600....Posts

Hi All,

And for the 600th time I'm posting a new, interesting, enlightening, rewarding, educational, fun, insightful, eye-opening blog entry on this blog, Reference and You.

Wow - 600.  That's a big number.  For anything. Very few people work 600 days in a row.  Most baseball players don't get to the plate 600 times in a baseball season.  Its virtually unheard of to make $600/hour - unless you are an attorney, doctor, actor or athlete. 

Anyway, in honor of this, the 600th blog post, I'll discuss the significance of the number 600 in various fields and subjects of human endeavor!

In world history the following events occurred (roughly - it was a long time ago you know so dates might be a bit skewed): Venice continues as an independent realm...King Ingvar of Sweden invades Estonia but is killed by locals...Persians use windmills for irrigation. Pope Gregory the Great decreed 'God bless You' as the religiously correct response to a sneeze. Bhaskara I was born in India.

The number 600 has many different meanings in popular culture....

The New York Lottery has a game called Quick $600.

There is a Qualcomm processor called the Snapdragon 600...its really fast!

XTI Aircraft has a new type of plane - called te TriFan 600.  Very cool.

Local 600 is the International Cinematographers Guild.

There is a website called 600milliondogs.org - which claims to help find a cure for animal overpopulation.

S&P SmallCap 600 refers to an index of stocks by the Standard & Poor's.

WICC 600 is an AM radio station based in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Applebees has a menu for items that are under 600 calories.

The Coca-Cola 600 is a Sprint Cup series race held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

and finally, how can I NOT end this post with this link...

600 Acres - a blog about cookies, food and well, the more wholesome things in life!

Enjoy the links.

Regards,
Stu

Fonts, Reading and Printing

Hi All,

Just a quickie post about fonts today.  What?  Yep - fonts.  Click on this link which goes to Google Fonts - which can be downloaded and use repeatedly.

Click here for a brief background about Google Fonts. 

Click this link to find the Google Fonts blog...

Users can preview how the text looks with the new font that they choose - just use the preview text box at the top of the page.  As a matter of fact, users can preview the text with just a single word, a single sentence, a paragraph or even a poster.

There are lots of customizable features. For example, users can:
1. Change the size of the font,
2. Sort the various fonts to choose from by popularity, date added to Google Fonts and which fonts are trending on Google Fonts. 
3.Fonts are customizable base on thickness, slant, width.
4. Scripts can also be change by language.  For example, Arabic, Greek, Latin and Thai among others can be used to see how the font looks using a different character set.
5. Finally uses can find still more scripts by clicking on this link.
6. Users can synchronize Google Fonts to their computer Desktop with SkyFonts.  Use this link to get more information on how to install Skyfonts and to browse Google Fonts.

Enjoy the site and the blog - here's to sprucing up the type-face in your document and on the web!

Regards,
Stu

Hi All,

Ten Things...if someone gave you an important list of '10 things' once a month for a long time, how much do you think you would learn?  Exactly!  You'd be a fountain of knowledge!  You'd have the inside scoop on a wide variety of topics!

But where can you find something like this?  Can you find it in a newspaper, magazine, book or on tv or the radio?  Probably so, but looking for this information would take time and effort.  And besides, life and all its vagaries gets in the way!

So just go to MarketWatch where you can see a whole slew of 'Ten Things' articles at a glance. It doesn't take much time - and certainly not much effort. 

Check out some of the titles of the entries - trust me - its good stuff. And useful and practical!

10 Things Marries Couples Won't Tell You 
10 Things Reporters Wont Tell You 
10 Things You Should Never Buy Again
10 Things Chipotle Wont Tell You 
10 Uncomfortable Truths About the Midlife Crisis
10 Things Telemarketers Won't Tell You
...and more...

Enjoy the insight from the articles - hope they make a difference in your everyday life and help you become more productive!

Regards,
Stu

Home Improvement Questions Answered!

Hi All,

Home Improvement is one of the largest, most popular topics on the internet.  There are dozens and dozens of websites dedicated to many, many home improvement topics!   One of the better ones on the web is the DIY Stack Exchange - Home Improvement. 

Simply put, Home Improvement Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for contractors and serious DIYers. It is 100% free and no registration is required.

Anybody can ask a question - anybody can answer a question.  The best answers are voted up and rise to the top of the lists. The site uses tags - which are keywords or labels that categorize your question with other, similar questions.  Using the right tags makes it easier for other to find and answer your question.

The front page of the site has tabs for questions on topics involving electrical issues, plumbing, wiring, lighting, bathroom, repair, hvac, drywall, wood and water.

Users who like this site can sign up for the weekly newsletter - click this link to sign up.

Got a question?  Click here to ask it? 
 
Click on this link for a tour of the Home Improvement Stack Exchange.  Users who need to help with a specific question or to find an answer that's not discussed in the tour link of the site listed above, can click on this 'Help Center' link. Its just a 2-minute tour - really.

Enjoy the site and hopefully they'll be able to help answer your home repair questions!

Regards,
Stu

Best Blogs of 2015

Hi All,

DailyTekk.com is a technology website that was founded in 2012.  the site has information about apps, gadgets (smartphones of all shapes and types and colors and sizes and...) and internet content. 

The site features lists, reviews, lifestyle content and much more regarding computer, internet and gadget technology. 

Links to Lists, Reviews, News, Deals and a Community are available as well.

But what's most exciting about the site is the article titled 'The 100 Best, Most Interesting Blogs and Websites of 2015'. Click here for the link. 

The entry is broken up into sections!
1. Mind-Meltingly Awesome Blog & Websites
2. For Guys
3. For Girls
4. News and Current Events
5. Viral Sites
6. Super Interesting Blogs
7. Technology
8. Design, Art & Photography
9. General Lifestyle
10. Boredom Killers

Some interesting sites on the list include:

Product Hunt - best new products every day
Have I Been Pwned? - check if you have an account that has been compromised in a data breach.
Primer - a guys post-college guide to growing up.
The Everygirl - life map for everygirls everywhere.
FiveThirtyeight - news from politics to economics and sports.
A+ - viral site with an audience of 50 million.
SlowStruck - taking time is the ultimate rush.
The Tech Block - good tech reads from around the Internet
Inky Collective - where doodlers and dreamers meet creative adventure
Daily Overview - curated satellite photography
The Standard Edition - lifestyle blog with lots of interesting pictures and stories
Instructables - DIY! How-to make all kinds of thing...
Nothing Cooler - 9 awesome videos posted daily

Enjoy the sites!

Regards,
Stu

Hi All,

Have you ever been on the phone with a major organization (think bank or pharmacy or retailer or a government organization or other bureaucratic) and you have to press various numbers to get through the phone tree to find the correct person to answer your question?

Well, look no further.  With this next website you'll be talking to a real, live person in no time all. The site will save you time, headaches and aggravation!

The name of the site is GetHuman - and you can click on the prior link to link to the site.  Simply put the site gets you live customer support - fast. 

For an example, click on this link - and you'll get customer support for Verizon. The site has a search box for users so you can enter the name of the company or organization. 

The site also gives a phone number - and the numbers the user needs to press in order to speak to a live human at the company.

GetHuman also has a page filled with links to Questions About Customer Service support.  Click here for more information. 

Finally, GetHuman has a blog - albeit a simple one.  Click here to visit the blog.

Enjoy the site - I hope it saves you time when you need to call a real person in a company!

Regards,
Stu

Common Products - Uncommon Uses

Hi All,

There are lots of products out there that have alternative uses.  For example, who would have thought that WD-40 can be used to dissolve glue, remove scuff marks or remove coffee stains?

But wait, there's more!

If you've got baking soda in the house - and really, who doesn't! - then you are in luck.  Did you knwo that baking soda can shine stainless steel appliances, clean and deodorize baby toys, clean water stains from wood surfaces?

And really, who doesn't have baby oil in the house. If you are a parent, then odds are, you have baby oil somewhere in the basement!  Click here for some alternative uses of baby oil! (substitute for shave gel, a massage product, degrease your hands, fix a balky zipper and lubricate creaky hinges among other very, very creative uses!

Good Housekeeping has an article titled 'Unusual Uses For Everyday Items' which discusses 18 everyday products - and alternative uses. I personally like the checkbook wallet, coffee can and fabric softener sheets suggestions!

Finally, RealSimple.com (one of the many websites that offer 'lifestyle' assistance...) has an article titled '101 New Uses For Everyday Things'  Interesting ideas are discussed for lemons, newspapers, coffee filters, velcro and ziploc bags!

Enjoy the alternatives and the article of course.

Regards,
Stu

Back to School Trends

Hi All,

The dog days of August have just passed into memory and next up is the Labor Day holiday!  And then, after Labor Day, is the first day of school!  My how time goes by!  Can you remember when we were planning or 4th of July festivities?

Farmingdale public schools have their first day on September 2nd.  Click here for a link to the Farmingdale school calendar.

But the meat of this blog entry is article '12 Big Back-to-School Trends That Every Parent Should Know' from Time Magazine/Money Magazine.  The article is presented as a slideshow of sorts so look for the arrow icon to view the next trend in the article.

Pinterest also got into the 'back to school trend' act with their article titled, 'Top 10 Back-To-School Trends of 2015'   Creative lunches, artful notebooks and nice notes are some of the more entertaining trends that made this list.

Not to be outdone, MarketWatch posted an article titled '7 Back-To-School Shopping Trends' in mid-August.  Not skimping on supplies and uniforms are some of the trends MarketWatch sees as being popular. 

Finally, the NRF (National Retail Federation) created a infographic for their article 'Top To Trends For Back-To-School and College - 2015'  The infographic is colorful, easy-to-read and very darn interesting!  Click on this link for an even deeper dive into the information presented by the NRF!

Enjoy the links - and here's to being trendy.  Have a great school year!

Regards,
Stu