US Debt Clock

Hi All,

Numbers, numbers,numbers...everywhere.

US Debt Clock.org has an interesting website. In very easy to read graphic form the site has statistics related to the US National Debt.

But wait...there's more.

Other nuggets and gems that are available on the site include US Federal Tax Revenue, Income Tax Revenue, Largest Budget Items, US GDP, US Population , US Work Force, US total Debt, Bankruptcies, US Debt Held in Foreign Countries, US Veterans, US Retirees, US Disabled...and much, much more.  Awesome stats.

But wait...there's still more.  Click on this link to find about US Debt Clock.org.
Click on this link for the Debt Clock Time Machine - interesting historical data is also available on the site.  

Enjoy the site and the numbers!

Stu

Hi All,

You've probably hear about them on the radio or possibly in a newspaper or magazine article somewhere.   They do surveys, studies, research and more.  Who - or what organization - am I talking about?  Gallup - that's who.  

As their website says, 'Gallup delivers analytics (statistics) and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Combining more than 80 years of experience with its global reach, Gallup knows more about the attitudes and behaviors of employees, customers, students and citizens than any other organizations in the world.' 

Users can visit the website for free.  Of course their is a fee version which companies and organizations purchase for research.  Upon visiting the site users are faced with a window called 'Gallup Daily' which has all sorts of statistics....for example there is data on people engaged at work, payroll to population, economic confidence and more....

There are links to the latest news article on the left side of the screen.

The 'Topics' icon at the top of the page opens so users can choose areas of interest - for example there are options for the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Economy, Education, Politics and much more.

Upon clicking on a particular topic - I chose Education for this tutorial - users are brought to another page where you can sign up for the latest news via email, and read articles. 

Examples of articles include, 'Asking a Simple Question Can Change Everything For a Student', 'Don't Wait Until the End of the School Year to Recognize Teachers' and 'Six Things the Most Engaged Schools Do Differently'.

Users can use the Trends A-Z option which enables users to explore all Gallup trends in one place. For example there are options for topics as varied as Alcohol and Drinking, Country Ratings, Crime, Economy, Medicare, Religion and many more.

Gallup.com might be best used by high school and/or college students and adults looking for statistics and information behind various current events and popular topics.

Enjoy the site and the graphs and the charts and the data!

Regards,
Stu

Online Trends - What's Hot and What's Hotter

Hi All,

We all like to be 'trendy' and 'in-the-loop', right?  Well, some of us at least....now there is a way to follow what's hot in fashion, entertainment, music, news and much, much more.

Google has a site called Google Trends - click here to visit the site - that enables users to follow cocktails, Colleges and Universities and People. Other areas to find popular trends include DJ's, Dog Breeds, Foods, Games, Quick Service Restaurants, Reality Shows and much more.

At the top of the page, users can narrow down their search by year by using the drop down dialog box.  Searches go back to 2004 and can be searched by month or by the whole year.

On the initial Google Trends page, users can find charts in categories like Business & Politics, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Nature & Science, Shopping & Fashion, Sports and Travel & Leisure.

Clicking on this link lets users explore Google Trends. Users can add their own topics and terms and then those phrases can be explored even further.  Comparisons can be compared by location and by time period as well.

If you haven't realized it, Google Trends is a great way to conduct original research for term papers, graduate research or just for 'seeing what is popular'.

And Google Trends is free!!!

Enjoy the charts, tables, and searches and the vast amount of data generated!

Regards,
Stu

Pride of the Yankees

Hi All,

On Tuesday, June 3rd (yes, it is June already!) the Farmingdale Public Library is proud to show the 1942 movie titled, Pride of the Yankees.  The quick blurb about the movie goes as follows: "Lou Gehrig, the Yank’s great first baseman and the son of poor immigrants, rose to heights of baseball fame only to be cut down at the peak of his career by an incurable illness known as ALS."

But there is far, far more to that!

Lou Gehrig was a Hall-of-Fame caliber first basement for the Yankees.  Click here for Lou Gehrig's vital statistics (baseball statistics at least) from  Baseball-Reference.com.

Several things: note that he was called 'The Iron Horse' because he played in 2130 straight games. Also note that he had quite a few nicknames: Biscuit Pants and Buster. I wonder how he got the name of Biscuit Pants.  Now that would be a great story to hear!

Well, a simple Google search using the phrase 'Lou Gehrig biscuit pants' turned up this result.  While it might be apocraphyl, it sounds like it could be true....click here for the answer to 'How Lou Gehrig got his nickname 'biscuit pants?'.

For even more information about Lou Gehrig, click on this link which goes to the Wikipedia entry for 'Lou Gehrig'.

Readers might also want to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame website and, in particular, click on this link from the site.  Again, it is a link to Lou Gehrig.

Finally, click on this link from the library card catalog for 'all things Lou Gehrig' - including books, movies that we have in our circulating collection.

Enjoy the movie - and the books.

Regards,
Stu

Opening Day: The 2014 Baseball Season Opens Today

Hi All,

The 2014 Baseball Season opens today!  Why Time Begins on Opening Day is a book by Thomas Boswell that pay homage to the great American game - baseball.  Click on this link from Amazon.com to take a look at the book.

Take a look at this link and you'll find an article similar in content to that of Thomas Boswell's book, Why Time Begins on Opening Day...In this case, we're talking about an online article written by someone from SportsOnEarth.com.  It gives a brief (paragraph length) summary of all the Major League Baseball teams.  Interesting article...with some really neat photos.

The 'official' Major League Baseball site - click here to visit - is an awesome place to get statistics, up-to-the-minute news, score, photos, videos and much, much more about every single Major League Baseball player and team!!!

The Sporting News has traditionally been the 'newspaper' of choice that covers the four major sports - baseball, football, hockey and basketball.  Since the appearance of the internet, the importance of this venerable publication (it used to be published weekly...) has decreased. That said, it still has a major presence on the web - as you can see from this link to The Sporting News.  The link goes to the MLB section of the site - which has a massive amount of information.

For example, there are portions of the site that cover MLB News, Fantasy Baseball, Spring Training, Scores, Schedules, Standings, Statistics, Teams, Players, Injuries, Tickets and MLB Shop. Whew....that's a long, long list!

Other sites that are celebrating MLB's Opening Day include ESPN and CBS Sports. Note that these other sites also have sections related to statistics, players, standings, news, schedules and much more.

For the hardcore baseball fan who loves statistics, you might want to visit Baseball-Reference.com.  It is another awesome site for player and team statistics! 

Click on these three links for some random blogs of note - and of interest.
BaseballBlogs.org
BaseballMusings.com
Beyond the Box Score - A Saber-Slanted Baseball Community
Society for American Baseball Research - SABR

This is a virtual plethora of baseball information and news!  Enjoy the sites.

Finally, click the following links - they are all about 'celebrating' MLB's Opening Day in 2014.

'C-span Celebrates Opening Day with a Compilation of Congressional Baseball Mentions'.  Very cute.

New York Times: For Opening Day, a Campaign to Love Baseball

Should Opening Day Be a National Holiday?

Finally (part 2) click on this link for 'the best Android Apps for the 2014 Baseball Season..'

Enjoy the links, the games, and the season!

Regards,
Stu

CIA World Fact Book

Hi All,

The CIA World Fact Book is the subject of todays' blog post.  Who and what would be the right audience for this reference department staple in public libraries?  Political science students, government officials, politicians, political analysts,  political pundits, election officials, newspaper reporters, high school students, college students and graduate students specializing in history and politics and others!!

What makes the CIA World Fact Book so great?  Read on!

The CIA World Fact Book provides information on the history, people, government, economy, geography, communications, transportation, military, and transnational issues for 267 world entities. The books 'reference tab' includes maps of the major world regions, flags of the world, a physical map of the world, a political map of the world, and a standard time zones of the world map.

Digging deeper into the book yields awesome country profiles and country comparisons and much more. Click on this link for  user guide to the CIA World Fact Book - it is a very helpful, quick way to learn how to use the book online.   Click on this link for an FAQ concerning the book - very helpful as it answers questions like 'how often is the book updated?', why are there discrepancies with demographic statistics?, and 'can I access older editions of the CIA World Fact Book for trend analysis and statistics?' among other interesting questions.

Hope you find this resource interesting and helpful!  
Stu

The Super Bowl

Hi All,

How could I resist? The XLV Super Bowl kicks off this Sunday at 6:30pm. Click on this link for all things Super Bowl direct from the NFL.com website.

Click here for some quickie Super Bowl type info - real fast info to get the party started!

Want some stats for the game and the teams and the players? Click here for the number aspect of the game! Here is another link for stats via ESPN.com

Finally, click here for historical information for teams and players - cool stats site (Pro-Football-Reference). If you like numbers you are going to be a happy camper!

Want to see who is going to win the big game? Click here for some inside dope from ESPN on the game itself.

So now that you are watching the game and enjoying, you are probably getting a bit hungry. Have we got links for you! Click on this link to get some fun recipes DisneyFamily.com End Zone Edibles - fun stuff and you get to eat!

Click the following links to get the traditional football meal: pizza.
Pizza Hut
Dominoes
Papa Johns

And don't forget the cheesy sticks and extra cheese on the pizza...

Okay, so you are tired of all this 'football' stuff and can't really wait for the half-time show. Well, click here for info on the half-time show. Bored with this years half-time show, click here for some info about previous Super Bowl half-time shows.

Finally, if you are watching the big game just for the commercials - which are traditionally new, funny, and 'ground breaking' according to some pundits - click here.

So, now you have it - everything Super Bowl - the game, the players, commercials, history and more. Whew, I can't wait until the game begins!

Enjoy!
Stu

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