raloria

Especially websites. *sigh*

Had to deal with two website issues overnight. I'd been wondering why my animated gifs weren't appearing in my journal's sidebar. Turns out the site I've been using just for my gifs: Photoland.io, doesn't appear to be around anymore. It simply won't load.

So I found myself yet another image hosting site. Geez.
This time I'm using PostImage. I got all the gifs I currently have on my laptop uploaded to the site and wow was I impressed by the speed of the uploading. You can't control the size of the images in the posting codes, but I don't need that for my animations anyway. There's also only 2 ways to get the sharing/posting codes: all files together or individually. Again, not perfect, but since I only post a few gifs at a time, this really isn't a big complaint.

I re-linked the animations I had in my sidebar (as best as I could remember) and even added one. Ah, my sidebar is happy again! :D

My other website issue is with my Jottit site: Raloria's Resources. Every time I try to load the site it warns that the certificate is out of date or whatever and it's not safe to load. So I ended up using the Wayback Machine to access my site. Most of the pages were there, enough that I could save what I wanted (mainly the SPN Area Location List pages I'd made a few years ago). 'Cause I need to add those in over at spn_locations.

So that's my overnight fun. What did you do with your evening?

I just made this animated gif because I need it in my life. ;)



I'll be making a formal posting of this gif (and in other sizes) next week. Stay tuned!

♦ Who knew you couldn't use Spotify in the Safari web browser??? WTH??? *fumes* I looked into why, but then my eyes glazed over because apparently there isn't any solution. Grrr! Well, that's annoying! Especially since I'm trying to use my Safari browser more now, because for some reason when I watch online videos too long in any other browser, my CPU heats up. WTH is with that??? *sigh*

♦ I uploaded the above animation to one of my old Photobucket accounts. Yes, still trying to decide what to do about them - which account to sign up for with payments again, now that they've got more reasonable plans. I wouldn't have even uploaded it to PB, but I can't get into my account at PhotoLand.io!!!! That's where I've been uploading and posting my gifs from. All of a sudden there's no way to sign in with Twitter, which is what I used. Gah!!!! I've contacted them about it, but who knows if I'll ever get a response. Well, speak of the devil....just got this email from them:

Hello,

We are having issues with the twitter API and are working on fixing it. Will update you once it's working again.

Thank you
Photoland Team

Well, I'll give them points for getting back to me so quickly. Sad that I can't get into my account there though. Serves me right for going the shortcut way into signing into a site. *sigh* So I guess I'll be using my PB accounts again for now...

Ok. Wow! The PhotoLand Support Team literally just got back to me, saying the problem is fixed. Sure enough, I was able to log in w/Twitter and upload the gifs. Yay! Very impressive support at PhotoLand!

♦ For my artsy & craftsy friends, I got quite the deal this past week at Hobby Lobby. A Marvy waterbrush marked down to $1.24, a set of Faber Castell 24 Watercolor Pencils marked down to $3.74 (from $14.99), and a set of 25 Stabilo colored pens marked down to $7.49 (from $29.99!). I've always been curious about the Stabilo pens because I've heard such good things about them (they are good!) but the price always turned me off. No more! These aren't the first great deals I've found at HL. A month or so ago I finally got a Gouache set of paints that was marked way down. I do love saving money on supplies!

♦ I found a great site for free book PDFs! Check out Ocean Of PDF! I've already got a few of them loaded on my phone for reading there. Such a great selection.

♦ Since SPN is finished for the summer, it's time to start in on updating the Locations List (LL) with Season 13 for spn_locations. Problem is...looking up addresses on Google Maps really eats up my internet data. *heavy sigh* I could really use some help from volunteers, but I've failed to use people in the past so I'm pretty sure it's a waste of time. People don't want to risk it. Of course, this time I KNOW what I would have volunteers help me with! :(

♦ Late add-in Edit!!!! OMG Does anyone else play Candy Crush on their phone??? I've been stuck on a level before, but nothing like with Level 149! OMG!!!! I CANNOT GET THROUGH IT!!!!! I've lost track of how many times I've played that level. And I've had tons of help from the game, but alas....still stuck. Gah!

I've dealt with the earlier capping issue with the size/resolution of some of my cap sets. Thank goodness for a great online Batch Photo Resizer. Woot! The easiest ones to re-upload were the Season 11 Hi-Res Caps.

I've edited the SPN Hi-Res Caps: 11x04 "Baby" post so it has the new download links, sample caps, and everything with the correct size caps. Please be sure to re-download them if you did before and download them the first time if you didn't. :)

As for the other cap sets that needed re-sizing...they were the Season 12 Highlight Caps and re-uploading them is a little more complicated. Mainly 12x02 is the problem. Grrrrr. I swear, that episode's caps have given me so much trouble! I mean, there's over 800 caps for 12x02. o.O That's just....wrong. LOL For Highlights anyway. Too many!!! So I'm going to save them, as regular Episode Caps, but I'll go through and select caps to make a new, smaller set of 12x02 Highlight Caps. Then I'll be able to re-upload them and we can get back to posting the Season 12 Highlight Caps. I hope that all makes sense. :P

Now onto the other matter...

Has anyone ever deleted all their LJ userpics/icons and re-started from scratch?

I'm seriously thinking of doing this. I keep looking at my userpics and I'm just bored to death with so many of them. It's not that I don't like/love them, it's just that a lot of them have been in use for years. So I'm thinking a total refresh is in order, but I'm kinda freaked out about it, too. I know all my old posts will revert my default userpic, which I guess I'm okay with. It's just...dumping them all in one swoop. Eeek! But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe it'll be freeing and rejuvenating for me. Anyway, let me know what you think and if you've ever done it.

I'm trying to get back into reading books. Yes, those paper things with words in them...instead of fanfiction read online. :P

I grabbed some old paperbacks that I either read way back in my teens or that I didn't finish or possibly didn't read at all. Thing is the one I started with...is kinda boring. Plus, there's so many characters all introduced at once and the author has been explaining who's paired with who and who has a past history with someone and I keep getting lost in it all.

So my question is...when you start reading a book and you find out you don't like it or it's boring - do you tough it out and read it to the end anyway or just give up on it?

Why is it that I can write brilliant LJ entries when I'm on the toilet but by the time I get to my laptop they're gone? *sigh*
Stupid brain.

Would have gotten to my To-Do List this evening except mom & I needed to catch up on some TV viewing which meant watching on my laptop. *shrugs* I'll hope for better results Thursday (later today).

Broke one of the main rules of moderating an LJ comm: "Never let the members see you panic." Posted a poll (to postively_spn) late the other night expressing my concern over the lack of commenting on the episode pre-show & during-show discussion posts. I was ready for whatever responses I got, but I'm really quite pleased. People have been encouraging, occasionally brutally honest (which I respect), but the best thing is that everyone was TALKING. Members talked about fandom and the show, their viewing habits, dealing with the changes this season, and so many things. Two of them even friended each other due to the discussion. :)

This is the sort of thing I like to see happen, but it hasn't been lately. And I know, LJ is dying a slow death with everyone flocking to Twitter, Tumblr, and Facebook - I get it. I do, but there are still some successful comms here and things were looking so good for positively_spn and then they all went downhill. I kept waiting for a comeback, but it wasn't happening. So I feel I was a little justified in my concern, but I'm admittedly slightly a little paranoid about failing with yet another LJ community. I don't have a great track record, after all. About 2 good comms in what, nearly a dozen failed ones? I've lost count. And it doesn't help that I don't have anyone to help me with the comm right now or to bounce ideas off of. So at times I feel like I'm piloting a sinking ship and the other night was when I really felt like I was floundering.

But the poll that could have been a disaster, really opened up some dialog between people and I couldn't be happier about that.

What else? Um, sorry I haven't gotten to that fanfic and Introduction post yet. I'll work on them this weekend? *hopes*

Still plan on getting back to replying to the latest comments here on my journal and at least working back to the beginning of this month. If I get that done I might go back and tackle some of the comments for Feb & March. At least answer peoples questions if they're still relevant.

Really itching to get back to capping SPN episodes. Need to compile a list of which eps I haven't done yet so people can choose which ones they'd like me to do. Everyone will get one episode to choose. Should be fun...and motivating for me. :)

There are certain words that I just don't like and refuse to use.
I'm not sure if it's the sound or what, but I have my forbidden words.

Prone.
Cull.

You'll never see me type them (again) or even say them out loud.
I'm getting twitchy right now just seeing them in this entry. Bleh.

Am I a weirdo or what? :P

:: Twitter & LJ are working normally for me today. YAY!!!!! \0/ I can't tell you how much happier I am without having to fight with those sites all day.

:: Gen & Jared's little boy has a name! Thomas Colton. I like it. So glad they didn't go with one of those more "creative" names some Hollywood celebs seem to gravitate towards. *ahem*

:: There was a fire on the SPN production today. Thankfully nobody was hurt and it only effected the ADR truck (poor Don...all that equipment lost). Hope they have an alternate place to do their ADR work and that it doesn't effect their production schedule.

:: Having a very busy/hectic day, but still hoping to do my reviews of the last 3 SPN eps sometime tonight. *crosses fingers* Really want to be caught up for Friday's episode so I can post my thoughts on it soon after it airs.

:: Really need to get back to catching up on LJ comments this weekend. Still have do all of Feb. & this month. Oy.

:: Can I say how glad I am that I got my capping-fu back? I really can't keep a schedule up as far as posting them anymore, but at least I'm close to being caught up with the episodes to be capped. I want to thank everyone for their patience and appreciation. It means the world to me. ♥ :)

:: I really need to swap in some new icons. Some of them are getting a little...old. Or I need more space for icons. :P Don't make me give up my favorites LJ!!!

:: Audrey's a sweet gal, but man can she talk your ear off! :P

:: Wednesday morning I had a dream about Jensen. I was on the SPN set as a Script Supervisor and I was sitting at a table opposite Jensen to help him run some lines. ::Cool!:: But there was a book standing up on the table and I laid it down and Jensen didn't like that. He got in a huff about it like I wasn't supposed to move that book. And then I woke up. :( I tried to get the dream back, but it didn't work. *sigh* It's weird how he was so upset over the book. I can't see Jensen ever being like that. I have a weird brain.

:: My back is a wreck from lifting my aunt up so many times. Thankfully with her in the bed those days are over. The bed I sleep on isn't much help. I wake up more often than not, in agony. Ouch!

:: Jolene is an awesome nurse. I love her get-things-done attitude. Sadly, I'm more wimpy in my caregiving approach with my aunt.

:: I still feel strange living in this house because this is the most time I've ever spent here in my life. I think this is why it takes me a while to get to sleep each night. I know it's not my room or my bed and it just doesn't feel right - no matter how much I try to tell myself differently.

:: I'm still losing weight even though I'm not doing anything specific to do so. Getting real close to being the same weight I was after my first VanCon in 09. In nearly the 2 months we've been here at my aunt's place, I've lost 10 pounds.

:: I love having my PC here along with my laptop, but using them means I'm uncomfortable no matter where I am. In the living room with my laptop I'm sitting in a comfortable chair, but after a while of crossing my legs for hours my knees hurt. But if I'm out here at the dining room table on my PC, sitting on these hard chairs, after a while my back hurts (and my butt). I can't win.

:: Having a microwave to use for the first time ever is fun! I'm getting to try all kinds of new foods I've been curious about. Sadly, so far our experiments with frozen TV dinners has been a bust. Healthy Choice? How about skimpy choice? Disappointing. We've got some Marie Callender's ones to try next. *crosses fingers*