SEE YOU IN NYC!
PUSH Buffalo is hosting a "Bringing Back Buffalo" fundraiser in NYC on July 26th. Come show some Buffalo pride and support our hometown! For more info., visit:
www.pushbuffalo.org.
Alex's dad, Bob, was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer in February. Sadly, his too short fight ended on May 29th. While the last couple of months took us all by surprise, we were extremely fortunate to have time with him to share stories and to continue to learn from him. We had a wonderful Passover Seder with both of our families and close friends in Buffalo. And Alex had been in Buffalo the last month to support his parents. A retired librarian and Buffalo pioneer of digital technologies, Bob remains one of the wisest and most enlightened individuals I know -- a true renaissance man.
Bob will best be remembered by family and friends for his sculpture art, photography and mountain-climbing adventures. Please visit Bob's blog from his time living in Las Vegas. Below are also 2 links for photos of a recent hiking trip he and Alex took back in January.
Alex also posted a touching blog last night.http://lvletter.blogspot.com/2008/01/mild-disappointment.htmlhttp://lvletter.blogspot.com/2008/01/walk-back-from-arrow-canyon.htmlAn obituary is published in the Buffalo News. Services will be private and later in the summer. Friends have also asked about donations. Our family suggests:
Burchfield-Penny Memorial Fund
1300 Elmwood Avenue
Buffalo, NY 14222
http://www.burchfield-penney.org/Hospice Buffalo
225 Como Park Blvd.
Cheektowaga, NY 14227
http://www.hospicebuffalo.com/A good friend of Alex's shared a poem with me tonight that spoke to her when she lost her grandfather. I hope in time that we'll find comfort in it as well.
++++++++++++++++++++
All Is Well
Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.
All is well.
Henry Scott Holland
1847-1918
Zia Turns 3!!!
Zia called tonight to thank us for her birthday gift-- a book on recycling and the importance of conserving that came with a canvas bag to use for groceries and assorted activities. She told us she loved the bag! It's hard to believe that she's already 3. And even more amazing that a 3 year old is calling friends to thank them for attending her birthday party!
I remember June 1, 2005 very well. Jenny had picked the day in the Beacon pool because she and Antonio would be back from visiting Honduras, where they would soon be moving. Jen called me on my way home from work to let me know that she was in labor but had just gotten off of a conference call because she was working from home. Jenny and I spent the afternoon with Jen (I think much to the disappointment of Jamal) flipping through the Sky Mall catalog that Jenny had brought from the airplane as a diversion for Jen. To this day, every time I see a Sky Mall catalog on a plane I think of Jen and Zia.
When they finally decided to go to the hospital, it wasn't much longer that the fabulous Zia was born. The next day at the hospital, with all of the Beaconers present, Kevin announced that Aimee was pregnant and that they were getting married in September! And next came Riley. Here are the two cousins this Sunday at Zia's party, playing in the Somerville "jungle" and having a glorious time. Let the wild rumpus begin!
In 1979, Alex's dad accomplished an unbelievable goal by hiking to the summit of Mt. McKinley in Alaska, which peaks at 20,320 feet. Prior to becoming ill, he sent off his slides from the trip to digitize them. Alex has been working with his dad over the last few weeks to organize the photos and document his experiences in a multimedia piece of work. I'm having problems posting some of Bob's photos so to check them out, visit
Alex's blog.
Welcome to the world girls!
On Friday, April 18th Josie & Conor had a precious baby girl -- Ivy Simone. Mommy, daddy, and baby are doing just fine. There's definitely a little of Josie & Conor in her face. I can't wait to meet her.
On Wednesday, April 23rd, my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl -- Leah Catherine. Big sis Hannah is settling into her new role -- although she did try to grab Leah's head the other day. As long as Stefanie doesn't teach her the Dodd forehead smack everything will be just fine.
These little green guys and gals are so cool!OK, so I can be a little bit of a tech geek sometimes. I don't often get the latest and greatest technology tools and toys...usually because I can't afford them. But when I learned that I could buy an XO laptop from One Laptop Per Child and send one abroad I couldn't resist.
This weekend,
Kathy and Scott hosted an XO laptop party. Scott, being the technology enthusiast that he is, has done a significant amount of research on the laptop and actually has been following OLPC since his time working at the MIT Media Lab. He helped me figure out how to change my laptop's name (I was boring at first and gave it my name. When Jenny named hers Carmen, I realized that I really need to figure out how to strengthen my creativity!) I have since named my laptop Lola :)
We had a great time learning how to use the little green laptops -- we even had 5 people collaboratively writing a poem together! We also shared photos in real-time, created our own mesh network, created music, and some folks even bought things on eBay.
The laptops are definitely geared toward children. I'm still getting used to having to peck on the small keyboard. And I'd love to see them in action either here in the U.S. or abroad.
I'm also curious to see what type of professional development and training is either offered or developed as a result of their instruction into the global market. Having facilitated educational technology training in rural South Africa with teachers who had never used a computer before, I cannot underscore the importance of providing some level of training and support to teachers so that they can begin to realize the power and potential
of the technology as a teaching and learning tool. To my knowledge, OLPC does not offer face-to-face training on the laptops or their use in education. However, I'm thoroughly impressed with the
OLPC wiki which has a wealth of resources and best practices. Considering I only received a leaflet of information when the laptop shipped, they are definitely taking paperless to heart!
More to come on the OLPC XO laptop. I ordered another one so that I can have two to learn how they can best interact and collaborate. As of yet I haven't heard from anyone who is interested in donating their laptops to the BPS but feel free to contact me after you've played around with them!
A Twist: Give One, Donate One
Now Extended through December 31st....
Just in time for the holidays, the nonprofit group,
One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a spin-off of MIT, launched the "Give One, Get One Program" on November 12th to kick-start the sales and distribution of its famed (and somewhat controversial) $100 laptop. Costing closer to $200 a laptop, OLPC is offering for a very limited time (until December 31st) the opportunity for U.S. customers to purchase
one of the little green "XO" laptops and donate one to a child in the developing world for $399 plus shipping.
Designed for use by students in the developing world where electricity and telecommunications infrastructure are scarce, the laptop is scaled to that of a child and includes antennae to pick up wi-fi signals. The laptop features a sealed, rubberized keyboard making it resilient to water, dust, and dirt. It's durable, functional, and energy efficient. And it's green!
I've already donated and am anxiously awaiting my little green laptop. Alex & I are also planning to buy a few more in honor of our friends and family this year as our holiday gift to them. I plan to donate the laptops we receive to the BPS so that it could be used by students in the district.
Here's where the twist comes in: If you're thinking about donating and providing a laptop to a student abroad, please consider donating the laptop you receive to a student in the Boston Public Schools for a double whammy of charitable contributions.
I have been working tirelessly for the last few years in the BPS to provide equitable access to technology for Boston teachers and students. We're making phenomenal strides but we still have a way to go to ensuring that all Boston students have the technology skills, literacy, and knowledge they need to succeed in today's digital world.
Through your donation, we'll be able to put the laptops into the hands of teachers & students for instructional and classroom use. Please contact me if you are interested in donating to the BPS. It would be wonderful to receive enough laptops to provide a classroom set to a school (or schools!) This might be the only time the laptops are available to students in the U.S.!
For more information on the One Laptop Per Child initiative, visit:
http://www.laptopgiving.org
Goodbye fall...hello winter...Boston experienced its first snow "storm" this weekend. Being from Buffalo, I can't come to terms with the fact that a few inches of snow could constitute a snow storm. With hopeful abandon though I did check the school closings on the off-chance that Boston schools closed for the day. Not seeing Boston's name in the long list of delays and closings did bring back childhood memories of getting up early the next morning after my dad and I did our traditional evening snow dance.
The arrival of snow makes me wonder where the fall went. It seems like just yesterday I was blogging good-bye to the summer. In the interest of time, and given the fact that I rarely have time these days to squeeze in 20 minutes of yoga or dinner with Alex, here's a summary of our fall:
- A to Columbus, OH to for a surprise celebration of our friend Mike's 30th birthday (during the Red Sox/Cleveland playoffs -- sorry Conor!)
- Weeks of late nights the Red Sox play-offs and World Series.
- Go Sox!!! They did it again!!!
- Hanging with Amina and not enough with Zia
- Kicking off book club
- JP Lantern festival
- Vegas baby! And the opportunity to reconnect with my childhood obsession with Phantom of the Opera
- Numerous trips to Trader Joe's
- A new haircut
- The turkey trot...in the rain this year
- Celebrating birthdays
- Thanksgiving in Buffalo with Hannah, family & friends
- La Nova pizza, with blue cheese of course (and wings for those who are carnivores)
- Many, many hours at work :)
- Catching up with friends
If you were a pair of glasses belonging to a woman who for some reason never puts her keys, T pass or glasses back in the same place, where would you be? Any thoughts?
Zia Turns 3!!!
Welcome to the world girls!
On Wednesday, April 23rd, my sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl -- Leah Catherine. Big sis Hannah is settling into her new role -- although she did try to grab Leah's head the other day. As long as Stefanie doesn't teach her the Dodd forehead smack everything will be just fine.
These little green guys and gals are so cool!
of the technology as a teaching and learning tool. To my knowledge, OLPC does not offer face-to-face training on the laptops or their use in education. However, I'm thoroughly impressed with the OLPC wiki which has a wealth of resources and best practices. Considering I only received a leaflet of information when the laptop shipped, they are definitely taking paperless to heart! 
