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November 12th, 2009
November 11th, 2009
lj_maintenance
[dwell]
 | 02:00 pm - Network Maintenance: Saturday, November 14, 2009 at 04:00-06:00 UTC/GMT
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.
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noobmcnoob
 | 06:37 pm - The Gift of Christmas
finally, another entry after 3-4 months of hiatus! now that i'm free from school for the rest of the year, i gonna use this holiday to do a LOT of 3D and drawing training.
so me n my mates watched A Christmas Carol, and honestly, i was a bit skeptical about first, but i decided just to go along anyway.
and it's really, really, good! no kiddin' here. I never watched the trailer, and i never thought that the whole movie is made by 3D animation! i was simply amazed by the peculiar yet effective and realistic use of lighting, as if you can feel the coarse rug and the soft robe. there was some error in the animation, but i'm simply amazed at myself for being able to pick out the faults and the minor mistakes. i guess i AM improving here. But the english accent used here is like...ANCIENT, making it really tough to make sense. I'm expecting 80% of non-english speaker to say the movie SUCK just because they don't understand what they hear.
but that's not all, the message conveyed is the true treasure of the movie.
The movie is about an old accountant (i think), Mr. Scrooge's life every Christmas season. He is the MOST stingiest oldie you would find throughout your life; forget being a cheapskate, his refusal to pay 100% of a service is NOTHING next to his belief of "a smile shouldn't be given for free". Actually, i'm not sure if he still have the entry of 'free' in his dictionary. And when you don't even give out a smile, it should be obvious enough that he is self-centered and prone of negative remarks from his neighbours. His infamy can make babies stop crying just by staring at them behind the wall (lol). Anyway, 3 spirits approach him on the Christmas eve night, and Mr. Scrooge realize what's wrong with his life.
One thing that i reminded of when watching this movie is about repentance, self control, and loving others. Some of us may find Mr. Scrooge a detestable man, but few of us realize that we might as well be called 'Mr. Scrooge' because of our actions or words. We need to realize the weigh of our actions to other people. I remember seeing a phrase off a book that's saying "The best way to show that your love is giving your time and attention to others. By giving your time for others, you are giving a portion of your time, your life, to that person and will never get it back". Mr. Scrooge never gave attention to others, he kept everything for him, his wealth, his time, and himself. As a result, the entire town dislike him. The bible said on Galatians 6:7 (NKJV); "...for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap."
This drives me to watch my action towards others even more careful, and so should you. If you want to be blessing for others, then you need to have the right Lifestyle first before others could be blessed. The characteristics of those who have the right lifestyle are stated in the bible in Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV); "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law." (And if I have to add, these also mean 'sincerity'). Now ask yourself, would you dislike someone who have these characteristics? I don't.
If we have the opposite of it, stated in Galatians 5:19-21 (NKJV); "Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murderse, drunkenness, revelries...", it's no wonder that people will dislike us. The bible also say that we have to be the salt and light for others, and that tells us to be blessing for others, giving impact to people's life.
We should question ourselves, whether we have become blessing or pest for others. How would you feel when hear people say negative comment about you? What if those negative comment came from your own family? We are social beings, it's true that some of us are not as 'sociable' as others. I, for one, am not the sociable type of person, more on the quiet side. But years ago, I began to notice that the struggle I'm having is not about getting attention from others, but it's about letting go the weight called PRIDE that has been holding me back from approaching other people. Throughout my years in Melbourne, I learn how to let it go little by little. It's really tough, but I keep on trusting the Lord that whatever happened to me on the way, He had something in mind for my own goodness (Rome 8:28).
And repentance, it's a complete 180 degree turn-around from your old ways to a completely new one. Note that this takes a long and painful process, unlike what's portrayed in the movie. Mr. Scrooge was a detestable and hated individual on Christmas Eve, but he completely changed on 25th December. A new expression is carved on his face, and people are amazed at his change, some are even confused. He is no longer a 'Zacchaeus', but a generous person. And i believe, he have impacted the entire town and their Christmas celebration is much merrier since then.
Galatians 6:8 - For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Now, it's YOUR turn! and be blessed~
Current Location: Australia, Melbourne
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/neko/kaokitty/happy.gif) happy
Current Music: Evermore - Planetshakers
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November 10th, 2009
November 9th, 2009
gurren_lagann
[pafenix]
 | 04:00 pm - Be A Man
Hey everyone,
Some time ago, an AMV was posted featuring the song "Be A Man" from Disney's Mulan set to some epic scenes from Gurren Lagann. A recent search of Youtube hasn't provided me with anything except a different (and slightly inferior) AMV. Was wondering if anyone knew where to locate this.
Thanks a bunch!
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lj_spotlight
[ljspotlight]
 | 09:49 am - Spotlights: Homepage Spotlight 11/9/09
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) 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.
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lj_spotlight
[ljspotlight]
| 09:46 am - Spotlights: Homepage Spotlight 11/9/09
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.
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gurren_lagann
[csakuras]
 | 01:44 am - Manga Chapters 23-25 Translation
Awesome story arc is awesome!
Chapter 23: To conceal than reveal
Chapter 24: This is the end of your journey
Chapter 25: So let's go together
( Some thoughts, discussion? )
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/working.gif) accomplished
Current Music: "Tsuzuku Sekai" by Shouko Nakagawa
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November 8th, 2009
gurren_lagann
[yafurichao]
 | 09:43 pm - Nia MV Hopefuls
I'm not what you'd call a Nia fan, but I think she's cool and I am looking forward to her one-shot music video. Just curious though, what are you guy's hopeing for.
( Read more )
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gurren_lagann
[megaradi92]
 | 06:39 pm - Gurren Lagann the abridged series episode 03
watchthe most manly epic badass gurren lagann parody show on the interwebs has returned!
Episode 03 "Those who hunt beastmen"
so enjoy the new episode, comment, rate, favorite and subscribe the most manly badass abridged series in the heavens!
CAST:
MegaLagann as Kamina, Simon, leeron and Dayakka
PotatoRuler as Yoko
ZeroMaster as Viral and Narrator
and if the video dosent come up here the link to the actual video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_d5L0oP8q8
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gurren_lagann
[dedpoo]
 | 05:25 pm - TTGL doujinshi for sale!
Due to bills [and other expenses] murdering my bank account, I NEED CASH MONIES! There's anime, manga, doujinshi, cosplay items, and other misc things I need to get rid of.
(Come, have a look-see! 8D)
[if not allowed, feel free to delete]
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November 6th, 2009
gurren_lagann
[csakuras]
 | 03:15 pm - Final drama CD is going to be EPIC
So, the official blog reported on October 31 that recording of the "Otoko-gumi Dayo! Gurren Lagann" drama CD was done.
Today, Kazuki Nakashima went into more detail on his blog about what went into the creation of the drama CD:
( Translation )
( Somewhat related )
Phew. Annnd that's about it for drama CD news.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/blue/excited.gif) excited
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November 5th, 2009
news
[theljstaff]
 | 01:15 pm - LiveJournal Major Notes: Spam counter-attack, RSS feeds again, CSI Deadly Intent contest
The empire strikes backIn 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 againIf you're addicted to , ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/syndicated.gif) 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 postcardsLast 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 weekIf 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... )
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November 4th, 2009
einahsketch
 | 08:30 pm - Oh! And a quick pre-con story!
Mind you, this conversation is all paraphrased and pieced together from what I can remember, which may be a bit skewed by the shock I felt during the situation. You can ask my friends as to how true the information is. I'm not trying to paint the waiter out to be an ass, but he was an ass.
Gather 'round, children, and listen to the old and ancient tale, passed down from day to day since Friday night, entitled.... THE TALE OF THE ASSHOLE WAITER *thunder crash*
Onicon was this last weekend. Out of all my con experience, it was my first one where I got to stay in a hotel room and my first one where I didn't hang out all Friday. Instead, Friday consisted of going to a school dance, not dancing at that school dance, singing, yelling about lost phones, and hanging out at the school until 11. I went with a posse that consisted of Katie (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) apple_rocket ), Olivia (battari_kakiin), Morgan (gothicdementor), and Katie's brother and our lovely driver, Caleb. All that not-dancing and not-having-any-real-food-all-day-since-people-were-just-giving-out-candy [a problem that would plague us through the weekend] resulted us working up quite an appetite, so while trying to find our way to the hotel, we go to 59 Diner to have a quick meal.
We are no strangers to 59 Diner. It's the place my friends and I go whenever we're craving something late at night. It's seen us at all hours of the day, and usually after events like going to see Rocky Horror, cons, plays, etc, sometimes in groups of 15 or more. I don't think I've had real food from there in a while, since I just ordered a malt [yeah, despite that statement earlier about candy, I did manage to cram a sandwhich down before going off to the dance for 5 hours].
We get there and we're seated at a booth. It's a 4-person booth, and there were 5 of us, so Caleb was sort of crammed between Olivia and me but I don't think he was too uncomfortable. Then our waiter comes over. He's this flamboyant gay man, probably in his mid 40s or something, and is loud and not shying away from attention of any sort.
He introduces himself and asks "Do you guys want to move to a different table? It would be hard to fit 5 plates on one table so we can move you..."
I respond saying "Oh, no I think we'll be okay cuz I know not all of us are going to be ordering... like, a plate meal..."
And the waiter stares at me and the interrupts, saying "Do you always talk like that?"
"Yes?" I respond, in some matter. I think I said it in a joking way. That or a confused way.
"Cuz it's really annoying."
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"Do you guys agree? Does she always talk like that? It's annoying right?"
And he keeps going. I don't know what else he said. I remember him taking drink orders, me making some come back of "I'd like to order a new waiter." him making some remark and then leaving to get our drinks. And while we had all been laughing nerveously throughout the exchange, after he left we immediately began trying to figure out WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED. What had I said? How had I said it? Was it the way I speak? My voice is naturally at a lower register than most girls, I can't do anything to stop that. When explaining something, I tend to do that spacey thing girls do when they're trying to be awkward and cute, but not on purpose. WHAT MADE ME ANNOYING. Of course, we didn't put too much thought into it after we shifted gears pretty quickly into figuring out what was wrong with HIM instead of me. The question continued to run through my head for a bit until I realized he's just an asshole.
He comes back around, gives us our drinks, leaves, comes back, and when he's taking our food orders, the waiter decides to pseudo-apologize. I say this, because it was more an excuse than an apology. Something along the lines of [and I love the way Olivia sounds when she immitates him] "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you, you seemed hurt by what I said, I just come from a family of assholes, we're used to this sort of thing, learn from me." All in his extremely loud and annoying voice.
See, thing is, dude... I'm your customer. I'm YOUR client. YOUR pay depends on MY tip. And your tip depends on how you treat me. If you insult me like that, don't expect me to take any liking to you and don't expect a tip. I don't care if you were joking, the joke went on for too long in the 2 minutes you kept it running. I can laugh at it now because it was hilarious and completely unexpected, but in the minute you were standing there insulting me, and before you left so that my friends and I could figure out the whole WHATEVER I was hurt. And that's not how you want your client to feel.
Needless to say, he got no tip from me, even if it would have only been about $0.50
So kids, moral of the story? IF YOU'RE A WAITER, DONT BE AN ASSHOLE OR YOU GET NO TIP. If you find a customer annoying, SHUT YOUR PIE HOLE AND TAKE THEIR GODDAMN ORDER
We spent the rest of the weekend continually making fun of the waiter. Every time anyone said something we could apply the phrase "DO YOU ALWAYS TALK LIKE THAT CUZ ITS REALLY ANNOYING. YOU SHOULD LEARN FROM ME" we would say it in the gayest, most assholey way possible.
It was a fun experience and I can't wait to never see that waiter again.
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einahsketch
 | 04:28 pm - Sketches and Oni-con goodies -image heavy [big pictures]-
First off, sketches! I scanned the first few with a gray scale setting so they're missing that yellow tinge I love so much that comes with scanning moleskine paper. So sorry about that D:
Yeeah, this is the first of ... like, 6 sketches I have of Morrigan from Darkstalkers. I've never actually played the Darkstalkers game but I do play Puzzle Fighter often and she's my first pick, always. After going to Onicon, I just felt like doing fanart and her design is one of my favorites.
( Sketches under here~ )
( And Oni-con photos here~ )
( And here's the stuff I bought! )
AUGH! HUGE ENTRY! WE'RE DONE. JESUS.
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![[mood icon]](http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q251/YuuAni/site/excited.jpg){kind=small}
amused