Summer Camp - American Camp Association

Hi All,

The end of May is upon us and that means the end of the school year is right around the corner.  And that also means that parents have a bunch of decisions to make about what to do with children and kids during the summer vacation.

Do you keep them at home and visit all the parks, beaches and malls during the summer? Or you do you send your child to summer camp? Or a day camp?  Indeed that's a lot of questions to ask - and to have to answer.  Read on for some answers to these questions - and for resources to help you answer these important questions.

The American Camp Association has a link titled, 'How to Choose a Camp: Preparing For Camp'. Other relevant links in the article include: 'Start With Your Child', 'Kids Q&A' and 'Packing Tips'.  Another important link on the ACA site is the information about ACA Accreditation and Standards.

The site also has resources for families to help decide if a camp is right for your child. There are other links like Camp Planner, Expert Advice about Camps, Why Camp?, Highlights and Camp e-News.  there is a also a link where parents can search from over 2,4000 ACA-Accredited camps.

Here are a bunch of important links that answer questions on specific topics regarding camps and sleep away camps. Note that all the links come from the ACA website:

'Thanks for Sending Me to Alcatraz' - Laying the Groundwork For Your Child's First Sleep-Away Camp Experience
5 Things All Parents Should Know About Today's Camps
There is a Camp For Every Child and Every Budget
Homesickness - Expert Advice for Parents
Camp Fairs - campers and parents can speak with reps from different camps

Finally, readers can click on this link - which connects to the library card catalog - to find books about summer camps from the library. In some cases, you might need to inter-library loan the material so be sure to have your library card at hand.

Enjoy the links and have a great summer.

Regards,
Stu

Hi All,

With Memorial Day being over now, folks can move on to the next big thing...which is....Summer.

Traditionally Memorial Day is the start of the summer holiday season.  Forth with...a few sites that will assist you in enjoying those beautiful days off during a Long Island summer.

One of the better 'things to do' links for Long Island is the site LongIsland.com - it bills itself as 'your guide to Long Island since 1996 (which makes it almost 20 years old!)

Some of the better features of the site include links to Restaurants, Hotels, Nightlife, Weddings, Kids Fun, Day Camps, Wineries, Events and Guides.  Click on any of the previous links and you'll go to that part of the website.

Newsday - the Long Island newspaper - has a special section on their website for 'things to do on Long Island'.  The link comes from the Lifestyle section and can be found by clicking here.

The current page has link for the 2015 Jones Beach Air Show, 50 Must-Have Summer Toys for Every Kid, Your Ultimate Guide to 99 Long Island Beaches, 12 Favorite Outdoor Dining Spots on LI, 10 Safety Tips When Boating With Kids and more.

Finally, for another point of view, users might want to visit the Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission website. The site has links to Arts & Culture, Beaches & Ocean Fun, Golf/Sports/Outdoors, Wine and Dine, Shopping, Kids and Families, Farms and Orchards, Maps and Transportation and Coupons/Brochures.  Its a great site to get ideas to do things during the Summer - and Winter and Spring and Fall!

Enjoy the links,

Regards,
Stu

Memorial Day 2015

Hi All,

Well its here - Memorial Day 2015.  Its the traditional start of the summer season at beaches, parks and other venues...but there is a more serious, important side of the holiday.  Its Memorial Day. 

What exactly does Memorial Day celebrate?  Click here for to learn more about Memorial Day.  Suffice to say that Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces.

Click on the next 6 links to learn more about Memorial Day:
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
History of Memorial Day
Guidelines for Display of the Flag - pdf document 
Correct Method of Folding the United States Flag
National Memorial Day Museum 
Presidential Proclamation - Prayer For Peace, Memorial Day 2015 

This next link is for the kids...its a list of Memorial Day Weekend Events for Long Island Kids - it has parades, fairs and air shows from May 23-May 25th.!!! Don't miss the events.  Link comes from MommyPoppins.com - a family/kid friendly website for events for children. 

And, of course, click on this next link from Newsday.com which links to Long Island events for this Memorial Day for you and your whole family!

Finally, Long Island.com has also gotten into the swing of things...this next article also has Memorial Day events for the whole family.  Title is 'Memorial Day Weekend 2015: Celebrate with Fireworks, Parades, BBQ's & Lots of Family Fun!'  The article talks about all the fun events that are happening this Memorial day.  Fireworks, festivals and the Air Show are mentioned!

Enjoy the links, have a great Memorial Day and drive safe!

Regards,
Stu

Safercar.gov

Hi All,

Lots of folks drive cars.  And lots of cars have airbags.  Takata is a major manufacturer of driver and passenger side air bag inflators and they have decided to recall nearly 34 million air bag inflators (yes, million).  Click on this link from Safercar.gov for more information about this massive recall.  Also, click on this link for press releases, defect reports and more from Safercar.gov about this recall. 

Use this link to find out if your car has been part of a safety recall in the last 15 years...

As a sidenote, the Safercar.gov site has a very interesting set of links on topics like Crash Test Ratings, Recalls & Investigations, Complaints & Defects (link wasn't working when I wrote this blog entry), Car Seats, Safety Technologies and Tire Safety.

At the top of the page is a link called Parents Central which has links for Car Seats, On The Move, Teen Driving, In and Around Car, Seat Belts and more.

Enjoy the site - its a surefire winner - and you're bound to learn something from it!

Stu

Save on Prescriptions!

Hi All,

Folks who have drug prescriptions might want to visit Familywize.org.  You might be able to save money on your prescription drugs - up to 75% in some cases.

Some specifics of this program:

* this is not insurance - it is a discount only on your drug prescriptions
* the program is co-sponsored by the United Way
* no registration or activation is required
* accepted nationwide at over 60,000 pharmacies
* discounts are applied automatically
* average savings per prescription is $23
* some restrictions apply
* there is a FamilyWize app at the Apple App store, at Google Play and the Windows Phone store



The site has a drug price lookup link, a pharmacy lookup link, a resources link, health tips, state resources and much more (blog).

Contact a Familywize representative at this number:  800-222-2818. Or you can contact them by clicking on this link: Familywize Contact Us link.


Hope this helps with your prescription drugs!

Regards,
Stu

Popurls...Genuine Aggregator

Hi All,

With today's access to information folks can get news 24x7x365 via tv, tablets, smartphones, internet, cable tv and other methods...

If you like news headlines, click on this link - which goes to Popurls - a genuine aggregator.  What the heck is it you ask?  Glad you asked!

Popurls is a news aggregator.  Basically it scours the web - and sites like Reddit, The Verge, Digg, Huffington Post, New York Times, Buzz Feed, Slashdot, Boingboing and many others.  It then presents the headlines - of which you, the reader, can click on.  Clicking on the various headlines takes you to the original text of the article on whichever site it is located.

News comes in various flavors: Tech, Geek, Design, Business, Entertainment, Sports and Politics. 

For more information about Popurls, click on this link; which comes from the sites' 'About Us' section.

Enjoy the news in this interesting format!

Regards,
Stu

Easter Eggs

Hi All,

Easter 2015 might have come and gone, but if you are a gamer there is always an easter egg to be found.  Let me explain.

In computer game parlance - and, for that matter, media -an easter egg is an intentional inside joke, hidden message, or feature in a computer game, video game, movie, book or crossword puzzle.  Click here for a quick summary and description from Wikipedia.

So...for some gamers who view this blog...here is a list of some popular Easter Egg sites. But...before you go on to the various sites, you might want to visit Gizmodo's article titled, 'A Brief History of Easter Eggs in Tech'. 

Now... on to the Easter Eggs!
The Easter Egg Archive

100 Best Easter Eggs of All Time - from GamesRadar.com

8 Video Game Easter Eggs That Were Hidden For Years - from Dorkly.com

15 Greatest Video Game Easter Eggs Ever - a video from YouTube

50 Greatest Video Game Easter Eggs of All Time - Mashable.com's version

Best Video Game Easter Eggs Ever - Business Insider's version

Easter Eggs - Primary Games - mostly kids games

Microsoft Excel Easter Eggs - SpreadsheetPage.com

Easter Games For Kids - Squiglysplayhouse.com

Enjoy the Easter Eggs.

Regards,
Stu

What Helmet Should I Wear?

 Hi All,

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has a very relevant site that readers might want to visit - especially now that it is Spring and kids are spending more time outside. The link is for a site called 'Which Helmet For Which Activity?' - click here for the link.

The site does a great job explaining why helmets are so important and explains how users/parents can tell which helmet is the right one to use.  Other important questions that are addressed include, 'Will I need to replace a helmet after an impact?', 'Where can I find specific information about which helmet to use?', and much more. 

Finally, there is a helpful chart that will help parents and kids figure out which helmet to use for activities as varies as bicycling, mountain bike racing, in-line skating, karting, moped riding, motorcycling, football, ice hockey, lacrosse, baseball, softball, t-ball,and much more. 

When users visit this page - by clicking on this link - you will also see a tab at the top of the page for Toy Recall Statistics.  Click on this link to go to that part of the CPSC site.  In particular, users might want to visit this site - Buying Toys - Safer Toys from the CPSC site.  There are a whole bunch toy safety related videos that readers might want to view.

Enjoy the links and CPSC site - its definitely worth bookmarking or making a favorite!

Regards,
Stu

Mother's Day 2015

Hi All,

Spring has sprung, the flowers are blooming and the warm weather seems to be here for good - this time at least.

And that means Mother's Day is quickly approaching.  Click on some of the following links about Mother's Day, its history and some background about what moms' currently want for mother's day (hint: its not what you think).

For a bit of context, click on this first link which goes to the Wikipedia link for Mother's Day.  This fairly long article includes a brief history of Mother's Day, Mother's Day traditions and how Mother's Day is celebrated in various countries.  Context indeed!  For a parallel history of Mother's Day, click on this link from History.com - which also covers the history and traditions of this holiday.

From Buzzfeed.com comes this article entitled, '21 Moms Reveal What They Actually Want For Mother's Day'.  Scarymommy.com has an article entitled, '30 Things (Almost) Every Mother Wants For Mother's Day'. (Definitely not your traditional list of flowers, chocolate, etc...)

Babble.com did the same thing, but different with an article titled, 'What Moms Really Want: 25 Best Mother's Day Gifts'.  Parenting.com has the same song, but a different riff with an article entitled, 'What Moms Really Want For Mother's Day'.

Finally, U.S. News & World Report chimed in with an article titled, '7 Cheap But Thoughtful Gifts For Mother's Day'.


And of course there are the traditional go-to gifts like flowers...
FTD.com
1800Flowers
ProFlowers.com

And if you want to find some books about Mother's Day from the library, click on this link which goes to the library card catalog. 


Enjoy the links and Happy Mother's Day to all you Mom's out there!

Regards,
Stu

Set Lists From Concerts

Hi All,

Yeah...you probably all have seen something like this before...but I haven't. And if I haven't seen this then there's probably at least one other person who might benefit from this site.

Really, I dont' live under a rock....:)

Click on this link for setlists for various bands and concerts. 

Users can find setlists - songs played - at various concerts by various bands and artists.  There are links for the setlists, artists, festivals, venues, and statistics.  

The site would probably be used by users who use the artists option.  For example, if you pick Johnny Cash, you'll find the set list for his concert on July 5, 2003 at the Carter Family Fold in Virginia. The link has the list of songs starting with Folsom Prison Blues and continues with I Walk the Line....

There are further links for artist statistics and for previous concerts by the artist/musician/band. The site also has a forum for listeners to discuss setlists. concerts and tours. 

Finally, the library has an excellent collection of non-fiction books on music, musicians and music history on all genres of music (rock 'n roll, jazz, classical, blues, modern and more).  Click this link for information straight from our library card catalog. 

Regards,
Stu