Internet Archive: The Wayback Machine

Hi All,

Who says that everything on the internet is always there?!  Its not.  Material get posted and then gets removed every single second of every single day.  So how are you able to find material from a few days ago - let alone a few years ago?

Great question and for that we have the Internet Archive/Wayback Machine.  With an easy url to remember - http://archive.org/web/ - its not wonder the site is so well known and so well used!

The site moniker is '456 billion web pages saved over time'.  Wow - that is almost half-a-trillion (yes, with a 't') websites.  The number looks like this 456,000,000,000.  Awesome.  And all the sites can be searched. 

Just type in a website name (businessweek, espn, Farmingdale Public Library, etc.) and you'll be directed to another page that has the url that you searched and the number of times (between a particular date the) site was first found on the Wayback Machine and the current date.

For example, a search for the Farmingdale Public Library resulted in a page that says the Wayback Machine saved the Farmingdale PL site 74 times between August 17, 2007 and March 29, 2015. 

And there is a box which enables the user to click on a particular year - and then a particular month - to choose to view the site on certain day.  Click on the blue circle of the date you are interested in and you'll see a snapshot of how the site looked on that day. 

Some notes...sometimes pictures take a bit of time to load and sometimes page links don't go to an original link.

Click on this link to learn a bit more about the Internet Archive.  Click on this link to capture a web page as it appear now for use as a trusted citation in the future!  Click on this link for a very, very extensive FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) from the Internet Archive.

And for some fun Internet Archive links, click on this link which offers over 6,000,000 fully accessible public domain ebooks.  Awesome!  Not all torrents are bad!  Click on this link to go to a page of Archive Torrents.  There is a search box for you to use on the page.

And, as if this wasn't enough, the Internet Archive has a blog, and a store, and a full-fledged organization structure.  Click on the prior links to see the particular option you are interested in.

And to think that some folks still say that 'nothing is free anymore!'.  Go figure.  They just haven't seen the Internet Archive yet!. 

Regards,
Stu

Pun of the Day

Hi All,

A wag once said that 'the pun is the lowest form of humor'.  Well, that may be the case - or not - but there is a website dedicated to a 'Pun of the Day'. 

There are also links to new puns, funny puns, random puns, pun jokes, pun of the month and a whole bunch of categories of puns.  Some pun categories on the site include crime, business, education and technology. 

For even more background on puns, click on this link from Wikipedia - it goes to the section on puns.

Hope you enjoy the puns - I hope that you find them punny.

Punsters might like to visit this site as well - it is all about puns!

Regards,
Stu

Spring Clean Up!!!!

Hi All,

With Spring officially arriving on Friday - tomorrow - at 6:45pm - now is a good time to blog about 'Spring cleanup'.Oh wait...its going to snow tomorrow...how can it be the beginning of Spring when we're going to get about 2"-4" of snow? 

Crazy weather...that's all.  In any event, folks can still get a jump on their spring cleaning by reading the rest of this blog entry.  And when you are done with the spring cleaning you can go to the next job on your list of things to do - like taxes...

Some articles and ideas that will make your Spring cleanup faster, easier and less unpleasant.   Click on this link from About.com titled 'Spring Cleaning For Lawns and Landscaping'.   And from the ever present Martha Stewart comes this entry in the form of a checklist - specifically a 'Spring Cleaning Checklist'. Wikipedia even got into the act with an article on Spring cleaning. 

A fairly well known name is house maintenance/repair/upkeep is HouseBeautiful.  This next link comes from their site and includes '13 Spring-Cleaning Tips'.

Believe it or not, Vogue has also gotten into the act as well with an article titled, 'Spring Cleaning: 8 Beautiful Items to Help You Tidy Up'.

And, finally, click on this link from Imperfect Homemaking for a 'Thorough Spring Cleaning Checklist'.  The author of the site - Kelly - has organized the cleaning by rooms of the house: foyer, bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, living room/family room/playroom, laundry room, stairwells, outside the house and reminders.  A printable version of this Spring Cleaning Checklist can be found by clicking on this link!

Here's to fast and easy cleaning!

Regards,
Stu

Scams, Fraud and Scheme's: A How-To Avoid Them

Hi All,

I just found a very helpful site on the web from the Federal Trade Commission.  The previous link is for the Consumer Information section of the site - which is tremendously valuable to consumers - trust me...you'll see why in a minute.

There are other links on the site with information on Money & Credit, Homes & Mortgages, Health & Fitness, Jobs & Making Money, Privacy & Identity, Blog, and Video & Media.

The FTC homepage has a rotating set of highly relevant consumer videos and links when you visit the site: topics include: Hijacked Computer? What To Do, IRS Imposter Scams, Checking Your Credit Report and Cobradores De Dueda (Scams Targeting the Latino Community information).
 
The section of the site that I want to discuss in detail is the Privacy and Identity section.  When you click on the Privacy and Identity section you have a bunch of options: Limiting Unwanted Calls and Emails, Computer Security, Kids' Online Safety, Protecting Your Identity and Repairing Identity Theft.  Click on any of the prior links to go to that particular subject.

The section on Protecting You Identity discusses Active Duty Alerts, Credit Freezes, Financial Readiness,  Keeping Your Personal Information Secure, Identity Theft Protection Services and a link to Signs of Identity Theft.

As is usual for many federal government websites, there is a search box at the top right side of the page on all pages on the website.  The site is available in Spanish as well.

There are also links on the page for Related Items, the FTC Privacy Policy, About the FTC and links to Contact the FTC. Users can stay connected with the FTC by getting email updates, viewing the FTC blog feed, using Facebook, YouTube and/or Twitter.

Hopefully you won't need to use the resources on the site - but if you do...I hope they are helpful and easy to use.

Regards,
Stu

National Gallery of Art - Kids Section

Hi All,

Betcha you didn't know that the National Gallery of Art (NGA hereafter) has a section just for kids!  Well, it does...This next link comes from TechLearning.com and is dated March 10, 2015 so it is a current article.

This is the gateway to the NGA site Kids Art Zone - what a fancy site.  And btw, the site is formally known as the NGAkids Art Zone - so there!  Note also that the NGAKids Interactives sections requires Adobe Shockwave Player - which can be downloaded from this link.

Once on the site kids can click on links for Sea-Saws (craete seascapes or abstract compositions), Brushster (brushes, palettes and specials effects let kids make abstract paintings) or Faces & Places (students can create animated portrais and landscape paintings) and many, many more. (Examples of the many more include  jungles, still lifes, Dutch Houses, Collage Machine, Flow, Paintbox, Swatchbox, Wallovers, 3-D Twirlers, Mobiles and Pixelfaces....)

Further down on the page are links for Learning Resources, Children's Guides and Family Programs (if you are in the Washington, DC area!).

So there you have it - a world renowned museum that has made its resources available to kids and children - in the hopes of fostering the love of learning (with an artistic twist).

Regards - and enjoy the site!

Stu

Yum...I'm Hungry. It's Breakfast (Lunch or Dinner) Time...

Hi All,

A guy's got to eat. And a girl's got to eat. And what better way to find a restaurant on Long Island with your smartphone than to use Eat Out! Long Island?

Indeed, at the top of the page there is a dialog box where users can type in the name of a restaurant.  There is also an Advanced Search for users.  Advanced Search enables users to search by the following criteria:
Restaurant Name
Cuisine
Address
City
County
Zip Code
Phone Number
 
In addition, users can check a specific box to find a location that offers that feature (like whether or not the restaurant has a website, online menu availability, if reservations are accepted, if take-out is available, if there is catering, are credit cards accepted and much, much more) 

In addition, users can Rate a particular restaurant when they view the restaurant information.  Click on this example from Ciao Baby on Sunrise Highway in Massapequa Park.   Ratings go from 1-10 - with a rating of 10 being the best. Rankings include a section titled, 'Would you return?' and there is a date that the review was created.

Restaurant ranking categories include Food, Atmosphere, Service and Value. Eat Out! Long Island offers an email list to users - click here for the link.  Users can Add a Listing by clicking on this link.

So...when you are hungry or in a hurry to find a specific cuisine to eat for dinner...you might want to check out Eat Out! Long Island! Its user friendly, helpful, current, informative and easy to navigate!

Regards,
Stu

Hi All, 

I just came across this very helpful Federal Government website called Replacing Your Vital Documents.   

Users can learn how to replace vital records - including birth, death, marriage, military service, federal personnel and records; damaged money; green cards; and more - during emergencies or due to damage. 

The full list of documents that can be replaced include:

1. Birth, Marriage, Death Certificates
2. Damaged Money
3. Driver's Licenses and Vehicle Registration
4. Federal Civilian Personnel Records
5. Green Card Replacement
6. Medicare Card Replacement
7. Military Service Records
8. Passport
9. Replace a Savings Bond
10. Saving Family Treasures
11. Social Security Card Replacement
12. Tax Return 

I hope you don't need this information, but if you do....

Regards, 
Stu

Sort of Like Spring Cleaning...But Different

Hi All,

Whether I'm listening to the radio (driving to/from the library), watching television, reading a magazine or surfing the web, I'm always on the lookout for interesting blog topics or interesting websites to present to readers of this blog.

As a result, I have lots and lots of specific websites that I'd like to talk about...but don't really fit into any neat category for a whole blog post.  In other words, I have a whole host of 'orphan websites and/or blog topics' that just don't warrant a whole blog post...

This post should take care of some of these orphan sites! Forthwith a bakers dozen (13) sites for your perusal... The name of the site and a one sentence description of the site is included (if needed). 
 
The Future of the Web is 100 Years Old - 19th Century Ideas Are Making a Comeback...

This Map Shows the Most Affordable Small Town In Every State

Slideshow: Know These 9 Commonly Confused Pairs?

Planet of the Apes (Filming Location Video)

Homework Helper - RefDesk.com

TED Playlist - Classic TED Talks

Brief History of the Internet

Computer Program Predicts Best Sellers

A Word A Day - a new word is emailed to you each day

Top 100 Newspapers Listed by Circulation

100 Things Every Kid Should Do On Long Island

Tablets and Smartphones May Affect Social and Emotional Development, Scientists Speculate

Why Multitasking Doesn't Work - Forbes

Why a Good Book is a Secret Door - a TED talk


Enjoy the links!

Regards,
Stu

Cooking Light.com

Hi All,

We all do it.  We do it three times a day that is - at least. Some more, some less.  What am I talking about you ask?  Eating of course!  And healthy eating is a great start to living a healthy, happy, active life.  Which is why I want to introduce an interesting, entertaining and healthy website: CookingLight.com.

When you click on the link above you go to the site  - which has plenty of information on Food, Nutrition, Healthy Living, Let's Cook, Diet, Meal Planner, the Cooking Light Blog, Videos and the Cooking Light Community (where you can visit like minded people and talk about food). 

CookingLight.com has a LOT to offer folks who use the site!  One section that I wanted to highlight and discuss from the site is the Let's Cook section.  This section has links to Recipes, Links to Recipes in Spanish and a whole bunch of food related videos.

Finally, the site has a link to ChooseMyPlate.gov - a USDA website that serves as a reminder to help consumers make healthier food choices...

Enjoy the links and recipes and the sensible cooking advice!

Regards,
Stu

Indeed.com (A Simple, Popular, Effective Job/Career Site)

Hi All,

I was listening to WCBS Radio earlier this morning and there was a discussion of Indeed.com on their Morning Business Report. I thought that this would be a great website to discuss on the blog!

Indeed.com is a job aggregator...what that means to you is that the site posts jobs on the site from various other job websites. Indeed.com is the world's #1 job site - it has over 150 million unique visitors every month from over 50 different countries!

Users can Post a Job, Find Resumes or, more likely, look for jobs.

Upon going to the site, users have two dialog boxes to work with.  The first one lets the user type in a job title, keywords, or a company name.  The second box lets the user enter the city, state or zip code of a prospective job location.  Simple - easy and very, very Google-like. 

In addition users can Post a Resume by clicking on this link.  (You'll have to create a free account with Indeed.com first before you post the resume though!)

Once a search term is put in the first box and a job search is completed, users are faced with a  results list.  This list can be further narrowed down by location, distance to travel, salary estimate, location, job type, and other ways to limit the search.

When a user clicks on a specific job description the following information (in many cases) is included: job responsibilities, location, organization name and job requirements.  In addition, on the search results page a link to reviews is included.  Click here for an example of that for a search for 'Accountants'.

In addition, when job postings are looked at, there is an option to 'Apply Now' for that position on the right side of the page. A very, very helpful feature for the site!

Also, when users look at job postings, the organization or company attributes are ranked by stars on the review page.  Examples of company attributes that are evaluated include:

* Job Work/Life Balance
* Compensation/Benefits
* Job Security/Advancement
* Management
* Job Culture

 There are also individual job seekers' reviews in the form of up to a paragraph length long narrative. In addition, the job title, whether or not the reviewer worked at the organization?, and the date the narrative was written are included in the Employer Reviews section.

Finally, once you complete a search, the next time you visit the site, a list of your recent searches appears at the bottom of the page.  There is also an option to clear the recent search history.

Enjoy the site - and good luck job hunting!

Regards,
Stu

Daylight Saving Time is Right Around the Corner!

Hi All,

It's that time of year again!  Daylight Saving Time (DST).  Get ready, get set, go....change your clocks! Forward.

The first question that should cross your mind is, 'when does DST begin?'.  Answer: it starts on  Sunday, March 8th, 2015!  That is this upcoming Sunday morning.  Oh, and fyi,...DST ends on November 1st, 2015 this year.

Click on this link from Wikipedia for pretty much all there is to know about DST!   If you are interested in the history of DST, click on this link - again from Wikipedia.

Click on this link for a nice concise and entertaining summary and background of DST in the USA.

Some folks are against having DST, others are for having DST...click on this link which discusses the Pros and Cons of DST. 

This next link discusses why authorities should re-think and evaluate DST!

Click on this link from NASA.gov which discusses some more of the history of DST.  Interesting and well written article.

And there you have it - all you need to know about DST!  Enjoy the links - and remember, 'spring ahead, fall back'...

Regards,
Stu