Tag Archives: San Francisco

June 3, 2011 · 12:14 pm

Opening Day TechWomen

Today is the opening day of the first TechWomen mentoring program. I am in San Francisco listening to a panel from the three organizations which put together the program. TechWomen is funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), managed by the Institute of International Education (IIE), and implemented in partnership with the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (ABI). I have been working on TechWomen with ABI during the last year.

We were welcomed by Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Ann Stock on behalf of TechWomen’s sponsor, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. We also enjoyed an inspirational talk by Google Engineering Vice President Jen Fitzpatrick.

The best part has been finally meeting the 37 technical women Mentees from 6 Middle Eastern and North African countries and territories in person, after so much planning and hard work. I know how to say their names now (sortof, anyway). I was happy to hear that some Mentees have just as much trouble saying our names.

Linda Schneider (Huawei Distinguished Engineer), Athellina Athsani (Huawei Senior Manager), and I just met the three TechWomen Mentees who will be hosted by Huawei this month. So exciting!

Leave a comment

Filed under Hopper - Anita Borg Institute, Mentoring & Other Business, News & Reviews

Tagged as Geeks, Huawei, Mentoring, Middle East, San Francisco, technical women, TechWomen

June 2, 2011 · 9:29 pm

Win Ng Chicken, Cube

In 2008, I wrote a blog entry about the hand-made ceramic Win Ng Chicken cooker my mother gave me. This year, she gave me the Win Ng ceramic cube that used to grace her back deck in San Francisco. This is a handsome and exceptionally sturdy sculpture, used as a favorite family seat since I was a child. It continues in this beloved and useful role in my San Jose living room.

1 Comment

Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as Eleanor, San Francisco, San Jose

May 22, 2011 · 4:02 pm

Still Here (Rapture +1)

Judgement Day and Rapture billboards have been pervasive here in the San Francisco Bay Area, saying that the world will end on 21 May at 6 pm Pacific Time. Didn’t happen – yesterday was refreshingly normal. The picture below (left) is what I saw at 6 pm California time yesterday. We were driving Highway 280 from San Jose to San Francisco to have dinner with my parents. In curiosity, our family listened to the 610 AM radio program which had been announcing the Rapture but the station only offered choral hymns at the critical time.

Today was the annual visit of Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves to Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Saratoga CA (pictured below, right) . Bishop Mary started her sermon with “Still here…” and then spoke about Rapture frenzy being in a context of fear and punishment, not the love and cherishing that she felt from her relationship with Jesus. During his life, Jesus took care of the needy, he did not abandon them.

Listening to the news this week, I was reminded of a cartoon which came out during the Y2K frenzy at the end of December 1999, before the Millenium New Year. It showed two couples awkwardly looking at each other: one pair in a bunker with food and weapons and the other dressed up for a great party, saying “In the morning, one of us is going to be very embarrassed.” I am still tempted to get a Rapture bumper sticker. I particularly like the one which says: “In case of Rapture, can I have your stuff?”

Images by Katy Dickinson 2011 Copyright

Leave a comment

Filed under Church, News & Reviews

Tagged as Episcopal church, San Francisco, San Jose, St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

May 20, 2011 · 11:00 pm

Interviewed on TV about FEMA Flood Refund

Update: The San Francisco Bay Area CBS News affiliate ran a version of this story called ConsumerWatch: Storm Brewing Over New Flood Maps on 8 June 2011.

I was recently interviewed in San Jose California for a CBS news story that ran today in Cleveland Ohio about getting a refund for FEMA flood insurance last year. It seems that very few homeowners have been able to actually get a refund for wrongly-required home insurance. Here is the interesting video story by reporter Danielle Serino (CBS 19):

Danielle’s Doghouse: FEMA

With all the flooding we’ve seen there are probably a lot of people thankful they have flood insurance. But what if you know you don’t need it, but have to buy it anyway? It’s happening thanks to FEMA, that’s why the agency is in Danielle’s Doghouse.

Last Modified: // May 20, 2011 8:16 PM

2 Comments

Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as San Francisco, San Jose

May 18, 2011 · 9:14 pm

San Francisco from the Roof

I was born and raised in San Francisco but for the last 30 years I have worked in the Silicon Valley. While consulting on the TechWomen mentoring program, I have occasionally driven north to S.F. for meetings with the Institute of International Education. IIE’s offices are in a building just up the hill from both Chinatown’s Lion Gate, and my favorite French bistro, Cafe de la Presse in the always-interesting Hotel Triton. The view from the roof terrace is amazing!

Leave a comment

Filed under Mentoring & Other Business, News & Reviews

Tagged as Mentoring, San Francisco, technical women, TechWomen

May 18, 2011 · 7:00 pm

Love My Smartcar

I have had my Smartcar for about 9 months and I still love it. I sometimes get tired of the cute remarks

Where’s the rest of your car?
Did it shrink?
Someone scribbled on your car!

But I love driving and I really love parking my 2-seat convertable, especially in San Francisco. It is surprisingly roomy inside. Smartcar drivers usually honk and wave to each other as we drive by. Parking “two in a box” with a motorcycle is fun. It’s like having reserved parking space.

Leave a comment

Filed under Home & Family, News & Reviews

Tagged as San Francisco

May 6, 2011 · 10:12 pm

Picturing Flags

Children and flag are some of the hardest subjects to photograph. Both change unpredictably and fast. I have found that taking many pictures with a small good camera yields better results than trying for that perfect image. I use a Canon PowerShot S95 with a SanDisk 8 Gb flash memory card and two rechargeable batteries. I keep everything in a small zippered case in my purse – ready to take pictures whenever the opportunity arises.

There is something fascinating and alive in how big flags give shape to the wind. The first and second row of pictures were taken after a wind storm ripped the edges off of some flags. The long strips of cloth were rolling around on the ground near the flagpoles.

Getting a picture in which several flags are identifiable is possible but often a challenge. The third row below presents the best of a large number of images trying to picture the flags of California, America, and Huawei all open and pointed in the same direction. Never did happen. The bottom row was taken near Moscone Center on a fair windy day in San Francisco in which nine flags lined up almost perfectly.