Katy Dickinson

53 SEEDs Matched (77%)

The 2007-2008 SEED Engineering mentoring terms are now 77% matched with 53 participants and mentors paired. The mentors for the Recent Hire and Established Staff participants so far include 12 Vice Presidents (2 of them Fellows), and 26 Directors (half of them Distinguished Engineers). That is, 72% of the matched mentors so far are senior executives.

More information on SEED is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Posted at 04:16PM Jul 27, 2007 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  | 

Sun Ray in "Prototype to Product" Exhibit at SFO

Sun's Sun Ray (TM) equipment is one of the featured designs in the new SFO United terminal's exhibit called "Prototype to Product: Thirty-three Projects from the Bay Area Design Community" showing off excellent San Francisco Bay Area industrial designs. The exhibit takes the form of a series of showcases along one of the moving walkways in the airline terminal. The show is open July 2007 through January 2008. It is presented by iDSA SF and the San Francisco Airport Museum. I saw it as I was flying out on Wednesday and the show is well worth taking extra travel time to visit.

Posted at 03:30PM Jul 27, 2007 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This blog entry does not contain any spoilers or plot details!

Our two copies of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows arrived early Saturday morning. John and the kids and I have taken turns reading them. Jessica finished on Sunday - taking about 24 hours to read the 759 pages while John and I were working in the garden and on the caboose. John and I finished last night at about the same time. Paul just finished this afternoon. We agreed not to discuss book details until everyone was done so we are looking forward to talking at dinner tonight.

People at work are being similarly courteous - not discussing the book in the halls without asking if everyone has finished. Jessica is now re-reading the series from Book 5. I plan to start the series from the beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone just for the fun of reading the whole story from beginning to end.

Posted at 05:53PM Jul 24, 2007 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Valentino Alone

Our 12-year-old cat Garbo died from cancer last week. I wrote about her in my 18 July 2007 blog entry. We buried her in the backyard and held a small family ceremony. Jessica sang the prayer of St. Francis using the tune by Sarah McLachlan

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

where there is darkness, light;

and where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;

to be understood, as to understand;

to be loved, as to love;

for it is in giving that we receive,

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,

and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen.

Garbo's litter mate Valentino and our whole family misses her. Tino knows there is something wrong, someone missing, and he keeps hunting around and crying. We are spending a great deal of time comforting Tino.

Image Copyright 2006 by John Plocher

Posted at 05:40PM Jul 24, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  | 

Harry Potter 7

J.K. Rowling's 7th Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was just delivered with a brisk knock on our early morning door. We bought two copies and the UPS delivery man for Amazon.com said he has 8,000 more to pass out in our area of San Jose, CA this morning. I know what I am reading today...

Posted at 09:02AM Jul 21, 2007 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |  Comments[3]

41 SEEDs Matched So Far

The SEED Engineering mentoring program is in the matching cycle for its Recent Hires and Established Staff participants in the 2007-2008 worldwide terms. We have 41 mentoring pairs confirmed so far. That is, in the first ten days of the cycle, we have 60% of our participants matched. Most of the mentors so far have been SEED mentors before. Seven mentors are SEED alumni, meaning that they were participants themselves in earlier terms.

Several of the mentors have position titles in addition to their official ones. This term, SEED is honored and delighted to welcome as mentors the Eco Responsibility Executive, the Chief Privacy Officer, Chief Security Officer, and the Chief Gaming Officer among staff with the more usual titles of Vice President, Fellow, Distinguished Engineer, and Director.

More information on SEED is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Posted at 09:37AM Jul 20, 2007 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  | 

Garbo Dying

When my mother was a young married woman (before she had kids), she worked in a bank in Hollywood. She tells us that she looked forward to seeing one of her bank's shyest customers, the lovely silent film star Greta Garbo.

Twelve years ago, my family adopted two striped gray kittens with huge green eyes and black eyelids. Their eyes reminded me of the movie makeup of the silent film stars. So, we named the kitties Greta Garbo and Rudolf Valentino, or Garbo and Tino for short. Here are photos from last year:

Garbo:

Garbo and Tino:

In 1995, we rescued these two as kittens abandoned at Donner Pass (elevation 7,085 feet). We were driving home from a week of camping and had stopped for coffee. While we waited, we saw a tiny gray kitten playing among the barstools. The bartender said that the kitten and her brother had been left by the highway the week before. They were sleeping in the woodpile, hiding out from the racoons. This was in early September and snow was due within two weeks. We took the kittens home, cut the pine tar out of their fur, and added them to our family.

When we came home from vacation last month, Garbo was clearly very ill. We have been taking her to the vet for weeks but yesterday she was diagnosed with incurable, inoperable cancer. We are trying one last medicine but even if that works, it will at best give us a few months before Garbo dies. We may have to ask the vet to put her to sleep this week if the medicine does not help.

Garbo and Tino are enjoying canned tuna (their special treat) and lots of combing and loving in the time we have left. Even though she feels bad and has much of her fur shaved off for the medical tests, Garbo is a sweet and lovely cat. This is my small tribute to our loving pet. We will miss Garbo.

Images Copyright 2006 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 01:46PM Jul 18, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  |  Comments[2]

Getting Ready to Empty the Nest

My daughter Jessica leaves home to become a Freshman at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in about a month. We are working through all that needs to be done before she goes. Jessica already passed her weaving loom along to an 8th grader from Peninsula School and in the space where the loom was are now three big boxes for her to fill. She wants to fly to Pittsburgh, PA to go to college by herself with just two suitcases. We will ship the boxes a week in advance so they will be there soon after she arrives.

Our friend Laura sent her son Timothy off to New York University last year. She said he came home at Christmas and left about half of the clothes he had taken to school in September. Dorm rooms are very small and Jessica will have two roommates. We are trying to think through her needs and plan carefully. Jessica has a full time summer job as a software developer for Stanford University so all of our preparations need to happen at night and on weekends.

CMU and other vendors have sent us three or four mailings offering sheet, towel, and toiletry sets for new Freshmen. We already bought extra long sheets when Jessica was at U.C. Santa Cruz for 8 weeks last summer taking Spanish. I don't think we need to buy new bedding for CMU. However, the refrigerator and microwave units CMU rents look like a very good idea. Also, Jessica needs to talk with her two new roomies and see if anyone plans to bring a printer.

We have been shuffling money from college savings funds into ready access accounts to be prepared to pay tuition. The first semester invoice for $24,569.50 arrived - payment is due 17 August 2007. 18 years of planning and saving for college and here we are getting ready to spend the money. Exciting!

Posted at 10:35PM Jul 16, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  |  Comments[3]

Caboose Welding and Woodwork

John is out in the backyard starting to shape the wood of the new back platform for WP668, our caboose. Our neighbor Joel is a plumber and races his dirt track car on weekends. Joel has several welding sets to put his car back together after the race. Joel is teaching John how to weld so that he can work on the steel parts of WP668.

The first kind of welding John tried was oxyacetylene gas; however, the heavy steel of the caboose made this slow going. Then, he started learning MIG (metal inert gas) welding which is working much better. John has learned to wear long sleeves and button them to avoid metal drips and to wear a t-shirt under his long sleeve shirt to avoid a sunburn from the MIG welder. He puts up a tarp so that we can't get our eyes burned looking at the welding from the house.

We need to extend and strengthen the back caboose platform (more of a landing or small porch, really) so that it can be connected to the new stairs. The original metal was in poor shape under the wood because of water thrown up by the wheels over many decades. It crumbled when poked. Very little of what John has been working on will show when the wood is replaced but it will be exceptionally sturdy.

We have hired someone to draw the plans for the steps to the Building Department's requirements. The same contractor has a stucco worker who can put the skin on the cabana (the hot tub changing room and storage shed) plus a window guy who can produce a custom window for the cabana and consult on replacement caboose windows. We found it hard to get contractors for a little jobs like just the cabana or just the caboose but with both projects together, we can get bids.

Posted at 09:16PM Jul 16, 2007 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Good Writing from Moore and Ovid

I very much enjoyed reading Christopher Moore's 2003 novel Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (# ISBN-10: 0380813815 and # ISBN-13: 978-0380813810). So, I next read Moore's 2004 novel Bloodsucking Fiends (# ISBN-10: 0060735414 and # ISBN-13: 978-0060735418). An example of Moore's intelligent and funny writing from Bloodsucking Fiends describes the difficulties of a new young vampire dressing for a date in San Francisco:

She had fifteen minutes before she was supposed to meet Tommy at Enrico's. Allowing for another bus ride and a short walk, she had about seven minutes to find an outfit. She walked into the Gap on the corner of Van Ness and Vallejo with a stack of hundred-dollar bills in her hand and announced, "I need help. Now!".

Ten sales people, all young, all dressed in generic cotton casual, looked up from their conversations, spotted the money in her hand, and simultaneously stopped breathing -- their brains shutting down bodily functions and rerouting the needed energy to calculate the projected commissions contained in Jody's cash. One by one they resumed breathing and marched toward her, a perky youthful version of The Night of the Living Dead.

"I wear a size four and I've got a date in fifteen minutes," Jody said. "Dress me."

The descended on her like an evil khaki wave.

After reading two Christopher Moore novels, I was ready for something more classical. I am now reading my way through Ovid: Metamorphoses translated by Rolfe Humphries (1955 and 1983, # ISBN-10: 0253337550 and # ISBN-13: 978-0253337559). Ovid (or Publius Ovidius Naso) had finished this, his greatest work, by the year 8 when Augustus Ceasar banished him from Rome. His stories of body changing ancient Greeks are charming and Humphries' poetry is sometimes inspired. Here is part of Book VI and the story of Latona, the mother of the twin gods Apollo and Diana, faced with country people refusing her a drink from a pond:

...neither children
Nor the mother's gentle words had any power.

They told her, Go away! and threats and insults

Were not enough; they made the water muddy,

Jumping and splashing, exulting in their meanness,

Until the goddess forgot thirst for anger.

No daughter of Coeus could keep on being humble

To louts such as these, no goddess fail to speak

In her full voice. She cursed them: "Live forever

In that foul puddle!" And it came out in that way:

They live in water and they love it dearly,

Now diving under, now coming up to the surface

To stick their ugly heads out, and now swimming,

Now squatting on the bank, or leaping in

To the cool water again, and all the time

Keeping their everlasting quarrels going

As shameless as they ever were, and cursing,

Or trying to curse, even when under water....

The new frogs keep on leaping.

Posted at 10:14PM Jul 10, 2007 by katysblog in News & Reviews  |  Comments[2]

13 out of 70 SEEDs Matched So Far

The SEED Engineering mentoring program is in the matching cycle for its 70 participants (Recent Hires and Established Staff) in the 2007-2008 worldwide terms. Mentor Wish Lists (15 prioritized potential mentor names with detailed reasons for preference) were due at 9 a.m. yesterday. Yesterday and today, I sent out the first 70 personalized email invitations, each going to the highest priority eligible mentor from the participant's Mentor Wish List. So far, 13 mentors have accepted the proposed match. It will take one to two months to match everyone but this is a good start.

There were almost 300 unique potential mentors requested on this term's Mentor Wish Lists. 7 of those had multiple 1st Priority requests. About 60 potential mentors were requested by 5 or more mentees. The potential mentor with the most individual requests received 23. Deciding between duplicate requests is tricky. If a mentor is requested at the same priority level by more than one person, the more senior requestor gets preference. (We had one Distinguished Engineer requested at Priority #1 by three Senior Staff Engineers plus a Staff Engineer. It was a hard choice.) If the requestors have the same seniority, we compare their reasons for wanting that mentor.

This term, Tanya Jankot added error checking to the Mentor Wish List web form, so we had many fewer participants requesting unavailable potential mentors. This means that fewer top slots were wasted and I was able to invite 56 potential mentors from the #1 priority slot. Happily, we got only two requests on this term's Mentor Wish Lists for people who no longer work for Sun.

More information on SEED is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Posted at 09:22PM Jul 10, 2007 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  | 

San Jose Fireworks

John and I just got home from watching the American Independence holiday fireworks at our local train station. I can still hear our neighbors setting off their own 4th of July firecrackers and small rockets. The elevated Caltrain station is just a few blocks from our home. Sitting on the platform, we can see three big fireworks shows and many small ones in the San Jose area. Many of our neighbors also bring their kids, grandparents, dogs, lawn chairs, and blankets to the platform see the free shows. 4th of July is John's and my wedding anniversary; every year, we get to celebrate with our whole neighborhood.

Fireworks start at full dark, about 9:30 p.m.. The show lasts for about 20 minutes. Every year there are new shapes and colors. This year, it was square boxes of light, plus red hearts inside of expanding blue balls. The yellow smiley faces and the saturn shapes were back from prior years as well.

I worry about the dogs in the audience since animals often find fireworks terrifying. Our veterinarian gives our two dogs sedatives for this difficult week. Juliet in particular gets hysterical and cries pitiably when she hears fireworks. Romeo, who normally howls whenever he hears a firetruck siren, is much calmer about fireworks.

In addition to the sounds of local fireworks outside, I can now hear two or three fire engines going by. Our neighbors across the tracks must have set their grass field on fire again. I am glad our dogs are asleep.

Posted at 10:57PM Jul 04, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  | 

Vision, Mission for the Department of Missions

In 2003, Bishop Richard Shimpfky asked me to become the Convener for the Department of Intercultural Evangelism and Ministry (DIEM) of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real (ECR). Since then, in addition to its day-to-day work, DIEM has been discussing its vision and mission, plus how to improve the structure, policies and procedures, financial and administrative oversight, and support for our diocesan missions. At ECR's convention in October 2006, a new diocesan structure was approved, including a change in DIEM. After the October 2007 convention, DIEM will be renamed the Department of Missions (DOM) with a new charter. We have been discussing and composing our charter documents since October 2006.

At DIEM's meeting last Saturday, we approved the following Vision and Mission statements along with our proposed new structure for DOM. We are looking forward to making this vision real with the help of our new Bishop-elect Mary Gray-Reeves.

Department of Missions: Vision

• That a rich variety of congregations be developed to include diversity in language and culture.
• That congregations will intentionally worship and work across cultural lines, listening to and learning from each other, collaborating and working to fulfill the Great Commission.
• That the diocese will encourage and support the spiritual and organizational growth of its new and existing mission congregations while respecting the need for good stewardship of both mission and diocesan resources.
• That mission congregations will be encouraged and supported to grow toward parish status to the greatest extent possible.

Department of Missions: Mission

We seek to serve and equip the people of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real for ministry in our multi-ethnic society, by providing:
• Oversight of missions, including financial and organizational management
• Resources and financial accountability for missions (including distribution of budgeted diocesan funding for operations)
• Practical ideas and information for missions, especially for those sharing a campus with another congregation
• Help to plant new congregations and develop existing missions
• Assistance in developing partnerships between congregations of different ethnicities and among individuals and churches ministering to specific groups
• Awareness and proposals for response to demographic patterns and shifts within our diocese (racial, ethnic, language, and other patterns)
• Visibility for missions and promotion of their wider participation in diocesan convention and operations
• Support for verbal and written translation services to communicate with diocesan congregations in their primary language (as needed) and avoid barriers to participation. This is of particular importance for diocesan press releases, Bishop's monthly messages, pastoral letters, convention summaries, major policy documents, diocesan surveys, and similar official communications.

We wrote the first versions of these vision and mission statements in 2004. I am delighted to have them done, approved, and published at last on the DIEM web page. On this day before the American Independence holiday celebrating the Declaration of Independence, I feel a small shadow of the satisfaction Thomas Jefferson must have felt when everyone signed, 231 years ago tomorrow.

Posted at 04:43PM Jul 03, 2007 by katysblog in Church  | 

Loon Collection

My husband's family has a 75-year-old cottage on Loon Lake in Wisconsin. I wrote about our recent visit on June 27, 2007. Part of the charm of the cottage is its collection of loon stuff of all sizes and materials purchased or made by the family over the years. Here is a selection:

Loon Sign on tree outside Cottage:

Loon Sign on Garage:

Loon Sign on Cottage:

Big Loon Sign on Cottage:

Cottage with Big Loon Sign:

Micah's Drawing of Loon Lake Cottage:

Paul's Loon Drawing:

Painting of Loon Lake Cottage:

Metal Loon Sign in Cottage:

Wood Loon Sign inside Cottage:

Little Loon Heart:

Ceramic Loon:

Bathroom Loons:

Framed Loon tea towel:

Loon pillow:

Another loon pillow:

Loon rug:

Saw blade with loon head:

3 loon dish towels:

Images Copyright 2007 by Katy Dickinson

Posted at 03:30PM Jul 03, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  | 

Sun at 2007 Grace Hopper Conference

The acceptances for The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (October 17-20, 2007 in Orlando, Florida) have been announced. I am still hearing back but Sun will be represented in at least eight panels and Birds of a Feather meetings:

1. "Girl Geeks in High School – Technical Experiences of Future Inventors" (panel submitted by Katy Dickinson, Director in Sun's CTO group, and daughter Jessica Dickinson Goodman, soon-to-be Freshman at Carnegie Mellon University)
2. "Successful Latinas Opening Doors to the Future: Advancing Latinas in Computing" (panel submitted by Gilda Garreton, Staff Engineer in Sun Labs; the panel also includes Ivonne Valdes, Sun Director in Global Services)
3. "Latinas in Computing" (BOF submitted by Gilda Garreton, Staff Engineer in Sun Labs)
4. "The Road to Executive Leadership" (includes a Sun panelist Kathy Jenks, Director in Sun Software)
5. "Mentoring Makes MAGIC for Middle and High School Girls” (BOF submitted by Ira Pramanick, Sun Senior Staff Engineer in Software)
6. "Advancing Your Career, Advancing Your Life" (panel submitted by Robin Wilensky, Architect in Sun Global Sales & Services)
7. "Innovation Inside Corporations" (includes a Sun panelist Yvonne Wilson, Sun Principal IT Architect)
8. "Managing your career 2-5 years out of school" (includes a Sun panelist Sukyoung Ryu, Member of the Technical Staff in Sun Labs)

Here is the Hopper web site: http://gracehopper.org/2007/

Posted at 02:42PM Jul 02, 2007 by katysblog in Hopper - Anita Borg Institute  |