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Torley must not have written this LL blog post, he’s ALL about the pinkitude (hey! They remembered they had a blog, stop complaining).
Reports of hardware upgrades and colo consolidation and texture and object caching are good, except that it would seem to be positioning LL for making Second Life easier to access and display on lower-end machines… or the Web.
Their recent acquisition of some kind of shared-narrative company might might be part of it, again aimed more at potential customers in the “mobile and social game ecospheres.”
Less load on our machines is good, but they still need to focus on the first-hour experience. They’re still leaving too much to chance and random interactions with “kind strangers.”
If they can’t retain new people in the first hour, they may have more success by addicting people in lower-tech gameplay first. But I still think that giving better orientation experiences is the biggest obstacle to growth and attracting creatives and explorers (and not just people who “heard there was sex”).
I had an annoying encounter with an extremely new person during the recent SL9B celebrations, who clearly had been “dumped” at the party sim after a too-short orientation. Normally I have LOTS of patience and advice for new people, but this guy was repeatedly bumping people at the Cake stage (including the creator, Mikati Slade). It appeared to me that it was deliberate and not clueless n00bism, as he was mostly colliding incessantly with women, and coming on to them at the same time. I suspected that he was an alt of a more experienced player (but not a real griefer, just in disguise). But if he truly was new, he had no idea that bouncing off of people like a pinball was wrong or irritating, and that probably stems from an incomplete orientation process.
Less pink would be good, though; for some reason my new graphics card and Firestorm don’t play well, and I get a fuchsia-pink screen at log off. This doesn’t happen with other viewers (I currently use several, depending on the circumstance).
Currently, all client viewers are responsible for compositing their own Avatar textures, then sending the results back to the Sim for other viewers to access. This method can lead to slowdowns and errors. The actual calculations for compositing textures are straightforward and not particularly time-consuming. However, in order for the viewer to do the calculations it first has to download a lot of individual assets from the Sim, and must then upload large results back to the Sim. This pushes a lot of bits through the Sim / Viewer connection, which can be slow and unreliable.Depending on client hardware to do the compositing and uploading of the resulting baked textures can introduce erroneous results like way too much pink. In order to handle these errors, a number of retry and fallback mechanisms have been put in place. This adds further load and overhead to the whole system.
via Project Shining to Improve Avatar and Object Strea… – Second Life
At the end of an informative talk about the Steamlands at SL9B by Herr Baron Klaus von Wulfenbach, someone mentioned that punch and pie had been promised. And so someone set out a variety of virtual desserts.
Well, I don’t have punch, but here’s some family-recipe pie.
Long story about this pie: it’s strawberry-rhubarb, and in my family it’s called “Damn Sour Pie.” One of my adult cousins requested it be made several years ago for a big family gathering (it was a sad yet happy gathering; a memorial party for an elderly relative that was truly a party). It was his favorite, and he hadn’t had it for many years because nobody in the family remembered how to make it, EXCEPT for a distant female cousin who had come in for the memorial parky.
As he’s a photographer, he had to document the pie first, and this is the result. His brother’s first words as a young child were not “Ma-ma” or “milk” but “I WANT PIE.” The brother was apparently a “late talker” and refused to speak until a pretty advanced age, because he got everything he wanted by pointing and grunting.
This is all about… 50 or 60 years ago now. The story is, he pointed and grunted at the pies after Thanksgiving dinner, and his grandma or aunt had had enough and insisted that if “If you want pie, Patrick, you’ll have to say ‘I want pie’ or you won’t get any.”
Several slices disappeared, claimed by more verbal family members. He pointed and grunted furiously but everyone ignored him, taking their cue from the lady at the head of the table.
Finally, my cousin could stand it no longer. He stood on his chair and bellowed “I WANT PIE.” And he got it – eventually, he even learned to say “please” and “thank you.” He was about… 4 years old if the family story is to be believed.
My photographer cousin happily ate the damn sour pie after taking its picture, but I still have the plate. 😉
- @LindaKellie Don't worry about it, more people are absurdly grateful to you for the work you do. #
- @theguild "Pantsing Vork Scene" is a cover band waiting to be formed. #
- I am technically "working from home" tomorrow. Suspect I will be "waiting for installers." #checkingSL9Bschedule #
- Hey! My friend Dano is DJing… At 2am my time. Hmm. May need pencil in nap tomorrow. #checkingSL9Bschedule #
- Have house phone in one pocket, cell phone in other. I'm the phoneslinger. #waitingforComcast #
- It's an absurdist play: a woman, a cat, an empty room. #waitingforComcast #
- Typically, the office furniture arrives first and will have to be moved when the data/cable installer gets here. #waitingforComcast #
- Typist is in the "cheering and moar cowbell" tent for American Diabetes Assn #TourdeCure http://t.co/A4DnVNgz #
- @HolocluckHenly Lookng forward to #SL9B because of AVs like you. Also, whats the location for that cathedral radio class? 😉 #
- Formal attire for #Whovians http://t.co/BoA1cGib #
- Looking forward to #SL9B Had a peek at @m_ethaniel 's cute build. Now I have the song stuck in my head #
- Who is paying for the dirty tricks robocalls in Wisconsin?? Walker has plausible deniability. #
- RT @Salon: Dirty tricks in Wisconsin? Voters claim robocalls said they dont need to vote if they signed recall petition http://t.co/g6Nxd8Wp #
- My #musicforlunchbreak Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine. http://t.co/ydGcibVg #
- More #musicallunchbreak Fitz And The Dizzyspells by Andrew Bird. http://t.co/CF6my7md #
- Hey! #Shazam has LyricPlay on some songs. Karaoke anywhere! Singing "Valerie " by Steve Winwood. http://t.co/m286DZWx #
- Time to get back. Had a long AM break, ate already. Then an early lunch… so I went to the park. My boring RL life! #
- Well, there's your problem: GOP radio talker fears a Walker recall because "urban voters are bad voters." http://t.co/Pvvovr1h #
- Bad urban voter! No! No! Never vote while brown! Joe Ashby fears you! #
- @m_ethaniel I'm sure we could improve the lyrics. "In the good old Second Life, there was never grief or strife…" #newstalgia #
- I just used #Shazam to tag Rumour Has It by Adele. http://t.co/eNAxLaqR #
- Cool: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Pt. 1 by The Flaming Lips. http://t.co/itnV7LZt #
- @peterwingfield Well done! #
- @rivenhomewood I like glimpses of a more literary life. I used to be a voracious reader of books, now I read feeds. #
- RT @m_ethaniel Dog bless #Amercia #
- Vote @mittromney and take a dump on Amercia! #mittens2012 #dumpmitt #pt http://t.co/9HhlB60g #
- @m_ethaniel Cant sleep, might as well have fun. #
- Political hot potatos no problem for @mittromney in 2012. #ovenmitt2012 #withovemitt #p2 http://t.co/28ISTJzv #
- RT @aac Some poor app designer is getting strapped in a cage on the top of a car and driven across country tonight. #amercia #
- RT @aschweig That did not take long. http://t.co/ChtjsT9x #withmitt #amercia #
- @GinnyX It's awe-inspiring. Now where did I put those flip-flops? #
- @MickeyETC Near you? #
- RT @StephenAtHome Ronmey 2102! http://t.co/jNeX9v2I #
- Is Mitt Romney too paranoid to trust with the Nuclear Football? http://t.co/eT1d4bL1 #
- Shiva tonight in the VERY reform tradition. I miss Leah's voice telling us what to do. #fb #
Because I don’t really bother to keep my First Life and Second Life separate, it seemed fair to offer the reason why I haven’t really had my head on straight inworld for a while now.
Leah gets lei’d at Maui Kahului Airport in September, 2007
Leah Sharron Gibbs, nee Green, age 70, beloved wife for 50 years and best friend of Sheldon. Loving mother of David (Virginia), Daniel, Mitchell (Gloria) Gibbs. Cherished grandmother of Melissa, Joshua, Jennifer and Naomi. Dear sister of the late Seymour Green. Devoted daughter of the late Abrasha and Udasha. Fond sister-in-law of Norma and Bill Brown. Loving aunt of many nieces and nephews. Long time teacher at Serena Hills School in Chicago Heights, IL. Member of B’nai Yehuda Beth Sholom. Services Thursday, 11 A M. at B’nai Yehuda Beth Sholom, 1424 183rd Street, Homewood. Interment Shalom.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in her name to the Cancer Support Center, 2028 Elm Road, Homewood, IL 60430 would be appreciated.
Leah was my second mom. Not my backup mom, or my spare mom, but my co-equal mom. When my own mother died several years ago, Leah was there for me. When her cancer recurred a couple of times in the last decade, we (me and my husband David, my Rock) were there for her. This last time, she announced she was done with doctors pushing her around and drugs making her feel worse than the disease did. She lost ground gradually starting at New Year’s, and it was a slow, terrible march to the borderlands of the Undiscovered Country.
This last week was both the fastest, and the slowest, in the history of human life. But for Leah it finally ended when she crossed the border yesterday, and for the rest of us our new, Leah-less life began.
The picture was taken in 2007, when Leah and my father-in-law Shelly joined us in Maui to help me celebrate a big, fat, round birthday. As she hated being photographed, I was overjoyed to find this one in my back-catalog of travel pictures.
- @HolocluckHenly Wish I could be there. Play it loud for me. #
- We're in the "holding our breath" stage, apparently. #
- We're in the "holding our breath" stage, apparently. #
- We rode the worlds most depressing elevator yesterday. #
- Just now I said Yay! (yay) in response to something lame. /yay #SLgesturesinRL #
- @adrianpaul1 LMAO! May I share this with HIGHLA-L? Its been active lately… #
- In my original virtual life I was a #HIGHLANDER fan (in fact I created the old fan area there). Good virtual times. #
- I should take pictures of all the #HIGHLANDER shirts I own. The "Methos & Silas take over the WORLD" one is the best. #pinkyandthebrain #
- Oops, fan area was the one on AOL, not the really good one on COMPUSERVE. I feel old now. #HIGHLANDER #
- @tsaijie /me pours warmup #coffee #
- Have been visiting a particularly sad place the last 2 weeks, watching a shockingly fast decline. #
- @Queen_UK Protocol demands at least 2 cases. #
- @hbahimself hugs to you and the gazellings #
Willow Leafstorm’s new music venue in Steelhead Nevermoor opened with a set of truly cathartic 80’s dance music – almost everything was a remix or a cover. And unlike some “all cover” sets, each song was… great in its own right. I heard old favorites sound new – and had completely different reactions to some of the lyrics, because I was hearing them in light of some of my most recent experiences out there in untidy, noisy, fragile RL.
I stumbled into a fun game: “Kiosk Challenge.” There was a Relay For Life kiosk in the corner of the venue, and as it was a new one, it had a $L0 balance. So I automatically “fed” it a bit, as I do now when I encounter a zero-balance kiosk inworld. A bit later on someone else “fed” it, and I upped the ante – briefly. It went like this:
[19:32] Lelani Carver: Kiosk needs moar love! I will match everything up to $L1000 tonight.
[19:32] RFL of SL 2012 Official Kiosk Large: Thank you for your donation!
[19:33] [REDACTED Steelhead Clockwork Chum]: OK!
[19:33] Lelani Carver: Challenge thrown down!
[19:33] RFL of SL 2012 Official Kiosk Large: Thank you for your donation!
[19:34] [REDACTED Steelhead Clockwork Chum]: CLOCKWORKS RULE … the mail.
[19:34] Lelani Carver: ACCEPTED
[19:34] [REDACTED Steelhead Steampunk Chum]: â–£ â–¤ â–¥ ѕтєᴀмÏᴜɴкѕ ᴅᴠɪт ωɪтн ᴅєνɪςєѕ â–¥ â–¤ â–£
[19:34] Lelani Carver: There, I’m tapped out – that was quick!!!
Second Life may have a policy against quoting chat logs without the permission of all participants, so I have cleverly redacted two entities without stomping all over the humor of it all. I invented the game after a few donations came in after mine; it seemed like a thing that you do. My little “challenge” was accepted and disposed of within a few seconds. I actually went a bit over my self-imposed $L1000 limit, because my little clockwork chum countered my last ante-upping with the whole thousand virtua-clams, which of COURSE I matched. Shortly afterwards, the Steelhead Salmons team captain, Fuzzball Ortega, remarked in group chat (he wasn’t at the dance) at how $L2240 had been donated in less than 2 minutes.
See, that didn’t take long!
I still don’t have much time for inworld stuff – I’ve managed to make it to some events, but can’t quite settle down to refresh my products and building skills just yet. I’ll need to immerse myself in work later, but right now… I need to just be, and listen, and chat, and laugh.
Most evenings this week we’ve been commuting to the border of the Undiscovered Country to watch someone we love wait, restlessly and impatiently, to cross over. There’s very little we can do. We’re going down tomorrow, and Monday too (though surely not, if there is a merciful Deity). We give love, we give support, we try to wrestle restaurant checks out of the hands of family members when we manage to drag them away from the Borderlands Hotel for a break and a meal.
Sorry for the obscurities, that’s the most detail I’m prepared to give.
Anyway, tonight’s gathering was what was needed, although some of the old songs gave me a start because certain phrases in the lyrics jumped out at me in odd ways. Like “Wouldn’t It Be Good” by Nik Kershaw. The remix we heard tonight was uptempo, faster, and not as long. But there’s a newer live version that Nik did in Norway (with some of his original band) that’s somehow deeply satisfying.
In the original video from 1984, the song’s protagonist was some kind of lonely, sick alien in a hep-cat multimedia zoot suit, a little like Ford Prefect putting out his electronic thumb and hitching a ride with the Vogons. Funny thought, that… laugh it up, Fuzzball!
But all this time we’re keeping vigil at the Borderlands lately, my mind is constantly racing. I lost it a little tonight (or at least, the typist did). So I turned the volume up and danced it back in.
I got it bad
You don’t know how bad i got it
You got it easy
You don’t know when you got it good
It’s getting harder
Just keeping life and soul together
I’m sick of fighting
Even though i know i should
The cold is biting
Through each and every nerve and fibre
My broken spirit is frozen to the core
Don’t wanna be here no moreWouldn’t it be good to be in your shoes
Even if it was for just one day
And wouldn’t it be good if we could wish ourselves away
Wouldn’t it be good to be on your side
The grass is always greener over there
Wouldn’t it be good if we cold live without a careYou must be joking
You don’t know a thing about it
You’ve got no problem
I’d stay right there if it were you
I got it harder
You couldn’t dream how hard it got it
Stay out of my shoes
If you know what’s good for you
The heat is stifling
Burning me up from the inside
The sweat is coming through each and every pore
Don’t wanna be here no moreWouldn’t it be good to be in your shoes
Even if it was just for one day
And wouldn’t it be good if we could wish ourselves away
Wouldn’t it be good to be on your side
The grass is always greener over there
And wouldn’t it be good if we could live without a care