New Years' Eve 2014!!!

Hi All,

Well, its that time of year again.  Another year has gone by and we're at the end of December...Its New Years' Eve time.  So get ready for the parties, the Champagne; and get ready for the countdown, and the ball dropping in Times Square...and of course the actual New Year!

So, without further ado...here are a bunch of things that you can on New Years' Eve on Long Island...

If you are into posh parties and elegance, you might want to visit the Garden City Hotel...click here for the link.  For 'just' $175 you ge an open premium bar, live DJ, a 'hangover breakfast bar' and more.

For another gorgeous venue, try out Villa Lombardi's New Year's Eve Candelight Ball in Holbrook.
What's included at Villa Lombardi's you ask?  For $135 you get Live DJ Entertainment, a live simulcast from Times Square New York City,  a premium  five hour open bar, champagne and a really, really excellent menu with options galore for dinner.  Click here for the menu.

Other places that are offering New Year's Eve events include Maxwell's in Islip, Gurney's Inn in Montauk and others.  Click here for a list that will link you to some other fun New Years' Eve parties.

So...how can you pick a Champagne for New Year's Eve that you'll like?  Click on this link from Kitchen Daily which explains 'How to Pick the Perfect Champagne?'   For an alternative take on how how to pick a great Champagne for New Year's Eve, click on this link from the Huffington Post for the article entitled, 'A Guide to Champagne and Sparkling Wine: Choosing a Bottle for New Year's Eve'.

Finally, if you are hosting a New Year's Eve party, click on the following links - the suggestions might make the party even more fun - and take the stress out from hosting the shindig.

From the  Albuquerque Journal comes this blog entry entitled, 'Have a Family-Friendly New Year's Eve Party'.   From the ever popular HGTV website comes this entry entitled 'Hosting a Sparkling New Year's Eve Party'.  Finally, click on this last link - from Money Crashers.com - entitled '11 Fun New Year's Eve Party Ideas For Food, Games & Decorations'.

So there you have it...how to host a great New Year's Eve party, how to pick the Champagne, and how to have fun at the party!  What more do you need for a great New Year's Eve/

Enjoy the links - and of course, Happy New Year!

Regards,
Stu

Identity Theft

Hi All,

Well, now that the holidays are in full swing, you might want to learn a bit more about identity theft.  What is identity theft you ask?  Click here for an article from Wikipedia about identity theft.

Click on this link for the article that I read that got me thinking about identity theft as a possible topic for this blog.  Interesting article - entitled, '5 Ways Identity Thieves Are Targeting You', courtesy of CNNMoney - a very useful financial related website. 

As you probably know, Target has reported a breach that resulted in over 40 million credit cards have been compromised by hackers.  Click on this link to learn more about how this credit card breach affects you and your credit card.

For a quick peak at what individuals can do to try to stop identity theft, click on this link.

And now...for a whole host of links about identity theft and fraud, click on the following links from various governmental, university and 'think tank' agencies.

FTC - Identity Theft - what to do right away when you find that you're identity has been compromised.
President's Task For on Identity Theft - Report identity theft and victims' rights.
Open Directory Project - DMOZ - link to Identity Theft - all about fake identification and phishing
Carnegie Mellon University - all about identity theft - protective measures, legal issues and more links.
FTC Consumer Information -  privacy and identity links
Dateline from MSNBC - 'To Catch an ID Thief' - video from an episode about hunting for id thieves
Free Credit Report.com - official site to request a free credit report

Hope the links are helpful - especially the last one (Free Credit Report.com).

Regards and Happy holidays,
Stu

Save Your Sanity During the Holidays

Hi All,

The last minute rush is getting here. Get ready, get set...go.  There is officially less than a week to go before Christmas Day 2013.  And it is probably getting a bit hectic in your life right about now.

So this is the perfect time to offer up a quick and easy blog entry about 'Saving Your Sanity During the Holidays'. As a matter of fact, that is the title of the first link I'm going to share with you this morning.  Click on this link to connect to the article. Note that the article comes from the Farmingdale Patch - a local, Farmingdale based, newspaper.

This next link comes from a law firm - no, I am not advertising for the firm. I'm just connecting to an article from Panish, Shea & Boyle, entitled 'Exercise Patience and Common Sense During Holiday Shopping'. The article talks about shopping mall safety, credit card safety and long check out lines.

The holiday season brings with it its own set of stresses and strains. Families get together and there is a limited amount of time to get a lot accomplished (shopping, wrapping presents, buying presents, cleaning the house, coordinating plans with family members, possible flights in airplanes and possible pickups at airports...and more.)

Hence the appropriate topic of this last article - which comes from the Mayo Clinic website.  Entitled, 'Stress, Depression and the Holidays: Tips For Coping', the article is timely, well-written, and unbiased.  It also gives a lot of information to the reader on how to de-stress from the holidays.

Here's to a stress-free, entertaining, pleasant holiday season.  Enjoy the sites.

Regards,
Stu

What is in Store For Technology in the Next Five Years?

Hi All,

I just came across this very, very interesting article from a website called VentureBeat.com.  (VentureBeat - as they explain in their 'About' section on the website - provides news about innovation for forward-thinking executives. It covers a range of technology trends, from social media to mobile, clean technology, games and chips. We try to explain what these trends mean for business leaders, executives and other thought leaders in the industry.)

That all said, you can understand why VentureBeat would post an article entitled,'IBM reveals its top five innovation predictions for the next five years'.  Click on the prior link to find the full text of the article. 

So, just exactly what are the five innovations predicted in the next five years?
1. The classroom will learn you.
2. Buying local will beat online.
3. Doctors will use your DNA to keep you well.
4. A digital guardian will protect you online.
5. The city will help you live in it.

Simply put it means that the computers are going to get smarter, faster and their will be more appropriate safeguards for privacy and security...  "As computers get smarter and more compact, they will be built into more devices that help us do things when we need them done. IBM believes that these breakthroughs in computing will amplify our human abilities."

For computer enthusiasts (read: geeks and technologically savvy folks) there are many, many websites that can help you learn about these trends in real-time websites.  Some of the better technology websites available include:

www.PCWorld.com

www.PCMag.com

www.Cnet.com

www.Extremetech.com

www.Techcrunch.com

www.thenextweb.com

www.wired.com (future web trends and at one time a print magazine)

www.digitaltrends.com

www.techradar.com

All of these sites have are current, reliable, and focus on technological news related to computer, tablet computers, privacy, networking, the internet, software, hardware, and basically anything related to computers or technology.   Go forth and enjoy the many, many links and articles from the sites.  

Regards, 

Stu

Oh My Aching Back!

Hi All,

You know how it is....grocery shopping and you pick up 20lb grocery bags. Or, if you are going to Home Depot or Lowes this weekend and you pick up bushes and pots of plants...those darn things are heavy also.  And lets not forget picking up baby.  I suspect you realize that a 2 year old toddler can way anywhere up to 25lbs or so.  Don't forget all the daily bending, reaching and stretching for all the ordinary day-to-day things that we do (reaching for glasses in a cupboard, putting on shoes, wearing shoes, standing in line...) And all of this 'stuff' is hard on your back.

And therein lies the topic of todays' blog entry.  Back pain...and how to minimize it (and possibly even reduce it).  Ack...my back hurts just thinking about it.

So...click on this link (from the New York Times) which got me thinking about the whole back pain topic.  Click on this graphic to see how to lift things easily and without causing back pain.

From WebMD comes this list of the 'Top Causes of Chronic Low Back Pain' - and there is a section on prevention at the end of the article.   Note that degenerative disks and herniated discs are big, big culprits of lower back pain.   
Straight from the NIAMSD (also known as the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases) comes this article entitled 'Fast Facts: An Easy-to-Read Series of Publications for the Public'.  Topics in the article include, 'Who Gets Back Pain?', 'What Are the Causes of Back Pain?', 'Can Back Pain Be Prevented?', 'When Should I See a Doctor For Pain?', 'How is Back Pain Diagnosed?', 'What is the Difference Between Acute and Chronic Pain?', 'How is Back Pain Treated?' and 'What Kind of Research is Being Done?'

From Prevention.com comes an article entitled, 'Habits that Cause Back Pain'.  Warning - if you do any of these activities, you might want to stop immediately so you don't get back pain.  And, if you already have back pain, you might want to stop so that you don't make it worse!!!

To get a very, very comprehensive view of back pain, click on this link from the National Institute of Health website called MedlinePlus.org. On the right side of the page is a link entitled, 'Back Pain - When You See the Doctor.'  This might be the most important link in the blog entry.

Finally, click on this link to find a whole bunch of 'Exercises for Lower Back Pain'.

But...before jumping in and starting some exercises, you might want to consult with your physician so you can learn more about the condition that you are suffering from. 

For those of you who like to read a bit about a condition before you see the doctor, click on this link.  It is a subject search (for back pain) for books that the Farmingdale Public Library owns in its circulation collection.  In other words, this link will take you to the card catalog and you'll find a list of books on back pain that you can take out.

Hope the links are what you are looking for - because back problems can be devastating - and you deserve to live life back pain free!

Regards,
Stu