Hi All,
Since I know that this might be considered the 'highbrow post', I wanted to make it short and sweet.
Arts & Letters Daily (from the Chronicle of Higher Education) can be found by clicking on this link.
What is it you ask? Indeed, good question. As the masthead of the website proclaims, 'philosophy, aesthetics, literature, language, ideas, criticism, culture, history, music, art, trends, breakthroughs, disputes, gossip' - it is all here on the site.
Basically it is lots of current events and news on a very, very wide variety of topics.
ALD is set up to read like a traditional newspaper - hence the section on 'Articles of Note', 'New Books', and 'Essays and Opinion'. There are also many links to other world famous newspapers and magazines like American Heritage, American Journal Review, Atlantic Monthly, First Things, Foreign Affairs, History Today, The Humanist, National Journal, National Review, New York Times, Newsweek, Der Spiegel, Utne Reader, WSJ Opinion and many more.
If you are looking for a website that covers the world of ideas, thought and commentary, then this site is for you! Note that there is no overriding bias to the site. Conservatives, liberals and centerists alike can find something to like and dislike on the site.
Finally, if you are looking for a website that is graphics intensive (think lots of pictures) you have come to the wrong site. ALD has - for the most part - very few pictures. Much of the site is text, text, and more text. If you are looking for words and ideas then you've come to the right place!
Enjoy!
Stu
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Thursday, April 14, 2011
Government Websites - OMG There Are a Lot of Them!
Hi All,
Don't know if you know this or not, but the United States government has many, many different websites. Let me explain...
I imagine that you know there are different branches of government, right? For example, there is the executive branch, and the legislative branch, and the judicial branch of government...(click on any of the highlighted and underlined links to visit that particular branch of government).
Well, the federal government has gotten very smart - they created a website called USA.gov where users can type in the name of an agency, department or organizations in the government. Essentially this is 'the go to site' to find almost anything related to government - whether or not it is federal, state or local government.
Why such a good site? Well, there is a link to the National Debt, National Parks, the American Civil War, a super helpful link to contacting government and a link to 'Getting it Done Online'.
OMG! I haven't event touched upon the specifics of each department yet! For example, I'll start with the Department of Health and Human Services - if for no other reason than we are all concerned with health related topics...click here for the direct link to the HHS (Department of Health and Human Services).
Once you navigate your way to the site you are faced with a very easy to read, easy to navigate, clear website with many, many choices. For example, there are links to HHS News, HHS Jobs, HHS Grants/Funding, HHS Families, HHS Prevention, HHS Diseases, HHS Regulations, HHS Preparedness, and more. Whew - what a mouthful.
On the lower half of the first page of the HHS site, users will find links to the Secretary's Key Initiative Sites - including Healthcare.gov, StopBullying.gov, StopMedicareFraud.gov, FoodSafety.gov, InsureKidsNow.gov, FLU.gov, and Let's Move (there are other categories on this part of the page, but at this point, I suspect that get the idea...)
So, now that you get a basic idea of what the HHS site covers, imagine the vast amount of information that the federal government produces for all of its myriad other departments (Education, Defense, Agriculture, Energy, Commerce, Veteran's Affairs, and many, many others...)
Can you say information overload? Can you also say, 'thank you federal government for making all this information readily available on the USA.gov website?' I thought so.
Regards,
Stu
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Don't know if you know this or not, but the United States government has many, many different websites. Let me explain...
I imagine that you know there are different branches of government, right? For example, there is the executive branch, and the legislative branch, and the judicial branch of government...(click on any of the highlighted and underlined links to visit that particular branch of government).
Well, the federal government has gotten very smart - they created a website called USA.gov where users can type in the name of an agency, department or organizations in the government. Essentially this is 'the go to site' to find almost anything related to government - whether or not it is federal, state or local government.
Why such a good site? Well, there is a link to the National Debt, National Parks, the American Civil War, a super helpful link to contacting government and a link to 'Getting it Done Online'.
OMG! I haven't event touched upon the specifics of each department yet! For example, I'll start with the Department of Health and Human Services - if for no other reason than we are all concerned with health related topics...click here for the direct link to the HHS (Department of Health and Human Services).
Once you navigate your way to the site you are faced with a very easy to read, easy to navigate, clear website with many, many choices. For example, there are links to HHS News, HHS Jobs, HHS Grants/Funding, HHS Families, HHS Prevention, HHS Diseases, HHS Regulations, HHS Preparedness, and more. Whew - what a mouthful.
On the lower half of the first page of the HHS site, users will find links to the Secretary's Key Initiative Sites - including Healthcare.gov, StopBullying.gov, StopMedicareFraud.gov, FoodSafety.gov, InsureKidsNow.gov, FLU.gov, and Let's Move (there are other categories on this part of the page, but at this point, I suspect that get the idea...)
So, now that you get a basic idea of what the HHS site covers, imagine the vast amount of information that the federal government produces for all of its myriad other departments (Education, Defense, Agriculture, Energy, Commerce, Veteran's Affairs, and many, many others...)
Can you say information overload? Can you also say, 'thank you federal government for making all this information readily available on the USA.gov website?' I thought so.
Regards,
Stu
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Wednesday, April 13, 2011
7 Wonders of the Ancient and the Modern World
Hi All,
You might have heard the phrase, 'The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World', but have you ever thought about what exactly the 7 wonders actually were? Click on this link to get a quick overview of the 7 wonders from Wikipedia. Neat stuff.
By the way, the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World were:
1. Great Pyramid of Giza
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
4. Statue of Zeus at Olympia
5. Mausoleum of Halicarnussus
6. Colossus of Rhodes
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria
What made a wonder of the ancient world? How did a particular statue, temple or object qualify for this title? Great question - click here for the quick and dirty answer - and yes, the answer came from Wikipedia - a really quite useful reference tool (but not the end all to be all in reference mind you!)
If you would like a students perspective - and description - of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, click on this link. Simple, accurate and totally cool.
Also, if you want images of what the 7 Wonders supposedly looked like, click the following link.
Click here for lots of images of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World - courtesy of a Google search.
Now, fast forward a few thousand years and arrive in the 21st century...
What are the modern day equivalents of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World? Well, that depends on who you ask. In other words, there are many different lists (compiled by various people) that claim to have the 'ultimate list of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World'. Go figure - people are arguing over even this topic.
Without further ado - and I'll list a few different lists - the 7 Wonders of the Modern World (from various sources of course). Click on this link to find the entry in - yes, again - Wikipedia.
What are the 7 Wonders of the Modern World you ask?
1. Chichen Itza - Yucatan, Mexico
2. Christ the Redeemer - statue - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
3. Colosseum - Rome, Italy
4. Great Wall of China - People's Republic of China
5. Machu Picchu - Cuzco Region, Peru
6. Petra - Ma'an Governorate, Jordan
7. Taj Mahal - Agra, India
Enjoy the sites.
Stu
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You might have heard the phrase, 'The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World', but have you ever thought about what exactly the 7 wonders actually were? Click on this link to get a quick overview of the 7 wonders from Wikipedia. Neat stuff.
By the way, the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World were:
1. Great Pyramid of Giza
2. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
4. Statue of Zeus at Olympia
5. Mausoleum of Halicarnussus
6. Colossus of Rhodes
7. Lighthouse of Alexandria
What made a wonder of the ancient world? How did a particular statue, temple or object qualify for this title? Great question - click here for the quick and dirty answer - and yes, the answer came from Wikipedia - a really quite useful reference tool (but not the end all to be all in reference mind you!)
If you would like a students perspective - and description - of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, click on this link. Simple, accurate and totally cool.
Also, if you want images of what the 7 Wonders supposedly looked like, click the following link.
Click here for lots of images of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World - courtesy of a Google search.
Now, fast forward a few thousand years and arrive in the 21st century...
What are the modern day equivalents of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World? Well, that depends on who you ask. In other words, there are many different lists (compiled by various people) that claim to have the 'ultimate list of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World'. Go figure - people are arguing over even this topic.
Without further ado - and I'll list a few different lists - the 7 Wonders of the Modern World (from various sources of course). Click on this link to find the entry in - yes, again - Wikipedia.
What are the 7 Wonders of the Modern World you ask?
1. Chichen Itza - Yucatan, Mexico
2. Christ the Redeemer - statue - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
3. Colosseum - Rome, Italy
4. Great Wall of China - People's Republic of China
5. Machu Picchu - Cuzco Region, Peru
6. Petra - Ma'an Governorate, Jordan
7. Taj Mahal - Agra, India
Enjoy the sites.
Stu
Friend the library on Facebook - its worth your while!
Follow the library on Twitter - lots of good posts coming your way!
Money, Money, Money.
Hi All,
Over the last 8 months since I' started this blog, I've yet to delve into one of the most popular topics on the internet: money and investing. After 150 posts and nearly 8 months of posting, I think it is time to broach the subject.
There are a few issues I'd like to straighten out first though. This blog entry will NOT be:
1. I am not giving any advice on stocks, bonds, mutual funds or any other type of investment.
2. I am not an investment professional. Quite the contrary: I am a librarian - I like research.
3. Note that websites and links change very quickly on the internet. Caveat emptor. (Click here for a definition of what caveat emptor means...:) ) So what I write about today, might possibly not exist in a day, week or month from now...
Okay, now that we've got this posts ground rules out of the way, onto the main event.
Forthwith a list of 2 very mainstream financial and investing websites for investors.
1. Yahoo! Finance - one of the oldest, most recognized names on the internet with regards to investing and finance. What makes the site so good? Ease of use, it is remarkably comprehensive (with links to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, etf's and news) and it is constantly updated. Click on this link to get to Yahoo! Finance directly.
Okay, okay, don't forget these direct links to: Yahoo! Personal Finance, a link to Investing Ideas, and Investor Education. Users will also find that the site has links to topics relating to Commodities, Currencies and much, much more. It can almost be endless when you are visiting the site - amazing stuff for an investor who needs information.
Also note that Yahoo!Finance is pretty much an agregator type website. In other words, you'll see articles and links from other sources like AP, CNBC, The Motley Fool, Investopedia and Zacks and many, many others.
2. Bankrate.com is a different type finance website - which is one of the reasons why I want to mention it in this blog entry. It doesn't have typical news stories or stock prices or links to commodities, mutual funds or etf's. Bankrate.com has more focused - think more detailed - information than Yahoo! Finance. Bankrate's coverage includes Mortgage information, Mortgage Refinancing, Home Equity Loans, CD's and Investments, Checking and Savings Account information, Auto Loans, Credit Card Information, Debt Management information, Insurance information, College Financing information and Retirement information.
Bankrate.com has lots of charts and tools that will help users make better finance related decisions for themself and for their families. Good stuff - and the site is unbiased and updated very frequently. For an example of how the site works, click here for the rates on the current 30 year fixed mortgage.
When I originally came up for the idea of this post, I wanted to cover 4 different finance related websites. Since this post is already a bit lengthy, I'm going to cover the other two sites that I wanted to cover (MarketGuide and TheStreet.com) in my next finance related post. Look for that entry some time in May or June of this year!
Regards and I hope you find the sites I mentioned helpful and educational.
Stu
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Over the last 8 months since I' started this blog, I've yet to delve into one of the most popular topics on the internet: money and investing. After 150 posts and nearly 8 months of posting, I think it is time to broach the subject.
There are a few issues I'd like to straighten out first though. This blog entry will NOT be:
1. I am not giving any advice on stocks, bonds, mutual funds or any other type of investment.
2. I am not an investment professional. Quite the contrary: I am a librarian - I like research.
3. Note that websites and links change very quickly on the internet. Caveat emptor. (Click here for a definition of what caveat emptor means...:) ) So what I write about today, might possibly not exist in a day, week or month from now...
Okay, now that we've got this posts ground rules out of the way, onto the main event.
Forthwith a list of 2 very mainstream financial and investing websites for investors.
1. Yahoo! Finance - one of the oldest, most recognized names on the internet with regards to investing and finance. What makes the site so good? Ease of use, it is remarkably comprehensive (with links to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, options, etf's and news) and it is constantly updated. Click on this link to get to Yahoo! Finance directly.
Okay, okay, don't forget these direct links to: Yahoo! Personal Finance, a link to Investing Ideas, and Investor Education. Users will also find that the site has links to topics relating to Commodities, Currencies and much, much more. It can almost be endless when you are visiting the site - amazing stuff for an investor who needs information.
Also note that Yahoo!Finance is pretty much an agregator type website. In other words, you'll see articles and links from other sources like AP, CNBC, The Motley Fool, Investopedia and Zacks and many, many others.
2. Bankrate.com is a different type finance website - which is one of the reasons why I want to mention it in this blog entry. It doesn't have typical news stories or stock prices or links to commodities, mutual funds or etf's. Bankrate.com has more focused - think more detailed - information than Yahoo! Finance. Bankrate's coverage includes Mortgage information, Mortgage Refinancing, Home Equity Loans, CD's and Investments, Checking and Savings Account information, Auto Loans, Credit Card Information, Debt Management information, Insurance information, College Financing information and Retirement information.
Bankrate.com has lots of charts and tools that will help users make better finance related decisions for themself and for their families. Good stuff - and the site is unbiased and updated very frequently. For an example of how the site works, click here for the rates on the current 30 year fixed mortgage.
When I originally came up for the idea of this post, I wanted to cover 4 different finance related websites. Since this post is already a bit lengthy, I'm going to cover the other two sites that I wanted to cover (MarketGuide and TheStreet.com) in my next finance related post. Look for that entry some time in May or June of this year!
Regards and I hope you find the sites I mentioned helpful and educational.
Stu
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Monday, April 11, 2011
Famous Parks in Nassau County
Hi All, You wouldn't know it from the weather outside right now (it is dreary with fog, a bit of rain and very, very cloudy skies), but spring has just sprung... And what better way to spend a spring day than at a local park. Long Island has 26 state parks. Click here for a list of these 26 parks. This page has a map to get to each of the parks along with the telephone number and the town each park is located in. Click here for the 'official' Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Museums website. You'll find all sorts of news about the various parks. Click on this link to find out much more about the parks and museums. This link is almost a 'highlights' page since it discusses the various parks and their facilities and resources. Note that the information is more background type material but is still interesting for the casual user. Parks mentioned on this page include Eisenhower Park, Cantiague Park, Christopher Morley Park, Grant Park, Cedar Creek park and Mitchel Athletic Complex among others. Click here to find a page that links to Bay Park, Christopher Morley, Eisenhower, and North Woodmore Park. Here is a very interesting from the Nassau County Department of Parks, Recreation & Museums: a 'where to go' link that divides the various parks into categories like Active Parks, Passive Parks, Recreational Parks, Preserves, Museums, and Campgrounds. Who knew that Nassau County was so blessed with so many wonderful, exciting, beautiful natural resources in the form of a parks, musuems, preserves, and campgrounds. Well, now we all know! Regards and enjoy the parks. Stu Our Facebook page - great for linking and friending... Our Twitter stream - great for following...
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