MacWorld

Well, at least for the moment. Maybe they are having problems because everyone is backing up their journals.

A check of LJ Update says:

LiveJournal may be unresponsive or slow to load due to some database problems we're experiencing.


And of course, now IJ is slowing down because everyone is coming over here and going "LJ is donw!!!" *g*

Now that the Yuletide reveal is up, I can let you know that I wrote a story called EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED an "Independence Day" story centred on Major Mitchell.

It's not a genre I've written in before but that is one of the pleasures of Yuletide, that you can write in areas you might not otherwise do, and receive stories you would like to read. My gift was by Tassos, a lovely Watcher story; there needs to be more fic for this fascinating film.

I've just posted a new layout here:

http://asylums.insanejournal.com/mylayouts2/

and it the codes should be up on freelayouts shortly.

YULETIDE is open for sign ups. If you've ever wanted to write in a challenge, this is the one. Its, like, HUGE. There are literally thousands of genres to write in, and you are not limited to any one style - gen, het, slash, all are possible. And you only have to produce one thousand words. I have signed up, both because I've always wanted to take part but generally missed the sign up, and also to kick start my writing again. I picked some way cool choices, and will be happy to write in whatever I get given. It would be nice if I get one of my chosen fandoms written for me, too, we will see how it goes.

Oh, and if you plan to take part, you might want to check out the list of needy fandoms, to see ones where stories have been requested but not yet offered. There is a huge number of very interesting genres there. *feeling really quite excited*

Can anyone tell me what the fuck is going on with IJ? I am getting constant error messages and weird goings on whenever I am trying to load a page with IJ. Its pissing me off!

I have created a new layout for anyone who might like to take a look. If you like it, I can provide instruction details.

It's S2 Bloggish.

http://asylums.insanejournal.com/mylayouts4/

For anyone reading me who knows coding/CSS:

Regarding width - you have two ways to specify the width of a component of the page (eg, the content)- you can do it using pixels (eg width: 900px;) or you can use percentage (eg width: 90%).

Can you clarify this for me - I'm assuming that using pixels means that its a set width, set to that measurement of pixels which will therefore look different depending on what resolution the viewing computer is using or the size of the monitor. However, I'm also assuming that if you use a percentage, it's a percentage of the area and that this will be the same no matter what resolution/monitor is viewing it.

Would that be a correct assumption?

Also, I'd appreciate it if anyone who is using a Mac could take a look at this layout and tell me if anything looks skewiff (that is, bits overruning, off screen, etc). It isn't finished yet, but I'm testing the settings:

http://community.livejournal.com/mytestinglayout/

I was browsing through my saved stories folder and contemplating the HP stories and it occurred to me that all of them are, by current standards, dated.

It made me wonder whether people reading older stories, stories written before the finalisation of the series, would consider such stories as unreadable. What is the general feeling about HP fanficftion? Is there some sort of timeline? Are stories written prior to the last book's release considered dated? Does anyone still write stories set back before the last book, where Harry was a student and Snape was a teacher and, if so, does the obvious knowledge of what is to come alter the style of the stories?

If I look at my fic, there was always a general feeling of hope, of Snape surviving and Harry becoming an auror or a teacher or whatever. But now we know, of course, what Snape's fate was and what became of Harry, all of those concepts become AU.

I suspect it was one reason I gave up writing HP. Not because I found Snape any less interesting as a character (he will always be my favorite Slytherin) but because I felt restrained by the path his character took.

There appears to be yet another plagiarist at work on Fanfiction.net.

He/She is HERE and from my quick perusal she seems to have copied and claimed for her own the following:

Delectationis Draconigenae by ldybastet.

Another is "Devotion" by CJ May.

Also A Whiteer Shade of Pale by Rhysen.

I'm sure the rest are as well. Check them out.

Sarah Palin married her high school boyfriend, Todd Palin, on August 29, 1988. The Palin family lives in Wasilla, about 45 miles (72 km) north of Anchorage. The Palins have two sons (Track, 19, and Trig, four months) and three daughters (Bristol, 17; Willow, 14; and Piper, 7) [ages as of August 2008]. Todd Palin has said Track's name came from the interest Sarah's parents had in the sport and the fact that he was born in the sport's season; Bristol was named after Bristol Bay in Alaska, where Todd grew up and where he does commercial fishing; Willow was named after Willow, Alaska; Piper got her name because it is uncommon and "a cool name"; Trig's name is Norse for "strength".

1)Your first-born will be named after your parents favorite sport:

Cricket
That sort of works on a cutesy level.


2)Your second-born will be named after a nearby area that you're not from but you like the sound of part of the name, and maybe you have nostalgic memories of said place:

Vaucluse
I don’t have any real nostalgic memories of it, but it’s where the rich live and envy sort of qualifies as nostalgia, yeah?

3)Your third-born will be named after another nearby place, for no reason other than you already have two children and don't have time to put much thought into another name:

Silverwater
I dare the kid to get past childhood alive.

4)Your fourth gets a "cool" name:

Yo
That’s cool, and easy to remember.

5)Your fifth gets something mythological, possibly straight out of Lord of the Rings:

Shadowfax, but only if the kid looks like a horse.