New York Public Library Digital Collections - Awesome

Hi All, 

Click on the following link to explore the over 700,000 items digitized from the New York Public Library's collections.  

Users can search for free using keywords, items, collections and various divisions of the library.

Some of the various collections include New York city Directories,  National Dance Institute Video Archive, German Master Prints, The Villager, Italian Master Prints, a Collection of Photographs of New York city and New York State, Early American Manuscripts Project and Winnie-the-Pooh Stuffed Animals (seriously), Atlases of New York City, Atlases of the United States, Maps of Africa hanging New York, George Washington Papers and more.

Enjoy the archive and the links!

Regards,
Stu

Taking Pictures of Your Kids

Hi All,

Now that summer is 'officially' over, school has started and the Fall is right around the corner.  With all that happening, there are sure to be lots of chances to take wonderful pictures of your kids (think soccer games, playgrounds, Halloween, playing in the backyard in a pile of leaves - yep...there are lots of different opportunities to take great photos). 

Click on the following links to take more awesome pictures of the little ones, young ones, toddlers, teens and more!

Cut the Cheese -  5 Tips For Photographing Kids - Digital Photography School
Photographing Children - Composition - Digital Photography School
Ten Way to Take Better Photos of Your Child - Lexar (esp suggestion #1, #5 and #7)
Tips From a Pro: How to Take Better Photos of Your Kids - PopPhoto.com
Three Tips for Taking Photos of Kids - Olympus
8 Tips for Photographing Uncooperative Children - ClickinMoms.com

So there ya have it...anybody can take even better pictures of their kids!  And now you know how to do it - without having to take hundreds of pictures in the hopes of getting 3-4 good pictures in the bunch!

Regards,
Stu

RefDesk.com

Hi All,

One of the better reference related websites available on the internet is Refdesk.com.  The site is eclectic - it has something for everyone as this blog post will attest to.

Refdesk has many, many useful features for users including options to check your email from a central location, a debt clock, Contacting Elected Officials, Job Search Resources, USA Gas Price Map, Headline News from Bing, Google, and Yahoo.  There is also a way to select a news source from either AP, BBC, Bing, Fox, Google, NPR, UPI, WSJ,  or Yahoo!. 


Users can search Yahoo! or YouTube from the homepage and also look for the Fact of the Day or Though of the Day or This Day in History.

Users can actually search Refdesk.com - use the search box on the left side of the page.  Users can also use TheFreeDictionary.com as a computing dictionary, medical dictionary, legal dictionary, financial dictionary or an acronym finder.

There are also People White Page Resources available to users.  For example, users can search 50States.com, AnyWho.com, Intelius.com, WhitePages.com.  There are also Reverse Phone Lookup sites and Reverse Address Lookup sites....sigh. 

And, finally, there are good news sites like Amazing News, Gallup Well-Being Index, Good News Broadcast,  and HappyNews.com.

What I just mentioned are just 'some' of the link from the top half of the homepage on RefDesk.com.  When I say that the site is eclectic and chock full of links, I am not kidding.

One last note...toward the middle of the page are various links under the rubric 'Today's Pictures'.  Trust me - this is awesome.  Link under this category are as varied as Botany Picture of the Day, Earth Images, Kodak, Latest Mars Images, National Geographic Photos in the News, Reuters Pictures, Top News Photos, Weather Photo Gallery and Webcam Index.

The pictures and photos are completely addictive so watch the hours flow by as if they were minutes!

Enjoy the site and the many, many links!
Regards,
Stu

Images of New York City

Hi All,

Earlier today (Thursday, July 12th) I had a reference question that morphed into this blog entry.  The patron had a really serious, deep, passionate interest in pictures of New York City.  I'm not talking about pictures of New York City from the last 10 or 20 years...no, I'm talking about picture that are over 70, 80, even 90 years old.  We're talking turn of the century pictures that are in black and white and mottled, and ancient and old and well, terrific to look at.

Lo and behold, the New York Public Library's Digital Gallery. Click the prior link and you'll go directly to the collection.  And oh, what a collection of pictures and photographs.  There are topics as varied as 'Arts & Literature', 'Cities & Buildings', 'Culture & Society', 'History & Geography', 'Industry & Technology', 'Nature & Science', and 'Printing & Graphics'.  Click any of the prior links and you'll go directly to that subject and find various library collections on the topics. 

Users can also find topics by clicking on the 'Subjects' link. And it is within this area that users can find historic photos and pictures of 'old' New York City.  Click here for the main link to New York City images from 1800-1899 - which I used as an example. Click on this link and scroll about halfway down the page to find the section heading entitle, 'New York (N.Y)' with the various dates that you might be interested in.  Note that the dates run from 1600 to 1929.  Note also that the dates are not inclusive - that is to say that some dates might be missing.  In any event, for the intrepid patron who is yearning for photos of old New York City this collection of material is a must see!  Amazing free material from the New York Public Library.  Go library!!

Enjoy the links and the collections.

Stu

Fall Fun on Long Island

Hi All,

I don't know about you, but it seems like the seasons have subtly changed over the last week or so. Ever since we've experienced Hurricane Irene the weather has been different than before...it is much less tropical and while we still seem to have rain, it just doesn't seem to be the deluge type of rain and weather we had.

And that is all for the better - oh, how tired we are of rain and storms and flooding and wind...maybe we can enjoy a calm, storm free September!

That all being said...it is time for some fall fun on Long Island! There are so many things to do on Long Island at this time of year! Click on this link for a quick overview of local Long Island things to do.

The link comes from About.com and some of my favorite would be the apple picking option or the hiking through Long Island landscapes.

Long Island has many different ways to spend time - click on this link from the Long Island Convention and Visitors Bureau and Sports Commission website. On the left side of the screen you'll see links to Sports Events, Winter Festivals and Events, Spring Festivals and Events, Summer Festivals and Events, and Fall Festivals and Events - good stuff that's for sure.

You can also get a free travel guide by clicking on the link below these four choices on the page...additionally you can book your trip and make car rental reservations on the site as well. Finally there is a calendar on the homepage that will allow you to look for various festivals on a specific day...

Other options on the site include links to hotels and lodging, finding maps and getting transportation and there is a link to photos and videos.

Enjoy the site and enjoy the time off!
Regards,
Stu

Photos You Will NOT Believe

Hi All,

I just had to post this site for a blog entry. (I am very jazzed by this site!) I'll post again later in the day, but these photos are truly amazing. Nothing dirty or questionable...they are photos taken by winners of the Olympus BioScapes competition.

What is the Olympus BioScapes International Digital Imaging Competition you ask? Excellent question...as Olympus says on the site (for more info click here), "Olympus America Inc. is in the eighth year of sponsoring a dynamic international photo competition that honors the world's most extraordinary microscoope images of life science subjects..."

Photos are unlike anything you've ever seen! Click here to see the them.

Enjoy and I'll see you a bit later today!
Stu

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That Time of Year! Family Get-Togethers

Hi All,

The weekend might have come and gone, but there is always a next weekend on the horizon.

That means 2 days off from work...and most (if not all) folks have family. And what does that have to do with a blog entry? Simple - todays topic is family entertaining and fun stuff to do with the relatives once they are over at the house.

As frequent readers know by now, I really, really like using About.com. As a matter of fact, if you click on this link, you'll find an article on 'Getting Together For the Holidays - Taking The Stress Out of These Gatherings'.

If you click on this link, you'll find some ideas for things to do once your guests arrive. These are some fun activities and games that you can play once your guests arrive.

Not sure how to put together a family get-together? Click on this link to get the scoop on this aspect of getting everybody together in one place

Finally, because of all the great advice I've imparted to you in this brilliant blog entry (note: humor alert), you will possibly want to photography this event. Click here to find out how to take memorable photos of the event - and to prevent everybody from moving when you take the 'family picture' at the end of the day.

Enjoy - and I hope you have a memorable family get together very shortly!
Stu

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