reivity

( You are about to view content that may not be appropriate for minors. )

On Saturday the 14th at 4AM UTC/GMT we will be upgrading the operating system of our network load balancers to a newer version, one that will allow us to use both CPUs! Nifty, because multiprocessing is nice.

Since we have 2 load balancers, the plan is to upgrade 1 at a time, and there really should be very little impact to our website. Hopefully you won't notice a thing and I'll get to go back to the hotel and watch some wonderful late night infomercials.

We've got a lot of exciting projects coming up for 2010 and we're hoping that we'll be able to deliver them all to you, that you will find it useful/cool/lovely and then you will use the site even more. Behind-the-scenes work like this will give us the capacity to handle the anticipated traffic, so expect a few more maintenance windows especially in the beginning of next year as we've got some neat ideas to improve performance around here! We had the recent 30-45 minute outage yesterday due to one of our logging databases filling up disk space -- not so great design coupled with my human error in handling the initial problem -- and it looks like we're going to finally have some resources to eliminate stuff like that. I can't wait!

As usual, I will be updating status.livejournal.org before and after, just in case you are not able to reach our main website during the work.

sixwordstories
Whether you're in the mood for a creative challenge or you're short on time or attention span, this semi-addictive community is perfect for those who find flash fiction way long. Once you get the hang of it, you won't be able to stop. The prince turned into a frog. The girl ran home to mother. Tough to write. Easy to read. It's a double threesome of fun.

dailyfoodie
Delicious, ambitious, and occasionally nutritious dishes make for an eclectic, all-you-can-eat feast. Whether you're searching for recipes for your next dinner party or you're jonesing for a late-night brownie fix, your cravings are sure to be well sated. A warm and inclusive community that welcomes all orientations, from carnivores to vegans, from gourmands to junk-food junkies. Guaranteed bias-free, food-positive, and pan-epicurian.

Fandom: Final Fantasy VI
Pairing: Kefka/Leo
Theme set: Gamma
Title: For which there is no cure
Rating: R
Warning[s]: Mentioned torture and violence
Notes: This is darker than the previous batch

(Poison comes in many forms, one of the deadlier being desire.)

Fandom: Kiki's Delivery Service (a Studio Ghibli film)
Pairing: Kiki x Tombo
Theme Set: Epsilon
Title: Bikes and Broomsticks
Rating: PG
Warning(s): None
Notes: A love shared in childhood innocence and a shared passion in aviation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There were times when Kiki considered adding a passenger seat to her broom.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
( Read more... )

Fandom: Firefly
Pairing: Mal/Serenity
Theme Set: Delta
Title: It's Enough
Rating: G
Spoilers/Warnings: The TV series Firefly and the movie Serenity

(Even though they're his crew, Mal thinks it's strange how every one of them has bonded with Serenity (she was supposed to be his)).

Fandom: Spirited Away (a Studio Ghibli film)
Pairing: Chihiro x Haku
Theme Set: Gamma
Title: Even Ground
Rating: PG-13
Warning(s): Suggestive themes in the second half
Notes: Maps the events during and after Chihiro's visit to the Spirit World.

It took six years to fulfill his first promise, but the look on her face and the leap that tackled him into the damp grass made it worth while.

Fandom: Kim Possible
Pairing: Drakken/Shego
Theme set: Epsilon
Title: Minutes and Years
Rating: PG-ish
Notes: In set order, non-chronological.

On to the story...

Fandom: Vampire Knight
Pairing: Yagari/Cross
Theme set: Gamma
Title: Fangs and Ashes
Rating: PG-15
Warning[s]: Sexual references, impolite language. And slash, clearly.
Notes: Because this pairing is so underrated, and so obvious.
Also - all characters, quotes, et cetera belong to people who aren’t me.

( Yagari had never held anyone who was in charge in a very high regard. )

Fandom: Pirates of the Caribbean
Pairing: Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann
Theme set: Delta
Title: A Love as Strong as Steel
Rating: G to PG-13
Warning[s]: Spoilers thru AWE


( A love as strong as steel ... )

aiyatheydidnt
The Chinese version of ONTD, AIYA is a dynamic international community that welcomes users who share a love of contemporary Chinese pop culture. Dedicated to celebrity gossip and entertainment news, you'll enjoy gorgeous photos and breaking stories featuring the glitterati of mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

wendylady2
Designed to rescue fashion victims everywhere, this Brit-based community reads like a rag-ezine. Published once or twice weekly, you'll view bizarre highlights of the global fashion scene through captivating photos and delightfully snarky editorial. Sit tight for a virtual fashion tour from the runways of New York to Milan to Paris and back home again to London in homage to the adage: you can't buy good taste.

soldiers_heart
A passionate community for veterans of all ages (mostly American), plus families, friends, and supporters. View poignant snapshots detailing life in combat and back on civilian soil in the form of original artwork, personal narratives, poetry, and photos. Be forewarned that members don't shy away from describing their disappointments, disabilities, and struggles.

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: Heymans Breda/Riza Hawkeye
Theme set: Gamma
Title: "Knight to Queen"
Rating: G to R
Warnings: Sexuality, spoilers for both the 2003 anime series and the manga.
Notes: These aren't any one canon; some are mangaverse, some are animeverse, some are based on ending speculation. They follow no particular order, and don't relate to each other.

He always felt funny calling her 'sir.'.

Fandom: Fullmetal Alchemist
Pairing: Jean Havoc/Roy Mustang
Theme set: Beta
Title: "No Smoke Without Fire"
Rating: G to NC-17
Warnings: Sexuality, spoilers for both the 2003 anime series and the manga.
Notes: These aren't any one canon; some are mangaverse, some are animeverse, some are based on ending speculation. They follow no particular order, and don't relate to each other.

I’m still here, Sir.

Fandom: Fire Emblem
Pairing: Sothe x Tormod
Theme set: Epsilon
Title: Someone Normal
Rating: PG13
Warning[s]: Slash, mentions of character death, sex, and abuse of grammar.


walk this way.

Hi everyone,

Voting for the new 1sentence banner (here) is now closed.

The results are in ...

( The Winner is ... )

THANK YOU to all three participants (royalbk, neliobelmont, and bandazgeek).

EDIT: If you're reading this, our maintenance is OVER! The problem was not found on our equipment, which means we'll have to work with our ISP to fix this small problem -- which also means another maintenance window in the future -- but at least we have eliminated our side.

Thank you everyone, and a special shout out to rekoil for giving me a great suggestion AND also the opportunity to feel like I've just called in to a local radio station.

Have a great day, night or afternoon wherever you may be.

---

Hi everyone, sorry for the late notice but I'm going to have to do some testing on 1 of our 4 internet circuits TONIGHT; Friday night or Saturday morning depending on which time zone you're in.

Most of us shouldn't notice any impact, though there may be some slowness or lag when I switch traffic on to our other ISP circuits and then another hit when I stop the tests. If a page won't load or times out, try hitting refresh 1 or 2 times and it should load then. If it doesn't work at all... trust me, I'll be typing really really really fast to try to undo whatever I just did. Hopefully you'll have some Halloween candy (if you're in the USA and celebrate that kind of thing) nearby to take away the bitterness of a small site outage. :(

Here's the handy-dandy Website That I Always Use to get a feel for when the maintenance will start in your area. Our site traffic historically dips on Friday afternoons until Saturday morning which is why we tend to pick this time for maintenance work.

( tech details )

status.livejournal.org will, of course be updated before and after the maintenance window. Or else marta will get mad at me. :D

bt