Having a lousy day?

Fly around like a crazy person!

Spin some tunes while a deranged robot changes the shape of the stage out from under you!

And most important of all... DANCE!

Ever had a dream about Second Life?

But what if...

Avatars had dreams in the other direction, back out into the real world?

What would your avatar dream of?

While DJ Xax was playing her cool trancey set last night, I was tearing apart the system and boxing it up.

It was nice, being able to leave the viewer in Ultra Mode and take rapid-fire snapshots like this without having to change modes, position the camera with 2 FPS, etc.

Seeing everything and everyone near-realtime smoothly was great, too.

Going back to the old box, well, sucks.

A glimpse of Heaven should make mundane existence tolerable, but for now, it kinda feels like Hell.

Oh well. Saturday's the day to take the parts back, and Sunday is when I'll pick up the F55.

And I think I'll be happy that it'll be over, and that's enough happy for me.

Apparently, there's some kind of issue going on with communications...

If you've noticed a distinct dearth of postings on the Second Life blog lately, it's with good cause. There has been hardly anything on this most visible of Linden Lab communication channels. Even a recent announcement by Katt Linden, Linden Lab's communications manager had to go sideways. A post on the Second Life wiki, and a note in the message-of-the-day to go search for it in there -- by yesterday, it was also posted to the Second Life education blog.

I find this observation a bit disconcerting:

Time-critical announcements, innocuous routine customer-oriented tutorials and information, and changed policies regarding gambling -- all not being posted as they normally would.

Is this true?

I'm not sure of that, since SL Grid Status on Twitter is rolling freely, so the most critical announcements are getting out.

Tat's comments about IPO and sale are interesting.

Perhaps I should watch the Microsoft dude's appearance on Metanomics again and listen a bit more carefully, because we all know that Microsoft's strategy is to let other make all the mistakes, then buy someone up... to make all their mistakes for them?

Oh well. Enough speculation... where's the fun at?

Looks like random naked squatters isn't the only problem going on there days in the neighborhood...

Forget boxing up and returning the killer system... can someone break me up into my components and send me back to the factory?

You have caused me such drama and frustration and humiliation in the past 72 hours, I don't know where to begin.

The choice is yours.

Gomem, Yxes, and Hope's chewtoy-for-the-moment have released Podmafia 61.

A few amusing errors with Gomem's connection, they hang out at Harbour, fumble around Mono like three blind people exploring an elephant, and bring some kicking music to the game without taking the RIAA's guff.

I keep saying I'll restart my podcast roundups, but I guess I'll just post as I listen to them.

FYI, a response to Gomem's:

Isn't there a danger of doing things too visual?

I've thought about this when it comes to Chugabug's segment on SLUTR and Tim's Living A Second Life.

It all depends on the presenter. Do they describe what they are seeing in a way that interests you, bringing up facts and suggestions along the way like a soundscape?

Or a play-by-play, like a baseball game on the radio? You can close your eyes and visualize it well... when you actually see it for yourself, the descriptions prepared you for the experience.

Or are there lots of pauses, lots of "this over here" and "that over there" that doesn't draw you in at all?

Jim Fidler of Republic Of Avalon Radio does amazing soundscapes... he has a visual impairment, so he's incredibly rich with the sounds and facts and memories and the words.

FYI, a response to Yxes about a tour of the Five Islands: I've been pondering such a thing for a very long time. Considered flying sofas for a bit. (The flying chairs you mentioned are interesting)

Never got around to it, though.

With all the garbage I've dealt with this weekend, I just want to relax until SLCC and then come back to it all refreshed. (Which means I'm not going to want to build for Burning Life)

Madison bought a new house that looked like it would do well in a flood.

So...

Instant flood!

If you look at Nika and GoSpeed's snapshots on various photo services, you'll see that the water kinda rose up in Nika's house as we all sat, chatted, and waited for the squatters to come back.

Oh well.

Some folks get annoyed by all this. Others laugh it up.

Yeah, it's tempting to blast a few folks out of existence.

Better to say Hi and if they're rude, well, kicking and banning's not hard to do.

Eventually, they'll give up.

You know, reading Kat's Plurks and Twitters, it looks like Colette has visitors both in SL and RL.

Since I plan on tossing this new system to the lions...

Why not toss Fricken the cat, too?

DiCaprio the Lion: NOM NOM NOM... U HAZ A FLAVR!

Fricken: HALP!

Okay, so I'm a little twisted. Maybe a little cruel to prim-pets now and then.

Nardo was on the footrest, using it as a throne.

"Move," I say.

"MEOW!" he replied.

Um...

*grumble* Didn't need a footrest anyway.

It looks like some Tinies have taken up residence next to the yaks in the ranch...

Since they're no good for eating, I figure they'll be cool as pets.

Keep an eye out for a bunnyrabbit and a wolf cub, but don't get too close - they still need their shots.

I quote The Freshman:

There's a kind of freedom in being completely screwed... because you know things can't get any worse.

The new system teases me with glimpses of beauty...

I go to sleep, thinking it's solved.

But it isn't. Locked up badly this morning on ordinary programs.

Feline comments:

Nice shot of the whole island! Something tells me you're having a grand time with the new 'puter and graphics capabilities...

Actually, I'm having a truly rotten time keeping it running.

Suffering this weekend's dud components, travel back and forth, cut and scraped and run ragged... and for what?

It locks up constantly.

Every time I think I have the solution, it locks up again.

Over. And over.

And not just in SL, either. Sometimes it's five minutes. Sometimes it's fifteen minutes.

Yes, I've tried pretty much everything. Pored through forums and blogs and support sites.

I switch monitors. I switch from Analog to Digital mode and back. I switch heads. I go single monitor. I update and reinstall drivers. I open the case and blast a floor fan into it to keep the temperatures down.

Locks up solid.

Even during the run last night when it didn't lock up at all and I got to the vaunted Out Of Memory errors, oh such sweet errors they were, every moment I felt worry.

Will it lock up now?

That's not how to live. That's not how to exist. That's not how to be.

Running on worry is like spending your life passing by tire shops on bald tires, hoping to make it to the next one, only to pass that one by because you think you can make it to the next one.

I know that computers truly aren't a solid and simple commodity yet, but there are configurations out there that are pretty damn stable and reliable.

The term commonly used for someone who buys high-performance parts off the shelf and assembles them into a killer system is enthusiast.

They find joy in trying to make a system work at the bleeding edge. They tweak and poke and prod and adjust the system merrily, riding that emotional rollercoaster all throughout the process until they have that system running smoothly. They bear the scratches and scars of combat with the components' sharp edges with pride.

Looking at the bloody marks on my right arm and hand, at some point, I think I lost that enthusiasm.

So, I've decided to take all the parts back Saturday, take the hit on restocking fees, and get one through a major manufacturer. Sure, it won't have top-notch bleeding edge parts and such, but I really don't care at this point.

I'm tired. I'm exhausted. I'm defeated.

I'll just lick my wounds for a while, tinker with this box for the next few days with the comfort and confidence that I know it's not going to stay - it's just for enthusiasm at this point. I'll catch my breath and settle for a good off-the-shelf system that'll serve me well for two years like the past two systems I bought off the shelf.

Sometimes...

The only marvels and wonders we build aren't real at all.

All the worry and stress and ringing in my ears... much calmer now.

I'm actually looking forward to tweaking this pain in the ass into submission.

And even if I win, it's still going back.

In the next week, even with restock, prices will just keep coming down for good systems, and better ones are coming out every day.

Life just keeps rolling on.

Roll with it. (But I won't be rolling my own, thank you.)

Ever deal with squatters?

You know, folks that take up residence in your place while you're away, sitting stuff out and then cleaning up, leaving no trace?

Looks like Keeme and Nika are have a few unwelcome guests popping up, claiming their place as their own.

I think of this as affirmation that Nika and Keeme have build themselves a really nice place... and, of course, the neighborhood's an attractor, too.

Although, you gotta admit, this former portable-rezzing Crime House couple getting squatters of their own... kinda funny, eh.

Oh well. Nothing's permanently damaged. Nika's the estate manager of the two, so that shouldn't be a problem for long.

*sniff* Her first ban.

It feels like only yesterday I was sitting under my tower and she appears out of nowhere.

(They grow up so fast!)

I suppose I need to send out reminders about group-only building and auto-return.

Massively posts:

Linden Lab is putting together (but has not yet formally announced) a Second Life promotional video to be shown at this year's Second Life Community Convention (SLCC08) in Tampa Florida, 5-7 September. Linden Lab is looking for up to ten images, and up to 250 words on the topic, with permission for use assigned to Linden Lab and SLCC.

I saw this flash by the login text as the new system logged in and stayed up and running for the first time last night.

After reading Hamlet's book these past two weeks (if I upload my brain to a Kindle, can y'all please refrain from tapping the Next key like you're playing Track And Field at the arcade?) ... looking down a list of all the people I know or know of...

There's a lot of folks there who I'd think would have something powerful to say.

Me, I'm just a hack writer. A clown. The three guys at the bar, one with a shotglass and a scowl, the other tapping away at a Blackberry and sweating bullets, and the third laughing and pointing at the ancient black and white television over the register.

I'm all three and then some.

Sure, I'll write something. Probably won't need the full 250 words. I've got this habit of keeping it brief with 100, ya know?

Got the perfect snapshot, too. Hundreds of them that tell a story in a flash.

Spray a bunch of film, pick out the good ones, send them on up... time-honored tradition.

Hrm... I probably won't send it.

These other folks... this wishlist of folks I might drop a note to with a nudge, I suppose - I want to hear from them.

There's a few SL blogs referring to the new Abuse categories.

Here's one that caught my eye:

Indecency > Inappropriate avatar name

Inappropriate avatar name?

Oh great. I knew I was skating on thin ice when I picked "Mariner" out of the list.

Besides cheese and onions, I've always thought in the back of my head that I should have a different name picked out in case Governance gets a torrent of complaints about the one I've chosen.

Although it's been almost two years and I have yet to get a "Your Name Sucks! DELETED!" whack with the banhammer or anything, so the chance of it's pretty slim.

However, should it happen, I won't piss and moan and growl and yell and such.

I'll just shrug, say "All's cool" and politely request they change it to the somewhat more PG-friendly (and funny) one I have in mind.

Then, of course... NEW NAME PARTY! WITH SILLY HATS!

Waking up...

Powering on the new system...

Checking webmail...

Syncing the iPod...

Firing up SL to see if the system decided to completely fail while I caught a few minutes of sleep...

Still works. Killer framerates with Ultra on the 22" monitor running wootiful resolution.

(So, any bets on what will fail next?)

I am really looking forward to seeing how the system runs during Tuna Oddfellow's Odd Ball tonight.

My goal is to get all the patches in place well in advance.

Oh, and I guess at some point I should see how well running two avs on one box works.