Baby Panther hissed a bit, as she does, and I got a good snap of her WTF?ing me as I got too close.

Tortie leapt the gate and watched me for a bit.

I think I'll sit with them a bit when it's time to go home, unless it rains.

I'm doing stories at the usual place and time today... 5PM SLT in the Clocktree.

Despite only writing one a day, I think I've got a few good ones in the hopper, and I'll continue the archive-marathon in July 2005 when the hopper's empty.

Region Idling was announced in the forums yesterday.

The Wackadoodles will say that the Lab is going bankrupt and can't afford the server and power bills that all these empty regions rack up.

The Cheerleaders will say that the idled regions will allow regions with avatars on them to draw from the CPU power and memory that's freed up.

Which do I believe?

If you look at how well the Marketplace Direct Delivery rolled out, yeah, we're in for a very rocky ride as this cost-cutting measure rolls out.

More stories being submitted for the SL9B build.

I need to send out a note asking for landmarks to venues for storytelling and writing.

(Not sure if I'll put the poetry ones in there, because I'm not a poet, and I'm sure Morgue or someone who's a real poet will get space there for them.)

Should I say something about "Ask SecondLie #2" as Metaverse Tribune?

Nah. If folks don't already watch the feed and @SecondLie and post up questions to riff on, it'll die off like it did at Metaverse Journal and Prim Perfect.

Where should I fail next? Rez? Levity? Prim Perfect again?

Bobcat was right: deliberately eating shit on the stage and taking a dive is fun.

I listened to the Maurice Sendak interviews on Fresh Air.

The best interviews are when there is a deep affection, honesty, and openness between the subject and the interviewer, and he loved and respected Terry Gross very much.

In that, there is power and meaning, and it is sad that is so rare to find such genuine communication and connection anymore.

But all the online stuff... not sure I'd like Diablo 3.

Others, however, are buying and downloading it in droves.

I wish them well on their quests, and I'm sure there will be people watching the concurrency charts like a hawk today.

More information is coming out about SL9B.

I figured I'd start working on my build now so that there's plenty of time to tweak and adjust it during the building window.

The parts are mostly JubJub's Steampunk Builder's Kit, pipes and fitted and such. Some Rip Wirefly stuff is in there, too.

You can jump up and down on the typewriter to feed words into the system, which bursts with steam and smoke now and then.

The main screen will feature 100 word stories from various authors on the grid who have been a part of The Weekly Challenge. (A few have already responded to my call for their favorite stories.)

I'll put informational signs around the periphery, with landmarks and URLs of various dashes, waves, and writing groups out there.

As for the footprint, I'm going with 32m by 32m with 234 prims like last year's plots (and what Honour suggested), but I can change it based on what officially gets announced.

No bitching.
No whining.
No fussing.

Why? Because I AM GOING TO CUT THEM SOME SLACK!

It's a Lauren Night.
It's a Kyle Night.
And Ghosty's doing Sonic Potpourri tonight.

Every time I see the word "Nabka" today, I'm going to put a penny in a cup.

Then, at the end of the day, I'm going to send it to Pizza For IDF.

Because that's who keeps those rock-throwers from hurting innocent civilians.

Despite running late, I gave the park kitties treats this morning.

Time to head to the break room, fill a glass with water, and stir in this fiber crap.

(I keep a tub of it at home and at work so I can't forget to take it in the morning when I'm running late.)

(Okay, okay... I know it's really "Nakba." I'm just being cheap... DAMN YOU, ZIONIST AUTOCORRECT!)

They've chosen a theme of "Community" and as a diverse, petulant, contrarian, and wackadoodle community of Second Life users there's something important we all need to remember:

They don't have much time to get the forms up, swim through a pile of parcel requests, get the land portioned out, invitations sent, gifts and other trinkets distributed, schedules set, blah blah blah.

So, in addition to whatever they ask for me to do as a mercenary clown-shoes type, there's something else that I'll do that all of you need to do too: CUT THEM SOME SLACK

They don't have time to deal with petty bullshit and drama.
They don't have time to deal with bitching about stuff that can't be changed.
They don't have time to deal with unimportant crap that you can do yourselves.
They don't have time to deal with every great suggestion this time around, but can put it on the SL10B list if it's really good.
They don't have time to deal with inability to do simple shit for yourself.

They are doing their absolute best, getting paid the absolute least, and trying not to let the pressure get to them.

If something's messed up, laugh it off and politely password along and work around it until it can get fixed or finished.

But do not... DO NOT act like you're the center of the universe and the queen of all divas and the greatest of the greatest of all.

If getting told all that makes you insulted and mad, well, you need to get up, walk over to a mirror, and take a long hard look at yourself until you get a sense of perspective.

If getting told all that makes you want to cry, I suggest you pull off those diapers, take that rattle out of your hand, spit out the pacifier, and make a choice to join the adult world.

And, hell, if you see me pulling that crap, then put that shotgun to my back and let me have it with both barrels, because these people are tackling one hell of a challenge in time and resources and coordination for you.

They could have said "screw it."
They could have said "forget it."
They could have said "we give up."

After all the drama and BS from the Labbies, the yanking of the SL9B sims at last-minute for their cheesy Destination Guide tour concept, the dangling of sims with a ton of strings attached over the LEA members' heads before those got yanked away... they still said "let's do it."

Heck, when asked if I wanted to step up to the challenge, I among others publicly posted "hell no."

But they didn't back away, they didn't wimp out, and they didn't make excuses - and I respect the living daylights and facelights out of them for it.

These people are coming together, rolling up their sleeves, and doing their damndest to get this done in a way that's as smooth, steady, and fun for as many as possible because they believe in you more than the Linden Lab management and investors do.

They're doing this for a love that's greater than any Philip Rosedale Love Machine or Love click on the mySL feed.

These people are for real.

Yes, there will be lag.
Yes, there will be vapid divas and fashionistas wearing high-attachment/high-script outfits and AOs to crowded places.
Yes, there will be texture load issues.
Yes, there will be people babbling on Voice during concerts.
Yes, there will be full sims.
Yes, there will be jerks who don't follow the theme and make shameless ugly marketing builds for their stupid businesses or groups that'll fail anyway.

It hasn't killed you before, it won't kill you now.

So, once again, CUT THEM SOME SLACK

And when the dust settles and the panic hour is up, enjoy.

Oh, and it goes without saying that you should start planning and testing your build NOW on land you've got or in a sandbox so that you're not in a position to beg for extra time when the all-builds-finished deadline hits.

What size will parcels be?
What footprint will parcels be?

I have no idea. So, I'd say design it with the specs that were used last year, but with flexibility so that if the parcels are larger/smaller you can adjust it.

And if the size/footprint/prims change, don't be a jerk and scream about it and get all hissy... CUT THEM SOME SLACK and look at it as a challenge to prim economize.

The SL9B folks are trying to do more and be more with less at last minute.

So should you.

Still not enough, but I'll work on it.

The things we do to mourn and remember...

What do you have in SL that commemorates and honors someone or something that is no longer with us?

Monday is our weakest-skilled, weakest-staffed day.

Two techs quit in the past week.
Two techs called in with medical excuses of various reasons.
And one tech is out long-term due to a serious malady.
Oh, and we're getting two newbies handed to us, which will slow down the folks they're training with.

Yeah, today's gonna suck, but the park kitties all gathered around the treats and ate.

I'll see 'em again in a few hours.

The Second Life 9th Birthday team has posted up its form for Exhibitors, and I'd like to do one for those of y'all who have written stories for the Weekly Challenges.

I'm thinking of putting together a standalone contraption based on my Reading Room that feeds into a projector that displays various stories y'all have written.

If you've got a favorite story that's G-rated, please let me know if I can use it in the exhibit.

Thanks,
-ls/cm

100 Word Stories Weekly Challenge #316

This week's 100 Word Stories Weekly Challenge on STRIKE TEAM ALPHA offers up stories from SL's Tura Brezoianu, Serendipity Haven, Logan Berry, Lizzie Gudkov, Bluesmoke Hextall, Uriel Wheeler (and son!), NorvalJoe Parkin, RedGoddess, Danny Dwyer, Abernathy Button and Sachy, and Crap Mariner... among others.

You can listen via the website: http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/

Next week's challenge is bar.

Thanks,
-ls/cm

Now I gotta work up a quick Strike Team Alpha giftie and spam it to the universe.

*sigh*

More effort on a lazy Sunday.

The Five Islands has seen regions come and go over the years, but I've never had to submit a cancellation ticket with the Labbies... until now.

Usually when there's an opening or free sim out there, someone wants to come in and join the neighborhood.

But this time around, I didn't feel like jumping through hoops and pounding the pavement to see if any friends needed land... I just let it go.

Sure, I could have done it. I saw each opening as a challenge to get solved, and as a group, someone found someone who wanted to come in.

Heck, some of y'all might have seen OPENING: CORBENIC posts I would have posted on various social networks, and I could have polled the locals to see if they wanted it have it moved to connect with the rest of the islands...

Nah. Why bother? It would just mean paying the Labbies an extra $150 for a move and rename, and rewarding their unprofessional and abyssal communications lack-of-effort as of late regarding the service and performance issues.

When it comes to managing the message and the dialogue, there's nobody managing it... or worse, mismanaging it and the channels through which it's leaked.

No, I'm not going to dump everything and walk... but I'm not going to bend over backwards to keep my trickle of cash going towards the Lab's recurring revenue.

If you think that's wackadoodle and not fair criticism, then you are just as part of the problem as the poor service, performance, and communications.

I do not want to have to play hide-and-seek among the jira, forums, blog, and third-party blogs and forums to find this shit. I should not have to reuly on bloodhounds like Inara and Darrius and Ciaran and Tateru to find this stuff for me and you and everyone.

Yet another example of the Lab shirtking its obligations and duties, and pushing that on to well-meaning customers they can exploit as unpaid volunteers.

Although the silly thing is... 30 minutes to quitting time for Concierge last night, and they got my ticket owned and processed quickly. (Assuming that the Billing system doesn't screw up and charge me, that is.)

If only that applied to the real issues with the grid, right?

I suppose there's a simple explanation for why they were able to handle and process that cancellation so quickly: they're getting a lot of practice doing it these days.

Redid the sign in front of the reading room last night:

Instead of 5 prims, it's down to 2 using a 3-panel single prim as I should have been doing all along.

Of course, that only mentions the Wednesday readings and not the Saturday ones I'll be tinkering with at Chelsea... eh, if people join the group, they'll get the notices.

(If that shit isn't broken, too.)

Saw an ad in Makersmart for stacks of sculpty books, 1 prim for each set of stacks.

Putting them out in the reading room to fill in the gaps.

I'm sure this will increase the triangle count and the lag considerably.

Oh well. Shit happens, right.

Looks pretty, though... when it rezzes 30 minutes later.

Went to see Rusted Development at LEA yesterday, instead of waiting a week until the crowd was gone and I could see stuff rezzing slowly instead of god-awful slowly.

Looks good. Wait until there's only a few green dots there on the map before heading over.

I really need to get going with my walk for the day... I'll get the notices spammed out, put on my cheap walking shoes, and head out.

Maybe I'll see some pretty things out there that'll brighten my mood.

I swore an oath to write a 100 word story every day until the day I die.

I'm not dead yet, so I'll be reading the stories in the VIRTUAL HOTEL CHELSEA LOBBY over Voice today at 8AM SLT: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lanestris/99/194/105

If you can't make it, you can suffer through the archives of stories at:

http://podcasting.isfullofcrap.com/

Thanks,
-ls/cm

Maybe we'll try to work up a story together on the weekly challenge topic of Strike Team Alpha.

Okay, the rain has stopped.

Time to get dressed and run my ass to Kroger.

And for those who were a part of the unsuccessful LEA effort to lobby the Labbies, your effort is appreciated, too, even if it didn't work out in the end.

By the way, can I reserve a tiny plot with 3 prims? (1 for the pike, and 2 to mount SecondLie's bag on it.)

Winner of the tl/dr award of the week... me.

OZ

Setting things to Ruth?
Um... er... who the Hell designs for Ruth?
Yes, I know it's the default shape, but come on.

That's like calling for portable devices based on D batteries when everybody's using AA.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Despite the fact that the customers are freaking nuts, the Lab can still set up efficient and well-managed communications channels using messaging and archiving tools appropriate for each group.

Instead, we continue to see chaotic and unprofessional communications that make me wonder if this is some kind of new form of Hunt run by the Lab itself.

Gianna hits the nail on the head - The Lab needs to communicate with the customers promptly and concisely early, or they'll be wasting time on damage control.

DOMAIN:

As I said multiple times last year, I work for a very large hosting company/server farm. A common issue we run into is a customer complaining that their site is down and email isn't working, we get the panicked ticket/phone call/chat session/smoke signal, and then a simple WHOIS shows their domain being down, so go talk to the registrar, good luck, see you... *click*

Don't make that mistake. It's total amateur night.

As for renewing your domain (or security certificates) for just one year, that's just courting disaster, and if it's your standard operating procedure, you've fallen below amateur night and arrived in bush league.

OSKAR HW FAILURE:

Burying the HW failure explanation in forums for customers to curate and dig that out... WRONG! Needed to be linked by @SLGridStatus and associated blog in the form of "We are investigating a hardware issue in one of our datacenters" realtime and not post-failure.

This falls into my point last week where there needs to be a manager of customer service/support who owns the communications channel for outages/failures and pushes the workarounds/fixes. Pete in Marketing... wrong answer.

BOTGIRL'S MOVIE

Good one. (But @SecondLie is not coming back.

ROD'S FRUSTRATION?

The more that goes on, the more I think he's been sold a pig in a poke by the investors and Philip, and being asked to squeeze that bag even harder to keep the pig-juice flowing. (Folks are sick of me saying "cash cow" so I switched to pugs... oops, pigs. Heh. Don't tell Luna Jubilee I said pugs, okay?)

NO MOBILE CLIENT

Customers are making them, so why should they waste time/development resources to make their own?

Hamlet had a broken clock is right twice a day moment today with his rant about his laptop not working on the official viewer, bashing the Lab for dumping all this on to the customer, which results in a ridiculously low retention rate.

I've been saying over and over for the past few years that the Lab's business model is to foster a sense of community obligation on their customer base in order to shirk basic obligations and responsibilities to reduce those expenses and maximize profits to pay back the increasing demands of their investors.

IMVU vs SL

Gianna hit the nail on the head - it's simple, you start off with more, and get hooked faster.

NIKA

Keeme's on more often... drop him a line at Corona Cay.

PHOTORECOGNITION

Valiant - skip all the recognition software, just go straight to the WANTED folder for missing/hard-to-find content. Then have folks offer up a finder's fee tip. Kinda like iPromisePhilip, I guess.

REMOTE STREAMING

For a video feed, ping someone like Geo Meek and have him Ustream it.

For the audio feeds, either use the third-party mobile app clients and listen via that mobile app, or grab up the performer/venue's stream and make a list of bookmarks of your own (I have my sister's stream on speed-dial.)

MACHINIMA.COM

Interesting, although most of Second Life's movies tend to be navel-gazing stuff that nobody wants to watch outside of the SL audience. Even the Month Of Machinima content, most of which is done brilliantly and well, never breaks out.

It needs to be written/designed/directed with wider audience in mind, ditch the inside-jokes, then assisted with savvy marketing and channels. (If Hunter's a pal of Hamlet, well, why isn't Hamlet tugging his sleeve a bit more often to toss those moviemakers a bone? Oh. Right. The archetypical gonzo journalist only tugs sleezes to get favors for himself.)

Thinkerer of Cookie island talked about Amazon's call for content and pitches for shows on his site. A show like Lauren Live is hampered by the use of other comedian's/Reader's Digest material and would be a legal issue... if it's going to get greenlit, it's gotta be written and owned by the performers, like Morgue McMillan's poetry and imagery.

INTERFACE SWITCH LOLs

When I'm in YouTube watching an SL machinima trying to SpaceNavigator through the venue... oops. Duh me. Fail.

SNAPSHOT TO (PHOTO SITE)

Can't you email a snapshot to Flickr from snapshot? Yes, it's not as easy as just clicking a Post To Flickr shot, but it still works.

(Okay, so I download everything and then drag-and-drop to Flickr uploadr tool myself, but I spray-and-pray with hundreds of shots to get one that's perfect.)

SKYRIM MMO and PORTAL CREATOR KIT

So, about that whole Linden Realms/turning SL into a game waste of time/money/developer hours... how many more nails in the coffin does there need to be before someone at LL finally declares themselves dead in this race?

WHY I DON'T WANT TO COME BACK TO THE SHOW

It’s not because you’re crazy, Gianna. It’s because I am clown shoes, and there are so many other people/subjects you could discuss/bring on.

If my appearing on the show and rambling about pricing and how LL fails its customers as a host/provider that other companies would get bankrupted overnight over isn’t incentive enough for others to come on, then will keeping Draxtor and his beating the Tea Party/Republican/Bush dead horse interruptions while blaming frustrated customers for Linden Lab’s failures will certainly have them beating on your door.

Yeah, I can spin a good yarn, babble to fill the air, but really… you got Valiant – good pick! And there’s dozens… hundreds more folks out there who can give their valid perspectives based on experience, so don’t fall into the trap that Metanomics did with calling up the same people over and over and over to say the same damn things each time.

-ls/cm

However, some folks were grumbly about mesh, and as much as I agree that the Labbies lie about stats and twist them to their convenience, I can't fight the feeling that the furniture looks really, really good, and I've got plenty of non-mesh furniture on the periphery of the room.

Plus, sculpties have their load issues too, right?

Either way, somebody loses, and somebody bitches.

Ah, the things you must balance when you pretend to be a venue builder, event host, performer, and heartless bastard.

Oh, and that telephone in the workroom... ripped it out.

Stupid thing would keep ringing when clicked, and I can't edit the scripts, so as pretty as it looks - gone.

As part of my "read the entire archives from beginning to end" project, I'm thinking of doing a reading every other week at Hotel Chelsea on the weekends, too.

Not sure what time, but I'll come up with something that nobody can deal with.

And now, Foamy for the win:

One thing that bothers me though... if Joe Biden hadn't have lost his shit on TV and said what he said, would Barack have said what he had said?

I think not, because when he had the supermajority, he still wussed out on major sweeping changes.

Now that he's not filibuster-proof, he still wusses out - he has Eric Holder refusing to enforce laws and quashing investigations that are a threat to his administration, not "bad laws" like DOMA or the war on medicinal marijuana.

Oh well. That's how they play in Chicago, right?

As for this contest of two old men seeing who can piss up a rope higher, there's going to be a lot of dead Egyptian soldiers either way.

It rained a little last night, and the thunder woke me up.

There were 2 bums under the bridge asleep, but Tortie navigated around them to get her treats.

Time for work.