Month: January 2020

A decade (+) of blogging: thoughts on Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey

On the occasions of my 13th SL rezday, Erik Mondrian reminded me that 2019 marks my 10th year of blogging via WordPress (I’d used another platform for a couple of years prior to that). With his reminder, Erik presented me with a challenge:

A slightly belated Happy Rez Day, Inara! And, if I may, perhaps a challenge? Not that you’re short of things to write about, but if you have time: In the last 10 years, what do you feel has been one of the best changes/additions to SL? And what are your hopes for the next 5?

– Erik Mondrian, via Twitter

As I stated in my reply to that tweet, I’m note sure I could pin thoughts down to any one thing in terms of what has positively happened to Second Life; there are simply too many – and some tend to be interconnected in some ways. However, I’ve been cogitating Erik’s challenge, and here is (slightly later than planned) an abbreviated list of some of the things that I believe have either benefited SL or had a positive impact on it over the last decade or so, and which I’ve particularly appreciated during my time using the platform.

Communications with the Lab: the relationship between the Lab and SL users has tended to be a complex one. At the time I moved to blogging via WordPress, things were at a low ebb. There had been the Homestead region situation, together with the drive to make SL a more “business oriented” platform (vis: Mitch Kapor’s SL5B crossing the chasm address that appeared to suggest SL’s early adopters were interfering with trying to reach an early majority audience; suggestions that parts of the Mainland should be made “business only”; the (ill-fated) Second Life Enterprise (SLE) product development; lectures from form Lab employees on how users should dress their avatars “for business”, etc), all of which left a lot of SL users felling pretty disenfranchised.

However, starting with Rod Humble and particularly with Ebbe Altberg, the Lab has sought to strongly re-engage with its users and embrace them. Things haven’t always worked out in their entirety (communications did go a little backwards towards the end of Humble’s tenure); but there is no denying the improvements seen through activities such regular Town Hall / Lab Chat / Meet the Lindens events plus the likes of VWBPE addresses and Designing Worlds interviews, and the simple expedient of allowing LL staff to once again openly engage with users whilst using their “official” accounts.

Windlight: although it was originally introduced in 2007, Windlight had a profound effect on the appearance of Second Life that’s hard to overlook. Originally a third-party product Linden Lab acquired and which didn’t see all of its potential capabilities implemented (for whatever reason), the overall impact of Windlight shouldn’t be trivialised.  If you need an idea of how SL looked pre-Windlight  – with the exception of the old particle clouds – just disable the Basic Shaders in the viewer.

Open sourcing the viewer code: also introduced in 2007 and not without its share of hiccups / controversies (the Emerald viewer situation, for example), the open-source project has undoubtedly served SL well. It has allowed third-party viewers to thrive within a reasonable framework, and both exposing features hidden with the viewer’s debug settings and allowing developers to add their own options, allowing users a greater choice of client options. It has also provided the means for users to contribute potential improvements to the viewer back the the Lab, generating a a largely positive synergy between developers and the Lab.

Mesh model import: admittedly, the impact of mesh modelling in Second life cuts both ways: positive and negative. Leaving aside what might be regarded as its negative aspects, it has helped to improve SL’s look and feel, potentially made region design more accessible / attractive, and helped bring improvements to the avatar we might otherwise not have seen, or which may have not have been implemented until later in the platform’s life (e.g. Bento and Animesh).

Performance improvements: over the last decade, LL has worked extensively “under the hood” with Second Life to try to improve overall improvements, such as the long-term Project Shining. Running for some 2 years with the aim of improving object and avatar performance, it was followed by further projects and efforts to help improve performance in assorted areas. Some have had mixed initial impact, but all of which have, overall, helped to improve things for most users, even if only incrementally in some cases.

Materials, Bento and Animesh: all three have helped improve the look and feel of Second Life, making it more attractive to users old and new.

Looking to the next 5 years, there is much that might happen or which many would like to see happen – from technical aspects such as further improvements in simulator performance (e.g. script and physics performance, region crossing management), through to more esoteric aspects such as audience growth / user retention, fee balancing, etc. However, I’ll restrict my thoughts for the future to one topic: the transition to the cloud.

This work has already eaten into the Lab’s engineering and operating time over the two years, and will doubtless continue to be a significant focus for 2020. However, it is a leap into the unknown for Linden Lab and Second Life, both technically and in terms of operating outlay / revenue generation (e.g. capping the cost of having cloud servers running 24/7 in a manner that doesn’t require uncomfortable fee increases).

On the technical side, it’s more than likely that the focus on moving to the cloud has a higher priority that developing significant new features for SL – and perhaps even curtailed implementing updates that might be seen as having a limited lifespan, such as infrastructure changes that could be rendered obsolete following the cloud uplift, but which are nevertheless causing a lot of teeth grinding amongst users.

Even when the uplift itself is completed, it is likely that the transition will still require a significant among of settling-in and adjustments that will continue to occupy the operations and engineering teams. So there is a lot hinging on this move that will continue into the next couple of years, and that is important to the overall future of the platform.

Edie Horngold at DiXmiX in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
DiXmiX Gallery: Edie Horngold

Calling Out For You is the title of Edie Horngold’s exhibition at DiXmiX gallery. Located on the gallery’s White hall mezzanine and running through until early February 2020, this is an intriguing series of avatar studies, each of which is intended to frame a story, rather than representing an avatar through portrait or action.

Quite what the story might be is entirely down to those who visit – hence the title for the exhibition – as each image in this selection is highly personal in interpretation. All but one of the images deliberately avoid including the full face of their subject (Edie herself), a move that helps to settle those viewing them into a wider consideration of the narrative framed within each image, rather than being focused purely on looks and expression.

A further aspect to the story elements of the pieces comes through the use of colour, with most of the pieces offered as monochrome pieces. Where colour is used, it is generally not only minimalised, it is often offered through softer tones, allowing it to form a part of the overall narrative without distracting from it by causing the eye to unduly focus on individual parts of the image.

DiXmiX Gallery: Edie Horngold

Take Hisssteria, for example. Here the broader monochrome aspect of the piece is “broken” through the reflective sheen afforded the leather suit, while the use of a flesh tone of the arm blends, rather than clashes, with the more alabaster tone to the exposed flesh elsewhere whilst also offering a suggestion of sinuosity in keeping with with the snake (also offered in softer tones), thus helping the eye and mind to focus more on the relationship between figure and reptile.

A contrast to this approach is Hand With Cigarette. Here the use of colour is richer – the green of the dress deliberately contrasting with the paler flesh and the black background. This helps draw the eye to the red nails, the tempting partial exposure of nipples and the languid hand with the cigarette between relaxed fingers. All combine to imply seduction, the dress and poised hand at the side enhancing the potential for story through the suggestion of a femme fatale.

DiXmiX Gallery: Edie Horngold

It is these hints and echoes that make many of the pieces so intriguing. They draw one into each picture, teasing the imagination, presenting both evocative and provocative lines of narrative; mysteries, if you will, in which the solution is unique to each of us.

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Tales of wonder and stories of extraordinary women

Posted on by Inara Pey
Seanchai Library

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 unless otherwise indicated. Note that the schedule below may be subject to change during the week, please refer to the Seanchai Library website for the latest information through the week.

Monday, January 6th 19:00 The Integral Trees

Dispatched on a mission of exploration, the Earth ship Discipline, operated by the the all-powerful State, encountered a strange phenomenon: a torus-like ring of gas and dust surrounding a neutron star. Within the torus, the crew discover a thriving ecosystem of plant and animal lifeforms that have evolved to living continually in a state of free-fall.

Despite being overseen by the ship’s AI system, Sharls Davis Kendy, from which they received advice and information, the crew abandoned the Discipline in favour of living among the plants and trees of the torus, which they call the Smoke Ring.

Now, 500 years later, the descends of the original crew have formed a tribal society focused around some of the trees of the system. Adapted to free-fall life, their societal structures are sharply divided, with “wars” common among them, as well as stronger tribes raiding or enslaving weaker tribes, whilst in all of them, artefacts from the original mission are sought-after and venerated. 

In the midst of a round of aggression between various tribal factions, one group find themselves aboard an original craft from the Discipline and caught in space beyond the Smoke Ring, where the Discipline and Kendy are still waiting – and Kendy is willing to provide assistance.

Join Gyro Muggins for more.

Tuesday, January 7th 19:00 A Glorious Freedom: Older Women Leading Extraordinary Lives

Selections from Lisa Congdon’s book celebrating extraordinary lives and redefines what it means to gain wisdom and maturity. From the book’s back cover blurb:

In this richly illustrated volume, best-selling author and artist Lisa Congdon explores the power of women over the age of forty who are thriving and living life on their own terms. Profiles, interviews, and essays from women—including Vera Wang, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Julia Child, Cheryl Strayed, and many more—who’ve found creative fulfilment and accomplished great things in the second half of their lives.

Wednesday, January 8th, 19:00:The Starless Sea

Caledonia Skytower reads selections from Erin Morgensterns novel.

Deep beneath the surface of the Earth and upon the shores of the Starless Sea, lies a network of tunnels and rooms filled with stories and tales. The ways into this secret place are many, but hidden, and perhaps set for just one individual to find. They exist where least expected: on the floors of forests, behind doors inside private homes or around alleyway corners or within mountain caves – almost anywhere in which they cannot be anticipated.

Zachary Ezra Rawlins is searching for his door, though he does not know it. He follows a silent siren song, an inexplicable knowledge that he is meant for another place.

When he discovers a mysterious book in the stacks of his campus library he begins to read, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, lost cities, and nameless acolytes. Suddenly a turn of the page brings Zachary to a story from his own childhood impossibly written in this book that is older than he is…

Thursday, January 9th 19:00 Ancient Fires

Shandon Loring delves into the case files of Jules de Grandin, occult detective, as created by Seabury Grandin Quinn for the pulp magazine Weird Tales. He starts with Ancient Fires. Also in Kitely – grid.kitely.com:8002:SEANCHAI).

Space Sunday: things to watch for in 2020

Posted on by Inara Pey
An artist’s impression of ESA Solar Orbiter over the Sun. Credit: ESA

2020 is promising to be a busy year for space flight and astronomy, so I’m liable to have an even harder time sifting through all that is going on when trying to cover some of the more interesting / unusual events and missions taking place. So for the first Space Sunday of the year, I thought I’d look at some of the more notable events for the year; I can’t promise to cover all of them as the year progresses, but I’m aiming to get to as many as I can!

Spaceflight

Apollo 13

April 1970 marks the 50th anniversary of Apollo 13, probably the second most famous of the Apollo lunar missions on account of what went wrong and the eventual successful return to Earth of the 3-man crew of James Lovell, Jack Swigert and Fred Haise. Apollo 13 was the only Apollo mission to take place in 1970, and I’ll be covering the mission nearer its anniversary.

ISS: 2020 Years of Continuous Human Presence

November 2020 will mark the 20th anniversary of a continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station (ISS).

While there had been five Space Shuttle flights to the ISS between 1998 and 2000, none constituted a continuous human presence at the station. However, on November 2nd 2019, two days after launching from the historic Gagarin Start launch pad (used to launch the first human in space / to orbit the Earth, Yuri Gagarin) at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, the 3-man crew of Expedition 1, transferred from their Soyuz TM-3 vehicle to the ISS to start a 136-day stay at the station.

The crew that marked the start of a permanent human presence in space aboard the ISS: Expedition 1 crew William Shepherd (c), Flight Engineer Sergei K. Krikalev (l, later commander of Expedition 11), and Soyuz Commander Yuri P. Gidzenko (r)

The crew of NASA astronaut (and mission commander) William Shepherd, and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei K. Krikalev were not alone during their stay, being joined by the crews of space shuttles Endeavour (STS-97) and Atlantis (STS-98) during missions to further the assembly of the station. The Expedition 1 crew eventually departed the ISS on March 18th, 2001, aboard the shuttle Discovery, which had arrived on March 10th, both as a part of the assembly operations and to deliver the Expedition 2 crew who replaced Shepherd, Gidzenko and Krikalev.

Since then, there have been 61 Expedition crew rotations, with the total number of crew on the ISS at any one time varying from between three and six people (allowing for overlaps between individual Expeditions), with some individual astronauts and cosmonauts participating in more than one rotation.

Commercial Crew Flights

The year should also mark the resumption of crewed flights between US soil and the ISS for the first time since the space shuttle ceased operations in 2011. Crews are due to start flying to the station around mid-2020 using the SpaceX Crew Dragon vehicle (which has already completed a successful uncrewed flight to/from the ISS), and the Boeing CST-100 Starliner (which was unable to rendezvous with the ISS during its first orbital flight).

SpaceX Crew Dragon (l) and the Boeing CST-100 Starliner: crewed lights to the International Space Station in 2020. Credit: SpaceX / Boeing

No formal dates have been given on when Crew Dragon and Starliner will start routine to the ISS, both both are expected to complete one crewed “test flight” in “early” 2020 before transitioning into “operational” flights, with the Boeing test flight possibly lasting a full 6-month crew rotation.

For SpaceX, there is one remaining critical flight test that must be completed prior to any crewed flights. This will be a flight test of the Crew Dragon’s launch abort system, and is due to take place on or just after January 11th, 2020.

NASA Artemis 1

Formerly known as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), NASA’s Artemis-1 mission is being targeted for a late 2020 launch as a part of the US space agency’s goal to return humans to the surface of the Moon, possibly by 2024. This mission will be the first flight of NASA’s new super booster, the Space Launch System (SLS), which will be used to send an uncrewed Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle on an extended 3-week trip to cislunar space, including a week actually orbiting the Moon, before making a return to Earth.

Before the mission can take place, there are a number of critical tests the SLS system must undergo before it can be declared ready for launch, including a major engine firing test for its first stage engines. As such, whether or not Artemis-1 takes place depends on the outcome of these tests.

Space Tourism

It is anticipated that both Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin will commence sub-orbital flights into space for fare-paying tourists before the end of 2020. Neither company have formally committed to dates for their first flights, but Virgin Galactic has already commenced providing training and pre-flight health and diet advice for the first of the estimated 2,500 people who have made at least a significant down payment of their tickets.

An unusual view of Virgin Galactic’s VSS Unity about to land at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California in February 2019. Credit: Gene Blevins / Reuters

Blue Origin, meanwhile, have been ramping up their New Shephard booster / capsule launches with a series of uncrewed science and test flight in readiness for also flying their own crews and passengers.

Mars Opposition

Mid-2020 will see Mars and Earth make a relatively “close” approach to one another – something that happens every 26 months -, marking it as the most advantageous time to launch missions to the red planet. So the year should see four individual missions launched, involving multiple countries.

NASA Mars 2020: NASA’s latest (and still-to-be-named) Mars rover vehicle is due to be launched on July 17th. Of the same class of large, nuclear-powered rover as Curiosity, Mars 2020 is due to land in Jezero Crater on February 18th, 2021. However, while similar to Curiosity, the Mars 2020 rover has a very different mission – to seek out direct evidence of past life on Mars, and has very different capabilities.

An artist’s impression of the Mars 2020 rover. note the revised instrument package on the rover’s arm. Credit: NASA

In particular, the rover has a completely new instrument system on its robot arm, and will be capable of depositing sealed sample containers on the surface of Mars, which will be collected and returned to Earth by a proposed future mission. In addition, it will carry the first vehicle designed to fly on Mars in the form of a small helicopter drone.

Continue reading “Space Sunday: things to watch for in 2020” →

A Walk in the Darkness in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Terrygold – Carla: Walk in the Darkness

Substance abuse – be it “hard” or “soft” drugs, misuse of prescription drugs or over-indulgence in alcohol, to name but some of its forms – can be a difficult subject to represent. It can come about due to a variety of means and reasons, often with the person or persons caught in the cycle either trying to hide their dependency or deny it. Circumstance often plays a role in misuse, and that circumstance can vary widely.

With her latest installation, Carla, Walk in the Darkness, Terrygold attempts to weave a story of how substance abuse can grow out of the simplest of situations: peer pressure coupled with parental pressure.

Terrygold – Carla: Walk in the Darkness

Though a series of written chapters presented in text, interlinked by a series of 3D vignettes and photographs, the installation traces the story of Carla, a young teenage girl who is apparently content with her lot: school and studying to be a dancer – until she runs into some of her peers into smoking some cannabis.

From this seemingly innocent start, Carla’s life spirals – kicking back and just enjoying the heightened mood associated with cannabis, then skipping dance lessons and rebelling against her family’s concern / pressure that gives her a need to seek “freedom”, which itself is a further opening of the Pandora’s box of needing to recapture the comfort and escape of that first high through every more damaging ways – damaging to both herself and members of her family.

The story is set out in a series of descending rooms, starting from the uppermost, where a general introduction to the installation can be found, together with information on how best to view the installation. Spiralling downwards, each room offers a piece of the story, the physical descent from room to room clearly a metaphor for the descent into the darkness of substance abuse / dependency. Following the path down can be a little difficult in places, – so just cam around if you feel your are stuck; there are clues in places – green triangles on the floor or roses spread across them.

It is ultimately a dark tale that does not end happily – as one might expect – and the ending is made that much starker because after it, we get to see what might have happened if, instead of succumbing to a need to be accepted by peers, Carla had uttered a simple word.

Overall, the story is well told; the words of the story have in places obviously been carefully chosen to have maximum impact, and the individual vignettes (some of which may have interactive elements, so be sure to mouse around them rather than simply passing through) emphasise the key points of the tale. That said, there is a risk some might find the story a little too artificial in structure (long has been the debate around whether medicinal use of some drugs can lead to a need / dependency on them or carry a person into the realm “hard” drug abuse). However, as I’ve noted, this isn’t a subject that is easy to represent or broach; as such some license in the structure and outcome should be allowed.

Terrygold – Carla: Walk in the Darkness

Carla: Walk in the Darkness officially opens at 13:00 SLT on Saturday, January 4th, 2020.

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Aradia’s Winter in Second Life

Posted on by Inara Pey
Aradia’s Winter, January 2020 – click any image for full size

Update, January 12th: Aradia has now been re-dressed for spring.

Aradia is a Homestead region designed by LadyOnia that offers a mix of public spaces and rentals for those seeking a home. We first visited in November 2019, not long after the the region had opened, and when it was dressed for autumn. I jumped back with the start of the new year to take a look at it under winter’s blanket.

The landing point sits to the west of the region, above a broad spread of beach – although given the snow and the winds, it might take a very brave soul to take a dip in the waters or attempt any sunbathing on the sands! The rest of this predominantly low-lying region spreads out eastwards, cut by channels of water that serve to break it up such that exploration is a case of findings ways across the water (and even then, once or twice a little wading might be required!).

Aradia’s Winter, January 2020

I say “predominantly low-lying”, because the north-eastern corner of the region is raised slightly above the rest to form a circular table of land on which the rental properties are located. This looks across the region to where the land unmistakable bulks up in a rocky hill to the south-west.

The rentals are clearly separated from the “public” parts of the region, with just a single point of access by foot to their round plateau. Five cottages and a lighthouse form a ring around the outer extent of their rocky table, the centre of which forms an open space marked by ancient stonework built around a water feature.

Aradia’s Winter, January 2020

Rental information on the properties is available at the information board located on the steps that form the access point for the rentals, spaning the channel separating them from the rest of the region. However, I understand from LadyOnia that she is currently using two of the properties, leaving just four with rental options. Wildlife is very much a feature of the region: herons and egrets keep an eye on the waterways, doubtless watching for unwary fish, although they may face some competition for fishy meals from the otters floating on the water or playing nearby.

Away from the waters, peacocks strut around the territories they’ve claimed for themselves, while rabbits and deer take a more relaxed view of things, content to hop through the snow or graze on the grasses poking up through its blanket. Weasels are also to be found as they scurry through the snow, while sheep and goats can be found at various points, with the sheep laying claim to the ring of standing stones to the north-west.

Aradia’s Winter, January 2020

For those fancying a bit of a climb, the south-eastern hill can be reached via log bridges and a rocky arch, the climb made easier by the stone steps winding up its flanks. The hill’s lower shoulder is broad enough to be home to a large frozen pond, a little café raised to one side of it. The latter offers a place to sit and rest and perhaps enjoy a hot cocoa before carrying on up to the peak, while a sign at the edge of the pond will deliver skates for anyone wanting to make use of the ice as a rink.

The central and eastern lowlands offer open spaces and various features of their own – some of which may be changing a the next few weeks as they are decidedly Christmas oriented, and LadyOnia noted to me that she’s looking to introduce a spring setting to the region in the not-too-distant future. Much of these lower areas are marked by trees with trunks bent so they stand as if crouched against an unrelenting wind. Places to sit and cuddle can be found under some of them, with more places of to to be found scattered around, from simple benches to a giant stone-carved hand to winter’s crescent Moon swing.

Aradia’s Winter, January 2020

One of the pleasing aspects of this region – for me, at least – is that the volume of snow didn’t impact my system’s performance as much as it has elsewhere. However, it does combine well with the region’s windlight to add a natural softening to the landscape as one looks across the region, just as now does in the natural world.

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