Giant Snail Racing in Second Life Nomad Aries reporting

Saturday June 17, 2017 was a beautiful day , perfect for a day at the races. The Giant Snail races to be exact.  The races are held at Gullwing Coast Racers

 ( http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gullwing%20Coast%20Racers/152/98/777)

 every Saturday.  Snail racing is the longest regular event on Secondlife.  It runs from approximately 10:45 am SLT to 12 noon.

 If it happens to be your first visit to Giant Snail racing, there is a lot to see and do , once there.  You will be greeted with a lot of information and you may find yourself in a live show.  Snail Racing is filmed by Treet T.V.  (Treet.Tv Channel: http://treet.tv/shows/snailraces ) and you can a free Treet T.V. near the landing spot!

There is a theme every week and the entire sim , including fans and snails are dressed up according to theme.  On June 17^th the theme was “Summer Camp”. 

Many thanks to Tindallia Soothsayer for the camp gear she made and passed on to those of us in the stands who did not come prepared. It truly looked like a day at summer camp , even Jason from Friday the 13^th showed up!

 (pic of summer camp crew)

Once at the stands , take a seat and enjoy !  The seats are guided seats which allow you to cheer the racers and watch without your view being obstructed. 

Along with other information, you are given a filming schedule which explains the order of events, it goes as follows;

“Here is our Filming Schedule (You need this for the show):

You will sit in a guided seat so get ready for us to take control of your avatar while in the audience. The seats are made to make you cheer, clap on cue and your even able to follow your favorite Giant Snail while they Race on the Sky Track.

10:45a Fireworks Begin!

10:45a Fly Through Crowd Cheering

10:47a Announcers Opening Introductions in the Balloon

10:50a Best Themed Snail Fan Contest Voting from the Balloon

10:50a RacerX Announces Stats for First Race

11:00a RacerX Announces Stats for Second Race

11:01a Fireworks Again!

11:02a SnailDude Launch

11:05a Best of Show Voting

11:25a Beginner Giant Snail Races On Ground Track

11:30a Best of Show Results

11:45a Pro Giant Snail Races On Sky Track

12:00p Background Credits Run Through

              Announce the Best Themed Snail Fan Contest Winner! (Cash Prize)

              Picture of Best Themed Snail Fan Winner

             

Once we are done filming the show everyone who attended is invited to take a ride on the bus and watch the last weeks show in Club Snailo! “

  

 The races are very fast paced , these are not your regular garden variety snails, they are indeed giant, racing snails.  The course is not an easy one at all, even walking the course with just my avatar was challenging.  There are obstacles that can slow down a racer and cost time, the mushrooms in particular, are really bad and the terrain is varied.   

  There are a few rules to follow when watching the races , these make it more enjoyable for everyone attending and it is a PG sim , everyone is welcome.

Giant Snail Race Rules

1.    Please do not play any sounds. (Unless they are extremely Funny)

2.    Wearing Weapons is acceptable if worn only. No weapon USE whatsoever.

3.    The Venue is General Audience. No Cursing allowed.

4.    Keep unnecessary scripts to a minimum. See 2.

5.    No Gestures allowed that have music in them, the music industry is very picky. See 3.

6.    No private bits hanging out. We are a Rated “G” sim after all.

7.    No Nudity

8.    No Adult themed role play.

9.    Follow the Covenant Rules as well as Linden Labs ToS.

10.  HAVE FUN! As long as it’s GOOD, CLEAN, FUN!

...and also some tips for getting the maximum benefit from the races ;

ENJOY BEING

                                                         ****A SNAIL RACE SPECTATOR*****

                                                            FOR MAXIMUM  FUN & PLEASURE

1.    When at the Snail Races you are allowed to dress for theme. Where your best avatar and you may noticed by the camera a lot.

2.    There is a HUD provided when you sit in the seats. Wear the HUD and turn it on (green) until we tell you to turn it off (red) or back on again. Once you turn it on hit escape a few times so that it resets your camera view. Now that it’s on we will be controlling your camera view. So you can see everything that is being filmed. You can also turn it off. Do that at your own risk.

3.    There is a Confused Foxy that hangs out by the audience. You can talk to them and they will respond. Sometimes though they get a little uppity and need to be cleansed (reset) for their bad thoughts, so they don’t cuss people out.

4.    Scripts can be a problem when filming. So the less scripts you have running the better.  So please turn off any non-essential Scripts (Tiny AO’s are ok) Any other huds please turn off or remove.

5.    Follow the instructions of the staff for maximum experience during filming. If you are new there are some surprises we don’t want to let out in our information packet.

6.    Our seats are enhanced with Bunny Magic, pick the colour of the scarf of the Snail you want to follow and our seats will follow them in the race and bring you back at the end. Help your Snail out by cheering.

7.    Since this is a voice event, it is streamed on the sim. There is going to be a slight delay in the stream (Approx. 30 secs)

8.    Check out the extra items you can use during the race. Look for the gift box behind the seats!

 The races are really a lot of fun and the people behind the races are largely to thank.  Everyone knows SL can act up on occasion and there can be malfunctions, but mostly,  it runs like a well oiled machine. Behind the scenes there is team of people putting in a maximum effort to make everything go as smoothly as possible and  making sure the spectators get the most from their experience at the Giant Snail Races.  The entire sim is devoted to the races and training racers.  One can even get a free snail , a Giant one or a Tiny one and a free racing hud , You can try out racing at the sim, you can go early and practice and also, if you are at all interested in racing a snail , contact Racer X Gullwing, who can train you for the races.  Anyone entering for the race on Saturday should show up at around 8 a.m. Slt. A lot of the fans and team members have raced snails themselves and have pretty impressive records.  

It takes a team to run these events. The team at the Giant Snail Races has been doing this for years and their ability is incredible.  The amount of work is staggering but with the creativity, knowledge , talent and sheer joy of what they do is evident.  Together they make a truly enjoyable, fun experience for everyone.  The people who make up this team are ;

Announcers RacerX Gullwing, Mae Best, Tindallia Soothsayer, Stephanie Brimmer,Lobbie Riggles,Cally Kane,Oodlemi Noodle,Fukuju Amaterasu ,

Giant Racing Snail Pros, Alden Cortes,Oodlemi Noodle

Giant Racing Snails, Cally Kane,Lobbie Riggles,Josu Tenk,Abby Black

Music by Alazarin Mobius

There is also the jobs of posting results , pictures and films on Youtube, Flkr, Itunes , Treet T.V. And Facebook.

Follow Us on the following:

SLURL:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gullwing%20Coast%20Racers/152/98/777

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIzUNyz8RHrBc--NIXwEAEg

Facebook Group:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/121990117839655/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/giantsnailracessl/

SnailDude’s Blog: http://snailracers.blogspot.com/

SnailDude's Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Snail-Dude-11775713522749

Treet.Tv Channel: http://treet.tv/shows/snailraces

Revised 7-16-16 /sp

The results are passed out to spectators after the races.

After the races everyone piles into the bus and heads over to club Snail0!  Here people unwind from the hectic pace of the races and watch a recap of the last weeks race  and chat.  It is a very friendly , fun place to hang out. 

How did Giant Snail racing start?

 As  Racer x Gullwing, (founder of the Giant Snail Racing) explains, it was a learning process,” It all started with a contest called Giant Avatar contest I saw was coming up in a few days back when events were only a few a day  and finding them was easy. I went to the sandbox

where you could usually work for about 30 minutes at a time between sim crashes .”

“ I started attaching prims to my feet but that didn't make you any taller just made prims that went into the ground. So I thought about it and figured the way I'd have to do this is be in the foot. I didn't have a clue how to script legs to move and back then movement scripts didn't work in avatars anyway .  Narrowed it down a bit to a one footed animal . The shell was maxed out at 30 meters or maybe I just remember it that big . Thing is I didn't have a clue how to see out of that  so had to stop a lot an cam outside the shell to see where I was.”

How did the contest go?

“It was hilarious I got to the contest about 20 minutes early and the guy holding it told me to please park off to the side somewhere I thought he was steering me over there because I had obviously won and he didn't want to discourage the other avatars.  Ends up I was the only one that took it him literally and made a giant avatar. Well I didn't win .

How did this lead to Giant Snail Racing?

“ I was in group called Montmartre Artists and we were trying to get on the most popular places list before camping chairs were invented and were each asked to come up with an event  Mae Best had got another Quiz every other night it seemed and that alone got us up to about 30th or so but not the top 20. Anyway I was trying to come up with an event and talking to my good scripting friend and neighbor in fujin Catfart and he suggested giant snail racing. That's where it all started, that's when I put together a better .cuter avatar with blinky eyes that everyone loves and they haven't changed much since. We did get into the top 20 a couple times.”

Where did you Manage to Race Giant Snails?

“It started on the ground using stone paths that circled Montmartre. I made all the arrows and things needed for the race rez from a single prim and go find their spot in the sim just for the race, then I'd go around after the race and shout the race is over and all of signs of the race track would vanish just leaving the stone path built by May Best.

“ They also went down the city streets of Chase Rutherford's Manhattan in the Hawthorne sim an Aimee Weber build. at 8 pm on Tuesday nights.”

“ The thing that brought them to an end was mostly due to the physics in SL, where.  if you can find something to trip over.. you can fall a lot  faster than anyone can run. Also. once you get into that falling state you can close chat bar and hold the space bar down and get yourself to glide a long ways. “

  “ So I moved the race up into the sky onto a perfectly flat surface where there is nothing you can trip over. Same time, Seifert Surface was experimenting with a transportation system that would use push and throw you across the map. He had set this set of “flingers” up at the future sim, just one Sim south of Montmartre and owned by Chase Rutherford.”

“In fact I used his experiments as the track ,I just built the course around them. The race stayed in the future sim as it changed hands  to Gus Plisskin . who said it was welcome to stay as long as I wanted to have it there, but the sim slowly filled to capacity and had a lot of scripts going and  the” flingers”  stopped working consistently and the sport became more of a luck thing but eventually become an endurance race. I got Seifert Surface to give me a copy of his experiments and carefully packed it all into a prim and moved it all back to where it started from Montmartre. Also, if you go to http://www.sluniverse.com/pics/ and look search using the tag snail race you can see 99 percent of that history there. The snail race is only a few months older than snapzilla.  Snail races will be three years old at the end of November and have been held every Saturday but cancelled 2 or 3 about a year ago when I was very sick.”

 If you have a Saturday morning free tryGiant Snail Racing out.  It is truly an enjoyable experience for everyone.  You will be welcomed and entertained from a group of very professional, witty , creative people.  It is highly recommended !

This week's them is “ Aliens” and the sim looks absolutely wonderful !  The big event is July 15^th, 2017, it is the Relay for Life so if you can make it , please do!

  See you at the Races !

 ITunes hit the podcast button and type snail in search

or see them on the web at http://treet.tv/shows/snailraces

or youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIzUNyz8RHrBc--NIXwEAEg

or facebook https://www.facebook.com/giantsnailracessl/

 ITunes hit the podcast button and type snail in search

or see them on the web at http://treet.tv/shows/snailraces

or youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIzUNyz8RHrBc--NIXwEAEg

or facebook https://www.facebook.com/giantsnailracessl/

 ITunes hit the podcast button and type snail in search

or see them on the web at http://treet.tv/shows/snailraces

or youtube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIzUNyz8RHrBc--NIXwEAEg

or facebook https://www.facebook.com/giantsnailracessl/

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NIC- The People Behind the Government-Nomad Aries reporting...

  NIC is a company that designs, implements, streamlines and manages electronic business solutions for local, state and the federal governments of the United States of America. The CEO and chairman of the board is Harry Herington.  NIC describes their business as that of public servants because they enable governments to be more accessible and user friendly to their constituents.  NIC's  slogan is “ Making Good Governments Better”.

 Often, the complaints about government processes are;  they are too slow, tedious , generate reams of paperwork and are too complicated for the average person to negotiate.  NIC aims to streamline government processes to reduce wait times, travel to different agencies, time constrictions, reduction in  volumes of paperwork and make business with the government more user friendly and accessible.

Everyone in business knows time is money and streamlining these processes saves money for the government and the people. NIC does not use public money or money generated by taxes to provide any of their solutions, it is a private company that was listed in Forbes magazine as one of the top 100 successful small businesses in 2014.

 Technology has changed the way people and businesses act with government agencies. NIC has taken advantage of technology by integrating government processes so anyone can access government portals from their computer or phone in real time. 

One example of the type of integration of government forms can be found in the Arkansas Scholarship portal.  A person can use their computer to access the portal and once there, they will be prompted to enter certain information about their qualifications. After entering the information the site brings up all scholarships that match the information and gives you only the ones you qualify for. You do not have to be tech savvy to use the portals, they are user friendly.  Arkansas has found that more people can attend college because they now can easily access the scholarship programs that apply to their particular needs.

How Do the Use of the Government Portals Improve the Average Person's Business with Government?

  Through government portals a person can access their local, state or federal governments. All someone has to do is enter the information they need into a search bar or click on a topic. You will be directed to the web page and you can begin entering your information, depending on your need, you will be able to ; fill out government forms,register to vote in an election,  pay property taxes, pay traffic fines, car tag fees and even fill out the required documents to start a new business.

The new business start up page is a Onestop application that combines all the different forms from the five agencies needed and you can pay the fees right away.  Onestop has reduced the wait times for new business approval from a ten week waiting period , down to two days. Utah, has a wizard approach on their new business app that recognizes the key forms necessary for certain businesses so it will bring up all the necessary forms to be filled out. New businesses generate income for the state and hire workers. Making it easier to start new businesses has helped boost local and state economies.

 The list of available services will vary from state to state . All are available online but currently only some are available on mobile application to your phone.  NIC is working to get all apps available on all phones in the future and applications , once available are free. 

  In the state of Indiana , Law Enforcement is using an app for temporary plates on vehicles. In the past, there was no way for an officer to know from the temporary plate on a vehicle, if it was stolen from a dealership or involved in any crime.  With the Temporary Plate Check App they are able to access all information on the vehicle with the temporary plates and know if they are approaching a dangerous situation.  All officers in Indiana are equipped with a laptop inside their vehicles.

There is also a mobile bus safety inspection application available to police officers.  An officer can inspect buses transporting school children.  Should an officer find an infraction they report it with the application and also check to make sure the repair has been made. This has resulted in fewer buses breaking down and buses are being repaired more quickly ensuring greater safety for school children.

NIC in SecondLife

NIC is located in SecondLife at NIC - http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/eGov/130/129/23 .

 The sim is comprised of three main buildings; The Corporate Head Quarters, The Hall of States and the Innovation Building. 

  Corporate Headquarters

In this building you will find the Lobby ,The auditorium , gift shop and corporate offices. The auditorium is used for shareholder meetings and company meetings. The offices are for sales and monitoring state portals.  The building resembles the NIC building in real life.

The Hall of States

The Hall of States is where you can find the portals.  Inside this building there are huge interactive maps of the United States and on those maps are the states.  You can click on a state and your web browser will open to that State's webpage.  The webpage will either be a search bar asking what you wish to find or tabs to click on to , for instance, pay a property tax bill or get tags for your vehicle. It will prompt you as to what county you reside in .  You can also pay traffic fines from these portals.

As previously mentioned ,the services available depend on the state .You can apply for hunting licenses in states like Arkansas and Mississippi and regardless of all the forms needed you only have to fill out the information once.

Is it Safe to use the online portals for money transactions?

 Yes it is as safe as it can be. NIC handles government money and accounts, for this reason they have a full department of accountants and lawyers to constantly check transactions. They are trained to look for fraud or scams and monitor sites constantly. When a portal is set up for an agency this team makes sure payments can be made across multiple channels, build custom check out pages, and check to make sure all portals are in compliance with convenience rules, security and the PCI council and report refunds and chargebacks.

Through these portals you can also see where money has been allotted through the state budget -where and how your tax dollars are being spent.

There is also another portal where you can click on any state and it will give you the population of that state. 

The Innovation Building

The Innovation building is where the “next best thing” is produced.  It is a place where like minded creative thinkers come up with the next application and how to apply it across all media.  This is where the bugs get fixed and all apps must work in all media before they are adopted and put into practice at NIC.

 Inside this building are conference rooms, group huddles and labs to discuss and test new information.

This is a recreation of the real life group in production at NIC. These are the people who come up with a way to integrate more features into their existing apps along with new ones to reach more people .  Essentially NIC is doing on SL exactly what they do in real life and all other media . NIC using all media , facebook, twitter and youtube for all their apps.  The virtual world is just another medium that NIC is using to make government more accessible to more people at all age ranges. 

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URGENT NEWS: OZIMAL'S CLOSING -How are Breeders/Merchants and Owners Coping? Nomad Aries reporting...

Ozimals

   On May 17^th ,2017  Ozimals closed it's doors and shut down all services to Pufflings and Bunnies.

The closing is due to an ongoing legal issue that has continued for seven years. A Cease and Desist Order was delivered to Malkavyn Eldritch on May 15^th, 2017.   Malkavyn sent out a notice and offered free eternal timepieces and other “goodies” so people could keep their bunnies with them after the servers went down. The Pufflings  were not so lucky, there was nothing to save them.

Lanai consuling hysterical bunnies

If you are not familiar with Ozimals, what this means for the bunnies after the servers are down is; the bunnies will not be able to eat and enter into a hibernation state, in other words shut down and sleep forever.  As stated ,Pufflings ceased to function as soon as the servers went down. Bunnies who are Everlasting will continue to function as usual. Bunnies with the Eternal Timepieces will also be able to function without cost . The drawback is that the Bunnies are now sterile.  Bunnies who are not Everlasting will cease to function and enter into hibernation. 

 While this effort was generous, it has still left many owners, breeders and merchants with little consolation and very big losses.

 Touring around various locations where Ozimals are sold, bred and more importantly, owned, one begins to understand the scope of this action.  This has effected a large number of SL residents who have spent enormous amounts of money on stock, food, accessories and housing for their Ozimals and countless time in caring and monitoring them. The emotional cost cannot be measured in Lindens nor money, just as in RL, our pets are not just dogs or cats to us , neither were the Ozimal Pufflings and Bunnies to those who avidly cared for them. 

Staicy Halsey

  One visit I made was to Purple Rain Breedables owned and operated by Staicy Halsey.  It is a beautiful place and Staicy has many animals all very well cared for.  Staicy was kind enough to answer some questions regarding her Ozimals, what follows is her answers to my questions;

How does this event affect Breeders, Merchants and Owners on SL?

Staicy :” This effects us a lot mostly in our hearts . When I got the news I cried and felt devastated  and I still am. We all miss the bunny/Puffling game a lot. Stores are empty and lands are gone.”

Has any long term solution been brought forth or any indication that should legal issues be resolved in the future, that all owners can "wake" or revive their bunnies .?

   Staicy : Well, we all keep the nest in our inventory , so if this would be resolved in the future I don't think it will be a problem to wake them up , but I'm not 100% sure of that.

And for now we got a big pack from Ozimals with goodies to save the bunnies , you can make them a forever pet for free but your bunny will not be able to breed anymore .

 Is there still a market for collectors or people who simply love their Ozimal rabbits?  Can they trade or sell what they have to others ?

Staicy : “Yes there is a new group its called For The Love Of Oz .

A group for the remaining lovers of Ozimals Bunnies and Pufflings - intending to support each other and deal with the loss of Ozimals as we move forward. ♥ “

Pixel Ghost

 The losses from Ozimals are widespread and have left some people with more questions than answers and they feel worried for other stock they have .  As Pixel Ghost ( Pixel Pets Market) explained  there is little protection it seems, for breedable owners in general. 

“I am devastated by the loss of my bunnies and my Pufflings™. I will never do any other breedable animal in the virtual world of Second Life. I invested most of my SL with my bunnies and puffies. I had friends in the community who bred both of these virtual pets. I have thousands of nests and eggs that will now be placed in boxes just in case. But, I know they won't ever be back. And, if they were, I wouldn't be involved in them again.”

 “I am extremely angry with the coder who sued Ozimals as well as with the texture artist who had attorneys issue the Cease and Desist order against Ozimals. Those two people had no concern or consideration for how their actions affected the community as a whole with regard to the end user. They care only about their profit margin. The entire community plans to boycott them and anything they touch in SL. I have contacted my Senator and Congressmen and encouraged others to do so because the texture artist is from Canada and she is sometimes paid by my USA government for 3D projects in SL. I'm sure we have wonderful 3D artists in the United States so there is no need to go outside our country for it.”

 “While I will not do another breedable animal, my friends are concerned about other breedables. If this could happen to bunnies and pufflings, then it could happen to any breedable. What if KittyCats' owner decides to close her servers. What if Fawns' owners tires of their "game." Who protects their communities from financial and emotional loss? No one protects the end user in any virtual game.”

 “For me, this new attitude extends to the VR World of SL and to everything on the Internet. With the flip of a switch on a server it can all end in the blink of an eye. It's not worth it anymore to even be in this world. I am kindling all my bunnies and boxing them by fur type in case someone still wants to collect them. But, absolutely nothing can be done to save our Pufflings™ even though we paid L$1150 to perpetuate many of them. They are totally worthless.”

 “The bunnies will hibernate only if the owner did not make it to the shop to get the free box of tools to save them". 

 I am incredibly sad. I got bunnies on my Father's birthday one year after he died and 2 weeks after my only sister died. The bunnies helped me heal emotionally from my grief while I finished nursing school. I miss them. I am lost in SL. It's all I ever did for the past seven years. They are just pixels to many but so much more to those who cared for them.”

“I pay LL for a full sim tier because I needed the prims for my bunnies/puffies. I no longer need it. I spent an additional $100 USD a month on virtual food. This will hurt the SL Market in addition to breeders. But, for the breeders it is an emotional loss; not just a financial loss.”

 for a look at Pixel Ghost's Pufflings - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixelghost

Giada

 Even the most pragmatic of dealers in the Ozimal world acknowleges the real loss and anger from the sudden end  of  breedables.  Giada Visconti owner of “ LIL BUNNY PATCH and PETS! “ ,

says when asked how merchants are dealing with events

 “  Cope....this is not the end of the world or my life...my life existed outside of Ozimals and it will continue to do so...I think it sucks that we have invested so much money into it and now...all is wasted...You would think that someone that starts a business would make sure to have all copyrights straight for a product for which they are selling...it makes me mad is all.”

There have been other issues in the past with some breedables . With the closing of Ozimals in SL, the fall out has far reaching effects.,both in the real world and the virtual world.   The people who bred, sold and owned Ozimals are left wondering about the future of the stock they own at the moment and where that will lead in the future . They don't know if there is a future.  Some of these breeders and merchants have stock from other companies and this issue with Ozimals is raising some real questions about the future of breedables on SL. Pixel Ghost asked some important questions about the financial losses and risks breedable groups face.  There seems no protection for the customer and no recourse in an event like this one. 

 The fact that these people , Staicy Halsey, Pixel Ghost and Giada Visconti, still reeling from the whirlwind of events, took the time to speak with this reporter and answer my questions, says an enormous amount about the heart of the Ozimal community.

 For information on the legal issues regarding Ozimals :

 Inara Pey's -Living in the Modern World

https://modemworld.me/2017/05/17/second-life-ozimals-closes/

Press Release of the Legal Issues

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-_7k-VigxufaTM5b18yVXpvZU0/view

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The Last Forever -Nomad Aries reporting

 The Last Forever is a new sim, completed March 29^th, 2017 by Kraftwork (Nodnol Jameson and Oobleck Allagash) also creators of the sim West of the Rain, along with a very creative team consisting of;  Kai Mannequin, Brooke Barmy, Rooky Yootz ,Triin. Misty and Jack Hanby.   The Last Forever is actually the recreation of the real life town of  Marfa. located in west Texas  U.S.A., on the Chihuahuan Desert plateau. It is a small ranching town and trendy tourist destination with a present day population of  2,316 . 

The real life Marfa has quite a few famous and popular spots such as  the mystery lights of Marfa, and the fact that it was used as the location for the 1956 movie classic Giant , starring Elizabeth Taylor , Rock Hudson and James Dean.  Marfa was also used as a U.S. military base during World War two and many of the buildings are former army buildings.  Marfa is also a great fashion and shopping place , it even has a Prada store.  This Prada location though, is not a working store and is actually an art instalment. You can gaze through the window at the purses and shoes but the door does not actually work .  At any other place this would be an oddity , but in Marfa it just seems to fit. 

The main reason that Marfa is an important destination is because it is the home of the Chinati Foundation and the Judd Foundation.  For anyone who has ever studied art , they will know the name of Donald Judd. 

Donald Judd

 Donald Judd is one of the most influential and famous minimalist American artists of the 20^th century(1928 to 1994).   Although Donald disavowed minimalism, saying he “sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy” he later wrote volumes supporting minimalism and is largely associated with it.

Donald Judd started out in NYC creating works that spread from floor to ceiling then all five floors of his building.  In the 1970's Judd  moved to Marfa, rented a house and began large scale works .  Later , Judd bought a ranch just outside Marfa and continued to build massive structures. Judd's works were done in metal, concrete, plexiglass and wood. 

Donald Judd wrote, taught and lectured in the U.S. , Europe and Asia.  In his later years , he produced furniture that was purely functional .  At first glance, it reminds one of  Asian design or Scandinavian design. 

Today the Judd Foundation in Marfa is the home to many of Judd's works as well as other artists and is one of the main reasons people visit.

SecondLife Marfa

  Arriving in Marfa SL. after the dust settles, proves to be an astonishing moment . It is Marfa.  A small desert town with cracked pavement, tumbleweeds and surrounded by desert and mountains.  There are scrub bushes, cacti and wind bent trees.  The town buildings  are a mixture of new buildings and refurbished army ones.  Right away ,some of the more famous buildings stand out, The Marfa Contemporary Gallery , Building 98 (also known as the Ballroom), The Palace movie theatre and even the Food Shark truck (offering free burgers).  

 

 Walking around the sim I headed towards the open desert plateau and there in plain sight are Donald Judd's Boxes.  Framed against the desert sky and parched earth, they are part of the landscape  of the plateau. 

 There are numerous references to Judd's work in the sim.  Even the furniture ,similar to which Judd designed in the latter part of his career . is for sale on the sim at Kraftwork.

                                                                                                                                                                             

                                       

  Over at the Marfa Contemporary Gallery is another exhibit featuring works by Melusina Parkin. The show is titled “ Americana-American Icons in SecondLife”.

 “Americana exhibit aims to show how American pop culture is reflected in Second Life. Since SL is a world made by residents, the choice of things they reproduced in this world looks like a catalogue of that can be called "icons". That includes typical landscapes, historical symbols, daily life objects and places, architectural styles, vintage objects and much more.”

Melusina is the CEO of MEB as well as a multi-talented artist in design, photography and building objects.  She has won various awards for her works and designs, and gives talks on her work in Art Deco.  Melusina is also Chief Editor of Esselle Movie Magazine.  Complete information about Melusina Parkin is given out at the exhibit and it will also provide you with her links to her store and other works .   It is a beautiful exhibit, with many stunning photographs and it is suited to Marfa in its minimalist style.

   Art is everywhere in Marfa and not just in galleries.  There are sculptures on the streets , photographs, paintings, graffiti and even the remnants of old planes and vintage cars.  Absolutely nothing is random, everything is placed in exactly the right way in the exact right spot. The entire sim is a work of art, the desert, the buildings, the streets and the mountains.

It is no surprise that the creators of the sim all have home bases for their stores here .  Kraftwork has a main store in a building that looks remarkably like the Chinati Foundation building . Big Bully and Powder Pack are in equally impressive structures that blend in beautifully with the sim and the streets are named after the creators.  The Last Forever  is an incredible feat of design, art and creativity that pays homage to Donald Judd.  Truly an enjoyable trip through Marfa .

                                            

            

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Second Life Terms of Service- Nomad Aries Reporting…

On August 15th, 2013 Second Life users were issued a new Terms of Service Agreement upon logging into this virtual world.  If you are here, then you accepted the new TOS Agreement License.

 There are major differences between the preceding TOS and the new TOS. One difference in particular has caused uproar amongst Content Creators in Second Life, with good reason.  

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DATING IN THE WORKPLACE ON SECONDLIFE- Nomad Aries Reporting...

 

There are a lot of places to meet people in Second Life and one of the most popular places to meet is the workplace because The that is an easy place to meet someone and make a connection. 

Sometimes, a couple who have been dating or are partnered figure they get along so well that they will enter into a business together or work together  but is it the best idea?

There are many opportunities on Second Life that allow for couples to work together, however , workplace relationships are one of the biggest reasons businesses in Second Life fail. I personally have witnessed this many times and recently, one of the biggest and oldest clubs in SL closed because of a personal relationship that ended. It is actually the second time this club went down because of a personal relationship that ended. Most of my experience working for businesses owned and operated by romantically involved people working together has not been positive. It would not be an exaggeration to say sometimes it was a nightmare.

Why do people choose to work with their significant other? Can it work?

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Firing Employees on Second Life©-It's Not Personal, It's Business- Nomad Aries Reporting…

 

The firing of employees on Second Life© seems to be a law unto itself. There is no set protocol for firing an employee for incompetence or any other offense. 

In the real world or at least where I live, there are set laws and procedures that must be adhered to before and during the process of firing an employee. Not so , in the virtual world. On Second Life©, the firing of an employee, the reasons for it and how it is done is strictly up to the owner or manager of a business. This is surprising to me to be honest. If you are going to run a business venture on SL or be part of an organization, you will inevitably have to fire someone at some point in time. 

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Bullying in Second Life Part 2- Nomad Aries Reporting…

This is the second part of my article on bullying. In part one I discussed the types of bullying you may encounter on Second Life as well as real life. 

There are many misconceptions about why some people turn into bullies. It is often said these are people with low self esteem and are loners. In studies done on bullying and bullies , this does not prove to be true. So what makes a bully a bully? 

Who is a Bully?
Bullies do not suffer from low self esteem as popularly believed. In a 2001 study (Baumeister) , it was discovered that bullies have extremely high self esteem. Although their esteem is high , it is pathologically high and unstable. If a bully feels slighted or insulted, the ego causes extreme negative feelings which the bully cannot tolerate. According to a later study from the University of South Dakota,( 2012 ), bullies lack function in an area of the brain that deals with moderating mood and emotions. For some reason yet to be discovered, bullies have low to no function of this area of the brain, it is thought that not being properly socialized at an early age prevents this part of the brain from functioning. This causes the bully to lash out at people in defense to preserve their feeling of superiority and control . Bullies have thought processes that differ from most people. 

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BULLYING IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD OF SECOND LIFE Part 1- Nomad Aries Reporting…

It is an unfortunate side of human nature that we are exposed to bullying. 

While most of us grow out of this phase as children, some people remain aggressive in real life and in the virtual world. It is also a known fact that bullying is a learned trait. Although bullying is not permitted here a lot of it does go unreported. The reasons for not reporting bullying may be because there is confusion, fear, shame, doubt and ignorance regarding what happened. Some people may be unaware they are being bullied or feel there is no recourse or assistance available to remedy their situation. In some cases people may simply not know what to do when they run into a bully. 

Have you been bullied by someone on SL? This may be difficult to discern if we are not sure exactly what bullying entails, especially when it applies to the virtual world. In real life, I have run anti-bullying workshops for school children. I found that children were not always aware of exactly what bullying consists of. When it was explained to them they quickly identified situations where they had indeed encountered a bully. I am going to take a similar approach in this article and explain the types of bullying one may experience on Second Life. The examples I present will be taken from actual experiences from some avies on Second Life, including my own personal run-ins with bullies. You may have had similar experiences or you may not have run into bullying yet. I hope you can gain some knowledge on when someone is bullying you and what to do to save yourself from this down side to human nature. I will present a further article on what you can do specifically to stop being bullied on Second Life. In this article I wish to outline the types of bullying and how to identify they type of bullying you may have experienced. 

What is Bullying?

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