SEED and PreSEED Application Update

We are in the midst of two Sun worldwide Engineering mentoring program
application periods. The first is a SEED term for Global Sales & Service
(see my
October 22, 2008
entry, all material is due tomorrow – 12 November),
and the second is for PreSEED (see my
October 31, 2008
entry, all material is due 14 November). I am sending
out daily summary reports in email to the applicants and their managers.
Tanya Jankot and I are replying to many email questions. SEED and PreSEED will
accept a maximum of fifty participants per term (no minimum number). Both
mentoring terms will run from January-June 2009.

Status?

So far, we have 80 GSS applications (43 complete) and 81 PreSEED
applications (51 complete). The applicants for these terms are very
diverse geographically, working in:

    Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, India, Israel,

    Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Russia,

    Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK
    USA: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts,

    Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas,

    Virginia

More?

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

Leave a comment

Filed under Mentoring & Other Business

SEED and PreSEED Application Update

We are in the midst of two Sun worldwide Engineering mentoring program
application periods. The first is a SEED term for Global Sales & Service
(see my
October 22, 2008
entry, all material is due 12 November), and the second
is for PreSEED (see my
October 31, 2008
entry, all material is due 14 November). I am sending
out daily summary reports in email to the applicants and their managers.
Tanya Jankot and I are receiving many questions, corrections, and updates.
SEED and PreSEED will accept a maximum of fifty participants per term
(no minimum number).

Status?

So far, we have 66 GSS applications (23 complete) and 64 PreSEED
applications (42 complete). The applicants for these terms are very
diverse geographically, working in:

    Australia, Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, India, Israel,

    Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden,

    Switzerland, Taiwan, UK
    USA: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts,

    Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas,

    Virginia

More?

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

Leave a comment

Filed under Mentoring & Other Business

Caboose Art Tour

I am still decorating the inside of WP668,
our backyard caboose. The last big piece of furniture, the

Victorian fainting couch
, is still not finished. Below are pictures of
some of the art currently inside. Two of the artists are in my family:
Eleanor
Creekmore Dickinson
is my Mother, and

Evelyn Van Gilder Creekmore
was my Grandmother.
Elkmont
is where our family cabin was in the Great Smoky Mountains, near
Knoxville, Tennessee. Some of the furniture in WP668 was hand carved by
my Great-Grandmother, Ellen Bolli Van Gilder.

“Gay Street, Knoxville”

with Eleanor Dickinson

1951

Gay Street, Knoxville by Eleanor Dickinson, 1951 painting and artist
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
“Gay Street, Knoxville”

by Eleanor Dickinson

1951

Gay Street, Knoxville 1951 painting by Eleanor Dickinson
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Victorian Etchings – Shakespeare’s Heroines:

Katharine and Cassandra

circa 1900

Victorian Etchings circa 1900 - Shakespeare's Heroines, Katherine and Cassandra
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Dream of Evelyn V. Creekmore,
Elkmont

by Eleanor Creekmore
Dickinson


1970

Dream of Evelyn Creekmore and Elkmont 1970 painting by Eleanor Dickinson
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Elkmont,
Tennessee, Creek Paintings

by Evelyn Van Gilder Creekmore

circa 1980

Elkmont Creek Paintings circa 1980 by Evelyn Van Gilder Creekmore
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Inside WP668

Inside WP668 Caboose
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Inside WP668

Inside WP668 Caboose
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
2008 WP668 Caboose drawing

by Eleanor Dickinson

WP668 Caboose drawing 2008 by Eleanor Dickinson
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
WP668 Caboose

today

WP668 Caboose today
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

2 Comments

Filed under Caboose Project and Other Trains, Home & Family

Paul’s Glass

My 16-year-old son Paul is taking Ceramics class at Paly (Palo Alto High School). He has recently started to work with glass as well as clay. Paul is looking forward to taking a full year of glass blowing next year. For now, he is enjoying learning to work with rod glass. Each piece has to cool for 24 hours; sometimes the colors change unexpectedly during cooling. I have a feeling we are all getting small glass flowers, leaves, and mushrooms for Christmas presents this year.

Paul’s first glass flower
Paul's first glass flower photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Paul’s second flowers
Paul's second glass flowers photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Paul’s leaves
Paul's glass leaves photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Leave a comment

Filed under Home & Family

Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real

My husband John and I are both delegates from our home parish of
St. Andrew’s Episcopal
Church
(Saratoga, California) to the Convention of the Diocese
of El Camino Real. This weekend was our annual meeting and the first
after the ordination of our new
Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves
. There were many references to the
Year of Wonder declared by Bishop Mary during our last convention.
A
Baldachino
or hanging of the word WONDER was a feature of the
stage during the entire convention.

Convention takes place over a day – from late afternoon Friday through
late afternoon Saturday. The last few years, we have met in Salinas.
Our Central Coast diocese is very long and thin – running from Palo Alto
in the north to Nipomo in the south. Salinas is more-or-less convenient
(or equally inconvenient) for most delegates. There were presentations,
dignitaries, music and dancing, much prayerful discussion, knitting by
delegates, and extensive debate over the difference between majority
and plurality voting. We passed the budget in record time as well as
passing resolutions on conservation, gang violence, the
Millennium
Development Goals
, Marriage Rites in Civil Jurisdictions that Permit
Same-Sex Marriages, Consents to Episcopal Elections, and matters of
pay and governance. Full texts are on the

Diocesan Convention 2008
web page.

WONDER Baldachino

WONDER Baldachino, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Bishop Mary

Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Mariachi Eucharist

Mariachi Eucharist, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Anthony Guillen

Anthony Guillen's sermon, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Fiero Nuevo Folklorico

Fiero Nuevo Folklorico, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Fiero Nuevo Folklorico

Fiero Nuevo Folklorico, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Santa Maria Urban Ministry display

Santa Maria Urban Ministry display, SMUM, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Lambeth Conference Report

Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves Reports on Lambeth Conference, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Garza Family Delegates

Garza Family Delegates, Santa Maria Virgen Milpitas, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Giraffe Presentation

Giraffe Presentation to Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Bishop and Giraffe

Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves and Giraffe, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Holy Child Delegates

Holy Child Delegates, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Rev. Vincent Raj speaks

Rev. Vincent Raj, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Jennifer Ezell speaks

Jennifer Ezell speaks, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
John Plocher speaks

John Plocher speaks, 2008 Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Leave a comment

Filed under Church

Sun Family Changes

My husband, John Plocher, was laid off yesterday from Sun. We will be packing up his office on the 3rd floor of Menlo Park 17 this morning if you want to come by and say goodbye to him. You can read John’s farewell blog and other information. Anyone looking to hire a very experienced senior software and systems architect and developer with solid experience in 6 Sigma program management and open source development process design, please contact John. He is smart, personable, and has a wicked sense of humor. This is an entirely objective analysis, of course!

I am still working at Sun – business as usual for all of my programs.

John Plocher 

John Plocher 2008<br /> photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

John teaching Arduino assembly 

John Plocher teaching Arduino assembly<br /> photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

John teaching Arduino assembly 

John Plocher teaching Arduino assembly<br /> photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

1 Comment

Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

SMUM Book Club

This blog is the start of a new book club at
SMUM Studio 17
(Santa Maria Urban Ministry). Each of the older children
in the after school homework program has the opportunity to check out a book
from Studio 17’s book shelf, read it, then give me an oral report. Prizes are
offered! Credit will be given for each book read before Christmas break.
Prizes to be paid in a Target gift card.

The books we are starting with are:

  • James Howe The Bunnicula Collection

    reader: Abigail – started 6 Nov
  • Madeleine L’Engle A Wrinkle in Time

    reader: Stephanie – started 6 Nov
  • C.S. Lewis The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

    reader: Jose – started 6 Nov
  • Christopher Paolini Eragon

    reader: Robert – started 6 Nov
  • Tamora Pierce Alanna

    reader: Leslie – started 6 Nov
  • Tamora Pierce First Test

    reader: Jocelyn – started 6 Nov
  • Louis Sachar Holes

    reader: Carlos – started 6 Nov

Some of the SMUM Studio 17 girls and I were playing with the
Make Your Own Kaleidoscope
software toy. Here are the pictures they made with images of themselves:

SMUM Studio 17 kaleidoscope, San Jose CA
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson SMUM Studio 17 kaleidoscope, San Jose CA
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson SMUM Studio 17 kaleidoscope, San Jose CA
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

1 Comment

Filed under Church