February 2012
2 posts
1 tag
WatchBUY. MY. BOOK.
“SBSL: Successful Business in Second Life, Best Practices” Third Edition.
This video tutorial teaches you the “4x1 Technique” for texturing prims in Second Life, primarily envisioned for merchant sales boxes.
What does “4x1 Texture” mean?
My book describes it all, in detail among many, many other things you should know when considering running...
WatchVolkswagon Superbowl ad 2012: The Dog Strikes Back
January 2012
6 posts
Second Life Business Selling Tip #04
Informational Notecards.
Always offer an informational notecard for every product you sell.
Always.
Even if you think you have nothing to say. Even if it will be the same notecard for every single product you sell. The reason is to make it easy as possible for anyone to give you their money and often what prevents a purchase is a simple, lingering question about your product, your policies on...
iBooks Author EULA restrictions invite antitrust...
The headline above is utterly laughable and why you really should never throw much weight into the authenticity or authority of any so-called news media. All of them, especially blogger - even for “big names” like Ars Technica, ever since Walter Cronkite left the business. I mean really, Ars Technica? Are you decking serious?
The headline above is an Ars Technica headline. I saw it an...
Second Life Business Selling Tip #03
One of the frustrating things shoppers face is having to decipher product specifications and details when they shop. To help make it easy as possible for a buyer to give you their money, ensure your “product art” is not only ‘net-optimized (file size,) but also visually optimized to help sell the product for you.
As already mentioned in previous tips, your product must be the...
Second Life Business Selling Tip #02
Art file optimization.
A huge problem many retailers in SL have is that their products are not seen by many potential buyers who want that product and are willing to pay for it. This is because of the urge many creators have to present high-resolution, detailed “product art”.
Ouch.
Because these textures are nicely detailed, high-resolution images, they take a long time to download....
Second Life Business Selling Tip #01
Repeat after me: “traffic is evil”.
I know what you’re thinking: huh?
There are two kinds of shoppers in real life and in Second Life: the hunter and the gatherer. The gatherer gathers. They are the window-shoppers who browse around. In Second Life, unlike first life, gatherers are likely one in a hundred. They teleport somewhere, usually landing in some market or something,...
3 tags
Second Life Creators and Customers Take Heed
It’s a new year. And every new year I rehash this theme I originally wrote on back in 2006. It’s accurate, effective and true. Apparently Linden Lab thinks so as I have discovered they link to the original in the Second Life Support wiki.
Either way, I like to review and refresh the article to bring it up to date and the theme still applies.
Second Life users: if you ever need...
November 2011
4 posts
2 tags
Stunning Government Efficiency or "How traffic...
I have what some might call a serious lack of general confidence in government. I just don’t trust the efficiency, accuracy, or ethical motivation in governmental ‘administrative’ work, especially the more local the government. Perhaps what I’m about to describe vindicates this attitude. Perhaps it doesn’t. Judge for yourself.
A traffic infraction is caught on...
When there is too much "emotional passion" and not...
When ignorance runs amok it can be a painful thing to watch. For far too many people: you need to sue your school. The whole “Occupy” nonsense is just that: nonsense. I’ve proclaimed in twitter that occupiers (meaning the dimwits actually camping-out) are “louts, thieves and rapists”.
Are they all? Of course not. But it’s the overbearing impression they give....
October 2011
2 posts
2 tags
“The most compelling reason for most people to buy a computer for the home will...”
– Steve Jobs
(Interview in 1985! — published in Playboy February 1, 1985)
1 tag
"Trust me. You won't be disappointed."
You want to change the world. Don’t you?
We all do. Or, at least, we all did at one time or another. The whole “delusions of grandeur” thing in our younger days when we were still discovering the world and never realized how big and complicated it really is.
If I could live any dream life at all, it would be a the same life lived by Steve Jobs.
No, this isn’t some...
September 2011
6 posts
August 2011
8 posts
The "Tea Party" Isn't a Party
“Tea party” is not an organized political party. However, by the sound of congress, the President and any far-reaching “news media” you’d think it were. The concept is laughable.
“TEA” was coined as an acronym for “Taxed Enough Already”.
Many who consider themselves of the same mind-set refer to themselves as being a member of the TEA party...
“Because of its community and stability, Second Life is still the destination of...”
– I concur completely. The only “caveat” about Second Life is turning to a “cloud” product called “Second Life” for serious business.
Panel: Experts pick Second Life for community, stability – Hypergrid Business
2 tags
Fun with Jux
I’ve been playing with a new …er, …hmmm… For now I’ll call it a “blogging” service. Except that it’s a lot more, but not quite as much. It’s kind of like Flickr, but it’s not quite as much, but also a lot more. Sort of kind of like YouTube, but not. Wait! It’s kind of like Tumblr, but not quite as much, but more. Sort of.
...
I'm here because I'm cool →
It’s not about the window drapes that decorate your blog page that’s all about you. It’s about the “this, right here, right now”.
The “this”.
I love Tumblr. But I have to admit, I am really sold on Jux. It’s beautiful, it’seasy, it’s impulsive. Thus, why I made my blog post over there - on Jux… to try it out and I’m...
2 tags
Best-kept Non-secret Second Life feature:...
Have you ever peeked at someone’s profile and you see “voice-verified female”? I just can’t help but chuckle at this, my first thought being “why is it so important to you that you feel you must advertise this?”
I’m an old-fart, 100% all-american male who’s voice lay somewhere between a resonant baritone and bass… and I could put that “voice verified female”...
Google Punts on Kafkaesque Name Policy →
Tim Carmody of Wired Magazine writes:
I think Google, by asking for real names for its profiles, wants to be the only portal you use (and the primary source of data you trust) to find information about people when you search for them by name. (I can’t tell whether this is simple or profound.)
Name searches are very popular. If Bing and Facebook or anyone else used social network data to...
“Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a Google+...”
– William Congreve, 1670-1729 (sort-of)
2 tags
Subjot: Twitter for information-discovery junkies,...
[UPDATE below]
I received an email from someone I didn’t know. It was an invitation I apparently asked for some time ago, but don’t remember. There was minimal information in the email itself, except to say my invitation came through and I get to be among the very few starters.
So I clicked-through to read more – and I see now why I’d requested the invitation: think “Twitter” with a...
July 2011
17 posts
2 tags
News Redux (or How News Media Are Total Fail) →
Andy Rutledge:
Digital news is broken. Actually, news itself is broken. Almost all news organizations have abandoned reporting in favor of editorial; have cultivated reader opinion in place of responsibility; and have traded ethical standards for misdirection and whatever consensus defines as forgivable. And this is before you even lay eyes on what passes for news design on a monitor or device...
1 tag
Google: buy our over-priced piece of shit now!
Unexpected email, just moments ago:
Chromebooks now available Buy Now
You asked to be notified when Chromebooks became available. We’re pleased to inform you that they’re available starting at $349

Built for the web.
Listen to music. Play games. Edit photos. Thanks to the Chrome Web Store, you can find apps to do anything.
Stay connected.
With a long-lasting battery and built in...
The pants-theory of Google Plus →
Tateru Nino at “Dwell on it” blog:
You see most of the folks over on Facebook have already dropped their pants. They’ve exposed themselves. That exposure has led to all sorts of trouble, from harassment to identity-fraud. Nevertheless, most of the folks over there have gotten locked in to a whole life online without pants.
Now along comes Google Plus/Google Profiles and wants to eat...
1 tag
ITC ruling threatens future of Android | Phones |... →
Google says “Don’t be evil”.
Well?
Microsoft guarantees that Windows Phone 7 is free from patent infringement issues and it will defend any claims to the contrary—unlike Google which is sitting silently on the sidelines and letting vendors fend for themselves.
Click title to read the entire article
1 tag
“Also, any ideas how to disable G+? I don’t really want to but I do NOT...”
– Quoted from @chestnut_rau
Is Google’s mantra “Don’t be evil” a misnomer or outright lie? I believe they believe in it wholeheartedly. However, like Hollywood elite and politicians, Google is living it’s own world, separate and drastically different from the “real...
3 tags
KISS: Keep It Short, Stupid
Article Summary:
Email costs everyone of us if not in real dollars, in lost time
GMail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, GFX, and all the rest are bloated, archaic and lethargic solutions that are becoming too complicated with too many “features” we don’t need
Email communication, in a social aspect is on the decline as we prefer short-message services like Twitter, Facebook, Linked-in,...
3 tags
It will take some power not to be sucked into... →
One thing about Second Life, judging from how often my friend’s play, is it’s terribly time consuming and highly addictive. My first life is already time consuming, and I’m just not sure I’m quite ready yet to commit to a second one, even one where I could theoretically be a vampire or superhero or own my own virtual condo on virtual beach and furnish it a virtual hot tub...
3 tags
Apple is already training us for whatever it is... →
Andy Ihnatko has a truly interesting piece at Macworld regarding the Google Chromebook (Chrome OS laptop) and the Apple MacBook Air and sometimes it seems like he’s unable to focus. However, just like Apple pre-trains us for their game-changing products, Andy does the same as he finally gets to this point about MacBook Air and iCloud:
It’s so very clear to me now that just as Superman is...
4 tags
Google+ Terms of Service is Obscure? - Prevent... →
Various tech publications have found their corporate accounts unceremoniously booted [from Google+], with Google claiming that it’s trying to keep the service for individuals at present.
While this has been met with stoic understanding by the people involved, the company’s next step in the cull might cause a bigger stir: the advertising giant is focusing on those who prefer to be...
5 tags
Phoenix Team Releases Firestorm Beta 2 - You May... →
“In an ongoing effort to stay ahead of the planned Linden Lab shutdown of all V1 style viewers (including Phoenix) later this summer, The Phoenix Viewer Development Team this week released Firestorm Beta 2, V2.5.2.16922.
“As always, the Phoenix Team is adding new features to a V2 style viewer to make it more user friendly and configurable. Beta 2 comes with new...
2 tags
3 tags
"PROTECT IP" indicates Government Liberals are... →
“The Act would allow courts to order any Internet service to stop recognizing [a] site even on a temporary restraining order… issued the same day the complaint is filed,” [law professors] write. Such a restraining order, which they describe as “the equivalent of an Internet death penalty,” raises serious constitutional questions.
The Supreme Court has held that...
1 tag
“It is more important that innocence be protected than it is that guilt be...”
– —John Adams
And among the reasons I say to all who disagree with the Casey Anthony verdict that you are wrong. The United States Justice System worked exactly as it should have.
“People troll and behave badly because they lose track of the human on the other...”
– Chestnut Rau
[Truth.]
1 tag
Only Stupid People Buy Fast-Food
Yes we actually do save a truckload of money by not having paper towels in the rest room. And allowing the really cheap soap to go empty for a day or two before refilling it saves us a lot also. Besides, we save money with the hair-dryer we call hand-dryer even though it might have someone’s nasty bio-goo smeared onto the vents spitting into your hands (and you don’t even notice it)...
5 tags
Fourth of July Myths Debunked →
The first “myth” is that this holiday is called “Fourth of July”. It’s not. It is called “Independence Day”. However, Americans are such gullible sheep and intellectually lazy, no one ever says “Independence Day” any more.
There, that’s my contribution. Now to the sample from the article linked-to (click the title of this post to go...
June 2011
10 posts
7 tags
OpenSim Steps on Linden Lab Toes?
According to HyperGrid Business web site, it’s time for OpenSim developers and founders and whatnot to celebrate as a foundation has been created that will allow things to move forward on “solid legal ground”.
From the article:
The major problem that has been plaguing OpenSim until now is that OpenSim is distributed under the business-friendly BSD license — the entire code...
5 tags
Linden Lab | CrunchBase Profile →
Fun facts (and assumptions) about Second Life creator Linden Lab, including a bullet list of hires and when, investment income and such.
Here’s a sample:
Linden Lab added Rod Humble as CEO.Posted 12/26/10 at 8:44pm
Linden Lab added Bob Komin as COO & CFO. (1/1/10)Posted 4/20/10 at 9:16pm
Linden Lab added Tom Hale as Chief Product Officer.Posted 10/14/09 at 2:49pm
Linden Lab added Frank...
4 tags
WatchHumble Says Linden Lab is Profitable, Not Looking at IPO (by Bloomberg )
4 tags
Best Practices for Getting Creator Support in...
I wrote this a couple years ago and re-found it as I was going through my archives. It still highly applies, not only in the virtual world of Second Life, but in real life also (for the most part). I strongly recommend you read, comprehend, then embrace these best practices. I’ve updated where it was feasible to do so.
***
Four years on the Second Life grid and I can count failed “customer...
The Balanced Budget
In the great hall of Congress, there are those who believe in analyzing taxed monetary income, then spending accordingly as it is your money, not theirs. Remaining within those means equals a “balanced budget”.
On the other side of the hall there are those who spend the money first, whether you like it or not. Demanding higher taxes from you to cover their gross over-spending equals a...