Tax Time (April 15th) is Approaching Fast!!!

Hi All,

It is a rite of spring as old as Spring Training, College Basketball's 'March Madness' or the thawing of snow.  I'm talking about....taxes.  A yearly event for those who have income - it is a complicated and arduous process to complete.  And there is always the money that you might have to pay at the end of the day - yes....taxes.

This blog entry will help you find ways to complete both your federal and state tax return. Note...I am not giving individual tax advice!!!

The IRS has created a very, very user friendly website at...you guessed it: IRS.gov.  Click the prior link or this link to go to the site.  Users have a number of different ways to access IRS tax forms.  Click on this link to access current year IRS Forms and Publications.  Click on this link for prior year IRS Forms and Publications. 

From both of the links above, you will be able to find form and publications for any IRS form you can think of - including: form 1040, schedule A, schedule B, schedule D and more....

Since Farmingdale is located in New York State, I am going to make the presumption that most of our blog readers are from....New York State.

Click on this link to visit the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. This link will get patrons access to the portion of the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance website that has forms and publications. 

Users can get current year tax forms by form number by clicking on this link.
Users can get current year tax forms by tax type.

Users can get prior year tax forms by clicking on this link.  Note that the tax forms are available all the way back to 1985!  Users can get prior year tax forms by tax type by clicking on this link. 

So there you are ...a plethora and lots of links for users to get federal and state tax forms, tax instructions, and publications.

Note also that we have the 2014 edition of J.K. Lasser's 'Your Income Tax' at the library. We have one copy in Reference (which means the material does not circulate - but can be used in the library) and multiple copies (all available as I write this on March 18th at about 3:30pm) available to be taken out by patrons (aka the material is on the shelf waiting to be taken out!). 

Hope the links help - even more...I hope you get a refund on both the federal and state tax returns that you file!

Regards,
Stu

Pay Less For Your Prescriptions

Hi All,

Who wouldn't want to pay less for their prescriptions?  Indeed, readers who want to save up to 75% and, on average, save $20 per drug prescription should visit Familywize.org. 

Click on the prior link or this link to visit the site.

Things to note about Familywize.org:

1. The service is available at over 60,000 pharmacies - nationwide.
2. No activation is required.
3. Can be used for all your prescription needs.
4. Call 866-810-3784 for more information.
5. If you have any questions, ask your pharmacist at your local drugstore.
6. The Familywize.org prescription plan can be used at Kmart, Walgreens, RiteAid, CVS and Walmart 

Enjoy the link - and I hope you save on your prescriptions!

Regards,
Stu

Happy Pi Day!

Hi All,

Happy Pi Day!  No, I'm not talking about Boston Creme Pie or Apple Pie...I'm talking about Pi - as in 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582094...

Click on this link from Cnet that started me on this whole Pi Day entry!

Click here for a link that will give you the first 100,000 digits of Pi.
Click here for a link that will give you the first million digits of Pi. 

Click on this link from Wikipedia about Pi - you'll learn about the history of pi and how Pi Day is observed around the world.  

Exploratorium has an extensive and comprehensive website regarding Pi Day. Included on the page are Photos of Pi Day Events, Schedule of Events, Activities and Links, Pi in Second Life and a Brief History of Pi.  Click on any of the above links to go that part of Exploratorium related to Pi.

There are dozens and dozens of website that discuss and mention either Pi or Pi Day...click on this link for just one of the many that are accessible on the web - and which are fun to peruse and read...

And finally, click on this link for Apple Pie recipes from AllRecipes.com.

Enjoy the links!

Regards,
Stu

Taking Great Pictures of Your Kids

Hi All,

So if you have kids, one of the things you'll want to do is take memorable pictures of them.  By doing this, you'll be able to look back at all the great times that you've spent with your little ones when they are, well, 'big ones'. 

This blog entry will discuss 3 websites that will help you learn to take better pictures of your kids.   I'll also link to the Farmingdale Public Library card catalog so you can find some excellent photography books to help you take even better pictures of your kids - from reading.

Brought to you by Lexar.com comes this site - entitled '10 Ways to Take Better Photos of Your Child'.  Neat stuff - I actually knew about numbers 1, 3 and 4 in the list...(Get Low, Let Them Be Themselves, Show them he Pictures on the Camera).  Had no idea about 7 and 9 (Get Close and Watching the Background).  Go figure...I bet I'll take better pictures already this weekend.

From a website called Digital Photography School comes this entry, entitled, 'How to Get the Best Shots of Your Kids'.  Some of DPS's ideas include 'Immerse yourself in their world and let your camera see what they see',  and 'Use reflections to captures yourself with kids and catch their expressions when they don't realize the camera is trained on them'.   Good stuff - and it is a doable skill for parents who want to take pictures of their kids.

Finally, the third site in today's coverage is an article from Pop Photo.com entitled, 'Tips From a Pro: How to Take Better Photos of Your Kids'.  This article covers concepts like framing the child and using the light to your advantage when you take pictures of the little ones.  The entry also discusses the use of vantage points when the children are playing sports like soccer, baseball and football. 

There are many, many other photography and photography related websites on the web.  Some are good - some are not so good.  Caveat emptor and readers of this blog should know by now that I'm a proponent of being skeptical when viewing and evaluating websites...doing a Google search for 'How to take great photograph's of children' resulted in many, many results.  Click on this link to see the massive results of the search. 

Now, that all said, sometimes it is useful to use a book so you can read and look at pictures that explain a certain technique....click here for a link to the Farmingdale Public Library card catalog for a search query of 'children's photography'. 

Enjoy the results and the great pictures you are about to take of your children.  

Regards,
Stu

Overcoming Laziness

Hi All,

Hey you...yeah...you. Reading this blog entry. 

Are you lazy?  Who? Me? You ask?  And my answer is yes, you...

Okay...enough with the fun stuff.  On to the blog entry of the day.

So...being lazy can have a decidedly negative affect on your work and employment future.  Yes, its true - click on this link from CareerPath 360 for an article entitled 'How Being Lazy at Work Affects Your Career'.  The early bird really does get the worm. And the parking spot, and the best time for a business presentation. And many other perks for those who are 'johnny on the spots'. 

So, how can one start to become 'less lazy?'  Click on this link from the Iron Shrink and you'll find a blog entry from this Licensed Psychologist from Denver Colorado.  A few highlights include: spending less time on the video games, eating donuts (read: food)....in general having enough 'internal discipline' to stop doing these activities that take up so much of your time.  Well...that is all well and good - but a reader wrote to the Iron Shrink and said,

“Your examples were about creating the discipline to stop playing video games, drinking, and eating donuts. I find changing my habits to start doing something – for example, making sure to eat breakfast every day – difficult to stick with. There isn’t a point of tension to study and step away from if the status quo is sweet, sweet laziness.”

Ultimately the Iron Shrink suggest that when readers are trying to change a habit to start doing something (anything: from a project at work, to starting an exercise program and more...) readers should start out small and think in terms of small chunks.  Click here for more information on this topic. 

For those of us who like 'step-by-step' instructions, click on this next link - from WikiHow - Click on this next message for a webpage entitled, 'How to Overcome Laziness: 26 Steps (With Pictures). 

Finally, readers might like to get a more professional answer for 'How to Overcome Laziness' by visiting this link from Psychology Today.

So there you have it...3 links to pages that will help you get things done!  And help you become less lazy and more proactive.

Enjoy the links and the sites.

Regards,
Stu