Stop catching Frederick's colds.

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.

"Strange friend," I said, "here is no cause to mourn."
"None," said that other, "save the undone years,
The hopelessness. Whatever hope is yours,
Was my life also; I went hunting wild
After the wildest beauty in the world,
Which lies not calm in eyes, or braided hair,
But mocks the steady running of the hour,
And if it grieves, grieves richlier than here.
For of my glee might many men have laughed
And of my weeping something had been left,
Which must die now. I mean the truth untold,
The pity of war, the pity war distilled.

Current Mood: contemplative

I've just had a very sobering moment, appropriately for the day.

I'm just back from the war memorial in the city centre, and things have changed since I was little. When I was learning to read the names, it was mostly people who'd died in the 1940's. But today, one of the little wooden crosses with the poppy in the middle was for a Pte (I guess that means Private?) who lived from 1988-2008.

I'm not sure exactly why, but that's unbearable. I was learning to read the names around war memorials before this poor kid was born. His whole life, start to finish, only took twenty years.

I guess he wasn't actually a "kid". He was an adult, and he was a soldier, but he just seems so damn young to have been killed.

Current Mood: melancholy

Worn leather in the shower.

Some people's lives are more berousing than mine it would seem.

Tags: silliness

I bow to pressure. Although the quality isn't great because I took the picture myself...

( new haircut )
ETA: My host server appears to be down. Doh! I'm sure it'll be back soon!

I've just realised- he's like a gateway drug for Hammer Horrors or that sparkly stalker-boy. Dammit, Count!




Glee!

Current Mood: bouncy

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.

Tags: flash fiction, sixwordstories

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.

Tags: dailyfoodie, food, photography

( can you tell me how to get... )

I had a lovely time with my sister and my niece, I showed them round Derby Museum (modern art is very odd, isn't it?) though we ended up skipping the mummy, which to my mind is the best part of the building.

It now looks as though I start at my new job on the 24th, which I'm trying to convince is just as well, because at least that gives me more of a chance to catch up on Nanowrimo. I don't think I'll be winning this year, but I'll keep battling until the end. Inspiration is good, bloody-mindedness is better.

Current Mood: flustered