The Eclipse is Coming, The Eclipse is Coming!

Hi All,

The eclipse is coming, the eclipse is coming.  Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you probably know that there is a total solar eclipse coming on Monday, August 21st!

The last time there was a total solar eclipse was in 1991 - over 25 years ago.
NASA has a great eclipse site  for adults and for kids!  Click here for the site. 
And the site has links to Events and Activities and Resources all related to the eclipse.  Click the prior links to go to that subject. 

CNN Travel created a funnish site called the 'Slacker's Guide to the 2017 Solar Eclipse'.  For complete coverage of the eclipse users can visit the formal CNN Eclipse website.  Viewers can also watch live, in virtual reality, as the eclipse moves coast to coast on August 21st!

Click on this link that will tell you the best place(s) to see the 2017 eclipse! 

So when you are watching the eclipse you'll need a set of eclipse glasses.  Click here to learn more. 
And here.
And here.  

TimeandDate.com  has a map of the solar eclipse on this site.

For those of you who are awed at the rarity of the eclipse, visit this Washington Post site for an article titled 'Here's every total solar eclipse happening in your lifetime. Is this year your best chance?'

Finally, click here to learn a bit more about the history of the eclipse and much, much more.

Enjoy the sites and the links and the eclipse.

Regards,
Stu

Eight Tips to Protect Taxpayers from Identity Theft

Hi All,

Long-time readers know that I have a 'thing' for identity theft and how to prevent identity theft. I think its pretty important for people to know about.  And I get to write about it every so often on this blog. Especially when a new article appears that it crisp, concise, and well well-written.  The fact that the article comes from a very reputable source is an added bonus! 

What article am I talking aout?  The IRS (reputable for sure!) published an article titled 'IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2017-16 on August 7th - just a few days ago. 

The article - which is mercifully brief but chock filled with information - discusses protection personal and financial records, reporting tax-related id theft (this is the IRS after all), using PIN number and special section that the IRS has to assist victims of identity theft.  Click here for that additional special section link!

Click on this link to find out how IRS Identity Theft Victim Assistance Works. 

Finally, I used this link to have e-News Subscriptions from the IRS emailed to me.  That's where I found these identity theft tips that I discussed in today's blog entry.  Subscribing is easy and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Enjoy the links and hopefully you'll never have to use them!

Regards,
Stu 

Hi all, 

A quickie post for today.  Would you like to know exactly how many days, months and years pass between two dates?  Yep - me too.   You could calculate it yourself manually by figuring out how many days are in each month and do a lot of addition. 

Or you could visit TimeandDate.com and let the computer do the hard work for you. 
Click here for a link to Time and Date.  

For example, if you want to know how many days have passed between July 8, 1949 and February 13, 1998, click on this link

And yes...this is a goofy link, but kind of fun to know about - especially at cocktail parties. 

Enjoy the calculations. 

Regards, 
Stu

The American Yawp

Hi All,

Earlier today I answered a reference question using a very, very helpful and interesting website.  It's called 'The American Yawp' and it is a 'free and online, collaboratively built American history textbook.  What does that mean you ask?

Simply put The American Yawp is a history book online and it was created by a bunch of authors - not just one or two - but dozens of authors.  

It is, in essence, a primary source reader on things related to American history. It uses the year 1877 as the dividing line on the site.  Note also that the text is written for college level history courses. Click this link to see a list of the editorial advisors for the American Yawp site.  Quite a list of distinguished scholars!

FYI a Yawp is a raucous nose - or the use of rough vigorous language - as explained at the bottom of the homepage on the site.  For more information about the site, click on this link - the About link on The American Yawp homepage. 

For each 'chapter' a narrative is provided.  Chapters are roughly 20-30 pages in length and at the end of each chapter is a list of recommended reading materials, notes and a list of Primary sources if the reader wants to read more about that particular topic.

Enjoy the site and reading about American history.

Regards,
Stu   

Bloggingheads.tv

Hi All,

Just came across an interesting site that I never heard of before.  Bloggingheads.tv.

What is Bloggingheads you ask?  Great question.  And here's the answer!  Blogginheads.tv was founded in 2005 as the first website devoted to split screen video dialogue about politics and ideas.  Its early mission statement was to " be in one sense an unusual expression of the Internet.  Almost all blogs have a dominant ideology and a fairly homogeneous comments section to match. We pride ourselves on having a diversity of views in our diavlogs and an accordingly diverse comments section, where thoughtful disagreement is expressed in civil terms. (OK, usually thoughtful, and usually civil.)”

So there you have it...video discussions on various political topics and on 'big topic' issues.  Click on this link to learn more about the background of Bloggingheads.tv. 

The Bloggingheads.tv homepage has links to various programs like: Culturally Determined, DMZ, Drezburt, Foreign Entanglements, Glenn Show, Global Dispatches, Rational Actors, Science Faction and the Wright Show.

Other informative links include a whole bunch of archived programs on various topics: 10th Anniversary, 5th Anniversary, Democracy in America, Free Will, Washington Squares, Pros and Conn, Values Added and The Score.

The format of the videos is basically two people talking on a split screen.  Videos are roughly anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour on the topic you chose.  Sometimes video quality is 'less than stellar' but you will get the idea that the blogging heads are talking about.

Its an interesting take on the 21st century of free speech.  People are talking and videoing on a whole wide variety of important topics!  Basically this is like talking on a stump in front of a crowd in the eighteenth or nineteenth century!

Enjoy the videos and the discussions and the wide variety of topics!

Regards,
Stu