It’s Christmas Eve and one of my favorite activities is tracking Santa!  NORAD has many ways for you to see where he is and it’s a great way to travel the Earth vicariously.  Read this Huffington Post article to know when to have your cookies and milk ready!  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. . .

~mary anne
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Have you ever passed through airport security only to find that you now have a rather long flight delay?  Keep an eye open for a new service–Minute Suites–that is beginning to open at some airport hubs.  The small rooms have a desk, Internet access, and a daybed.  No plumbing; you must use the airport restrooms.  The biggest plus is privacy and the cost is $30 for the first hour; $7.50 for each additional 15 minutes with discounts after a four-hour stay.  More details are in this New York Times article by Christine Negroni.  Happy travels!

~mary anne
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Buying a laptop, cell phone, eReader, or tablet is a very personal choice.  The look, feel, weight, and size matter in different ways to each of us.  It’s also important to read reviews on these products as they can be rather expensive and you want to make the best choice possible in your price range.  In his article, Donald Bell of cnet lists the 10 worst tablets of 2011.  You might want to read his article before you do your last minute shopping.

~mary anne
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Did you go to Google (www.google.com) and type “let it snow” into the search box?

Hope you are having a happy holiday season!

~mary anne
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The 2012 Golden Globe Award nominations have been announced and we will learn who the winners are on Sunday, January 15, 2012.  Our media librarian, Melissa Baker, keeps our shelves stocked with the latest and greatest movie titles for you.  Click here to search for your favorite DVD.  You may reserve your choices online and even pick them up (after we call you) at our drive thru window.

~mary anne
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If you haven’t already heard, today is the day that Facebook begins rolling out its highly anticipated Timeline. This article by Sam Biddle of Gizmodo tells us about it, shows us what it will look like, and notes that all of your life can be chronicled in one place. The Today Show is giving a preview of Ann Curry’s page as I write this and the map feature they are highlighting is very interesting too. If you travel extensively or want to chronicle information on your ancestors, you will want to check this out.  Timeline hasn’t hit my account yet but I want to remind you that anything you post anywhere on the Internet will be there (in some fashion) forever.  I’ll let you know what I think when it arrives in my account!

~mary anne
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This article by Matt Richtel of The New York Times advises us that the name showing up on your Caller ID may not be from the caller it says it is from. Increasingly, spammers and scammers are using technology in bad ways, identifying themselves as Humane Society and other legitimate charities.

In this time of need, when real charities are trying desperately to help those less fortunate, be very careful when answering calls from charities, investment opportunities, and the like. If you want to make a donation, call the charity directly–get their phone number from the phone book or online.  Do not divulge personal information to anyone who calls you.  One never knows who is on the other end of the phone.  Keep yourself safe by not giving information to anyone who cold calls you.

~mary anne
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People often ask “what would I use Excel for”?  Here’s something I’ve been doing for years and it truly simplifies my Thanksgiving menu shopping.  Our Thanksgiving menus do not often change dramatically from year to year so once you do this, it just takes minor tweaking to update it each year.

I created a spreadsheet with five columns:  Recipe, Item, Amount, Measurement, and Store.  Then, I enter rows for each menu item as follows:

Baked Stuffed Mushrooms     Mushrooms, Fresh       24      Pieces         Grocery

Baked Stuffed Mushrooms      Pecans                             1         cup              Grocery

Mulled Cider                               Apple Cider                     1         gallon        Grocery

Red Wine                                     Pinot Noir                       4        bottles         Liquor Store

Be sure to convert measurements to a standard.  That is, for Butter, I convert sticks and cups to tablespoons.  Once all the menu items are entered, sort the list by Item.  This will group all instances of Butter together, all instances of Celery together, etc.  Then, subtotal for each change in Item.  This will insert lines in the spreadsheet totaling how much Butter you need, how many stalks of Celery you need, etc.

I print the subtotaled list, cross out all the items I do not have to buy and then shop for what’s left.  If I change one or two recipes the following year, I just delete the rows for those recipes, add rows for the new recipes, sort, subtotal, and print.  It is amazing how much time is saved by keeping this spreadsheet!  Time to get ready to go out to pick up my Thanksgiving groceries.  Our best wishes to you and your family for a wonderful Thanksgiving from all of us at Wilton Library.

~mary anne
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Many people ask us at the Library “Which is the best eReader?” Or, “Which eReader do you recommend?”  Although I have definite thoughts on the different products out there, there is no right or wrong answer.  It is a very personal choice and it is important to hold one in your hands before you buy.  At Wilton Library, you can try an iPad, Kindle, or Nook for a week–I find that this opportunity is very helpful for people so they can feel the weight, size, and see the type of lighting necessary to use it.

I found a review article “2012 Best eBook Reader Comparisons and Reviews” that you might also find helpful.  It compares pros, cons, specs and lots more.  Keep on reading!

~mary anne
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Back in 1993, I bought a recipe program.  It was made for Windows 3.1 or higher and I love it almost as much as I used to love my Palm contact list and calendar.  My husband successfully moved it to each new computer and operating system we acquired (it is now running on a Windows Vista machine).  We don’t know if it is capable of making the journey to Windows 7 or 8 and this is a major problem for me.

My colleague, Carolyn Benjamin sent me an article from Thursday’s New York Times called App Smart: For the Thanksgiving Cook, a Recipe Manager to Celebrate by Bob Tedeschi.  It reviews a number of recipe apps but the standout for me is Paprika Recipe Manager.  The iPad app was $5 and entirely worth it.  It is easy to use and their support is amazing.  I emailed my first question at 12:55 pm on 11/18 and received a perfect instructional answer to my question at 13:06 p.m.  As I began to use the app, I had a few more questions and my contact at Paprika, Christine Meranda answered each question quickly and in easy to understand language.  I then decided to spring for the Mac version of the app ($20) so I can also use my keyboard to enter recipes manually.  The best part of this is that the files sync between the iPad and the Mac so everything is always up to date on each device.

My husband is happy too–no more moving of the incredibly important recipe program.  This was a great Thanksgiving present to myself as I always cook for what is my favorite holiday!  Thanks, Carolyn!

~mary anne
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