My HP DV6000 laptop is driving me nuts, it is now a small desktop given that it refuses to charge…

- The power cord and charger are good, they keep it running all the time they are plugged in

- Thought it was the battery, bought a new one but the problem remains

- Search Google, OK looks like everyone that ever bought the machine has the same issue

- Various acts of witch craft and wizardly, removing the battery, reloading, plugging, unplugging, turning off and on – quickly or slowly – an occassional person gets it to go for a while then back to the problem.

- If you have AMD there is a bio’s upgrade that is said to fix it, no such luck with Intel

So you’d think when 1000’s of people log the problem on HP sites and all over the internet of the exact same problem with the exact same machine someone would have an answer, or at least HP would be able to tell you they are looking into it …. nope.

Guess what my next laptop won’t be!  Love the clear graphics screen but hate the company and (lack of) customer support.

…. and this one by the other half in the work carpark.

These photo’s were taken of a male and female fig bird in the palm tree.  It was taken from the balcony of an apartment we rented in Noosa recently.  The birds are quite striking on their own but I loved the combination of the lime green palm leaves and red berries.

Movember is about changing the face of mens health.

Close to 3000 men die of prostrate cancer in Australia every year and one in eight will suffer from depression in their lifetime. Drew is putting down the razor and growing a “Mo” for the month to raise funds for this cause.

If you can help, your sponsorship through this link would be appreciated. Thank you.

P.S.  Weekly update photos to follow!

A couple of weeks ago I found a snake skin in the garden …

now its the whole darn snake …

.. and yes I do know that it is tiny … but it is living outside my lounge room window …. ARGHHHHH!

Well the shops seem to think it is Christmas with all the decorations up already so felt inspired on the weekend to put down the fruitmince to marinade in all those good boozy flavours. I was given this recipe last year and it is quick and easy, it makes a chunky mix as you chop not mince the fruit but is really good.

Brisbane has two Botanic Gardens, one in the city on the river which is the older one and Mt Coot-tha gardens which were established in the 70’s after the city ones had been flooded 8 times and it was decided that to preserve the valuable collections a less disaster prone site needed to be found. The city ones are still beautifully kept and a great retreat from the city in the middle of the day or taking a river ferry in on the weekend but this was my first visit to the Mt Coot-tha ones.

Insects collect pollen from a Jockey Cap

These water monitors are everywhere through the park but this demanding one came into the cafe

Like floating shamrocks ... lucky for some

This is so my complementary colour ...

This is a tropical palm but reminds me of the NZ Koru (oh and that the All Blacks won in Japan!)

Well actually in truth I’ve been having so much fun with taking photos now I have my new Canon 450d and I joined a ‘photo of the day’ group on Facebook so that’s been taking up my online time. Here is todays photo, we think these two are are quite young but they turned up in our back yard this morning with what appeared to be a fully mature and more shy Kookabura to join in the feeding with the Magpies and Butcher birds.

My photography has been sadly neglected lately and in need of some inspiration so I am really excited about joining the [Brisbane] Worldwide photo walk on Saturday 18th July. This is the second year it’s been run so I guess you can now officially call it an annual event and with 17,000 photographers expected to take part it is definitely well attended on an international scale. The visionary behind the idea is Scott Kelby and you can check out more on the website here and find your nearest group if you are interested in being a part of it.

Our leader is Jan Ramsey of Eye on Photography, you can check out some of her work here. I am really looking forward to meeting the other photographers from the area and although I expect to be one of the least experienced I am still hoping for a miracle and one decent shot!

We are starting out at 8.30am from the Eagle Farm Racecourse Gates and plan to end up at New Farm for lunch and to compare our photos from the morning.

.. and finally, if you are going to join one of these walks, or organise your own there are some great tip in this article by Terry Reinert.

It has been a long time coming but the next Harry Potter movie is due out 15th July 2009.

With the books finished I don’t think the lead up to this one has been quite as hyped as the earlier releases but from the looks of the trailer the movie will be every bit as good as the ones that have gone before and there is no questions I’ll be queuing up to see it pretty quick.  You can watch the full trailer version here.  The effects like amazing.