1. Galaxy Class Space Ship – Second Life Star Trek spoof
2. Sha Dar Legend in Second Life
3. Getting It Right by Seth Breitman
Archives for 2009
Openlife currency on the way
January 16, 2009 by Leave a Comment
In another evolutionary move for Second Life alternative OpenLife, a virtual currency is on the way for the platform. February 2009 is the tentative timeline, and any Openlife resident can purchase what will be called ‘credits’ via PayPal or credit card. Only region land owners will be able to cash out credits which may concern some, but it’ll also be interesting to see what impact this has on the Openlife economy.
Arguably, region owners will be more set up to declare virtual earnings in an environment of greater scrutiny from tax officials. The availability of the currency itself should also see a boom in Openlife businesses selling virtual goods which in turn drives growth in the platform. Momentum is key for any development and Openlife at this stage have certainly maintained that.
Thanks to CyberTech News for the heads-up
Forterra release paper on enterprise virtual worlds
January 16, 2009 by 1 Comment
Virtual world developer for enterprise and government, Forterra, have released a white paper titled Recipe for Success with Enterprise Virtual Worlds.
Aside from an overview of the potential of virtual worlds in business, the cost comparisons may catch the eye of some enterprises looking at cost-cutting measures.
Additionally, an interesting case study is provided on Accenture and its initial use of Forterra’s OLIVE platform to determine the utility of the approach for its own business. The short story is that Accenture are working on a wider business case for virtual world utilisation as a money-saving proposition – in their case primarily for training and meetings.
If you’ve not heard of Accenture then you won’t be aware of what a behemoth they are in the worldwide business sphere. As a management consulting company they have more than 186 thousand employees with a revenue of over US$23 billion. If widespread adoption were to occur in a business that size, it alone would create some significant momentum in the virtual world sphere. Add to that the impact Accenture have in their consulting role – if they end up advocating enterprise virtual worlds as a legitimate business strategy, then even the more optimistic forecasts to date on adoption of the technology may start to look conservative.
You can download the full paper here – by pitching their product mid-field between teleconferencing and videoconferencing, Forterra has started to make inroads with companies of the scale of Accenture and assisted in the eventual development of a cohesive ROI case. That can only assist the wider virtual world industry in demonstrating its potential. It’s ironic that the ecomonic downturn may be the thing that helps overcome the intrinsic cynicism of business toward virtual worlds as it becomes apparent they may actually assist in business costs.
What’s your view? Is Accenture’s momentum in the area a sign of further significant growth on the horizon or just a behemoth of a company testing the waters to keep abreast of developments?
Seven top idiots of 2008
January 14, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Number One Idiot of 2008
I am a medical student currently doing a rotation in toxicology at the poison control center. Today, this woman called in very upset because she caught her little daughter eating ants. I quickly reassured her that the ants are not harmful and there would be no need to bring her daughter into the hospital. She calmed down and at the end of the conversation happened to mention that she gave her daughter some ant poison to eat in order to kill the ants.
I told her that she better bring her daughter in to the emergency room right away.Â
Here’s your sign, lady. Wear it with pride.
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Number Two Idiot of 2008Â
Early this year, some Boeing employees on the airfield decided to steal a life raft from one of the 747s. They were successful in getting it out of the plane and home. Shortly after they took it for a float on the river, they noticed a Coast Guard helicopter coming toward them. It turned out that the chopper was homing in on the emergency locater beacon that activated when the raft was inflated. They are no longer employed at Boeing.Â
Here’s your sign, guys. Don’t get it wet; the paint might run.
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Number Three Idiot of 2008
A man, wanting to rob a downtown Bank of America, walked into the Branch and wrote this, ‘Put all your muny in this bag.’ While standing in line, waiting to give his note to the teller, he began to worry that someone had seen him write the note and might call the police before he reached the teller’s window. So he left the Bank of America and crossed the street to the Wells Fargo Bank. After waiting a few minutes in line, he handed his note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and, surmising from his spelling errors that he wasn’t the brightest light in the harbor, told him that she could not accept his stickup note because it was written on a Bank of America deposit slip and that he would either have to fill out a Wells Far go deposit slip or go back to Bank of America.
Looking somewhat defeated, the man said, ‘OK’ and left. He was arrested a few minutes later, as he was waiting in line back at Bank of America.Â
Don’t bother with this guy’s sign. He probably couldn’t read it anyway.Â
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Number Four Idiot of 2008Â
A guy walked into a little corner store with a shotgun and demanded all of the cash from the cash drawer. After the cashier put the cash in a bag, the robber saw a bottle of Scotch that he wanted behind the counter on the shelf. He told the cashier to put it in the bag as well, but the cashier refused and said, ‘Because I don’t believe you are over 21.’ The robber said he was, but the clerk still refused to give it to him because she didn’t believe him. At this point, the robber took his driver’s license out of his wallet and gave it to the clerk.
The clerk looked it over and agreed that the man was in fact over 21 and she put the Scotch in the bag. The robber then ran from the store with his loot. The cashier promptly called the police and gave the name and address of the robber that she got off the license. They arrested the robber two hours later.
This guy definitely needs a sign.Â
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Idiot Number Five of 2008Â
A pair of Michigan robbers entered a record shop nervously waving revolvers.
The first one shouted, ‘Nobody move!’ When his partner moved, the startled first bandit shot him.Â
This guy doesn’t even deserve a signÂ
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Idiot Number Six of 2008
Arkansas : Seems this guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided that he’d just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab some booze, and run.
So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window. The cinder block bounced back knocking him unconscious. It seems the liquor store window was made of Plexi-Glass. The whole event was caught on videotape.Â
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Idiot Number Seven of 2008Â
I live in a semi-rural area (Weyauwega, Wisconsin). We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the Deer Crossing sign on our road.
The reason: ‘Too many deer are being hit by cars out here! – I don’t think this is a good place for them to be crossing anymore.’
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STAY ALERT! They walk among us… and they REPRODUCE…!!!
The Value of a  Drink
January 14, 2009 by Leave a Comment
‘Sometimes  when I reflect back on all the wine I drink
I feel  ashamed.  Then  I look into the glass and think
about the workers in the vineyards and  all of their hopes
and dreams … If  I didn’t drink this wine, they might be out
of work and their dreams  would be shattered. Â
Then I say to  myself, ‘It is better that I drink this wine and let their
dreams come  true than be selfish and worry about my liver.’
~ Jack  Handy
WARNING: Â The consumption of alcohol may leave you wondering what the hell Â
happened to your bra and panties.
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WARNING:  The consumption of alcohol may create the illusion that you are  tougher,  smarter, faster  and better looking than most people.
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‘When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.’
~ Â Henny Youngman
WARNING: Â The consumption of alcohol may lead you to think people are laughing WITH Â you.
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’24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Â Coincidence? Â I Â think not.’
~ Stephen Wright Â
WARNING:  The consumption of alcohol may cause you to think you can  sing.
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‘When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk,
we fall asleep. Â When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to  heaven. So, let’s all
get drunk and go to heaven!’
~ Brian  O’Rourke
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol may cause pregnancy.
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‘Beer  is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.’
~ Benjamin  Franklin
WARNING: The consumption of alcohol is a major factor in dancing like a retard.
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‘Without  question, the greatest invention in the
history of mankind is beer. Â Oh, I grant you that the
wheel was also a fine invention, but the wheel  does
not go nearly as well with pizza.’
~ Dave Barry Â
WARNING:  The consumption of alcohol may cause you to tell your friends over and  over again that you love them.
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To some it’s a six-pack, to me it’s a Support Group. Salvation in a  can!
~ Dave  Howell
WARNING:  The consumption of alcohol may make you think you can logically converse  with members of the opposite sex without spitting.
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And saving the best for last, as explained by Cliff  Clavin, of  Cheers.
One afternoon at Cheers, Cliff Clavin was explaining the  BuffaloTheory to his buddy Norm.
Here’s how it  went:
‘Well ya see, Norm, it’s like this… A herd of  buffalo can  only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when  the  herd is hunted, it is the slowest and weakest  ones at  the back that are killed first This natural selection  is good  for the herd as a whole, because the general speed and health of the whole  group keeps improving by the regular  killing of the weakest members. In much the same way, the human brain can  only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of  alcohol, as we know,  kills brain cells. But naturally, it attacks the slowest and weakest brain  cells first. In this way, regular consumption of beer eliminates the  weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine.  That’s why you always feel smarter after a few beers.’ Â
WARNING: Â The consumption of alcohol may make you think you are whispering when you are not
Virtual Worlds Research Discussion Group
January 13, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Whilst Linden Lab list their education highlights for 2008, a standout from the past year in an Australian context has been the successful establishment of the Virtual Worlds Research Discussion Group.
Organised by organized by Greg Wadley (Uni of Melbourne), Deb McCormick (Monash Uni) and, Sabine Lawless-Reljic (San Diego State), there are weekly meetings held at alternate locations. The 2009 seminars kick off next Tuesday the 20th January with a presentation by Don Wen titled ‘A study of Avatar Personalization Systems in Three Virtual Worlds’.
Whether you’re actively involved in conducting research yourself or interested in hearing about research underway, these seminars are hard to go past. You can view to future schedule of seminars here. Second Life may be the venue of the discussions but they explore much wider horizons than that.
Education Faire and School of the Air
January 12, 2009 by 2 Comments
At The Metaverse Journal we’ve repeatedly discussed specific education projects in virtual worlds and also argued that Australian educators are key drivers in the adoption of virtual worlds in a widespread way.
Tateru Nino at Massively asks the question: does virtual education have to get dreadful before there’s widespread adoption by those who determine budgets in the education community? She uses the well-known Aussie icon, the School of the Air to demonstrate how education funding can be used in innovative ways. It’s generated quite a bit of discussion and links to our prediction that there’s unlikely to be a mainstream adoption by the tertiary sector this year.
Monash University’s Virtual Learning Research Project
Whilst the budget and policy-makers drag their feet, Linden Lab are holding their Inaugural Education Support Faire. Aimed at educators and those who provide learning support, it’s being held on the 25th-30th January this year. Linden Lab are inviting educators to present / demonstrate at the event as well.
Over to you: if you’re an educator, how do you see the barriers being broken down at the higher levels so that the self-evident opportunities of virtual worlds become clear to those not at the coalface?
29 lines to make you smile for today
January 12, 2009 by Leave a Comment
1. My husband and I divorced over religious differences. He thought he was God and I didn’t.
2. I don’t suffer from insanity; I enjoy every minute of it.
3. Some people are alive only because it’s illegal to kill them.
4. I used to have a handle on life, but it broke.
5. Don’t take life too seriously; No one gets out alive.
6. You’re just jealous because the voices only talk to me
7. Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
8. Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.
9. I’m not a complete idiot — Some parts are just missing
10. Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.
11. NyQuil, the stuffy, sneezy, why-the-heck-is-the-room-spinning medicine.
12. God must love stupid people; He made so many.
13. The gene pool could use a little chlorine.
14. Consciousness: That annoying time between naps.
15. Ever stop to think, and forget to start again?
16. Being ‘over the hill’ is much better than being under it!
17. Wrinkled Was Not One of the Things I Wanted to Be When I Grew up.
18.Procrastinate Now!
19. I Have a Degree in Liberal Arts; Do You Want Fries WithThat?
20. A hangover is the wrath of grapes.
21. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.
22. Stupidity is not a handicap. Park elsewhere!
23. They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease was already taken.
24. He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless DEAD.
25. A picture is worth a thousand words, but it uses up three thousand times the memory.
26. Ham and eggs…A day’s work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.
27. The trouble with life is there’s no background music.
28. The original point and click interface was a Smith & Wesson.
29. I smile because I don’t know what the hell is going on
Environmentalism gone too far?
January 11, 2009 by Leave a Comment
A woman from Hobart, who was a tree hugger and anti-hunter, purchased acres of timberland near the Franklin dam,  There was a huge tree on one of the highest points in the tract.Â
She wanted to view the natural splendor of her land, so she climbed the tree. As she neared the top, she encountered an endangered spotted owl. It attacked her! In her haste to escape, the woman slid down the tree to the ground. The ensuing fall incurred several splinters of wood in her crotch.Â
In considerable pain, she hurried to the nearest doctor, 35 minutes away in Launceston. She told him she was an environmentalist and anti-hunter and how she came to receive all of the splinters. The doctor listened to her story with great patience. He then told her to go into the examining room and he would see if he could help. The impatient patient sat, and sat, and waited for three hours before the doctor reappeared.Â
The angry woman demanded, ‘What took you so long?’ He smiled and said, ‘Well, I had to get permits from National Parks and Wildlife.. the National Forestry Agency and Tasmanian Workcover before I could remove old-growth timber from a recreational area. I’m sorry, but they turned me down.’
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