Indonesian Digital News Archive

August 2009

Fireworks 2009

I'll edit this post with new displays as I find them. I haven't included the parades, etc., in each town - this is fireworks only.

Amherst, at UMass, July 4

Chicopee, Szot Park, July 4

East Brookfield, Connie Mack Field, July 11 (rain date July 12)

Easthampton, Sat. Jul 04 -- Stars Over Montauk by Grucci 9:00 p.m. Umbrella Beach Old Montauk Hwy. approximately 1/3 mile west of town Rain date July 5th

Greenfield, Beacon Field, July 5 (rain date July 6)

Holyoke, HCC, July 3

Monson, Quarry Hill School, June 27 (rain date June 28)

Monson, SummerFest, July 4

South Hadley, Michael E. Smith Middle School, July 3

Springfield, Memorial Bridge, July 4

Springfield, Court Square, July 4

Sturbridge, Sturbridge Village, July 4

West Springfield, Town Common, July 4

Westfield, Stanley Park, July 3

Hadley's 350th Anniversary Celebration

With a parade, farm tour days, lectures and more, and a comprehensive website, this celebration is gaining steam as the halfway mark of the year is passed.
The Valley, and Hadley in particular, have long agricultural histories. Farming as a way of life is alive here in a way that becomes scarcer as food production becomes homogenized and consumers are distanced from food sources. CISA- Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture
Among the many ways that Hadley is being honored this year is with scholarship. Several volumes on the area have been planned.

Tom Pelissier of Belchertown, MA, has written a concise and colorful history of his French Canadian ancestors and the community that they lived in- our community. Tom's background in anthropology lends his short commentary authority and structure, while extensive research into the geneologies of his families has provided Tom with a personal connection to his subject. Beautiful and original illustrations by local artist Nancy Haver, as well as antique photographs, enhance the book aesthetically.

The French Canadians of Hadley Massachusetts; Why They Came and Why They Stayed, will be available shortly at the Hadley 350th Souvenir Shop.

Feel free to email the author at tompelissier@charter.net for further details.

For all of us who share his interest in our region, I highly recommend this volume.

Activities and Tasks Design Guidelines

For our third post in the series of Android UI, we're releasing Activity and Task Design Guidelines. This section of our guidelines aims to help you understand basic concepts of activities and tasks, how they work, and how to enrich the user experience you are creating.

We've packed a lot into this section, which is targeted at designers and developers. You'll see examples that will illustrate how to use our core principles and mechanisms, such as multitasking, activity reuse, intents, and the back stack.

Additionally, we are providing some best practices around our UI patterns such as notifications. For example, we'll show you how to design a notification so that it will take the user to the screen they expect. This behavior needs to be thought out, and doesn't necessarily just happen by default.

With helpful pointers to the API's and this documentation, we look forward to building your understanding of what it means to design and develop an Android UI.

Fishing Area 1, Quabbin, Pelham, MA

I headed North on 202 and clocked 4.5 miles from Townmart in Belchertown to the Fishing Area Sign.

After turning onto a gravel road, I drove (erratically) two or three more miles. I wasn't sure what I was looking for - all of the pull-offs had large NO PARKING signs. When I finally pulled into the parking area, I was stunned by a wide open, glittering vista. Tidy boats line the shore, and the distinctive dip of the Winsor Dam is barely visible across the water. A tower peeps over the left hand hill.

I paid a $4 parking fee and was directed to the trail head, behind the porta potty, on the far left when facing the reservoir.

We hiked several miles on a beautiful trail along the edge of the Quabbin, peeking out at half a dozen lookout spots. At each of these points, the pinky-orange granite of the mountains could be seen extending from ground cover to bare rock, to lake floor. The lookout nearest to the parking area became our snack and play spot. I nursed the baby while the boys jumped around like mountain goats on the jagged rocks. The water deepened very gradually, so I wasn't worried about their safety.

The kids found two varieties of caterpillar and more than a few insects along the way. They had the opportunity to play on a small beach where my oldest was fascinated by the waves "rolling in." When we returned to our starting point by the boat launch, they spent some time heaving rocks into the water while I stalked an amazing butterfly, who seemed to be begging me to photograph him. My son had identified one of the caterpillars as a swallowtail, and he said that this was a swallowtail as well. We looked it up later to confirm his information (he seemed a little miffed, but he is only 4); he was correct. It's an Anise Swallowtail butterfly.

We loved this walk so much that we're going back later this week with my husband. And going back in a week or two to rent a boat for $5! $5!!

Quabbin Fishing Areas

Winsor Dam (my post)

Quabbin Hike (my post)

Quabbin Viewing Tower (my post)

Odyssey Book Shop, South Hadley, MA

This is a fantastic bookstore and it does a lot for children. The children's book section itself is fun and well stocked. Additionally, the Odyssey hosts storytimes and in the summer, weekly saturday morning family entertainment.

I'll confess I don't go there often, I think I went to a reading by Jenny Boylan several years ago and haven't gotten back. I plan on returning soon, however. A local writer (and parent) named Samantha Wilde will be reading from her new, mommy-lit, novel at the Odyssey on June 25, 2009 - you can check out her website, linked below.

A South Hadley afternoon might include a visit to the Mt. Holyoke Conservatory, or the Art Museum. The Village Commons, where the Odyssey is located, is an interesting outdoor mall with businesses that include a delicious deli, movie theatres, and a few stores.

Odyssey Book Shop

Samantha Wilde

Northfield Drive In, Hinsdale, NH

This is a great place to take the kids at least once per summer. A green and beautiful drive takes you up to Northfield (actually Hinsdale), where you can enjoy the parking lot atmosphere and have something to eat while you wait for dark. A large playground is provided (though it's pretty old equipment). Concessions are available but why not bring a spread of your own with everything that you like? If your kids start to cry during the movie, just roll up your windows and turn the movie's volume up on your radio. Eventually they will fall asleep and you can watch the rest of the double feature.

We are really looking forward to visiting again this year.

Northfield Drive In

July 2009

Viewing Tower, Quabbin, Ware, MA

Update: Tower was still closed on July 4, 2009.

Original Post:

On our recent visit we learned that the tower is closed for renovations, with an expected re-opening date of June 30, 2009. The views pictured above are from the base of the lookout tower.

The vista from the top is of some of the many Quabbin islands - hilltops that have become hummocks on the water. It's often misty, and always very beautiful. Think Avalon.

A large parking lot is surrounded by a circular drive. Picnic spots are dotted along the edge, where scenery is the most lovely.

The walkway leading to the tower is short, and paved, so you could potentially take your stroller. There are also a number of trails leading from this spot. Several years ago we walked around the area quite a bit and found the paths difficult to navigate - if memory serves, we had a barely toddling little guy who couldn't keep his footing on the roots and rocks. We are looking forward to exploring this area again, this time with our baby in a backpack.

Quabbin (DCR site)

Winsor Dam (my post)

Quabbin Hike (my post)

Quabbin Fishing Area (my post)

Fairy Houses

This activity is great for at home or out somewhere. The fun begins with treasure hunting for various materials to construct your house, and selection of an appropriate location. Then you're ready to start building. It was fun for me to do this, and my boys got into it also - especially my 3 year old. They introduced action figures and animal figures to the houses, so it turned into free play when we were done.

As it turned out, this was also a cool nature activity. Looking at the materials up close prompted a lot of questioning. And answering, of course.

Book that inspired us

How-to information

Calling all developers for Android Developer Challenge 2!

I'm excited to announce the second Android Developer Challenge (ADC)! The first challenge was a huge success with over 1,700 entries that resulted in 50 excellent winners. With the recent release of Android 1.5, as well as the availability of devices in multiple markets around the world, I'm pleased to announce the second ADC.

We've expanded ADC 2 to involve a very important part of the Android community—the users who will be running these applications. Users of Android-powered devices with Android Market will be able to download a special Android judging application and use it to download and rank applications submitted to the Challenge. The results from this round will determine the top ranking applications in each of the 10 categories. These top applications will then be ranked by a combination of users and a panel of Google selected judges through a similar process as the first round to determine the final winners.

I've already seen a lot of great apps on Android and I look forward to seeing even more innovative and unexpected cool apps that will come out of this Challenge! For more details on ADC 2, please see the official site. Start your engines and good luck!