Katy Dickinson

Carnegie Mellon Today

Our family was delighted to see the "Photo Op" article on p.7 of the newly-published October 2009 issue of Carnegie Mellon Today magazine. The article is about my daughter Jessica who took a photo of General Colin Powell at the Presidential Inauguration. The Special Libraries Association used her photo as their magazine cover image.

Jessica is a Junior in the Humanities Scholars Program at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is planning on spending her next semester at the CMU-Q campus, in Doha, Qatar. Jessica's major is Ethics, History and Public Policy with a minor in Vocal Performance but she spends a much of her spare time messing around with computers.

Posted at 02:26PM Oct 06, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |  Comments[0]

New Willow Glen Lion's Club

My husband, John Plocher, and I recently joined the new San Jose - Willow Glen Lions Club. With 45,000 clubs and 1.3 million members, Lions is the world's largest service club organization. Our new club started officially on 17 August and our charter night and party will be on 24 October. We have over thirty members already. I was elected Club Secretary. John and I are enjoying meeting and working with members of our local community.

Club Leaders

Willow Glen Lions Club Meeting

Recycling Eyeglasses

Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 01:55PM Sep 17, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Thanks, Johnathan!

My poster story

In 2006, Sun had a Change Agent poster contest and I was lucky to be one of the winners. The posters went up in Sun buildings around the world plus each winner got a few copies of our own poster, one of which was signed by Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's CEO and President. I was proud of my signed poster so I put it up in the hall next to my office door. Last year, someone decided to rip everything down from the walls of our building. I was very disappointed to find my poster had been thrown out but figured there was nothing to be done...

This week, I was talking with Bree Luther who works for Jonathan and told her my poster story. She very kindly offered to fix the problem. Bree took my two remaining posters to Jonathan yesterday and he signed both! Thanks, Jonathan! (and Bree!).

Images Copyright 2006-2009 by Katy Dickinson and Sun Microsystems

Posted at 06:37PM Sep 16, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |  Comments[4]

Danny Cohen, Donald Knuth, Sun Labs Intellectual Dessert

One of the pleasures of Sun Labs is its weekly Intellectual Dessert lecture series. Recently, this series has been managed by Jeff Rulifson. Before that, Whit Diffie was the Intellectual Dessert impresario. Jeanie Treichel coined the series name.

Two Intellectual Dessert speakers who are both early developers of computer science:

• Last week, Sun Distinguished Engineer Danny Cohen gave a fascinating talk on "A Brief Prehistory of VoIP". This was first given as an invited talk with Steve Casner at IPTComm (8 July 2009). Danny and Steve were at the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute when the reported work was performed.
  Danny pioneered visual real-time interactive flight simulation on general purpose computers. He also pioneered real-time radar simulation. Later, Danny lead projects that pioneered real-time interactive applications over the ARPAnet and the Internet, such as visual flight simulation, packet-voice (aka Voice over IP) and packet-video.
  For fun, see Danny's and my Homage to Beck Subway and Metro Maps.


• In February 2008, Don Knuth took on the challenging topic of "All Questions Answered". Dr. Knuth is Professor Emeritus of the Art of Computer Programming at Stanford University.

Danny Cohen, 2009

Donald Knuth, 2008

Images Copyright 2008-2009 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 06:57PM Sep 15, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |  Comments[2]

Heart Walk 2009

Yesterday was the Silicon Valley Heart Walk 2009 at De Anza College in Cupertino, CA. We gave away red squeezy hearts at the Sun booth. I have been working with Sheri Kaneshiro coordinating the Heart Walk fundraiser for Sun Microsystems on behalf of our sponsor Greg Papadopoulos, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development. We were very proud that both of the invited inspirational speakers were from Sun:

• Dr. Jim Mitchell, Sun Vice President & Fellow, Sun's #1 fund raiser and one of the top fund raisers for this entire walk, 2008 Heart Walk Talk presenter at Sun, heart survivor
• Donna Steelman, Fit@Sun Instructor, 2009 Heart Walk Talk presenter at Sun, heart survivor

We have been recruiting walkers and donors from both inside and outside of Sun. Even though the walk is over, you can still make a donation through the Company Page of Sun Microsystems. If you work for Sun, you can join the group donation match request. So far (before company matching funds are added in), we have raised $12,938 and sponsored over 50 walkers to benefit the American Heart Association. The American Heart Association is the largest voluntary health organization working to prevent, treat and defeat heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.

Some photos of Sun from yesterday's walk:

Sheri and John, Sun booth

Sun sign, squeezies

Sun booth

Molly the Dog

Heart Walk guys

Heart Walk girls

Heart Walkers

Ballon Clown

Donna Steelman

Jim Mitchell

Jim Mitchell's Star

Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 09:44PM Sep 14, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

High Speed Rail Teach-In

My husband, John Plocher, and I spent most of last Saturday (12 September) at the PCC "High Speed Rail Teach-In" at the Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto, California. As lifelong railfans, owners of WP668 (our historic backyard caboose), and neighbors just across the Guadalupe River from San Jose's Tamien train station, we are of course interested in HSR, California's biggest public works project ever. Our friend Susan Fineberg (who serves on Palo Alto's Planning and Transportation Commission) told us about the event.

The day was about what was desirable, constructible, and feasible from the point of view of the cities and residents of Atherton, Belmont, Burlingame, Menlo Park, and Palo Alto (the "Peninsula Cities"). Hundreds participated. The event offered two impressive speakers: Gary Patton (a Santa Cruz environmental lawyer and 20-year county supervisor), and Robert Doty (Director, Peninsula Rail Program for Caltrain and the California High Speed Rail Authority), two panels, a community discussion (Open Space Technology), and other opportunities for learning and sharing knowledge and opinions. The event was well managed by Yoriko Kishimoto (PCC Chair and Palo Alto City Council Member) and Marcia Daszko (of Marcia Daszko & Associates, a Deming-trained management consultant).

I enjoyed meeting and sitting with John Traynor and his sister Joyce and hearing what they had to say about alternative track designs. A few comments, a commendation, and two quotes:

1. Comment: In the interminable introductions of local and regional dignitaries, I was pleased to hear two bloggers included: Clem Tillier who writes the Caltrain HSR Compatibility Blog, and Robert Cruickshank, writer of the California High Speed Rail Blog.
2. Comment: I wish there would be similar events held for the South Bay Area where John and I live. The HSR project will almost certainly plow through many poor and disadvantaged neighborhoods along the tracks. It is great to see community involvement among the wealthier peninsula cities but...
3. Comment: I was surprised at how little discussion there was of managing the potentially huge volume of additional travelers going into and coming from the HSR line. John's break-out session on needing a hub and first class airport connections was one of the few groups talking about the need for rental cars, parking, hotels, food, retail shops, connections to other forms of public transport, security and policing, etc. People who will come to use the new high speed rail service in preference to airplanes, driving, and Amtrak may make for an overwhelming crowd.
4. Comment: Only Robert Doty spoke at length with clear expertise about failure management and safety. It seems to me that this topic will end up driving many of the design decisions but it was only very lightly covered.
5. Commendation: Many dignitaries were present to be introduced when the event started. At the very end of the day, only three remained to hear everything that the people had to say. Congratulations to: Yoriko Kishimoto (PCC Chair and Palo Alto City Council Member), Terry Nagel (Burlingame Council Member), and Dominic Spaethling (Regional Manager, San Francisco to San Jose Section, California High Speed Rail Authority) for doing your job so well.
6. Quotes:
   Robert Doty: "There is no magic, only magicians."
   Gary Patton: "You can't trust the government, ever."

You can check out all of the photos John and I took on flickr: "High Speed Rail Teach In, Palo Alto, CA". Video play back dates and times are listed in the bottom photo.

Greg Greenway, Dave Young, Rich Tolmach, Robert Doty, Tony Carrasco, Marcia Daszko

Susan Fineberg, Karen Hollman reviewing a track model at the HSR Teach-In

James Jonas, Joyce & John Traynor, and John Plocher discuss Open Space Technology

Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 11:42AM Sep 14, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

A Tribute to Sun Microsystems

On 11 June, Ingrid Van Den Hoogen, Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing, asked Sun's staff to "commemorate and celebrate the rich history and contributions that Sun's made over the past 27 years" on "a virtual site called thenetworkisthecomputer.com to house the digital artifacts of Sun's story for the long term". On 2 September, A Tribute to Sun Microsystems was announced. It has been interesting to read everyone else's stories and I was pleased to see three of my own included:

• Women in Engineering, Hopper Conference
• Sun Sigma
• My Earliest Sun T-shirt

Regardless of the wonders our future may hold, like my What I Love About Sun - After 25 Years blog entry on 1 May, thenetworkisthecomputer.com is a way for staff to find closure on our Sun history and hopes during this long and confusing time of transition to Sun-Oracle.

Some pictures from my Sun history entries:

Certified Black Belt

Hopper 2007 Poster

Hopper 2008 Conference

1984 Sun Tshirt

Images Copyright 2007-2009 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 05:44PM Sep 08, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

A Day at the San Francisco Zoo

My husband John and I were part of the team who took a group of inner city San Jose kids on three field trips this summer for Santa Maria Urban Ministry. In July, we went to The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. At the end of August, we went to the San Francisco Zoo. The baby gorilla and meerkats were favorites. We rode on the 1904 McGarrigles Little Puffer miniature steam train and the 1921 Dentzel menagerie Carousel. After seeing the animals, we walked across The Great Highway for a brief visit to Ocean Beach. Of course, Jose fell in immediately and everyone had a grand time getting wet and sandy.

Early Morning Group

SF Zoo Tickets

turtle sculpture

sitting on geese sculpture

meerkats

turkey vulture

flamingos

lioness and cubs sculpture

gorillas

giraffe horned girl

winged boy

bear girl

kangaroo boy

Little Puffer Train

Little Puffer Train

Dentzel Carousel

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach

Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 04:56PM Sep 08, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

I'm Blogging This for Sun

Last year, Deirdre Straughan was kind enough to give me one of her I'm Blogging This for Sun tshirts. She is now collecting photos of how those shirts are being worn. Check out Deirdre's blog for the entries so far. Here I am in my caboose office with my cockatiels, Simon and Garfunkel:

Images Copyright 2009 by John Plocher

Posted at 06:38PM Sep 04, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Lair of the Golden Bear, "Twilight at Pinecrest"

We got back last week from our annual camping trip. Every year since 1993, my family has vacationed at the Lair of the Golden Bear, the family camp managed by the U.C. Berkeley Alumni Association. The Lair is in the Sierras near Pinecrest. There are 3 camps within the Lair: Gold, Blue, and Oski.

As usual, John, Jessica, Matt, Paul and I picked up my mother Eleanor in San Francisco and visited Poot's House of Cactus in Ripon on the drive to Pinecrest.

In over 50 years of Lair camping, each week has developed its own style and traditions. Our family is always well represented in the 10th week Camp Blue Review - the Lair's Wednesday night talent show. This year, Jessica sang “Losing My Mind” by Stephen Sondheim (she studies Music at Carnegie Mellon), Matt did gymnastics (he is on the Gymnastics team at William & Mary), and the whole family acted in a Cal vs. Stanford vampire skit written by my brother Pete, called "Twilight at Pinecrest". We celebrated Paul's birthday with his traditional Lair Cake.

After our week at the Lair, we drove our truck and Yuppie Wagon trailer over Sonora pass (9,624 feet above sea level) through the stark and lovely Emigrant Wilderness to Nevada's capital Carson City, where we visited the Nevada State Railroad Museum. We then drove to Vacaville to see the newly-in-use Nut Tree train (on a very tiny track, alas!) and the Consolidated Rock & Mineral shop. We stopped off in San Francisco to drop off my mother and pick up our two new birds and then drove home to San Jose.

Entering San Francisco

Matt, Jessica, Paul, Yuppie Wagon

Picking up Grandma

Visiting Poot's House of Cactus

yucca

hippo cactus

cactus flower

Camp Blue Road

wine & cheese

John in hammock

jay bird visiting

squirrel in bucket

our tent

Jessica

Jessica and Matt

Wheel and Deal in the lodge

visiting butterfly

my nephew Daniel

Blue Review skit audition

my niece Lynda

Lynda's girl pack

Paul, Jessica, Matt

Pete, Eleanor, Katy

Family with Oski the Bear

Jessica

Matt, Blue Review

Jessica, Blue Review

Jessica and Matt

Paul watching a movie

sunset tree

the creek

water skeeter

Pete, Eleanor, kids

pinecones

Jesscia and Paul, Nut Tree Train 1994

Nut Tree Railroad 2009

Nut Tree Railroad flyer 2009

San Francisco in the fog

Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 03:21PM Sep 04, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |  Comments[1]

Portable Typewriter, Thinking Inside the Box, New Cockatiels

I am still learning the best arrangement for posts on my new other KatysBlog on Wordpress. I put up three posts there recently, with what I think is better use of photos than in my first efforts:

• Remington Portable Typewriter (28 August)
• Thinking Inside the Box funny cat pictures (31 August)
• Adopted Cockatiels – Simon & Garfunkel (31 August)

I like the blog stats and other tools Wordpress offers.

Posted at 07:14PM Aug 31, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Tino vs. Frankie

Need a funny photo? Here is my 14-year-old cat Tino staring down our neighbor's dog Frankie who is trying to come in for a visit. Frankie just knows that everybody loves a little dog jumping all over them. Tino is using serious body language to say otherwise. Frankie left.

Image Copyright 2009 Katy Dickinson

Posted at 03:57PM Jul 24, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Sun Stock Meeting Today

My husband, John Plocher, and I attended the special meeting of Sun Microsystems' stockholders this morning in the Santa Clara, CA, Auditorium. For the official word, read the press release. I have worked for Sun for 25 years, so I wanted to be there today in person. (Just for fun, see below a photo of the 4 March 1986 Sun IPO prospectus in a plastic cube, given to employees who were there at the time.)

There were several kinds of guards around: uniformed, guys in black suits with sunglasses, and a german shepherd dog. The Auditorium was only about half-full (maybe 100 people?). The meeting lasted about ten minutes. It was opened by Mike Dillon, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, who apologized on behalf of Chief Executive Officer and President Jonathan Schwartz, who was too ill to attend. The proposed merger transaction with Oracle ("Proposal to Adopt the Merger Agreement") was the only item on the agenda. Quorum was present, ballots were distributed then collected, the proposal was approved. Oracle will acquire Sun common stock for $9.50 per share in cash. Craig Norris (Vice President, Corporate Law, and Assistant Secretary) ended the meeting with the phrase: "So it is written, so it shall be done".

Another view of the meeting from Alex Handy is called "The end of Sun".

Sun IPO Prospectus Cube 1986

Meeting Sign Today

guards

Santa Clara Clocktower Building

Images Copyright 2009 Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 01:14PM Jul 16, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Gar Skull

A year ago, my brother-in-law Marty accidently ran over a surprising and large toothy gar with a speedboat on Loon Lake in Wisconsin. Gars are big non-native predators which we don't want in our little lake killing the game fish, so no one was sad that it died. It is also not edible, so Marty threw it up onto the hill behind the cottage once I had taken a photo.

This summer, the kids found the skeleton of the gar on the hill and had fun checking it out. All of those sharp little teeth in the long jaw are creepy but very interesting.

Marty and the Gar, 2008

Gar Skull, 2009

Images Copyright 2008-2009 Katy Dickinson

Posted at 07:17PM Jul 02, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |  Comments[1]

Bonduel Village Hall

Visiting family in Wisconsin last week, we several times drove though the Village of Bonduel. Bonduel is between Slab City and Cecil in the dairy farmland near Lake Shawano. I noticed the old brick Fire Station, now used as the Bonduel Village Hall, Library, Police, and Department of Public Works. The more I looked, the odder it seemed.

In addition to the three nuclear Fallout Shelter signs on its walls and the huge siren and silver bell on its roof, this peculiar building is as good an example of remuddling as I have seen. "Remuddling" is a term used by Old House Journal for "misguided remodeling-that is, an alteration that is insensitive to the architecture or character of the house." Someone decided that colored patchwork fiberglas panels and a huge zigzag steel fascia were just the thing to fill in the old truck bay of what was once a handsome red brick firehouse. Based on the style, the "update" happened in the early 1960s.

Almost as interesting is the building close by with the simple sign HECK. (Heck is where people go who don't believe in Gosh.)

Fallout Shelter

Bonduel Village Hall

Heck

Images Copyright 2009 Katy Dickinson

Posted at 10:07PM Jun 30, 2009 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |