SLOG: a second life resident blog

A first post, a little post, a YAYZERAMA post.

I may need to call the CDC down on Torley for invading my vocabulary -- Tor's enthusiasm is always so infectious. Enthusiasm. The members of this blog have different interests and perspectives, and we will probably write about all sorts of things, but a common thread is our fascination and joy with Linden Lab's Second Life.

Oy, what to say here—a lot!

This interface is unfamiliar to me (with the exception of an experimental venture into Blogger long ago). So it's uncomfortable in some respects, but on the other hand, I'm challenged to adapt. I'm looking over how the SLog was set up by Forseti after he assembled us as a team to join—sounds like a comic book, n'est-ce-pas?—and it's freakin' weird (but not unpleasant) to see the "gutter" on the righthand side.

I’ve been wanting to aggregate my thoughts on texture use in Second Life architecture, and will do my best to keep it concise without being totally devoid of information. I view texture work as critical to a great build. They complete your structures and objects in way that sheer prim structure cannot. They add visual depth and emotional overtones. They transform a flat space into an immersive environment.

Morning everyone! Welcome to one of my frequent coffee breaks.

I'm going to start off with what will probably be a series or rather uninspired posts about random things related to Second Life that pop into my head.

With a system as early-stage and experimental as Second Life, I am not surprised at the various economic and social/community (they are intertwined) hiccups that are happening along the way. Linden Lab (LL) has an unusual, and fascinating, challenge of trying to manage consumer relations and a functioning economy at the same time.

That right there is a piece of SL nostalgia folks. Pete Fats' boot in Welsh. I managed to get Steller Sunshine's (SL's 1st resident) massive bean stalk in the background as well.

While snoozing under my virtual apple tree in Midnight City, it suddenly struck me. An apple that is ... right on the noggin! After telling Forseti to clear out of my tree, I pondered a rather blaring omission from our Second Lives. We in Second Life are blessed with a physics engine that, like an unruly police officer, "plays by its OWN rules!" But if every artwork has its critic, every dog has its day, and every cowboy has his sad, sad song ... why does our physics engine lack physicists?!

I wanted to touch on a slightly controversial topic this morning, and discuss the prospect of Linden Lab competing with resident-built products and services. Those familiar with the Second Life economic scene know that the recent announcement of Linden Lab’s currency exchange system (now released), and the subsequent closing of Gaming Open Market, created quite a stir. The question du jour: “is LL my next competitor?”

It pops up about once every few months like forum acne. Is SL a world? Is it a game? Why or why not? And so the thread goes for anywhere from 5 to 97 pages with people insulting parentage and lineage until Jeska shuts it down, probably out of self-preservation of sanity.

I was out and about, snapzing some new pics. As I often do. (And gosh darnit, why can't Blogger retain the exact original image dimensions?) It just so happened the sun was rising—although it looked more to me like a sunset as I flew up, and I summoned up memories of all the risings and settings of the SLestial bodies I'd recorded over time. And then, this, in the process, got me thinking about missing the obvious.

Today’s write-only exploration will cover the subject of criticism, particularly the elegant and courtly means by which Second Life residents guide each other to betterment. What? Ya … SCREW YOU TOO BUDDY! Every exhibition or competition, from Burning Life to State of Play inevitably features some variation on the following dialog:

Aristotle Omega: Your build sucks!

Plato Midnight: What? Who asked you? Your ATTITUDE sucks!

Aristotle Omega: *GASP* You DARE criticize the critic?! If you don’t want unsolicited critiques, you should hide your build from the public eye and become a critic! Good DAY to you SIR!

Welcome to the SL Uncanny Valley. Land of hyper realistic avatars and photo referenced everything.

Yesterday’s Second Life convention (which I approached with some trepidation) turned out to be quite enjoyable. There were enough familiar names from in-world and the forums to prevent me from feeling entirely lost at sea and the overall energy was good. A few take-away thoughts…

Ever notice birds don’t build stairways to their nests? Yet the fully airworthy Second Lifer insists time and time again to include the unnecessary crutch in every build! Perhaps this folly is what the judges of the recent State Of Play competition tried to expose when they gave SL’s finest builders a verbal spanking. The lesson was basically that Second Life is a powerful virtual reality tool that should not be used to simulate real world structures but rather should be used to express creativity in ways nobody understands or can identify with.

One of the things I have always enjoyed about Torley’s blog is her coverage of various locations and builds within SL. In the wake of the recent discussions over SL architecture, I decided to try my own “flyabout.” It took me from the old country to the new, from the northwest to the southeastern corner of the world.

BRIGHT SIDE OF BAD GIRLS!!!
I thought the fact that they were bad girls was the bright side. I decided against going because I felt I couldn't handle further upside.

ALL DAY PIRATE EVENT @ SHARKBITE
Ultimately, I lack the commitment to be an all-day pirate. I'm a one, two hour pirate at best.

Pizzaria!!!!
The enthusiasm almost makes up for the fact that...it's a pizzaria.

My real-life commute to work every morning lasts about half an hour. I have a five minute walk to the subway, a train ride of around fifteen minutes (plus however long I have to wait on the platform), and another five minute walk to my destination, a downtown office building buzzing with security guards, building maintenance personnel, and nine-to-fivers.

One of my favorite television spectacles was Donald Trump's The Apprentice—particularly the first season. Each episode was a goldmine of The Donald's take on business the American way, and I'm a YUGE fan of his. On a tangent, a favorite aspect of the show was how his weekly reasons for saying "You're fired" would contradict each other. For example, one loud-speaking candidate would be praised for being confidently honest while another would get dismissed from the boardroom for not listening well enough—even though they both interrupted Mr. Trump mid-speech! There's context involved and certain charisma that's ascribed to individuals that's nontransferrable (just like how guys don't usually wear skirts unless they're kilts or something, and as far as personality traits go, I don't think it's obviously realized enough among humans how useful contradictions are to embrace.

Thanks to Forseti, I couldn't entitle this article; This is How Ended in Tokyo.

Thanks to Forseti, I am writing this article.

Post-modernism really does have its lines, and I drew those lines in the sand last-night. The Metaverse eats itself on a daily basis, and allows for nothing above or beyond itself. The cadence of every Second Life is out-drawn by a functional specification written by Dorian Grey.

How long can you walk on a rug that is a conversational piece?

I can't even whore up a proper analogy.

I'm exhilarated, exhuberant, and enthused to post on this most excellent SLog. As a natural extension, my own blog will be for personal introspectives, but community-addressing views have a better home here. It's meta, reaching out and touching like this. One thing I keep in mind is, from my standpoint at least, never try to cover everything in a single post—otherwise, one runs the risk of Picard's professor syndrome. As in,