Finding Option Chains in Google Finance

Sorry that it's been so long in between postings - I've been playing the part of Shiftman and Bizman more than Refman lately.

Now, if you're like me, finding the option chain information for "Mr. Bigcharts" can be a bit difficult at times.  And even once you find it, it's not always presented in an easy-to-read format, especially when the customer is looking for future option expiration dates.

However, I may have stumbled upon a better, well, option.

While exploring Google Finance the other day, the term "option chain" in the left sidebar caught my eye.  Sure enough, you can now find option chains while in Google.

First, go to Google Finance.  If you can remember the URL, you can type in finance.google.com and go directly there.  Or from the main Google search page, click on the "more" dropdown  menu from the toolbar:

Once the menu drops down, select "finance."

From the Google Finance main page, type in the stock symbol - in this case AAPL for Apple - and press enter or click "get quotes:"

The main stock screen for aapl will then be displayed, featuring current pricing, charts and news items.  From the left sidebar, click "option chain:"

You will then see the option chain for your selected stock.  To my eyes, it's a bit easier to find and to read than in Bigcharts.  Right above the option chain is another dropdown menu for changing the view by expiration date:

Give it a try the next time "Mr. Bigcharts" calls.

Finally! - The Nook is Operable

I was recently fortunate enough to come into possession of a Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader device, and for that I'm grateful.  However - as those of you who frequently use our website are well aware - figuring out how to get Overdrive books onto it to read was a struggle.

Though a book bought from B&N could be read on the device, books that I downloaded from Overdrive could be read on my computer and transferred to the Nook, but not read from there.  I kept getting the error message "user not activated."  Well, I had a B&N account, an Overdrive account and an Adobe ID (more on that later), so it didn't make any sense.

So, as best I can tell, you should do the following:

1. Download Adobe Digital Editions (this is the software that allows one to download DRM-protected materials and transfer the files to e-readers)
2. Get an Adobe ID
3. Authorize Adobe Digital Editions
4. Plug Nook into computer to activate the device in Adobe Digital Editions
5. Use Overdrive to download books to e-reader

Now, I understand that these are not the clearest instructions, but I'm still not totally confident in knowing how the thing works anyway.  That's why we have the Internet.

Thankfully, there are some competent people out there who have figured things out and are willing to share their tips and tricks.  I found the blog Pigs, Gourds, and Wikis, which had nice instructions on how to actually download a book from Overdrive to a Nook (I found these to be better than the FAQs on our Overdrive site).  Her blog post helped, but I was still having some issues, so another google search led me to Nookboards.com's forums, where I found that someone else had the exact same problem that I was experiencing, along with a suggested solution (it worked!).

So bottom line - if you come into an e-reader this Christmas and you run into problems, I may be able to assist, though I wouldn't hesitate to tap into the wealth of (possibly) helpful information that can be found online too - it can't hurt to get a second opinion (or more).

Yarrr, me sea rats 'n winsome lassies - th' new books be in!

International Literary Market Place 2011 (070.50254 International)

Dictionary of the Bible, 2nd ed. (220.3 Dictionary)

The Statesman's Yearbook 2011 (305 Statesman)

TheStreet Ratings' Guide to Stock Mutual Funds (332 TheStreet)

And, probably the most important reference item we've received in years:

Pirates of the Americas (910.45 Marley, 2 volumes!!)  Resplendent with its color reproduction of the great Howard Pyle's illustration of Captain Kidd from The Ruby of Kishmoor (nice, but I might have gone with another of his paintings, or something from N.C. Wyeth's illustrations from 1911 edition of Treasure Island), Pirates of the Americas "offers hundreds of entries on the most famous - and infamous - buccaneers of the 1600s and 1700s, separating fact from fancy as it describes the men, their exploits, and the era in which they prowled the seas of North and Central America."

Includes more than 500 alphabetical entries; brief chronological timeline of events at the end of each volume; 48 images of ships, harbors and maps; select bibliography and glossary at the end of each volume; and a comprehensive index.

Enjoy, me hearties.

Proctor, Proctor - give me the news!....

Call Center customer:  "Do you [JPL] provide proctoring services?"

(Ever since this question came to me in the call center, I've had Robert Palmer's Bad Case of Lovin' You stuck in my head, but I digress.)

Of course, the answer is "no, we most certainly do not," but then I'm never sure where to refer the customer who is looking for proctoring services.

It just so happens that the National College Tester Center provides a free referral service through their Consortium of College Testing Centers, primarily to facilitate distance learning.  There are two members in our area:

• Open Campus Florida State College at Jacksonville 632-5020
• University of North Florida, Office of Academic Testing 620-2927

Note:  Both sites offer proctoring by appointment-only, and are fee-based.

If you find other local sources, feel free to list them in the "comments."

New Item in Reference - 9/7/2010

Just an FYI --

The 2010 Official Florida Driver's Handbook has been "added" to Reference.  It was left on a table unclaimed, so it was absorbed into our collection.  It has not been given a barcode or added to Workflows, but it has been labeled and will be kept beneath the desk with our other local services periodicals.

And I Thought There Were A Lot Of Books in Pre-shelving!

This has nothing to do with reference, but I though this bit of trivia was interesting.  Using an algorithm that crunches numbers from libraries, national union catalogs and WorldCat, Google estimates that there are over 129 million books in existence!

I'll try to remember this the next time I'm routing in books in Call Center and convince myself that things could be worse.

Photo from La Gatera de Beguemot.

Ask A Librarian

Hello!  If you're not one of my dozen or so regular readers who have this blog's URL emailed to them and have stumbled upon this site as you travel through Googledom, welcome!

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