Maison de la Chouette, March-April 2024: Noa Cloud
Maison de la Chouette is a new art venue – at least for me – operated by the veritable Owl Dragonash, a superb patron of the arts herself, and also a talented Second Life photographer. A further gallery nestled within the Corsica South Coasters area, it joins the likes of NovaOwl and the galleries at Port Emyniad (and locations in between) in presenting the opportunity for visitors to explore the local landscape and trails and appreciating a rich variety of SL art (see: Art and a walk in Southern Corsica in Second Life).
I was drawn to Maison de la Chouette specifically because it is, throughout March and April, hosting an exhibition of art by Noa Cloud. The holder and creator of [REN] (of Noa is perhaps best known amongst SL explorers as the holder and creator of [REN], which I last visited in May 2023 (see: The idyllic beauty of REN in Second Life). Noa is a gifted writer, a musician and actor, and himself an explorer of Second Life. He is also a talented photographer-artist ([REN] is also home to his own gallery) with a focus on SL landscape and avatar studies.
Maison de la Chouette, March-April 2024: Noa Cloud
At Owl’s Maison, he is presenting fifteen images showcasing his landscape work, and they are both beautifully rendered and carry a depth of artistic express which mark them as instantly purchasable for display in anyone’s SL home. Several of the pieces offer images of SL’s wildlife and animals, generally casting them in the most delightful way of telling a little stories of love, companionship, childhood and fun, utilising characters he discovered on his journeys around SL.
The images are present in both panoramic and square formats, with the latter offering a patterned border around them. This reminded me of the old postage stamps with there “crenelated” edges resulting from being torn off of their printed sheets along the perforations surrounding them. This patterning adds to the sense of these images belonging to a special collectable set.
Maison de la Chouette, March-April 2024: Noa Cloud
Noa’s gift in his photography is to combine a skilled eye for framing and cropping with an equally keen eye for spotting both detail and the opportunity to offer a story with his work. The result is that there is a certain visual poetry imbued in the finished pieces; a suggestion that if they haven’t had a story or poem written about them, then one is due. Just take Solitary as an example of this or, on a more humorous and enchanting level, Beby Bird (which also stands as testament to the creativity of whoever is responsible for this pairing of birds).
Not that these are pieces that need to be dissected to be appreciated; they can be enjoyed very much in and of themselves, and the setting within Maison de la Chouette’s gentle Tuscan flair of villa and terrace (the is displayed both indoors (both floors) and out) demonstrate how perfectly Noa’s images lend themselves for display at home.
Maison de la Chouette, March-April 2024: Noa Cloud
I understand that the “opening” party for the exhibition – in reality, a mid-point celebration – is to be held on March 19th, 2024, commencing at 13:00 SLT with live music by Grace Loudon, followed by a DJ set from 14:00 SLT. Might see you there!
The February 24th, 2024, Chinese state media broadcast formally announcing the naming of the vehicle classes that will fly taikonauts to the Moon. Credit: CCTV
The China’s Manned Spaceflight Agency (CMSA) has revealed the names and preliminary drawings of the vehicles China plans to use to deliver its own astronauts – called taikonauts in Chinese – to the lunar South Polar Region.
For their human missions to the Moon, China is going the “easy” (that is, largely tested) way. No complicated drives to HALO orbits around the Moon and high-risk approaches such as 14 refuelling flights for the lunar lander after it has reached Earth orbit just so it can get to the Moon (yes, I’m looking at you, NASA – chuck the SpaceX idiocy, will you, please?). Instead, China is going a-la Apollo, using a two-ship system.
Chinese next-generation crewed spacecraft mock-up with its solar panels in the stowed launch position, displayed at the National Museum of China, September 2023. Credit: Shujianyang
The first of these has been in development for a while, and has been referred to in the past as China’s “next generation crewed spacecraft” designed to replace the Soyuz-inspired Shenzhou vehicle the country currently uses to reach low Earth orbit, as well as forming a basis for excursions further afield – such as to the Moon.
As announced by via Chinese state media on February 24th, 2024 during the Lantern Festival – the last day of traditional Chinese new year festivities and which takes place, appropriately enough during a full Moon -, the new class of crewed space vehicle will now be called Mengzhou (“Dream Vessel”). The name was selected after China held a national competition to name the programme, and is in keeping with the naming convention for its orbital classes of space vehicle (e.g. Shenzhou and Tianzhou).
Mengzhou is a two-stage craft comprising a useable capsule system capable of seating up to six taikonaut, and an expendable service module providing propulsion, power and life support. The vehicle’s overdesign is fairly advanced: a scale model version of the capsule was flown in space in 2016 on a mission designed to provide engineers with the data they required to finalise the capsule’s overall design and flight characteristics.
A second flight in 2020 using a full-scale proof-of-concept vehicle used to evaluate vehicle avionics, orbit performance, new heat shielding, parachute deployment and a cushioned airbag landing and recovery system. Currently, the first crewed test flight of the craft in either 2026 or 2027.
Four lunar missions, Mengzhou will fly with a crew of three and extended life support capabilities and additional supplies. It will be joined on missions by the Lanyue (“embracing the Moon”) lander. This again borrows somewhat from the Apollo missions of the late 1960s / early 1970s, being a spindly-legged craft built around a squat crew compartment supporting (initially) two taikonauts. Like the Apollo lunar lander, the craft is two staged; unlike the American lunar lander – which landed on the Moon fully intact, with the lower (“descent”) stage becoming a launch pad for the upper (“ascent”) stage for getting the crew back up to lunar orbit – Lanyue will use the same stage for both the landing and ascent phases of a mission.
Two views of a mock-up of a Lanyue lunar lander (top) mated to its large propulsion module. The black panels at the top of the lander are its solar panels in their stowed configuration. Note the collapsed rover vehicle mounted on the lander in the right-hand picture. Credit: Shujianyang
The second stage of the vehicle will be a propulsion module which will power the lander to lunar orbit and then “park” it there. The crew will then travel to lunar orbit aboard a Mengzhou vehicle and dock with Lanyue. Two will transfer to the lander vehicle and undock to use the lander’s propulsion module to decelerate out of lunar orbit and into a descent towards the surface. Once the descent commences, the propulsion stage will be jettisoned to crash on the Moon, while the lander/ascent stage will continue on to a soft landing.
Information on how long a time the initial crews will spend on the Moon is unclear, as the details thus fair released are ambiguous in their interpretation. For example: the term “six hour stay” is used, but both in terms of the complete surface mission and in reference to crew EVA time. Most analysts in the west believe the first missions will equate to the stays of Apollo 11 and Apollo 12 – so “six hours” refers to actual EVA time -, with subsequent missions staying for increasingly extended periods, up to the limitations of the lander in terms of consumable supplies.
Artist’s illustration of a Chinese astronaut on the moon. Credit: CCTV
Plans for Lanyue include the provision of a collapsible rover vehicle of a similar nature to the Apollo Lunar Rover, and several models of the lander show the rover stored on its flank. However, it is not clear if it will be part of the first landing(s) or a subsequent addition to missions.
For lunar missions, both Mengzhou and Lanyue will be launched by China’s upcoming Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLLV) Long March 10. Due to make a maiden flight possibly as early as the latter half 2025, this booster is an evolution of China’s Long March 5, and is slated to be able to deliver up to 70 tonnes to LEO or send up to 27 tonnes on its way to the Moon. As noted above, each lunar mission will comprise two Long March 10 launches, one for the lander vehicle and its propulsion module, and one for the crewed vehicle. In addition and when used on Earth orbital missions, elements of the Long March 10 might be evolved to be reusable.
Currently, China is looking at 2030 for their first crewed landing on the Moon, with subsequent mission intended to establish a research outpost in the lunar South Polar Region. From around 2034/35 onwards, China claims this outpost will be expanded into a permanently occupied base open to all countries joining its International Lunar Research Station Cooperation Organization (ILRSCO), seen as a direct alternative / “competitor” to the American-lead Artemis Programme.
One Lander Goes to Sleep, Another Unexpectedly Awakens
They are in many ways the joint tale of two lunar landers, both of which suffered mishaps as they arrived on the Moon, and both of which have nevertheless met the majority of their mission expectations.
Japan’s SLIM
On January 19th, 2024, the Japanese Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM – also called “Moon Sniper”) arrived on the lunar surface – upside down (see Space Sunday: a helicopter that could; a lander on its head). Despite this, the landing meant Japan had become only the fifth nation to successfully land a vehicle on the Moon after America, Russian and India, and the mission carried out most of its assigned science despite being inverted, prior to the long lunar night (14 terrestrial days long) settling over it.
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) released this image, captured by the LEV-2 mini-rover, of their SLIM lander upside down on the Moon. Credit: JAXA
Lacking sunlight to provide energy for its batteries, the chances of SLIM making it through the long, cold night were low, but the mission team at JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, powered-down the craft ahead of night arriving in the hopes its batteries might retain sufficient power to keep the electronics warm until the Sun rose over the landing site once more.
On February 25th, this optimism was rewarded: following sunrise over SLIM, the team were able to establish contact – albeit it intermittently. Attempts were then made to resume some of the lander’s science work, notably with the multiband spectroscopic camera (MBC). Unfortunately, these were unsuccessful, mission engineers believing MBC may have suffered damage as a result of the extreme low night-time temperatures.
Attempts to engage the system were abandoned on February 29th when, with night again approaching, SLIM was once again ordered to go to sleep in the hope its batteries will again see it through to the next lunar midday period in the latter part of March, when the sunlight will again be directly on its solar array.
Serene Retreat, February 2024 – click any image for full size
In September 2023 I dropped into Shades of Autumn, a homestead region design by Flower Caerndow which she offered for people to visit and photograph. I found it an engaging and autumnal visit, with plenty to appreciate within in (see: Appreciating the Shades of Autumn in Second Life). Earlier in February 2024, Flower opened up her latest region design, Serene Retreat, occupying a Full private region, and given my enjoyment of Shades, I trundled over recently to have a look.
Welcome to a beautiful peaceful retreat and experience the magical beauty of nature. All are welcome to wander and take pictures and find the hidden cuddle spots.
– Serene Retreat About Land Description
Serene Retreat, February 2024
This is a place which very much carries on in the spirit of Shades, whilst presenting an entirely new landscape to explore and photograph.
The landing point sits towards the northern tip of the island, close to where a small gallery of Flower’s own SL photography might be found. Whilst picturesque, the pictures serve a dual purpose: as well as offering views of the region, each is a teleporter which will carry a visit to the location it frames. However, given the overall nature of the island, unless you’re in a hurry to get to someone or somewhere, it’s much better to explore using your pedal extremities.
Serene Retreat, February 2024
A short walk downhill from the landing is one of the island’s sandy beaches and (if it is your first port of call on arrival) the first of the region’s little places to sit and / or cuddle. For those who prefer, steps leading up from the cobbles surrounding the gallery in its ruined tower provide a way up the neighbouring hill, where a small tea house sits within a Zen garden watched over by a figure of Buddha.
From here, other paths wind their way over the island, notably to the south and east, passing by a ring of standing stones to reach the highest point within the setting as is sits above steep rocky inclines falling away to the sea. Other paths wend their way through a nearby copse, where crystals, hints of exotic plants and some of the local wildlife might be found, together with further places to sit and pass the time in solitude or with others.
Serene Retreat, February 2024
Also to be found on the edge of the Zen garden is a pool of crystal-clear water, home to swans and koi carp, and the birthplace of a stream that runs out to a rocky lip before cascading down to be caught by a rocky pool. From here and tumbling over the coastal rocks, it makes its way out to open waters. A mossy / grassy path slips down the hill alongside this stream and its falls, passing a romantic little snuggle point and what appears to be the last remnants of a building. Below these an old track passes, looking like it might have once passed around a good ideal of the island, but which the sea has been gradually reclaiming in places.
Just below the stone flooring of whatever might have once stood here, whilst also running back from the cart track, is a narrow hollow slumped within the arms of the hill. More crystal and exotic flowers are to be found here, together with the open mouth of a tunnel slipping back under the hill and inviting exploration. However, I’ll leave it to you to find out what lies within its caverns.
Serene Retreat, February 2024
The eastern side of the island also offers a second beach reached via two stone-stepped paths running down to it. From here, and past the tepee-like sitting area and a swing, you can scramble up on to the island’s rocky feet and make your way around to the south side. It’s not possible to get all the way around the island at close to sea level, but for those who do follow the hill’s lip, a way down to a southern shingle beach and its little sitting spot can be found. This also allows visitors to continue their walk on around the island close to its edge, and thus come to the stream and hollow mentioned above.
Tranquil, photogenic and sitting under a sky mindful of Stevie Davros’s work (which is not to say it is – just that it reminds me of his work – which is to say it has a sense of realism about it which is attractive), Serene Retreat build on the foundations Flower laid with Shades of Autumn whilst offer its own unique and engaging setting for exploration.
The following notes were taken from the Tuesday, February 27th, 2024 Simulator User Group (SUG) meeting. They form a summary of the items discussed, and are not intended to be a full transcript. No video this week, I’m afraid.
Meeting Overview
The Simulator User Group (also referred to by its older name of Server User Group) exists to provide an opportunity for discussion about simulator technology, bugs, and feature ideas.
They are open to anyone with a concern / interest in the above topics, and form one of a series of regular / semi-regular User Group meetings conducted by Linden Lab.
Dates and times of all current meetings can be found on the Second Life Public Calendar, and descriptions of meetings are defined on the SL wiki.
Simulator Deployments
No SLS Main channel deployment on Tuesday, February 27th, but the simhosts were restarted.
Wednesday, February 28th will see the Gingerbread RC update (containing llComputeHash(), llGetCameraAspect(), llGetCameraFOV(), llGetNotecardLineSync() and llWorldPosToHUD() ) re-deployed to the Bluesteel RC, together with Ferrari and Preflight. It includes a fix for the issue of scripts being prevented from restarting when crossing into regions running on the update.
Upcoming Simulator Release
The simulator update to follow Gingerbread remains Hearts & Flowers, which will likely be deployed in the next couple of weeks. This mostly comprises internal (non-user visible) updates, together with two notably user-visible additions:
llSetLinkSitFlags/llGetLinkSitFlags – allow you to adjust the sit flags for a prim. It supports the existing two SIT_FLAG_ALLOW_UNSIT and SCRIPT_ONLY.
At some future point, SIT_FLAG_HIDE_AVATAR should also be added, so you don’t need to play an animation that squishes the avatar so they aren’t visible in something like a very small vehicle.
A feature for estate managers that will allow them to schedule automatic region restarts.
A new constant in llSPP PRIM_SIT_FLAGS it will contain all the sit flag information, (including ALLOW_UNSIT and SCRIPTED_ONLY (the two older constants will still be available).
A new capability to load item inventory lists via HTTP (so items with large contents will load faster when accessed, although this will require a viewer update as well).
The next update after that will likely be called Spring Break. This might include notecard searches.
Viewer Updates
No changes at the start of the week:
Release viewer: version 7.1.2.7215179142, formerly the glTF PBR Materials Maintenance RC, issued December 15, promoted January 8, 2024 – numerous bug fixes and improvements – No Change.
Release channel cohorts:
Maintenance-W RC (bug and crash fixes), version 7.1.3.7983616888, February 22, 2024.
glTF PBR Materials Maintenance-2 RC viewer, version 7.1.3.7821226606, February 20, 2024.
Maintenance X RC (usability improvements), version 7.1.3.7721015131 , February 14, 2024.
Maintenance Y RC ( My Outfits folder improvements; ability to remove entries from landmark history), version 7.1.3.7790341084, February 9, 2024.
Project viewers:
Puppetry project viewer, version 6.6.12.579958, May 11.
Game Controller Update
Leviathan Linden is still working on trying to get the viewer’s Flycam capability (SpaceNavigator) with the new GameControl logic rather than old system.
Region Crossings
Monty Linden is working on the region crossings code (both physical region crossings and all that goes into them when vehicles, etc., are included, and teleports).
There has also been independent and on-going investigations by users into crossings. Some of the more recent has been around the issue of the EstablishAgentCommunication (EAC) event between the simulator and viewer (see this forum post for specifics).
As it turns out, the server engineering team have been working on an entire simulator to address EAC, which is seen as both problematic and potentially hiding other bugs in the code – and potentially causing issues for the SL Mobile app.
In Brief
The Sever Team has a new member – Pepper Linden.
There is an upcoming fix to go into a simulator maintenance release for the detach bug stopping all animations started by other attachments or sit objects – see github issue BUG-225288.
A further confirmation that the client-side scripting environment will be Luau, a Lua VM implementation developed by Roblox.
Note that this project does not encompass delivering client side scripts from inside SL simulator; it is purely viewer-side. Any such capability is seen as being so far down the line as to not be on the roadmap, although the use-cases for such interaction were noted.
Rider Linden is looking at llCloseDialog, allowing a script close a dialog that it had previously opened.
A general discussion on Experiences – extending the scope of possible controls (not on the immediate roadmap) and making the Join Experience dialogue lees frightening / off-putting to users.
† The header images included in these summaries are not intended to represent anything discussed at the meetings; they are simply here to avoid a repeated image of a rooftop of people every week. They are taken from my list of region visits, with a link to the post for those interested.
Andrew Kertesz (l) and Steven Feuling (r) – formerly Mojo and Styfy Linden, both of whom departed Linden Lab earlier in 2024.
Update: March 10th, 2024: The management team list is back up on the corporate About page.
In 2021 and 2022, Linden Lab made two fairly high-profile – in terms of the company’s management team – hirings; both of whom recently departed the company within the same time frame.
To take them in order of joining the company, Andrew Kertesz, a 20-year veteran of the gaming industry, arrived at the Lab as the new VP of Engineering in July 2021 to replace Scott Lawrence (Oz Linden). In doing so, he took the name Mojo Linden.
It is not unreasonable to say his impact was immediate and positive. Openly engaging with user through the various user groups – notably the Content Creation User Group (CCUG) and Third Party Viewer Developer (TPVD) meetings, as well as popping up from time-to-time at Simulator User Groups.
Three of his major user-facing contributions to the platform comprised a push to overhaul and improve the viewer’s performance; encouraging the adoption of industry-recognised standards (the Khronos glTF 2.0 specification); and pausing the development of the Lab’s efforts to develop an initially limited (“chat centric”) mobile app, in order to determine if a more comprehensive mobile solution might be developed (what we now know as SL Mobile). He was also keen to eliminate much of the platform’s technical debt – such as moving the simulator code to 64-bit architecture and to try to leverage technical options that hadn’t actually been around when SL first opened its doors.
The other hiring was that of Steven Feuling, who joined the company in May 2022 as Linden Lab’s first ever Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), alongside of Peter Capraro, who became the company’s first Chief Information Security Officer (CISO).
Taking the name Styfy Linden, a major part of Mr. Fueling’s focus was, according to Business Insider, to help Second Life to start to expand its user-base once more. In this he worked closely with Brett Linden, the Lab’s VP of Marketing. He also saw his role not only in marketing and promoting Second Life within market sectors relevant to the platform (e.g. the content creation sector) to b ring new users in, but also in trying to both enhance the events-driven appeal of SL through partnerships with external organisations and through direct engagement with existing users to encourage their ongoing retention.
Styfy certainly wasn’t as much a “public” figure as Mojo in terms of user visibility – he did appear in a Lab Gab session for 2022’s SL20B celebrations (which I summarised here); however, his influence – alongside of that from Brett – would seem to have been key in the formulation of projects such as the Motown Experience and Welcome Hub.
While the Lab may have something of a bumpy reputation as an employer in some quarters, it is true that a lot of the staff there – particularly among the management team and who are directly responsible for the platform’s operation and services – tend to be with the company for years at a stretch. As such, I was particularly surprised to find Mojo Linden was no longer listed as part of the company’s management team, and nor was Styfy.
Linden Lab Management Team, as listed on the company’s About page in December 2023 (via the Wayback Machine)
Admittedly, it took a big of digging to find this out; some time between January 15th, 2024 and now, information on the Lab’s board and management team has been removed from the company’s About page (or at least, that’s been the case while I’ve been poking at things over the last couple of days; maybe there’s just been a bit of a SNAFU and said information will reappear).
Anyway, using the Wayback Machine, I was able to confirm that both Mr. Kertesz and Mr. Feuling were listed as a part of the management team on December 25th, 2023, but by January 15th, 2024 their names had been removed. On discovering this, I ran a check on their in-world Linden accounts, and both have been deactivated (as is the company’s policy when personnel depart).
If I’m honest, I had wondered as to Mojo’s whereabouts a couple of times of late; his absence from the CCUG meetings had become sufficient enough for me to notice (he was by no means at every meeting, but had a habit of dropping in perhaps once and month – or close to that). However, I just assumed he was focused on other projects, and its not as if his departure has caused the wheels he helped set in motion seize up.
Linden Lab Management Team, as listed on the company’s About page, January 15th, 2024 (via the Wayback Machine)
Obviously, people and roles do not always work out; the CMO role at the Lab was brand new to the company, and it is possible that given LL’s size, it became recognised as a square peg / round hole situation. Similarly, leading figures within organisations can be poached away / become tempted by opportunities they spot elsewhere. As such, the departure of two senior staff from the Lab in what appears to be fairly close order might be coincidence more than a sign of Something Going On, even if finding out did cause an eyebrow to do a Spock.
Certainly, I’m not going to speculate on the ins and outs because I don’t want to feed into any conspiracy theories that might be doing the rounds (in relation to this or anything else). It will be interesting to see – if possible, assuming the management team info doesn’t reappear on the corporate website – if either post (particularly that of VP of Engineering) gains a new face (again, assuming there has not been any internal promotion to the position in the interim).
Instead, I’ll simply wish both gentlemen well in their respective futures, and also thank Mojo (should he ever read this!) for taking the time to engage with users and in responding to nagging enquiries from the likes of myself.
Logos representative only and should not be seen as an endorsement / preference / recommendation
Updates from the week through to Sunday, Febuary 25th, 2024
This summary is generally published 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.
Note that for purposes of length, TPV test viewers, preview / beta viewers / nightly builds are generally not recorded in these summaries.
Official LL Viewers
Release viewer: version 7.1.2.7215179142, formerly the glTF PBR Materials Maintenance RC, issued December 15, promoted January 8th, 2024 – numerous bug fixes and improvements – NEW.
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 