Let's Get Cooking

Hi All,

Cookbooks are one of the most popular subjects that we order in the library.  With the prices of cookbooks averaging roughly $25-$35 readers can see why we order so many cookbook titles - it can be expensive for an armchair cook to buy all the cookbooks he/she would like to.

So....the library comes to the rescue.  Did you know that we have basic cookbooks and cookbooks on topics as varied as Italian cooking, Chinese cooking, German cooking, gluten free cooking, heart-healthy cooking, low calorie cooking, crockpot cooking and many, many other categories of cooking.

Yum.

Click on this link to help you evaluate whether or not the cookbook that you have in your hand is a good one (well written, unbiased, pictures, correct recipes, no typos...).  AKA,  click the link to figure out what makes for a good cookbook - at least according to professional cookbook readers. Notice that the link comes from Publishers Weekly - one of the best known book review journals in the world.

Click on this link for another viewpoint on what makes for a good cookbook.  Notice that this link comes from Gourmet.com!!!

Click on this link for a subject search in the library card catalog for the phrase 'cookbooks' - and limited to those cookbooks in the Farmingdale Public Library.  Books were sorted so that the newest cookbooks are shown at the top of the results - the oldest are at the bottom.

And finally, click on this link to learn more about our Laotian Summer Cooking program scheduled for Tuesday, June 17th at 7pm.  Online registration begins on June 3rd for Farmingdale residents. 

Enjoy the links and the cookbooks and the program!

Regards,
Stu

Safercar.gov

Hi All,

Just a quickie post today - actually this afternoon.  Check out Safercar.gov - a US government website that enables you to identify and report problems you might be having with your vehicle, tires, equipment  or car seats.

Readers can find research recalls, investigations and complaints by searching for model year, make or model. 

Users can also find information about child restraint recalls, investigations or complaints by clicking on this link.

The site also has a link for 'Parents'.  Click here for the link.  Click here for a link to Car Seats information from SaferCar.gov.  The main splash page has a very helpful article titled 'How to find the right car seat?'.  On the right side of the page are links for 'Getting Your Car Seat Checked', and 'How to Install Your Car Seat'?

Click on this link from the New York State government website. Link goes to a page titled, 'Child Safety Seat Inspection Stations - Listed by County'.  

So there ya have it.  A few really, really excellent links to help you with your car seat questions for your baby!

Enjoy - hope the links prove to be useful and helpful.

Regards,
Stu

Hi All,

So, you do you really think you know what is in a name? Indeed!  Check out this article from the Farmingdale Patch entitled, 'Half-Century Champ Ousted as Top Baby Name in New York'.

So...yes, we are talking about baby names in today's blog entry.  Here are the top 10 boys and girls names in New York for 2013 - according to the Social Security Administration.

Boys' names
1. Jacob
2. Michael
3. Ethan
4. Liam
5. Jayden
6. Mason
7. Joseph
8. Noah
9. Matthew
10. Daniel

Girls' Names
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Olivia
5. Mia
6. Ava
7. Emily
8. Madison
9. Abigail
10. Sophia

Click on this next link for Babynames.com.  Users can search for a baby name with the alphabetical list at the top of the page.  There is also an Advanced Search for users.

Other unique parts of the site are lists of Most Popular Names, Boy Names, Girl Names, Celebrity Real Names, Celebrity Baby Names, Pet Names, Cool Name Lists and a Name Glossary.

Other interesting parts of the site are 'BabyNames Newsletter'.  Readers can subscribe to the newsletter - and unsubscribe - very easily.  And....there is a video library on BabyNames.com.  This is a full library of how-to, parenting, and lifestyle videos for parents or interested web surfers.  The are over 1000 titles at last count.  This weeks featured video is 'Bonding With Baby'. 

Now, what readers use most on the site is where they look for the meaning and popularity of a particular name. When users search for a particular name, they have the option of looking for Unisex Names, Girl Names, Boy Names or All Names.  The choices are at the top of the page - and are easy to identify.

One a name is chosen the meaning of the name is give and the origin of the name is displayed. Alternate spellings are given and a notes section is displayed.  Finally, there is a small section titled 'People Who Like the Name XYZ also like'.  It is a way to find look for alternative names using the original name that a user chose.  Neat stuff.


Finally - from the shameless plug section - users can come to the library and pick up a real, live baby name book.  We have a lot of them and they are located in the 929.44 section.  That being said, users can click on this link and you'll go to the library card catalog for the search 'baby names'. 

So there you have it - a full service website - for almost everything baby name related -except the baby of course.  Enjoy the site and the links.

Regards,
Stu

Extreme Weather

Hi All,

Check out this link from the Mother Nature Network.  Said link is titled '6 Snowstorms That Crippled the East Coast'.  Included are 2 or 3 paragraph length descriptions of the storm - interesting. And there are photos to boot!

And speaking of extremes...click on this link from USAToday to view an article titled, 'All of California in Severe Drought For 1st Time This Century'.

Extreme heat is becoming more of an issue lately...click on this link from Ready.gov for an article called 'Extreme Heat'. It'll explain how readers can deal with extreme heat and stay 'cooler'.  There is also a link for 'More Information about Extreme Heat'.

Under the rubric of extreme wind comes Tornadoes and Hurricanes.  Click on this extensive article from Wikipedia that discusses Tornadoes. The article includes definitions of funnel clouds, characteristics of tornadoes, life cycle, types and a large section on tornado detection.

One of the most reputable and well know websites about hurricanes is the National Hurricane Center. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hosts the site. I could spend whole blog entries on this extensive, current, unbiased, easily-navigable website.  However, I won't. I will, however, discuss some of the best parts of the site.

The National Hurricane Center site is available on various devices and in various formats.  There are links to Cyclone Advisories, and Audio/Podcasts,

In addition, users can find marine forecasts for the Atlantic and East Pacific.There are links for Storm Surges, Wind Scales, Most Extreme Storms and Forecast Models. And there is much, much more...

Enjoy the sites!
Regards,
Stu

Photo Sharing Websites

Hi All,

Looking to share a photo or picture with a friend or family member?

Good - glad you came by for today's post.  Click on this link - from Wikipedia - that lists photo sharing websites.  By no means is this list exhaustive.  There are others that exist on the web!

Note that users can sort the list - which is exactly what I did. I sorted by the Registered Users. I sorted from largest to smallest.  The result was that Instagram, Snapfish, Flickr, Photobucket and DeviantART and Lockerz are the top 6 most used photo sharing websites on the web.  Click on any of the links to go to that particular site.  

The chart on the Wikipedia is very extensive and useful.  Columns include 'Name', Location/Owner/Hoster, Description/Focus/Registration Requirements, platform used (iOS, Android, Windows), Number of Registered Users, Storge Space Allowed Per Person (standard usage), and the Global Alexa Page Ranking of the photo sharing site. 

Further down on the Wikipedia page is another table that covers file formats, upload information, folder/album structure, limitations, tags/keywords, comments, rating and downloading originals for all of the photo sharing websites.

So, if you are looking for a way to share photos with friends and family, you might want to consult this Wikipedia link - its extensive, comprehensive and current!

Enjoy the sharing.

Regards,
Stu