John Simm is my Master now...

Bookmarked for future reference:

http://status.livejournal.org/

So currently I find myself wondering if my inability to open Live Journal is all a random coincidence and I'm just being paranoid or possibly if they weren't kidding about the coming LJ-poccalypse.

eta: now with this message at LJ.com

LiveJournal.com is currently unavailable due to emergency maintenance. Don't worry, this has nothing to do with our recent company layoffs! It's a technical problem, not a lack-of-personnel problem.
Thank you for your patience.

Whew.

Ha! LJ is not working, I hope it's not the final sign of the Apocalypsis. Mehh much as I don't hate IJ, I'm too used to the LJ layout.

Some people on Journal Fen report they've managed to receive this message:

"LiveJournal may be unresponsive or slow to load due to some database problems we're experiencing. Our Operations staff is working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible."

I just get blank pages.

Hmm, I kind of like the way I set up this journal.


ETA: I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Greatest Journal is now completely dead. Not just playing dead, but really, most sincerely dead. Nailed to the perch...pushing up daisies....

I'm getting a dead signal at livejournal from all browsers at the moment - anyone else?

If off-topic or prematurely worrisome, just delete, of course.

I posted this huge bullet guide of programs to help Windows, Mac & Linux users backup their LJ's via the current drama going on. There's even some programs to transfer your entire LJ to IJ! :D

Find the post here, if you're interested.

*loves and dashes*

This NPR story caught my attention in part because they were trying to coin a new phrase – the Wovel – to describe a novel published in installments online, and also because the author was an editor at Dark Horse Comics, so stories by installment should hardly seem like a breakthrough to her. Fanfic and pro novels have been published the same way so I guess the "revolutionary" angle here is the idea of user input, although as one commenter nicely points out, there are quite a few running around LJ. The idea strikes me as just another form of what Fanlib was selling, albeit less corporate.

Speaking of Fanlib and its abrupt closure, it's always a wise idea to keep things backed up but I think the idea of LJ having a similarly abrupt demise is unlikely. I'm no expert on how the site is run, but I suspect the problem will come mostly from slower maintenance and a likely stop to further site tweaking. Then again there's always the GJ model of a slow, decaying death. I noticed there haven't been any posts at fandom_flies in some time, but this might be a good time to revive those discussions about long-range plans. While LJ still has some prospects, I think its future is going to be sharply limited by the current economic problems. I don't know how much further the site can be monetized now that 90% or more of journals carry ads and probably anyone who could afford a permanent account has already bought one. The number of paid users has always been tiny, even in its heyday, and the likelihood of finding yet another buyer seems dim. If I were to be optimistic I'd say this was the early 90s period for Apple. The shiny of the Mac had worn off, the resurgence of the iMac was still ahead and the iPod and iPhone rather far off. This comparison came to me because I remember seeing a map of connectivity in the blogosphere, and it was noted that LJ was its own little island (not unlike Mac users pre-Internet). So better things might still be ahead for core users, but chances are it's going to be a long ways off and stagnation is definitely here.

The problem of disappearing vids on YouTube (yet again) is a problem when making recs, and it made me think that this post has the right idea. In other copyright news, iTunes songs will finally be as DRM free as those from Amazon, and at least some of its catalog will drop in price. Along with an article about the arrival of TV sets that will connect directly to the Internet and the boom in downloading film and TV content, is the article on Google's open path to provide digital books. Seems to me we're well poised to downsize our living spaces since we no longer will need storage for all those books, DVDs, and CDs, huh? It's kind of interesting to look around and realize a lot of what's still on my shelves in my apartment are outdated technologies I'm still carting around with me.

Lastly, let's hear it for the Brits.

I hope this is all right to post here.

Back during Strikethrough, I used Snapetoy's post on how to set up Semagic to simultaneously post to multiple journals and have been happily doing so. However, I got a new computer this week and realized I don't remember how to set that up, and of course the post was on GJ and is now history! Does anyone remember how?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me.

ETA: Thanks to eemilyvr1 for the link!

I created this IJ back during Strikethrough, when I was unhappy with LiveJournal's actions. Then I was pretty much offline for over a year, what with having a baby. A couple of weeks ago when I decided to start getting more active in fandom again, I observed that my IJ flist was a proper subset of my LJ one, so I didn't bother posting here. But now LJ is making wild cutbacks, and there's a thin edge of panic in the air, so what the heck, I'll get with the cross-posting. (Which is to say: I will now be posting the same entries, generally, to both LJ and IJ.)

So I'll start by posting A Buffyverse Alphabet, which went live in my LJ a couple of days ago!

(in the style of Edward Gorey's Gashlycrumb Tinies)

A is for Anya, who died being brave.
B is for Buffy, crawled out of her grave.
( Read more... )

ETA: tarotgal did one for Highlander!

Does anyone remember GreatestJournal? Well it's finally down. I was on it yesterday and it was working fine so it must of happened within the last 24 hours.

What I keep on getting is:

403 Denied
GJ is currently down - Please go to LiveJournal

Old users: you can backup all entries and comment with ljarchive

As of January 6, 2009, after a year of issues, GreatestJournal is finally dead. Oh well.


Check this out http://greatestjournal.com/

...except you get to have the day off. So I took a drive and ended up at Drottningholm. ( I parked, grabbed my camera and went for a walk. )

Afterwards I went grocery shopping and in the fifteen minutes I was in the store it had gotten dark and started snowing quite heavily. While it's been pretty damn cold lately, we've hardly had any snow. I am not looking forward to digging out my car tomorrow morning.

---

On a whim, I started keeping track of the TV episodes I've watched this year, and right now I'm at 28. If this keeps up I'll have absolutely no problem reaching 1000 episodes. In fact, I'd probably clear 2000 with a comfortable margin. Yikes!

And I haven't even watched Jon and Stephen yet! (I kinda forgot that for pretty much everyone else, this is just another ordinary day.) And I'm in the middle of yet another episode of Grand Designs. I'll top at least 30 before the day is over. IN SIX DAYS. And I'm not even counting the two TV episodes I watched while proof-reading, or the episode I translated this week.

---

I don't know if it's because I've been so disconnected from LJ this fall, but my only reaction to the news of the firings was that it would probably crush me to lose some of the fic that's posted here - and only here. I think I'm going to have to go find some of my faves and back them up, just in case.

That's not to say it wouldn't be devastating to lose all the people around here, but I really don't think that would happen even if the site disappeared completely (which I don't believe it will). Sooner or later, most everyone would gravitate to one place or another, and as long as you've got an email adress for at least one person you're going to be okay.

And how often do you get to use "bankruptcy" and "good news" in the same sentence? The idea of bankruptcy cram-downs is alive again.

There are no perfect ways to handle the problems of individual homeowners in trouble, but this may be the best because it is a individual as the debtor's circumstances. I've seen determinations by bankruptcy judges when they have to face similar standards and they are pretty hard-headed, which means someone who "bought" five houses with no money down intending to flip them will be treated differently from the guy who lost his job just as his housing values tanked.

Need...break...from...work

I banged my hand on something the other day, keeping my klutz credentials and ripping a fingernail to the point that it bled. It doesn't hurt, but I have to keep a kind of bulky band-aid on it to avoid tearing it more. This is causing an annoying number of typos because my ring finger keeps hitting the wrong keys. And yet I soldier on.

No matter how many times I surf past the movie "Slash" with the TV clicker, I always experience a moment of hope that it's about two guys who are just friends but all the women they know insist they must be having sex with each other. It never is.

Two things that make me fee l better are eating chocolate and doing yoga. So why do I never have any problem motivating myself to do the former, but keep making excuses to avoid the latter?

SUP sacked a number of employees in their San Francisco office. no_lj_ads has a tiny summary and a few links to a few sources (they call it the Grim Purge which I find inappropriate...)

Having had a good long run of slothfulness lately, I'm starting the new year with one of those bright-eyed, bushy-tailed resolutions to get back into a fitness program ... something which I keep stopping and starting, with emphasis on the "stop" the past few years, though I used to be one of those annoying people who got up at 4AM to work out and then fit in another hour of physical activity at 6PM. (But it's been something like 5 years since I managed that sort of dedication.)

There are the 3 hours of dance class a week normally, but for the past several weeks none at all, because of illness and holiday conflicts. And bellydance does nothing for upper body strength.

So I've started up the 100 Pushups program again. For those of us who were horrified at the insane leaps in what was expected from week to week, it's been very sensibly revamped recently and is far more doable. I'm taking extra care of my wrists this time around!

Today was Day 1 and I'm weak as a newborn kitten, and it isn't funny, except in how it sort of is. Amazing how quickly one loses muscle they don't use. Gah!

On the upside, after doing the pushups and a T-Tapp routine, I'm ready to conk out, which can only be a good thing since I've been dragging a sleep deficit around for a long time now. Zzzz.

Only two more chapters to go after this. They're written and back from beta, so I'll post them very soon. Just twiddling a bit.

Title: Bug on the Cosmic Windscreen

Author: Miss Murchison

Rating: PG

Summary: Spike landed in the BSG 'verse and made a bit of a splash, or at least a splat. He thinks he's there to help, and the bewildered Colonists don't know what to think. This went AU after Pegasus. I may have stolen an idea or two after that, but I've changed whatever happened to fit my plot. For the first time, I'm swiping stuff from Season 3, but it's so altered I'm not sure it even constitutes a spoiler. For one thing, I haven't even watched the episode in question for a year, so I don't remember exactly how much of this chapter matches that story.

Also, just because someone has been revealed as a Cylon on the show doesn't mean that person is a Cylon in this story.

Thanks: to keswindhover and revdorothyl for being such great friends and wonderful betas.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to Joss, ME, and the creators of BSG and all the other stories I reference here. I thank them for creating so many universes for us to play in and enjoy.

Previous chapters are here. (I will get around to posting the more recent chapters on my site soon, but for now the new bits are only on LJ.)

A short Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galactica for those who have never watched Battlestar Galactica is here.


( Far Escape )

alisanne wrote me a birthday drabble! Need a little delicious Harry/Draco this afternoon? Head right this way: Whatever Works - PG, but plenty of naughtiness for the imagination. I just reread it...yum. Thank you again, darling! ♥

~

I also managed to finish another bday celebration ficlet! Though I'm quite sure the only two people that are going to read have already done so, I'll still link here just in case anyone's feeling adventurous. ;) Also it's an excuse to use my brand new Marian/Nadja icon. Please, someone discuss Etienne with me in the comments so I have an excuse to pull that one out, too.

Closing Time - AWZ, Marian/Nadja, PG-13
Summary: Just a peek at what happens after hours at No. 7. Written for the prompt "Marian/Nadja, BeeGees" (which amazingly is not as random as it sounds, much to my surprise *g*) provided by lilithilien.

Wee! That was fun. Now if only my wizard_love piece would come along as easily as the bday ficlets have been. *pokes it*

~

Speaking of AWZ...( cut for rambling about a secondary character that no one else in the world cares about... )

Well I'm having problems over at LiveJournal, so hi, dusting off this journal! With LJ my comments were all over the place, not getting some, and those I was getting were out of order from when they were posted. Now I cannot get onto any webpages, except welcome back to livejournal. When I try to check my friends pages etc, it cannot find the webpage!

So in case anyone else is having problems, and is here visiting, a poll

Poll #2961 Best end of Season
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Which of these was the best end of Season

"We are hoping and praying that they will not be able to deny what the Lord has ordained," Burris said. "I am not hesitating. I am now the junior Senator from the state of Illinois. Some people may want to question that and that is their prerogative." via TPM, emphasis mine

Let's just say I'm exercising that prerogative. Sir, you seem to be qualified, if a bit eager for glory, but you were appointed by Blagojevich, not God.

Little sister brought over a loaf of her homemade persimmon bread yesterday afternoon, and it was so delightfully delicious it was gone by this morning. Yum! She told me it was an adjustment of her go-to banana bread recipe, which is beloved by everyone who tastes it, and is from The Wooden Spoon Bread Book - which I gave her years ago. She replaced the bananas with persimmons and added a touch of cinnamon.

I don't bake, but I might make an exception for that banana (or persimmon) bread ... maybe I should ask her for the recipe ...