The Main (SLS) channel was updated on Tuesday, April 3rd to server release 18#18.03.27.513831, containing internal fixes and updates the new off-line IM and Abuse Report capabilities (see below).
On Wednesday, April 4th, the BlueSteel and LeTigre release candidate channels should receive server maintenance package 18#18.03.29.513939, containing internal fixes; the Magnum RC has no planned deployment, and remains on 18#18.03.27.513831.
SL Viewer
There have been no changes to the viewer pipelines at the start of the week, leaving them as:
Current Release version 5.1.2.512803, dated February 23, promoted March 1 – formerly the Nalewka Maintenance RC – No change
Release channel cohorts:
Media Update RC viewer, version 5.1.3.513644, March 27.
Ouzo Maintenance RC, version 5.1.3.513630, March 23.
Love Me Render RC viewer, version 5.1.3.513005, March 2.
Project viewers:
Bakes on Mesh project viewer, version 5.1.3.513936, March 30 (note this version of the viewer does not support applying bakes to mesh bodies / heads).
360 snapshot viewer, version 5.1.3.513006, March 6 (this version can have significant rendering issues, see my hand-on update).
Linux Spur viewer, version 5.0.9.329906, dated November 17, 2017 and promoted to release status 29 November – offered pending a Linux version of the Alex Ivy viewer code.
Obsolete platform viewer, version 3.7.28.300847, May 8, 2015 – provided for users on Windows XP and OS X versions below 10.7. This viewer will remain available for as long as reasonable, but will not be updated with new features or bug fixes.
Region Crossings
As I’ve reported in recent Simulator User Group meetings, Joe Magarac (animats) working on a scripted workaround to improve region crossings (“partial unsits, etc.) – see BUG-214653. The Lab is also working on crossings on the simulator side. While no time frames for the work were given, Oz Linen did observe, “How successful we’ll be remains to be seen, but we’re optimistic that we can make significant improvements.”
Now open at the Artists In Residence gallery in the InterstellART, curated by Asmita Duranjaya, is a new exhibition of physical world photography by Fuyuko Amano (Wintergeist). Entitled Entscheidungen (decisions), it is dedicated to her father, who recently passed away, and so forms something of a personal exhibition of art.
A further dedication to her father sits alongside the landing point for the exhibit, which reads:
One morning you do not wake up. The birds sing as they sang yesterday. Nothing changes this new daily routine. Only you left. You are free now and our tears wish you luck.
Inside the gallery space, a dozen photographs are offered for viewing. They at first appear to be a curious mix: a building, an autumn leaf, a deliberately blurred night scene, an empty corridor, and so on. They seem to be random – and perhaps they are; yet, a considered look at them, taken with their titles (just right-click and edit to view), and perhaps something more is revealed.
When we lose someone, the mind becomes a waterfall of memories and mood, thoughts and feelings. The closer that person was to us, then the more tumultuous the thoughts. We can feel alone, caught between places and feelings – sometimes happy, others sad; places we can go to and remember, places that remind us, unbidden by conscious thought. Our moods become complex, layered; the familiar seems emptier, stranger, and it’s hard – at first – not to count the passing of time when they are no longer there, doing what we know was part of their life.
This is this cascade of thoughts and feelings that might be reflected in the images offered here: rather than being a study of leaves turning red with the passage of the seasons, Herbst (Autumn) becomes a reminder of what has now come to an end; Night City personifies the way the once familiar can seem suddenly strange to our eyes after the loss of a loved one; Here and There captures that sense of being capture between moods and memories; while In the City of Ghosts, Allein (Alone) and Don’t lose Your Way, speak powerfully and clearly without the need for translation here.
This is – as I noted – something of a personal display of photography, both in the way it is dedicated to the passing of a family member, and because of the manner in which Wintergeist appears to be opening her heart and feelings to use, allowing us a glimpse inside. Artistically speaking, it is also a visually captivating set of images; each beautifully framed and cleanly presented without the distraction of framing.
2018 marks the start of a new chapter in the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) work. For the first time, fund-raisers are allowed to earmark donations for a special project they have chosen to support – and Fantasy Faire is going to do precisely that, supporting the Kenyatta National Hospital Hope Hostel, with all proceeds from this year Faire going towards this ground-breaking international project.
Since the 1970s, ACS has built and managed more than 30 Hope Lodge facilities across the United States and in Puerto Rico. These provide free accommodations for cancer patients and their caregivers during treatment. More than a place to stay, a Hope Lodge can be an essential part of cancer care for many. In 2014, for example, over 44,000 cancer patients and caregivers stayed at a Hope Lodge for a total of over 276,000 free nights of accommodation and a range of facilities such as a social centre, library, and laundry. For some of these people, it saved them from facing the impossible choice between receiving treatment and paying the bills at home.
Now ACS has decided to broaden the project and establish Hope Lodges internationally – and the first is being created in Kenya, where cancer is the third leading cause of death. Approximately 40,000 new cases out of the nation’s 45 million population are diagnosed every year, and some 28,500 Kenyans die from the disease annually. What’s more, while cancer mortality rates in developed nations have fallen as treatment and preventative measures have improved, in Africa they’ve remain unchanged for 30 years.
Currently, the only public comprehensive cancer treatment centre in Kenya is located at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) in Nairobi. This means patients must travel from all over the country to KNH to receive treatment. However, accommodation is at a premium – many Kenyans simply cannot afford the US $4 or $5 a night cost of lodging while receiving treatment at the hospital. This leaves many patients sleeping in the hospital’s corridors (for which the KNH has been repeatedly chastised) or worse, outside. Exposed to the elements, without the means to bathe or prepare a proper meal, many of these patients have their chances of survival is greatly compromised.
Hence why Kenya has been chosen to become home to a Hope Lodge, and ACS have decided to partner with the Kenyatta National Hospital to create it.
Located within the campus grounds of the KNH, the Hope Hostel will cost an estimated US $2 million – an amount that will guarantee both the construction of the facilities and cover two years of operating costs. Once operational, the Hope Hostel will serve more than 1,000 cancer patients annually, providing free temporary housing and integrated hospital services, such as post-operative care and pain management. In addition, the Hostel will provide an on-site resource centre where patients and caregivers can obtain cancer information and resources, and offer a place where patients can rest during the day.
The KNH Hope Hostel will not only provide people from around the country a place to stay during treatment, but also a place to heal physically and spiritually.
Fantasy Faire is taking on this lead role in both raising funds and awareness of the Kenyatta National Hospital Hope Hostel at the direct request of Stingray Raymaker, known in the physical world as Jeff Montegut, the Director of On-line Revenue at Relay For Life.
Fantasy Faire has raised so much money for RFL in the last nine years, and I know that 2018 will be huge. Big number TEN and all! So, what do you think about the idea that all money raised by Fantasy Faire in 2018 could go to helping us build the Hope Lodge in Kenya?
– Stingray Raymaker
Relay For Life of Second Life is a global fund-raising activity, but it has often been seen as raising money for an American organisation which spends that money only in the United States. This is not an accurate reflection of things – as Da5id Abbot has recently blogged about on the Fantasy Faire website.
By taking on fund-raising for the KNH Hope Hostel, Fantasy Faire is further correcting such misconceptions in a practical and life-saving way. One which further extends the family of Second Life relayers, as the Fantasy Faire management team point out:
The survivors, caregivers and medical staff at Kenyatta National Hospital are every bit as much our brothers and sisters in the fight against cancer as those in our own home towns, and we can’t tell you how proud we are to be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with them … today we welcome the chance to join new friends and colleagues in our global mission to make cancer history …
Fairelanders, let’s show our new friends just what we can do.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates for the week ending Sunday, April 1st
This summary is generally published on every Monday, and is a list of SL viewer / client releases (official and TPV) made during the previous week. When reading it, please note:
It is based on my Current Viewer Releases Page, a list of all Second Life viewers and clients that are in popular use (and of which I am aware), and which are recognised as adhering to the TPV Policy. This page includes comprehensive links to download pages, blog notes, release notes, etc., as well as links to any / all reviews of specific viewers / clients made within this blog.
By its nature, this summary presented here will always be in arrears, please refer to the Current Viewer Release Page for more up-to-date information.
Official LL Viewers
Current Release version 5.1.2.512803, dated February 23rd, promoted March 1st – formerly the Nalewka Maintenance RC – No Change.
Cool VL Viewer updated as follows: the Stable branch to version 1.26.20.49 and the Experimental version to 1.26.21.16, both on March 31st (release notes).
It’s time to highlight another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s home at Holly Kai Park, unless otherwise indicated.
Monday, April 2nd 19:00: The Crucible of Time
Gyro Muggins reads the fix-up by John Brunner. First published as two-part story which appeared in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, it’s an ambitious tale of alien intelligence which grew to a series of six linked tales pushed as a single novel in 1983.
Far off in space is an alien race which is so much like us, yet so un-alike. From the birth of their earliest civilisation through to their attainment of star flight as their star system passes through the galaxy, we follow their development through the ages.
Aquatic by nature, this race presents some significant challenges well outside the realms of anything encountered by humanity. But they are also driven by all too familiar hopes, fears, desires, needs, wants, prejudices, impact of religious ideologies, and the quest for knowledge we have experienced in the growth of our own civilisation.
Charting six periods of time, each a thousand years after the previous, the six stories focus on the efforts of a group of individuals in each era as they face one or more challenges, their success in overcoming these challenges inevitably leading them towards a greater understanding of their planet’s plight, and ultimately, the ability to deal with that plight and the survival of their civilisation.
Tuesday, April 3rd 19:00: National Lampoon’s Doon
In a distant galaxy, far, far away, a plot is brewing as vast and elaborate as the Empire itself…
Evil powers plot to harvest the wild pools of beer that grow only on the savage, sugar-swept world of Doon, take control of the native pretzel population, and turn the plucky little orb into the lounge-planet of the universe!
And only one man, Pall Agamemnides, heir to a dukedom can stop the galaxy-wide web of conspiracy and intrigue that is being fomented, and bring an end to the threat facing Soon.
Although reliant on a knowledge of both Frank Herbert’s sprawling story of Dune and Herbert’s often heady and flowery prose, Ellis Weiner’s tongue-in-cheek Doon is a masterpiece, offering a perfect parody of Herbert’s novel and brilliantly and accurately mimicking his prose.
Wednesday, April 4th 19:00: Merlin’s Dragon
Long ago, at the dawn of Merlin’s world, a strange little creature named Basil appeared. Part lizard, part bat, his eyes glow with a mysterious light.
When Basil discovers a threat to his world and to Merlin, he begins an epic journey that takes him from the Great Tree of Avalon to the outermost edges of the spirit realm. But his boldest journey will be to face his own deepest fears. And only if he survives can he save Merlin – and find his future.
So reads the cover description for The Dragon of Avalon, part of T.A. Barron’s Merlin Saga series, a trilogy of stories within the series charting Basil’s rise from humble beginnings to the greatest dragon of all time, loyal to Merlin and protector of Avalon.
Join Faerie Maven-Pralou as she delves in Barron’s magical realm.
Thursday, April 5th
19:00: The hunchback of Notre Dame
With Shandon Loring. Also presented in Kitely (hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai/144/129/29)
21:00: Seanchai Late Night
Contemporary science fiction with Finn Zeddmore.
Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.
Tiangong-1, imaged from a docked Shenzhou spacecraft. Credit: CMSE
China’s first orbital laboratory, Tiangong-1 (“Celestial Palace 1”) is due to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere within the next 24 hours.
Launched in 2011, the 10.4-metre-long (34-foot) unit weighing 8.5 tonnes, was the first phase in China’s project to gain experience in Earth-orbit operations in order to establish a space station in the 2020s. It operated for four-and-a-half-years, and was visited by two crewed missions before operations were officially brought to a close in 2016, following the launch of the Tiangong-2 orbital module.
Originally, it had been anticipated that Tiangong-1 would be de-orbited and allowed to burn-up in the upper atmosphere in late 2017. However, it was also claimed that the Chinese had lost attitude control over the unit, and that it would de-orbit some time in March 2018. These claims that control had been lost – strongly denied by the Chinese, led to over-the-top reports that the Earth was in imminent danger of the station forming a fireball and crashing to the ground within a city.
Tiangong 1. Credit: CMSE
While it is true that the unit could re-enter the atmosphere anywhere between 43-degrees north and 43-degrees south, the fact is that much of the laboratory’s orbit takes it over open sea, so the risk than any part of it which might survive re-entry and disintegration in the upper atmosphere could strike a populated centre is considered low.
At the time of writing, orbital tracking suggested that Tiangong-1 will re-enter the denser part of Earth’s atmosphere and start to break-up no earlier than 00:18 UTC on Monday, April, 2nd, 2018 (roughly 17:18 EST) +/- 1.7 hours. As Tiangong-1 descends into the atmosphere it will be subject to frictional heat and vibration which will combine to start breaking it apart. As this happens, it is liable it will start tumbling, speeding the process of disintegration and encouraging more of it to burn-up due to frictional heat. The hope is that almost nothing of the station will survive this burn-up process to actually reach the surface of the planet.
Tiangong’s rate of orbital decay and predictability
But even if some do, again, the chances of them hitting a populated area and causing a loss of life appear somewhat remote. In this, Tiangong-1 reflects the US Skylab mission in 1979 and the Russian Salyut 7 / Cosmos 1686 combination of 1991. Both of these where much larger than Tiangong 1 (77 tonnes and 40 tonnes respectively), and made uncontrolled re-entries into Earth’s atmosphere. In both cases, wreckage did not cause loss of life. It’s also worth pointing out that something equal to, or approaching, the size and mass of Tiangong-1 re-enters Earth’s atmosphere approximately every 3 or 4 years – all without harm to those below.
Those interested in tracking the laboratory’s orbit in real-time can do so via Aerospace Corporation’s Tiangong-1 re-entry dashboard .
The Moon: Gateway or Direct?
As NASA considers whether or not to acquire more than one propulsion module for the proposed Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway (LOP-G, previously known as the Deep Space Gateway), more are adding their voices to concern that NASA’s idea of establishing a human presence on the Moon’s surface by way of an orbital facility is not the most ideal way to go.
The proposed Lunar Orbit platform-Gateway (LOP-G, formerly the Deep Space Gateway): NASA hopes to have it operating by 2024 with international support. In his Space News Op-Ed, Robert Zubrin believes that humans could be on the surface of the Moon within that time frame. Credit: NASA
The LOP-G has taken various forms over the course of the last several years. envisaged as a small space station occupying a near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) around the Moon, it was previously known as the Deep Space Gateway, intended to support the (now-cancelled) Asteroid Redirect Mission. It was then seen as a means of supporting lunar missions and – eventually – missions to Mars. The reasons for the station have always been pretty thin, and in an Op-Ed written for Spacenews.com, Robert Zubrin offers an alternative approach to a return to the Moon which forgoes the need for LOP-G.
Zubrin, along with David Baker, is the author of Mars Direct, a proposal for establishing a human presence on Mars. It was conceived in the 1990s in response to NASA’s Space Exploration Initiative of 1989. Also called the 90-Day Report, this sought to set-out a roadmap for reaching Mars. This involved developing orbital facilities around Earth which would in turn allow for a return to the Moon, where large-scale facilities could be built from which humans could embark on missions to Mars. With a 30-year time frame and an estimated cost of US $450 billion, it was a plan built on the specious idea that the Moon offered the “easiest” route to reaching Mars, and which ultimately went nowhere.
Robert Zubrin addresses staff at NASA’s Ames Research Centre, California, in 2014. Credit: NASA
Mars Direct, on the other hand, presented the means to reach Mars with an initial human mission in just 10 years from inception, and at a cost of some US $30 billion overall. This included all the development costs of the launch vehicle and the required crew infrastructure which, once developed, could be used to undertake subsequent missions (launched every 2 years, to take advantage of Earth’s and Mars’ orbits) at a cost of US $1 billion a year. The mission profile also provided the means to use local resources on Mars to reduce overheads (such as using the Martian atmosphere to produce fuel stocks) and establish a permanent presence on the planet, as well as offering crews an assurance of getting back to Earth if anything went wrong with a particular mission.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 