Katy Dickinson

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080829 Friday August 29, 2008

Open Source Court Hearing Today

My husband John and I have been following the JMRI open source court case since it started about 3 years ago. John took the train up to San Francisco again today to support Bob Jacobsen during today's federal court hearing. Some background:

    • What is JMRI? From the JMRI model train software website:
      "JMRI is an informal open-source group. We do this for the joy of model railroading, and don't produce anything for profit."
    • JMRI is good work. It won James Gosling's annual JavaOne Duke's Choice Award, for "Java Everywhere" in 2006.
    • Bob Jacobsen is very cool. Bob is a great teacher: he was the winner of U.C. Berkeley's Distinguished Teaching Award in 2004. See Bob's picture accepting the Duke's Choice award. Remember MythBuster's TV story in 2006 called Anti-Gravity Device? Bob was the Guest Star Physics Professor on that MythBuster's show. Bob is also the JMRI contributor who is bravely taking the lead in this long and expensive case for what he believes is right: keeping the JMRI open source alive and free.
    • The Electronic Frontier Foundation wrote a summary of this case in Condition or Covenant, and Why Should You Care? (13 August, Legal Analysis by Michael Kwun).
    • Larry Lessig wrote a blog post called huge and important news: free licenses upheld (August 13, 2008) in which he wrote: "In non-technical terms, the Court has held that free licenses such as the [Creative Commons] licenses set conditions (rather than covenants) on the use of copyrighted work. When you violate the condition, the license disappears, meaning you're simply a copyright infringer."
    • SLAPP stands for "strategic lawsuit against public participation", defined in wikipedia as: "...a lawsuit or a threat of lawsuit that is intended to intimidate and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition. ... The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism. A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate."
    • A very brief summary of this complex case (from JMRI Defense: Our Story So Far):
      "JMRI is open-source software for model-railroaders. ... Matt Katzer owns KAM Industries, a company that tries to sell model railroad software. He's never contributed anything to the JMRI effort. But that hasn't stopped him from taking JMRI intellectual property. Matt Katzer and his company KAMIND Associates, Inc. are attacking the rights of open source groups to enforce their copyrights and licenses. If they prevail, the rights of open source groups like JMRI will be significantly weakened, if not lost. We are breaking ground for open source groups in federal court and establishing legal rights for open source groups and their members. We need your help and donations to succeed in this legal fight."
    • To make donations, go to Donating to JMRI.
    • My husband John is also a JMRI contributor.

Here is John's writeup from today's hearing:


JMRI-v-KATZER was 1st on the agenda at 1:30; the focus was on
scheduling and paperwork deadlines.  Take-home from the whole
thing seemed to me to be:

    Clean up your paperwork so it is clear what you still want,
    taking into account the ruling from the appeals court, and
    get it all done and responded to and finished so we can
    have a "Jacobsen -vs- Katzer Day" (Judge White's words)
    in court on Dec 19 where the Judge will decide all the
    things that need to be decided.

The "things" seem to be

    Katzer: Motion to dismiss because of lack of Jurisdiction
    Katzer: Motion to dismiss because of lack of Merit
    Jacobsen: Motion for preliminary injunction
    Jacobsen: Motion to address Anti-SLAPP/DCMA

The details of all these motions seem to be in docket filing 227
(http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/docket/227.pdf), as well as in
Jacobsen's reply (http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/docket/226.pdf)

The Jurisdiction part has to do with the patent(s) that Katzer
has disclaimed - his claim seems to be that since he has repudiated
that patent, obviously he can no longer sue Jacobsen over it, so this
whole court case no longer has any basis and should be dismissed.

The Merit part seems tied up in Katzer's claims that this should be
a breach of contract issue, with DCMA and free speech thrown in.

The injunction (http://jmri.sourceforge.net/k/docket/227-2.pdf) to
prohibit KAM/Katzer/... from reproducing JMRI and/or JMRI Decoder
definitions, make derivative works, distributing any software that
is substantially similar to JMRI and authorizing anyone else to do so
unless Katzer demonstrates that they have complied with the terms
of the JMRI license.

I didn't take notes on the last motion, but it was something to do with
the Anti-SLAPP stuff that was argued earlier in the decision that was
vacated by the appeals court.

Sierra Wildflowers

I have been posting pictures of our recent trip through California's Sierras, including a week at the Bear's Lair, plus driving home by way of Mono Lake, Panum Crater, Devil's Postpile, Rainbow Falls, and Yosemite.

The highlight of the ten day trip for me (not counting seeing my mother be the oldest person by 50 years to win the Disco Bingo costume award at the Bear's Lair) was the beautiful and various wild flowers we saw in bloom everywhere we went. I checked my photos against the flower pictures in Sierra Nevada Wildflowers - A Field Guide to Common Wildflowers and Shrubs of the Sierra Nevada, including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon National Parks by Karen Wiese (Falcon, 2000). Some of the identifications may not be correct but I love the common flower names: paintbrush, mule ears, prickly poppy, rabbitbrush, wandering daisy, and blazing star.

White Yarrow, Dodge Ridge
White Yarrow, from Dodge Ridge Alpine Meadow, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Wandering Daisy, Dodge Ridge
Wandering Daisy, from Dodge Ridge Alpine Meadow, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Cinquefoil, Dodge Ridge
Cinquefoil, from Alpine Meadow, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Soft Arnica, Dodge Ridge
Soft Arnica, from Dodge Ridge Alpine Meadow, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Mallow, Dodge Ridge
Mallow, from Dodge Ridge Alpine Meadow, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Draperia, Dodge Ridge
Draperia, from Dodge Ridge Alpine Meadow, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Gooseberries, Dodge Ridge
Gooseberries, from Dodge Ridge Alpine Meadow, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Thistle, Pinecrest
Thistle, Pinecrest, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Lupine, Sonora Pass
Lupine, Sonora Pass, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Paintbrush, Sonora Pass
Paintbrush, Sonora Pass, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Cushion Stenotus, Sonora Pass
Cushion Stenotus, Sonora Pass, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Pennyroyal, Sonora Pass
Pennyroyal, Sonora Pass, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Mule Ears, Sonora Pass
Mule Ears, Sonora Pass, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Prickly Poppy, near Sonora Pass
Prickly Poppy, near Sonora Pass, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Rabbitbrush, Devil's Postpile
Rabbitbrush, Devil's Postpile, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Fireweed, Devil's Postpile
Fireweed, Devil's Postpile, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Blazing Star, Mono Lake
Blazing Star, Mono Lake, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Manzanita, Yosemite
Manzanita, Yosemite, California Sierra wildflower
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080828 Thursday August 28, 2008

Make Poverty History


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U2Charist poster, 20 September 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real

Please Join Us - All Are Welcome!

U2Charist and World MDG Blogging Day

My church is preparing to present a "U2Charist" on 20 September 2008 at my home parish of Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church (13601 Saratoga Avenue, Saratoga, CA). A U2Charist combines music from the library of humanitarian band U2 with worship and Holy Communion. For more U2Charist information, call 408-887-2977. Also in development is World MDG Blogging Day on 25 September 2008 in support of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs).

St. Andrew's speaker at the 20 September U2Charist will be Peter Kithene, Founder, President, and CEO of Mama Maria Kenya and the Mama Maria Clinic. Peter Kithene was orphaned at age 12 but went on to found Mama Maria Kenya and the Mama Maria Clinic during his Junior Year at the University of Washington in Seattle. In 2007, Peter was chosen one out of over 70,000 applicants from 93 countries to be CNN’s Global Heroes honoree of “Medical Marvel” for his work in developing rural healthcare in Africa.

The funds offered at the event will benefit Kithene’s project Mama Maria Kenya, and Episcopal Relief & Development (ERD). This month, ERD achieved a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator for sound fiscal management. 4-stars is the highest possible rating.

The U2Charist is a project of the 18 Episcopal member churches of the Santa Clara Valley Deanery, to bring wider attention to the Millennium Development Goals, a set of eight health and welfare goals supported by nearly all of the 192 United Nation countries, including the United States.

Photos of Peter Kithene and Mama Maria Kenya

Peter Kithene
Peter Kithene
photo: copyright 2008 Peter Kithene
Mama Maria Clinic, Kenya
Mama Maria Clinic, Kenya
photo: copyright 2008 Peter Kithene
Peter Kithene with Patient
Peter Kithene with Patient
photo: copyright 2008 Peter Kithene

Images Copyright 2008 by Peter Kithene

SEED Annual Event Update

Registrations for SEED's Annual Event at the end of September are coming in briskly. We have 74 program participants, managers, and mentors signed up to attend in-person so far. There will be many joining us remotely as well. The dinner and one of the tours are already sold out. The two SEED Showcase moderators are working with the six presenters on their introductions. We are looking forward to a fun event!

More information on the SEED worldwide Engineering mentoring program is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

Yosemite

On our way home from our annual camping week at the Bear's Lair, we drove by way of Yosemite. I visited Yosemite many times as a kid, including a week each High School winter with the Yosemite Institute. So, the valley is a very familiar place.

Our family has driven through Yosemite valley in recent summers but this was our first long visit. From Mammoth Mountain, we drove on Highway 120, crossing into Yosemite National Park over Tioga Pass on the East side. We stayed two nights at the Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal (just outside the park's West gate on Highway 140).

Yosemite was hot and there was very little water in any of the falls. Yosemite Falls was entirely dry. We left my mother at the base of the Mist Trail (she painted a watercolor of the Merced River), then hiked to the bridge to find Vernal Falls reduced to a few ribbons.

We ate dinner at the Yosemite Lodge Mountain Room, lunched at the elegant and formal Ahwahnee Lodge, and had a very good visit.

Sierras Maps
California Sierras Maps
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Driving to Yosemite National Park
Driving toward Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Watch for Rocks, Iconic Yosemite Sign
Watch for Rocks Iconic Yosemite Road Sign
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Paul, Eleanor, Jessica, Matt
Paul, Eleanor, Jessica, Matt at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Katy and John at Olmsted Point
Katy and John at Olmsted Point, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Paul Dickinsoni Goodman
Half Dome
Half Dome, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Eleanor Painting
Eleanor Painting, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
John Downstream from Vernal Falls
John Downstream from Vernal Falls, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Jessica and Paul
Jessica and Paul, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Swimmer Jumping, Merced River
Swimmer Jumping into the Merced River, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Dry Yosemite Falls
Dry Yosemite Falls, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
The Mountain Room, Yosemite Lodge
The Mountain Room, Yosemite Lodge, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Ahwahnee Great Room
Ahwahnee Great Room, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Ahwahnee Fireplace
Ahwahnee Fireplace, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Ahwahnee Conduct Sign
Ahwahnee Conduct Sign, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
El Capitan
El Capitan, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Jessica and Matt check the map
Jessica and Matt check the map, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Rest Break, Yosemite Lodge
Rest Break, Yosemite Lodge, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Speeding Kills Bears
Speeding Kills Bears sign, Yosemite National Park
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson, Paul Dickinson Goodman, John Plocher

Mono Lake

On our way home from our annual camping week at the Bear's Lair, we drove home by way of Mono Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls, and Yosemite.

We drove past Mono Lake on our way to Mammoth and then stopped back at the lake on our way to Yosemite. Besides its lovely setting, Mono Lake is remarkable for its Tufa Towers and its Brine Flies. Tufa Towers form underwater from freshwater calcium-bearing springs entering the salty lakewater. The decline of Mono's water level has left these bright white towers standing like stalagmites in a roofless cave. Black brine flies were thick on the lake border and in the water when we visited. The flies avoid other animals and people. It is interesting to watch the flies scatter under the path of a low-flying seagull. The color contrast of the black flies on the white tufa against the bluegreen lake is strange, a little icky but interesting.

Tufa Towers, Mono Lake
Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Exploring Mono Lake
Exploring Mono Lake, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Black Brine Flies, Mono Lake
Black Brine Flies, Mono Lake, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Mono Lake Seagulls
Mono Lake Seagulls, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Brine Flies on Tufa
Brine Flies on Tufa, Mono Lake, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Mono Lake grasses and wildflowers
Mono Lake grasses and wildflowers, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080825 Monday August 25, 2008

New WP668 Caboose Web Page

I have finally started building the WP668 caboose home page at http://wp668.org. I am not done adding 2008 photos but I have already included a brief 1916-2008 history, the historic photos I have from 1973-1974, a selection of photos from 2006-2008, and a reference section. Of course, there are more details and photos on this blog but it is good to have one web location for the basic WP668 story. Enjoy!

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080822 Friday August 22, 2008

Mono Lake, Panum Crater, Devil's Postpile

After our vacation week at the Bear's Lair, we drove home by way of Mono Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls, and Yosemite.

To get there, we drove on highway 108 from Pinecrest over Sonora pass (elevation 9625 feet) through the Emigrant Wilderness and past the Marines' Mountain Warfare Training Center. We ate lunch at the historic Bridgeport Inn (formerly the Leavitt House where Mark Twain stayed).

After lunch, we drove past a big fire at Lee Vining, then walked around the Panum Crater, near Mono Lake. Panum is an ancient volcanic cone with great splashes of black and gray obsidian and pumice rising in spires in the center. Unfortunately, some aggressive wasps have built their nests in the spires. When my nephew Daniel was stung, we did not try to go further in to see more of the cone.

After Mono Lake, we drove to the town of Mammoth Lake and our hotel. The next day, we hiked to Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls. We took the park bus from the Mammoth Mountain ski resort to the Devil's Postpile trail head because of our truck's suspension problems. Sadly, John could not come with us because he was working with the truck repair shop. The Postpile is an amazing cliff of dark grey basalt columns that do indeed look like many-sided posts.

Throughout this area are historical markers by the road. Most of these informative signs are cast in metal and set in rock mounds to protect them from weather and traffic. Here is the text on one at Sonora Pass:

      SONORA MONO TOLL ROAD / Oldest of the trans-Sierra emigrant trails to California is spectacular Sonora Pass crossed by Highway 108, second highest (9,626 Feet) of all highway crossings of the range. The Bartleson-Bidwell Party, with mules, horses and oxen, made the first crossing on October 18, 1841. This route was not attempted by wagons until 1852. "Grizzly" Adams took the trail over Sonora Pass in April, 1854, and reported "On all sides lay old axle trees and wheels.... melancholy evidence of the last season's disasters." The present route first projected in 1862 was finally completed as a toll road, due to the extreme cost, by Mono, Tuolumne, and Stanislaus Counties in 1865. It was said to take three weeks for a six-horse team to make the round trip between Sonora and Bridgeport. / PLAQUE DEDICATED SEPTEMBER 10, 1983 / BODIE CHAPTER NO. 64 / MATUCA CHAPTER NO. 1849 / E CLAMPUS VITUS

It was interesting to compare the mammoth statue at the Mammoth Mountain ski resort to the stuffed elephant we saw at the Washington D.C. Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in June.

Ascending to Sonora Pass
Ascending to Sonora Pass California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Paul reading Sonora Pass marker
Paul reading historical marker, Sonora-Mono Toll Road Sign, Sonora Pass California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Matt and Jessica
Matt and Jessica, Sonora Pass California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Descending from Sonora Pass
Descending from Sonora Pass California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Marines Mountain Warfare Center
Marines Mountain Warfare Center, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Lee Vining, Tioga Lodge fire
Lee Vining, Tioga Lodge fire, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Mono Lake from Panum Crater
Mono Lake from Panum Crater, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Panum Crater Rocks
Panum Crater Rocks, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Climbing inside Panum Crater
Climbing inside Panum Crater, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Devil's Postpile
Devil's Postpile, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Paul on top of Devil's Postpile
Paul on top of Devil's Postpile, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Basalt Posts
Basalt Posts, Devil's Postpile, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Rainbow Falls
Rainbow Falls near Devil's Postpile, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Successful Hikers, Rainbow Falls
Successful Hikers, Rainbow Falls, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Mammoth Mtn Again
Mammoth Mountain Again, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Mammoth Mountain Statue
Mammoth Mountain Statue, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Stuffed Elephant
Stuffed Elephant, Washington DC Museum Natural History, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
On to Yosemite
On to Yosemite, California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080821 Thursday August 21, 2008

Lair of the Golden Bear, Hamlet with Hats

We got back on Tuesday 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. Most families renew each year for the same tent in the same Lair week of the 12 summer sessions.

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 "Che Faro Senza Euridice" (an aria from Christoph Willibald Gluck's "Orpheus and Eurydice" opera), Matt did gymnastics: splits and walking on his hands, and the whole family participated in our own five minute skit called "Hamlet with Hats".

After our week at the Lair and despite a tire blowout and suspension hose failure on our truck, we drove home by way of Mono Lake, Mammoth Mountain, Devil's Postpile and Rainbow Falls, and Yosemite. Here are some Lair photos, more to come!

Camp Blue Sign
Camp Blue Sign, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Jessica, Matt, Paul
Jessica, Matt, Paul at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Bear Crossing Sign
Bear Crossing Sign at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Eleanor and Daniel in the Art Grove
Eleanor and Daniel in the Art Grove, Lair of the Golden Bear, 
Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
John painting Hamlet crowns
John painting Hamlet crowns at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Hamlet props
Hamlet props, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Jessica sings
Jessica sings Che Faro Senza Euridice at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, 
Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Matt does the splits
Matt does the splits at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Hamlet with Hats
Hamlet with Hats at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Hamlet with Hats
Hamlet with Hats at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Aspen Meadow Appaloosa
Trail Ride Appaloosa Horse, Aspen Meadow Pack Station, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Paul
Paul on horseback, Aspen Meadow Pack Station, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Jessica
Matt
Matt on horseback, Aspen Meadow Pack Station, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Aspen Meadow
Aspen Meadows Pack Station card, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Paul's Lair Birthday
Paul's Lair Birthday at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, 
Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Paul driving his Grandma
Paul driving his Grandma at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Packed to go
Packed to go, Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Last Picture with Oski
Last Picture with Oski at Camp Blue, Lair of the Golden Bear, Pinecrest California
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080809 Saturday August 09, 2008

Dancing Skeleton

My teenage kids have been helping my mother photograph some of her art collection this summer. One of the items which got mixed in with the Mexican folk art is a music box I bought her years ago in San Francisco's Chinatown. (I wrote on December 03, 2007 about our annual trips to Chinatown.) This small music box is typical of the odd and charming mixed-culture goods available there.

The music box is black with a gold rim, it plays a can-can tune and features a skeleton wearing a red hat, gloves, and shoes, juggling two striped balls. The cut paper skeleton dances energetically in his black shadowbox when the music plays. The skeleton is like a Mexican Day of the Dead figure set in the European context of a music box.

Dancing skeleton music box from Chinatown
photo: copyright 2008 Paul Dickinson Goodman

Image Copyright 2008 by Paul Dickinson Goodman

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080808 Friday August 08, 2008

96% SEED Mentees Matched

Since 9 July, we have been in the SEED 2008-2009 Mentor Matching Cycle. That is, the 84 Engineering mentoring program Participants (Mentees) have created and prioritized their 15-name Mentor Wish Lists and I am in the process of sequentially contacting the highest priority potentially available mentor for each of them. In about a month, 81 or 96% have been matched so far. There are two terms being matched at the same time:

    • September 2008 - September 2009 Recent Hire Term
      which already has 22 out of 23 matched
    • September 2008 - March 2009 Established Staff Term
      which already has 59 out of 61 matched

More information on the SEED worldwide Engineering mentoring program is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

SEED Annual Event

The SEED worldwide Engineering mentoring program is holding its annual in-person event at the end of next month. SEED offers monthly phone-in meetings and a 1-day meeting each Spring but the Autumn SEED Event is much bigger. It is the formal term-start for two groups of mentees and mentors to begin their time together (the 2008-2009 Recent Hires and Established Staff groups).

This year, we are offering two days of speakers, tours, a Sun Spot demo, a hosted dinner, plus many opportunities for SEED participants, their managers and mentors to get to know each other and Sun's executives better. Confirmed speakers include:

    • Dr. Greg Papadopoulos, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development - SEED's executive sponsor!
    • Mike Lehman, Chief Financial Officer and EVP of Corporate Resources
    • Aisling MacRunnels, Vice President of Software Marketing
    • Dr. Ron Ho, Distinguished Engineer, VLSI Research Project, Sun Labs
    • Dean Nelson, Senior Director, Global Lab & Datacenter Design Services

In addition to these remarkable executive speakers, the event includes two sessions of the SEED Showcase during which we can show off to each other. There will be six SEED speakers (three each day) giving short presentations on their current work. Tanya Jankot and I picked the six speakers from among 28 applicants. Yesterday, I gave away 11 travel scholarships to the Showcase presenters plus others so that Sun Engineering staff who have not seen our Menlo Park headquarters can visit during the SEED event. Between the scholarships and the 43 registrations (so far), we have people joining the SEED Event from China, Czech Replublic, India, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, UK, and the USA. We usually have over 100 participants, some calling in but the great majority in person.

More information on the SEED worldwide Engineering mentoring program is available at http://research.sun.com/SEED/

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080806 Wednesday August 06, 2008

Learning to Ride the Train

This was a big week for my 15-year-old son Paul. He rode CalTrain (the commuter train that runs from Gilroy to San Francisco on the Peninsula) and San Francisco's city trams and buses to his grandmother's house by himself, twice. Paul and his older sister Jessica are working on a summer project taking photos of some of my mother's folk art collection. Usually, they travel together but two days this week Paul had to start from San Jose later. The San Francisco Bay Area is made up of nine counties and about 100 big and little communities. San Jose and San Francisco are about fifty miles apart.

Jessica is independent and has been riding the train by herself since she was 11. She started riding CalTrain to San Francisco regularly in 2005 (when she was 17). This summer while she is home from college, she has been giving Paul lessons in public transit - showing him where and how to buy tickets, where the bus stops are, and how to work out transfers and connections.

Once you know how public transit works, it seems easy. I grew up riding San Francisco buses but I didn't ride the train by myself until I was about Paul's age. There was a boy in Jessica's class who waited until college to learn. I hope Paul will take advantage of his new knowledge to explore more of the Bay Area.

CalTrain engine 920
CalTrain engine 920
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
CalTrain station engine decoration
Tamien CalTrain station engine decoration
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2007 by Katy Dickinson

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080805 Tuesday August 05, 2008

Morning Sun Termites

Some months ago, I saw some black stuff on the white lid of my washing machine. I brushed it off but it was back the next day. Eventually, I looked up and saw a little hole in the ceiling. A piece of clear tape looped under the hole soon filled up with black and brown granules. Termite crud!

We had two inspections - by Terminix and Killroy Pest Control (Campbell, CA), resulting in two reports and different recommendations. The Terminix inspector recommended a full-house tenting "just in case". The Killroy inspector recommended spot treatment because he found just the one infestation. We went with the spot treatment which was much less expensive (and we didn't have to move out with plants and pets for several days).

Unfortunately, soon after the treatment, I lifted an ornament on the windowsill in the same laundry area and saw under it another little heap of termite crud. I pushed the crud heap away from its center and saw a tiny hole. A new crud pile heaped up above the hole over night. The Killroy inspector was out again this morning and we will have another spot treatment soon.
Termite crud
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

It is interesting that we had the deck above the laundry room treated for termites about 6 years ago. (We replaced the deck with Trex, so no more problems there.) The Killroy inspector said that termites prefer to infest where the morning sun first shines and, indeed, the laundry room is on the eastern face of our house.

Image Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

http://blogs.sun.com/katysblog/date/20080804 Monday August 04, 2008

Camping Preparations

Every year since 1993, we have vacationed at the Lair of the Golden Bear, the family camp sponsored by the U.C. Berkeley Alumni Association. The Lair is in the Sierras near the little town of Pinecrest. We are getting ready for our annual road trip now. Our SUV will have six people in it, plus our stuff in the used "Yuppie Wagon" (a small enclosed trailer with a polyethylene shell) we just bought. My friend Laura and her son J.R. are driving their car in caravan with us. My brother Pete is driving up with his family from Southern California.

The Lair provides the tent (canvas top, wood floor and half walls), 3 meals a day, arts and crafts and sports and campfires, so we just have to get there and settle in. Part of my job is to make and manage The List of Stuff. Here are some of the items we are planning to bring to the Lair:

    Regular stuff
    - a flashlight for everyone (with fresh batteries)
    - bedding: sleeping bag, pillow, etc.
    - fitted sheets to cover plastic mattresses
    - clothes: including shorts, jeans, bathing suits, sweatshirt, jacket,
        hat, hiking boots, hiking socks, water sandals, etc.
    - 2 big towels for everyone (a bathing towel and a swim towel)
    
    Other stuff for each person
    - reading material, songbooks
    - camera, extra batteries, charger
    - day pack or fanny pack for hiking
    - sunglasses
    - sunscreen
    - bug repellent
    - canteen or hiking water bottle
    - toiletries in bag or caddy
    - personal medicines as needed
    - money for snacks, movies, etc.
    
    Stuff for everyone:
    - games (especially "Wheel & Deal", "Scrabble", and "Dread Pirate"), dice, cards, 
       poker chips, game rulebooks, etc. 
    - Christmas lights to decorate tent
    - tent chandelier, reading lights, extension cords, etc.
    - alarm clock
    - mirror
    - ice chest, water dispenser
    - drinking glasses
    - cheese board and knife, wine opener
    - laundry supplies and quarters, clothes line and pins
    - step stool
    - folding chairs
    - headboard
    - futons
    - pup tent
    - rug
    - trash bags
    - clay, clay tools, glazes
    - white clothes to tie dye or paint, extra rubber bands for tie dye
    - camelback water pack and water filter
    - picnic blankets
    - walkie talkie sets
    - paper towels
    - hammock
    - binoculars for birding and stargazing
    - basic tools: hammer, nails, screwdriver, etc.
    - clothes hangers
    - rope
    - medicine chest, first aid supplies
    - bear mascot
    - extra batteries
    - laptops and chargers
    - solar garden lights on stakes (to mark the trail for trips to the head in the dark)
    

I am sure I have forgotten something... I think John wants to bring his portable N-scale model train layout so he can program it between other activities. When going camping, I feel like I am packing the Rat's luncheon-basket in Chapter 1 of Kenneth Grahame's 1908 The Wind in the Willows:

    "... after a short interval [the Rat] reappeared staggering under a fat, wicker luncheon-basket.

    `Shove that under your feet,' he observed to the Mole, as he passed it down into the boat. Then he untied the painter and took the sculls again.

    `What's inside it?' asked the Mole, wriggling with curiosity.

    `There's cold chicken inside it,' replied the Rat briefly; `coldtonguecoldhamcoldbeefpickledgherkinssaladfrenchrollscresssandwichespottedmeatgingerbeerlemonadesodawater----'

    `O stop, stop,' cried the Mole in ecstacies: `This is too much!'

    `Do you really think so?' enquired the Rat seriously. `It's only what I always take on these little excursions; and the other animals are always telling me that I'm a mean beast and cut it VERY fine!'"

Here is our Yuppie Wagon, waiting for its first Lair trip:
White Yuppie Wagon
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Image Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson