Monday, December 24, 2007

Christmas in SL-Town

It took some fancy, last-minute coordinating, but my nearest and dearest in Mindio were all able to get together on Christmas Eve to get festiv--SL Style.
If you've every been to Abranimations (and if you haven't, for shame) you may have seen their giant keyboard. My good friends Fuene and Rio played a wonderful rendition of Silent Night as a surprise Christmas gift for the neighborhood. Although this my sound like a small task, it most certainly wasn't. Both Fuene and Rio played together which posed a couple of technical issues such as lag between not only with the servers, but between themselves as well. They overcame such obstacles and provided great entertainment for all in attendance.
Afterwards, we moved to Moriz and Liz's place for some campfire, and ballroom dancing. Although engaging in a few dances, I also had some time off the floor (it's a lot easier when you don't have an SL "partner") which allowed me to focus on some photography. To assemble a good portfolio isn't as easy at it sounds on the grid. To get the best shots relies on a combination of good animations coupled with patience and the clichéd "good eye". Further complicating the activity is avatar movement. You can't simply tell an animation to hold it's position--making time also very important. Although I was able to capture some good moments, I still have a long way to go to really have it mastered. Despite being an amateur, the snaps made for great gifts to pass out to my friends.
As the first SL Christmas for all involved, I think it's safe to say it went well and that we all had a good time. What's left now is the lingering question... what to do about New Year's.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Much to do about nothing.

What's a resident to do when he can't get home?
As soon as my RL Avi gets returns from his day job, he checks the weather, his RSS feeds, and then logs onto the grid to bring me life. Sure, there might be a couple of other tasks he does before hand, but he inevitably arrives in Mindio. That's not to say he doesn't have a life outside of SL because he does, but he certainly enjoys being in a digital realm with our digital friends who in turn also have lives outside of a screen. Really, we all just like to congregate. As many of us have seen, digital bonds can be just strong as those in the fleshie-realm. This is, of course, when the grid is actually running.
On this day, December 11, the grid has been done for many an hour. My RL Avi came home, did some household tasks, checked the weather, read his RSS feeds, and tried to help bring me home. We were both denied at the login due to some tech stuff. This barrier to life has left me as a mere piece of consciousness that resides in a small corner his grey-matter. It's from this home that I conjure up these words here. What else is an avatar to do when trapped? Might as well force my way out somewhere, right? This at least makes a convenient channel.
Thinking about it does make me wonder where our RL Avi's end and where our SL ones begin? I'm sure it's different for everyone on the grid. Some of us arrive simply to become a play thing; an interesting place to build, create, network, and spend time. For others, it's an avenue that helps fill voids present in their real lives. Some us come here to escape or explore.
Regardless of reasons, there must be a certain element that mirrors in both sides of the screen. In some cases I'm certain there are those who mirror almost identically. If this is true, then it could be true to say that Second Life is part of their complete whole. Does this mean that when someone's second life becomes part of the whole, that the division between SL and RL is non-existant? To me this idea sounds somewhat disturbing, yet comforting at the same time.
Downtime is a dangerous thing my fellow ones and zeros. I hope the grid comes back soon lest I think too much more about this. It hurts.

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Woah.. hey blog. When did you get here?

Ah, negligence. You are certainly a part of my being. Negligence or priorities? It's your call. One of the good things about blogger is that I know you're never going away. Thank you Google™.

If you haven't stepped outside of your own sim lately, then you might not have noticed that Christmas is around the corner-- even on the grid. In RL, due to the cross-culture nature of our office, we've downgraded the term to Festivus. You say Potato..
I love Christmas. But that's not what the point or the theme of today's foray is about. We'll save that for another time..maybe. If you've visited Mindio at all lately, you'll have noticed that Old Man Winter has visited and blessed two parcels with digital snow. Something that became just a simple, yet co-produced project between two groups of people who wanted to get festive. I know in the past I've commented on the joy that is having neighbours in SL, but recently it has been raised to a new level.
Before my snow/Christmas project with Fuene Nishi and Rio Bunavad, Moriz Penell began work on a bridge and elevator system between our two homes, just above the cloud ceiling and higher. It was during this small little initiative that I first discovered the joy of group projects in my digital life. Many of us have group projects consistently on the go in our jobs, but I've known few who have carried that sort of concept back to their families or friends (save for the odd reno-project). Again, something that seems to have become lost in the generation AFTER the X's. Perhaps I may be on the cusp of Generation Me (I just made that up.. clever, no?).
The next project I'm looking forward to is after Christmas, where my immediate neighbours in Mindio and I will develop and bridge together new tree homes. I've yet to introduce this idea to anyone else close to me, but perhaps we might be able to create a whole community of tree houses.
Communicating ideas, working together and achieving a common goal is a tasty dish in SL, and I look forward to feasting on it in the near future.

BTW-- did I mention I'm an emperor now? Just thought I'd put that out there.