Tag Archives: John

January 2, 2012 · 9:11 pm

Moving My Mother

Since my father’s death in November, we have been spending all spare time moving my 80-year-old artist mother to live with us in San Jose. Moving Eleanor Creekmore Dickinson and two cats and clothes and computer and TV were the easy part. Clearing the San Francisco Victorian house she lived in for 45 years is a more complex task. The house has two flights of stairs up to the main floor and another spiral staircase to the bedrooms. Even with four hefty movers, getting large fragile antiques safely out and into a truck was a challenge.

Last week, we completed the move for 70 years of my mother’s art into storage. Today, we finally finished moving most of the big family furniture. The biggest chore was moving “General Burnside”, a huge armoire we named after that infamous Civil War general because my mother bought it from the house he occupied as his military headquarters. General Burnside was full of my mother’s collection of moonshine and other liquors plus the glassware to serve them. It took hours to empty and take apart for transport.

John and I are building an addition to our house for my mother but that will not be done for many months. Until then, she is staying in our spare bedroom in Willow Glen and we have a house sitter in San Francisco. The family furniture has for many years been divvied up between my brothers and me (using the distribution system I wrote about) but my mother will continue to use some of it during her lifetime. Her art will be stored for the long-term but we expect that the furniture will be out and in use again within a year. I will be so happy when this is all done!

Here is a drawing of what our new construction will look like, eventually:

Moving General Burnside:

Here is what our new storage unit looks like – with antiques gently packed in like puzzle pieces:

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Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as cats, Eleanor, John, San Francisco, San Jose, Wade, Willow Glen

December 15, 2011 · 11:10 pm

New Stove in WP668 Caboose

Each year, John and I do a little more to improve WP668, our backyard caboose in Willow Glen, California. Today, we finally finished the project to install a stove, making the space much more comfortable during the winter. We put in a Majestic Brand Oxford stove from Bay Area Fireplace. The stove is on top of an antique piece of red-brown marble I bought at an estate sale several years ago (since a stove cannot sit directly on a linoleum floor). Below is the history of our caboose from the WP668 web page.

WP668 Caboose History

1916:
- WP668 was originally built by Pullman as a steel strapped Western Pacific wooden box car in 1916 (during World War I).
- WP668’s steel straps are embossed in several places with the Pullman brand “ILLINOIS. G. U.S.A.”
1943:
- In October 1943, WP668 was converted to serve as a caboose on San Francisco Bay Area freight trains (during World War II).
- Two bay windows replaced the original side freight doors. The front and back doors and decks, and interior caboose fittings were installed.
1976:
- After serving in the Sacramento area on fruit trains of the Sacramento Northern line, WP668 was retired from active service.
- WP668 was sold by Western Pacific to a private owner who leased out the caboose as office space on the San Francisco waterfront.
- We think it was this first private owner who removed the front of one of the bay windows and cut out a large window opening in the side of WP668.
circa 2000

WP668 was acquired by the Golden Gate Railroad Museum in San Francisco’s Hunter’s Point neighborhood.
Restoration by GGRM was planned and started.

2006

GGRM sold WP668 to John Plocher and Katy Dickinson in January 2006 after the museum lost its Hunter’s Point lease in San Francisco.
In February 2006, WP668 was moved by truck from San Francisco to storage in San Jose.
While in storage, the roof was rebuilt and the ceiling lights were installed.
Dickinson-Plocher backyard swimming pool was removed and a very short rail line built in the same location.

2007

San Jose City Council grants a variance for WP668. Building permits are issued.
In May 2007, WP668 was moved onto the very short rail line in the Dickinson-Plocher backyard.
The exterior was stripped and painted.
Both decks and the bay window were rebuilt.

2008

The inside was painted, the floor was rebuilt and covered with linoleum, the metal roof was installed.
The electrical and network wiring were completed.
The stained glass was designed and installed.
The cactus garden and arroyito were designed and created.
The historical markings and WP herald were added.
The ladders and stair handrails were designed and created.

2009

The San Jose City permits were signed off (24 February 2009).
Fainting couch restoration complete – couch moves into caboose.
Bay Window seat designed and installed.
Stair handrails coated and finished, stair lighting installed.

2010

Installed under carriage lighting.
Window seat cushion designed and created.

2011

Stove installed.

Work in Progress on WP668:
- Install roof walk, attach it to existing ladders
- Restore the rest of the windows (1 done, 5 to go)
- Complete the back deck and step woodwork (steel is done)
- Restore brake rigging and wheels
- Reattach and restore battery box
- Restore (replace?) the doors
- Caulk and paint repair

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Filed under Caboose Project and Other Trains, Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as John, Willow Glen, WP668

December 15, 2011 · 4:10 pm

Bamboo Keyboard and Mouse

In September, John brought me a present from Shenzhen China – which has now been installed in my office at Huawei: a bamboo keyboard and mouse! I think it looks lovely next to my bright purple “I am a Technical Woman” mouse pad from the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing (GHC11). I have the best in geeky office-ware!

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Filed under Home & Family, Hopper - Anita Borg Institute, News & Reviews

Tagged as China, Geeks, Huawei, John, technical women

December 6, 2011 · 10:39 pm

My Father’s Funeral

My father’s funeral was on Sunday at the Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin in San Francisco. About 175 people attended, including his extended family and friends. You can read Wade Dickinson’s obituary here. The service and reception went well. My brother Pete and I gave eulogies. My husband and Marian Brischle read Bible passages. Jessica sang “Amazing Grace” beautifully. For the hymns we picked “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”, “America the Beautiful”, and “Eternal Father, Strong to Save”. The Travis Air Force Base Honor Guard performed the impressive veteran’s flag ceremony with “Taps” played by a volunteer bugler from Bugles Across America.

When the honor guard member presented the triangle-folded flag to my mother, he said: “On behalf of the President of the United States, the Department of the Air Force, and a grateful nation, we offer this flag for the faithful and dedicated service of your loved one.” It was a moving and bittersweet moment.

Memorial donations are requested to: Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Community Outreach: 2325 Union St., San Francisco, CA 94123. Phone: 415-921-3665 (checks made out to: “St.Mary’s Community Outreach” and include “Donation in Memory of Wade Dickinson” on the memo line), or to the charity of your choice.

On His Own Terms

My father passed away suddenly this morning at home in San Francisco. He had been declining for the last year. We were getting ready to move him closer to our home in Willow Glen but he did not want to go. Wade Dickinson died as he had lived, on his own terms and where he wanted to be. We have been putting together his obituary. Here is what we have so far:

Ben Wade Oakes Dickinson was born 29 October 1926 in Hickory Township (Sharon), Pennsylvania, to Ben Wade Orr Dickinson, Junior, and Gladys Grace Oakes Dickinson. Wade’s one sibling, Robert Wayne, was born eight years later. Wade and Wayne were creative inventing partners for fifty years, starting between seven and twenty-five companies together (depending on how you count) and being granted more than forty patents for a broad variety of technical inventions. Of his 39, Wade’s most recent patent was granted in 2011 (US Patent 7,914,749).

Wade attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, then United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, starting at the end of World War II and graduating in 1949. He studied as a nuclear physicist at the Oak Ridge School of Reactor Technology, worked on the United States Air Force Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion Program, and was a researcher at RAND Corporation, in Santa Monica, California. Wade was honorably discharged from the US Air Force with the rank of Captain. He joined Bechtel Corporation, during which time he was Technical Advisor on Atomic Energy to the US Congress. Wade and Wayne went into business in San Francisco, founding W.W. Dickinson Corporation, Agrophysics, Petrolphysics, and other businesses, applying their knowledge of physics and engineering to solve problems as varied as cardiology, cattle reproduction, and directional oil drilling.

Wade and Wayne and a team of other lecturers taught “Venture Design: The Start Up Company” (Engineering-110) for 19 years at the University of California at Berkeley. Wade was a Mason (West Point, New York, Lodge) for over 60 years. He was a founder and honorary Board member of the California Medical Clinic for Psychotherapy. Wade was a member of the parish of Saint Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church for over 50 years. At St.Mary’s, he served in several church leadership roles (Vestry, Treasurer) and was a dedicated crucifer and chalice bearer. Wade helped the parish to start community outreach ministries to support the hungry and homeless.

Wade married artist Eleanor Evelyn Vaughan Creekmore in 1952 with whom he had three children: Mark, Katy, and Peter. His grandchildren are: Jessica (and her husband Matthew) and Paul, Corey and Forrest, Lynda and Daniel. Wade died at the age of 85 on 16 November 2011 at his home in San Francisco, California.

Wade’s funeral will be held at Saint Mary the Virgin Episcopal Church in San Francisco, at 3 pm on Sunday, 4 December 2011, reception to follow at the church. If you plan to attend the funeral, please arrive early to allow extra time for parking.

Memorial donations are requested instead of flowers, to: Episcopal Church of St. Mary the Virgin Community Outreach: 2325 Union St., San Francisco, CA 94123. Phone: 415-921-3665 (checks made out to: “St.Mary’s Community Outreach” and include “Donation in Memory of Wade Dickinson” on the memo line), or to the charity of your choice.

Goodbye Grandpa – we love you!

Wade Dickinson’s US Patents (1965-2011)

7,914,749  Clathrate hydrate modular storage, applications and utilization processes
6,206,112  Multiple lateral hydraulic drilling apparatus and method
6,142,246  Multiple lateral hydraulic drilling apparatus and method
5,035,285  Gravel packing system for a production radial tube
4,991,667  Hydraulic drilling apparatus and method
4,974,672  Gravel packing system for a production radial tube
4,872,509  Oil well production system using a hollow tube liner
4,865,128  Gravel packing system for a production radial tube
4,852,668  Hydraulic drilling apparatus and method
4,790,394  Hydraulic drilling apparatus and method
4,787,465  Hydraulic drilling apparatus and method
4,763,734  Earth drilling method and apparatus using multiple hydraulic forces
4,750,561  Gravel packing system for a production radial tube
4,715,128  Curvature probe and method
4,693,327  Mechanically actuated whipstock assembly
4,560,934  Method of transporting a payload in a borehole
4,527,639  Hydraulic piston-effect method and apparatus for forming a bore hole
4,524,324  Downhole instrument including a flexible probe which can travel freely around bends in a borehole
4,501,337  Apparatus for forming and using a bore hole
4,497,381  Earth drilling apparatus and method
4,431,069  Method and apparatus for forming and using a bore hole
4,091,807  Intra-vaginal device and method of use
3,938,504  Method for measuring vagina dimensions
3,854,476  INTRA-VAGINAL DEVICE AND METHOD
3,811,443  METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION
3,811,424  ARTIFICIAL METHOD FOR MODIFYING THE REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE IN ANIMALS
3,811,423  DEVICE FOR INSERTION INTO THE REPRODUCTIVE TRACT AND METHOD OF USING SAME
3,546,927  ULTRASONIC TESTING APPARATUS
3,460,492  METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING SEEDS COATED WITH A MAGNETIC MATERIAL
3,407,650  Ultrasonic apparatus for detecting flaws
3,407,649  Method and apparatus for generating a high power ultrasonic burst pulse signal
3,407,122  Solar still with a cassegranian optical system
3,299,696  Apparatus for generating, directing and receiving ultrasonic wave trains
3,299,695  Ultrasonic testing apparatus
3,299,694  Method and apparatus for detecting flaws using ultrasonic helical waves
3,282,087  Apparatus for generating ultrasonic waves
3,250,120  Method and apparatus for determining flaw locations
3,186,216  Method and apparatus for generating and receiving ultrasonic helical waves
One more from the 1950s... Still looking

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Filed under Church, Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as Eleanor, Episcopal church, Jessica, John, Matthew, Paul, San Francisco, San Jose, Wade

November 16, 2011 · 12:21 am

Family Friendly Technical Conference

The Grace Hopper Celebration of Women and Computing (GHC11) is not only the greatest technical women’s conference in the world, it is also a wonderful event for families. My daughter Jessica and I have attended together for the last five years. The first year, I invited her to join my Girl Geeks panel but each year since, Jessica has proposed her own a poster (and this time, both a poster and panel) and been accepted. The Hopper Conference always provides childcare but many Dads come along to watch kids while the technical Mom attends talks and networks. This was the first year that my husband John attended GHC.

Hopper Conference, Portland Oregon

This is the final day for the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing here in Portland, with a focus on Open Source. As usual, the Hopper Conference has been an exhilarating experience, recharging me for another year of technical business in an overwhelmingly male industry. Also, as usual, the 3,000 attendees with several computers each regularly overwhelmed the local net, so I have mostly been tweeting rather than blogging this week.

My husband John and daughter Jessica are both here. Jessica presented a panel and poster. Jessica asked me what was my favorite GHC11 event. The most memorable was yesterday’s keynote by The Honorable Shirley Ann Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Jackson’s talk was not flashy but I came away with several new ideas and energetic motivation to follow up. The other conference highlight was the celebration of the TechWomen mentees, mentors, and program. I am so proud of my sisters from MENA!

I am proud that Huawei joined NetApp and Google in sponsoring TechWomen mentees to come to the Hopper Conference (and Huawei paid for the third Huawei-Santa Clara-hosted mentee to come too). Corporate community support at its best!

Yesterday, on behalf of the ABI Advisory Board, I was honored to introduce the presentation of two-time GHC award-winner Anne Ikiara of Kenya. She gave an inspiring talk about her organization NairoBits, which has given computer training to 6,000 poor young women in ten years for a cost of about $100/each. So impressive – I want to be her when I grow up.