My husband and I recently became a member of Boston Building Materials Co-op. We were able to purchase blue rain barrel for cheap price ($60) compared to one that we've bought at on-line store 
for $199 + SH. The blue one will be hidden from public views. I didn't realize we have 5 pipes coming down from our gutter! Our 65 gallon barrel is completely full in one rainy day last week...
We were also able to purchase compost for $35! To be a member, it costed us $25, but materials they have are great. For our kitchen, I wanted to re-model in sometimes in the future (before in like 10 years) and was thinking about counter tops that were made out of recycled glass (http://www.icestone.biz). Well, they had the samples and I was able to touch them, see them, and admire them! May be remember from the posting back in the days? (http://blogs.simmons.edu/node/167)
Well, they are going to help us up to 2 hours to come up with blue prints and materials for fee! And i also discovered this material from kirei that I may want to build some furniture including cabinets. kirei is comprised with grass, it makes a great alternative to wood.
I'm so excited with all these materials that we can use for our new kitchen. Now, all i need is to win some lotteries!
Posted: May 4, 2008 12:36 am | 0 comments
Tags: bbmc, Boston Building Materials Co-op, compost, green, kirei, rain barrel
Open to everyone in public
Saturday, May 10, 2008
2:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: Linda K. Paresky Conference Center
Pangea Day taps the power of film to strengthen tolerance and compassion while uniting millions of people to build a better future.
In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.
On May 10, 2008 – Pangea Day – sites in Cairo, Dharamsala, Kigali, London, New York City, Ramallah, Rio de Janeiro, and Tel Aviv will be videoconferenced live to produce a 4-hour program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music.
Sponsored by the Technology Department, the Technology Diversity Team is hosting Pangea Day here on campus, making Simmons a part of this historic day! Please keep your eyes open for more details regarding this event.
For more information on Pangea Day, visit:
http://www.pangeaday.org
Or watch this promotional video:
Posted: April 30, 2008 10:50 pm | 0 comments
Tags: Diversity, pangea day, technology diversity committee, technology diversity committee event
For: Technology Staff Only
April 15, 2008
Kotzen Meeting Room
Time: TBA
Come hear Mike Prokosch, the Umass Lowell Labor Extension Coordinator speak about how gobalization affects IT employees. Mike works with the GCF Labor Extension Program that aims to give unions in the region educational and technical assistance. Mike formerly worked for United for a Fair Economy (UFE). UFE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to raise awareness about how wealth and power influence and change all aspects of people's lives.
Please look for your Meeting Maker invitation from one of our team members. A simple reply of "yes" will confirm your RSVP for the Lunch & Learn, but remember to do so BEFORE April 13, 2008.
Posted: April 30, 2008 10:48 pm | 0 comments
Tags: technology diversity committee, technology diversity committee event
I thought I was loosing my mind when I thought I heard "traditional asian dish". During the Christina Cooks commercial for WGBH Create, she said the term "traditional asian dish". I thought I heard it wrong so I ignored it. She said it again...
So, as a Japanese woman who is from small part of continent of Asia, I wonder what is this "traditional asian dish". I never hear someone says traditional european dish. or not...
There are 37 countries in continent of Asia. Ok. Often people use "Asians" as more Asia-pacific people. Still, I know, Japanese traditional dish depends on which part of Japan you are in. You may say of course there are local dishes. Well, let me pick neighboring countries of Japan, like Korea & China. We don't eat the same dishes. In fact, basic seasoning of dishes in those countries are very different. I'm only talking about 3 countries. Imagine adding Thai dish, Malaysian dish, Vietnamies dish, Philippino dish, then tell me what is "traditional asian dish."
My point is, stop bundle us into a continent. Oh, yeah. I was asked one time if I speak Asian.
BTW, we Japanese do not eat raw fish every day, so please don't ask another Japanese person if they eat raw fish every day.
Posted: April 13, 2008 3:50 pm | 0 comments
Tags: asian, dish
You never know when you've been asked to prove what you were doing 7-8 years ago. That's what happened to my husband. He received mail from state of Massachusetts that they are going to suspend his license because 2 unpaid traffic violations in Ohio.
OHIO?!?!?! WHAT???
My husband has been in Ohio, but never in adult life. May be he was age 7 in the car. Oh, yeah. He connected a flight in Cleveland once. On top of it, Ohio claimed my husband used to live in Ohio. That's crazy talk!
Anyway, all is going to work out, but now we need paper or something that says he did not live in Ohio and did not work in Ohio for those years he supposedly gotten tickets in Ohio.
My guess of how issuing ticket went:
A: What shall we do with these unpaid tickets?
B: Well, there ought to be a person with same name and birthday. Let's do national search!
A: Found one in Massachusetts, two in Minnesota, three in Ohio, and four in California.
B: I don't want to randomly pick. Let's give it to one in Massachusetts since he is the only one in Massachusetts.
A: Good idea.
Posted: April 3, 2008 5:30 pm | 1 comment
Tags:
Living in Two Worlds: Exploring Multi-Racial Identity
Dialogue and discussion with New York Time Bestselling author: James McBride, Author of "The Color of Water".
Featuring multi-racial panel of Berklee students and staff
Tuesday: March 25, 2008 from 2-4pm at David Friend Recital Hall at Berklee College of Music
921 Boylston St. Boston, MA
Co-sponsored by the Office For Cultural Diversity and the Office of the President.
------------------------------------
James McBride
Living in Two Worlds: Exploring Multiracial Identity
Award-winning jazz musician, McBride is the author of The New York Times bestseller, The Color of Water, a memoir that has become a modern classic. It has sold almost two million copies worldwide, spent more than two years on the New York Times bestseller list and is published in more than 16 languages. Currently, Spike Lee is directing the film adaptation of McBride’s debut novel, Miracle at St. Anna, paying tribute to African American soldiers who fought in WWII.
His newest novel, Song Yet Sung, is the highly charged story of an escaped female runaway slave in 1850, who desperately eludes a skilled slave catcher through the treacherous swamps of Maryland’s eastern shore.
James is a former staff writer for The Washington Post, People Magazine, and The Boston Globe. His work has also appeared in Essence, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times. His April 2007 National Geographic story entitled “Hip Hop Planet” is considered a respected treatise on African American music and culture.
As a musician, James has written songs (music and lyrics) for Anita Baker, Grover Washington Jr., and Gary Burton, among others. He served as a tenor saxophone sideman for jazz legend Little Jimmy Scott. He is the recipient of several awards for his work as a composer in musical theatre including the Stephen Sondheim Award and the Richard Rodgers Foundation Horizon Award. His “Riffin’ and Pontificatin’ “Tour, a nationwide tour of high schools and colleges promoting reading through jazz, was captured in a 2003 Comcast documentary. He has been featured on national radio and television programs in America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
James is a native New Yorker and a graduate of New York City public schools. He studied composition at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Ohio and received his Masters in Journalism from Columbia University in New York at age 22. He holds several honorary doctorates and is currently a Distinguished Writer in Residence at New York University
Posted: March 24, 2008 4:14 pm | 0 comments
Tags: Diversity, identity, james mcbride, multi-racial identity
I was recently quoted in Boston Globe sunday newspaper article titled Look homeward, Gen X. I know everyone read it and said "WHAT? She is 35?!?!!?" But the age is wrong. Way wrong. I wont be 35 until many years later. Infact, I have about 253511220 seconds left being 35 from Tue Mar 4 20:54:27 EST 2008.
Posted: March 4, 2008 8:57 pm | 0 comments
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