_snitchbitch

So I moved all of my sites over to DreamHost earlier this year, and I've gotta say that I'm NOT impressed. MySQL is down at the moment, and there's no scheduled move for my server.

I've had more downtime with my sites in the last 2 months than I had in 2 years with Surpass Hosting. Am I just unluckily on the wrong server with them or something? Does anyone else have this many problems with DH?

I'll try and stick it out another month or two, but if it doesn't improve I'm saying GOODBYE to DH and moving back to Surpass Hosting. They provided great support, and my downtime was negligible. They even offered me a discount if I ever decided to return to them, and were pleasant til the last. DH are pleasant enough, but there's just so much DOWNTIME!

GRRR!

A bit of a Real Life^© post for y'all.

I have been SOOOOO busy the last couple of months. Seriously. Every weekend is packed with weddings, hen's nights, bridal showers or birthdays.

This means that I can't do my cleaning and things on the weekends, which then goes on to mean that I have to do them during the weeknights.

I have had virtually NO time to cap things or make things. I sometimes get an hour or two spare, and then I'll cap an episode or something. I'm 3 weeks behind on Battlestar Galactica and Andromeda. I have 2 fanlistings that I was approved for, and I haven't had time to make layouts for them. I was also hoping to turn one of said fanlistings into a bit of a fansite, which includes MORE screencaps and other things. Another project, eh? I won't have time for that part. Fingers crossed I'll get time to make layouts for them, anyway! I know I said I wouldn't take anymore FLs on, but these are 2 of my favourite things, and the old FL owner(s) disappeared off the net. So... I put my hand up. Yay!

Maybe I should see if anyone wants to co-run/co-own all of my Farscape FLs, while I'm on the subject. Or maybe not. There's nothing really to them except member updates. I'd like to make more layouts for them - eventually. And I'd like to eventually do something more with the domain... but yeah. Eventually. I've already got farscapecaps.com for screencaps. I don't know what else to do with it just yet. But if anyone has ideas and/or is interested, let me know. I don't want to give them up or anything, but I'm happy to co-run. I think.

Moving on.

I've been reading Southern Vampire fic on my sparkly Nokia 5730 ExpressMusic phone. Thanks to this handy-dandy Fanfiction downloader/converter I downloaded a while ago, I can save them to MobiPocket format and read them on the bus or in bed at night (while George watches videos on his 32GB iPhone).

Anyway, I found a few real SVM gems this week. There's Changing It All by FODforever, and then there's Dead Wrong by Meg2. I've enjoyed them both, quite thoroughly. Just FYI.

And by god, I can't stand Anna Paquin's Sookie. They've just dumbed her down so much, and made her so reliant on Bill... urgh. Funny, I had no real problem with her before I read the books! But that was before Season 2, and .. yeah.

Anyway, I should get back to work now.

Some Andromeda Magazine scans I did recently during Dylan Hunt appreciation month @ andromeda_fans. Just dumping them here for now.

( snip snip. )

Want, Take, Have. Credit _snitchbitch or andromeda-web.com, and no hot-linking unless you've asked me.

I've also put them up here at andromeda-web.com, and I'll be putting ascendant_angel's up as well (with permission, of course). Just gotta get around to it.

My 2 year plan for my mobile phone is going to run out in December, and I just had a call from the company telling me they can send me out a new mobile phone with no change in plan costs etc... all I have to do is choose which phone!? So, dear friends-list, tell me about your experiences and recommendations. On my "freebie" list are:

Nokia 6710, 6700, E71, 5730, 6210
Samsung F480, S7350, UltraTouch
Sony Ericsson W995, W705, C903
Apple iPhone

I'm really contemplating the E71. It should have PDF/Word support, which means I can sort-of read eBooks on my phone. Wonder if there's a .lit hack for it? Plus it has GPS support (hopefully in Australia), which is a bonus. But I'm just not sure...

Anyone care to offer their thoughts?

HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THE "PROMO VIDEO" FOR THE GUILD S3?



Felicia Day, FTW.

The Quantum Gravity series by UK author Justina Robson is one of my (many) vices. Every year Justina releases a new book from the series, and every year I line up like a lemming and order my copy from overseas so that I don’t have to wait another 4 months for it to hit the Australian bookshelves.

Read my full review @ SciFiFanGirl.

I had some more free time this weekend (George went fishing!) and started out with the best intentions...

I planned on getting ahead in my capping of Battlestar Galactica, I planned on making some form of content for andromeda-web.com, and I hoped to cap a few episodes of Blood Ties. But I just... couldn't.

I did, however, end up making a new skin for Twice Bitten:



It's very different to the normal one. I don't even know if I like it, but I think I'm just happy because it's something NEW, you know?

So I've been thinking of setting a different goal. andromeda-web is getting quieter, an the re-watch (of which I'm SOOOOO far behind) is also quiet. I might ask a few of the Andromeda guys (such as colls, ascendant_angel and angelus2hot) if they want to do a bit of a challenge. Maybe everyone picks a day of the week and you have to produce some kind of Andromeda art/content - whether it's a wallpaper, a small batch of icons, fiction, picspam, episode review, or a header or something - on your specified day. If y'all are reading this guys, what do you think?

( Cut for RL stuff. )

In other news... where would one find Seven/Icheb fic or art? Oh, and Jared Padalecki's Ass is the best thing ever.

My parents have bought a new house (sold the old one) and are in the process of packing.

During said process, Dad decided that he no longer wants to lug his Star Trek & Star Wars collectibles around - so he's given them all to me! I've got 20+ Star Trek novels (including Kobayashi Maru OMG, I've wanted to read that for the last few weeks!), a butt-load of old calendars he's saved for some reason (hello, scanner!) and his Millennium Falcon toy model thing from the 70s/80s! And a few other bits and pieces, but I haven't finished going through the box yet.

I have no idea why this stuff makes me so happy, but it does. Alas, I now need to buy another bookshelf since I have no room left on my current ones! HEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Oh, haha - I just found a half-empty bottle of Tequila in there! Good one, Dad - the worm is still in there, too! Shame I can't drink it any more...

Battlestar Galactica
2.01 Scattered
633 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (36.31MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.02 Valley Of Darkness
558 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (33.52MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.03 Fragged
681 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (41.23MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.04 Resistance
706 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (43.80MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.05 The Farm
761 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (46.02MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.06 Home, Part 1
758 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (42.78MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.07 Home, Part 2
702 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (42.50MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.08 Final Cut
738 Images (DVD Quality)
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Battlestar Galactica
2.09 Flight Of The Phoenix
855 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (52.88MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.10 Pegasus
946 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (56.67MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.11 Resurrection Ship, Part 1
593 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (33.62MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.12 Resurrection Ship, Part 2
690 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (39.11MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.13 Epiphanies
669 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (39.47MB; Megaupload)


Battlestar Galactica
2.14 Black Market
531 Images (DVD Quality)
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Battlestar Galactica
2.15 Scar
841 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (46.67MB; Megaupload)

Moon.

I saw it last night at the BIFF, and I was just blown away. For his first major feature film, Duncan Jones did an amazing job.

While I got the gist of the film from the trailer, it still didn't give away the story of the movie. And Sam Rockwell was just.. amazing. In fact, I can't think of what I can say to do this movie justice.

About halfway through I was close to tears. Not because it was sad, but because it was so beautiful. I actually turned to George and said that I didn't care if the rest of the movie wasn't any good: the first half was so f***ing awesome I'd love it anyway. Turns out I didn't need to say it, because the whole thing was beautiful. Absolutely, breath-takingly beautiful.

It's a keeper, my friends. Do yourselves a favour and see it when you can.

A small collection of icons that I've made over the last few months...

[10] Andromeda
[07] Star Wars (Clone Wars)
[03] Harry Potter
[05] Hyperdrive
[02] Battlestar Galactica
[01] Heroes
[01] Quantum Gravity
[01] Roar
[04] True Blood

( snip. )

OMG - I was biting my nails at having to wait until OCTOBER to see Moon... and then I realised that the St George Brisbane International Film Festival is on in a fortnight... and they're playing Moon!!

I am so excited about this that I had to post to LJ.

So.. vampires, eh?

They've been bugging me the last few days. Well, not vampires exactly... more the current obsession with them.

( read on. )

I think it's time I re-watched my American Gothic DVDs. Lucas Buck was hot without needing to be a vampire. Just... evil. :)

As I was on the bus this morning I saw a homeless man selling the Big Issue outside of the Library in the city.

I'm a big supporter of the Big Issue. I buy one every fortnight (usually from the same Vendor near my work), even if I'm down to my last 5 dollars. I have never, ever picked up a free MX Paper. I refuse to, because I think it removes the attention from the homeless selling the Big Issue. Ask my friends; I'm stubborn about it.

Anyway, as the bus was rolling past I started looking at the people that were walking past the vendor. They just... didn't look at him. They'd walk straight past him, and their eyes would be fixed on something else even though they're within a metre of him. I was appalled. Most vendors are quite lovely (in my experience). The ones I walk past every day usually shout out a good morning to everyone, and some even pass along compliments - and they do this knowing that 99% of the people they see won't even buy one of their magazines.

It disgusted me.

It doesn't matter what they're selling or giving away. I will look at each vendor and say "no, thank you" if I don't want it. You don't need to make an excuse, just say "no, thank you". Guess what, mate - we're all human beings. How about we treat each other with some level of respect and decency!?

I was so crushed. The vendor was taking it all in stride, obviously used to it. I don't know why anyone SHOULD be used to it.

There was actually a great article in the Big Issue last month about the way telemarketers are treated as well. I just.. try to be nice to everyone. It doesn't matter if they're working behind the counter at McDonalds, calling me about a great deal I could get (and don't want) on my mobile phone, or if they're a homeless vendor selling the Big Issue in a pair of thongs (flip-flops) in the freezing cold: Manners cost nothing, so suck it up and be fucking nice to each other.

Battlestar Galactica
1.12 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 1
607 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (32.06MB; Megaupload)
( Samples. )


Battlestar Galactica
1.13 Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part 2
697 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (42.14MB; Megaupload)
( Samples. )

Battlestar Galactica
1.11 Colonial Day
609 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (34.67MB; Megaupload)
( Samples. )

Battlestar Galactica
1.10 The Hand Of God
642 Images (DVD Quality)
Gallery | ZIP File (35.72MB; Megaupload)
( Samples. )

Ah, cold & flu season. I had a minor cold a few weeks ago (when my boss bought me some beautiful flowers to celebrate my being at the company for 9 years). It's over now, but the fun part is beginning. The horrible asthma, inability to breathe, and coughing so loud I feel sorry for my neighbours.

Haha, I like that it's so easy to piss George off. Just one cough and he cringes and glares at me. Oh well. I'm on funky cough medicine, an asthma preventive that looks like a bubble gum dispenser, and enough ventolin to make me dizzy. Still with the coughing. Fingers crossed it goes away soon.

Hey, I'm alcohol free at the moment. I don't miss it really - the main issue is Friday nights. George and I like coming home on a Friday afternoon and cracking open a bottle (or three) of champagne while we cook something complicated. Maybe it's so we'll be too drunk to realise it tastes bad ;) Seriously though, that's all I'm missing about it. Just a slight craving on Friday nights to have a glass or so.

I went to the video store the other night and rented out Blast from the Past. You know, the one with Brendan Fraser. Ah, he was so adorkable. But for some reason I can't stop playing it in the background while I'm doing things. And that song (Mr. Zoot Suit, by the Flying Neutrinos) is just.. great. So now I'm playing the only similar music I have - Cherry Poppin' Daddies. If anyone has any music recs along those lines, pass 'em on, yeah?

We're sleeping in the spare bedroom at the moment because it's warmer, but George & I are too lazy to plug the TV & DVD player in. Probably not laziness, really. G probably knows that I'll trip over them every night until I land myself in hospital. But the point was that I've been reading instead of watching TV. Sort of annoying. Took me ages to finish Pride & Prejudice & Zombies because I was so tired. (I didn't mind it, by the way. I lol'd a few times, but I prefer the original much better). But now I'm stuck about what I want to read. I literally have 5 books on my bedside table, and I'm switching between them each night depending on my mood. Haha, and they're all re-reads, all books I've read before.

I've got Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice (both in these GORGEOUS little tiny versions that can almost fit in your pocket), one of the Twilight books (don't ask), P&P&Z (too lazy to type the whole thing again, but not lazy enough to tell you that) and one of the Earth's Children books. Plains of Passage, I think. God, the sex in those books gets old. How can people stand to read bodice rippers all the time? Maybe it's just because it's the same characters. You can only see the words "jutting manhood" so many times before your eyeballs start to bleed. Lucky for the author that the story is actually interesting, and that I've read the books enough times to know when the smut is about to commence (and I can therefore skip the next few pages).

I'm keen to buy this book I've heard about: Eats, Shoots & Leaves, by Lynne Truss.

A panda walks into a caf. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and proceeds to fire it at the other patrons.

'Why?' asks the confused, surviving waiter amidst the carnage, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

'Well, I'm a panda', he says, at the door. 'Look it up.'

The waiter turns to the relevant entry in the manual and, sure enough, finds an explanation. 'Panda. Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China. Eats, shoots and leaves.'

It looks good. Not something readily available in Oz, but I think I'll have to order it in from the UK on my next payday. Hey, my geeky bookshelves needs to be fuller in order to convince G that I need another one, OK?