The last event of the year will be our New Year's Eve BOOMDay 2021.
Come and BURN the year away! There will also be a COVID germ burn. We're gonna obliterate that Omicron variant, and if you come, YOU will participate in getting that started! Fire syringes for one and all! What's more, there will be skydiving, drunk hockey, Thunderdome, drive-by shooting gallery, ice skating, aaaaaaaannnnnd fireworks!
Effigy Burn times on 31 December: 3:00pm, 9:00pm and midnight SLT (ringing in the new year!).
The Sunweaver/Angels community has lost a longtime member. It was announced last night that Jessicabelle Dayafter had passed away.
Some sad news. We received word that our loveable skunkette, Jessicabelle Dayafter, has passed away. The news came from an SL resident whom told us she knew her in RL. Jessica did post on Discord about a month ago she had come down with Covid.
Jessicabelle had been active in Second Life since 2007, and has been with a number of communities and groups. This includes the Sunweavers, Nydia's Angels, and the New Bastogne WW2 RP. She was noted for her anthro skunk avatar, and liked posing for pictures in outfits, such as seasonal ones for Christmas and Halloween, and appeared in many of Nydia Tungsten's calendars. She would also appear in a number of Nydia Tungsten's music videos. She also had skill as a builder, and would design and build some combat capable WW2-era aircraft for Second Life.
Good news for the Sunweaver community. Yesterday, Wednesday July 28, it was announced by Mato (Matoazma Kazyanenko) that Ranchan Wiedman was back after a short stay at the hospital.
I am happy to announce that Ranchan Weidman is back home from the hospital and resting as much as she can. Let's keep the positive vibes, well wishes, prayers, and all your love and support coming for a speedy recovery! Thank you all so much! <3
A few days ago, it was announced Ranchan had tested positive for Coronavirus while at the hospital to take care of something completely unrelated. Fortunately symptoms were very mild, and the doctors decided it was okay for her to go home.
Ranchan runs the HV Community sim which contains the Robotech roleplay she GMs, the Xanadu classic rock club, and the SL Newser office.
Some bad news came to the Sunweaver community last night. Ranchan Weidman, the lady who runs the HV Community sim, has tested positive for Coronavirus after being admitted to the hospital for an unrelated ailment.
Ranchan Weidman is in the hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 and is undergoing treatment. Please send her all your prayers, well wishes, positive vibes, and whatever support you can give.
Taken at the Texas Furry Festival. When one considers an amphibious sharkgirl, one would think they wouldn't need a filtering mask, Coronavirus or no. But I could think of one other reason.
"Lissena, who also goes by Wisdomseeker, guides us through the colorful and comforting realm of Inspiration Island,
which she created with several other volunteers to promote wellness in a
fun and accessible way. In this region you can also find Whole Brain
Health, which Lissena describes as 'the virtual arm of our nonprofit
Ageless Mind Project. Our mission is to give people the tools to stay
sharp, active, and healthy, based on research coming from neuroscience,
gerontology, positive psychology, and creativity.'
"The COVID display in the courtyard was built by Lady Brielle,
a medical librarian who maintains the text as new data becomes
available. Lady Brielle has been a tireless essential worker throughout
the pandemic, and her work has not gone unnoticed. Lady Brielle us that 'our outreach work in Second Life has been recognized by the National
Library of Medicine and won an award in Research by the Hospital
Libraries Section of the Medical Library Association.'
"Information on COVID-19 is displayed in Spanish, American Sign
Language, and English. The creators of Inspiration Island took a
multidisciplinary approach to presenting information so that as many
people as possible can be positively impacted by visiting. In addition
to medical data there are stories submitted by other Residents about
their personal experiences of social distancing to remind us that what
we’re feeling is totally natural, and we’re not the only ones who feel
that way. There are also many activities to facilitate mental
stimulation and help people feel connected.
"This vibrant region is the labor of love of a devoted community. Marly Milena,
a volunteer who provides 'programs focused on creative expression on
Inspiration Island. I have introduced a way of working with arts-based
processes, called Symbolic Modeling (SymMod for short). We use the
building tools so people can make art in SL, and then we guide them in
exploring meanings, new ideas, feelings, etc'
"Thuja Hynes,
the associate director of the project, builds educational exhibits and
tours. Two of his current projects are called Simply Imossible and Hero
Walk. There are also many weekly events. Faust hosts the Positive Change Circle at Whole Brain Health on Sundays at 3pm SLT, and Arisia Vita plays piano in the gaebo every Monday and Wednesday. Priceless contributions are also provided by community members Catseye Tennen, Ghaelen D'Lareh, and Marylou Goldrosen.
"Second Life is proud to host a space that incorporates elements of
education, creativity, and community, and Inspiration Island is a living
example of the positive it can bring. Lissena feels that the activities
found here “give you insight into yourself, encourage your creativity
and your sense of purpose and reduce loneliness, which is really
important.” It is open to people from all walks of life, so stop by for a
visit today."
Fireside chats are intimate gatherings with the last speaker to have a
free-form discussion. Audience drives the discussion with their
questions or topics. This additional opportunity for the audience to
receive answers to questions will be scheduled a few days after the last
presentation.
This week the open introduction of this new addition, central today Covid-19. The questions are answered by Phil Youngblood Ph.D. and Robert Hendrix MD.
The Global COVID-19 Pandemic – Are We Winning Yet?
Saturday January 16 10 AM to 11 AM SL time
We will present an update covering some of what has been learned in the past year, 2020, regarding
– the molecular biology of the SARS-CoV-2 virus,
– mechanisms of disease in humans
– medical COMPLICATIONS of COVID-19 infection.
Treatment will be reviewed, including strategies and limitations of
various new vaccines, with some discussion of the potential of public
health versus the failings of human compliance.
The last time The Science Circle presented on the COVID-19 pandemic was
back at the beginning of April when we were alarmed that the number of
known cases in the world had reached 1 million. By the time of this
presentation, a conservative estimate of the number of cases worldwide
will have reached 100 million, with no end yet in sight. One bright
piece of news in recent days, however, has been the beginning of
vaccinations in some countries and the unprecedented race to create more
vaccines.
Over three Saturdays from 9 January through
23 January, we will revisit one of the most pressing issues of our
times, now a year after the novel coronavirus was identified.
On the first Saturday (9 Jan), Phil Youngblood Ph.D., will talk with you
about where we have come over the last year and perhaps what we will
see in 2021, as well as the many ways the pandemic has taken a toll on
us this past year.
On the second Saturday (16 Jan), Robert A. Hendrix, MD,
will present the medical side of the pandemic, that is, what we have
learned about how this new virus affects the human body and how the
vaccines work.
Finally, on the third Saturday (23 Jan),
we will hold a “Fireside Chat” intended to address the types of issues
that is of most interest to our audience about these issues.
With the Coronavirus crisis continuing to affect real life with no end in sight, it has affected Second Life in various ways. Recently, I came across a memorial someone set up for those whom perished due to the virus. Pray for your loved ones who are ill with coronavirus. Put out a free
sign and candle. Pray for health care workers. Place a memorial for
those who have died of this pandemic. Places of meditation and healing
nearby. May God have mercy on our souls!
The memorial is made of up a number of smaller builds. Some are various shrines. In one place was a sink with instructions on how to wash hands thoroughly, One has pictures of some people whom were lost, including Dr. Li Wenliang, whom was the first doctor to try to warn people of the Coronavirus, but was told by his government to keep quiet, until it was too late.
The memorial was set up by Prokofy Neva, and is located in the Atis sim. Trying to teleport over, on one occasion I ended up in a skybox high above the memorial. I ended up having to TP to an adjacent sim and walk over.
Raglan Shire's known for it's occasional map mayhem, someone erecting a sign over a sim big enough to cover it. This time, it's a reminder for people to take precautions during the Coronavirus crisis, which so far has claimed close to a half million deaths around the world, a hundred and twenty thousand in the US alone.
One of the stranger and more aggravating, or amusing, aspects of the Coronavirus crisis is the numbers of people buying up as much toilet tissue as they can, leaving the rest of us without it. Wanders Nowhere, known for his work at Prehistorica, responded to the absurdity of the situation by coming up with a funny board game: The Last Roll. In the game, players compete with one another and dodge cartoonish obstacles in order to buy up the most toilet paper. The Newser contacted Wanders, and he had a chance to describe how he came up with the game and some of it's craziness.
Taken at the Relay Track. In the Gorean roleplays, the freedwomen wear veils. But in 2020's time of masking to reduce the chances of falling to a pestilence, someone not in the know could easily confuse them for another purpose.
Many longtime Second Life residents knew Uccello Poultry as one of Bay City's more noteable residents, as well as the writer behind the "Poultry Report" blog. After over a year of inactivity, her real-life brother CC Columbo posted that she had passed away from Coronavirus, and was delivering her final message. "Caitlin wrote several letters before she passed," He would say of Uccello, "One was for her friends and family in Second Life. Here it is."
In the post aptly named "Logging Out," Uccello would credit her brother with saving her life, though the experience came "at the cost of me being able to speak and an inability to cope with a number of instantly blooming phobias." Such phobias would lead her psychiatrist to recommend Second Life as a way to overcome her fears and socialize. After a time on the Teen Grid, she would start an account on the main one along with her brother who "met me at Waterhead and took me to his land in Nangrim. There he gave me
$L100, 16 square meters of land to call my own, and then took me to the
Isle of Lesbos. The rest, as the trite say, is history."
At Lesbos I met my soon-to-be sister, Threshin. She helped me become a
strong (if willful) and confident woman over the subsequent years.
Always encouraging and loving, I learned that I didn’t need to cling to
my brother. I also met my wife, Angela, there. Marriages in SL are real,
if you let them be so.
I’m also proud to say I was a citizen of Bay City, the BEST community
in Second Life. So many close friends, especially Marianne, Pygar,
Rachel, Roc, and the eternal Ever Dreamscape. This was truly the life I
did not have growing up. And grow up I did. The strength I gained from
being accepted into the city and becoming a contributor (the year I was
Miss Bay City was the best year in any of my lives) led to me becoming a
productive citizen in Real Life. Getting a job, paying taxes, and
becoming responsible for others. Just like a real person!
It wasn’t easy, but learning from my Bay City friends and people like
Kennylux, my darling sistress Zen, Crap, Anthony & Mo, Vick,
KinZiki, Torley, Michael (King of the Moles!), Kaelin, Doc, Loki, all
the Moles & Lindens, Claudia222, Cubey, Elvira, Draxtor, Gammy,
Kaikou, Honour, Fenix, Shep, GoSpeed, Iris, Miss Jane, Shaman, Parker,
Serenity, Owl, Nikokito, Sylvia, Washu, Mr & Mrs Hooker … cripes, I
wish I could remember everyone right now … helped make me into the
person I am now.
Uccello would cut ties to Second Life when she was concerned she was addicted. And then came the Coronavirus, "Most likely it was from someone at work that CC, his girlfriend, I
picked up the COVID-19 virus (along with who knows how many others),
learning of this only after we were told to stay home (with pay!) and to
wash our hands. Fever, cough, no sense of taste or smell … I was
tested. A few days later I’m here in the hospital with an iPad and a
teddy bear and I don’t think this is going to be good."
Her last wishes were that her friends help her brother cope with her loss, and ...
/me hands you an impossibly large box.
Take my Love. I have plenty for all of you. Perhaps I’ll see you all
on the Big Grid and we can swap stories. I hear there’s no Grid goo and
the Feed there works. Until then, there’s so much I haven’t done. Go out
and do it for me.
Caitlin (AKA: Uccie, Zyx, and Xandah)
20 April 2020
And so, the epidemic that has claimed so many lives in both the world and America has taken one of Second Life's noted residents and a beloved Bay City personality.
A little over a week ago, an online funeral look place in the Final Fantasy 14 MMO game. The event, described as having hundreds of people taking part, was for a player known as Ferne Le'roy. Her friends organized the effort on Reddit.
The event on the Zalera server began in the city of Ul'dah with people gathering at night, server time, many dressing in black for the memorial service. They then walked over a half hour, the night giving way to day as the players crossed different areas along bridges and roads. They would travel to a place known as the Guardian Tree, considered a holy location in the game.
Ferne had an alt known as Poppy Rose in the Coeur server, and a similar event took place there. She had died of Coronavirus.
Leafelda Moonchild, one of the players who organized the event, would say, "When I made the post on Facebook, I didn't expect anyone to actually
show up. I made the post so that those that may have known
her would be informed. The fact that so many people showed up, not only
from Zalera but from other servers, really took me by surprise."
A major pandemic is sweeping the globe. While new cases and COVID-19
related deaths continue to climb throughout our connected world, there
are signs that the pandemic has reached its peak in several parts of the
world. Individuals and societal groups are reacting differently,
looking for solutions to stem the threat to our health and way of life.
In the face of this threat, people are turning to governments for
action, to the medical community for help, to the scientific community
for answers, to commercial entities for products, to mass media for
information, to social media for support, and to non-scientific
organizations for miracles. In many ways, the pandemic is not just a
test of our immune systems, but of what we hold valuable and where we
put our trust.
Dr. Youngblood will bring us up to date on the pandemic and discuss
the science and psychology behind what we are being asked to do to save
the lives of others and possibly our own. No one has “2020 hindsight” about what will happen next, but we can
share probable futures based on experiences in our past and the ability
of the scientific approach to project future .
As we all deal with the novel corona virus some are thinking of how to ease the struggle in real life and also here in Second Life. One of those who did that here is Jadyn Firehawk. I am sure many of you recognize her name as the owner of the beloved Yosemite region that closed last July.
Jadyn went into her vast warehouse inventory and searched out all the calming tools she could find. She is hoping to bring some peace and quietude to those searching for it. That was her purpose in Yosemite and though it is gone the spirit lives on.
Go over and take a look at the numerous gifts you can get. I took many of the pieces for myself,
Robert A. Hendrix, M.D. and Phillip D. Youngblood, Ph.D.
A major pandemic is sweeping the globe. Cases of COVID-19 are growing
exponentially as people spread the disease throughout our connected
world. Individuals and societal groups are reacting differently, looking
for solutions to stem the threat to our health and way of life.
In the face of this threat, people are turning to governments for
action, to the medical community for help, to the scientific community
for answers, to commercial entities for products, to mass media for
information, to social media for support, and to non-scientific
organizations for miracles. In many ways, the pandemic is not just a
test of our immune systems, but of what we hold valuable and where we
put our trust.
Dr. Hendrix will talk about what we all want to know – what this is,
what you can do about it, and what medical researchers are doing to try
to find ways to combat the virus.
Dr.
Youngblood will talk about what has happened over the last few months,
what is happening now, and how individuals and society are reacting to
the pandemic, recognizing that this presentation and discussion is a
snapshot of our collective experience that is ongoing and rapidly
changing.
No one has “2020 hindsight” about what will
happen next, but we will also talk about probable futures based on
experiences in our past and the ability of the scientific approach to
project future trends.
When the news stories of people being told to stay at home started going around, social introverts whom felt happier online than engaging in plenty of public events could be forgiven for feeling a little smug. While extroverts would have to struggle to get used to the routine, people whom already spent a lot of time on the Internet and other places such as online gaming and virtual worlds, notably Second Life, seemingly wouldn't have to make any sacrifices.
But as it turns out, Internet introverts do have to give up something: the higher speeds they've been used to.
Articles, such as one in Fortune magazine, suggests that with more people using the Internet due to the people staying at home, the result is comparable to more traffic on a road leading to slowdowns. Several services such as Netflix and Youtube are reducing movie quality.
So what does this mean for Second Life? While periods of glitches and lag are nothing new to the virtual world, a number of my friends have told me it's been getting worse. While Sony made the decision to reduce downloading speed in response, Linden Lab is unlikely to mess with the quality of data transmission.
What can be done about all this lag? The best way is to go to one's Preferences and reduce quality, draw distance, or both. For those whom it's already low, they may have to avoid coming on peak times.
So it seems for now, we're having to deal with "Corona lag."
