S.H.E的Ella是出了名的「陳大膽」，日前在新加坡接連挑戰八層樓高的盪鞦韆和十層樓高的彈簧椅，硬要超越極限，Selina和Hebe在旁看都看到腿軟。

Ella是用餐後臨時起意要玩，並採循序漸進的挑戰方式，先玩不會翻轉的極限盪鞦韆，只靠安全繩把人綁在椅子上，完全沒把手抓，吊到天上後腳無處踩，升到八層樓高時，人是九十度垂直掛在天上，她坦承開始發慌，但不敢喊怕，硬著頭皮玩下去，「其實我嚇得閉上眼睛，不敢看下面。」

成功返回地面後，她竟玩心大發，吵著玩反高空彈跳的彈簧椅，她說：「我要做心理準備，我唱一句『不想長大』，等我唱到『大』，你再發射。」當她唱出「大」字，人跟著聲音直衝天際，還在空中翻了好幾圈，Selina和Hebe只敢透過宣傳的攝影機看她，Selina直呼：「我坐上去，可能就提早進入下輩子了。」

Notes augmented

We've enhanced and de-bugged Notes. If you haven't tried it yet, now's the time! You can create a private note when you ban multiple users. You can also delete multiple notes at once. Lastly, paid users have the option to add a note (visible only to you) whenever you add or remove a friend (guaranteed to avoid embarrassing social mishaps). If you don't currently have a paid account, you can upgrade now! It only takes a few minutes and costs less than a bad shopping mall haircut (plus, it's way more fashionable)!

Product tweaks and bug kill

1. In another effort to zap spam, comments containing links from domains LiveJournal deems untrustworthy are now automatically screened
2. If you sign up to get notifications of the Writer's Block question of the day, you'll now see the daily question in the email notification, so you'll have a little extra time to ponder before you post. You can subscribe to Writers Block notifications here
3. The issue causing random comments to vanish has been fixed!
4. If you visit a LiveJournal page and get prompted to log in, you'll be returned to the same page after you sign in (Thanks, Dreamwidth)!
5. If you don't edit the timestamp for an entry at all, the entry timestamp will indicate the time the entry was posted instead of the time the Update Journal page was loaded
6. Comments with paddings/backgrounds render correctly within the comment box (and will no longer wrap outside the box and break frames/margins)

New FCK fixes rich text editor!

1. We've updated our RTE (Rich Text Editor) to FCKeditor version 2.6.5
2. When switching from the RTE to HTML editor, links for syndicated feeds are no longer broken
3. RTE now functions properly in Safari 4.0
4. An extra line/space will not be auto-inserted whenever you switch from RTE to HTML editor
5. The insert image link now works correctly in all browsers

LiveJournal Cares

We’re pleased to introduce you to lj_cares, a new LiveJournal community dedicated to raising awareness and funds for U.S. charitable organizations that improve the health and well-being of people around the world. Each month, we’ll spotlight a nonprofit that is making a significant global impact through medical research, public outreach, and/or humanitarian social programs. Charities will be selected in accordance with the U.S. calendar of national health observances based on a high rating (of over 60%) on Charity Navigator and global scope of impact.

In this, our inaugural month of November, we will celebrate national adoption month by offering a charitable virtual gift (priced at $2.99) to support Love Without Boundaries, an organization that saves the lives of orphans with life-threatening diseases and places them in loving homes around the world. LiveJournal will donate 100% of the proceeds from the sale of charitable vgifts (we'll cover the cost of credit card transaction fees). To learn more about Love Without Boundaries, please visit lj_cares and read about how they helped save Baby Kang and the Rainbow Twins from fatal illnesses, who are now thriving in nurturing families. You can purchase your Love Without Boundaries gifts in the Virtual Gift shop.

Papered in postcards

A couple of weeks ago, we asked you to send in postcards to surround us with LiveJournal community. Thanks for coming through! We've received postcards all the way from Germany, Finland, and Canada and from all over the US, including Texas, Florida, Alaska, Montana, Wyoming, Indiana, Hawaii, and Oklahoma just to name just a handful. We're thrilled with our improved decor.

Please keep the love coming for one more week by writing to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be drawing the names of ten random contributors next Thursday to win paid account credits!

Photos of the week

We have more dazzling images posted by talented LiveJournal photographers from around the world. We're hoping to span the entire globe, so please continue posting and tagging. Of course, you can also sit back and enjoy the view at lj_photophile.

You can see a sample of this week's gorgeous photos and check out spotlight communities and awesome user content after the jump!

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Curtains

We thank you, once again, for joining us. See you next week!

EDIT@08:16 UTC/GMT. Wow. That was ugly. I expected it to go for 30 minutes and have maybe 1 minute of broken connectivity. Instead it lasted over 4 hours and we had 10 minutes of downtime directly related to the load balancer upgrades and then another 5-10 minutes of downtime when our primary Pingback database server crashed and the secondary couldn't take over; which could have been indirectly caused by the network upgrade missing a self-VIP.

Anyways, we're up, we're working, the load balancers are barely breaking a sweat right now and I need some food and a shot of whiskey. I don't even *like* whiskey!!

Thanks mhwest and dnewhall for helping out!

---

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.

I must blog this even though its 'so embarrassing' kekeke recalling the entire event... think we really 豁出去了... maybe cos of fatigue and tiredness =P

When Missy Promo released the news - Autograph session on 7 November 2009 is limited to the first 1,500 fans - all fans broke into immediate frenzy! How how how... everyone would be Q-ing overnight! Everyone were worried that they couldn't get their signatures, couldn't see them up close personal. Missy Promo still need to come out (in forum) to pacify these fans lo... machiam BIG ISSUE!

Me, a typical Singaporean, KS in nature decided to Q early (cannot 'ton' overnight cos old liaoz kekeke). Woke up at 545am and waited for Apple to pick me up. Reached Causeway Point slightly before 7am. And the Q was quite long le lo but still within 1,500 fans kekeke Waited for Mac to open (first time in my entire life I think!!!) and had Mac for breakfast (wonder when was the last time I had it for breakfast hmmz...). And the long wait began.

Brought letters and decided to write while waiting. Not easy lo cos need to phrase negative comments positively ie things like lady-bird look alike dress and comments on Ella's new song... think I took hrs to finish writing to ALL =P but good also cos can 打发时间 and improve my chinese writing skills =P

They started distributing the number tag around 11am. Went to toilet after I got my number tag and sneaked into the mall checking out the stage area. I saw fans already seated on the left hand side of the stage and that hit me - there was no way that we were going to make it into the mall to see them arrive and talk to fans. Then I tot of a plan. The rule stated - only those with number tag can get their signatures. So, if I got my number tag liaoz, I could then roam around and come back later to join the Q???

Asked H.I.M in-charge to double confirm our plan and ta-dah... off we went to the mall in search of a 'GOOD SEAT'. Bingo decided to try the product and me went to take photos with S.H.E's 人立板 with Ross and Apple.



Heng we were among the first to think of this plan cos subsequently got alot of fans started to move in... found a GREAT SPOT but only able to occupy it around 2pm. Then around 1pm plus, I saw the press pple moving the barricades in the middle section back ie allowing the fans standing beyond the carpet area to move forward. Sensing my chance and I quickly moved when those fans moved kekeke... GRABBED that super invaluable seat which was juz directly in front of the stage and I couldnt remember when was the last time I was so front lo kekeke VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVIP SEAT!



Shall skip to the part where the host asked me a question or rather, I was the one who volunteered! Super duper pai sey cos I dunno the answer!!!! Selina was the one who raised the question but no one seemed to know the answer and so the host modified abit to MCQ and I raised my hand not knowing the answer hahaha... I answered 'B' but the host hinted me - R u sure? Then I was like erm... then looking at Bingo and then the assistant of Hebe kept mouthing the answer 'A' and I changed my answer to 'A' immediately. After the event, I saw Bingo's clip - Selina was mouthing the answer and even formed the word 'A' with her hands... but I din catch it cos I was looking at Bingo!!!!! Think tt part took a few minutes (at least I felt it was minutes!!!) and they were all looking at me cos they wanted the answer! kekeke... Bet they muz be mumbling to themselves - why this fan dunno answer still wan to raise hand hahahaha... super duper pai sey and I dunno if the cameras (press) around me captured tt moment...

Then after a few minutes, the autograph session began. Hebe walked to the table which was directly in front of me but dunno who mentioned to move the table to the center of the stage =( Then she went to 'lift' Selina's skirt (the board behind her) lo kekeke

Dunno why no fans shout their names one lo or at least we din hear any (if we couldn't hear means S.H.E couldn't hear as well lo). Only 3 of us kept shouting "Selina!" "Hebe!" "Ella!" "任家萱!" But heng they got look up and smile/nod their heads hahaha CHEAP THRILL! Like the part where I shouted quite a number of times "Hebe" but she juz dun look up lo and I half gave up and juz SAY out her name for fun/casually (quite soft) and she heard it and looked at me!!! Muahahahaha... Din expect her to hear me one lo cos it was quite soft but maybe it was quite quiet/silent then... I think they needed something to distract them from the signing lo cos sign till sianz mah... should let them divert their attention abit by looking up occassionally kekeke...



Anyway think they hear our voices till sianz liaoz cos I also pai sey kept shouting =P And so we went to Q up for the autograph... heng we went lo cos the Q moved quite fast!!! We din have to wait for too long before it was our turn.

Kept asking Apple wat to ask them cos really dunno wat to ask... then abit funny if juz go up and smile only lo (cos due to H1N1 and so no hand-shaking grr). Angie was first and I was right behind her (Bingo and Apple behind me). Dunno wat did Angie ask Ella cos couldnt hear her and when it was my turn to talk to Ella... I actually forgot wat I wanted to ask her!!! But the plaster on her face prompted me immediately to ask her "你的脸怎么了? pointing to tt plaster". Maybe alot of fans also asked her tt qn bah and so she replied "哦, 长痘痘了!" Then she added "你变漂亮了哦"... I was stunned, super stunned, super duper stunned. I asked her how come she remembered me (something along this line) but guessed she din hear me or maybe Bingo took over liaoz hahaha That phrase impact me such as such I dunno wat to ask Selina and Hebe except waited for them to finish their own conversation (they were chatting!!! kekeke) and waited for them to look up hahaha...

Issit mistaken identity? Or is she really refering to me? I can't help but kept thinking abt it!!! Why did she pass that comment leh?

I always feel that they wun rem me though I kept appearing in front of them hahahaha... Im not the kind who would approach them and talk to them also cos I dunno wat to say to them!!!! But I will juz walk beside them or maybe shaking hands with them occassionally cos to me, can see them in person can liaoz lo. CHEAP THRILL!!! I also seldom appear in front of Ella cos Im always behind/beside Hebe... 默默地跟着 Hebe kekeke so why why why...

I guessed maybe it was due to Thursday night. Everything seemed to happen on Thursday night and tt night was pretty special and memorable. Shall post in detail on Thursday night in my next post =P

Below is 精华之一...

There were abt 20-30 fans but I was the only one in office wear. Maybe I made the right decision not to change into casual clothes cos I tot need to go client's place that afternoon and so abit ley chey to bring so much barang barang lo. And tt night was the first time I spoke to Ella (as in I raised the topic MYSELF!). Pretty simple conversation.

Scene: Washing hand area juz outside the toilet.
People present: Bingo and me plus Ella and 工作人员.

Bingo was telling her abt HK concert and I juz looked at her silently - scanning Ella from head to toe lo till I juz couldn't 忍 anymore and so I said to Ella "你真的很瘦 leh" and she replied "不要说我很瘦. 我胖了".

Yes and that was one of my only short but 'closest' contact with Ella liaoz lo...

Sigh, maybe I should not think too much hor and juz take it as she was really refering to me and tt's it.

And so conclusion is... she knows me or rather she remembers me =P

The empire strikes back

In recent weeks, we've taken huge steps towards blocking spam accounts on LiveJournal. In fact, we've suspended as many as 30,000 accounts in a single day! We've implemented several pre-emptive measures to prevent the creation of spam accounts, and we've honed our detection of suspicious content. Spam bots are a crafty lot, so we'll continue to refine our tactics and keep up the good fight to keep you safe from spam attacks on LiveJournal.

RSS feeds again

If you're addicted to xkcd_rss, icanhaschzbrgr, or other syndicated feeds, we're pleased to report that we've resolved the update error that was mucking up your RSS feeds. While content was being pulled correctly, it wasn't being posted to the feeds themselves. Late last week, we finally nailed down what we hope was the root problem, so content should post properly. We thank you for your patience.

Wii have killer CSI Deadly Intent contests!

c_s_i

If you're a gamer who loves CSI, have Wii got news for you! c_s_i is sponsoring killer contests. Simply post a question to a member of the CSI crew. The winner will get a free copy of CSI: Deadly Intent for Nintendo Wii (with a retail value of $39.99) and get their question answered by a member of the CSI writing team! There's also a fantastic monthly contest. To enter, join c_s_i, play the online version of CSI: Deadly Intent, and respond to a two-part query for a chance to win a Wii! Entries will be judged on composition and originality. Sorry, but you must be a U.S. resident and over 18 years old to participate. Check out the rules here.

Enveloped in postcards

Last week, we asked you to send in postcards to help us decorate our drab concrete walls. Here's a photo of the results so far! Thank you so much and please keep them coming! You can mail them to Frank the Goat, Esq., c/o LiveJournal, Inc., 539 Bryant Street, Suite 210, San Francisco, CA 94107. Be sure to include your username, since we'll be giving ten random users paid account credits.

Photos of the week

If you haven't visited our new LiveJournal photo community, you're in for an amazing visual trip. LiveJournal users from around the world will take you on a scenic journey to everywhere. Post your own pictures or kick back and enjoy at lj_photophile. You can view some of this week's awesome photos after the jump. Please start tagging with geographic location, since we'd like to track all the places around the world represented in this community. Keep on commenting too!
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Dunno why the mood in office is damn low these days... resignations one after another... somehow I'm dragging myself to work these days...