Wednesday, 12/10: *24*, Second Life-style!

<-- Volunteers -- I am off that day and will be in world on and off most of the day 8am-11pm lol I am in Northern California

Hamlet, I am usually on 9 pac to midnight pac. Can't say for sure that I will be there but if I am oniline as I should be I would be happy to help in this most cool project.

How sure of this are you?

Not sure at of that all! Already there are rumors of devious plans afoot, and who knows, others may be dreamed up even now, as well. (And welcomed, as long as they don't violate TOS!)

I'm in the UK so I can be around when needed for the earlier hours SL time... so the 11pm - 3am or 3am - 6am

Hamlet, with the new Mac alpha, I can be on from 7am to 3:30 pm, or in other words, all the time I am at work, so feel free to use me for data transfers at any time. I'll also be on at the start and ends of your 24 hours.

Well I always seem to run into you Hamlet, so I don't want to take you r time up on such a special day... But please stop by for coffee or to rest your tired bones for five minutes... I will promise to be in world on and off all during the day with you ... What are friends for?? I expects to see you resplendent in your "Hamlet" smoking jacket... Regards and Good Luck, Baccara

So here's the official schedule. Looks like we need to
find a brave volunteer(s) to do the 12am-3am shift with
me.

One more thing, because I will be covering up the clocks
around the house: each resident needs to IM me on top of
the hour, during their "shifts", to tell that it's time
to submit an entry.

Also, looks like we need someone to IM me at 4pm PST

Beryl Greenacre 6-8:30 am
Alexis Fairchild 7-11 AM
Bino Arbuckle 11am-3pm
Maxx Monde, 5pm - 11:30pm
Sean Rutherford 7pm to 11pm
Kelwyn Gallant 11PM to 1AM
Kenichi Chen 9pm- 12:00am
Victoria Moonflower 3am - 6am

ROAMING:

Baccara Rhodes, afternoon
Cailyn Miller, afternoon
odalisque VonLenard, 8am-11pm
Tiger Crossing, 7am to 3:30 pm

--------------------------------------------------
This was written by Hamlet Linden. Please IM him, not me!

"... and so, it begins. I'm barely awake. The wind is blowing
hard, here above the auditorium in Perry, next to Beryl Greenacre.
Couldn't get to sleep early last night, tossed and turned awhile.
So now, my first thought, my very first thought as I log in is...

DEAR LORD, WHAT, OH WHAT HAVE I GOTTEN MYSELF INTO?

Drinking coffee... needing coffee... 23.9 hours to go."

-- Hamlet Linden

I'll be around from about 4am Thursday... or as soon thereafter as I can be...

"First hour begins not so auspiciously: I'm stuck, somehow, on the top of the auditorium in Perry. May actually have to relog to detach myself. Outside (though I can barely see the outside world), it's wet and rainy. Oddly enough, just spoke to Ming Chen in Tennesee where it is also wet and rainy, and Eggy Lippmann in Portugal, where it is also wet and rainy.

Of course, immediately got a question about the new pricing structure, which I suspect will be a recurring theme in the next 24.5 hours..."

-- Hamlet Linden

Eek!! He's delirious already..! And it's only been 80 minutes!

Keep strong Hamlet!

"Stopped by Nick Rhodes' gallery, chatted with him, Baccara Rhodes, Viola Bach, Cyrus Apollo, Eggy L., and (briefly) Pituca, bringing together a Frenchman, a Portuguesian (is that a word?), an Englishwoman, and two West Coasters and one East Coaster. Discussed our good looking new mayor and his wife, and, of course, the pricing structure... now looking at Viola's spa... now teleporting to Juro Kothari's space needle... now at Fey's clothing emporium, which she says must come down, owing to the new pricing plan:

Einsman Schlegel: we hafta decide
Einsman Schlegel: either to keep the store as it is
Einsman Schlegel: or get rid of our home in welsh

Will find out more..."

--Hamlet Linden

9 AM

"Fey and Einsman aren't sure they can keep both their prim-
heavy home and their *very* prim-heavy clothin emporium:

Fey Brightwillow: why I figured you might like to see it before it comes down
Einsman Schlegel: its been decided that we cant afford to own both
You: But that's not decided yet, right?
Fey Brightwillow: no it will have to come down.. and what to rebuild I dont know
Fey Brightwillow: now you can see why im sad

She says they'll probably make a decision on which one goes by
the end of today, so hopefully we'll hear back from them soon.

Meanwhile, just met two new SLers, both of them exiles from Other Online
Worlds. Loosey Liu (!) was tearing about on a flying Harley, which
disappeared, forcing her to fly around awhile in a spread-eagled
position. She's coming in from the New England area. Now talking with
Jsecure Hanks, who joined just when the announcement of the new pricing
structure hit. He's a programming student from Bradford, UK, and is
excited about the new plan:

Jsecure Hanks: I've been here long enough to have a taste of the old system, which was OK, but the new one is much more open
Jsecure Hanks: you can come and see 1.2 in action if you like, I have just bought a 4,096 metre plot I wouldn't have been able to afford before

He compares the new pricing plan to India and Pakistan:

Jsecure Hanks: well, when that happened there were a lot of people had to move, it was a big upheaval of land
Jsecure Hanks: but it was OK after the dust settled
Jsecure Hanks: that'll be the same here, some people I know own a quater of a sim, there's no way they'll be keeping that
Jsecure Hanks: so there'll be a lot of changing of hands
You: OK, that is, except for the disputed Kashmir region!"

-Hamlet Linden

10 AM

"I appear to have come, like Billy Pilgrim, unstuck in the world. Or at
least in Freelon, where I'm flying through buildings and flapping about
if I try to land. This is a good place to see great buildings, however.
I'm outside the very well-appointed manse of Div Epoch... now flying
to the azure glassy building of Bit Phaeton. (Which fortunately seems
to be solid enough to stand on.) I also appear to be stuck in Freelon
in a *Sixth Sense* sense, where I'm moving like a ghost through material
objects.

May have to re-log quickly, to recover corporeality...

Whew, coporeality restored!

Meanwhile, erstwhile revolutionary Fleabit Beach is claiming the new
pricing structure of 1.2 as a victory: "looks like 1.2 means Americana (belatedly) won the tax revolt. Here's to Progress "

Hamlet Linden: You think the revolt influenced the Lindens?
Fleabite Beach: Not in rergards to current changes, no. I think they understand we were more concerned with holding Americana together...
but we will be happy to declare the revolution won, desopte the fact that many of us have reverted to 1400's england in our Tudor village in Taber.

And now I'm listening in to a conversation with the Lindens various residents, on the new system... however, I'm distracted by Nexus
Nash, who has taken an unconscious Spaceman Abraham Lincoln and is
currently pushing him downhill."

-Hamlet Linden

11 AM

"Talking with Osemab Kothari, who created a replica of Shakespeare's
Globe Theater, currently in, though "I may be moving it to Darkwood
when 1.2 is released."

Osemab Kothari: I was thinking about putting on Othello first
Hamlet Linden: The whole thing?
Osemab Kothari: yes
Hamlet Linden: Good lord
Hamlet Linden: it's one of the shorter tragedies, but still!
Osemab Kothari: it won't be that hard
Hamlet Linden: Well, you'll need to create a strangulation script.

Just two new residents: Ming Chen from Tennessee (who actually IM'd
me the moment I came in-world, at 6am), and Vincent Fate from Cologne,
Germany, who came to Second Life after reading an article about the world
on the Der Spiegel website. Against my better judgement, I blurt out,
"So what's the deal with the cannibal?"

Stopped by Nexus city, to speak with a very alien Jericho Powers, and
the legendary Catherine Omega. Since the Nexus kids are some of SL's
top power builders, figured I better get their feedback on 1.2:

Jericho Powers: Just logging in, I had an exam this morning now I am going to relax
You: What you think of the 1.2 plan?
Jericho Powers: Well first I heard of it, i was really scared
Catherine Omega: Me? i think it's good, but that it doesn't take into account a very small majority.
Catherine Omega: But I also think that those people will be accommodated by the time it's implemented.

And now we're at a town meeting, where Cory Linden is dressed as a foxy
blonde avatar, carefully explaining TO A GIANT CROWD what 1.2 presages.
A reindeer is asking a pointed question now... I wander off for a quick
visit to SLU.

Alexis is asking me for my entry... meaning I'm 1/4 through.

18 MORE HOURS TO GO."

-Hamlet Linden

12:03 PM

Tis the top of the hour, and Hamlet appears to have logged out or crashed... stay tuned...

24, 6th Hour Entry (12:29 PM)

During Cory's town meeting, I met Higbee Protagonist, a new resident who logs in from Columbus, Ohio, where he co-own and runs The Shadowbox Cafe,
a live performance theater. His thoughts:

Higbee Protagonist: well it is interesting. I just became a lifer a couple of weeks ago, and this changes the value of it unfortunately. However, I am excited to see the new rules about paying. Cory assures me that you will be able to pay for additional land with L$ not just USD. That will b the test
Higbee Protagonist: if it's tru I couldn't b happier. Goodness know it'll b nice to get rid of taxes. I created the National Park in Zoe and I got raped by taxes this week. 5500.

He takes me to the National Park, a terraformed wonder with deer, a vast
avary, a variety of trees, and a large waterfall. His father, who owns
the Theater, actually designed the park, even though he doesn't play
SL. Before he goes, he gives me a raven to perch my shoulder. "Nevermore!"
I yell. And I stand there on a rock, contemplating the place.

And at some point in that quiet brak, my DSL surreptiously craps out on
me, and I'm forced to exit and re-establish connection. (Hence the lateness
of this entry.)

1:00 PM

After she hands me another cup of joe, Baccara Rhodes asks me if
I planned this 24 hour marathon to coincide with the 1.2 announcement.
In all honesty, I answer, that was total coincidence. It was only
last night that it occured to me that discussion of it would dominate
most of the day.

Somehow, I never met odalisque VonLenard except in this very hour,
even though she's been in-world for near 8 months. (It never ceases
to amaze how often this happens.) A writer by training, I'm hanging
with her and a group of fellow exiles from Another MMOG That Will
Remain Nameless, in Shipley. "I sense imminent smack talk of Another
Game that I can't be party to, SIMPLY CAN'T, so I better exeunt like a
mofo. Enjoy, all!," I say, and depart. As I walk away, I hear
odalisque saying, "now for those of you who know me and have been around awhile, you know I have the most photographed butt in SL... it seems game
to game, not alot changes", but I KEEP WALKING.

24, 8th Hour (2:00 PM)

A couple hours earlier, I asked Digbee if there was any news of troop
deaths in Iraq (none, fortunately), or any other news:

Higbee Protagonist: pres campaigning still crazy
Higbee Protagonist: our pres is still crazy lol

I'm a news/foreign policy junkie, so being without any medium besides
Second Life is giving me spasms. Then again, I'm now in Federal next
to a giant billboard featuring all four Democratic candidates who voted
to authorize the war in Iraq dancing in front of the White House in pink
tutus, so there's that. I'm not necessarily a fan of the billboard's
sentiment--but being a big fan of political expression in-world, I'm
still glad it's here. (Then again, I notice the resident who erected
it has already scored 40 negative ratings, for his efforts.)

Bino Arbuckle has been my heroic stalwart posting these last few
entries (and before him Alexis and Beryl), and my inability to see
the website is also driving me crazy.

Hamlet Linden: Anybody reading these things, you think?
Bino Arbuckle: Dunno. No replies.
Hamlet Linden: Ouch!
Hamlet Linden: Hopefully readers, tho.
Bino Arbuckle: Maybe they're being polite and waiting till tomorrow
Bino Arbuckle: After all, this is a first

Diplomat, he!

Now I'm in a snowdrift outside a gallery in Federal. (Snow mound and
gallery by Tony Tigereye!)

Tony's work inside is... um, evocative?

The elevator makes a breathy "Going up..." when you hit the button.

This being Second Life, a hundred meters or so from the hardcore
erotica gallery, there's a beautiful church with traditional
Christian iconography, by the water. I respectully step in side
awhile, to leaven the profane with the sacred.

--Hamlet

Keep it up, Hamlet! I'm reading your entries avidly.

Oh, we're definitely here and reading the inworld posts, Hamlet Rest reassured.

3:00 PM (a little late)

P.S. - We need someone to grab Hamlet's notecard and post here at 4pm PST. It seems Maxx isn't on until 5pm. Volunteers appreciated, else Hamlet will grab someone in-world. Thanks.



Trying to write this with gunfire going off in my right ear. In
Jessie now, though earlier I met Karynda Kuroda, from Florida, a new
resident whose husband Peter also has an account. With her I met
a blue mermaid known as Myradyl Muse of Shipley, who took us down
to her underwater grotto, and then up to her angel's haven.

A poem she wrote (and gave me) begins thus:

The Mermaid's Dream... by Myradyl Muse

At center of the boundless sea
Strides marbled rock from out the Deep;
Crystal throne for she who glides
The ebbing froth, eternally.
Untouched by squall, by tempest's blast,
No hook, no spear, no net she plies
To lure them each across the vast,
That maiden of the turquoise eyes.

Offline, she's a certified mental health nurse.

Anyway, now we're trying to find a combat-oriented group for a
new user, since the original group we was looking to join, the
Jessie Liberation Army, seems to be no more.

--Hamlet

24, 10th hour entry

After all that splashing in the mermaid grotto and then the
angel haven, I was hankering for some Manly Content, so I kept in Jessie until I got some, which came in the form of a giant tank. Stroker Leviathan, another new resident from Florida, thought it was an M-1, as did I, saw I hopped on and yelled, "LET'S TAKE BAGHDAD BOYEE!"-- until Cyanide pointed out it was a T-62. "This is what the Iraqis were using," he said.

Remeber Jsecure Hanks, who I met in the early hour, starting
out his house? He's already finished with the structure,
8 hours later, so he gave me a look around,

"I can't wait for 1.2, here's another good part of it, this
is as far as the house goes. The server's full, I've used
'bout 60 prims--but my share is more like 600. so when 1.2
comes, I get to finish the place off "

Spotted apparent 1.2 protest sign in Georgean, and sent an IM to its creator, Carnildo Greenacre, requesting an interview. It's a floating, scripted banner saying "Keep SL and RL apart!"-- with the description "Don't worry, I can clean these up."

24, 11th hour

Hanging at the welcome area where I meet a host of new users, and Aces Spade, a resident of a few months, who also happens to be the first one I've met who logs in from Alaska (Fairbanks, to be exact):

Aces Spade: it is almost 25 below outdside at this very moment
Hamlet Linden: Oof!
Aces Spade: heh
Hamlet Linden: Totally dark?
Aces Spade: we have about 3 hours of daylight right now
Aces Spade: get's dark here around 3pm
Hamlet Linden: Is that one reason you play SL?
Aces Spade: yes hehe
Aces Spade: i love Sl i think i can finally say i am addicted

She also tells me about a friend of hers in Alaska who also plays Second Life-- when he's not flying F-15s for the US Air Force. (Yes, I'm IMing him right now, for an interview.)

Meanwhile, the extertion is starting take a toll...

Alexis Fairchild: How are ya holding up?
Hamlet Linden: Oh man, RSI's kicking in, feels like.
Alexis Fairchild: Hehe
Alexis Fairchild: You'll make it
Alexis Fairchild: We're rooting for ya
Hamlet Linden: Sniff!

Spend right of hour listening to Lee explain 1.2 to uesrs, not
typing much, giving aching forearms a rest...

--Hamlet