A Note on What I am Researching

Hello everyone.  It has been a while since I have written, and although I am jotting these brief words tonight, I am afraid they do not carry much substance.

I am writing to let you all know that... well, I am still writing.  I am still touring Second Life, and meeting some interesting people.  Here's a quick rundown of some of the things I am learning about, which I will eventually write about (perhaps).

I have come across information regarding avatars with real life users who are physically disabled.  I met an avatar named Gentle Heron who is affiliated with a non-profit organization named Virtual Ability, Inc.  This is a real life organization whose mission is "to enable people with a wide range of disabilities to enter into virtual worlds like Second Life®, and provide them with a supporting environment once there".  You can learn more by visiting their website at www.virtualability.org.  I have not learned more, so perhaps the information I provide, once I write more about this, will be redundant.

I met another avatar named Starling Ansar whose real life user is deaf and mute.  Starling designed an art gallery named Soar for what she referred to as the 'deafie sim'.  She has been interviewed by an architecture magazine and told me that "when CNN sent a reporter to cover the deaf sim, she used Soar as the backdrop for her report".  I plan to learn more about her, as her experiences in Second Life seem interesting.

I visited a mathematics library under construction in Old Willowdale, a sim that is designed for role-playing child avatars and their families.  The sim will officially open on February 1st.  Hopefully I will have more info before then, or at the very least I will visit on opening day and write about the celebration.  The library is the work of Kya Muircastle, a child avatar who was gracious enough to give me a tour.

This is just a short sampling of more incredible avatars I have met, and the amazing work and creativity featured in Second Life.

For now, this is the extent of my entry.

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas

Garden for the Missing

Hello everyone.  Once again I am writing about one of the locales I visited in Second Life.  It is called Garden for the Missing.  You can easily find it by doing a search in Second Life.  To see images of the garden click here.

I had the opportunity to meet and chat with Ronnie Rhode, founder and creator of the garden.  In our conversation she emphasized the value a place like Second Life has in providing any of us with the ability to do, as she put it, 'good' work.  Though I generally abstain from using terms such as good and bad (remember, I think too much) I understand what she means.  The opportunity to constructively influence the 'real' world, and by extension the evolution of both the individual and the collective (i.e. the human race), through this 'virtual' world is amazing!

She began work on the garden in mid 2007 and opened the garden to the public in September of the same year.  She explained that she had no experience with construction in Second Life and taught herself how to do it.  Here is an example of what I have been writing about, of how any of us can, by investing our energy, do anything in this world!  Specifically, any of us has the ability to do something 'good' for ourselves and for our fellow human beings.

I know I have mentioned this before, but I will mention it again; I am impressed by the opportunity a world like Second Life presents for organizations and like-minded people to connect.  In this case the organization is one we may consider to be involved in a noble cause.  Whether our connecting and interacting with this 'noble' organization (the garden) results in more cases being solved is not what I am interested in.  This would obviously be wonderful, but what I find interesting is that Second Life adds another medium through which we can become actively involved in directly reshaping our 'real' world.  We can influence people's 'real' lives.  Whether we choose to be constructive or destructive is another topic.  In this instance Ronnie Rhode has done something to constructively affect change in the 'real' world.

I am going to cut this entry short.  However, there are so many tangents my mind has taken notice of as I write.  For instance, how active is our participation in this medium?  Isn't it in fact passive?  What kind of influence does a virtual world like Second Life really have in reshaping the lives of people all around the world?  There's so much to think about.  In fact  there is more to write about my visit to the garden (I met another interesting person there).  But I must go for now.

Thank you for reading my blog.  Comments are always welcome and appreciated.

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas

Stumbling Along, I Found This! (Part II)

Hello again.  I am back to finish the tale of my experience in the Albaycin Preserve.  This entry will consist only of describing what I saw in the preserve.  I have created a photo album of my visit, which you can access here.

Delia Lake's cabin is a self-sustaining dwelling.  A wind turbine and solar panels on the roof power the cabin.  She has made available a solar panel that can be copied and used by any visitor in the construction of his or her own dwelling.  Delia hopes to influence other Second Life builders to design dwellings that are self-sustaining and at harmony with the environment.  The cabin itself is spacious and comfortable.  Delia has placed information around the cabin regarding the book she coauthored and research on the fragility of some of the earth's ecosystems.

Delia placed a keyhole garden behind the cabin.  To learn more about keyhole gardens watch this video.  Since it is winter in the Albaycin Preserve Delia has placed a winter greenhouse over the garden that can be removed in warmer weather.  A rain catcher with "holes in the top disc so that the water can come through and run down the plastic sheeting onto the compost and seep into the garden itself" tops it.  According to Delia these gardens could be built anywhere in the US, Europe, southern South America, Russia, and most of China.

Delia briefly explained some aspects of the flora, fauna, and geography of the sim to me.  "Since this sim is set in a north temperate area, it will change with the seasons.  Right now [it] is winter, but the look of the place will change in spring, summer and fall."

She continued, "Many of the plants and animals here would be native to the Pais Vasco area—oaks, beaches, pines, some maples, fruit and nut trees.  Many of the birds and marine animals [would also be native to the region], but not all of them.  All of the plants and animals could live in these conditions though.  I have chosen to treat my natural builds in [Second Life] as people have treated places to with they have immigrated for eons in [Real Life].  Humans have brought with them as they migrated some favorite plants and animals from their old homes.  The ones ... suited to the new conditions adapted and thrived.  A few of the trees and animals here I have made/brought to [Second Life].  Most, though, were made/brought into [Second Life] by other people".

A nice place to enjoy the beauty of the sim is the patio and vineyard located along the southern coastline of the bay.  There you can pick grapes from the vine, squash them in a large wooden tub, and drink the fruits of your labor on an open, cobbled patio overlooking the bay.  In the future Delia plans to host small music events and discussion groups on the patio.

The sim is unfinished, but the work Delia has completed is astounding.

I want to thank Delia for being so gracious with me.  She was courteous and answered all my questions without hesitation.

Well, another entry is done.  I still have much to write about though.  My next entry will be about Ronnie Rhode, an avatar who has built a garden in Second Life dedicated to helping solve missing person cases in the United States.  Until then, take care of yourselves.

Remember, comments are appreciated.

Sincerely,

Pluton Karas