MILES to GO || before I sleep

Okay, so on my platter of loverliness:

(1) Get help with the new install of eFiction 3.0 over at Dragonfayth (and soon Epiphany as well; Epiphany's still running the beta version), because the categories menu has gone to hell, the featured story and random author blocks aren't showing up (even though the right variables are in place), and there's only a beta version for the featured author block until someone updates it. Le sigh.

(2) Figure out wtf is up with my funky Surpass server, because apparently it won't accept a particular PHP command that Enthusiast 3 (the fanlisting management script I'm using) throws at it. I need it to work, because the whole beauty of Enth3 is that you can have a collective website (showing what you've joined/are a member of, what you own, and who you're affiliated with), a fanlisting (or more), and the admin panel, all neatly organized. And BEA and the admin panel are working just fine, except the collective listing is supposed to call a particular page from the enth3 admin folder, but it can't seem to do it properly. And the people at Surpass basically told me "We don't support 3rd party scripts; tell us what you're missing, and we'll see if we can help." So I'm bouncing between forums trying to get all this PHP mess figured out.

(3) Do a slightly (?) backdated issue of weekly_ygo, because no one else is doing it. Maybe if I read enough YGO fandom news, I will start writing WDKY again. :( In any case, if anyone can help me out EVEN A LITTLE, I would really appreciate it. Even if the fandom's not so active anymore, I have to catch up on all entries from November 21st 5:17pm GMT onward. So it's a little over 2 weeks due at this point, and with entries from PTDC (the most active community) *AND* all the other comms, it might be more than I can handle in one night or even "soon," just because of my workload here.

...Scott said he'd call me when I got back from EC (I told him it was an hour and a half, and it's already been over that), and I haven't heard a peep. Not an email, not an IM... *sigh* I'm already really looking forward to going home and seeing him again, but maybe I'm being too "clingy" again, even from 3000+ miles away. :P

Okay, so Epiphany's my eFic 3 test, and so far everything's going so well. I haven't gotten tinyMCE working just yet, but almost all the other bugs I found recently were solved in one fell-swoop, and using the test beta is actually good for when the stable release DOES come out-- I'll be used to everything, rather than surprised by how different it is.

One thing that IS significantly different is how there is a single classification system, where you can add types of your own choosing. One type is Genres (mystery, romance, drama, action/adventure... you get the idea), Warnings (character death, drug use, sexual content, language, etc.), and Story Types. The latter is where I'm having some difficulties.

Now, eFic 3 has advanced search capabilities. You can include specific genres, warnings, or types, or exclude specific genres, warnings, or types. You can sort through fics based on ratings, category (all anime, all movies, anime, manga, and movies... etc.), sub-categories (specific titles), characters, and the status of the story (complete or not). You can even specify a "greater than" word count. So with all these functions, I didn't want to clutter up the site with Story Types I didn't need.

For example, let's say I want to read some smut. :} So I search for fics for the category and sub-category I want (or multiples thereof, if I'm into that kind of thing), specify a MA (NC-17) rating, the characters I want to see, the genres I want and don't want, and the warnings I want and don't want. Let's say I also would like a semi-long story of at least 1000 words, and completed, too. But what about Story Type? Should I include things like PWP ("plot, what plot?" or "porn without plot") in the Story Type list? If I include PWP, should I also include Lemon, Lemonade, Lime, or those other euphemisms we tend to use for the various kinds of smutfic?

And what about shortfics? You have 100-word drabbles (but you can search for fics of 100 words "or more" with the Advanced Search, and specify "completed"), you can have double-drabbles, or even those 1sentence kind of fics. Or you can have a oneshot with no particular word count. Matter of fact, is "shortfic" even a good word, or is "ficlet" better? I think the former is more sensible, but the latter is more common. I don't think I should use both as separate Story Types, though. So what do I put for Story Types? People might want to read oneshots and not give a rat's ass about the word count, but there might be people who have a five-minute break and want a 100 word fic EXACTLY.

The current version of Dragonfayth only serves ONE fandom and ONE pairing, so it's much easier to use Main Categories divided up by the seasons/arcs of Yu-Gi-Oh. There are also Continuations (fanfics that take place after Vol. 38 of the manga or episode 238 of the anime) and Alternate Universes (that don't take place within Yu-Gi-Oh canon at all, and so can't be considered "divergent" fics, or ARs). I'm wondering if I should make AUs and Continuations Story Types rather than sub-categories within EACH fandom, though. It's much easier to make it a Story Type, but somehow it doesn't make sense. If I did divide up each fandom by its seasons/arcs (where applicable), wouldn't it be weird if someone went to look for a story that's NOT part of any particular season/arc? And what about all those fics that ARE included... aren't they ALL technically divergence/AR fics? Why have a Story Type for them? But some fics really DO change a bigger premise (i.e. what if Anzu had the Millennium Puzzle rather than Yuugi?) as opposed to something smaller (i.e. what if there was a bigger context to Scene X in episode Y than we thought!?), so having the AR tag would be helpful, for the fics that really are VERY divergent as opposed to merely exploratory.

The same goes for Continuations. But if I *DO* consider them a sub-category (or a sub-sub-category, as it would really be), should I make them 2 separate ones, or lump them together as "Other"?

When you search for a fic, what are ALL the possible criteria you would want to use? I know when I search for a fic, I USUALLY go by the following (in this order):
-Fandom (obviously)
-Pairing (characters)
-Genre (some Story Types can fit into this, i.e an MST would be a specific kind of Humor/Comedy fic. So would a Parody.)
-Rating
-Completed Status
-Length/Word Count (some Story Types fit into this, i.e. oneshots, drabbles, ficlets, etc.)
-Warnings

Here are the Story Types I'm using so far: ( so many types to choose from! )

If anyone else has any ideas, comments, or suggestions, PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I really need help with this. :P

My body picked a lousy time to catch cold and have my period. I've been feeling like I'm walking on another planet all day long-- gravity must be sucking me into the center of the Earth. If that meant a free ride to Japan without worrying about molten magma, I'd be all for it, but somehow I don't think that's going to happen.

I've been so sleepy, I've actually done what I thought was unthinkable-- I not only fell asleep in mythology class (I missed the entire lecture about how Sigmund Freud connects to the Electra complex) but I went to the library afeter class and conked out on the 4th floor near my locker. It was only an hour nap, and I didn't really feel all that better afterward. But I was okay after visual communications; I went and grabbed some lunch with my requisite iced tea, and now all is well. I still feel a bit tingly and weird and out of it, but at least I'm not passing out and drooling all over my keyboard.

ATTENTION SAN FRANCISCO-ITES! Yeah, I'm talking to YOU, Stephanie, Eva, Lindsay, and everyone else whose names I can't remember or whose user SNs aren't accessible to me now! Go sign up for the schools feature here on LJ! It's so quick and easy, you just search for all the schools you've ever gone to/are attending, and it automatically sorts you by username. You can input the years you attended and all that fun stuff, and even see other LJ users associated with your schools. I've already added mine: CSUN, Lafayette (EVA!!!!!), Presidio (EVERYONE!!!) and Wash House (zOMGcleanlaundry!) so you hop to it! Besides, I wanna know who else I know here on LJ that went to any of my schools... *peers*

Also, I wanted to randomly show up in San Francisco from 10/7-10/9, since Scott's going to be there anyway for his NOVA or GEOS interview... not that he'd stay with me or even have time to spend with me, mind you, but if he's going, I could use it as an excuse to go to. I know that doesn't make sense, just trust me on this one. But of course, since it's only 2 wks. before that departure time, tickets are expensive! $214 min. on SWA, and $260 on JetBlue (which, for some stupid reason, only flies from Long Beach to Oakland, and not Burbank to Oakland, even though Oakland is its Northern California major way-station. Durrrr, DUMB!). Hm... wish I could go...

I'm having trouble finding a speech to go to for Story #2 for WRPII. The ones at CalTech already ended; besides, Pasadena's too inaccessible on the weekends. There are supposed to be some Executive Speakers coming here, but I'm not sure if they've already made their speeches in the past week (when they started) or not, and even if they didn't, would I be allowed/able to go? The speech I'm interested in going to is by CBS Studio Center president Michael Klausman, but he's speaking primarily to Cinema, Television and Arts students-- which is in my college, but it's not my department. There's also a speaker from NASA's Mars rover program this Friday at 7:30pm, but that would mean missing Anime Club and possibly my 2nd cousin Joey's (oops, call him JOE now, he is 20!) birthday party-- if he wants to have one. Grr! And the story is due Oct. 5th! What do I do?!

...Hmm, there was a thing downstairs about the opening of the Guitar Research Archives here at the Oviatt, but I don't think that's the kind of speech I'm looking for. Besides, it's rather impromptu and more about performances than information, so I think I'll pass (and spend another hour here on the comp! :P)

Someone on the eFiction board helped me look at a problem Dragonfayth was having on its new modded Authors page; I've been tinkering with some of the mods offered there, and one of the people is named 'Lazuli.' o_O No relation to OUR Laz, right, smrff!? o_O Anyway, what the new mod does (or is supposed to do) is differentiate between Authors (people who have submitted stories) and Members (people who sign up to read fics and recommend fics, not write them).

I'm sure there are all sorts of other mods that I would like to implement; as they're a lot more feasible for eFiction than InkTank, I'd like people to check out the list over at http://efiction.wallflowergirl.com/forums, under Mod Releases. There are about 3 pages of mods, 2 or so individual mods of which I've implemented already. The full release list (not sure whether this includes all mods and requests, or just completed/tested mods) is located here: http://efiction.wallflowergirl.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=875.

Go check it out, mmk?

So apparently I can only study driver's ed at school (which I like doing, because I don't have the distraction of my MP3s, fanfiction, chatting, the television, my grandparents, food, or my bed) on the WHITE GST computers here in the Collaboratory. o_O I wonder why? Anyway, I'm almost done with Lesson 3 of... er, I think it's 10 or 11. Sure, that's not a whole lot, but I think I'm learning. I've done well on all my quizzes so far, and all the interactive lessons. Still, how do I memorize this stuff? Do I take notes? Print the pages out? ;_; Eeek! There seem to be many laws regarding feet estimates: signal 100 feet before turning, never enter a bike lane more than 200 feet from the turning corner or driveway, and stop at least 15 feet in front of a railroad crossing. How do you estimate that distance, anyway?

Also, if I'm still awake and somewhat coherent tonight, I have a short list of things to do:
(1) Reformat the damn laptop... again. Maybe the clean install will work better this time with more memory?
(2) Add a scene or two to WDKY19. I wanted to end it on a somewhat happy/teasing note, as I have been alternating between zOMG cliffhangers and "aww." moments lately. But I'm also neglecting other characters and relationships in the process, along with some teasers I need to work in, so I think the addition of this one scene I've been thinking about will do the fic good. I might even get doubly inspired.

I'm hoping that if all goes well and I can make it to the CTVA Exec. Speaker, then on Friday I can go to anime club as usual and FINALLY get a DVD from Phil of Adam & Joe Go Tokyo. Various specific Google and BitTorrent searches have turned up bupkis in the way of actual episodes, so it really *is* as rare as Phil said. A right shame, but he better keep his promise this time around and get me the episodes. In the meantime, I'm downloading episodes 3-9 of Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid, Chibi and I are arranging an exchange of Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon and Trick, and I need to see Last Order and probably read "The Complete Story of FFVII" or something like that on GameFAQs. Unless one of you l33t gamer guys (*stares at staplerx, zigx, psyjoe_dilandau etc. etc.*) wants to inform me... MMM?

Only 15 minutes till I have to leave for class, so I might as well update this and catch up on my reading for class. The good thing about WRPII is we don't have any pop quizzes or tests based on the reading-- whether or not you read shows in how fast you can get in-class exercises done and in the stories you turn in. So far, so good. I'm glad I made the decision to stay in Salido's class, even if the rest of my body is protesting today. Oy!