The Boston Community

I just moved into a house on the watertown/newton border, and I was thinking about starting a vegetable garden in my backyard when it gets warmer. Should I test the soil to see if it's polluted before growing any vegetables in it? My co-worker told me that umass amherst does soil testing for a fee, but their website says that "pesticide residues and petroleum contaminants are not identified by these tests". It does test for heavy metals, PH, etc, but I'm not sure if that's enough

i know the primary was soooo two days ago but i was going to post to ask if anyone knew the statistical breakdown of voters' age, gender, etc. but then i remembered my favorite website, did a search, and though some of you might find this interesting: The New York Times primary results page (which is supercomprehensive) & CNN's page for MA with primary results broken down by party. kinda cool.

Can anyone recommend some good places to look for a used van? Preferably a Chevy Express 2500, 2000 or newer, for under $4k? Also acceptable would be a minibus, so if anyone knows where to get surplus/discount busses, I'd like to know that too!

What dealerships have you had good experiences with? Bad ones?

Thanks much!

DefectiveByDesign.org has announced an action against libraries that support DRM on their collections. Boston locals can join them this Saturday from 1pm to 3pm at the Boston Public Library's main branch, and non-locals are encouraged to stage an action against their own library if it's using DRM.

Read story at Digg

(I'll be there.)

I hear Romney's dropping out.
Discuss!

hello gang. just joined for a purpose here. if this is against any unwritten rules, sorry!

i'm a writer working on an anthology of a pretty much forgotten feminist/lesbian'ische writer. did a book on her some years ago, and now i want to do more and bring all of her writing back in print.

she lived in rockland from 1902 to 1908, boston from 1908 to 1909, and got quite a lot of press coverage.

thought perhaps there'd be a student who'd like to pick up extra cash finding articles for me in the libraries and any other information that might be preserved (letters from/to her, info on her life in rockland with an older woman) - but my main focus here is on her original writings, secondarily on writing -about- her.

if you want to talk about this with me - or know someone who would - drop me a reply here and i'll answer.

i'm not made of money, but i'd definitely want a fair arrangement for us both - and a way for each of us to get what we've earned without internet deceptions or misunderstandings.

so drop a line, and let's talk.

[ i'll probably lightly x-post this same thing in other bostony places. ]

For those of you who enjoy Starbucks coffee, you'll be happy to know that three Boston-area stores are getting Clover-brand machines in which to brew coffee! Starbucks' new pressed coffee will be serving up individual fresh-brewed cups of coffee, including some special blends that other stores don't have (like Aged Sumatra, Kona, Kenya Maritha, and Ethiopia Shakisso).

These three Boston-area stores are part of a test run, and the only other two stores in the country are in Seattle.


Tomorrow all three stores are having preview parties.
Starbucks at the Garage in Harvard Square is having their party from 4-6 pm with free coffee!

The other two stores are 1 Charles Street and 75-101 Federal Street in Boston. I don't know when their parties are, sorry!

All three stores will begin selling Pressed Coffee on Monday. So, take some time and enjoy a fresh-brewed individual cup of coffee! We'll even help you pick one you might like best. Verona coffee is amazing in the press.