Local Farmingdale News - At Your Fingertips

Hi All,

Farmingdale is known for many things: Grumman, Republic Aviation, the Farmingdale Public Library, Farmingdale State College (remember the Aggie school?), Mile-a-Minute Murphy, Bethpage State Park and much more. 

Which, of course, means there is plenty of history and news relating to Farmingdale.

For a timely, unbiased, current, interesting and well written site that covers the ins-and-outs of Farmingdale...check out the Farmingdale Patch.  Click on this link to learn a bit more about Patch.com - basically its the Patch FAQ. 

The Farmingdale Patch has a wide variety of sections relating to Farmingdale: including a section on Arts and Entertainment,  Business, Community Corner, Health and Fitness, Home/Garden, Jobs, Kids/Family, Politics/Government, Schools, Sports and Weather.

As you can see and read; the Farmingdale Patch has Farmingdale very well covered.

Enjoy the site and the news!

Regards,
Stu

Memorial Day 2017

Hi All,

Memorial Day 2017 is right around the corner.  This short but sweet blog entry will give you some help with all your Memorial Day festivities!

These next 3 links talk about the history of Memorial Day.  Read on for what History.com has to say about Memorial Day.  As well as MemorialDay.org and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.


Traditionally, Memorial Day has been the 'unofficial' start of the summer season.  And what better way to start summer than with a barbecue! Read on for more bbq tips, ideas, recipes and more.  Delish has an interesting take on bbq's with an article called 'The Perfect Memorial Day BBQ Menu'.

Allrecipes has a whole section devoted to Memorial Day BBQ and Grilling Recipes - OMG, its  more than you shake a stick at - there is so much information here!  Awesome.

Finally, the New York Times has a link to all things BBQ and Grilling. Yum and yum!

So now that you have figured out what the eats are going to be on Memorial Day, click on these links for what to do on Memorial Day 2017.

MommyPoppins has an article titled 'Memorial Day Weekend Events On Long Island'. Long Island.com has a very comprehensive list of Memorial Day Events at this link. 

For those inclined to visit New York City this weekend check out this link from Curbed New York titled 'Memorial Day 2017: 5 Things To Do in New York This Weekend'.

Finally, click on this link to find out what the all-important weather is going to do this weekend. Wunderground, Weather.com and ABC Channel 7 Weather.

So there you have it - eats, visits, weather and fun stuff to do on the opening weekend of the summer - and Memorial Day 2017!

Enjoy the weekend.

Regards,
Stu

Worldwide World Clock

Hi All,

Do you have the time? For Beijing?  Or for Paris? Or for London, Cairo and other major cities from around the world?

Well now you do!  Just click on this link from TimeandDate.com and you can find out what time it is in major cities from around the world. 

Users can find what the time is based on geography (Africa, North America, South America, Asia, Australia/Pacific, Europe and by country capitals.

Specifically the site says that users "can find current local time in cities worldwide, in all time zones with DST accounted for. Links to each city with extensive information on time, weather forecast, Daylight Saving Time changes, sunrise, sunset, moonrise times and moon phases."

How's that for complete information?

Enjoy the time links!

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

Earth Day 2016

Hi All,

Welcome to Earth Day 2016!

If you're not sure what Earth Day is, click here for the Wikipedia entry for what actually is and does and stands for.

Click on this link for the United States EPA website discussing Earth Day.  There are links to Events/Activities, Project Resources and Ideas.  There is also a section called Earth Day Every Day.

The History Channel has an excellent Earth Day site - here's the link. The link has a lot of historical information regarding Earth Day as well.  This link explains how the first Earth Day came about.

 This next link helps to coordinate various Earth Day activities around the country.  Click here for various links... Tree for the Earth, and Earth Day Toolkit,
 
Finally, click on this link for information from the United State Census Bureau about Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day,

Regards,
Stu

Best of 2015

Hi All,

With the year 2015 drawing to a close, now is the time to check all the various 'best of 'lists that are coming out from various news sources, magazines, website, blogs and more.

Enjoy the links and the lists! Happy New Year.

Best 9 Instagram Pictures of 2015 

Best TV shows of 2015 

Best Movies of 2015

Best of the Best of 2015 List From Around the Web

Year in Search 2015

Top 10 Business Stories of 2015 - CBS News

Top 10 Business Stories of 2015 - MSN

Best 11 minutes in sports from 2015

Best weather bloopers of 2015

Best Books of 2015 - Amazon 

Best Books of 2015 - Publisher's Weekly 

Best Photos of 2015 - New York Times 

25 Best Albums of 2015 - Billboard 


Regards,
Stu

Old Farmer's Almanac

Hi All,

The Old Farmer's Almanac.  It's old - the first issue was published way back in 1792! And it is an almanac!  Click on this link to visit the The Old Farmer's Almanac website.

So, what does the site include you ask?  It has lots of juicy nuggets on topics as varies as tide tables, sunrise/sunset charts, recipes, forecasts and much, much more.

Click on the following links to learn more about TOFA take on that topic: Weather, Astronomy, Gardening, Calendar, Food, and Advice.

Best known for its weather advice and forecasts, the link to Weather enables users to enter a location by city, state or zip code. 

A four day weather forecast is also shown.  But wait, there's more! Complete 7 day weather forecasts are available as if the long range weather forecast.   Weather history is available - which is a rarity on the web these days.

Long Range weather information is available for various regions around the United States.  For example,  the weather report for the Atlantic Corridor can be found here.

Free newsletters are also available from the TOFA. Topics include the Almanac Weekly Companion, The Almanac.com General Store, Almanac Recipe Box  and the Great Almanac Giveaway. 

The TOFA Gardening link has a myriad of links and vital information for gardeners of all stripes.  For example there is a gardening question of the day, a planting calendar, a link to gardening articles, growing guides to vegetables and more, a section on garden pests and disease and links to gardening for beginners.  

What a site - now we know why The Old Farmer's Almanac has been around since 1792.  Its filled with useful, timely information!

Enjoy the site.

Regards,
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

Hurricane Season is Upon Us!

Hi All,

June 1st is typically the start of the hurricane season on Long Island - and, for the whole eastern seaboard of the United States...

A few days ago we received a flyer from Town of Hempstead Supervisor Venditto entitled, 'It's Hurricane Season, Be Ready'.  The flyer discussed the hurricane seminar that is to be held on Tuesday, June 9th, 2015 at the Morrelly Homeland Security Center in Bethpage. 

The full address is:
Morrelly Homeland Security Center
510 Grumman Road West
Bethpage, New York 11714

More information can be found by visiting the Town of Oyster Bay hurricane site by clicking on this link. 

Readers can also call the Town of Oyster Bay's Department of Public Safety at 516-677-5350 as well.

The flyer - which is available at the Reference Desk at the library - had 4 sections:
1. Prepare and Build an Emergency Kit - a list of essential supplies for a basic kit is included
2. When to Evacuate
3. When the Hurricane Hits
4, The Aftermath of the Hurricane.

The flyer/pamphlet has charts, safety advice for the house, pets and much, much, more...

Some other websites that readers might want to visit in order to prepare for a future hurricane include the National Weather Service, the NOAA National Hurricane Center, the FEMA-Ready website and The Weather Channel.

Hope the sites and information are useful.  More to the point, let's hope we don't have a landfall hurricane this season.

Regards,
Stu

The Thanksgiving Post

Hi All,

Its official - anything you do for two or more years in a row qualifies as a tradition!  Hence the Thanksgiving Post.

Everything you need to know about Thanksgiving is in this post. Okay...well, not everything.  Just a lot of great, timely links to make your Thanksgiving more festive, less stressful, taste better and more fun for you and for your family and friends.

Thanksgiving weather for the Long Island area...and from News12 - the forecast is....more wet, snowy weather for Thanksgiving.  See link for more.

For a brief history of Thanksgiving, click on this link from The History Channel.  For another view of Thanksgiving, click on this link from National Geographic Kids - kid friendly and still interesting.

For a menu of what is served at a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, click on this link from the Food Network.  And, from AllRecipes.com come these recipes for cooking a turkey. Bon Appetit has an interesting article on Thanksgiving Stuffing and Dressing Recipes.

Jericho Cider Mill is a great place to get apple cider - its a family favorite and goes great with turkey, stuff, gravy, etc... on Thanksgiving. Link above is from Yelp.

Need some information on how to carve the bird? Click on this link from Good Morning America for ways to carve the turkey. Yum. I'm hungry already. 

Okay...now that you've served the meal...its time for some football. Click here to get a listing of the football games that are being played on Thanksgiving 2014. Link is from NFL.com.

And don't forget to drive carefully after the Thanksgiving meal...

Happy Thanksgiving.

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

Great Weather Sites

Hi All,

If you look out the window right now you'll see beautiful blue skies with nary a cloud to be seen.  Absolutely gorgeous - and with low humidity.

And with that introduction, how could I not do a blog entry about weather.  Its a simple blog entry, but a really helpful one. I'm forecasting that this will be a very popular entry...:)

Here is a list of the top 7 weather websites for users.

1. Wunderground - maps, conditions, forecasts, weather fronts, photos, weather events and more
2. Weather.com - The Weather Channel.  Forecasts, maps, news, breaking events.
3. NOAA.gov  - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website.  Active weather alerts and much more.
4. Climate.gov - educational site with data and services, a section on Understanding Climate, videos, images and much more.
5. AccuWeather.com - Local and itnernational weather forecasts, radar, current conditionss
6. WeatherBug.com - local and national weather conditions and forecasts
7. Lifehacker - link to the 'Five Best Weather Websites'  - Weatherspark, Weather.gov.NOAA

Enjoy the sites.
Stu

The Why Files...

Hi All,

You probably have heard of the 'X-Files' but have you heard of the 'Why Files?'  Yep - I didn't think so.  So what does the 'Why Files' do for you?

The site bills itself as 'The Science Behind the News' - and indeed that's just what the site provides.  On the first page of the site are articles about 'Roads" Helpful Here, Harmful There', 'Science Teachers: Hip Yourself to a Great Resource' and a link to 'Tornado Prediction'.  Interesting stuff to be sure.

But wait, there's more.

Click on this link for a page full of Classroom Activities. Teachers can get information about stem cells, learn about forensic science of bugs, maggots and DNA, and inquire about polar science. 

As usual, users can search the 'Why Files' using a search box at the right side of the of homepage.  And there is a section titled, 'In the News' on the homepage which covers current events related to topics in science.  Topics include the environment, endangered species, weather, geography, physics, biology, forensic science, archaeology, climatology, and more. 

Site usability is great - links go where they are supposed to go and the site itself is simple to navigate.  Site design is crisp, linear and attractive.

Enjoy the site.
Stu

Severe Weather Around the United States

Hi All,

Just wanted to share an interesting weather website called the 'U.S. Severe Weather Map' from the Weatherunderground.  Click here for the link. Users can use the tabs right above the map to choose various regions of the United States to locate severe weather.


Readers might want to visit the website Weather Underground for more weather forecasts, articles, maps, and more.  Click here for the site.

Enjoy the site.
Stu

Hot, Hot, Hot...

Hi All,

Have any readers of this blog realized how many posts are dedicated to the weather?  Yep - I thought so.  Not many people realize that a good chunk of my entries discuss weather and weather related events.  Today's post is no different because of the ensuing hot weather for the weekend.

Can you say hot, hot, hot?

Well, click on this link for a forecast for Saturday and Sunday. Hot, hot, hot!

Click on this link from Verizon Fios for Senior Citizen cooling centers on Long Island. 

And from News12 Long Island, click on this link for more cooling centers on Long Island.

Finally, click on this link from the Mayo Clinic on how to stay cool during really, really hot weather.

Stay cool, hydrate and think cool thoughts.

Stu

Today's Pictures

Hi All,


I'm in a photographic type mood today. And have I found a great bunch of sites for you! Regular readers might remember a site that I've mentioned before: refdesk.com...


Well, I can't very well talk about the whole site in shot because the site is so large. It would takes days and days to discuss each and every link and nook and cranny on the site.


But what I can do is talk about some specific sections on the site. In particular, since I'm in such a picturey mood today, I'd like to talk about the 'Today's Pictures' link on RefDesk.com.


So dear reader, click on this link to get to RefDesk.com - then scroll down about halfway down the screen and you'll see - in the middle - a section called 'Today's Pictures'. Bingo. Score!


So what is Today's Pictures? It is a set of links from sites as varied as astronomy, weather, National Geographic, TIME, Washington Post, Reuters and more. The topic? Anything the sites linked on RefDesk.com feel are 'picture worthy'. Users will find a whole bunch of science, nature, news, and weather pictures on RefDesk.com Neat stuff. Take a gander!


Enjoy the photos and remember, you can always bookmark RefDesk.com so you can come back to it at a later date.


Regards,

Stu



PS. Friend the library on Facebook! Follow us on Twitter! The more the merrier - and the smarter you'll get!

Part II from 8/10/10 Entry Entitled ‘Alphabetically a List of Fun Websites’

Part II from 8/10/10 Entry Entitled ‘Alphabetically a List of Fun Websites’ (I hope its fun at least...)

Hi All,

Way back on August 10^th I generated a fun entry with the first half of the alphabet…here is a link to that post if you missed it. This entry is the second part of the alphabet – L-Z. Enjoy – there might be some interesting sites that you haven’t heard about or tried yet.

Stu

Don’t forget to friend the library on our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter!

L: LinkedIn – great networking resource for job searchers

M: MySpace – social networking forerunner that has been overshadowed by Facebook

N: Netflix – great site for downloading movies or having them mailed to you…pay site!

O: Orbitz – make travel plans here…Overstock – online shopping at clearance prices

P: Pandora – listen to free internet radio and find new music…Paypal – send money or pay online

Q: Quicktime – view internet video , HD movie trailers, personal media in a wide range file formats – free

R: Realtor.com – get real estate listing, school/neighborhood information and other important info you need to know before you move or buy a house/co-op/apartment

S: Skype – internet calls for free…SparkNotes: study guides and discussion forums on various academic subjects…

T: Translator-free online language translation service via Google Twitter-what is going on in your world in 140 characters or less TMZ – celebrity gossip and entertainment news and Hollywood rumors Travelocity – great travel site for airline tickets, hotels, flights vacations

U: Urban Dictionary – streetwise lingo posted and defined by readers/viewers

V: US Department of Veterans Affairs – provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents

W: Weather.com – find weather across the country Wikipedia.com – free encyclopedia that anyone can edit

X: Xbox – games, uploads, info about the amazing Xbox

Y: Yahoo.com – news, weather, sports, business, science and much more …Youtube – homemade videos and some commercial videos from Google – easily searchable and lots of fun!

Z: Zillow – more free real estate information, search for homes for sale, home values, recently sold homes, mortgage rates, condos, co-ops, apartments and much more…Zip Code Lookup – find a zip code by entering an address (from United States Postal Service)

Rainy Days - What To Do?

Hi All,

I've skimmed over the last few weeks worth of blog posts and a somewhat regular theme seems to have emerged - perhaps I did it unconsciously, or not. I'm really not sure, but I do seem to post a lot about the weather. As soon as I realized this, I thought of yet another weather-related post.

Lots of Farmingdale residents have children...and the weather (here it is again!) isn't so splendid in the Fall. As a matter of fact, it can be downright nasty what with all the rain, wind, clouds and stuff during this time of year. Now, add to this fact that folks might have children - and they probably aren't playing outside during this type of nasty, cold, rainy weather.

So...what to do with children during the inclement weather? Indeed, we'll come to your rescue and find something to at least keep the little ones a bit amused during this time of year!

Click here to find some rainy day activities for your 6-10 year old. This site has divided up the games into memory games, word games, science games and card games (go figure) and guessing games and more...cute and easy to navigate website.

Click here for a site called 'Kids Can Have Fun During Rainy Days - which is more of a summary of what you can do with your kids during this weather.

Brought to you live, from Helium.com is the next entry: Indoor Rainy-Day Activities For Children. I need to explain a bit about this site. The above link is really a link to a list of pages that discuss what to do with children during the bad weather.

Clicking on an individual link will get you to the actual article itself. In other words, there is a built in extra layer that users - this means you - have to click through to actually get to the material you are interested in. Makes sense? I hope so.

So...for example, I clicked on the first entry by Trudy Brown. Note that you have to click on the title of the article that you are interested in once you get to this page. Click here to follow the link from Helium.com

Finally, click here for a site from AmazingMoms.com and an article called BoredomBusters. Notice that at the end of this article they have more games for children to play during the foul weather.

Okay...here is another site that is very, very helpful. It is called Babycenter.com and I typed in a search in the box at the top right side of the webpage. I used the phrase 'rainy day activities' and the results can be seen by clicking on this link. I suspect that you will now have lots of things to do with your children when inclement weather prevents them from playing outside.

I hope these sites are entertaining and keep your children busy during the nasty weather.

Stu

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