Katy Dickinson

Photos from Caboose Restoration

Our new Etheric Networks radio broadband point-to-point high speed internet installed yesterday replaced the non-functional DSL we had at home. So, I can share caboose photos now (uploading images was not possible using our old DSL). We have been having WP668 painted in our San Jose backyard for the last three weeks.

History has left its mark on WP668 in the last 91 years:

• From the bent and cracked steel on one end, it looks like she was in a collision at some point.
• Near one door, there are initials carved into the wood.
• In several places the steel is molded with the script letters: ILLINOIS. G. U.S.A.
• Many metal parts have dates molded in - as early as 1916. The most recent date is on the air brake tank. This painted with the date 8-7-74 (probably from her last inspection before being taken out of service)

UPRR red and green marker light:

WP668 caboose marked 1974:

steel marking ILLINOIS. G. U.S.A.:

WP668 2005 in San Francisco:

WP668 2005 in San Francisco:

WP668 caboose carved letters:

WP668 after paint removal:

WP668 landing roof boards removed:

WP668 rusted steel:

WP668 1st new paint on steel:

WP668 1st new paint on wood:

WP668 filling holes and cracks:

WP668 original WPFRR sign:

reproduction WPFRR sign:

WP668 pink primer paint coat:

WP668 painter:

WP668 step restoration:

John cutting steel:

John polishing steel:

WP668 inside:

WP668 new door trim:

WP668 with 2 new coats of paint:

Images Copyright 2005-2007 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

Posted at 01:13PM Aug 31, 2007 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

WP668 Caboose - New Paint!

Our 91-year-old backyard caboose, WP668, has just been newly painted on the outside. This is her first complete and professional painting in about 50 years. WP668 is a 1916 steel strapped wooden caboose so we have been restoring both the metal and wood components.

Two coats of rust brown body paint have already been applied by Avi Lenchner and his crew from Avi Decorative Painting, 650-329-0770, Menlo Park, CA. There is some trim which still needs to be painted brown, plus the yellow paint (mostly on ladders and handrails) needs to be applied. The painters have also started stripping the 10 feet of whitewashed ceiling on the inside of WP668. The inside ceiling will eventually be the natural dark honey-colored wood and the walls will be white.

John has finished replacing the ceiling boards under the roof overhanging the front and back landings and also the trim around the doors. The floor boards on one of the landings are also replaced; John had to extend and restore the steel under that landing. He is mostly done replacing the wood and re-welding the steel of the second landing and stairs. He is starting to work on the wood window trim today.

The welder who will rebuild the steel bay window is scheduled to do his work in the next two weeks. The prior owner of WP668 had cut out that window to install a door. Also, John has found a vendor who can re-create the front and back ladders. The original ladders were rotted out and mostly cut off before we purchased our caboose.

We are discussing external lighting. There were no lights originally on the landings - only removable round red/green marker lamps which slotted into holders on the sides. The marker lamps plugged into electrical outlets on either side of the top of the caboose doors. John and I own one engine-style marker lamp which fits into the holder but it is much larger than the lamps shown in historic photos of Western Pacific cabooses in service. We are looking to purchase two historic caboose-style marker lamps. These have been coming up for sale on eBay from time to time. We will probably also install two unhistoric-but-needed exterior lights on either sides of both caboose doors. There will be new lighting on the underside of the caboose body to light walkways.

The crew stripped the paint that had been slapped over the original Western Pacific Feather River Route sign on the side of WP668. Happily, the steel retains a strong shadow of the original sign. We plan to restore the original logo. I hope to post photos soon...

Posted at 01:01PM Aug 30, 2007 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Sun's Advertisements for Hopper

Sun is a Platinum level Sponsor of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing 2007 (in Orlando, Florida: October 17-20, 2007). Platinum sponsors get to include an advertisement in the conference program. Those of us working on Sun's participation in the conference had fun picking the image and writing the text. Here is the finished version of our ad for Hopper 2007 (which we received yesterday). Click on the images to see a bigger version.

Sun Copyright 2007, Reprinted with permission

For comparison, here is the advertisement Sun used last year (for Hopper 2006):

Sun Copyright 2006, Reprinted with permission

Posted at 03:14PM Aug 29, 2007 by katysblog in Hopper - Anita Borg Institute  |  Comments[1]

Toxic Phone Lines, Broken DSL

I haven't been able to post any photos to my blog, or even read and write email from home with any ease since we got back from our camping vacation on 17 August. Our DSL service (by Covad) and phone lines (AT&T) have been seriously messed up. After many laboriously-scheduled and days-delayed home visits by technical support from both Covad and AT&T, we understand that the phone wires are too long from AT&T's central office, plus the wires are old and deteriorating. Many customers in our area of Willow Glen (San Jose) complain frequently but we have not heard that there is any plan to fix the problem. Our next door neighbor uses cable modem (which he says works great at 2 a.m. but less well otherwise).

John has contacted Etheric Networks about getting radio broadband point-to-point high speed internet installed to replace DSL. Since we had Sprint broadband (before their performance tanked), we already have an antenna bolted to our chimney. We hope that the new service can be installed tomorrow afternoon. It costs more but does not rely on phone lines to work. It also will allow us to continue to have our own servers with static IP addresses.

Right now, in order to read email for about 10 minutes before it breaks again, I have to:

1. Go downstairs to the basement and toggle the round button on the back of the BritePort DSL modem so that it resets
2. Go upstairs to my desk, unplug then replug my SunRay
3. Wait 3 minutes for the login box to appear on my monitor
4. Use my Sun enigmacard to generate a password
5. Wait 3 minutes for everything to reset over and over and finally display my current work space
6. Work really quick until it breaks. Start over.

Oh, the joys of trying to work from home.

Posted at 12:13PM Aug 29, 2007 by katysblog in News & Reviews  | 

Welcome 2007-2008 SEED Mentors

Congratulations and welcome to the 68 mentoring pairs in the SEED Engineering mentoring program 2007-2008 terms! Here are some 2007-2008 Metrics:

• SEED Alumni

  10 mentors this term have also been SEED program participants

• Executives

  • Recent Hire Mentors include:
    • 1 Fellow/Vice President
    • 4 VPs
    • 5 Distinguished Engineers
    • 4 Directors
    • 58% executives overall
  • Established Staff Mentors include:
    • 1 Fellow/Vice President
    • 7 VPs
    • 15 Distinguished Engineers
    • 11 Directors
    • 77% executives overall

• Mentor Experience with SEED

  • 21 Mentors are serving for the 1st time with SEED (31%)
  • 19 Mentors are in their 2nd SEED term (28%)
  • 16 Star Mentors are in their 3rd or 4th term (24%)
  • 13 Superstar Mentors are in their 5th to 10th SEED term (19%)

• Location

  • 41 mentoring pairs are working at a distance - in different states or countries (60%)
  • 27 work in the same area or the same town (40%)

• Priority

  • 88% of participants (59 count) were matched with one of their top four priority choices on their Mentor Wish List:
    50 with #1 or #2
    
    9 with #3 or #4
    
    9 with someone at #5 or lower in priority
    
  • 6 participants had to prepare more than one Mentor Wish List this term. 5 of those were because the 1st list was incomplete.

• Cycle Time

  • 1st email invitations went to potential mentors on 9 July 2007.
  • Last match was confirmed in email on 23 August 2007.
  • This was a 47 day matching cycle.

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

Posted at 08:53PM Aug 28, 2007 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  | 

Books Purchased

I have been unpacking the 2 boxes of books my family bought for ourselves at the All Saints' Episcopal Church Library used book sale we helped to staff last weekend. (It is very hard to work on a book sale and not pick up some gems.) For $40, we came home with:

1. 2 new blank books (journals)
2. The Home University Bookshelf v.VIII - Stories from Every Land (1927) - lovely illustrations!
3. The Riverside Shakespeare (1974)
4. Maya Angelou's A Brave and Startling Truth
5. Supurna Banerjee's Once Upon a Campus
6. Edgar Rice Burroughs' The Moon Maid
7. R.J. DeCristoforo's Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone (1953)
8. Josephine Whitney Duveneck's Life on Two Levels - An Autobiography
9. Harlan Ellison's Dangerous Visions
10. Harlan Ellison's Again, Dangerous Visions v.1
11. Judy Fireman's Cat Catalog - The Ultimate Catbook
12. Ian Fleming's Casino Royale (1964 printing)
13. Lindsey Fraser's Conversations with J.K. Rowling
14. Kate Peck Kent's Navajo Weaving - Three Centuries of Change
15. R.F. Roster's Hoyle's Games (1926)
16. Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth
17. Terry Gross' All I Did was Ask - Conversations with Writers, Actors, Musicians, and Artists
18. Mark Haddon's the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
19. H. Rider Haggard's "She." (1896)
20. C.J. Cutcliffe Hyne's The Lost Continent - the Story of Atlantis
21. Mark Kurlanksy's Salt - a World History
22. Jean Marlow's Audition Speeches for Young Actors
23. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Chronicle of a Death Foretold
24. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's The General in his Labyrinth
25. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Leaf Storm and other stories
26. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera
27. Gabriel Garcia Marquez's Of Love and Other Dreams
28. McMahon and Gallagher's The Gardens at Filoli
29. Metcalfe and Hays' Being Dead is No Excuse - The Official Southern Ladies Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral
30. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - Certain private conversations in two acts and a requiem (1949) "A New Play by Arthur Miller"
31. Shekhinah Mountainwater's Ariadne's Thread - A Workbook of Goddess Magic
32. Mullock's The Little Lame Prince illustrated (1907)
33. Jane C. Nylander's Fabrics for Historic Buildings
34. Richard C. Nylander's Wallpapers for Historic Buildings
35. Arturo Petez-Reverte's The Nautical Chart
36. Yanni Petsopoulos' Kilims - Masterpieces from Turkey
37. Ebenezer Prout's Harmony: its theory and practice (1889)
38. Henry Rosovsky's The University - An Owner's Manual
39. Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation
40. Paul Scott's Staying On
41. Albert Schweitzer's African Notebook
42. Anne Sexton's The Complete Poems
43. Nevil Shute's An Old Captivity
44. Joseph Soloman's Mozartiana - Two centuries of Notes, Quotes, and Anecdotes about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
45. Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age (to replace our worn-out copy)
46. Bruce Sterling's Shaping Things
47. Mark Twain's The Diaries of Adam and Eve
48. Carl von Clausewitz's Principles of War
49. H.G. Wells The Outline of History with maps (1921)
50. H.G. Wells The War of the Worlds (1977)
51. Adrian Wilson's The Design of Books

Posted at 08:50PM Aug 27, 2007 by katysblog in Church  |  Comments[1]

Used Book Sale a Success!

The All Saints' Episcopal Church Library used book sale and free lemonade stand last weekend was a success in many dimensions. We intentionally priced the donated books low ($1/hardcover, 50 cents for paperbacks) but we still took in our highest amount ever:

• 2007 book sale: $1225
• 2006 book sale: $1117
• 2005 book sale: $1009
• 2004 book sale: $643

$1225 represents maybe 700 people who came to browse or buy last weekend during the annual Palo Alto Festival of the Arts. About a dozen book browsers also asked to talk with the Rector, wanted a church tour, or sought more information about the courtyard labyrinth. The book sale made the church available to people in a comfortable way. Evangelism comes hard for us Episcopalians (who are sometimes jokingly referred to as God's "frozen chosen"). Talking about books and making new friends over lemonade is easier.

I don't know how many people came because of the two craigslist entries I posted but that may have helped boost sales.

Posted at 04:53PM Aug 27, 2007 by katysblog in Church  | 

Used Book Sale (All Saints' Library) 25-26 August

Come by and buy books from me tomorrow!

Used Book Sale (All Saints' Library)

25-26 August 2007 (Saturday and Sunday)
11 a.m. - 5 p.m.

All Saints' Episcopal Church presents its annual Used Book Sale along with a free Lemonade Stand during the weekend of the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts.

Hardcovers are $1 Paperbacks are 50 cents. Some collectibles for higher prices. Bag sale after 4 p.m. Sunday.

http://asaints.org/ 555 Waverley (between University/Hamilton) Palo Alto, CA

Hope to see you there!

Posted at 10:54PM Aug 25, 2007 by katysblog in Church  | 

Wisdom Teeth Notes

My 15-year-old son had all 4 wisdom teeth removed yesterday. When they started to come in, the new teeth were making his already-straightened-by-braces teeth crooked again. The surgery went well: it only required a local anesthetic and did not take long. To make up for having surgery on his birthday, Paul has been enjoying unlimited ice cream. Since it hurt him to talk, my husband John gave Paul a small pad of paper. Here is the collection of little notes from Paul on the way home from the dentist:

• I would like the chocolate ice cream first when we get home because vanilla makes lots of foam when you have it with 7up or Sprite.
• Whenever I swallow, it tastes of blood and is making me nauseated and headachy.
• It is very hard to swallow and I have minor hickups and yawns.
• By the time this is over, this stack of paper will be very small.
• The numbness feels like it is slowly crawling up my skull and my headache is getting worse in the places that are not numb yet.
• When we were in the parking lot, I saw a minivan going really fast into the parking lot then swerving perfectly into a parking space and after a few seconds they went towards the Safeway.
• You were shuffling the notes.
• They said no rinsing for one hour.
• The taste of blood in my mouth is diminishing somewhat.
• The worst part of this right now is I can't really move my tongue and my tongue is tickling.
• How are we going to switch out the gauze?
• Hands at 10 and 2 on the wheel, not knees at 5 and 7.
• I need a blow horn to call you when I need you because I cannot shout.

Paul is feeling much better today.

Posted at 05:07PM Aug 24, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  | 

Pink Caboose with Spots

WP668 is currently painted pink with red stripes, plus pink, white and yellow spots. That is, our 1916 backyard caboose is well into the process of having her first thorough professional painting in probably 50 years. Avi Lenchner (of Avi Decorative Painting, 650-329-0770, Menlo Park, CA) and his crew are hard at work. The red stripes are from the rust retardant primer on the steel straps. The pink, white and yellow spots are from various kinds of metal and wood hole fillers. The pink paint is the primer for the wood. The final colors will be Western Pacific Feather River Railway's trademark rust brown with bright yellow trim.

John is replacing the split boards under the roof over the landings, the trim boards around the windows and doors, and the stair treads where the wood was in very poor condition. Those are the only places where wood needed replacing. Our contractor is drawing the plans for the new building-code-compliant stairs. Pictures soon to come...

Posted at 04:26PM Aug 23, 2007 by katysblog in Caboose Project and Other Trains  | 

Orientation Week at Carnegie Mellon

My daughter Jessica flew off to attend Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA last weekend. We have received some excited and happy phone calls since her arrival so all seems well. She called last night to say she tried out her new baking set in the dorm kitchen and even though she thought she was making cookies, the chocolate brownies that turned out were much appreciated by her hall-mates.

Jessica is sharing a big room with two other girls also in CMU's Science and Humanities Scholars Program. She likes her roommates and hallmates. For her first Freshman term, Jessica is signed up to study: Calculus, a Humanities Scholar seminar on War in Society, Interpretation and Argument, 1st Amendment Law, and a computing class. Jessica is auditioning for two choirs this week as well. Classes start on Monday, 27 August.

My son Paul starts his Sophomore year of High School on Tuesday. He gets his wisdom teeth out tomorrow - on his birthday. We said he could eat as much ice cream as he wants after the surgery. Paul is getting used to being an only child but is not sure he likes it.

Posted at 04:09PM Aug 22, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  | 

Picking Images for Hopper 2007

Since Sun is a Platinum level Sponsor of the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing 2007 (in Orlando, Florida: October 17-20, 2007), we get various opportunities to show off and advertise. For several weeks already, Tanya Jankot and I have been collecting already-made Sun giveaways (my favorite so far is the Black Box squishy truck toy), and deciding whether to buy new Sun logo pens, lanyards, flashing necklaces, or something else.

Today, we have been picking out which Sun brochures we want to distribute, plus touring Sun's photo library for the background of our conference advertisement. We want an image which shows women using technology in an interesting, positive way. The image also has to have enough neutral space for our text message. There are some very funny pictures available.

Posted at 06:47PM Aug 20, 2007 by katysblog in Hopper - Anita Borg Institute  | 

Lair of the Bear, Off to College

Friday night, we returned from camping at the Lair of the Golden Bear - the family camp for U.C. Berkeley. We have camped at the Lair every August for 14 years. The Lair is made up of 3 adjacent camps (Blue, Gold, and Oski) of over 300 people each, open for 12 weeks in the summer. Lair reenrollment numbers are overwhelming; there are families who have been Lair campers every year since Camp Gold opened in 1945. The Lair offers activities and accomodations for everyone from senior citizens to babies, so many families use it for their annual reunion.

My family rented two tents and spent a restful fun week together. This year, John, Jessica, Paul, and I were joined by my brother and his family, my mother, and Jessica's boyfriend, Matt. My brother's friend Ed and his family were also there. Normally, we would have come home Sunday afternoon after a leisurely drive from Pinecrest, California. However, Jessica had a plane to catch: she flew off to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA yesterday morning. We were very glad to spend a full week with her before she took that big step.

I will post photos soon. Last week, we saw the funny movie Ratatouille at the Pinecrest outdoor theater (where bats flying across the screen add to the experience), the kids went horseback riding, we hiked to Sword Lake and paddled kayaks around Pinecrest Lake, Jessica and Matt performed in the Blue Review talent show, we tiedyed shirts and pillowcases (my fingernails are still blue), and had a pleasant week.

It took a bit of organizing to be able to camp for a week and then immediately send Jessica off to college the next day. She cleaned and sorted her room and filled three boxes with selected worldly possessions, including a set of baking pans and supplies. We shipped them to CMU a week in advance. UPS tells me that they arrived in Pittsburgh two days ago. Jessica had her two suitcases mostly packed before we left. The first three loads of laundry I washed on Friday were for the clothes Jessica wore at the Lair that she also wanted to take to college.

Jessica called when she arrived at the hotel near CMU last night. We look forward to hearing from her tonight about how her dorm move-in and first day of college orientation went. She starts classes in CMU's Science and Humanities Scholars Program on Monday.

Posted at 03:42PM Aug 19, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  | 

Almost Ready for College

My daughter Jessica spent much of this week cleaning and sorting and packing to get ready for college. We shipped her 3 boxes to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA this morning. I am sure we guessed right on some stuff and wrong on others about what she should pack. She has been having long visits with High School friends, kids she babysits, her music teacher, and the students and fellow karate blackbelts at her dojo to say goodbye. It is sad and exciting to watch my oldest child take this big step away from home.

Posted at 07:14PM Aug 10, 2007 by katysblog in Home & Family  | 

64 SEEDs Matched (93% of 2007-2008 Terms)

The 2007-2008 SEED Engineering mentoring terms are now 93% matched with 64 participants and mentors paired. We also have confirmations for all presenters for the SEED annual in-person event next month, including the SEED Showcase presenters (2 from India, 1 from Canada, 1 from the Czech Republic, 2 from China, and 2 from the USA). SEED Showcase presenters give brief talks on their current work. I have already distributed the CTO's travel scholarships to help 17 SEED participants attend the meeting. Executives speaking to the SEEDs will include:

• Dr. Greg Papadopoulos, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development
  SEED program executive sponsor
  
• Dr. Whitfield Diffie, VP, Fellow, Chief Security Officer
  4 time SEED Mentor
  
• Mike Splain, Senior Vice President, Sun Fellow, Chief Engineer
  4 time SEED Mentor
  
• Dr. Sheueling Chang-Shantz, Distinguished Engineer, Sun Microsystems Laboratories
  7 time SEED Mentor
  

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

Posted at 07:00PM Aug 10, 2007 by katysblog in Mentoring & Other Business  |