KatysBlog

July 20, 2012 · 10:38 pm

Silicon Valley at Your Feet

My Godmother was Margot Patterson Doss who wrote about walking in San Francisco and the SF Bay Area. Her most famous book was called San Francisco at Your Feet: Best Walks in a Walkers City.

I was thinking of Aunt Margot on my way to lunch today in Santa Clara. Walking from my Huawei office to the Bamboo Leaf Vietnamese Restaurant is not far, but I pass by dozens of small Silicon Valley companies. They are nested together in the San Tomas Business Park, one of probably hundreds of such company parks throughout our high-tech valley.

Humanitarian organizations, medical research, telecom, technical research and support companies, and companies whose products are a mystery are all mixed in together. Each is in an office space that is maybe twenty feet from the door of the next such space. All that differentiates them is the sign on a series of identical glass doors.

This particular office park has been around long enough to boast large redwoods and other mature trees among its plantings (which make it a pleasant lunchtime walk). I wonder how many of the tightly packed companies have been around long enough to see those trees grow?

Copyright Images 2012 by Katy Dickinson

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Tagged as Geeks, Huawei, San Francisco, Silicon Valley

July 17, 2012 · 10:45 pm

Wedding Ceremony – Shaodong County, Hunan Province in China

John and his boss Jim Hughes were in Shaodong County, Hunan Province in China for a wedding of friends this week. See the first part of this story for more.

The big day started at the bride’s family’s home (or hotel room in this case) where the groom was locked out and had to negotiate with her family and friends through the closed door while she sat on the bed – with good humor all around. He eventually got in and picked her up without her shoes. Then everyone drove to another hotel for the ceremony and reception.

The food was set out during the end of the ceremony so lunch started immediately after. During the meal, the groom visited each table to drink a toast while the bride and bridesmaid passed out two cigarettes to each guest. There was singing and speeches and much joy.

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Tagged as China, Huawei, John

July 16, 2012 · 10:58 pm

San Jose Airport Hands

We drive the the San Jose airport several times a month to drop off or pick up my mother on her trips to visit my brother in Southern California. I am always charmed by the huge “Hands” mural by Christian Moeller (2010) which wraps around the seven story parking structure. It is elegant, cleverly executed, and never gets old.

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Tagged as Eleanor, San Jose

July 16, 2012 · 9:39 am

Thanks to Pierluigi Oliverio – Fire Hydrant in Willow Glen

In working with the City of San Jose, California, to arrange for building permits, I have been informed that our neighborhood of Willow Glen not only has very poor water pressure but also relatively few fire hydrants. A fire hydrant helps firefighters tap into the municipal water supply to help extinguish a fire. About a month ago, Willow glen ended up with one fewer hydrants when someone’s car ran over one of only two near our house.

As a native of San Francisco, I know that the destruction of the city in 1906 was started by a major earthquake but that the subsequent fires did most of the damage. Our area of Willow Glen being reliant on just one fire hydrant (located more than 400 feet from our house) made me nervous.

For a while after our local fire hydrant disappeared, I thought that the city would fix it on their own. After a month, I failed to find any information about fire hydrants on the San Jose website. So, I sent email to our local San Jose Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio to ask for his support.

I have met the energetic and intelligent Pierluigi at a variety of local and civic events over the years. He has met with our Willow Glen Lions club several times. Whenever I send him email, even very late at night, Pierluigi gets back to me very promptly. He asked his staff member Melrose to look into the missing fire hydrant. Over the course of about week, Melrose called the Fire Department, Transportation Department, and Water Department to try to figure out who was in charge of this. She finally was able to get a fix scheduled by the Water Department and we now have a replacement. Thanks, Pierluigi (and Melrose)!

31 August 2012 update – this week, the city replaced the asphalt around our new fire hydrant with concrete:

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Tagged as San Jose, Willow Glen

July 15, 2012 · 11:11 pm

Non-Travel Diary 3

While my husband John is in China on business for Huawei, I am keeping a non-travel diary. This weekend has been packed with activities:

Saturday morning, my mother and I picked up our new glasses from Visual Eyes Optometry in Willow Glen (San Jose CA). She was fitted with her new lenses and frames (and I got new lenses for my sunglasses).
Saturday afternoon, my son Paul and I went to the amazing Palo Alto Clay & Glass Festival, then took an evening class from Jeanne Fishback at TechShop San Jose on the wood lathe. We had a great time – and will take a second TechShop wood class this coming Friday night.
This morning at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Rev. Channing Smith announced that next week is Backpack Sunday – we will collect school supplies and backpacks for the children of Santa Maria Urban Ministry (no red or blue – gang colors).
Paul and I went to the Clay & Glass Festival again this afternoon. In the last two years, he has taken most of the ceramics classes offered by the excellent Foothill College art program. So, Paul was fascinated to see the finished work of so many superb creative potters. The artists also had fun talking to Paul – many of them know his teachers at Foothill. I bought some amazing pots. After seeing the art, we went to see the latest Ice Age animated movie.

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Tagged as China, Eleanor, Episcopal church, Foothill College, Huawei, John, Paul, Santa Maria Urban Ministry, SMUM, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Willow Glen

July 15, 2012 · 9:10 am

Wedding in Shaodong, Hunan, China

John and his boss Jim Hughes are in Shaodong County, Hunan Province in China for a wedding of friends. John and Jim just called me (early morning my time – late tonight their time) to tell me about their high speed rail ride (ShenZhen to Changsha) and the rehearsal dinner. John said that the telephone poles went by the train window so fast that they blurred – he got car sick unless he looked directly at or looked away from the window. John and Jim were in the premier car in the back of the train with six other passengers – who got their own steward to serve juice. Hunan is famous for its spicy food. At the rehearsal, there were two dinner rooms – one for people who like really spicy food (like Jim) and one for the wimps (everyone else). John is taking many photos but web access is poor at the hotel so he will not upload until he returns to ShenZhen. The pictures here are of the happy couple during our Napa Valley California wine tasting trip in May. The wedding is tomorrow.

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Tagged as China, Huawei, John, marriage

July 14, 2012 · 11:03 pm

John’s Pictures from China 2

My husband John is in Hunan Province, China, by now – he took the high speed train there this morning. Yesterday, he went shopping for electronic parts on the Hua Qiang Bei shopping street in ShenZhen, China. In some of John’s pictures, buildings have signs like:

ShenZhen LED International Trading Centre
ShenZhen SEG Communication Market
SEG Technology Park

John was mostly looking for a small selection of model railroad electronic parts but he also found some good warm-white-color LED strips to illuminate our stained glass window in the dining room. All of the LED strips he had found in the US were a colder blue-white-color. Here are some of John’s photos: