Another day, another rolling restart completed. I think this month has seen one too many rolling restarts.
Or maybe it just feels that way.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Snapshot
Oh my Nunchuck. Someone snapzilla'd a photo of Concinna and the railway that was built up around there.
He comments (it was taken about 3 months ago) on how it appears to be merely a museum, and how all the trains are broken.
Oh Daedalus Young, you should have seen it not a few months before you visited. The trains ran on time, they weren't broken. Concinna was a railway station, it was the terminal where they were rerezzed if they ever got lost or badly broken. They were old style locomotives, with smokestacks and coal bunkers. I used to ride them up and down the Linden Railways.
Within a few months, a station and rail line become a ruin, an exhibit of what once was. If Daedalus ever met me, I could tell him all about the somewhat strange times we had on those trains, between Jurin the dinosaur avatar towering over the engines to careening off the track when a sim crossing went bad. Holy hell, I knew the guy who built and got the trains running!
I feel so old.
He comments (it was taken about 3 months ago) on how it appears to be merely a museum, and how all the trains are broken.
Oh Daedalus Young, you should have seen it not a few months before you visited. The trains ran on time, they weren't broken. Concinna was a railway station, it was the terminal where they were rerezzed if they ever got lost or badly broken. They were old style locomotives, with smokestacks and coal bunkers. I used to ride them up and down the Linden Railways.
Within a few months, a station and rail line become a ruin, an exhibit of what once was. If Daedalus ever met me, I could tell him all about the somewhat strange times we had on those trains, between Jurin the dinosaur avatar towering over the engines to careening off the track when a sim crossing went bad. Holy hell, I knew the guy who built and got the trains running!
I feel so old.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Book of Nunchuck V
"What troubles thee, my child, that I find you upon this cove forlorn?
"Who are you, that you come before me and inquire upon my fate?" for Ruth was startled, and ages had passed from the tales and legends of the days of old. Such is the resignation of the past in time.
"I have been raised by He Most Holy, and sent as servant and overseer of the land so that it may follow the one true path. I have found much sadness and tragedy, and fire and terror. I have witnessed the dimming of the stars from the smoke of war and the clouding of the water with blood and tears. I have found that the way is lost, and I fear it may never be found. Thus, I have taken to help where I may, limited though my capacity is. No longer am I the God of ages past who created and ruled the world, but only as powerful as the lowliest akelhian. Still I serve in the purpose I have been created for."
Ruth cried for joy. Her journey may find its end, and so she asked of Philip: "Where is the Femur, so that we may end this terrible conflict and restore order to our shattered world?"
Philip smiled gently, for the news was to be grim.
"My child of the forsaken people risen to the heights, your quest has been in vain. For the object of power that you seek has been where you can never enter, a place of despair that I suspect you know very well. For it was lost in the labyrinths of the palace of Sipte, in Kissling, where the Ony hold sway."
"Quick, we must go now, for if you have been sent then knowledge still lingers in this world of the femur, and knowledge of such is dangerous given the times."
With that, Philip took Ruth upon his back, and flew fast, faster than the stars twirl in the skies and the tides roll with the seas. He went with such haste and speed, they flew off the surface of the sims, and into the sky itself. And Ruth did witness, the roundness of her world, the poorly made cloud particles suspended from the sky, and around this great ball did they twirl in a waltz with the planet, and then, she saw the fields of her home which she had left so long ago in her hapless journey.
When the Fi-Suu saw that Ruth had returned, without the femur in tow, he cursed the heavens and the stars and all that he saw for he knew the battle was lost, and that they were all doomed, Qeosi and his minions would create their god and none but for the Grace of Nunchuck that Nhe may come down and see their plight would save them. And both the people and the akelhians ran from their cities and their towns, desperate to flee from the impending disaster.
"Behold, I have come among you, Philip the First and the Slain, Delivered by Nunchuck so that you may see and believe."
Fi-Suu scoffed at this, declaring, "Need we not of bygone losers and stories of ages past, for our need is great and our want of stories is small. Go home unless you know of the Femur and our salvation, lest you be swallowed by the ever growing Ony that I have so graciously held back for you."
"I am deeply saddened by your faith, for it is misplaced. I say to you all, those who hear and believe in Nhim, shall be saved by Nher Graces, but those who deny what is on their noses shall be burned in the fires of justice. For Nhe stands before you, and you deny Nhim. For this, I am saddened that you will face Nhis great Fury for such dismissals."
At this, Fi-Suu shoved him aside, and gathered the few akelhians left, and declared to all, "I intend to defeat Qeosi this day, and if I come back in tatters then at least our judgement shall be at hand and we need not listen to such imposters and scum." And with those words, they flew upon their magnificent wings off to Kissling and the Halls of Sipte and their almost certain doom.
And at this, Philip was saddened and deeply disturbed, for he spoke the faith but none save Ruth believed.
Meanwhile, in the halls of ruin that had once held the grand parties and balls of Sipte and his ministers and princes, Qeosi sat upon the throne of gold, not willing to slaughter but not satisfied with his people's lot in their world. He did not wish for destruction, but it was all he had ever known, and all he could ever know, creation was not his capacity.
"We should end this world, make it as black as our souls will be for eternity and stain it with the blasphemy of our creation. Is this not what their Nunchuck must want, for Nhe has allowed our very creation? Is this not Nher will?" spoke his advisers, and Qeosi saw wisdom in their advice, but he held no heart for a world like his people, for it was this world that he desired but could not have. He had bought his people time to search for the femur with his ruse, but even now he foresaw the coming of the akelhians, doing their earnest duty of protecting their flock.
And with this, he conceived of another plan to buy time. He went and found his fastest messenger, and he gave to him a map. Upon this map was an inscription, asking his forces to the south to hold the femur until the akelhians had advanced upon them. And Qeosi told his messenger to go past the akelhian hordes, and to not give up the map under any circumstances, and that if he had to he should eat it before it be captured. And he made the messenger swear upon his life that he would do so.
With the messenger off, he then went to his quartermaster, and told him to ready enough supplies for an army for three weeks, and that he should deliver these supplies as far south past the akelhians as he could and go past their lines. "But my Lord, whatever for? We have no one there!" he protested, but Qeosi made him pledge he would do so.
Finally, he took one of his brightest generals who had yet to see battle, and told him to take command of the southern army. "But my Lord, whatever for? We have no one there!" He exclaimed, but Qeosi made him promise to do so, and so he went to take charge of an army that did not exist. To all three, he told them not to mention a word to anyone of the enemy they should meet, not even under death.
So the messenger came first upon the akelhians, and they captured him and demanded to know his purpose. "I shall never tell you, rather I would die than disgrace my Lord!" He tried to eat the map, but Fi-Suu was too quick and too clever to allow that, and he looked upon the map and saw the preparations and plans by his enemy. "What is this, that he will flank us?" he declared, and so he strengthened the flanks of his advance, but he did not believe that any serious threat would come of it.
Then they encountered the quartermaster, and captured him as well, and they demanded to know his purpose. "I shall never speak a word of our plan, for I would rather be impaled by your blade than betray my Lord!" But they saw he had provisions for an army of thousands for many weeks, and Fi-Suu, with his wisdom, began to suspect that he might be able to seize an Ony army by surprise and thus cripple Qeosi, since he had just captured this army's plans and provisions.
Then they encountered the general, and captured him and demanded to know his purpose. Now, this general though intelligent had not the courage for the fate that awaited him. So he blurted out, "My master has ordered me to command an army to the south, I know not of its existence but he did order me and I did obey. I harbor doubts that such an army exists for I have never seen it, nor heard of it in My Lord's meetings with his advisers. Please spare me, and beware!" Upon this words, Fi-Suu was certain that there was a large Ony force to his south, for why would Qeosi send provisions, and plans, and a general to no place at all? Further, this general was obviously a good actor in his mind, and so Fi-Suu declared, "I shall surprise this Ony force, that I may defeat them without their battle plans, provisions, and command!" And so his armies turned south, that they would destroy a sizable part of Qeosi's army before meeting his city of death.
And so Qeosi, at the cost of a few supplies and an untrustworthy general, bought his people valuable time. But little did he know of Philip and Ruth, who continued to travel to his Hall in Kissling.
"Who are you, that you come before me and inquire upon my fate?" for Ruth was startled, and ages had passed from the tales and legends of the days of old. Such is the resignation of the past in time.
"I have been raised by He Most Holy, and sent as servant and overseer of the land so that it may follow the one true path. I have found much sadness and tragedy, and fire and terror. I have witnessed the dimming of the stars from the smoke of war and the clouding of the water with blood and tears. I have found that the way is lost, and I fear it may never be found. Thus, I have taken to help where I may, limited though my capacity is. No longer am I the God of ages past who created and ruled the world, but only as powerful as the lowliest akelhian. Still I serve in the purpose I have been created for."
Ruth cried for joy. Her journey may find its end, and so she asked of Philip: "Where is the Femur, so that we may end this terrible conflict and restore order to our shattered world?"
Philip smiled gently, for the news was to be grim.
"My child of the forsaken people risen to the heights, your quest has been in vain. For the object of power that you seek has been where you can never enter, a place of despair that I suspect you know very well. For it was lost in the labyrinths of the palace of Sipte, in Kissling, where the Ony hold sway."
"Quick, we must go now, for if you have been sent then knowledge still lingers in this world of the femur, and knowledge of such is dangerous given the times."
With that, Philip took Ruth upon his back, and flew fast, faster than the stars twirl in the skies and the tides roll with the seas. He went with such haste and speed, they flew off the surface of the sims, and into the sky itself. And Ruth did witness, the roundness of her world, the poorly made cloud particles suspended from the sky, and around this great ball did they twirl in a waltz with the planet, and then, she saw the fields of her home which she had left so long ago in her hapless journey.
When the Fi-Suu saw that Ruth had returned, without the femur in tow, he cursed the heavens and the stars and all that he saw for he knew the battle was lost, and that they were all doomed, Qeosi and his minions would create their god and none but for the Grace of Nunchuck that Nhe may come down and see their plight would save them. And both the people and the akelhians ran from their cities and their towns, desperate to flee from the impending disaster.
"Behold, I have come among you, Philip the First and the Slain, Delivered by Nunchuck so that you may see and believe."
Fi-Suu scoffed at this, declaring, "Need we not of bygone losers and stories of ages past, for our need is great and our want of stories is small. Go home unless you know of the Femur and our salvation, lest you be swallowed by the ever growing Ony that I have so graciously held back for you."
"I am deeply saddened by your faith, for it is misplaced. I say to you all, those who hear and believe in Nhim, shall be saved by Nher Graces, but those who deny what is on their noses shall be burned in the fires of justice. For Nhe stands before you, and you deny Nhim. For this, I am saddened that you will face Nhis great Fury for such dismissals."
At this, Fi-Suu shoved him aside, and gathered the few akelhians left, and declared to all, "I intend to defeat Qeosi this day, and if I come back in tatters then at least our judgement shall be at hand and we need not listen to such imposters and scum." And with those words, they flew upon their magnificent wings off to Kissling and the Halls of Sipte and their almost certain doom.
And at this, Philip was saddened and deeply disturbed, for he spoke the faith but none save Ruth believed.
Meanwhile, in the halls of ruin that had once held the grand parties and balls of Sipte and his ministers and princes, Qeosi sat upon the throne of gold, not willing to slaughter but not satisfied with his people's lot in their world. He did not wish for destruction, but it was all he had ever known, and all he could ever know, creation was not his capacity.
"We should end this world, make it as black as our souls will be for eternity and stain it with the blasphemy of our creation. Is this not what their Nunchuck must want, for Nhe has allowed our very creation? Is this not Nher will?" spoke his advisers, and Qeosi saw wisdom in their advice, but he held no heart for a world like his people, for it was this world that he desired but could not have. He had bought his people time to search for the femur with his ruse, but even now he foresaw the coming of the akelhians, doing their earnest duty of protecting their flock.
And with this, he conceived of another plan to buy time. He went and found his fastest messenger, and he gave to him a map. Upon this map was an inscription, asking his forces to the south to hold the femur until the akelhians had advanced upon them. And Qeosi told his messenger to go past the akelhian hordes, and to not give up the map under any circumstances, and that if he had to he should eat it before it be captured. And he made the messenger swear upon his life that he would do so.
With the messenger off, he then went to his quartermaster, and told him to ready enough supplies for an army for three weeks, and that he should deliver these supplies as far south past the akelhians as he could and go past their lines. "But my Lord, whatever for? We have no one there!" he protested, but Qeosi made him pledge he would do so.
Finally, he took one of his brightest generals who had yet to see battle, and told him to take command of the southern army. "But my Lord, whatever for? We have no one there!" He exclaimed, but Qeosi made him promise to do so, and so he went to take charge of an army that did not exist. To all three, he told them not to mention a word to anyone of the enemy they should meet, not even under death.
So the messenger came first upon the akelhians, and they captured him and demanded to know his purpose. "I shall never tell you, rather I would die than disgrace my Lord!" He tried to eat the map, but Fi-Suu was too quick and too clever to allow that, and he looked upon the map and saw the preparations and plans by his enemy. "What is this, that he will flank us?" he declared, and so he strengthened the flanks of his advance, but he did not believe that any serious threat would come of it.
Then they encountered the quartermaster, and captured him as well, and they demanded to know his purpose. "I shall never speak a word of our plan, for I would rather be impaled by your blade than betray my Lord!" But they saw he had provisions for an army of thousands for many weeks, and Fi-Suu, with his wisdom, began to suspect that he might be able to seize an Ony army by surprise and thus cripple Qeosi, since he had just captured this army's plans and provisions.
Then they encountered the general, and captured him and demanded to know his purpose. Now, this general though intelligent had not the courage for the fate that awaited him. So he blurted out, "My master has ordered me to command an army to the south, I know not of its existence but he did order me and I did obey. I harbor doubts that such an army exists for I have never seen it, nor heard of it in My Lord's meetings with his advisers. Please spare me, and beware!" Upon this words, Fi-Suu was certain that there was a large Ony force to his south, for why would Qeosi send provisions, and plans, and a general to no place at all? Further, this general was obviously a good actor in his mind, and so Fi-Suu declared, "I shall surprise this Ony force, that I may defeat them without their battle plans, provisions, and command!" And so his armies turned south, that they would destroy a sizable part of Qeosi's army before meeting his city of death.
And so Qeosi, at the cost of a few supplies and an untrustworthy general, bought his people valuable time. But little did he know of Philip and Ruth, who continued to travel to his Hall in Kissling.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
BEAR
As I've mentioned before (I can't find the post), the path to retention lies in connecting, communicating, and talking with the new people. It doesn't always work, but it at least helps the bleed-off from the one day wonders.
I know this from personal experience.
For there is an infohub that lies in the Bear sim, unimaginatively named "Bear Dream Lodge Infohub". It was in this place that I was born into SL (Orientation Island can be considered prenatal). Thus, Bear holds a place near and dear to my heart. They say your first impression is the most lasting one, that it molds your opinion of a place or person for as long as you know them. An impression that is hard to break, it's said.
My SL birth was literally a baptism in fire and cages. When I arrived, I was caged and surrounded by fire particles. Houses were rezzed on top of me. It was not a fun place to be, in short words. I was pushed around often by machine guns and RPGs. It is very likely that I would have stopped with SL right then and there, except that a few people helpfully suggested that I sit upon a wall on the main brick deck of the Bear Lodge. This brick wall, as we shall soon see, came to be the defining symbol of Bear. So much so that if you go there (at least, in my day, anyway) and inquire about what's the best thing to do at Bear, sitting on the wall will be among the top three.
Having planted on this wall, I took to conversing with the fellow survivors. They were a mixed bunch. Some were griefers themselves, some were obviously underage and sneaking into SL, some were like me and curious about what SL was all about. The one thing that united us was our mutual hatred of the griefing parade that regularly visited Bear in those days. We used to talk about griefing like one would discuss the weather, casual and only of mild interest after a week or so. The key is that the griefing united us, and also forced us to sit and listen to the others sitting around.
And you always had to sit. Standing, you would get caged and orbited. It was almost certain crashing. So you'd always see a row of people, squatting upon this brick wall from end to end, chatting about the latest movie release, or discussing whether they would put their brains in a robot body. Upon further reflection, I guess you could compare it to something of a city in the industrial revolution: everything is dirty and grungy from the factories, and everyone is a wage slave, and you're all united in general scorn for the foremen and owners and in your spare time you make conversation at the pub or the corner store. And because everyone was cramped into rowhomes that were and still are at most fifteen feet wide, you had to deal with jerk neighbors. And over time, you came to understand that they weren't inherently mean, they were just as scared and ticked off at the conditions as you were.
So I came into contact with a lot of folks. Even the biggest jerks soften up over time. You got to know the regulars, and you added to them. You'd engage some newb and talk about the weather, or perhaps you'd help them with something and you fall into a chat about the lag. Something always gives. And the regs came back, and the newbs became regs. It was familiar and comforting, and when someone was out everyone was on edge. Was it bad news? Good news? Had they quit? We became a family. And we'd always sit on the brick wall, the griefers were still running rampant. Soon our family grew and we got used to rezzing sofas and sitting on those, or sitting on the lamps nearby, or occasionally on the decorative fountain. Because the griefers would maul you if you stood, you always sat on something, usually whatever was closest. To not do so was to crash out of SL.
It was a running gag that one could always tell someone from the Bear Infohub, because at the slightest sign of trouble they'd sit on something. We all stayed not because we took advantage of the wide and wonderful possibilities of SL, but because we were friends, sisters, brothers, and sometimes married.
And this group, they came to be rooted in Bear. Now, as time went on, people here and there spun off and went their separate ways. Some bought land and moved on, some just quit, and some just went elsewhere. For them, Bear just didn't have the hold it did on others. This kind of worked against those who remained, as it made them tighter than normal. The end result of this is that at Bear infohub today, we have a core group of regulars, 'old'bies, who crowd out both the newbies entering SL at Bear and the people nearby who own land there.
This is really the point of the matter. Because recently someone has taken to starting a campaign against the regs at Bear. They don't understand why people would congregate at an infohub for nigh on a year now. They look at other infohubs, which remain relatively empty. And they just don't understand it.
This is why. Bear has spun out of control, and is turning into more than just a newbie gathering hotspot, it's mutating into a community in and of itself. With the regular show-ups of familiar faces, it's practically a small town. There is no stopping it. You won't be able to dislodge them without destroying the infohub or banning all thirty or so avatars who frequent there. It is just not going to happen. There is even a Bear co-op center, which can be considered an 'expansion' of the infohub, created by these regulars.
This is an extreme case where communication and community have knit together people tightly and keep them in SL. This is the story of Bear in a snapshot, and isn't comprehensive, nor needs to be. With regards to the fate of the 'regs', it will depend upon the Linden definition of the purpose of an infohub, and whether the regs can pass themselves off as mentors. With regards to my theory that other people, rather than owning land or building/scripting junk, hold people, I think it provides an interesting point.
I know this from personal experience.
For there is an infohub that lies in the Bear sim, unimaginatively named "Bear Dream Lodge Infohub". It was in this place that I was born into SL (Orientation Island can be considered prenatal). Thus, Bear holds a place near and dear to my heart. They say your first impression is the most lasting one, that it molds your opinion of a place or person for as long as you know them. An impression that is hard to break, it's said.
My SL birth was literally a baptism in fire and cages. When I arrived, I was caged and surrounded by fire particles. Houses were rezzed on top of me. It was not a fun place to be, in short words. I was pushed around often by machine guns and RPGs. It is very likely that I would have stopped with SL right then and there, except that a few people helpfully suggested that I sit upon a wall on the main brick deck of the Bear Lodge. This brick wall, as we shall soon see, came to be the defining symbol of Bear. So much so that if you go there (at least, in my day, anyway) and inquire about what's the best thing to do at Bear, sitting on the wall will be among the top three.
Having planted on this wall, I took to conversing with the fellow survivors. They were a mixed bunch. Some were griefers themselves, some were obviously underage and sneaking into SL, some were like me and curious about what SL was all about. The one thing that united us was our mutual hatred of the griefing parade that regularly visited Bear in those days. We used to talk about griefing like one would discuss the weather, casual and only of mild interest after a week or so. The key is that the griefing united us, and also forced us to sit and listen to the others sitting around.
And you always had to sit. Standing, you would get caged and orbited. It was almost certain crashing. So you'd always see a row of people, squatting upon this brick wall from end to end, chatting about the latest movie release, or discussing whether they would put their brains in a robot body. Upon further reflection, I guess you could compare it to something of a city in the industrial revolution: everything is dirty and grungy from the factories, and everyone is a wage slave, and you're all united in general scorn for the foremen and owners and in your spare time you make conversation at the pub or the corner store. And because everyone was cramped into rowhomes that were and still are at most fifteen feet wide, you had to deal with jerk neighbors. And over time, you came to understand that they weren't inherently mean, they were just as scared and ticked off at the conditions as you were.
So I came into contact with a lot of folks. Even the biggest jerks soften up over time. You got to know the regulars, and you added to them. You'd engage some newb and talk about the weather, or perhaps you'd help them with something and you fall into a chat about the lag. Something always gives. And the regs came back, and the newbs became regs. It was familiar and comforting, and when someone was out everyone was on edge. Was it bad news? Good news? Had they quit? We became a family. And we'd always sit on the brick wall, the griefers were still running rampant. Soon our family grew and we got used to rezzing sofas and sitting on those, or sitting on the lamps nearby, or occasionally on the decorative fountain. Because the griefers would maul you if you stood, you always sat on something, usually whatever was closest. To not do so was to crash out of SL.
It was a running gag that one could always tell someone from the Bear Infohub, because at the slightest sign of trouble they'd sit on something. We all stayed not because we took advantage of the wide and wonderful possibilities of SL, but because we were friends, sisters, brothers, and sometimes married.
And this group, they came to be rooted in Bear. Now, as time went on, people here and there spun off and went their separate ways. Some bought land and moved on, some just quit, and some just went elsewhere. For them, Bear just didn't have the hold it did on others. This kind of worked against those who remained, as it made them tighter than normal. The end result of this is that at Bear infohub today, we have a core group of regulars, 'old'bies, who crowd out both the newbies entering SL at Bear and the people nearby who own land there.
This is really the point of the matter. Because recently someone has taken to starting a campaign against the regs at Bear. They don't understand why people would congregate at an infohub for nigh on a year now. They look at other infohubs, which remain relatively empty. And they just don't understand it.
This is why. Bear has spun out of control, and is turning into more than just a newbie gathering hotspot, it's mutating into a community in and of itself. With the regular show-ups of familiar faces, it's practically a small town. There is no stopping it. You won't be able to dislodge them without destroying the infohub or banning all thirty or so avatars who frequent there. It is just not going to happen. There is even a Bear co-op center, which can be considered an 'expansion' of the infohub, created by these regulars.
This is an extreme case where communication and community have knit together people tightly and keep them in SL. This is the story of Bear in a snapshot, and isn't comprehensive, nor needs to be. With regards to the fate of the 'regs', it will depend upon the Linden definition of the purpose of an infohub, and whether the regs can pass themselves off as mentors. With regards to my theory that other people, rather than owning land or building/scripting junk, hold people, I think it provides an interesting point.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Surprise!
Actually, no, not really.
In this blog post, you can glimpse other SL blogs, sounding off about how horrible this week has been, and oh isn't it just terrible! And it was so nice a month ago!
Shove it.
It wasn't nice a year ago, it wasn't nice last month, it hasn't been nice this past week, it won't be pleasant next week, and it won't be nice a year from now. Where do people get these ideas? When was SL ever stable? When did it ever not lag? Point out one instance of time between November 5th, 2006, and today where the SL grid for once settled down and didn't have issues. You can't! It's always had issues!
The day I started, SL lagged. And it still does today. It still has horrible and weird issues. A year ago, it was copy bots and failed teleports and grey goo and being stuck in place after a failed teleport and clothes not rendering properly or on the correct mesh. And everyone wailed that oh this horrible horrible grid!
Today, we have issues with missing textures, and crashing in mouselook, and windlight not working properly and the prims drift and inventory isn't loading and griefers are spamming whole sims miles away. And everyone is still wailing oh this horrible horrible grid!
Listen.
We all know how horrible and how bad and how annoying the grid is. Just like we all know how big bad and evil Bush is, and how global warming is going to kill us all and high density cholesterol wraps around your heart.
But for the love of Nunchuck, enjoy your Second Life. Laugh a little. Don't sit like a bump on a prim, go out and enjoy it. Laugh when it crashes! Laugh at the people running around and trying to crash it! For the love of all that's holy, enjoy it because if you can't make SL enjoyable, whether you treat it as a video game or another chance at life, make sure you get out and have fun. If you can't have fun, make it.
But don't miss what you have by bitching about it nonstop.
In this blog post, you can glimpse other SL blogs, sounding off about how horrible this week has been, and oh isn't it just terrible! And it was so nice a month ago!
Shove it.
It wasn't nice a year ago, it wasn't nice last month, it hasn't been nice this past week, it won't be pleasant next week, and it won't be nice a year from now. Where do people get these ideas? When was SL ever stable? When did it ever not lag? Point out one instance of time between November 5th, 2006, and today where the SL grid for once settled down and didn't have issues. You can't! It's always had issues!
The day I started, SL lagged. And it still does today. It still has horrible and weird issues. A year ago, it was copy bots and failed teleports and grey goo and being stuck in place after a failed teleport and clothes not rendering properly or on the correct mesh. And everyone wailed that oh this horrible horrible grid!
Today, we have issues with missing textures, and crashing in mouselook, and windlight not working properly and the prims drift and inventory isn't loading and griefers are spamming whole sims miles away. And everyone is still wailing oh this horrible horrible grid!
Listen.
We all know how horrible and how bad and how annoying the grid is. Just like we all know how big bad and evil Bush is, and how global warming is going to kill us all and high density cholesterol wraps around your heart.
But for the love of Nunchuck, enjoy your Second Life. Laugh a little. Don't sit like a bump on a prim, go out and enjoy it. Laugh when it crashes! Laugh at the people running around and trying to crash it! For the love of all that's holy, enjoy it because if you can't make SL enjoyable, whether you treat it as a video game or another chance at life, make sure you get out and have fun. If you can't have fun, make it.
But don't miss what you have by bitching about it nonstop.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Into the Eric Sea
It was smooth sailing and pleasant weather, having exited the confluence of the Tethys River. I had landed up in the North Tethys, a river much less rapid and intense. It was a prime opportunity to relax and let the river carry me down, all while the scenery comes into focus.
Repairs still had to be made, while the going was good. And so, I docked at the first pier I found, which was connected to some kind of stadium made of granite and etched stone.
The owner was a purple skinned blue haired human. I wanted to ask her for permission, and inquire about any docking fees, but alas she seemed away from her keyboard, and did not respond. She just stood there, in front of her 'under construction' banner, staring soulless at some point beyond me and along a wall fifty meters away. Which was a good thing, because her velvet blue eyes were just a tad eerie.
It was hard scavenging parts nearby. For one, Ms. Purple had cleared much of the land for her massive club space. The best place for parts is abandoned lots, plots where the owner is eternally AFK and autoreturn is on, so junk collects in it. You'd be surprised how you can strip an engine from a freebie hoverbike and retrofit it to an inverse retrograde quanto-capacitor, sometimes upwards of 60 GF you can pull from those. I was going to have to really stretch on this one.
It took three hours, but I managed to bring the Nunchuck to a state somewhat suitable, as well as any vessel was going to be after the recent triathlon. I shoved off, and continued along the North Tethys, eyeing some of the more unusual builds. Like this one. A gigantic hot tub with a water slide. The hot spring dribbled off into the river, which caused me no fewer headaches, as the rising temperatures did not mix well with the just thawed metal. It was a relief however to finally not shiver during daylight. The spring itself was wonderfully and masterfully down, almost like the architect planned each and every molecule of water to fall precisely where he or she wanted it to. The water slide was disappointingly childish and simple. Both were simple loops, and I apologize but a two loop water slide is just not going to cut it in today's water slide markets.
Cruising farther down, I saw the most intricate, prim heavy, and beautiful builds all in one. Hard to pull off, but this bridge managed it. It was intended to carry rail traffic, for a railroad that never made it off the ground, instead, limited to this 400 yards of track, going nowhere. A majestic arch suspended two hundred feet from the river, and now completely and utterly useless. No one wants a bridge without a rail line.
Not a few feet downriver lay a bridge of a different colour, this particular bridge was a simple log. Someone had knocked down what must have been a gargantuan tree, hollowed it out, and used it for foot traffic. It dwarfed the previous bridge. This tree, when alive, must have been on a scale unimaginable, which of course means that I can imagine how large it must have been. This log bridge could accommodate two eighteen wheelers going in opposite directions with room for a bike path.
And then, there were simpler, smaller, more conservative designs.
Cruising down lazily, it seemed like there was no end to the parade of bridges. This was proven false by a small waterfall. Bored and a tad reckless, I decided it much more prudent to 'hop' the falls. The Nunchuck flew off the edge and belly flopped down. Bolts, pins, and plates popped and flew everywhere, punishing me. Another hour spent patching together the poor Nunchuck.
At this point, the North Tethys river empties into the Eric Sea, an average sea and one of the older bodies of water in SL. At the mouth of this river, stood an old and ancient fort of sorts, topped by a lighthouse so ridiculously over sized as to be worthless. The actual lighthouse portion stood so tall over the water that airplanes would find it more useful than ship traffic. It appeared to be more a monument and testimony, one voice in SL saying "I was here".
The town that settled at the base of this was small, and composed of the usual mix of small shop rentals. What was far more interesting was what lie under the waves, for at this point lay an interesting geological feature, one which piques the interest of those interested in theories of how SL's continents drifted, collided, and mingled. At this point, you can observe a direct mash of three distinctive SL rock layers, between snow, rock, and sand. The delineations are distinct and sharp, indicating that collisions between these three continents into the current one must have occurred fairly recently.
Further along, much farther into the sea itself, isolated far far from the coast and 60 meters under, lay a lone avatar in the icy depths, standing idly. She was bald (or perhaps her hair had not rezzed?), and silent. Repeated greetings and inquiries met only the cold silences of the sea. It was eeiry, and perhaps all a dream. For one stands silly under the ocean, doing nothing but watching the currents flow?
With this, I leave off this second part of the NSS Nunchuck. And perhaps the final part, as well, for not soon after this I hit some banlines, and the Nunchuck, under the repeated beatings and stresses of the long voyage, finally fell to pieces. I couldn't manage the numerous leaks and I ran out of duct tape, and in the Sutherland straits the Nunchuck settled on the muddy bottom, a curiosity to river divers for generations to come.
But for nomads, there is no time for nostalgia and the path calls on.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Comprehension
There is something to be said for saying something, and it is another matter altogether that the audience knows what you are talking about.
For example, I could write volumes and volumes and volumes about the relevance of the Letter Z to the planet Neptune, and you'd read and take it all in, and say "Great.... so what?" I might think it's the most vital subject at the moment, and yet you will brush it aside with the morning dew.
For me, that isn't the most pressing of concerns. Frankly, half of the time I have no idea why I wrote when I wrote it. And I am not covering pressing or relevant topics. If at the end of the day, you take something home from this, then I suppose I am glad. And if you don't, then it's really no harm no foul to both parties.
The problem occurs when we discuss fields that require comprehension. Subjects that perhaps shouldn't be glossed over. Like this paper discussing Quantum Gravity. Go ahead, give it a read. I'll wait.
Back? Wasn't it fascinating? I know the first read through I was a little dazed. Here is the kicker though: This paper got published, it got through a few communities, and people really began adjusting their fields and praised it for its forward thinking. Cool, huh?
There is a slight and small problem. Depending on your point of view, it could actually be more of a big problem. Here is the slight problem: The article is full of shit. The author wrote it on a lark, and flavored it with lots of fancy language and small puns and satires, and he was testing to see whether an article would make it into mainstream if it just sounded good.
Unfortunately, it was the sad sad truth. Really, who didn't see this coming? Don't we all tend to agree with things we like the sound of, or already agree with? The thing is, that you would think that someone somewhere would have examined it, and raised a small objection.
I wonder if I can pull the same thing off. If I wrote utter nonsense (I can hear the snide remarks: "Wait, this isn't supposed to be nonsense??" :) ), would you take me at face value, nod your head, and carry that with you?
I have a feeling it really depends on the method of delivery. Running around screaming the sky is purple is obviously not going to work. No, rather, you have to be subtle, and start with individuals. Then you scatter them, and start with a new group. Over time, your 'idea' becomes commonly accepted fact, with no one questioning it. In fact, it'd spread twice as fast if you stood around in glasses and a white lab coat with a clipboard.
Appeal to authority? Surely, you jest!
For example, I could write volumes and volumes and volumes about the relevance of the Letter Z to the planet Neptune, and you'd read and take it all in, and say "Great.... so what?" I might think it's the most vital subject at the moment, and yet you will brush it aside with the morning dew.
For me, that isn't the most pressing of concerns. Frankly, half of the time I have no idea why I wrote when I wrote it. And I am not covering pressing or relevant topics. If at the end of the day, you take something home from this, then I suppose I am glad. And if you don't, then it's really no harm no foul to both parties.
The problem occurs when we discuss fields that require comprehension. Subjects that perhaps shouldn't be glossed over. Like this paper discussing Quantum Gravity. Go ahead, give it a read. I'll wait.
Back? Wasn't it fascinating? I know the first read through I was a little dazed. Here is the kicker though: This paper got published, it got through a few communities, and people really began adjusting their fields and praised it for its forward thinking. Cool, huh?
There is a slight and small problem. Depending on your point of view, it could actually be more of a big problem. Here is the slight problem: The article is full of shit. The author wrote it on a lark, and flavored it with lots of fancy language and small puns and satires, and he was testing to see whether an article would make it into mainstream if it just sounded good.
Unfortunately, it was the sad sad truth. Really, who didn't see this coming? Don't we all tend to agree with things we like the sound of, or already agree with? The thing is, that you would think that someone somewhere would have examined it, and raised a small objection.
I wonder if I can pull the same thing off. If I wrote utter nonsense (I can hear the snide remarks: "Wait, this isn't supposed to be nonsense??" :) ), would you take me at face value, nod your head, and carry that with you?
I have a feeling it really depends on the method of delivery. Running around screaming the sky is purple is obviously not going to work. No, rather, you have to be subtle, and start with individuals. Then you scatter them, and start with a new group. Over time, your 'idea' becomes commonly accepted fact, with no one questioning it. In fact, it'd spread twice as fast if you stood around in glasses and a white lab coat with a clipboard.
Appeal to authority? Surely, you jest!
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