Labor Day 2017

Hi All,

As if you didn't already know it, but the summer is slowly drawing to a close.  Yes - that means Labor Day is fast approaching!

And with that begins the yearly routine of students returning back to school classrooms, college students returning to college, the weather changing and becoming a bit more brisk and holidays are on the horizon.  Yep - things are changing in the early Fall!

But what are you going to do on Labor Day 2017? You might not know right now, but we've got a few ideas for you to choose from!

Long Island Pulse has an interesting, trendy, current article titled, Long Island Labor Day Celebrations 2017.  The article discusses festivities in Seaford, Long Beach and Smithtown among other locations.

Discover Long Island has an article under their Featured Events section of their website.

Long Island.com has a list of events to do on Labor Day as well. Users can search for events by day and by category. 

Finally. Newsday's Entertainment section has an article on 'Best Things To Do This Week and Weekend on Long Island' - which covers the Labor Day weekend.  

Enjoy the last weekend and enjoy the Labor Day holiday!

Regards,
Stu

Things To Do In the Summer With Kids On Long Island

Hi All,

Its summertime and the livin' is good - as they say.  But wait...you've got kids and you need to keep them occupied - you don't want them on a tablet or a phone or a tv or a computer screen all day!  What's a person to do?

Great question and we've got some answers at least.

This first link is from Click on this link from Mommypoppins for an article titled Summer Fun Guide For Long Island Kids. There are some great ideas lurking in there!

The next link is  also from Mommypoppins - this link is titled 50 Free Things To Do With Long Island Kids This Summer.  Awesome resources and ideas. 

A website called TripSavvy got into 'let's keep kids busy during the summer racket' with a link on their site called 'Top 10 Children's Attractions on Long Island'. 

Mommypoppins seems to be a getting a lot of play on the blog today.  Here's another valuable article titled '25 Things We Can't Wait to Do With LI Kids This Summer' - note that the article is very, very recent - as in from June 2017.

Finally the Long Island Press wrote an article titled '43 Things To Do With Your Kids on Long Island' some time ago.  The article is well worth taking the time to peruse if you want to keep the little ones busy this summer!

So there you have it - a bunch of websites that'll help you keep the kids busy this summer.  Remember there are about 65 or so days left until school starts! :)

Enjoy the resources and if you think that I've missed any good ones send me an email at fdaleref@nassaulibrary.org and I'll include them in an upcoming blog post!

Regards,
Stu

Long Island Nor'easters

Hi All,

Just a little post about Long Island Nor'easters now that the crummy weather is over and done with for the time being....

From Newsday.com comes this list of hurricanes and nor'easters on Long Island through the decades.
Click on this link from Wikipedia to learn all about Nor'easter's....

But one question needs to be answerered first!  What makes a nor'easter?  Click here to find out the various meterological reasons - courtesy of Accuweather.! 

Learn about the top 20 northeast weather events over the last 25 years by clicking on this link from Wunderground.com. An interesting site to be sure...click on the link to 'New York city Weather Archive: A Glance Back, Day by Day' - the topic of which is Nor'easters'. 

Enjoy the post!

Regards,
Stu

Long Island Hurricane History

Hi All,

Hurricane season is traditionally from June 1st to November 30th in the Northern Atlantic Ocean.  And now that the hurricane season has past - and now that we can breathe a bit easier....we can take a quick look-see at an interesting hurricane related website...Wikipedia has a great article to learn more about the Atlantic Hurricane season.

Click here for a table from Wikipedia which lists the number of hurricanes by year.  

But what's really interesting is the link to a site called Long Island Hurricane History.... the site has tables of powerful hurricanes, videos, a list of significant weather events (hurricanes, blizzards, strong wind storms, Nor'Easters, etc), satellite and radar imagery links, historical weather maps, evacuation roots, tidal surge maps and much more on the site.  Click on this link for more information about flood zones on Long Island...

Click here for a  list of hurricanes and nor'easters on Long Island.  Maximum strength, local impact of the event and the year of the event are listed in the table. Note that the table and the information come from Newsday.

Regards - and here's to having a moderately cool and somewhat snowy winter!

Stu



 

Things to To on Long Island This July 4th

Hi All,

The July 4th holiday is right around the corner once again!  What is there to do? Plenty!  Just read on!

Regular readers will know that this site that I've mentioned the site LongIsland.com...well, its still a good, local area website with timely and useful articles. The site has an interesting article titled 'Long Island's 2015 4th of July Weekend Guide: Fireworks, Fairs, Fun in the Sun & More!' 

Click on this link from Mommy Poppins (Get more out of LI with kids) which also talks about 4th of July Fireworks on Long Island.  Click on this link for a list of Free Summer Concerts on Long Island (from About.com Travel).

Finally, click on this link for the current version of the Explore Long Island/Funbook from Newsday.

Happy 4th of July - and enjoy the summer weather!

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

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

Long Island Lighthouses

Hi All,

Here's a fact I suspect you didn't know: did you know that Long Island has 24 lighthouses located in both counties? Yep - we do. Click here for a map of the 24 lighthouses.

Why a blog entry on lighthouses? Well, they are interesting, and since we live on Long Island we have a lot of them. Plus there has been a resurgence in interest in lighthouses over the past 10-15 years or so.

Also, taking a mini-vacation to visit the various lighthouses can make for a very pleasant break in an otherwise dull week. A trip to a lighthouse or two can break the monotony of the daily grind...

Click here for a presorted list (chronological) of books that the Farmingdale Public Library owns regarding lighthouses.

This page has the name of the lighthouse, the county it is located in, the township and Lighthouse Viewing Guide. Included in this viewing guide are maps and driving directions. Site is neatly organized and pretty darn interesting.

Click here for a site that discusses the history of Long Island lighthouses. Note that on the left side of the page are Quick Links that includes information about presentations, upcoming events, and more. Note that the author has written 2 books on lighthouses - one called Long Island's Lighthouses: Past and Present and the other called New York State Lighthouses.

Finally, click here to find a link from the United States Lighthouse Society which is located in Washington state. The site has information regarding their membership, tours, resources and much more.

The resources link has a 'National Archives Database', comprehensive Lighthouse Lists, actual lighthouse videos (not for sale - free from Youtube), educational materials, lighthouse facts, and much more.

All in all the USLHS site is almost one stop shopping for everything related to lighthouses.

Enjoy the lighthouses.
Stu

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