HP Pavilion DV5030US - Dead for the 3rd time!

Ugh... just as I was getting back into the swing of things, LaptopJenny (an HP Pavilion DV5030US notebook) died again!
I shipped it for repair on the 20th of last month... looks like I get to do it again...

Here's what the my Windows desktop looks like right now.... not very useful:





Here's what it's supposed to look like (if you push in the upper left corner, it works until you let go)



I'm hoping I get some other option than repair again!

Aspen in the Grand Tetons

Aspen in the Grand Tetons
Originally uploaded by --Mike--.

Noran was gracious and patient while I took a series of photos of this treeline, it was amazing in person, and the photo only begins to show how beautiful it really was.

This is somewhere near the Grand Teton mountains, I'm unsure of the exact location. We were on our way home, and a bit short on time.

This is a series of frames joined using AutoStitch, saturated a bit, then cropped.

Robotic armies?

John Robb writes about the future of "Nano UAVs", which are very small flying robots. He, and his commenters are off the mark, though... they figure it'll only be large economic powers which can afford to make them.

John Robb, meet Make magazine, where hackers like myself shop for ideas and tools.

Yet another online quiz

Your Ideal Relationship is Marriage

You've dated enough to know what you want. And that's marriage - with the right person. You're serious about settling down some time soon. Even if you haven't met the person you want to get hitched to!

What's Your Ideal Relationship?

I'm a sucker for online quizes... it was hard to answer questions in retrospect... but I did.

TrashCat

trash.jpg
Originally uploaded by the boy on the bike.

Found this over at Flickr... it's part of a big set.

http://flickr.com/photos/buro9/

I find it amusing, and I hope you will too.

I've got the power?!?!

According to the calculator attached to the tubes on the internets...

Your Power Level is: 70%

You're a very powerful person, and you know that all of your power comes from within. Keep on doing what you're doing, and you'll reach your goals.

How Powerful Are You?

Isn't this fun?

WiFi information on the Red Line

I was just about to get off the Red Line at work... when I noticed something different about the sign over the door.

Do you see it? It took a minute to come to a few realizations:

• WiFi access got added to the station information - a welcome addition!
• The list included open and locked networks.... which was odd, but helpful
• The new data wasn't taped on top of an existing sign
• No official body in its right mind would post info about open WiFi points it didn't own, let alone locked ones it obviously doesn't own...
• Someone else put this sign here.
  

Someone did a lot of work to give the riders of Red Line car #2701 some new helpful info... thank you!

The Miracle Of...

The Miracle Of...
Originally uploaded by --Mike--.

It was on our road trip out west to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary that we found out Noran was pregnant.

On the way back home, we stopped in North Platte, Nebraska for the night. We decided to visit Cody Park, just a few blocks from our motel, to see the sights.

There is a VERY big steam engine and train there... so big I needed to get more distance to try to get it in...

I climbed the hill to get a better view of the train... and found this on the sidewalk...

The coincidence of finding this right after learning Noran was pregnant was enough to get me to take this photo.

I now wonder who made the drawing in the first place, and what their story is.

If you know anything about this, please write.

--Mike--

Virginia's Baptism

I've finally uploaded some things to Flickr... the photos we gave to guests at Virginia's Baptism dinner. I've also uploaded some 117 photos taken that day.