http://crystalchen.com/weblog Thu, 29 May 2008 07:41:32 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Damm, Jens (2006). Chinese Cyberspaces Technological Changes and Political Effects. Zhen, Yongnian (2008). Technological Empowerment. Zhou, Yongming (2006). Historicizing Online Politics: Telegraphy, the Internet, and Political Participation in China. Stanford University Press. http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2008/04/09/technological-empowerment/ I love (and have been hoarding) the cornstarch spoons and forks that are used by Govinda's restaurant in the Sustainability Courtyard on campus. They feel much sturdier than plasticware and have a nice tan color. The best part of it is that they are biodegradeable and compostable, meaning that even ... http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2008/02/29/cornstarch-spoon/ chana dal pinches of cayenne, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder 1 T. tamarind pulp (or 1 T. lemon juice & 1 t. sugar) 1 T. vegetable oil black mustard seeds Clean and soak the chana dal in ... http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2008/02/29/chana-dal/ As part of the Affiliate Program, I now attend Wednesday Evening Seminars which are two hour programs which include a presentation, discussion, and Q&A.  The Seminars include all the Fellows, Affliliates, and are also open to the public as well.  Tonight's speaker was a scholar who spoke on sustainability in ... http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2008/02/07/wednesday-evening-seminars/ Since June, I have been on the prowl for a new cell phone. After much research, including a lot of pdadb.net comparisons, I found the HTC Kaiser had everything I wanted, a 3MP digicam, Windows Mobile 6, 3G capability, and GPS to boot. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be coming out ... http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2007/12/31/kaiser-tytn-ii-tilt/ From Lhasa to Guangzhou 56 hours via Golmud, Xining, Xi'an, etc. Departs at 10 AM on Day 1 and arrives at 6:15 PM on Day 3 Soft sleeper price: about 1500 RMB From Lhasa to Xining 24 hours via Golmud Departs at 10 AM on Day 1 and arriving at 10 AM on Day 2 From Lhasa to Chengdu 46 ... http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2007/06/05/the-lhasa-train/ http://www.amazon.com/Doing-Fieldwork-China-Maria-Heimer/dp/0824830709 A must read for anyone who is about to do fieldwork in China. In particular, Chapter 3, "Fieldwork as Coping and Learning" by Elin Soether, was written especially with the graduate student/first-time researcher in mind. This book illuminates many China-specific problems faced by researchers which aren't typically revealed in the final published papers. http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2007/03/06/doing-fieldwork-in-china/ I noticed a small, but extraordinarily significant, change to Google Translate. They now have a wider variety of translation options for Chinese. Previous: English to Simplified Chinese (beta) Simplified Chinese to English (beta) Current: Chinese to English (beta) Traditional Chinese to English (beta) Traditional Chinese to Simplified Chinese (beta) Simplified Chinese to English (beta) Simplified Chinese to Traditional ... http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2007/02/03/google-translate-changes-to-the-chinese-options/ Taipei Times reported a story about foreigners maintaining blogs/websites in Taiwan. The article features Michael Turton, a foreigner living in Taiwan, who has created a blog in reaction to the toxic news environment there. I think voices like his are doing a great job at filling the gaps in understanding ... http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2007/01/30/foreigners-blogging-in-taiwan/ Day 1 of the conference was by and large the best day of the entire conference and well worth attending. The presentations are a great chance to see what the industry is up to and meet all kinds of people involved in usability.Registration A large, red helium arc greeted ... http://crystalchen.com/weblog/2006/10/06/user-friendly-2006-day-1/