Angel Trumpets

There are 35 or more yellow Angel Trumpet flowers in bloom on this shrub and the scent is quite heady. This shot is taken in the front of the house at night time with no flash.

The Angel Trumpet Brugmansia is a member of the Nightshade (Solanaceae) family (tomatoes, potatoes, tobacco, eggplant, Datura and petunias) and is also quite toxic.

Peach Trees in Bloom

The peaches are in bloom once again in the backyard in response to the very good rainfall San Diego is receiving this year. Last time, if I remember correctly, the peach tree with the showy, darker bloom had yellow fruit and the tree with the pink flower had dark and sweet fruit. I'm still trying to find the old paper work on this.

HP Pavilion Laptop Repair

I really enjoy taking apart computers! Laptops are much harder than desktops to work with because everything has to fit perfectly together. To get to the graphics chip, the entire laptop had to be completely taken apart. I only missed one connection ribbon the second time I had to reassemble without looking at the instructions!

The LCD screen on this dv9000 had gone out and connecting it to a small LCD TV via the HDMI cable provided a short fix. Then, that option went out after a month because the culprit, the nVidia graphics chip, finally had had too much overheating. As I researched the issue, I found that it has been an ongoing issue with nVidia chips installed on a whole slew of HP laptop models. Unfortunately, this particular model is not eligible for free repair like all the others. I'm glad my new HP laptop has an ATI chip and doesn't have this issue.

The defective laptop was replaced by an iMac. I'll probably follow suit as soon as I get a good excuse. So far, my HD has already been replaced once and I'm getting a few, sporadic HD errors on the new drive.

A month after the iMac moved in, I tore apart the HP Pavilion with these instructions. And, a corresponding YouTube video showed how to apply a quick fix. I was afraid to fry the motherboard with heat, but I had no other options. In the end, I was able to get VGA output to work and an extremely dim output on the laptop's screen. So, now I've got to replace the inverter for the screen and things may be back to normal.

Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve

The planned two hour hike at Santa Ysabel Open Space Preserve took more than 3 hours, instead. There was a loop on the trail that showed that the parking lot was deceptively close. If it weren't for a hidden ravine, the hike would have been shorter.

The live oak trees spread out and grow to a large size.

This Platanus occidentalis is very similar to Platanus racemosa. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless someone pointed it out to me. I just had to go with the sign posted nearby.

The park is located just northwest of where the massive 2003 Ceder Fire took place. There is a mix of untouched and burned areas. This old pine tree left an interesting black tower.

Last Night's Neighborhood Halloween

There's usually a good turn-out for Halloween in the neighborhood, but I still have a lot of candy left over. The kids enjoyed the artificial fog, ghost illusions, papier mache props and...uh....actors. The Chicken Lady showed up with her chickens and promised to drop off some blue eggs for an omlette.

Click on the slide show if you'd like to view larger images.

Halloween

...gettin' ready for Halloween with a little gelatin and face make-up.

Bat

This bat was made with spare parts leftover from the previous projects. The wings turned out weak, so I supported them with fishing line. I should have put more "muscle" mass in its "arms". The weight of the paint has rendered it too heavy for the pulley system that I was going to use outside. So, it's back to the drawing board for now.