155: Logging in at a coffee shop

So I'm in a coffee shop logging in to Second Life on my laptop, so I decide to be in a coffee shop logging in to Second Life on my laptop. It doesn't get much more meta than that. If anyone walks behind me and tries to figure out what's going on, I think their head will explode.

154: Alex goes for a run

My husband Alex Thaub came home with a set of track pants and a sleeveless tank the other day that I liked a lot. He looks good in this colour of orange, don't you think? I decided to take him out for a photo shoot combined with a couple of kilometres of jogging in the country, partly because there's not much sexier than a guy who's worked up a good sweat and partly, well, it's a pretty time of year.
   The shirt and shorts are for the Aesthetic body, designed by Isadora Adagio for Pump Clothing Company.

153: Killing zombies in virtual reality

This is an interesting and brief piece I happened across this afternoon -- and, let's face it, who among us can resist a title like What it's like to kill zombies in virtual reality. (Click the title to read the article.) Why I thought my readers might be interested is that this seems to indicate that in gaming terms, VR games are actively in development. Just like Sansar is moving into the same arena as Second Life, other types of games are finding their big threat may be from virtual-reality-based games.
   The other thing I thought might be of interest is that the writer's experience is quite reassuring in a couple of ways. He is playing the kind of game that requires the user to learn how to perform activities like loading a gun, and to do this action accurately so as not to be killed out of the scene. Near the end of the piece, he says he "can't get enough". Although there is no similar activity in Second Life, I think many Residents would understand the need to manipulate the controls of the game in a sophisticated and rapid way so as not to demonstrate a noobish unfamiliarity. What I take from his pleasure is that it's easy to figure out how to do things in VR if the animations are there ... and that once you figure out how, it's a pleasant experience.  I think that should be reassuring to SL Residents that if you want to make the leap to Sansar in the near future, the learning curve is relatively easy.
   And finally -- if you think about it, the fact that a gamer-oriented site like Polygon is sufficiently interested to produce a little article like this, more like a gloss on an experience than anything else, means that they're interested in anything and everything to do with VR platforms. So as time goes on, I expect there to be more and more information about VR-based games in my feed.  Good; I'm curious.

152: Oculus Rift and Mark Zuckerberg in Vanity Fair

There's a very interesting article in the latest edition of Vanity Fair -- you can read it here -- about the relationship of Facebook to Oculus Rift, via Facebook's principal Mark Zuckerberg. It also goes into the possibilities for funding of both Oculus Rift and a major competitor, Magic Leap.
   Nothing much about Second Life, but you can bet if Facebook places a big stack of chips on Oculus Rift, things will happen. I don't think it's time yet to commit to one technology or the other, but this will be useful background information within a year, I think. Enjoy.

151: When the cat's away ...

... the dogs will play. Alex Thaub and I got a new house recently and we're also merging our respective dogs. As dog-lovers know, this can be a problem when two people each with pampered pets move in together.
   Alex's dog Tiger has never really warmed up to me, I'm not sure why. Alex was working late tonight, so I had the place to myself. I tried to spend a little time with Tiger ... he likes his ears

scratched but he's not anxious to spend too much time around me. I'm okay with that; we'll integrate into one pack in the near future.
   In the meantime, I curled up on the patio couch with my own two pests, Porky and Petunia. It's hard to tell what they're thinking at any given time, because bassets are not what you might call demonstrative dogs. They just like to be around you and snuggled up close all the time.  When visitors are around I usually tuck them away for a nap in the

greenhouse; sometimes they're too demonstrative around strangers. Tonight they were giving me that s t a r e that means (this time), "Feed me you bastard." Okay ... I fed the dogs.
   Finally I decided to go to bed early. I was hoping to make it a three-dog night but Tiger was still avoiding me, so I took Porky and Petunia to bed. Sorry Alex -- I know the dogs aren't allowed on the bed. But I was lonely ... that little stack of magazines turned out to not be very interesting. And the dogs kept giving me

that s t a r e. So I fell asleep. Hope my handsome husband wakes me up when he gets home.

150: Six-month anniversary at The Terrace Restaurant

L/R: Alex Thaub, Rusty Redfield,
The Terrace restaurateur Jorden Andrew

Friday night was the six-month anniversary of the evening when I popped the question and Alex Thaub said, "Yes," so we thought the occasion was worth marking with a good dinner at the same restaurant. The Terrace is where I popped the question in the first place. In the process of getting that set up, restaurateur Jorden Andrew became an interview subject and a friend.
   Our reservation was for

dinner at the penthouse and it was a very elegant four-course meal with accompanying wines. The high point, of course, is the impeccable service from Jorden himself, overlooking the night-scape of Manhattan. It's a very easy experience with only a short learning curve. Animation menus are in the back of the chairs; Jorden passes you the menu, drinking glasses, and silverware and they're in your inventory. The table itself contains all the animations you need.

   After four courses of perfect service, Jorden discreetly disappeared and Alex and I had a chance to explore the functions of the beautiful penthouse apartment with about four hours of privacy with which to do so.  I was remarking that this is one instance when the Second Life necessity to furnish sparsely works with the design of the space; this is what such a penthouse would look like, I think, a small number of well-chosen pieces of furniture. I will merely say that the balcony is very

romantic but the bed itself is ... very very romantic, as is the bearskin rug in front of the fireplace.
   I recommend contacting Jorden Andrew well in advance of your requirements to be sure you can have the experience you require.  But if you have something to commemorate or celebrate, this is an excellent way to do it.
   Here's a SLURL for The Terrace, which will put you close to information and direct links to make reservations.

149: The real Cupric Router

Cupric Router: check the date.

Last night Alex Thaub and I dropped in to RED for an hour of deep house music, some dancing, checking out the eye candy, and some friendly convo in the open channel. I've always liked Cupric Router's clubs, and Coop has become a friend. He and his associate Hotboy do a great job at making people feel welcome AND playing some pretty awesome tunage, particularly in the EDM and house genres. The clubs seem to attract a friendly group of people, quite mixed between English-speaking and Spanish/Portuguese-speaking, and with a healthy leavening of all different gender identities and sexual preferences -- and some of the hottest-looking guys on the grid. Definitely worth your time.
   Coop was telling me a strange story last night; he asked me if I could make it a bit more public, and I'm happy to oblige.  Apparently some random hater has created an av with a name very similar to Coop's, and also another av with a name very similar to an av that was Coop's former account, and is running these avs around ... perhaps hoping to be mistaken for the genuine article. I'm not sure of all the details but these two phonies were spotted acting like nitwits in a public sex venue.  Coop wants the word to get out so that people will stop and think for a minute if they seem to see Cupric Router acting like a doofus in public. Check the creation date, which cannot be faked.  If the person in question is about five days old, you have a faker on your hands.

Check yourself before you wreck yourself... 

   I'm becoming accustomed to people doing strange and childish things in Second Life, but honestly this takes the cake for the moment. I can't imagine quite why anyone would do this, but I'm building the picture in my mind of some maladjusted dork living in his mom's basement who has only a dim idea of the rather serious crime known in Canada as "personation".  Nobody can stop you from saying stupid things about other people in Second Life (well, actually, I bless the twinned functions of "block" and "derender" daily, because they actually DO stop those things from coming to my notice); if you find people don't put up with it or you, well, it's still your right to make a fool of yourself in public. As the number of places you're allowed to go dwindles down, that's what you deserve. But this is moving into criminal territory, and it's a symptom of some pretty serious mental illness. Sweetie, whoever you are, check yourself before you wreck yourself, 'kay?  Go back on the meds and give them a week or so to kick in before you sign in under a name that reflects your own reputation, not someone else's. And if you're going to get all pissy with another resident, try taking on someone who doesn't spend a considerable amount of time, energy, and cash altruistically creating interesting experiences for other people to enjoy.  Trust me, it doesn't go over well.