Dharma Talk

I went to a Dharma talk by kusaladharma Demar, a RL Buddhist monk in SL, whose studied for 11 years and came to SL simply to teach the Dharma.

kusaladharm speaking:




A shot of him with the group in the background.

Parcel Media Video Tutorials

I love the new parcel media feature on the Release Client.

Here are the links to Torley's vid-tuts on the subject:
YouTube - PARCEL MEDIA: Play webpages, movies, & more - Second ...
YouTube - PARCEL MEDIA: Make your own media screen - Second Life ...
YouTube - PARCEL MEDIA: Click actions - Second Life Video TuTORial

I hope you get to enjoy them as much as I do.

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Exploring

Nicki and I explored two builds. The first one is called Tunnel of Light from Rezzable. This build requires the Windlight Release Candidate viewer to enjoy the effects and textures. This was my first time using the Windlight viewer and I spent A LOT of time being dazzled by the pretty lights and water before I realized I should take snapshots. Here are a few from the experience. I HIGHLY recommend giving it a try even if you've never used SL's test software before.









It was an amazing experience. I'm hoping to get better at taking snapshots to capture the great stuff in SL.

Then we moved to Loscusolus (130, 170, 22). This was a build that made me think of greifer attacks as an artform. I won't ruin some of the fun stuff, but know that you'll prolly have to relog a few times.

Here are some shot of what happens when you click on some poseballs:

Nicki Shooting Me Like an Arrow



Um ah...no comment



You too can be a part of an art piece:








I hope you enjoy them both.

Scripts for Reflexive Architecture

I love enchanting a build. Scripts are the magic of our time; so, to that end, I include this link from « The ARCH to a script that will allow a prim to change color based on an avatars position. Enjoy!

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Blog Readers are Like Cats with Lasers?

So the reason why I should stop allowing comments on my blog is that you all would be powerless to read them. All 2 of them. Yes, you are in my power. LOL! "Why We're Powerless To Resist Grazing on Endless Web Data - WSJ.com

Second Life Scripts for Doors

So, in a prior post I wondered aloud why we would need doors with hinges. I was posting this because I was building my skybox and not totally satisfied with my options for scripts. I'm an okay scripter, but since I'm self-taugh, I often don't know WHY something doesn't work. So, I broke down and used a script with a rotating door on hinges. This script is the best, open-source, script I could find that EASILY allows one to create a door like RL. You need to follow the directions exactly as they are on the webpage and in the script. Make sure you type "/door closed" and "/door opened" because any other spelling won't work. In all other ways, this script is the easiest way to make a door.

Thank Timeless Prototype for making this script available and donate to him via paypal, if you find it useful.

Once I have time, I'm hoping to combine Timeless' script with some sort of locking mechanism. I found one, but I can't find it again. LOL! OH! You might want to check out Bob Sutor's blog for other ways to make doors. He's got a section on building by example that's very useful.

Terra Nova: Virtual Worlds 101: Draft Syllabus

I've been reading a lot of articles on virtual worlds and feel like I'm beginning to be competent in this area. Edward Catronova, the author of Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games and Exodus to the Virtual World: How Online Fun Is Changing Reality, knows a lot about the subject. Yet, he's asking us to help him with his syllabus for class. If you have any comments, please check it out.

View Original Article

Ma.gnolia tags: Virtual_Worlds, Education

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Conversations with 3D Visual Support in SL

World Cafe combines facilitated conversation and visual thinking to promote new ideas, links, and understanding. Often their work shows a visual pattern of living relationships: conversations, relationships, and mental processes and paradigms. Now they are taking this process and way of thinking into Second Life. They had an event recently that used their process:

"There have been other brief World Café forays into Second Life, but this was the first I know of that used a process so close to the ‘real’ World Café format."

Yet is wasn't really SL centric because the recorder created a graphic offline in 2D. I would say that SL is a great envrionment for a 3D version of visual pattern creation. You could create the map in-world using the building tools in SL. You would need to have an amazing builder, but it could be done.

I once played primtionary, which is pictionary but you create the pictures with 3D objects. I was surprised at how thought provoking it was and how it made one think of things in different ways. Spatial thinking was one new way because you could "feel" a spatial difference. I used colored boxes, and set-up in a hierarchy to give a sense of familial relationships with the addition of a blinking color script - everyone in the room knew that the blinking box was grama. I think this could work in SL as well.

Virtual Workplaces

I believe that one of the more common office workplaces will be through virtual worlds. Yet, this has implication on how to manage people in these environments. Electric Sheep has a post about the advantages of virtual worlds and research. Talking about people, he said:

"By far the most interesting things we’re learning are about people, how they interact with each other and their environment, and how they adapt to new technologies."

What I find interesting is how people's behavior changes based on this new technology and what that means for collaborative work. How they adapt is more important to me than what they actually do there.

Dave Elchoness, VRWorkplace, and the Association of Virtual Worlds

Once I started doing research on virtual worlds, I felt there weren't a lot of people who GOT what I was talking about. Then through Twitter I met VRWorkplace. He's actually developing a business around what I'm reading. I've had a lot of esteem for him, but now he's gone and made something pretty amazing: Association of Virtual Worlds. It's a social networking site for people doing business in virtual worlds. It has a rich group of people already (various experience and perspectives) with only 326 people connected and growing. I would recommend keeping an eye on this one. 

Visit Association of Virtual Worlds

The SaLamander Project

I really enjoy exploring in SL, looking at the different builds, seeing how architects and enchanters create amazing things. One of the difficulties of exploring in SL is having a stack of landmarks and coming to them a month later to think wha? What was that? Why do I care?

SaLamander Project is a wiki that is attempting to: "Creat[e] a Community-built index of Second Life content, activities, and tools of educational value." I particularly like that they have organized their SLURLS based on learning engagement types; so, I can find sites based on how I wish to experience SL that day. NICE!

Be A Second Life Librarian

Maybe I just have SL jobs on the brain, but I found this post at the Second Life Library Project about getting skill to be a virtual librarian and couldn't help but link to it. I wonder if they are giving away free sexy librarian avis?

The Chicken Fight (A 100 Word Story)

I was listening to the 100 Word Stories Podcast and thought of one, which I had to make right away. I hope you enjoy it.

The Chicken Fight

Bots to Enhance Copresence

With all the talk about bots over at New World Notes, first here as a salvo against land barons; then here as a defense for using them; and even here regarding possible positive uses, I thought: "My god we don't have enough info about bots!" 

My personal experience with bots was a transaction between me and another fairly new resident trying to sell me a parcel of land at a VERY generous price, but he couldn't figure out how to sell direct; so, after he listed it and a second before I could buy it, three bots showed up to purchase it with the quickest drawing bot winning the purchase. Felt like something out of Westworld.

I was reading an article called, "Embodiment and copresence in collaborative interfaces" and was reminded of the bot issue in Second Life. In Second Life, we don't have as many interactions with bots as one would in World of Borecraft - um, I mean Warcraft (WOW). Yet, bots with even limited AI have the ability to create copresence, which is the feeling of being with someone. So if one can feel copresence with a bot, one can certainly do so with an avatar, which means VRWorkplace does make sense, when he says "That there's something more "real" about sharing a virtual space with someone than looking at their face on a webcam."

I think using AI laden objects would be a valuable way for business to create a feeling of copresence for their customers or even to create serious games. I've been sharing an idea with others about a sim for people to learn about social issues that would have bots who move the avatar through the various learning activities - similar to receiving quests in WOW. I hope someone tries that approach or if they have already, to send me a SLURL 'cause I'd love to see it. 

Jobs in SL

I have been trying to find a way to make some modest Lindens in SL, but I haven't committed to the cause totally. I've had a couple of jobs and yes, bless me father for I have primmed. I camped three times in my 2 year existence - please forgive me. I was a piano player at the opening of a ballroom for 3 hours. That was okay as an SL job (made $500/hr), but it was more beneficial because of the people I met. Then, I had a job with a RL organization assisting them with a build. Paid much, much, much better, but cut into my SL enjoyment. Now over at Second Effects is a post for a job I'd really like. It has involvement with the residents, isn't a part of the sex industry - although there was that stint as a table dancer, but I think the $10L Nicki gave me were out of pity - and supports cool products. I hope that it is effective for him and more businesses consider providing jobs to residents like this. I'm sure consumers would like the assistance.