computer mouse

This past Saturday i tried to get my old Pentium-1 150MHz computer going after a year of not using it. When i flipped the power switch, all that came out was a couple beeps and then nothing. Not even the BIOS would come up on the monitor. So i took the screws off the case. Voila!



A mouse had filled one part of the compartment with shredded toilet paper. Well this machine, stinking of mouse urine, is headed to the nearest dumpster. I'm not even going to try to troubleshoot it. Mouse urine could have corroded all kinds of components on the circuit board. I still have my Pentium-3 laptop...

Then i identified two of the species of trees near where i live. One is the Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis):



And it has "cones" that look like berries:













Another tree right next door i identified as the Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi):



and it has cones that look like this:

a rainbow this morning

Little bit of rain this morning. Am so glad it doesn't rain much here. Of course a bit later this year we'll have at least a couple feet of snow.



Last night i checked out comet 17P/Holmes again. It is as large as it was, but dimmer by a factor of 10 at least! Right next to Alpha Persei. Most people would not find it impressive at all right now, but i am still awed by it. The cheap binoculars don't do it much justice, but the 3-inch reflector still shows a short very blunt tail on it.















And here's a pic of the south side of my camp:



The dish is for DirecTV but i'm too broke right now to pay the $49/month for it. I just watch free broadcast channels right now. Lots of crime/terrorist dramas on the networks. My pda/cell bill is $90/month, and well worth it. Internet and phone in the forest. And free (broadcast) TV.

caveman

August to November 2005, and June to October 2006, i was living in a cavelet here near Susanville. Most of the lava tubes are old and collapsed in the Susanville area, so this was a rare find. In the picture you see some of my amateur radio gear.



The cave became too wet in winter (drip drip from all the cracks in the ceiling) plus it wouldn't heat up very well even with a propane space heater going full blast. Tenting it is best; it doesn't take much fuel to heat up a small 7-ft dome.

Here's a link to another previous domicile; this is similar to the tent i currently live in: 2006

more on 17P/Holmes and other objects

So now i'm beginning to make a short list of objects to view with my puny 75mm reflector and 60mm refractor. The night of November 1, it was:

Uranus: in Aquarius
Neptune: in Capricornus
Comet 17P/Holmes: in Perseus
Pallas (the asteroid): in Aquarius

The skies have been dark, but there is a bit too much moisture in the air. Pallas was barely visible in my 60mm refractor.

Here is someone else's (not my) photo of comet 17P/Holmes: