one less thing to worry about

[floatingleaf]

Had jury duty today. Didn't mention it here ahead of time, because I had a feeling that if I do, I will somehow jinx it and end up having to serve on a three-week trial or something. *shudder* But I was lucky, and my panel wasn't assigned to a case. I just spent most of the day lounging about in the waiting room, reading a book. They even had a decent coffee machine, lol (I don't normally drink coffee, but I had to get up at 5:30 to be there on time, and I hadn't gone to bed as early as I should have, so yeah... it was either caffeine or faceplant on the floor *wry smirk*). The snack machine choices were predictably lethal, though - so I was very glad that I had brought my own Nature Valley snack bars and an apple. Oh, and they gave us a 90-minute lunch break, and there was a Corner Bakery right across the street from the court building, and the Borders store where my sister used to work less than a block away - so I even managed a short walk around the area after lunch with a cup of my favorite Chai Tea Latte to go. The weather was gorgeous, too - sunny and breezy and almost too warm for a jacket. Not as warm as yesterday, which had been heavenly - but still, very pleasant. And they let us go around 3:30, so I got home earlier than I would have if I'd gone to work. Oh, and my bank also happened to be right across the street from the courthouse, so I could cash the check right away (it's a symbolic amount, less than $20 for a day of jury service - but at least it covers the cost of public transportation and a decent cafe lunch, which is better than nothing). All in all, a much more tolerable experience than I'd expected.:) Except for the getting up at 5:30 part, that is. *shudder* But I have done my civic duty, and they won't bother me again for at least a year. Hopefully longer... *crosses fingers & toes*

Also, I am a little concerned about frequent LJ downtime and supposed attempts to destroy the site by those who'd like to silence some Russian political blogs. I mean, I've been here since 2003 and I really don't want to go anywhere else (I just bought extra icon space, for heaven's sake!...) - but I am beginning to think that maybe I should create a backup journal somewhere, just in case LJ goes to hell with no warning or something. If I were to do that, which sites would you recommend, dear flist? I know everyone seems to be on DreamWidth these days, but I'm not really familiar with it. How does it work? Is it much different from LJ, or more or less the same?... I don't handle big changes easily, so I'd prefer a site that functions in a similar way. Like, for example, I want to still be able to use my icons!... (yeah, I'm NOT leaving the sandbox without my toys... LOL) Or change layouts without having to become an html wizard.:P Or... you know. Just give me your thoughts/recommendations/whatever. And now... OMG bedtime. *face hits keyboard*

Comments

[stormatdusk.livejournal.com]

i'm glad it went as well as it did!, and that you didn't have to hear a case. i love corner bakery, and there isn't one where i live now, so i haven't been in much too long.

i have a dreamwidth journal and an insane journal (i hate the name of that site, and i don't like it looks and feels, either, but that's just me). all i've done with dreamwidth so far is just to copy over my lj to it, as a backup; i don't update it. i keep hoping to have more time for my online fun, so who knows, maybe i will use it eventually.

[samtyr.livejournal.com]

I'm using DW as a backup mostly but I have a few other posts there too because this has been down so much. Not too many though, not enough that it would make that much difference.

Oh btw, I am la_samtyr over there so you can find me easy enough.

[pattyp53.livejournal.com]

I have a free account at Dreamwidth and imported my paid LJ account to there. A friend of mine, nicci_mac posted this publicly in her friends-locked journal to help all of us get setup at Dreamwidth:

http://nicci-mac.livejournal.com/710610.html

Also, the idea that the denial of service (DOS) attack is coming from the Russian government to stop political blogs is all a ruse by the powers that be at LJ, a story easily swallowed and believed by us Americans and others used to freedom. DOS attacks can be stopped within 2 hours by any knowledgeable webmaster, and experts who know what is really going on have commented on it. LJ hides illegal activity that conceals the bulk of their income. You have apparently not been exposed to the info on what's been going on at LJ.

Did you know that every time you click on a link in LJ it momentarily goes to Amazon.com (you will never see it though) and LJ gets money from Amazon for each "click though"? They are using it fraudulently, not actually sending anyone to the shopping site for real. Amazon knows and will not renew their agreement with LJ. It is just one of the illegal activities taking place behind the scenes.

The Russians who bought LJ some time back don't give a rat's ass about the users. The LJ staff have been making up user accounts and will join groups or friend people and act like trolls to upset people for their own amusement. I'm not making this up! There are others who have documented these activities.

I loved LJ back when it was what it was supposed to be. You can read in my journal a bit of the info I've found out about the whole mess, and I'm not someone who is actively involved in finding out what's going on:
http://pattyp53.livejournal.com/83048.html

The comments left by others contains additional info you might find useful too.

Edited to add:
After saying all that, the next friends post i read led me to this:

http://caras-galadhon.livejournal.com/462034.html

It's really hard to know what the real truth is, at least for me. All I can say is that LJ 's workability has deteriorated significantly for me in the last year or more.