A Second Life

I've been exploring a new world as a way to potentially improve my income. I first got involved with this place several years ago--almost exactly five--but didn't look much into it at the time. Life has its distractions and its requirements. Well, one of the problems with life is that it doesn't pay well, but it requires money to continue in. I suppose I could live in a cardboard box or in the woods somewhere, but I've grown accustomed to having a clean bed and showers. I like computers, too. :)

Anyway, this new world is called Second Life (secondlife.com). It's a virtual world--sort of a matrix within a matrix, containing matrices--and last night I met a couple of dragons. You can choose almost anything as an avatar. Among other things, there are worlds with pirates, elves, dwarves, spaceships, submarines...dance halls and shopping malls abound. So do mature themes, but they're zoned so that you can set your preferences to not show them to you. Minors are not permitted to enter these zones. Virtual property owners can also set access lists to prohibit entry to their properties.

Boring details? Well, I'm a photographer; how about some pictures? Warning: My computer is not powerful enough to show these scenes or characters as they really are, so these are caricatures of what's really there. I'll work on some nice scenic shots later, when I'm not trying to explore and can change the settings to make it look nice, but for now I wanted to show one of my new friends what "she" looks like to me. (I'm just assuming she's female; she could be the queen of England for all I know. LOL!)

My avatar, and goodlessmadam Bingyi

My avatar is on the left, in black; Bingyi is the pretty one. She said my hair looked like someone had dropped an egg on my head. :D We were sitting in swings and chatting--you can use text or voice--in Siden, a realm by Sooden Ren (http://www.sooden.co.uk/siden/). A marvelous place; I highly recommend you visit. The elven caves are beautiful!

Again, my computer does not render the scenes with their full beauty; when I set it to try that, I can't move. Here's a sample of the characters that Bingyi showed me; each has natural movements--incredibly natural, from eye movements to walking, and even posture changes when standing or sitting that are very well done. Nobody stands around like a statue!

The hammers walked around like a pair of stilts! The raven hopped just like a real bird. The alien was very disturbing...

Dragon, from the Isle of Wyrm in Second Life

That's about all the shots I have now. There's a lot to learn here.

July 4, family visit

I promised I'd blog this, so in my newly-established tradition of not doing anything on time...wait, that's nothing new: I'm always late! :D A lot has happened in the past few years, and not all of it was the way I'd have wanted it to happen. I have learned a lot.

Anyway, last summer I let my sister, whom I hadn't seen for years, cajole me into visiting her in San Antonio. It's hard to fit appointments into the slave-dominated adventure that I've been living, but I finally capitulated, albeit with some trepidation. Kat had told me she lived "in the hood" with a Hispanic; to me, that meant broken-down cars parked next to shiny low-riders, wanna-be "men" strutting around looking for trouble, and maybe career criminals that would love to score on this old gringo.

Kat said she had my back, so I put on my big-boy spurs and went for a ride.

Google Maps knew where she lived, so I got there okay (although I later found that my truck had a serious engine problem which resulted in a thrown rod in September), and easily confirmed it by her Cobra Mustang (or is that Mustang Cobra?) in the drive. She still has that car. I've often said that if I were to buy an American-made car, it would be a Mustang; most American cars are too soggy and "luxurious" for my taste. I drive a Chevy...TRUCK! :) Both my cars are Chevy trucks. But I prefer Hondas and Toyotas, simply because American corporations seem more interested in YOUR business than in doing good business: They want your bucks, but aren't proud enough of themselves to do business for it. I mean, to do GOOD business for it.

But I cliché. Digress.

So I get there on time...no, I got there an hour late, and nobody was there but Kat. I thought I'd missed the party! She said that was typical, and right: Nobody's on time for her parties. Actually, her roommate--not a Hispanic--was in the shower. So we got to spend some quality time together, I got to see the house, the fish, and the cat. We discussed nothing of consequence, so I still don't know why she stabbed me and threw knives at me when we were teenagers. (And she wonders why I don't call...LOL!)

Her son Joey showed up after a while. He's BIG! BIGGER! Last I'd seen him he was scarcely waist-high; now it's the other way around. Like many big people, he was gentle and quiet, until he turned on his DJ system. Now it was starting to sound like a party! There were drinks, barbecue, music, flashing lights, a swimming pool, screened-in porch, yard games, dogs, and people. Children, too. (Are children people? I wasn't people when I was a kid. Not sure I am, yet.)

Turned out I needn't have worried. I had a good time, there were no gunshots, rowdy drunks, or illegal drugs, and I actually was sorry I had to leave! I met some wonderful folks, and I wish I'd blogged this last July, because I don't remember their names--except for Kevin, who was pretty good with a drum, and Mario, who was the alleged Hispanic I'd been told about. Kat must have been telling him stories about me, because he kept his eye on me the whole time he was there, like he expected my to sprout a halo or turn green. After a couple of beers, he admitted he'd heard I was smart. Well, Mario, if you're reading this, let me tell you: "Smart" ain't worth much in this world. What you need is love, soul, respect...and above all, the desire to get things done, preferably done right (and legally). If you do it right, others respect you, and you respect yourself. (If you do it legally, you avoid unwanted attention and vulnerability.) If you don't do it, it doesn't do you any good. So whatever your dreams may be, don't think you need to be smart to do it: Remember, our last couple of presidents have been mphmphgurk!