Rocket Building Competition

Hello everyone.  Pluton here to tell you about the Tiny Moonraker rocket building competition held at Space Frontier earlier today.

I arrived on schedule, at 2 pm SLT, at the Space Frontier Sandbox, where there were some tiny rocketeers present.  I knew this contest was targeted at tinies, but when I actually found myself surrounded by little adorable bears, bunnies, and dragons I felt like cuddling them, a feeling which was unexpected and strange.  They were very cute, all done up in clever space suits and outfits befitting the occasion.

I had never been surrounded by so many tinies.  I had met a few in isolated situations, but being in the presence of so many gave me a sense of other-worldliness, and once everyone gathered at the actual launch site things got even stranger.  There were so many tinies all around that I felt nervous about walking, concerned that I might crush one of them!  Then they began to remind me of the mischievous creatures of the Gremlins films!  But not for long.  The tinies were bundles of chaotic energy, just like those nasty green creatures, but certainly not mischievous and bent on destruction.  No, these tinies were highly imaginative and bent on creating, as I was soon to learn.

UKBIKER Betsen, and other tinies, awaiting launch time

The rocket creations were fantastic works of imagination and absurdity.  I was unable to capture all the rockets on film, so the following is not a complete listing of all the rockets launched.

Copper Mistral's copper rocket

Etherea Parrot's giant bottle rocket

Catten Carter's retro-futuristic rocket

Hannibal Salamander's half scale Saturn V rocket

Xanda Bracken's rocket animal

Skinty Sparta's Tiny Astronomical Space Accidents (TASA) rocket

Rizzo Taurus' udderly fabulous rocket (wish I had a better pic)

SHAMUS Carter's sim transporting rocket

SHAMUS ready for takeoff

Vic Titanium's carbonated sugar-water propellant rocket

Azelle Mavendorf's double booster lounge pad

patrich Merlin's baby bottle space booster

Raymond Nightfire's ballistic V-2 creation

There was a great moment I wish I could have captured on video.  Skinty Sparta's rocket initially malfunctioned and exploded!  Fortunately Skinty was unharmed, most certainly due to the flawless design of her crew cabin and flight suit.

Skinty ready for take off

Mayday!  Mayday!

Skinty protected in the crew cabin!

Hurrah!  Skinty is unscathed!

After an hour of fun rocket launches it was time for the judges to deliberate over the contestant's efforts.  Fifth place was awarded to Raymond Nightfire, fourth place to Lara Vidor (not pictured), third place to SHAMUS Carter, second place to Azelle Mavendorf, and first place to Gadget Jun.

The best rocketeers of the day

Gadget Jun and her winning rocket

Special Honorable Mention was bestowed upon JiKun Aero who missed the opportunity to launch a multi-stage rocket that would have surely impressed the judges.

If you would like to see the rockets visit the Space Frontier Sandbox.  Some rockets are launch capable, some are copyable.  Feel free to roam and explore.

My sincere apologies go out to all the rocketeers whose creations were not represented in this entry; Differ Darwin, UKBIKER, Tiamat, Lara Vidor, and PsychicMediumMeri Indigo.

This event was one worthwhile attending, and certainly one worth repeating.  I hope Krull Aeon, Rocket Sellers, and all the community of Space Frontier do it again.  Thank you all for working so hard to make this happen.

Thanks go out to all the tinies who participated.  Your creativity is amazing, and your energy is boundless!

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas

StormEye

Preparing to enter StormEye.

Hello dear readers.  I have found a beautiful installation located 500 meters above the NMC Campus' Aho Museum.

StormEye is the result of the collaborative work of Desdemona Enfield and Douglas Story.  I was fortunate enough to meet and converse with Desdemona beneath the virtual glow of Second Life's full moon.  It did not take much to get Desdemona to tell me about herself and her work.  Desdemona's principal skills are in scripting, though she also adds to the visual design of the pieces she and Douglas work on.

Desdemona Enfield

How do I make a brief entry while still doing justice to the beauty of the installation?  Perhaps images, each worth a thousand words, would be of better use in this case.

At the entrance.

Get yourself an umbrella, compliments of Bryn Oh.

Inside the funnel, with blotto Epsilon.

The inner chamber, which Desdemona referred to as the eye of the

storm, during a peaceful moment.

SweetlySo Gealach enjoys the calm within.

The inner chamber during the storm.

Pluton Karas, sundhi Joubert, and SweetlySo Gealach.

Outside the piece with sundhi Joubert.

Relaxing with Bill Friis.

Everyone is invited to visit StormEye on Saturday, February 21, from 2-4 pm SLtime, for a celebration including ballroom dancing hosted by dj Naydee McGettigan.  I won't be able to attend, so I ask you, dear reader, if you attend the celebration, or whenever you experience StormEye, would you be so kind as to leave me a note abou it?

I have been struggling to stave off sleep.  I wanted to finish this short entry before retiring for the evening.  I hope it is not disjointedly structured.

Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other.

Remember, comments are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas

Virtual Ability in the News

Hello everyone.  I just read an interview with Gentle Heron, president of Virtual Ability Inc., in the Second Life newspaper.  Gentle Heron talks of the further expansion of Virtual Ability with its affiliation to Cape Able, an organization dedicated to providing resources for the hearing impaired in Second Life.

Two of the exciting updates are an art gallery featuring works by deaf and other disabled artists, and a Service Center with resources for the hearing impaired and anyone interested in learning more about the deaf community.  I ran into one of Gentle Heron's old friends, Norse Writer, who was kind enough to pose with me for this picture inside the Service Center.

An official Grand Opening celebration will take place on Sunday, February 22, from 2 to 6 pm SLT.  Unfortunately I won't be able to attend.  If you visit please drop me a note about the event, or if you post about it send me a link.

Take care.

Pluton Karas

Teleport to Cape Able

Aerospace Crew

Differ Darwin, Motoko Karu, Rocket Sellers, Elbereth White,

Krull Aeon, and myself in front of a high-tech mobile rocket lab.

Hey all.  Pluton here, back with another quick entry.

After exploring the region Space Frontier a bit further I found a crew of rocket builders.  This being Second Life all the avatars were unique and included a cat (Krull Aeon), a fairy in human guise (Rocket Sellers), a plains clothes rocketeer (Elbereth Witte), a space suited rocketeer (Differ Darwin), and a cyborg (Motoko Karu).

All the rocket builders were very friendly and encouraged everyone who may read this to go over and check out their rocket building facility.  A word of caution, however.  There is information around the sim that lists a schedule for rocket building classes.  Unfortunately the classes are no longer offered.  Rocket Sellers, who described herself as both the manager and a patron of Space Frontier, explained that they are "planning other sorts of classes that are not about Second Life, just in Second Life".  Unfortunately she would not tell me more, saying "it's a secret project".

When I asked the rocket builders if they wanted me to mention anything specific about their work Rocket Sellers expressed the need for low cost and frequent access to space.  "You can go to the moon or mars or asteroid or moons of Jupiter," she went on, "no need to argue about the destination now... just get to orbit affordably".  On the other hand Krull Aeon expressed the need to "commission a really big rubber band,"  and when Elbereth Witte mentioned that Russia has declared and interest in reaching Mars, Krull responded by declaring an "interest in Mars bars".

Rocket Sellers went on to say that "this project is supporting non profits, companies and individuals who are concerned about access to space.  We might joke around, but we are very serious."  At the end of this entry you will find links to some non profit organizations Rocket listed during our conversation.

If you are interested in rocket building, making access to space more feasible, and networking with others who share this interest then search for the group Space Frontier and visit the the Space Frontier region.  Remember, the region is always in development.  As Rocket Sellers pointed out, "we consider this research, and our motto is Always Under Construction".

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas

Space Access Society

Space Studies Institute

Space Frontier Foundation

Students for the Exploration and Development of Space

Rocket Science

Hello everyone.  I have not been touring much recently, but tonight I got on and immediately found this fantastic event.  This one's for all the rocket scientists out there.

Over at the Space Frontier Sandbox I found a rocket building contest.  Everything you need to enter is provided when you click on the poster.  You get an already constructed rocket, with scripts included, and a notecard with competition guidelines.

The competition is open to anyone who would like to build a rocket, either using the rocket provided or one entirely created from scratch.  The are only two restrictions.  First, "no pre-scripted or pre-purchased items" are allowed.  Second, the "rockets must be created by the original participant."  Beyond this anything goes.

Physics are important in this competition, as I quickly learned when I tried to ride the rocket.  After spending a few frustrating minutes I succeeded in standing atop the gray vehicle.  When I launched, however, the rocket tipped and blasted off, struck a structure, skimmed over the land and ended up underwater.  Fortunately it had no warhead within, and the field was empty of avatars, otherwise I hate to think what may have happened!  There was no catastrophic event.  In fact it turned quite humorous as I ran and flew around trying to capture a photograph of the accident.

The launch date of the competition is Saturday, February 21, with a slated time of 3 pm SL time.  I am looking forward to seeing all the different entries blast off into the clouds above.

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas

Maddening Field Trip

Travieso Sella, Adriel Ronas, Scott Nizna, Christiana

Senovka, and Pluton Karas, ready to go insane.

"If you have a history of mental illness, particularly a psychotic disorder, you should not tour this facility".  Thus begins the tour of the Virtual Hallucinations facility in Sedig, a simulation which provides a glimpse into the schizophrenic's perception of reality.  Thanks to the work of Dr. Peter Yellowlees, professor of psychiatry at UC Davis, and his peers, avatars are able to explore a medical ward in which aural and visual hallucinations transform what should be a sterile and safe environment into a maddeningly terrifying one.

The maddening experiences in the ward are based upon the very real experiences of schizophrenics interviewed for the project, and include the following:

• unnervingly calm voices repeatedly reminding you that you're dead, that you don't exist, that you know none of this is real
• a poster and newspaper whose printed messages transform, distorting not just your perceived world but also the value of your own existence
• a television broadcast that directly addresses you, and which attacks and devalues your existence

• a mirror in which a healthy looking man smiles at you as you watch him die and begin to decompose; this is based on the experience of a patient who stopped shaving because every morning he would see his reflection dying and decomposing

• a gun which suddenly appears beneath a spotlight, with voices trying to convince you to take it and kill yourself; also based on a patient's experience, the man was arrested for attempting to take a police officers gun after the voices he heard gave him the instruction to do so
• a hallway whose floor suddenly disappears beneath you, leaving you to precariously make your way over an abyss by hopping on floating stones

Obviously listing the 'experiences' does them no justice, so I won't go into length about them.  You must experience them yourself.  And let me warn you, the experience can be terrifying.

I took a group of avatars I met at Philosophy House on a field trip to the sim.  I had been through the simulation on two separate occasions, both times unaccompanied.  This time I was touring with a group.  Very early into our tour I realized that touring with a motley crew like the one I gathered reduced the impact the tour had on me, and thereby must also mean that my fellow tourists' first experience here would not be as meaningful as if they were touring solo.  Yet, despite this and all our irreverent commentary, my fellow tourists found the tour to be impacting and frightening.  Here are just a few excerpts of our conversation:

• "Damn, this is insane."
• "Ew, that's awful... this guy... no wonder the guy went nuts." (referring to mirror)
• "Wow... all these voices... tell them to stop :-("
• "What [this sim] cannot convey is the *absolute conviction* you feel when the voices speak, that THEY are correct."
• "Wow... That was the craziest shyt [sic] I've ever done in Second Life."
• "That was fun.  Can we do it again?"

That last quote is not meant to be frivolous.  You see, what terrifies me about this sim is that I can choose to experience this, and that at any time I can stop the experience.  The schizophrenic cannot.  For the schizophrenic, this is reality.

Going through a simulation like this provides us with the opportunity to broaden our real world perspectives, to bridge the gap between our 'normal' world and this alien world of madness.  This is of great importance, for if enough of us can gain even this slightest shred of understanding of what the experience of the mentally ill 'may be' like, even if it's just an approximation of that reality, then society can be constructively impacted, for western society not only misunderstands the mentally ill, it also marginalizes and abuses them.

This has been the case in western society for millennia, and it is still the case today.  We may no longer burn them at the stake or publicly humiliate them in the town square, but the mentally ill, and their counterintuitive experiences, are so alien to us that we, as a society, ignore the horrors they go through, force our own perspective upon them, then leave them to cope with their terror all alone.

I do not mean to devalue the work of individuals such as Dr. Yellowlees, his colleagues, and the countless number of medical and legal professionals who advocate for the mentally ill.  Nor is my intent to alienate all the organizations and individuals who actively work to protect, care for, and advance the rights of the mentally ill.  However, despite all this valuable work, I feel the general population still has a distorted view of the mentally ill that stems from fear and ignorance.

In a post-tour note Travieso Sella expressed similar views:

"We can also see the vastness of the gap between the suffering individual and other people, the difficulty one may find in attempting to function in society with such an illness as well as the lack of understanding others may have for them, or their condition. Mental illness and what we call mental disorders are still something of a mystery to people I believe."

"I think [this sim] can reveal to people why those who are schizophrenic may not be required to endure the same kind of punishments, for certain crimes, which other are. Some people are in a state of mind dominated by certain urges, and voices fueling these urges. And therefore they have to struggle in ways that others don’t. So naturally they should, and usually are (at least in my country,) subject to special legal treatment and rehabilitation involving the respective crimes."

I hope more and more people take advantage of this sim.  Check it out for yourself, and share the location with others.  However, heed the warning I quoted at the beginning of this entry, and read all the information and instructions available before entering the facility.

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas

PS:

Directly teleport to Virtual Hallucinations by clicking here

Read more about the sim at the official UC Davis website

Read the "New Wold Notes" original commentary on the sim from 2004

T-Shirt Expressions

Hey all.  Check out these t-shirts.

The model is Walk Sideshow.  He was cool and humored me for a few minutes, but refused to be photographed shirtless. Oh well.

To me the shirts initially express irony but, like the Necker Cube, suddenly their 'intent' shifts and they seem to genuinely express ignorance.  What do you think?

If you want the t-shirts send me a notecard in-world.  I'll get them to you as soon as I can.

If you want the t-shirts in real life, go here.

Pluton.

Willowdale Mathematics Library

Hello everyone. Pluton here. Yesterday one of my readers visited the town of Willowdale, but was unable to locate the mathematics library I featured in my blog (entirely my fault; see below). In order to help I am posting some directions.


Let me begin by saying there is probably an easier way to assist anyone interested in getting to the museum. If this is so, please comment and help me learn.


In addition, I need to apologize to all my readers, for the name of the town is Willowdale; Old Willowdale is the region. I have edited the original entry in order to rectify my error. Thanks go out to Veritas Raymaker whose comment on the difficulty he had finding the museum led to this correction.


In order to get to the mathematics museum follow these directions. Use Second Life's Search window to locate "Willowdale", not "Old Willowdale". If you search for the latter and teleport you will be in Willowdale, but this particular location is not the best to set off from.


After you find "Willowdale" follow the teleport link. This will transport you directly in front of the Willodwale Community Center; it is the building I am standing in front of in the photograph below.







The street I'm standing beside is Swan Way. The tall grey building in the background, at the end of Swan Way, is the mathematics library.


Hope this helps.


One more thing. The members of Willowdale would like to keep it as realistic as possible, so avoid flying to get around. Thanks.


Sincerely,
Pluton Karas

The Town of Willowdale: Child Avatars and Mathematicians

Hello everyone.  I have found myself with a great deal of writing energy and am including a second entry for the day.  Can you handle it?  Hmm.

Kya Muircastle

A week and a half ago I met Kya (pronounced Kaya) Muircastle.  I mentioned her in an earlier entry.  She is responsible for helping design and construct Willowdale, a town in the PG region of Old Willowdale which specifically caters to child avatars and their families.  The sim celebrated it's grand opening yesterday with a variety of activities, including a live DJ and lots of dancing.

Personally, I had no idea there was a community of child avatars in Second Life.  These are individuals who enjoy role playing as children and are adopted by in-world adult avatars.  These are in-world families!

I met a small visitor at the Learning Tree

In fact there is a large and supportive community of Second Life children.  To learn more about this community visit the Second Life Children blog, or you can go to the Second Life Children Learning Tree in Second Life.

The members of Willowdale are courteous and friendly.  Among the avatars I met were Erica Core, a child who graciously answered my questions and gave me a tour of the town, and Corey Somme, a cat who only speaks with children.

Corey and Erica relaxing

The town of Willowdale has everything any small community needs, including a fire house, library, shopping mall, medical center, and school.  Classes are held at the school every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Appointments can be made to see a doctor or dentist at the medical center.  If you like wholesome, smallville family life then check it out.

What drew me to Willowdale was the Mathematics Museum.  I was touring SL, looking for mathematics related locations, when I found it.  It is still a work in progress, but if what Kya Muircastle has already done is an indication of what the museum will offer when it is complete then this will be a wonderful place to experience the world of mathematics.

An example of Kya's wonderful interactive exhibits

One of the exhibits will be a hall of biographies.  Kya had a contest for individuals to write short biographies on mathematicians.  I gave her an entry and earned second place in the contest.  To be fair, I don't know how many entries there were (Kya said she received far fewer than she wanted), but I am not about to ask!  Unfortunately Kya will not finish this part of the museum until more biographies are ready.

Visit the town of Willowdale and see what the Second Life Children community is like.  Maybe it will turn out to be something you had no idea you would enjoy.

As always, comments are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas

Virtual Ability

Virtual Ability Sim

Hello everyone.  Pluton Karas here again, ready to tell you all about another sim I found which has left me impressed.

As I already mentioned in my last entry I recently met an avatar named Starling Ansar whose user is deaf and mute.  I wanted to invite Starling to a taping of The 2nd QuestioN, but since the show is voice chat based she was unable to accompany me.  I asked Pookie Amsterdam, producer of the show, about closed captioning for the hearing impaired.  The response I got was unexpected, and from an unexpected source.

An audience member named Gentle Heron responded to my query.  It turns out Gentle's user is affiliated with Virtual Ability, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities in gaining access to virtual worlds such as Second Life.  This assistance is provided both in real life and in Second Life.

In real life the organization helps individuals by assessing their particular needs (perhaps an individual is incapable of using a keyboard) and providing advice and resources to acquire necessary hardware and software (such as voice recognition applications).

Once an individual is physically capable of accessing Second Life the organization provides assistance through it's community network to help him successfully integrate into the virtual environment.  To this end the organization has a sim named Virtual Ability which serves as a Second Life entry point and is designed to walk the new resident through the basics of the Second Life interface.

Flight Instructions

The most important way the organization assists residents is by providing a community that "offers members information, encouragement, training, companionship, referrals to other online resources and groups, ways to contribute back to the community, and ways to have fun".

In the organization's mission statement the following point is emphasized:

• Virtual Ability, Inc.'s success will be measured not by how many people stay in our group, but by how many use our services to grow into virtual worlds, and become productive members of society once there (italics mine).

If you have read my prior entries it comes as no surprise that I am impressed by that last line in the mission statement.  The concept that in this virtual world we all have access to new tools and environments which we can use to constructively affect the real world globally is mind blowing!  This organization has certainly done it's part in affecting the lives of real world users with disabilities.

Not only is the work done by the members of Virtual Ability important because they are helping those with disabilities gain access to this incredible medium, but there is also a body of research which boasts of the medical benefits virtual reality worlds present to persons with disabilities, including but not limited to the following:

• Benefits those managing chronic illness in rural settings where sources of social support and health information are limited
• Improves functioning in the categories of independence, communication, and learning among persons with a significant mobility and physical impairment
• Improves cognitive function and concentration for those who have suffered traumatic brain injury
• Improves health, as well as mental and physical functioning, during rehabilitation as a result of the patients having 'fun'
• Offers social skills training for persons on the Autism spectrum by practicing behaviors through role-play situations in a safe environment

All this information, and more, can be found at www.virtualability.org and at the Virtual Ability sim in Second Life.  I hope you pass this information along to anyone you may know who would benefit from the services of this organization.

Adelene Dawner

During one of my visits to the Virtual Ability sim I got to meet an avatar named Adelene Dawner whose user is autistic.  Adelene has been in-world for two years and has been active in and benefited from the disability community in Second Life.  I am curious to learn of others with disabilities who have benefited from their experiences in Second Life.  If this is you leave a comment with your story.  If you would like to forward this entry to an avatar whose user has a disability please feel free, and ask if they would comment on their experience.

Finally, let me apologize for the disjointed writing on this entry.  Is it disjointed?  I am not feeling well and perhaps the writing is fine and it is my perception that is being detrimentally affected by my physical state.

Enough.  I wish you all well.

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas