Ari The Piano Player Part 2

By Deaflegacy

A year ago, Ari (arisia.vita) started playing piano on Second Life.  He is still very much performing.  On the average, Ari plays piano twice a day.  

When he  was asked what his best experience would be when playing piano, he said, "To have a stranger wander over and say they like my music." Ari always think it is remarkable to have a new listener friend him.  He consider himself to be lucky to have so many friends.

 

Surprisingly, Ari does not know how to play the piano in real life. But he would certainly like to know how.  His most favorite composer would be Beethoven, but he counts others as favorites. "I don't need them as I play to bring joy to others." said Ari when he was asked why he wouldn't accept tips.

When asked what his inspiration would be when it comes to playing piano, Ari said, "The words of the great pianist Van Cliburn: "Love music more than anything in the world. Feel that it is part of your life, and without it your life is incomplete. Want to play for people, because if you are a performer you are performing for all people, all over the world; not just musicians, but for everyone."

"My inspiration comes from my friends and audience." said Ari. He is honored to be an inspiration. Besides his piano playing, another hobby of his might be considered helping out others and offering advice. For which piano piece Ari would recommend that his audience listen to while he's not on Second Life, he suggested that they hear the one that they most want to hear. When people in his audience asked for a valuable piece of advice, Ari told them to listen to their conscience.

Ari's favorite color varies with his mood.  Like color, Ari's favorite piano piece varies with his mood. One other interesting thing about Ari, this being International Space Week, one of the first sims Ari visited was the International Spaceflight Museum. Ari still visits it regularly.

Deaflegacy

Interview With Jadyn Firehawk of "Pixel to Pixel"

By Deaflegacy

Jadyn Firehawk discovered Second Life in 2009. She found it because she had a Flickr site for her real-life photography.  Noticing quite a few groups there that had names with Second Life in the name, it made her curious. Jadyn googled about Second Life, and that's how she found it.

Jadyn created an account, and at that time there were "community gateways" for entering Second Life from the main website. She saw Virtual Ability as one of the gateways. At the time, she had been very active in a bipolar disorder support group chatroom online. It interested her that there was a disabilities support group on Second Life.  She Joined the Virtual Ability group, and began exploring Second Life from there.

Jadyn has bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  She has chosen to be open with people about that as a part of her personal activism for mental illness, hoping that it will help it become less stigmatized by society. When asked about some of her accomplishments in Second Life, Jadyn spoke of her background. Jadyn is a former university professor, but had to go on disability due to the bipolar disorder and PTSD beginning in 2001.  It improved a little in 2005 and she was able to go back to work part time.  When Jadyn came into Second Life in 2009, she was still working part time.

 Jadyn had a friend from the bipolar disorder chatroom, who decided to try out Second Life, too. He was young, in his early 20s.  He was in school and on disability, and had very low income as a result.  Her friend didn't have a single dime to spare to spend in Second Life and Jadyn understood exactly what that was like from her own experience having been on disability, so she gave him some Lindens every week so he could have a bit of fun. She enjoyed helping him and it gave Jadyn the idea of starting something up in Second Life where others could maybe do it too.  That's when Jadyn created the Pixel To Pixel Foundation and it's been going in Second Life ever since. 

The P2P Foundation receives donations from very kind and generous people throughout Second Life.  Then it turns around and distributes weekly stipends to people who are on disability so that they can do such things like rent a home, buy some clothes or furniture, upload textures, or get some building supplies.

The P2P Foundation has just celebrated its 7th Year Anniversary in the Summer of 2016. Jadyn said, "The P2P Foundation's Director avatar account, named Pixel Falconer, has a rez date of June 29, 2009. That's what we consider to be the founding date. That avatar is the one that receives the donations, holds the funds, and disburses the stipends."

The P2P Foundation currently supports 22 people who are on disability with weekly stipends of L$500, so the total amount that it fundraises and disburses is L$11,000 a week. "It's a challenge for a small organization to keep up that kind of fundraising!" said Jadyn. "We'd like to help a lot more people, so we're always looking for new donors. There are over 20 people currently on the waiting list."

In order to sign up for P2P Foundation, there are two things - recipients must be "on" disability, and not just "have" a disability and they must be willing to provide a copy a document showing that is the case. "With health-privacy information protected, of course," she added, "This is so that they have been pre-screened already by an agency for having medical proof of disability." said Jadyn.  She went on to explain that some donors express concern about possible abuses of our system.

Jadyn added that although she had to disability-retire from her career in 2010, she has been able to make an income in Second Life from teaching tips at Builders Brewery and from her shop, Maganda Arts, and draws no funds from the foundation. The Building Tricks series that she teaches at Builders Brewery now includes 15 different classes. At Maganda Arts, she sells a wide range of things including historical homes, furniture, kinetic sculpture, and real-life photography.

When asked about other accomplishments besides the P2P Foundation, Jadyn spoke about the Yosemite sim. She explained that the other reason she wanted to tell me about her former career as a university professor is, when she became disabled in 2001, she had been working on a book about Yosemite National Park.  Jadyn's research specialty was national parks and protected areas. When she was unable to work, in a sense, she also "lost Yosemite". "And it was a great loss to me. Yosemite is my favorite place in the whole wide world. I've been there so many times, I've lost count."

She has just recently created a virtual Yosemite National Park in Second Life, and it opened in July 2016.  According to Jadyn, its peak visitation so far, according to Linden Lab's traffic measurements, has been 8434. ("Traffic" is defined by LL as "the cumulative minutes spent on the parcel by all visitors to the parcel within the previous day") For a few weeks, the main park, Yosemite Valley (Forever Wild) was in the Editor's Picks in the Second Life website's Destination Guide. It is now in the Nature & Parks section, along with her Shinzen Japanese Garden, also located at the Yosemite sim.

"I see it as, I lost Yosemite in 2001 when when I became disabled.  But now, 15 years later, I have it back again!" said Jadyn.

Jadyn also mentioned the Ethnographia Project, which expresses her story of experience with disability and Second Life. "It's not quite complete yet though, a work in progress," said Jadyn.  She added that it is open to the public. However, to the writing part, Jadyn is still working on it. 

Jadyn went on to describe Yosemite Valley (Forever Wild). "Yosemite Valley (Forever Wild) is one full sim in size and there's horseback riding available here for free." said Jadyn.  "And it's a nice place to relax and enjoy the scenery, and meditate or visit with friend."

The landmarks are:

For the Ethnographia Project: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ethnographia/175/78/32

For the P2P Foundation Office: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Clairehaven/130/136/24

For the Yosemite Valley (Forever Wild) : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yosemite/192/64/2652

For Maganda Arts: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yosemite/148/196/1253

For Shinzen Japanese Garden: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yosemite/77/215/21

Jadyn also mentioned the Building Tricks class series at Builders Brewery.  I have been to some of these classes and they were fantastic.

The class tutorials landmark is: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Yosemite/168/220/1261

The Builders Brewery is: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Builders%20Brewery/128/193/23

Deaflegacy 

Gemma Cleansalte wrote on Virtual Yosemite in July 2016.

"Conflict Resolution"

"Wherever You Go, There You Are"

By MajikVixen

Why did my friend suddenly unfriend me?  Why does my neighbor continue to bait the lag monster, when I already asked them politely to limit their script usage?  Why are there so many griefers in the summer?  Why am I being betrayed, what did I do to deserve this?  What in heaven's name is going on in the Second Life universe?!  ...These might be some of the questions I'm sure we have all posed to ourselves at one point or another, in our journeys through the virtual realm of SL.  In the place where one can be anything and do anything they want, what is with all this star-crossed perfection?  People are brilliantly fascinating, and sometimes vicious creatures.  Ego, cliques, greed, drama, investments at stake...  How does one maintain their cool in their escape from real life, when their sanctuary suddenly turns on them?

Conflict, although not the most pleasing thing, is natural and normal.  It is the essence of progression and the strive for success in sentient beings.  Although one thing that relates us to the animals in this aspect, is our flight or fight response (the instinctive physiological response to a threatening situation, which readies one to either resist forcibly, or to run away).  In SL, it's easy to make emotional attachments to our freedoms because they define who we become here.  However, the danger of a group of people having near unlimited freedom, is that one person's freedom will invariably clash with another's.  Thus a conflict is born, and we either lash back out at the person, or we fall back, and the conflict can snowball from there.  So how does one resolve this issue?  Luckily there are a few tools! 

Take some time to evaluate the situation, your first response is almost always emotional, so take a break and come back to it later.  Try to look at the conflict with a third person perspective, separate yourself from your emotions when you feel you are vehemently right.  Make sure you get all the information, sometimes there are language barriers to begin with (use a translator if necessary), and there are also emotional barriers in written text (facial expressions and voice tone don't always come through).  Never lose self control, you can disagree, but do that in a polite and respectful manner.  Treat everyone with respect and remain polite and civil, this way you will not add fuel to the fire.  It is not failing, but rather smart, to take some time to meditate or ask for help, and to not be so quick become a part of the problem.  You can also use active listening skills (communication is not just speaking, it's speaking AND listening).  Active listening also includes mirroring people with phrases like, "If I understand you correctly..." "Am I right in saying..." etc.  Also avoid negative statements, present ideas in a positive, affirmative manner.  In heated situations, separating a person into an instant message to explain their problem, will have them focus on a resolution with you, instead of getting inflamed by other's responses.  If all else fails, let them have the last word and feel good about themselves, do NOT get suckered into debates.  The most important thing one can remember is that everyone always has a very good reason and explanation for what they do, and the actions they take.

These might be hard to put into practice at first, but you need to be patient with yourself.  About the hardest thing for me to accept is that no matter how I try to prevent it, conflict is always inevitable.  It is just the nature of humanity (no matter how much I proclaim myself an Unseelie Succubus Fae.  But now that I have some tools for dealing with it, it's not so bad, and I am glad I can share them with you.  I do find distractions to be very helpful in the matters of separating myself from intense situations, my mind seems to contemplate easier on resolutions while multitasking by a playing a game in SL, building, or writing.  One thing I may have a problem with is trying not to lose my self control.  I find it very hard not to be heard, sometimes the emotions can become very overwhelming for me and they just need to jump right out from inside of me and be acknowledged.  However, because I realize this flaw in myself, I can always take time to ask for guidance from a few trusted friends.  I've also always been a fan of using Dr. Phil's "I" language when explaining my side of things, that seems to help people understand that I own up to my feelings and self growth. 

I wish you peace in your endeavors, even if it is just self actualization with this whole concept - Let there be peace on Earth, and if that is not possible, at least let there be peace within yourself.

Additional Information:
I would like to thank Bugs Larnia who teaches a Merry Meeter class at Faerie Crossing called "Conflict Resolution" which is open to the public and worth going to ...maybe even a few times!  A lot of this article was based on that wonderful class, and was too awesome to try and cram all into this piece.

MajikVixen

What Second Life Means From A Disabled Person's Point of View

By DeafLegacy

I remember the first time I've heard about Second Life. Someone was talking about it and I asked him what it was. He told me that it was a virtual world. I said that I'd like to give that a try.

That was about a year ago. I have not had a regret when it comes to signing up for Second Life.

My name is DeafLegacy and I am deaf in real life. In a way, Second Life is a blessing because on it, I do not have to worry about talking. I have a speech disorder in association with my deafness. On Second Life, I am able to join some groups like Virtual Ability. I even signed up to write for the SL Newser. I'm not just a reporter. I'm a photographer as well.

To summarize it up, I'm a writer no longer trapped in her own world. Second Life had provided me with many different worlds where my deafness is not as important as it is in real life. Why did I say that?

Well, in real life, if I want to have a conversation with a hearing person, I'd need to be really good at reading lips as well as having some paper and pen. There's interpreters as well for medical appointments. It's not as easy as one might put it.

But on Second Life, I can have a conversation with anyone via the text mode without worrying about any misunderstanding that would rise from real-life conversation.

At least, whenever I go on Second Life, I almost always go to my apartment on Cape Heron. It's a beautiful apartment. In real life, I don't have an apartment. I live in a house with five other people. To put it this way, I'm the only deaf person in the house. Being deaf does not make it any easy. It tends to make it complicated. But on Second Life, I don't have to worry about that. The only thing I have to do is just be myself. Second Life had given me that chance and for that, I'm very happy.

I hope to continue using Second Life, even if it grows into something else. They are talking about it. I look forward to the day that happens. Until then, I'll keep on using Second Life. I can't say the same about the other people with disabilities, but Second Life is the best thing that happened to me.

Why? It's simple. Writing was my lifetime goal. Second Life just happened to make it come true. Now, I'm a writer both on Second Life and in real life. I'd say that's a chance I have to take and I did take it.

That's the best thing I ever did in my life. 

Deaflegacy

Fundraiser For Frank

By Deaflegacy

On Monday night on August 29, the Furry Fashion Lounge held a fundraiser for one of it's staff, Frank (F2004w Resident).

This Fundraiser caught my attention. It was a fundraiser for Frank to get his hearing aids. It is very important for him because he is deaf and needs hearing aids. His insurance company denied him that because they felt that hearing aids are just cosmetic things.

Frank's friends at Furry Fashion got together and started a fundraiser for Frank (f2004w). According to Moffett (moffettmephit), the DJ of the event, and Amethysia (amethyst.crystal), the owner of Furry Fashion, the fundraiser was a huge success. Everyone had a great turnout and had a wonderful time.

"We made around 200 USD by the end of the night which adds to the money on the gofundme," said Amethysia.  She did say that it leaves Frank about 1000 USD to find himself if no one else donates. But that's still a lot better than the original amount."

Amethysia found out that Frank was planning to sell his motorbike to help pay for the hearing aids. That's when the fundraiser came in. Frank was surprised by the event. He was also surprised at how many people came to the fundraiser. Frank's friends came and danced the night away. Lindens were pouring away into the donation board. The donation board's goal was approximately 50,000. According to Moffett, it went over that goal.

  Frank has an appointment Wednesday about the hearing aids, but it is not for not sure if he's getting them or if it's more testing to determine what type he needs While Moffett was not sure on when Frank will get his new hearing aids, he said that as far as the 'donation speed' goes, he can guarantee that Frank will get them as soon as he can.

As Moffett would have put it, they have gone a long way toward supporting their good friend in getting his new hearing aids. What Furry Fashion did for Frank, that is a true friendship.

Deaflegacy

The Philosophy Class: Looking for Spinoza

By Gemma Cleanslate

I went over to Wainscot to register for the new year of classes at Professor Bergson’s lecture hall. I have been attending classes here for nine years. Sigh. I just can’t seem to graduate. There have been 614 lectures since the institution of the classes each year in Second Life and there have been 14 projects since the class began in 2009, September. The past lectures can all be found on line if you would like to see all the themes we have completed and talked about. http://thephilosophyclass.blogspot.com/

 I have not attended all the classes but they are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays like clockwork, with the exception of holidays . All are invited to check out the classes and join in on the lectures. Professor presents and then we discuss, sometimes vigorously and sometimes wandering off the subject but are quickly drawn back.

This year the professor, as usual, has a new and intriguing theme for us to delve into.

“In 2003 the famous neuroscientist Antonio Damasio published a book with the title: 'Looking for Spinoza - Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain' The Dutch translation of the book got a rather more ambitious title:

"'Het Gelijk van Spinoza - Vreugde, Verdriet en het voelend brein' which could be translated as 'Spinoza was right - Joy, Sorrow and the Feeling Brain.'

"In this project we'll investigate what Damasio meant and how a philosopher, born in 1632, can contribute to our modern neuroscientific insights.

"But first we'll learn how the philosophical ideas of someone who lived more than 380 years ago are still controversial and closely related to our present situation. “

We will hope to see you in the lecture hall on the opening day, the first of September, Thursday at 1:00 http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Wainscot/204/195/38

Gemma Cleanslate

Gofundme Page For Frank

By Deaflegacy,

"I'm born hard of hearing with moderate to severe hearing loss. I'm the first one in a hearing family from the last three known generation," said Frank.

Frank (resident name f2004w) explained that according to his insurance company, it is considered cosmetic, even his parents had to pay the full price on his last one over ten years ago, even though he was insured under their family plan. They would cover it if only he took the procedure of getting a cochlear implant. But he finds no need for surgery because he can function fine with just hearing aids.

When Frank was asked if he was surprised that his boss is throwing a fundraiser, Frank said, "Yes! I was really surprised about that, I was thought nothing of it because it was more of my personal life problem than a work problem, he really went out of his way for setting this up."

Frank works at a car dealership that covers Audi, Subaru, Range Rover, Jaguar, and Volvo in one big building as a head porter, managing 15-plus porters. One of his bosses is Terry McQuaid, manager of Subaru,  the person who sets up the gofundme fundraiser (https://www.gofundme.com/2hcvpy33).

It is only currently only linked toward to GoFundMe, Frank is considering creating a certain mesh to help the fundraiser specifically for Second Life. Right now you can only find in Furry Fashion where you can click the board by the sandbox that gives you a direct link to GoFundMe fundraiser site.

When asked about the fundraisers, Frank said, "I didn't thought about it, I don't know any fundraising methods. So I mentioned it to the owner of Furry Fashion and within a few hours later I just been informed that there will be a fundraiser event Monday 29th of August for me.

Furry Fashion and a store named Treasured and Bully will be taking part for this fundraising event, "I will be also making a limited edition benches for fundraising as well."

The landmark is http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Furry/32/52/31

A typical pair for a person with moderate to severe hearing loss hearing aid cost from $3,700 to $6,000 a pair. That is not including the cost of ear mold and hearing tests. The amount of the fundraiser at the moment is $2,865.

At this moment, I wish Frank all the luck in the world.  It's a shame that his insurance company thought the hearing aids are some kind of cosmetic thing but knowing my experiences with hearing aids, it is anything but cosmetic.

 

Deaflegacy

And the Award Goes to ...

By Gemma Cleanslate

Sunday I attended the Relay for Life WrapUp. I made sure to get there for the pre-party to be in the sim since it fills up.There were three backup areas to attend. The final speeches were laudatory to all who had participated and I know you will get to see the video or read the transcript that was done so quickly by Miss Cuddly Waffle. 

It was a great pleasure to hear Random Darrow, the chair of the 2016 relay announce that special recognition went to Bixyl Shuftan for his years of support in blogging the Relay and all its events in the SL Newser. What a thrill to hear that and he was really surprised at the unexpected announcement. Wonderful! 

Random‘s words, “Community Champion Award: A Community Champion describes a person who goes out of their way to do good things for his or her community.  A person who dedicates a large portion of their time serving others, selflessly and generously.   This is our opportunity to honor and acknowledge the contributions made to RFL of SL by those who aren’t necessarily even on a team or committee or even in the Volunteer group. It is our opportunity to let them know that their service to Relay has made an impact and is so very much appreciated.

"Our second award goes to BIXYL SHUFTAN and the SL Newser.  Bixyl is a member of the Sunbeamers team, but outside of the team Bixyl has been blogging since 2010 about RFL of SL throughout the years with his SL Newser. Bixyl we appreciate all the time you devote to highlight RFL of SL in your Newser.”

Go Bixyl!!!

Gemma Cleanslate

Biller Longfall and the Jericho Hill Racing Association

By Bixyl Shuftan

In early June, racing in Second Life made the headlines when the Buddy Forsythe 100 took place, which was won by Biller Longfall. Auto racing in Second Life is nothing new, having gone on for years. Not long ago, Biller asked to talk to me about what goes on with racing in Second Life.

When we first talked, Biller stated he ran a racing group in Second Life. They were the Jericho Hill Racing Association, or JHRA, "We have races every Tuesday at 7 for Factory Stock, Wednesday at 3 for Super Cup, and Sunday at 6 for Gen 6 cars. Factory Stocks and Super Cups are the easiest, while you do more in Gen 6 cars, like pit stops and such." Their championship week was June 26-July 2.

Biller too me to a track at the Jerico Hill sim, which was over 2500 feet off the ground, "This is Flemington Speedway, based off (the) Flemington Speedway in New Jersey in real life. It handles a lot like Indianapolis, very fast and narrow in the corners. (It's) nearly, if not all the way, flat out." There were other tracks on the sim at different heights. He took me to another, the Irwindale Speedway, "based off the real thing, Which is located in Irwindale, California. This is actually the same track the Relay race was on." Jerico Hill currently has "over twelve unique different tracks. JHRA features a variety of oval tracks and a few road courses from builders all over SL, unlike any other racing league out there."

"Anthony Stuart from SLARCA, Kandy Tomorrow from KC, Willis Bailey from WB, a few JHRA originals, and potentially ones from Dowcha Foxdale and Sliver Motorsports in the near future. None of those guys are still around, but I thought a lot of their stuff needed to continue because otherwise, it's wasted siting in inventory. We race cars from R.I.R Racing and currently have partnership with them and the SRL Racing League."

Biller stated Jerrico Hill got it's start, "Back sometime in 2015, I was talking to one of my friends, Anthony Stuart. We were discussing what we thought was missing from SL racing, like realism, while at the same time, more calmer atmosphere. Then we brought Mango Darwinian on board. After many months of up and down, we finally got this thing kicked off and it's been steadily growing with interest ever since. Originally, we were going to do mini scale. But found it to be too problematic, so instead (we) formed partnerships."

"When racing events go on, it's so exciting. I love seeing races on this track."The number of racers per event can vary, As to how close races can be: very, "We've already had finishes of 0.205, 0.156, 0.052, and 0.130 seconds in the last four of five races so far.Side by side, it's very competitive. Good chunk of the field that is competitive to win any week. And what the funny part is, three of those came on Jericho Hill, which is a wide fast track. The fourth came at Flemington, which is a narrow fast track."

Of the cars used for the races, Biller stated, "Currently we use cars provided by our good friends at RIR. They are based off Stock Cars, like NASCAR. He showed me three, his cars having the number "4" and painted orange and black, "The first car is the Factory Stock car... they have steering and downforce options, it is by far the easiest car. But also very competitive. The Super Cup has Steering, Wedge, and Downforce. Hopefully soon, we can make it one setup, so anybody can jump in and go race."

Pointing out the third, "And then the Gen 6 car is my personal favorite. It's fast. It has Steering, Wedge, and Downforce settings... as well as damage. So if your car hits the wall, it will lower your wedge, which will make the car a lot harder to handle. It's also a car you pit in. No speed limit pit stops are fun to watch and to do."

He pointed out a feature that added realism to Second Life racing: draft, or a car having less wind resistance when just behind another car, "All three have draft, so you can ride behind another car and pick up some draft. You can bump draft even on certain tracks."

Biller took the Gen 6 car out out on the track for a few demonstration runs, the timer at the finish line giving his time and speed. His best was 15.446 seconds at 151 kilometers an hour, or 93 miles an hour. Four of his five laps differed by less than 10 kph, "It's really nice during races; it's really close."

Of the requirements needed to race, "Anybody is allowed to come race, just have to remove all scripts. I have no scripts on and I don't look so bad, right?" he chuckled. "We allow free demos in competition. No limit on that, just rez whatever car is scheduled for that race and just have fun."

I asked Biller with the Buddy Forsythe 100 over, what big racing events lay ahead. He answered, "Besides the championship races, beginning next season, we'll be doing a cool All-Star race at a new track, Charlotte Motor Speedway." Of the champtionship races, "We have four championships. Three of those are season based, and one is yearly. It's probably going to be intense. Beginning next season, we will expand the schedule to 12 weeks."

"We are always looking for partnership and I would love to branch off to other forms of racing, like open wheel, dirt, rally, or moto stuff... any progress or news would be announced on the JHRA website."

Their current normal schedule is Tuesday at 6:30 PM SL time, Wednesday at 3PM, and Sunday at 6PM. The week of August 21-27 has only one day of racing: the "All Star Week" on Aug. 23, with events at 4:30 and 6:30 PM SL time.

I would later see one of their racing events, with four other races besides Biller, including one woman: Becky Alder. In the first race, which consisted of 65 laps, Becky won by just 1.071 seconds. The champion of the Buddy Forsythe 100 didn't do so well, coming in a lap behind. Becky commented she didn't always do so well, "I go from the worst possible way to race last night to a win."

So if you feel like burning rubber, there's a number of places you can race around. And Biller and his friends will be happy to make a place for you.

The JHRA lobby is located at Jericho Hill (103/162/2569). Their website, once again, is at: https://jhraracing.wordpress.com/ .

*Addition* Biller would later say the schedule had changed somewhat, " Our new times are Tuesday at 6:30PM with Factory Stocks, Wednesday at 5:30PM with Super Cups, and Sunday at 6:30PM with new Xfinity cars."

Bixyl Shuftan

"What's In A Name?”

By MajikVixen

Your name says who you are, and helps you aspire to who you want to be. 

Prior to 2010, a Second Life person could create their first name, and pick from a list of available last names.  The choice of last names changed regularly.  Before 2006, a last name would be retired after 150 residents selected it.  Then in 2006, when the popularity of Second Life boomed, the names would retire after 1,000 residents chose it.  These are called Heritage names.  In 2010, Linden Labs changed their unique Heritage name option.  Now, everyone who signs up, automatically gets the last name of "Resident."

One cannot snipe old account names, Linden Labs says they do not purge them.  I remember playing Neopets, and the grandfathered pets, as well as the pet names with the least amount of letters are very coveted.  In fact, there's a whole website dedicated to the name purge and the ability to adopt all pets that haven't seen their owner in ages.  Alternatively, however, one can purchase an old Second Life account name, there are a few websites for that, they usually go for about $40 USD.  Although, whether LL actually condones this or not, and whether or not it's worth trusting what you're buying, is rather a good question to pose to oneself before taking any action.

With all the new registrations to Second Life, the automatic last name of "Resident," limits what first names are actually available.  For example, one might need to add numbers to their original idea for a name.  This does call for some creativity.  I personally like opting for a two word conjunction of something nobody else is likely to think of. 

Once that's settled, one also can add symbols to their display name.  This is another name you can have, in addition to your account name.  It's important to note that a display name will not affect one's original account name.  For instance, if someone looks you up, they will find you by your original account name, not your display name.  So do put some thought into it when first signing up with an account.  However, do not fear, as you can only use letters and numbers to sign up with, you can change your display name into a veritable cornucopia of unicode (a string of characters up to 31 characters long).

Unicode is not to be confused with alt characters one can use to make gestures.  Alt characters are made by typing the ALT key and using the number pad to create symbols like this:

You cannot use alt characters in your display name.  Second Life display names only take unicode.  In the Additional Information I have listed at the end of this article, at the first website, you will find a fascinatingly endless bunch of characters you can copy and paste from.  You are sure to find the specific characters that suit you just fine.

Now, I did want to touch a bit on being too fancy.  You want to make your display name readable.  Have mercy on those poor host's souls when you walk into a venue... otherwise you will be greeted by the name you signed up with, if your display name is illegible!  The good news is that you can change it again every 7 days, or you can reset it at any time (which will make it appear as your original account name).  If you make your display name just a fancy version of your original account name, you don't have too much to worry about.  But if you change it completely, the more readable it is, the better. 

For example, this is how my husband, Jon, changed his name:  Not that much different than his original account name, just a bit fancy.  He says he's not too happy with the "s" at the end, he was picturing a fancy lightning bolt, but it came out looking like a "h."  He's also not too happy with the "J" at the beginning, as I see on the Nearby Avatars window, all the letters in his display name become bold but that one.  He'll probably be fiddling with it in the next couple weeks or so, so it does take some practice and patience.

One of my merchant friends, (lossip.delicioso), had this to say about her lovely unicode name, "To be honest I saw other people with a cool name and was like wow!  I want that!  But when I was looking at their names I didn't like different letters.  So I just went down my 900 friends and picked each letter one at a time until I found the unicode that was 'me.'  I've brought friends from other games to SL and they saw the hearts in my name and stole them for other games we play!  I was really upset!  I was like... NOOOOO you can't just thief my Lolly heart.  That's MY heart.  I rarely saw it when I first re-did my name.  So I thieved... and then my friends thieved me....LOL.  I changed my last name because of my husband on SL Vice Fortune.  When we first started about 8 or 9 years ago you had a choice of different last names.  Then they changed it to Resident for all the new people.  I heard it was because different last names like Blackheart were on a server that was overwhelmed.  Where last names that were not as popular like Delicioso were underwhelmed.  So to be able to shuffle people around."

Another one of my long time friends and past manager, (mahtala), had this to say about her name, "I picked out my display name, Gothikrose, when I was 16 years old.  At the time, I was really into Gothic music and the internet was just coming into popularity.  There were a lot of interesting names but I felt like mine represented my personality the most because a rose can be elegant and beautiful, yet hard to hold.  Which is exactly how I still feel.  I've kept my name since like 1996.  For the Unicode, I wanted to do something more with the K in my name, like trying to get it to look like a gothic cross.  But it doesn't display well.  I used a stylish text generator on the web, because the K just looked so strange in gothic letter form.  And I wanted the scale to look a bit smaller and uniform.  But the R looks much more interesting to me, flipped.  I actually like how the text looks for witchhouse music, lots of symbolism but because of font issues I just picked something that was readable.  [It took] Many tries!  Especially since I'm a graphic designer who has taken typography classes, it was a lot of messing with the kerning and structure.  But the generator got it the best."

Conversely, this does give one a chance to express themselves more artistically.  For example, if you're a child avatar, a few scribbling looking unicode characters would be exemplary in a display name.  ...Dragon?  How about a few puffs of cloud looking unicode characters?  The possibilities are virtually endless!  It is YOUR Second Life, embrace it and cultivate it with YOUR proper identity!

MajikVixen

Additional Information:
URL: http://unicode-table.com/en/
ADDITIONAL URL: http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Avatar_Last_Names
ADDITIONAL URL: http://slnamewatch.com

Interview with Mikati Slade

By Bixyl Shuftan

For those going to the Second Life Birthday, one build dominates the grounds of the mega-event, the "Cake Stage" which is so big, it takes four sims to hold it. For three of the past five years, the "Baker" of the stage has been builder and artist Mikiati Slade. Recently, the Newser met up with Mikati, and we sat down for an interview.

"For those newcomers who know you just by this year's Cake," I asked her, "how did you find out about Second Life?"

"I am from Japan," Mikati answered, "and I came to Second Life in 2007. SL was hyped even in Japan at that period. Second Life is everything dynamic and on-time for creating, so I thought I can show people (around the) world my creativity."

"How did your first days here go?" I asked.

"In real life, I learned classical sculpture and then worked for commercial graphics," she explained, "So, the first day of Second Life, I searched art galleries in SL and visited. I enjoyed a lot of artworks. Then I (was) amazed with avatar shape edit and I (was) excited that I can use my sculpture skill for avatar designing. That's my first day of SL." "Sounds like from the beginning, you were doing much building and creating." "Yes. I (was) amazed. Second Life is very wonderful world for creators, more serious than what I was guessing before. So I had ideas to create things."

I then brought up, "What were some of the things you built early on?" Mikati thought for a moment, "Can I rez some things what i built on that period? It's chair and shoes." I told her okay, and after some moments, she made appear some items, "These are first buildings of me, chair and sandals. The chair is something like modern Eames chair." Taking a closer look at the footwear, I commented, "The shoes look a bit detailed for a beginner's work." Mikati told me, "Yes, I worked for commercial graphics with 3D an 2D things. So, I already had some skills about it. And SL is very flexible to making shape from regular prims. So, I really enjoyed to create things, like (a) puzzle."

I then asked her, "What were some of the easiest things to learn, and some of the most difficult?" She answered, "On building in SL, most easy thing is making 'big shape' and 'sketch' in world directly and fast, this is very big advantage. And most difficult thing is, more technical thing specific in SL prim building. It is,  alignment of the parts. It need to use numbers and calculations. This is very important to keep the quality."

My next question was, "About what time was your work starting to get noticed by others?" Mikati told me, "I exhibited first time was, 2008 Burning-Life in SL. I created some pop display together my friend, and Molly Linden gave us a trophy. This was the first time of exhibiting." "I'll bet that got you some attention." "Yes, I thought so, and excited that people saw my works. And that's one of big excitement of SL I realized also showing people around the world in real-time, 3D world."

I brought up, "I recall in 2011, you had an exhibit at the Second Life Birthday that year." She smiled, "Yes exactly! I exhibited at SL8B, 2011, first time as a regular exhibitor. And SL Newser came to interview with me. This was my first time of having connection with SL media. I still remember it was so cool experience." "Oh yes, Grey Lupindo found you and interviewed you." "Yes!"

"And the next year, you ended up being the designer of the cake stage." I asked, "How did that come about?" Mikati answered, "Yes, I got opportunity to build the cake stage of SL9B. A staff, KT Shakumi, IMed me and she told me. She told me that she already visited my another exhibitions, like 'Kuru Kuru World' at MiC: Museums of Rome Capital, and 'PICO PICO LIFE' at LEA: Linden Endowment for the Arts. They liked my work, I guess."

"What was the inspiration for the cake's design?" I asked. Mikati responded, "About the 9B cake, this year one?" "Well, all of them." "Okay, can I tell you about it one by one?" "All right." "I built SLB Cake Stage three times. And each have different inspirations and concepts. About 9B, it was the first time, and I just tried to make it to express celebration mood using my style. " "How would you describe this style?" "My style is using a lot of retro-console game style pixel icons in 3D. I designed the style because such pixel things can be one of primitive symbols of current digital age. And the 'cubic' shape can be done with perfect shape, even in regular SL prim period. Also, it reflects Japan pop-culture, like Nintendo games. So I thought this is rational style for me."

My next question was, "What were some of the reactions to the first cake stage?" She answered, "About the 9B Cake, people had interest about such pixel 3D things in the huge size. And also the mood was very optimistic and pop, which was not so usual in SL before. So, I think people enjoyed it. ... SL12B Cake Stage, I created a lot of icons for this time and tried to create mood of dreamy. SL13B Cake Stage, the SL13B official theme is 'Shared Adventure.'  For the cake, I defined the Cake Stage is the treasure of the birthday party and 'goal of the adventure.' So I combined a lot of coins, treasure boxes, and jewels with the Cake."

I then brought her attention to the badge she was wearing, "I see that your SLB card says 'Baker.' I take it that's one of a kind?" Mikati told me, "Yes, the badge I wear is an official thing of SLB, and it says 'Baker,' SLB Cake Stage builder called like this. One optional thing I can tell, the role name 'Baker' is not just a 'cool name.' On birthday party, person who make the birthday cake have not to open the 'oven' until done to bake, even if people complain to open it!" "So people were asking you where it was when other builds were going up?" I asked. "Sorry my English," Mikati answered, "You mean, if people wonderd when I finish the cake?" "Yes." "Okay, yes, the SLB cake is the biggest opportunity for Second Life builders, I am thinking. And every time I did all of my best to make good thing seriously. So I spent all of time until the final deadline. And I think many people were getting tired to wait for it, heehee. Some people actually asked me about it. ... I also understand their feelings. So I told the people, 'I am sorry.' But I did not open the oven, heehee."

I chuckled a little at the giggles, then brought up, "And after a couple years, you were asked to do the cake again, and then the year after that." "Yes," she answered, "I think this is pretty rare thing of SLB. Because I heard that every year different builders build it. I think cake builder who built three times, I am the first."

Changing the subject slightly, I asked, "Besides the cake stage, what else have you been working on recently?" Mikati responded, "Recently, I joined an art project of a university teacher from Germany, It is purposed to archiving SL artists works for the future. Virtual world is still early period, I think, And in the future, the Second Life culture would be a great material for researching how virtual world started. So I was interested in it and joined."  "That is interesting. How has this art project gone so far?" "It is managed by a person, Art Blue, in SL. The project already exhibited at LEA semi-official SIM, and in near future, the buildings will go to OpenSIM and bring to real life art biennare."

My next question was, "Of the SL13B, what were some of your favorites among the other builds?" She answered, "All of the buildings at SL13B is a part of the celebration, so I love all of the builds! And this time, I love all the performance stages especially. All the stages did really great job!"

I then asked her about her appearance, "I notice you have a few items on you right now, those gloves, the cake hat, the heart-shaped glasses, and the flower." She smiled, "Oh yes, heehee! The heart sunglasses is what I wear since 2011 or more earlier, my trademark I am thinking. It inspired from a move Lolita by Cublic. The hat is gift of the SL13B cake stage. I made this and I think already 2000 - 3000 people got it."

Another question was about her native language being Japanese, "Earlier you brought up language. You don't seem to be having much trouble with English. Has it been a difficult language for you to learn?" Mikati agreed, "English is my big trouble point, yes. Usually, most Japanese people are not good at English, and me also almost zero skill about English when I came to Second Life. But SL gave me amazing big opportunity to learn English while having communication with western people, and my English skill improved very much. Learning language is very big advantage of SL also I think."

"About how many other Second Life users are Japanese?" I asked. She thought for a moment, "I am not sure the exactly numbers of population about it, but I think Japanese Second Life users are many, like, European countries. Japanese SL users are usually enjoy together, but having communication with Western SL users is not so often." "So interactions between most Japanese and most US and European users are uncommon?" I asked. "Yes, I think so," Mikati answered, "This because wall of language." I then questioned, "In what interactions there are, have there been many misconceptions, mistaken ideas, of Japan and it's people among Westerners?" She answered, "Most of Japanese people is respecting western culture very much, and always interest to have communicate with western people even in SL. But also Japanese people think that making mistake on English can be rude with western, I think. So, usually become shy I feel."

I then asked, "Did you have any other future plans besides the art project you mentioned?" Mikati answered, "I developed my style for everyone even out of Second Life. So my future plan is , showing and making enjoy people out of SL. This is my current plan and dream." Wondering about her noted build, "Might we see another Mikati Cake Stage in the future?" She responded, "I am thinking my style is perfect for SLB cake. so i want to make it in the future again of course. But also the cake is good opportunity for another builders. So, It also nice if another builder will make it, I think."

Mikati offered to show me the scale model of the Cake Stage,  "I can guide you, cake mini scale model, if you like." We went over to a skybox in her sim she which used as a building area, "As we see, this is 1/10 scale model of this year cake. I designed and worked in this scale, then stretch to the real scale. 1/10 scale is easy to see and easy to calculate real size." She then asked me to follow her inside, "Okay, please follow me a little. ... This is interior part of the cake. Now we are 10-times giants, heehee!"

She directed my attention to a small stick several inches tall, "Do you see the red small stick here? This is the avatar size in 1/10 scale." I asked, "So if someone is 1.6 meters high, this would be .16 meters?" "Yes, exactly! But many times, SL avatars are near 2 meters. So i made it as 0.2 meters. Heehee!"

I then asked her if she had seen some giant avatars in the official Cake Stages. She answered, "Oh yes! I have seen once such very large avatar at the cake few days ago! It was nice humor for the cake, because the cake is huge. Heehee!" It did cross her mind that it made everyone else look like her scale model, "The viewing looks similar with real size when you hold your camera to the red small stick."

She then brought me to a platform where there was a model of last year's Cake Stage, the one for the SL12B.  "This themed '12,'" she told me, "The twelve candles have twelve icons." At one point, she compared them to the twelve tribes of ancient Israel.

I then brought her attention to two huge pillars on the other side of the sim. She answered they were for the art archiving project she mentioned earlier, "Oh yes. These are the things of the art project that themed archiving SL arts. The tower shape outside is given parts. Artists build things using their typical style inside it." Of her sim, there was no house or relaxation area, "This sim is just for my private work place ..."

It was about time for the interview to come to a close, "Did you have anything else that you wanted to add?" Mikati's answer to that was, "I just want to add a thing (for the residents), I thank you to have opportunity of featuring the cake, and thank you for contributing for SL culture for long time."

It was about then the interview came to a close. Mikati and I would later meet up again at the "Cake Explosion" in which she brought down her build in a spectacular manner as a public event, as well as her making an appearance at the SL Newser beach party. While it's unclear whether she'll be building another Cake Stage soon, no doubt this cheerful designer is far from finished.

Bixyl Shuftan

"Your Mother Had Cancer."

By Deaflegacy

"Your mother had cancer."

I just looked at the interpreter before looking away.  Later on, I met with my Mother and my best friend.  My mother had been spending some time in the ER.  It had something to do with her stomach so my best friend spent some time with her.  That day, we found out that the doctor can't do anything for my Mother.  It was too late.  It was then recommended that my mother go to the hospice.  We agreed on that. 

Later on, I saw my mother in the hospice.  It was like a home, but these who were about to say good bye to like.  I remember the day before and my mother was doing just fine.  We talked.  We have had fun.  I will never ever forget that day I said good bye to my mother.  My best friend and I went to see her. 

She was in bed.  One of her eyes was closed, and another was open.  I knew right then that I have to say good bye to her.  The nurse stopped by and encouraged me to talk to my mother.  I did exactly that.  I told my Mother that everything will be okay.  My best friend and I will be all right.  We will do what we can for the family dog.  The family dog's name is Gracey.  I said good-bye and we left. 

When we got home, my best friend received a phone call from the hospice.  Fifteen minutes after we left, my Mother passed away.  While my best friend wept, I was in shock.  I knew that my Mother was going to join my Grandmother in Heaven.  I just wasn't expecting that soon.  It still is very painful for me to think about it, especially when we have to give the family dog up for adoption.  I have no idea where Gracey is right now, but I hope she is doing well. 

So many things have gone by and I still think about my Mother.  To me, she was everything.  It is true that there had been bad times, but there had been good times as well.  She was not just my mother.  She was my best friend.  Cancer took her away from me and I did say good bye to her that day, August 15, almost three years ago.  I'd say that this coming August 15 would be the three year anniversary since my Mother passed away.  Not a day had gone by that I don't think about her.  All I can say is that she is in Heaven with my grandmother and uncle.  I didn't tell her this but I might as well say it out loud.  My Mother was much more than just my mom and best friend.  She was my mentor. 

Deaflegacy

Spontaneous Gatherings

By Becky "Sha" Shamen

The topic of this report is one that this writer has observed, participated in and encouraged, many times during our years of adventures in Second Life. To the uninitiated and the newbie, SL may seem like  an alternative life, an escape from the real world, just another form of addiction, an interactive boob-tube. As we mature, with age, our attention evolves from self interest to finding useful ways to be of service to all. To be of service to others, we need a connection with groups of others. This "urge to merge" could be called the Gathering Principle and can be seen at all levels of nature, from sub-atomic particles to whole galaxies. After being on SL a number of years, your reasons for staying evolved from "what fun is in it for me" to "How can I make this fun for everybody". What started as an addiction evolved into devotion to an altruistic ideal. Creating gatherings in SL is a means of computer modeling different formulas, used to gather, to find that which best complies with the universal laws of nature,a.k.a., divine will.


Second Life answers nature's call to gather with countless venues for gathering. Most are based on real life examples, like arenas, Dance Clubs and recreational areas. Second Life also seems to be big on little gathering locations and furniture, such as gazebos, campfires and our favorite, cuddle baskets. The larger gatherings require advanced preparations and notices sent out, to get large crowds at their events. The clubs enjoy large groups, because it raises their position in search engines of best places to visit in SL. Gatherings, like all things in the worlds of form, contain a mix of yin/yang (male/female) energies. Because larger gatherings contain elements of pre-planning and competition (best in theme, best avatar mods, best jokes and puns, etc.), the energy leans toward the male, electric, radiant energies, like those of the central sun in a solar system. On the other hand, small gatherings lean more to the female, magnetic, absorbent energies and are like the planets in a solar system. Competition is replaced by a cooperative spirit. Instead of trying to be the best individual of the group, those in small, spontaneous gatherings tend to assist the others to become more group oriented, more skilled at modding and more light-hearted and joyful, all of which makes them better, more useful members of the whole, larger community.

Our interest in small, spontaneous gatherings is not new. We have been planning to write about them for years, in the hope that understanding and using them  would benefit residents in both SL and real life. The impetus to sit down and begin writing about them was sparked by a spontaneous gathering, that took place about a week ago.

Before describing the unplanned gathering, let's rewind a bit and examine the thinking that led up to it. To do this, we will need to break with convention and introduce Sha's real life player, a Moonchild called Rick. As a design engineer, creating 3D parts for machines that test circuit boards, the Moonchild's dream was to develop the ability to use 3D animations that would enlighten the minds of viewers. Sha broke from her usual routine, for 55 days, to create a 35 minute HD video about her favorite community. Pretty awesome build, for a first timer. The Moonchild had dreamed of this for decades.

Getting back to our gathering story, it seemed that the finished video got no views or comments. We begin to feel like a sun with no planets, a lonely falling star. It was hard to begin writing again, not knowing if we had an audience. At this point, Sha logs in, late night, with little question marks buzzing around her head. Who am I, why are we here and should I pay my rent now? Some house cleaning finished, we seek a little company and notice some friends are at Cutlass. Flying up, we talk with Rita about the local "cum see cum saws" [Fr. this and that], and mention some space junk, floating above the castle, that needs removal. Rita and Sha fly up and clear the junk, then hover and continue chatting. We were soon joined by Felina and, around these parts, "three's a party". The party moved to Felina's new back yard deck, with fire pit and surround seating. Within minutes, others arrived, one by one and joined us around the fire, until there were ten gathered, including Bixyl. Because this gathering was late night and on a private sim, there is a feeling of inner circle sanctity. Everybody enjoyed the topics of conversation and Elders Rita and Sha each gave short lectures on handy ways of storing mods and outfits in inventory. The spontaneous gathering lasted to the wee hours of the morning. We left with feelings of being uplifted and connected to a community of caring individuals. For us, it cured our writer's block. We've got a big box of words here. Stay tuned to see which ones we pull out after our next gathering adventure.

"Sha"

Virtual Hippies

By Becky Shamen

Well friends, after 55 days of producing a video about the Sunweaver Community, here I am getting back to writing. Is it any wonder, why my first topic is communities?

I chanced to spot a destination called Free Spirit Farms, Hippy/Boho Community and my eyes lit up. Back in '69, I lived in a real one, called Drop City, Colorado. If anybody were qualified to compare the virtual versus real experience. this reporter could reply to Jimi Hendrix, "Yes, I AM EXPERIENCED". Learning of my latest adventure, Bixyl informed of some individuals that claimed to...err...have access to...had a connection to a virtual pill, said to be like a psychotropic "trip" experience. Since, as Bix said, sex, drugs and rock and roll was before his time, perhaps this old white rabbit could research it deeper, We'll include that experiment, later in the article.

The photo, to the left, is of Drop City, at the time I lived there. As we head to Free Spirit Farms, the kid in the back seat of my mind asks, "what can I expect to find there" to which the driver responds, "expect nothing in advance and you will find everything." We know, in advance, that it will not look the same as places we have seen, but a trained mind can see corresponding similarities and differences. Our inner art critic will study the sim as the collective form of the imaginations of the inhabitants.

The landing point of the sim is a large open building, which also serves for gatherings with DJs. There are signs to click for rules, info and joining the group. Large doors open in every direction. All the views look great, so we head towards the center of the sim, to establish a central landmark, from which other points can be referenced. Oddly enough, not far from the middle of the sims "ground zero", we found a drum circle.

 We know about drum circles and the benefits of using them. When you join one of these circles, even if just to clap hands and tap your toes, you, automatically receive several joyful benefits. The individuals are now members of a greater, synthetic life form, with synergistic energy and power, greater than the sum of their individual powers. Oneness is like having a backstage pass, that shows the doorman, "I'm with the Band". From decades in the music biz, we can guaranty, EVERYBODY likes getting a backstage pass. Next, because we all play to the same beat, our individual bodies begin to synchronize. As the drumbeats impact our solar plexus, we all share the same feelings and emotions. Within minutes, all the heartbeats become synchronized and beat as one. With a little more practice, even the minds begin to link up. A telepathic connection turns the circle into a living being, which has the power to be a conductor of it's individual members, turning a simple beat into a complex, orchestrated song.

OK, enough science, but does this have anything to do with the sim residents being "real hippies?"  Looking back, the vast majority of hippies did not join the movement for their own scientific, mental reasons. They were drawn in by a handful of thinkers, writers, poets and musicians. That small group was like a drum circle, that continues to grow, even into the virtual world. If there's a drum circle, in the middle of the island where you live, yeah, YOU MIGHT BE A HIPPY. Another advantage to sitting at the circle, we could see, on radar, near-by blips approaching. We met and befriended several people, learned about the community and even heard of their experiences in real-life hippy communes.

As a new group member, Sha gets a notice that a DJ is playing and gets there in time to meet some more locals and the DJ, Feather Fride. Feather sent a private IM and at one point, wrote a poem, dedicated to Sha's unique eyes. If you have ever zoomed in on Sha, when in human form, you know she does, in fact, have very unique eyes. We thanked him for the compliment. He asked forgiveness for being so intrusive with his cam, to which we replied, no prob, it shows you have the "seeker" quality.

On this visit, we were also checking out details of a rent house that became available. We found it a bit small and expensive for this old hippy's spare change budget, but members can also set home to the sim and there is a campground. Hippies don't mind if you change clothes outside.

Before becoming a member, there was a corner of the sim, with a barrier. As a member, we were now allowed in. This area is a hill, with a path winding to the top. From the objects (props) around the top, we see this is meant to be a spiritual place.

Near the top, there is a small devotional shrine and cushions. Top center, there is a large bondfire, surrounded by enough cushions for a large group meditation. Near by, up to 10 can practice Tai Chi, in sync. We found several other gathering spots on the sim. The ruins of an old building has a stage and seating, for music and theater performances. At the central pond, there is a dock, with lots of seats, where you can sit on the dock, so they say, watching time slip away.

 

There is some hierarchy within the membership, with a Ma and Pa at the top. This is a good form of government, for people that call themselves a family. Our visits have been peaceful filled with residents, who like the hippies of yore, doing their job to usher in the Aquarian Age of peace and enlightenment.

A psychotropic "trip" experience

 

The Editor, Bixyl, gave us two names to search and talk to, regarding a wearable object, called "Nip", which would cause your perceptions to be altered in the way that psychotropic substances effect them.  In our reckless youth, we called this "experimenting". As a veteran Lab Rat, I contacted one, whom I'll call here, Silver. We explained that our interest was not in it's use as an entertaining, fun buzz, but rather, we wanted to see if there was any usable science. In real-life, a chemical can have an effect on your thinking and lifestyle choices. The question is, can virtual world experiences have a lasting effect on your brain, especially since they arrive by the same nerve passages as real-life experiences follow? Picture this; a doctor tests you and, instead of pills, he gives you the URL of a product on the Marketplace. It is a healing ball, that you put in your SL home. Set the ball, using the doctors instructions and spend 15 minutes each day, as it fills your senses in delightful ways.

 

I asked Silver where a snoopy Newser Reporter could get a "Nip", to test...for science. My luck, he just gave me a free one. Said, if I needed more, he had a "connection".  To give this item a fair trial, it stayed on ice, until an optimum time and place were found. 

 

In a real life "trip", all of the senses become amplified, including extra-sensory ones you didn't know you had. In the virtual world, we will be using only two of our senses, sight and sound. The experience will vary with users, but two will be felt by all. Everything seen and heard has a pronounced after image or echo. Motions are followed by comet tails and sounds have reverb. Everything seen, regardless of what it's made of, looks fluid and is breathing. Our personal favorite, we notice that pixels are not squares and every texture displays it's own tile geometry.

 

Now, late at night, on my home turf, we wear the Nip.

The device was kind enough to inform us, in chat, the trip only lasts 28 minutes. As pro lighting techs, we found the light show very enjoyable. An additional effect broke the screen into squares of shifting size. Instead of enhanced visions, Sha was so blind, she fell off the roof and stayed on the front porch for the rest of the trip. We were pleased to see, when the trip was over, all the lights returned to normal and control returned.

 

Pass or fail? Fails first, squares gotta go, replace with strobe light trails. It only used sight effects. Is there a way to add some echo or reverb to the sound?  On the plus side, I got to have fun and adventure with a toy that very few others will get to play with. I also see it as an art media, with potential developments and possible therapeutic uses. To it's creator, I say, good start. I would be happy to beta test any future upgrades.

Old hippies never die. They just go up in smoke.

 

"Sha"

Editor's note: the Second Life Newser does not condone or encourage the use of drugs for other than medical reasons.