I was a high school student intern at Hewlett-Packard when it was a pretty small company. I was totally excited because from my electronic hobbies I knew they made the best professional test equipment. I was assigned to various flunky jobs, but one I liked was mounting an ‘example part’ on each drawer in their supply room. I got to use a power drill to mount little knobs and switches.   I was glad not to be working in the scary room with the poisonous bath they used to de-grease parts.

On my own time I was ‘inventing’ in my mind a cool instrument that would display voltages digitally. I used an oscilloscope there to test that the voltage on a charging capacitor would increase smoothly with time, at least at first. That meant I could count the time to reach the incoming voltage to produce a digital value. This led me to apply to a Westinghouse contest with my digital meter project design. I passed their written test, but lost interest while I was trying to build the device — too many problems cropped up.

The best thing that happened at HP was their yearly sale of surplus stuff. I saw a coveted oscilloscope in the pile, secretly tested it, and bought it for a few dollars. Of course the device didn’t initially work, but I loved tracing and fixing problems so this became a new exciting project. There were hundreds of wires and parts to evaluate, but finally I found a power supply wire that was pinched between two parts, shorting it out. Eureka!

Fixing that gave me an excellent visual tool for years to monitor my other circuit projects. Finally it blew out its main transformer and truly died. What fun it had been.

Several years later I would return to HP, working as a paid research assistant in the development lab with my own assigned project, exploring the just-invented light-sensitive diode. Exciting!

5/5/15

I love our shower faucet.   When I set it to ’80’ it always gives just the right temperature water, no matter what time of year. I suppose as the son of an engineer this respect for accuracy was a given. I can picture my dad tapping a meter to make sure it wasn’t stuck. I loved his multi-meter with the mirror behind the needle so you were always reading it straight-on.

In high school I worked at HP, then the leading provider of precision instruments, so I felt I was doing respectable work. In my graduate thesis I came up with a pretty reliable way to judge the emotional content s in speech, a notoriously subjective thing.   In my photographic work, I often like sharp precise images, and enjoy composing and framing so everything is just right to my eye.

Hopefully, I’m not a total accuracy nut,  annoying other people.  I keep it to myself.

The California drought has focused our attention on the importance of water here. In my dad’s family, drilling for water was one of the first things they did. When grandfather moved to San Jose, he planned acres of nut trees, motivating well-digging. My day, as soon has he was old enough, helped with the maintenance. I remember photographs of their giant water pump, motor, and feeder pipes.

When my family moved to San Carlos in 1941, dad drilled his own backyard well. It helped irrigate their victory garden, and later, lawns.   I remember the giant post-hold digger and the hole in the shed roof that went with it. I could hear from my bedroom the well motor cycling on.

In Berkeley in the 60’s I was surprised to discover a backyard well behind the Victorian house I was managing. Probably every big house of that vintage had one. Hiding under some big plywood sheets, it was several feet in diameter and brick-lined. I had the water tested, and it was still potable. You could just dip your bucket in. I decided not to.

I can only imagine what it must feel like to live in the Central Valley and have the well that is your only water supply run dry. The house becomes unlivable and un-saleable.

6/18/15

Ballet was considered spiritual by the Russian dancer/choreographer Balanchine.   I loved joyously floating in a fast waltz around an open dance floor.   Dancing around the living room with young Allegra and Jeremy was always wonderful too.

I never could do the Sufi spins that supposedly lead to ecstasy, since nausea usually ensued. Once I went to a spinning class that I quickly found too dizzying — the effect lasted for more than 24 hours. I’ve folk danced my whole life starting at 10, even helping teach it for a couple of years. Not so much any more, and I miss it.

It’s been a lot of fun

1/2/2012