Second Life

I’ve busy the last few days.

I got an idea… that’s always trouble.

Anyway, I decided to build a house. I started out with a prefab, but changed it completely. I might as well have started from scratch. There is nothing left of the original. It’s been a lot of fun. I make a change here and that inspires a change there. I ended up with this modern style house:

It’s still a work in progress. It will never be done. I like to change colors, or add a deck here or there. There’s a living room and a bedroom, two decks, a swimming pool. At least that’s what’s there as I write this. An hour from now it could be completely different.

Here’s a picture of Pete relaxing in the living room at night…

One of my inspirations for this house is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater in Bear Run, PA. I’ve always like his houses and was fortunate enough to have lived in an area of the country not far from many homes designed by him. Hmmm… maybe I’ll take out the pool, put in a small waterfall, and have a stream running under one of the cantilevered decks… just like Fallingwater.

I’ve got to stop thinking.

I’ve been spending a lot of time online in Second Life…

I have really been enjoying building. I pretty much filled up the land I had. I tried to buy some more land in the immediate area to expand into, but there was no more land available there so I went out shopping and bought more land in another area. I sold the original land to one of my neighbors who wanted to expand her business. I bought the land just before the big price drop, yet I still was able to sell the land at a profit.

At ground level I’ve built a nice little meditation garden. There’s a hut with meditation cushions, there’s a papaya tree that you can climb and if you’re not careful it will drop a papaya on your head. A waterfall flows into a nice pool to float in, and my magic mushroom is nearby.

I’ve build a nice little place called The Cupidon Cafe in a skybox for my friends to hang out at. It’s like a New York City loft so I guess that combines my love of New York with my love of SL. There are dance animations available to use and a radio with changeable stations so you can pick what type of music you want to dance to. There’s a stage at one end of the building with a dual dance pole so two people can pole dance in coordinated dances. If you visit you may be lucky to see the world’s best exotic dancing zombie on stage. There’s a little snack bar area at the other end where you can sit and relax.

I have a regular bar with a Budweiser beer tap that I bought from a very talented builder. Click on it… a mug appears… the mug fills with beer… and it then is given to you. The beer mug has a nice animation in it to make it look like you are occasionally taking a drink. As you drink the level of the beer in the mug goes down until it is gone. It really is a very clever piece of work. I build some nice stools for the bar that rotate so you can turn to face whatever direction you wish.

There’s a creaking stairway to a second level lounging area with a woodburning fireplace, some comfortable furniture, and some classic artwork.

There’s a secret trapdoor that can be opened remotely to surprise unsuspecting guests. The door opens, you hear a scream, and they drop down into a dungeon with few surprises in it…

The title of this post is Monthly Update because I just realized that it’s been a full month since I’ve posted anything.

Let’s see… What’s happened in the last month?

The renaissance festival drew to a close. It occupied seven weekends of my life. I had a lot of fun. Met some wonderful new people. Had some great weather and some horrible weather. A couple days it rained so hard that I actually left before the festival closed for the day. Being a loner, I’ve decided that I really prefer to experience the festival alone or with just a couple friends. Hanging out with a big group every weekend is anxiety inducing for me.

In the last month I’ve had to give up on an old friend. He’s one of those friends that everything is his way or the highway. I decided since he can’t respect my feelings I’d chose the highway. I’ve experienced a great sense of relief after making the difficult decision to give up on the friendship.

My finances took a turn for the worse. Due to the faltering economy my retirement income has dropped dramtically. My income no longer covers basic expenses so I guess I’ll be going back to work. Since I have rehire status at my last place of employment I’ll probably go back to work there since it’s the easiest job to get. I’ll definitely work in a different department, though.

I am still experiencing Second Life on a daily basis. I’ve acquired my own little piece of land and commenced building. I’ve put up a nice little semi-Japanese teahouse, some extensive landscaping, built some things from scratch, and scattered many pose balls around for meditating. My main goal is to create a relaxing atomoshpere and so far it seems to be working. It’s been a lot of fun building my little corner of Second Life. Maybe one of these days I’ll post some pictures of it.

Life is good.

There’s a guy in the Tampa Bay area that creates avatar animations for Second Life. This story ran on Fox News 13 recently and gives us a glimpse at how he does it…

Okay… think machine + cinema… what do you get? Machinima.

Here’s a look at how movies are made in virtual worlds…

Gametrotting Eps #3 - Machiniwaaa?

Now you can own your very own tornado in Second Life. Head over to Dejavu (40,70,22) for a live demonstration. Here’s a demo film shot in Second Life showing the tornadoes in action….

Runtime 6:50

Watch this amazing video as Robbie Dingo creates a 3D version of Van Gogh’s Starry Night in Second Life…

Read about how this video was made here.

The Second Life Community Convention has announced that it’s 2008 convention will be held in Tampa, FL. I guess I know what I’ll be doing next September…

I just read an article in The New York Times that does a pretty good job of explaining Second Life. You can read it here. Most articles in popular media seem to concentrate on the more bizarre aspects of virtual worlds, but this one does a credible job of explaining a much more common experience.

In real life we want a home. In SL the author has an adobe hacienda which he has furnished. In real life we want friends. In SL he has neighbors and friends that he socializes with.

There are many things we want in real life that we can’t have for whatever reason, but in second life you can have them. You can be whatever you want, anything from a homeless hobo to a real estate baron.

There are entertainment venues for dancing and concerts. There are places to shop, explore, dance, meditate… name it and you’ll probably find it.

There are also areas for people into the fantasy genre where you can have a quiet faerie cottage in the woods or a huge fortified castle. You can even live in a treehouse or a giant flower.

Want to explore a hobbit house? There are a few of those around. How about a walk through a haunted cemetery? Yep, you can do that too it if you want to.

In your explorations you will come across all kinds of people and creatures. You may even spot a dragon or two.

Second Life is good.

If RL worked like SL it would look kinda like this…

People keep asking me what is so special about this “game” called Second Life. It’s really hard to explain. It’s not really a game, it’s a virtual world where you can find almost anything, do almost anything, make friends, and just have incredible adventures.

Although I’m not Catholic, I still have a favorite saint, St. Francis of Assisi. Someday I’d like to go to Italy to see his chapel and crypt. The Basilica di San Fransesco is built around them. I was able to visit the Basilica last night in a beautiful 3d rendition in Second Life. I had a wonderful time and had the place almost to myself.

You teleport in to a reception area just outside the gates. There’s some free information to pick up, or you can buy a tour guide. Hmm… just like real life. You enter into a large courtyard area and proceed to the faithfully rendered basilica. From there you can go up stairs, down stairs, or where ever you take a notion and wander around to your hearts content.

I got lost once or twice. No problem, just teleport back to the reception area and start exploring again. I was able to find the original chapel down on one of the lower levels, but I didn’t find the crypt. I’ll be going back to visit often and will probably end up buying a guide book so as I’m wandering I’ll know more about what I’m seeing. Maybe with the guide book I’ll find the crypt.

If you manage to find your way out one of the back doors, you may find the bike path which will take you through a lovely manicured landscape. You’ll come to a gift shop where you can buy some souvenirs. Nearby there’s also a bicycle shop. Pop in and get a free bike to add to your inventory. If you can’t find the back door, teleport out of the basilica and fly around to the back side and you’ll probably be able to find it that way.

I give it two thumbs up and highly recommend a visit.

website, slurl

My friend Amras got me another pair of shoes last night. Lovely, aren’t they? I almost got the Sunshine Yellow with black toes, but decided I needed these purple ones first. They had about ten different colors, all in low-top or high-top. I can’t wait until I’ve got some L$ so I can go buy a bunch more.

Yesterday I went to the Apple store to look at new iMacs. They are georgeous. I got to see them, but the store was so jammed with people I didn’t get a chance to try Second Life on one. In another month or so I think I’ll be getting one.

I… am… not… addicted… to… Second… Life…

Here’s a picture of Pete Applemoor hovering over the Buddhist temple on the island of Golden Green. Pete likes to hang out there because it’s a very peaceful place. He can often be found meditating in a special place behind the rushing waters of a waterfall, or visiting with his friend Ricky Bosatsu.

Pete is wearing his favorite shirt—Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. Also, please notice he’s also wearing a very cool pair of denim Chuck Taylor’s given to him by his dear friends Amras and Charra.

I’m getting a bit braver in Second Life. I’ve been having tons-o-fun shopping for free merchandise, experimenting with different ways of interacting with objects, and exploring new places.

There are quite a few places to shop that have free merchandise. Oft times it’s name brand items with logos, sometimes it’s just good stuff, sometimes it’s stuff that’s not quite so good. I picked up some Levi jeans, a Rolexwatch, and a bunch more name brand items. I’m really enjoying my Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon tee shirt.

One of the objects I’ve acquired is a BMX bike. It’s been a lot of fun experimenting with that. When I was exploring one of the areas in Manhattan I found a free motorcycle. The more you explore the more things you stumble upon. Serendipity.

I wanted a pet. I saw a nice elephant on Golden Green. GG is an island with a huge Buddhist temple. I did a search for elephants. I found a place called Everlite Creature Shop. They have many types of creatures available so I teleported over. I found an elephant rather quickly and it was free! I quickly grabbed one and put him in my inventory. I walked around the corner and what did I see? A wooly mammoth! Also free. I’m acquiring quite a menagerie.

My SL and RL friends, Amras and Charra, tipped me off about an island run by the World Wildlife Fund. I popped in for a visit there last night. Beautiful scenery, lots of exotic animals, ruins of an ancient civilization. There’s also a small town where I found free WWF tee shirts and underwear for my quickly growing collection of clothes.

I think I’ll start taking pictures of some of these places so I can post them for you all to see. SL is very hard to describe, it’s something you have to experience. I’m hooked…

Problems, Problems, and More Problems…

I’ve been having a lot of problems running Second Life on my computer. It’s an older iMac, several generations old. It doesn’t have enough memory, it’s got an underpowered graphics card, and the processor is too slow. I can do some basic things, but I can’t walk around and chat without getting into trouble. The system locks up and I have to reboot. I’ve rebooted more times in the last two days than I have in the last year.

I came up with a solution…

At least I thought I did. Today I went over to my dad’s place and installed SL on his much newer and faster computer. I logged in and, voila! I could walk around and chat like a completely normal person except nobody had heads or legs, including me. And the ground and buildings never displayed, just an occasional shrub or tree floating above the ocean. I could zip around like crazy, but kept bumping into buildings and things that I couldn’t see.

I could chat in SL easily enough with other people, and spent a great deal of time with my friend Mike trying to get things working. We also enlisted the aid of the SL support forums. Unfortunately, dad’s computer, while much faster, just wasn’t up to the task. Complicating things was his DSL connection. Just not fast enough, you really need cable or fiber. And, ironically enough, his computer has the same underpowered graphics card that’s in my iMac.

I came up with the ultimate solution…

Get a new computer as soon as possible. I’ve been planning on upgrading this winter, but I may have to push that time from up a bit. Also, I’ll soon be able to get a blazingly fast fiber connection. The last couple of weeks they’ve been busy putting in the new lines in our subdivision.

Life is good.

I ran into an old friend, Mike, at Busch Gardens yesterday and had the pleasure of meeting his lovely out of town visitor. We had a great time drinking beer, seeing shows, drinking beer, having lunch, drinking beer…

Speaking of drinking beer, we attended the Brewmasters program. They’ve revamped the presentation since the last time I attended. I like the new format much better. We had the privilege of having Derek as our instructor. He did a fantastic job. I didn’t know he had it in him.

One topic that kept coming up was Second Life. It’s an online game where you live in a virtual world. Mike kept telling me I should join, I kept saying no because I know I’d become addicted.

Well, last night midnight I finally caved in and downloaded the software. Then I spent the next three and a half hours trying to learn more about what this game is about. This morning I signed up. My name in Second Life is Pete Applemoor. I logged in and the first thing I did was customize my appearance. They have a lot of options to change your appearance. I came up with something I can live with for a while, but I’m sure I’ll be adjusting it from time to time.

One problem I’m having with the game so far is the speed of my computer. It’s getting pretty old and it’s just not fast enough to play the game properly. Maybe later this year I’ll get a new computer…