My ISP, Time Warner, is having some problems maintaining service in this area. It's possibly related to either the fires or the recent rain or both. They say they should have it fixed tomorrow but they said that before, so who knows? As it is, I'm online for varying periods and then down for half an hour to an hour or three while they try some more bubblegum, clothespins and duct tape. They're actually pretty good at this so I figure I'll get a credit on my next bill and they will have it fixed by this weekend.

If I seem extra grumpy lately, it is perhaps due to the Return of the Sinusitis, the Sequel from Hell. No time to go to the doctor before maybe Thursday, so please bear with me.

Hugs,
Erin

Bob will stick his head in to make sure the server is healthy and I'll have my laptop to check in with so you may not even notice. :)

I'll be back Sunday evening. Everybody have a good weekend.

Some sort of attack brought the server down at about 8:15 PST this morning. Bob and I are working on figuring this out, so the site may go up and down a bit for awhile.

Hugs,
Erin

Hi All,

I'm not mad at anyone. I don't think this whole thing had much to do with anyone else's actions.

A recent thread got off topic, the topic being a story. Things were beginning to heat up with first a few mild general insults and then some that were more pointed. It really hadn't got out of hand and many people seemed to be enjoying things but I finally felt that it had gone on long enough since the topic was continuing four and five levels deep without reference to the story.

So ...

Fires in Los Angeles and Orange County may interrupt power to our downtown LA server for BCTS. If so, we'll be down and no knowing for how long. A less serious consequence might be rolling blackouts with intermittent outages lasting hours unless the server farm has to just shut down to protect equipment from surges. More news as it becomes available.

I'm 50 miles east of the fires, so don't worry about me, personally.

Hugs,
Erin

There have been continuing problems for many people with the persistent login function. I hope that Bob and I have now fixed this by uninstalling and then reinstalling the module. Unfortunately, that wiped out everyone's pre-existing persistent login so we all have to do that over but it appears to be working now. :)

Hugs,
Erin

Duanna Johnson is Dead

One more name for the list on November 20.

Hugs,
Erin

A security change in the BC software on Sunday has caused login problems for a few members. The solution is to make sure your cache is clear. Browser caches can be cleared by holding down shift (or control or alt, depending on browser) and hitting the reload button on the browser. ISP cache's are more problematical but this will also clear those in many cases. Some browsers have a cache-clear button in the preferences pane or edit menu. It may be called clear history. You might also need to discard cookies, though waiting a day or so will usually expire any stale cookies.

Bob and I reorganized the BC software to improve performance. It took a bit longer than we thought it would but now it appears to have improved performance 5% to 30%. :)

I've suspended google ads on BC until after the election due to offensive and misleading political ads.

Hugs,
Erin

There are only four entries in the All Souls Day Contest at Stardust and only two at Fictioneer.

Yes, that beats the previous record last January by more than 15,000 visits. October has been a wild month.

I'm doing my music homework which involves listening to drums and writing down the rhythms. The dog thinks someone is at the door. :) I'm going to have to use headphones. :)

Hugs,
Erin