Fixing Old Clocks

I gave my husband, John Plocher, a 1915 Gilbert Observatory Regulator Western
Pacific Railroad advertising wall clock for his birthday last month; it has
inspired him to fix two of our other clocks. The first is a family clock
which John’s parents gave us for our wedding. It was made by Junghans and
was bought in Holzhauzen, Germany, originally a wedding gift on 16 July 1930
from his Great-Grandparents Johannes and Anna Plocher to their son Karl and his
new wife Adelia Martin Plocher (John’s Grandparents). The second clock has an arts
and crafts style cabinet that John’s youngest brother Marty made then gave us
for Christmas some years ago.

The Western Pacific advertiser clock is working well so long as it is wound
weekly. The regulator stops occasionally but keeps good time. The German
clock has a pleasant chime but refuses to keep time or
sound when it should. John is still tinkering with it. Marty’s clock keeps
good time but the regulator sometimes stops. (Since it uses a battery,
the regulator is just for show.) We think John has it fixed now.

John’s new clock

1915 Gilbert Observatory Regulator Western Pacific wall clock
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
1930 German Clock

1930 Junghans Holzhauzen, Germany Plocher Clock
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Inside German Clock

1930 Junghans Holzhauzen, Germany Plocher Clock
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Marty’s Clock

Marty's Clock
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

John at work

John at work on 1930 Junghans Holzhauzen, Germany Plocher Clock
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

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Caboose Flooring Done

Today, I worked from home to keep an eye on the crew who were installing
the new flooring in WP668, our backyard caboose. Wei, the craftsman
from
Armstrong Carpet & Linoleum
, did an admirable job. I am so entirely
glad I did not listen to the people who said that

linoleum
is easy to install yourself. I do not have the experience,
skill, or patience Wei does. For nine hours, he used very precise simple
and specialized tools, made templates, and took great trouble to get the
measurements on 390 square feet of floor correct to within 1/8″ inch. Our
new floor is alligned, flat, and perfectly fitted.

See

yesterday’s blog
for WP668 history and photos of the subfloor going in.
Here are pictures from today:

WP668 – May 2008

WP668 May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Caboose Cactus

WWP668 Cabooseside Cactus Garden May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Building Permit

WWP668 San Jose City Building Permit May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
1st Linoleum Roll

WWP668 1st Linoleum Roll May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Starting Linoleum Installation

WP668 Starting Linoleum Installation May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Linoleum Installation

WWP668 Linoleum Installation May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
100# Floor Roller

WWP668 Linoleum Floor Roller May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Rolling Linoleum

WP668 Rolling Linoleum May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Linoleum Installation

WWP668 Linoleum Installation May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Putting Down Glue

WWP668 Putting Down Linoleum Glue May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Linoleum Fitted to Doorway

WP668 Linoleum Fitted to Doorway May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Middle and Side Done

WWP668 Linoleum Middle and Side Done May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Putting Down Glue

WWP668 Putting Down Linoleum Glue May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Linoleum Mostly Done

WP668 Linoleum Mostly Done May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Replacing Doors

WWP668 Replacing Doors May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Linoleum All Done!

WWP668 Linoleum All Done Jessica Paul May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Wei’s Tools

WP668 Wei's Tools Linoleum May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Wei’s Tools

Wei’s Tools

WP668 Wei's Tools Linoleum May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Wei’s Tools

WP668 Wei's Tools Linoleum May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Wei’s Tools

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

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23 PreSEED Mentor Matches Confirmed

We are in the mentor matching cycle for the 52 PreSEED participants.
I sent out the first mentor request emails on 5 May and I have 23
match confirmations so far this morning (44% done in the first 8 days).
Last week was the 2nd

OpenSolaris Developer Summit
on the University of California at Santa
Cruz campus, plus the
CommunityOne
event and
JavaOne
at The Moscone Center in San Francisco, so many potential mentors
were too busy to reply. However, there has been a good response since then.

When the SEED program first started in 2001, it was limited to Sun Engineering
staff working in the USA. Since then, the scope of the mentoring program has
broadened. The current group of PreSEED mentors includes senior staff from: Bangalore, India; Dublin, Ireland; Grenoble, France; and Prague, Czech Republic;
as well as those based in the USA.

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

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Caboose Roof Done, Floor Done Tomorrow

Today has been a busy day for WP668, our backyard caboose. After much preparation,
the metal roof was installed (by
Wildcat Metals
) and the subfloor went in (by

Armstrong Carpet & Linoleum
).

Tomorrow
, the linoleum floor covering goes down. This is also a school day
Paul, plus Jessica’s first in-person work day at Stanford University Library
(she has been programming for them part-time from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh,
PA). So, I drove the kids and worked in Menlo Park and John stayed home to work
in San Jose and keep and eye on the two work crews in the backyard. The
photos below show the progression of roof and floor development since
January 2006 when we bought WP668.

Original Roof-January 2006

San Francisco-Golden Gate Railroad Museum

WP668 Caboose Original Roof Golden Gate Railroad Museum January 2006
photo: copyright 2006 John Plocher
Original Roof-January 2006

San Francisco-Golden Gate Railroad Museum

WP668 Caboose Original Roof Golden Gate Railroad Museum January 2006
photo: copyright 2006 John Plocher
Original Floor-January 2006

San Francisco

WP668 Caboose Floor, January 2006
photo: copyright 2006 John Plocher
Floor-Jan 2006

San Francisco

WP668 Caboose Floor, January 2006
photo: copyright 2006 John Plocher
Roof Rebuild-September 2006

San Jose

WP668 Caboose Roof Rebuild, September 2006
photo: copyright 2006 Katy Dickinson
Roof-Sept 2006

San Jose

WP668 Caboose Roof, September 2006
photo: copyright 2006 Katy Dickinson
Roof-September 2006

San Jose

WP668 Caboose Roof, September 2006
photo: copyright 2006 Katy Dickinson
Roof-Sept 2006

San Jose

WP668 Caboose Roof, September 2006
photo: copyright 2006 Katy Dickinson
Floor Rebuild-January 2008

WP668 Caboose Floor Rebuild, January 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Floor-January 2008

WP668 Caboose Floor Rebuild, January 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Floor-Jan 2008

WP668 Caboose Floor Rebuild, January 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Floor-Jan 2008

WP668 Caboose Floor Rebuild, January 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Metal Roof Install-May 2008

WP668 Caboose Metal Roof Install-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Metal Roof Install-May 2008

WP668 Caboose Metal Roof Install-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Metal Roof Install-May 2008

WP668 Caboose Metal Roof Install-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Cactus Garden from WP668 Roof

Cactus Garden from WP668 Roof-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Metal Roof Install-May 2008

WP668 Caboose Metal Roof Install-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Metal Roof Done-May 2008

WP668 Caboose Metal Roof Install-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Subfloor Install-May 2008

WP668 Subfloor Install-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Subfloor Install-May 2008

WWP668 Subfloor Install-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Subfloor Install

WWP668 Subfloor Install-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 John Plocher
Subfloor Done

WWP668 Subfloor Done-May 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2006-2008 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

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15 PreSEED Mentoring Participants Matched, So Far

We are in the mentor matching cycle for the 52 PreSEED participants.
I sent out the first mentor request emails on 5 May and I have 15
match confirmations so far. I just sent out the “Last Chance” emails
to those who have not yet responded to my first email. I also have
about ten potential mentors who are actively in the process of deciding
whether to accept the participant who requested them.

In addition to matching the PreSEED-2 term with mentors, Tanya Jankot and
I have been redesigning SEED in preparation of the 2008-2009 terms which
will open for applications on 21 May. Since the two PreSEED pilots have been
successful so far, we integrated PreSEED as the third of now three mentoring
groups offered by our program:

    • Recent Hires (including newly acquired staff and recent college hires)

      This group provides promising recent Engineering hires and newly acquired
      staff with enriching and broadening experiences for their early years as Sun
      employees that make them more valuable to Sun and more satisfied with their careers
      at Sun.
    • Established Staff

      This group provides Mentors to help develop, enrich, and broaden the experience
      and understanding of Sun Engineering staff who have been with the company for
      some time.
    • PreSEED

      PreSEED is a new mentoring group aimed at helping Sun Engineering staff who
      have been getting almost all “Sun Standard” annual performance ratings onto a
      path which may lead them to higher engagement. One way to think of PreSEED
      is as a preliminary to the SEED Engineering mentoring program
      .

I sent email yesterday to the many thousands of Sun Engineering staff around the
world telling them that the 2008-2009 Recent Hire and Established Staff terms
are coming up. I also asked them to talk with their managers to see if
SEED is a good opportunity for them.

More information on the SEED worldwide Engineering mentoring program is available at

http://research.sun.com/SEED/

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She’s Home!

My daughter
Jessica
came home safe after finishing her Freshman year
final exams at Carnegie Mellon. Hooray! We are all very happy
to have her home. Of course, we have to share our talented and
energetic girl. Her summer plans include:

OK, so we will see her sometimes. But she has devoted this entire weekend
to hanging out at home and we are very happy to have our wonderful girl back.
When he heard Jessi happily singing German opera in the shower this morning, John
got a big grin on his face and said: “She’s home!”.

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Women of Vision Event

Last night the amazing
Women of Vision
event was held in downtown San Jose. Sun Labs’

Susan Landau
, Distinguished Engineer, won the
Anita Borg Institute
2008 WOV Award in the Social Impact category. Sun’s CTO

Greg Papadopoulos
gave the welcome address at the Imperial Ballroom of the
Fairmont Hotel. Some photos from the inspiring event are below.

In a few days, videos of the 3 winners’ acceptance speeches will be posted on YouTube.
Those of us who are building the new
MAGIC
program for mentoring middle school girls are already planning how
to use these videos in our program. All of the acceptance speeches were amazing
but
Helen Greiner
(Co-founder and Chairman, iRobot, 2008 WOV winner for
Innovation) was particularly moving when she spoke about never even once having
been encouraged to consider Engineering as a career when she was a girl,
despite her aptitude and fascination for math and computers, and
our obligation not to let that kind of negligence continue into the new generation.

To make it easier to find the videos from the first two WOV events, here are links:

Greg Papadopoulos

Greg Papadopoulos Women of Vision Event San Jose 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Susan Landau

Susan Landau Women of Vision Event San Jose 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson
Program, Keychain, Badge

Program, Keychain, Badge Women of Vision Event San Jose 2008
photo: copyright 2008 Katy Dickinson

Images Copyright 2008 by Katy Dickinson

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