stepstomarrow
When granddaughter, Jada, was born with leukemia, a donor-match was located and Jada made a miraculous recovery. In honor of her grandaughter's health, Jeanna has decided to walk across the country (in the dead of winter) to raise awareness and build support for the bone marrow registry (all that's required is a cheek swab). Follow Jeanna's remarkable journey as she travels the United States by foot.

taste_buds
Holidays provide a built-in excuse for indulgent entertaining. This all-purpose foodie community covers everything from homemade hangover cures to dinner party menus. Need quick advice? Get five-minute snack suggestions, low-fat ingredient substitutes, and even measurement conversions. Delicious recipes garnished with humorous advice. Yum.

Tags: taste_buds

naturesbeauty
Always on the lookout for compelling images, we were delighted to discover this flourishing community of artists who share a love of nature. Honoring the subject with photographs, paintings, sketches, prose, poetry, and other creative works, you'll be simultaneously riveted to your monitor and inspired to run helter skelter towards the nearest wooded dale.

Tags: naturesbeauty

You run into all kinds of people when you venture into the realm of kink. That’s hardly surprising as for better or for worse this is just a subset of society as a whole.

Sometimes it’s for the worse.

There are people who like to mock, deride, and debase those who are different. Despite the frequently heard kink tenet of acceptance and an advertised acceptance and celebration of diversity1 these people openly attack people who are different.

There are also people who deliberately hurt others and enlist the help of others to spread their hatred.

I ran across this recently when a friend of mine was systematically harassed by a person who will remain nameless.2 Over a few days the level and intensity of the crap that was going on increased until the provocateur decided to use others to hurt and started using real names.

Real names are sacred with kink circles and you don’t spread them around – they’re well guarded and protected rigorously. In most circles spreading someone’s real name is an offense that is considered to be very serious. Real names are also protected by people who have legally changed their names for very good reasons.

Sometimes people change their names when they change their gender from female to male or from male to female. These people who are referred to as transgendered or transsexual protect their past as they move forward toward where they are heading on their unique paths.

Getting back to the issue at hand, the asshole in question decides to start using the old male name of a male to female transgendered person – in email and in public forums. Pretty fucking low, pretty fucking disgusting. This is a hurtful, cruel thing to do to a person who faces daily struggles as they face the world – it’s like kicking a puppy.

There is no excuse for this type of behavior – none, yet this type of person will find some way to justify his actions. I’m usually pretty laid back and let things go but in this case the action was so deliberate, so thought out, so premeditated that I am tempted to name the asshole.

Despite having mixed feelings about the entire idea I am going to blog about GRS Montreal, the hoops I jumped through and the decisions that had to be made.

If you're interested or curious about the latest news from Brassard's office let me know. The blog will be hosted outside of LiveJournal...

backpacking
Want to embrace your wanderlust on the cheap? If you're tall on adventurous spirit, but short on funds, this community can help you plan a trip to anywhere. Offering plentiful tips on how to travel light, you can post about bargain hotels and hostels if you're into urban exploration or discuss camping gear and mosquito netting for the great outdoors. Hitch your backpack, pitch your tent, and carpe diem!

Tags: backpacking

Xposted here and thereabouts

**FINAL EDIT Thu Dec 10 02:15:47 UTC 2009**

So there is the final update... Over the past day we have processed around 11 million jobs out of the 12 million that were in queue at that time. Please bear in mind that over this past day, more jobs for notifications are also created. So while the queue has been dropping, we are still not fully caught up at this point, due to backlog and new jobs. We have roughly 3 million jobs still pending that involve the notification system in some manner. We had hoped we could have fully cleared the queue in a day, but unfortunately we can't clear it too quickly, since we need the rest of the site to operate normally. From our current perspective on the amount of jobs that are left in queue, and how many it has processed thus far, we believe it will take around another 8 - 12 hours to process everything.

And finally some answers to some questions:

( Read More and Get Some Answers... )

Tags: notification system
Current Location: Under a Rock
Current Mood: grumpy

freeskiers
While some of us long to escape the cold, dark stretch of winter for hot tropical beaches, for others, there's nothing quite like whoooooshing down those shimmering sugar alps. If you're fond of freestyle skiing, get ready to slide down the slippery slopes in good company. This passionate, international community shares travel/gear tips, anecdotes, photos, and videos for those who can't get enough of the sweet stuff.

Tags: freeskiers, skiing, snow, travel, winter sports

seasonal_icons
Need some extra twinkle to decorate your place? Check out these dazzling holiday-themed icons. If you're an artist, you can post your own creations, provided you abide by the simple rules (which is to say, all cheer and no politicking). Be sure to comment and give credit if you wish to borrow a little spirit (no direct links, please). If you're feeling a touch of humbug this season, this is an instant shot of festivity.

Tags: design, holiday icons, season_icons, userpics