Friends

So, while I'm up anyway... here's some bead weaving tutorials from Youtube.

First, here's Peyote Stitch, and Two Drop Peyote Stitch:



Right Angle Weave:

I HAD PURCHASED a new case for the beast, a Thermaltake Soprano DX (PC Land was, for reasons unknown to the manager, unable to obtain the Thermaltake RS101 and made me a decent deal on the next case up) and a shiny (oooo, shiny ... ) new 500 gig SATA HD.

After the usual screwups with transferring to a new case (this time the offsets didn't work properly at one location [we believe] and created a ground) I dragged it back from PC Land and hooked it up. Windoze proceeded to, in it's immitable manner, screw up on boot.

Re-booting to Linux (Ubuntu, in this case) worked, so I knew the problem wasn't hardware, i.e. the mouse now worked and the keyboard functioned.

Re-booting in Safe Mode cleared up whatever internal problems Windoze was having. Hat tip to mrmeval  for help graciously rendered.

Adobe managed to provide a conundrum — Photoshop transferred from the old drive without incident, PageMaker 7.02 required an install. Go figure. If anyone has bright ideas as to why one transfers and the other doesn't, let me know, I'm curious about it.

That's all for now.

Development Goals and Basic Accounts

Last week we updated our development goals for 2008. Generally we noted a number of cool enhancements and investments to LiveJournal that we are working on, including improved search, usability, and site development.

We also wanted to let you know how we hope to accomplish all these things, and how we plan on paying for them. In order to accomplish our stated goals for this year and beyond, we need to increase the revenue gained from both groups of LiveJournal accounts: paid subscription accounts and ad-supported accounts.

As of August 28th, all users will be able to choose to downgrade their account to Basic through their Manage Account page. Additionally, we will start showing advertising to visitors who are not logged in to LiveJournal when they are looking at Basic Account journals and communities.

Basic Account users themselves will not see ads on any Basic journal or community while they are logged in to their account. If you want more information about this, take a look at our new post on lj_2008 where we outline our reasoning.

Indian Flash Fiction Contest

In other news, we are excited to tell you we've launched "Quick Tales" LiveJournal's first initiative for users in India, in celebration of India Independence day, August 15th. "Quick Tales" is a flash fiction writing contest in which we're partnering with Caferati.com, one of India's largest online literary communites. The contest's winners will receive some great prizes and it is open to anyone with a mailing address in India. We hope that users with an interest in Indian writing or just India will watch LiveJournal's india_writing community. That's where the finalists and winners will be announced, so keep an eye on it towards the end of September! If you're in India then enter the contest - if your story is slick and quick (under 500 words) then you could be the lucky winner!

Meanwhile, back at LiveJournal Inc.

We have updated and redesigned our corporate site. The goal of the redesign was twofold: first, to update the look and feel (Dystopia users will appreciate it!); second, we want to provide a destination for prospective employees, partners, and members of the press where they can access important information about the company. Kudos to our design team.

Sharpie can be easily removed from a laptop screen (or other non porous surface) with toothpaste, water and a paper towel. Smear a small amount of toothpaste (maybe an eight of a teaspoon) over the Sharpie marks, dip a paper towel corner in water, and rub gently but firmly into the tooth paste; repeat as needed.

Takes it up very quickly without much effort.

A RECENT DISCUSSION with SWMBO prompted the following:

Scenario: Gettysburg, PA. Stuart has (again) managed to disregard clear orders and hared off on his own.

1) George S. Patton is in overall  command and has just been told about Stuart's movements. What is his reaction?

1a) Bradley isn't there.
1b) Bradley is there but is subordinate to Patton.

2) MacArthur is in overall command and has just been told about Stuart's haring off on his own. What is his reaction?

3) Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller is in overall command and has just been told of Stuart's haring off on his own. What is his reaction?

Discuss if you wish. Or just giggle.

It's Worldcon time, this year in Denver, CO, as Denvention 3.

This is the logotype for Denvention 3:

It has it's roots firmly -- very firmly -- in the past. Rooted in the past so firmly it isn't going anywhere.

One would think that the World Science Fiction Convention would look forward a bit more. Science fiction has a great past -- but it's got the entire future ahead of it.

With the number of great artists/illustrators Denvention had to draw (yes, that was a deliberate pun) upon, one would like to think that a more forward-looking logotype could have been devised.

That is all.

(b) Licensing exceptions. No license or renewal license shall be granted to:

[...]

(4) Any individual who has been hospitalized as an inpatient in any mental hospital or alcohol or drug treatment center within five years of the date of his or her application. The probate judge may require any applicant to sign a waiver authorizing any mental hospital or treatment center to inform the judge whether or not the applicant has been an inpatient in any such facility in the last five years and authorizing the superintendent of such facility to make to the judge a recommendation regarding whether a license to carry a pistol or revolver should be issued. When such a waiver is required by the probate judge, the applicant shall pay to the probate judge a fee of $3.00 for reimbursement of the cost of making such a report by the mental health hospital, alcohol or drug treatment center, or the Department of Human Resources, which the probate judge shall remit to the hospital, center, or department. The judge shall keep any such hospitalization or treatment information confidential. It shall be at the discretion of the probate judge, considering the circumstances surrounding the hospitalization and the recommendation of the superintendent of the hospital or treatment center where the individual was a patient, to issue the license or renewal license;

If what I just read is accurate, I can't get my C&C until 2011. Now, I only have to wait a few more months than if I hadn't been hospitalized, but that's not the point.

The point is that the laws in this state have just removed a coping skill for my survival. If I get hospitalized, VOLUNTARILY, I can't carry a gun (a.k.a., The Precious) on my person concealed. So now if I get suicidal again, I can't go to a hospital for help. I just have to tough it out or give up my right to carry concealed.

Oh, and as a delightful little side note? The judge can decide not to give me a C&C anyway. You know, depending on the circumstances of my hospitalization.

AUGH GUN CONTROL LAWS SO STUPID >_

WANT!!!

http://royalsilkusa.com/detail_pocketsilk_leftc.html

LOTS of em!

*sigh*

Then I'd have to get silk embroidery thread in matching colors, though. Oh, well. Just wishing.

And probably reaching beyond my grasp, project wise...

FUCKING CRACKHEAD MUSE