping & Fashion, Sports and Travel & Leisure.

Clicking on this link lets users explore Google Trends. Users can add their own topics and terms and then those phrases can be explored even further.  Comparisons can be compared by location and by time period as well.

If you haven't realized it, Google Trends is a great way to conduct original research for term papers, graduate research or just for 'seeing what is popular'.

And Google Trends is free!!!

Enjoy the charts, tables, and searches and the vast amount of data generated!

Regards,
Stu

Reading...

Hi All,

I've come across two separate websites that are related to reading in different ways. 

The first article is from the NewYorker.  Entitled 'Being a Better Online Reader' the article discusses how to be a better reader.  Sections of the article discuss the physicality of the book vs the ephemerality of the screen, online distractions when you read, reading comprehension and how it differs when you read a book vs reading online with a monitor/screen/tablet and ways to increase reading comprehension when reading on a monitor/screen/tablet.

The second entry came via an article from the New York Times.  Entitled, 'With the Blessing of Bill Gates, an Unlikely Summertime Best Seller', the article discusses a business book that Bill Gates (one of Microsoft's founder) highly recommended.  The book in question is 'John Brooks'', 'Business Adventures'.- which was published back in 1969 - and has been out of print since then.  Because of Bill Gates' recommendation, the book is coming back in print and is a bestseller on Amazon.com.

The article discusses Bill Gates book blog - entitled GatesNotes - which is where he recommended the book.   Click here for the blog entry where Bill Gates recommends the book - along with five others that he recommends for summer reading.  Click on this link to read Bill Gates' full review of Business Adventures by John Brooks.

So, the real appeal here is that the reader can read book reviews by Bill Gates - of course from the books that he's read.  And what an eclectic reader he is!  Even a cursory look at the titles of the books he's read is breaktaking in its variety and scope!

Title/subject

Business Adventures/Business
Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism/History
Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History/Environment
Reinventing American Health Care/Health Care
Why Does College Cost So Much?/Higher Education
Most Powerful Idea in the World/history, steam engines, technology
World Until Yesterday/anthropology
Poor Numbers/economics,statistics

Enjoy the links - and if you click on any of the titles listed above, you'll go to that particular book review GatesNotes. 

Finally, click on this link to go to the online library card catalog to see if any of these books are available at the Farmingdale Public Library.

Enjoy!


Regards,
Stu

Optical Illusions - How Fun is That!!!

Hi All,

Just a quickie post for such a beautiful Friday afternoon in the middle of summer.  Topic is optical illusions.  Why?  Because they are fun and interesting and can get people talking no matter who the person is - optical illusions are that interesting.

Check this link from Wikipedia for a quick summary of optical illusions.  There are a few optical illusions on the side of the page for your viewing consternation. :)

And click on this link from Youtube on 'How to Make Optical Illusions for Kids'.  Click here to learn 'How to Draw an Impossible Pentagon'.

Click on the following links for various aspects of optical illusions.
25 Brilliant Optical Illusions for Kids - Slodive.com
Face Illusions - BrainDen.com
Optical Illusions For Kids - National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Optical Illusions - BrainBashers.com 
Endless Stairway
Optical Illusions via Google Image search - very cool!

Enjoy the links - more importantly, enjoy the weekend!

Regards,
Stu

(By the way, the circles at the top of the page ARE NOT MOVING....)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi All,

Quite possibly one of the best foods of childhood is the chocolate chip cookie.  Yum.  Just thinking about them makes me hungry - and don't forget the milk.

Click on this link from SeriousEats.com for a serious article on the 'Science of the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies'.  OMG, I'm hungry already! This is a very comprehensive article about exactly what happens when a chocolate chip cookies is made - complete with what happens to various ingredients (milk, egg, chocolate chip, batter and more).  The pictures are fantastic and make the cookies look delicious!

For an 'off-the-wall' article titled, '23 Life-Changing Ways to Eat Chocolate Chip Cookies' click on this article from Buzzfeed.com.  Silly, but fun - and you might like to try one of these ideas. Or not.

Click on any of these three links to find scrumptious recipes for great chocolate chip cookies.

Hershey's Kitchens - Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies`
Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies - from, believe it or not, Crisco.
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe EVER! - SavorySweetLife
AllRecipes.com -  Another list of 'Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever'

Back in early March of this year, the New York Times reported on Chips Ahoy! Bringing Back the Familiar (Chocolate-Chip) Face in its advertising.  Click here for the article - and the reason why I'm writing this blog post.

For more timely information on Chips Ahoy! click on this link - you'll go to the Chips Ahoy! Facebook page.

Readers might want to click on this link to go to the Chips Ahoy! webpage from Nabisco.  At the bottom of the page is product information and at the top of the page you can play games (kids)...

Finally, readers might get a kick out of this page - a link from PopularCookieRecipes.com - which goes to National Chocolate Chip Day!!! Woohoo!

Enjoy the links, and more importantly, don't forget to stock up on the milk!

Regards,
Stu

How Well Did You Sleep Last Night?

Hi All,


Pardon me for asking this question, but....'How well did you sleep last night?'  Sleeping is darn important. It is so important that we are having a program on this topic at the Farmingdale Public Library. 

Sleep can refresh you, and keep your body physically stronger and healthier.  Click on this link for some affects of sleep deprivation - the link is from WebMD.  Click on this next link to find out how sleep loss can lead to weight gain! 

Click on this link from Wikipedia for the topic of sleep deprivation.
More information about the program is as follows:

On Tuesday, July 29th at 7-8pm, the Farmingdale Public Library is presenting a program titled 'Sleep Disturbances'.   The formal blurb for the program is 'Join Dr. Saul Rothenberg, who has been an integral part of the Sleep Disorders Center of the North Shore – LIJ Health System since 1995, as he talks about normal sleep, changes in sleep as we age, and about insomnia – what it is, what it does to people, and what can be done about it. Preference given to UFSD #22 residents.'. 

Online registration begins July 15th and the program will be held in Room C in the library basement.

Finally, click on this link from the online card catalog for the topic of 'sleep disorders'.  Note that the books in this list are titles that the Farmingdale Public Library own in our collection.  However, some of the books may or may not be on the shelf at the time you are looking for books on the topic.  Someone else might have taken out the book!

Regards - and I hope you sleep better tonight.

Stu

Monuments Men

Hi All,

On Tuesday, July 22nd the Farmingdale Public Library is presenting the movie, The Monuments Men, at  1:15pm and again, at 6:30pm.  The formal blurb goes as follows, 'An unlikely World War II platoon has been tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners.'  The movies stars George Clooney and Matt Damon.  Seating is on a First Come, First Served basis.

Now....there is much more to the story than just a movie.

Click on this link from Wikipedia for the entry on 'The Monuments Men'.  You'll find a fairly extensive summary of the move, and the historical accuracy of the movie.  Note that the movie's reception was not all that great - at least by Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic.

Readers can click on this link to go to the Monuments Men website.  At the site readers can find links titled 'Books & Movies', 'For Educators' (which has lesson plans for teachers) , 'The Heros', 'Speaking Engagements', 'About Robert Edsel (the author)'.

For similar, yet different take on 'The Monuments Men', readers can click on this link to the Smithsonian Institution Magazine website. This link goes to an entry entitled, 'The True Story of the Monuments Men'.  A quick summary of the entry goes, 'Without the work of these curators and professors, tens of thousands of priceless works of art would have been lost to the world forever'.  That is quite a statement - and which is understated, to say the least.   With that said, the pictures in the article/website are extraordinary and worth viewing!

Also, did you know that the movie was based on a book entitled,  'The Monuments Men: Allied Heros, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History', written by Robert M. Edsel?  Well, it was and you can click on this link to see if the Farmingdale Public Library's copy is available for your reading pleasure. 

Finally, another book on the same topic is 'The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War' by Lynn Nicholas.  Click on this link to see if there is a copy that you can inter-library loan from the Nassau Library System.  Click on this link to see reviews and a brief summary of the book from Amazon.com.  Note that the book was published in 1994 and garnered an average score of 4.3 out of a possible 5.0 by readers who reviewed the book. 

Enjoy the movie and the enjoy the books - it is quite possible that you might learn something about American history in the process!

Regards,
Stu

Don't Forget - Memory Program!

Hi All,

Don't forget (  :)  get it? ) that we have a memory program on Thursday, July 17th at 7pm in room C.  The program is scheduled to last an hour and there are spaces available. 

The formal 'blurb' for the program is 'Virginia Belling, RN, will be here from the Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation to speak about what’s normal when it comes to forgetting and remembering, reversible causes of memory loss, first steps when there is suspicion that someone may have a problem, and tips on successful aging. Preference given to UFSD #22 residents."

Click on this link to find books on the topic of 'memory' from the library card catalog.

Click on this link from WikiHow.com for an article entitled, 'How to Increase Memory Power'.

Click on this link from About.com for an article entitled, 'Top 10 Memory Improvement Tips'.

And, finally, click on this link from Psychcentral.com for an article entitled, '8 Tips For Improving Your Memory'. 

Enjoy the links and the new skills that you'll acquire. And don't forget to use these new memory skills!

Regards,
Stu

Parenting Books - Titles of books in no particular order...

Hi All,

Here is a list of parenting books that might help you parent your child...or not.  Its worth a look at least...At the time of writing the Farmingdale Public Library owned all the titles listed.

Parenting a Defiant Child: A Sanity-Saving Guide to Finally Stopping the Bad Behavior - Philip S. Hall

Parenting Gifted Kids: Tips For Raising Happy and Successful Children  - James R. Delisle

Sh*tty Mom: Parenting Guide For the Rest of Us - Laurie Kilmartin

Parenting Inc.: How We Are Sold on $800 Strollers, Fetal Education, Baby Sign Language, Sleeping Coaches, Toddler Couture, and Diaper Wipe Warmers and What It Means For Our Children - Pamela Paul

Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures - Amber Dusick

Parenting the Strong Willed Child: The Clinically Proven Five-Week Program For Parents of Two-to-Six Year Olds - Rex Forehand

Parenting Without Power Struggles: Raising Joyful, Resilient Kids While Staying Cool, Calm and Connected - Susan Stiffelman

Parenting Without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us - Christine Gross-Loh

Many of these books can be found in the Children's Room in the Parents Collection of material.  This collection of material is dedicated to help parents 'parent'.  Topics include discipline, teaching children how to potty train, sleep issues and much, much more. It is a very, very helpful collection of material that new parents would do well to visit.

Enjoy the books and the material in the Parents Collection. 

Regards,
Stu

A Better Bird Feeder

Hi All,

It is summertime and the birds are out singing and chirping all around us.  Which got me thinking...'how do these birds eat?'  What do they eat and, 'could I help them to eat?'.  And that got me thinking about bird feeders and building them...and that was how I came to write todays' blog entry about building bird feeders.

So...clicking on this link will take you to a link from Lowe's about building a bird feeder.  The link includes a list of tools and materials needed for this project, as well as a 1 minute video.  Also included are step-by-step instructions how to complete the birdhouse.

This next link is from This Old House - and also explains how to build a bird house.  Again, a video is supplied for the readers interest.  The instructions from this link are a bit more comprehensive than the first one - but are still very, very helpful.

Readers can click on this link from Allcrafts.net in order to get 50+ free bird house and bird feeder woodcraft plans. Included in this plans are beginner bird houses, pole bird houses, nesting boxes, bluebird houses, plate and feeder bird bowls, box houses for sparrows, Oriole feeders and traditional birdhouses.

Click on this link - which will help you identify birds that you might come across in your backyard - or wherever you put the birdfeeder! (Link goes to a website which - appropriately enough - is called 'What Bird?'.)

Finally, on Tuesday, July 8th at 3pm the library is hosting a program entitled, 'Building a Better Bird Feeder'.  Program is for students entering grades 3-5 and online registration began on June 24th.  If you have kids or grandkids, this might be a great introduction to the joys of building birdhouses - and feeding birds!  Click here to learn more about the program we are offering at the library.

Enjoy the links! And enjoy seeing the birds.
Regards,
Stu

The Number Ten

Hi All,

So...to bring you up to speed.  Over the course of the last few years I've been blogging about the significance of various numbers.  For example, the last post I wrote covered the number 9.  Click on this link to see that particular post.  

Today, I'm going to consider the number 10.

1. Ten Commandments - 'nuff said. 

2. Ten plagues were inflicted on Egypt in Exodus 7-12.

3. With respect to the Olympics and sports, a 'decathlon' is a combined event consisting of ten track and field events.

4. In American Football (NFL) - the end zones are 10 yards deep.

5. In boxing, the referee counts to 10 whether the boxer is unconscious or not...

6. Ten is also the highest score possible in Olympics gymnastics competitions.

7. There was a movie directed by Blake Edwards in 1979 by the name of '10'.

8. There are 10 official inkblots in the Rorschach inkblot test.

9.  10 is the famous address at 10 Downing Street in London.  (aka the headquarters of the British Government)

10.  Interstate 10 is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the American Interstate Highway system.

Finally, click on these links for various snippets from Sesame Street in which they extol the virtues of the number 10:  10 Tiny Turtles, Number Ten from Tennessee, and my favorite from Sesame Street...the Baker and the number 10!

So there you have it.  The significance of the number 10 in various cultures and parts of the world!  Its partially entertaining, educational and easy-to-use!

Enjoy!

Regards,
Stu