EOTB: "Love Made in Second Life - Meet Ajay and Syn"

 

 

A few days ago in the Linden blog, the Lab got into the Valentines Day spirit with doing a few "Love Made in Second Life" posts, starting with "Meet Ajay and Syn."

Ajay McDowwll and Synapse Zabelin met in Second Life, fell in love, moved together in the physical realm - he from Mississippi, she from Florida where they still are today-  got married and, spoiler alert: Ajay and Syn are still together today, after almost 16 years! The story begins on the original Help Island, where Syn volunteered when newbie Ajay dropped in. They struck up a friendship and the rest, as they say, is Second Life history! We asked them more about the history of their relationship. 

 To find out more, watch the Youtube by Drsxtor Despres, or read the post. 

SL Newspaper's Editor Makes Real-Life News

 

 Since the closing of Second Life Newspaper, the predecessor paper of the SL Newser, not much has been heard of it's editor Dana Vanmoer. She has come back to Second Life once in a great while, but not often. But recently in real-life, she made a little news. 

In real life, Dana (Donna Wilby in real life) has taken up crochet. With the passing of Queen Elizabeth, she decided to do a tribute of her own, knitting a mailbox "topper." Well, it was one of several "Woolly Wonders" that were featured in the Daily Mail online newspage. 

She would write on Facebook, "I intended to stay anonymous but have been outed by the Daily Mail so you get to see work in progress and final photos"

 

 You can see more of Dana's creations at her "Donna's Designs" blog, which has it's own Facebook page. 

Best of luck Dana,

Bixyl Shuftan

Remembrance

 

Yesterday, a family member close to me departed (some of you know who she is). She had cancer, and despite surgery it had come back and spread. She spent her last days at home, and passed peacefully. 

The idea of virtual worlds was a bit beyond her, but she was pleased I had a following online, and was putting the spotlight on the good people were doing, notably the Relay for Life in Second Life. And with her passing, I have more reason to cover it than ever.

Newser updates over the next few weeks are likely to be sporadic due to dealing with the details, as well as pondering. A number of Relay track sneak peek pictures have been uploaded ahead of time, as well as a few articles and press releases.

To those whom were there for me with words of support, or even just listening, thank you.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Further Reactions To Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

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It's been about a month since we last discussed how the Russian invasion of the Ukraine was being reflected in Second Life. Since then, there continue to be fundraisers to help out the Ukrainians, such as the one at Union Passage posted here a few days ago. The Marketplace has dozens of Ukraine-related items. And people are continuing to dress in blue and gold, or wearing blue and gold items, such as this back pocket cloth seen at a Relay for Life event (left).

Of the protests in the Moscow Island sim in which the demonstrators found themselves restricted to one tiny out of the way corner, returning to the place, there was one large sign asking people to please stop.

Our island does not belong to any country, it is a private territory. We are not a political organization, this iz just a historical sim, so please do not gather here whit political slogans! Thanks

One question that I've heard is what happens to Russian residents in Second Life? I've had people tell me that friends from the country are being IMed with insults. While the invasion has been marked with atrocities by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians, it's also seen other soldiers sabotage equipment, thousands of Russians being arrested for demonstrating against the war, leaving the country, and Russians taking up arms in support of Ukraine against the invasion. 

With Paypal stopping business in Russia, as well as other means to trade Rubles for Lindens and vice-versa, Russian residents are increasingly unable to buy Lindens or cash in on any Second Life businesses. Hamlet Au recently interviewed one, whom had taken part since the start in helping out Ukrainian residents, and stated he was seriously considering leaving the country as his business was so successful compared to real-life job prospects. But some others who don't have that option may end up having to close their places down due to inability to pay, or possibly leave Second Life for a while if not being able to access money from a Second Life business leads to economic hardship.

The gaming industry has also seen a number of reactions, such as Blizzard and Epic Games halting sales in Russia. It should be noted that Wargaming, best known for "World of Tanks" and "World of Warships," got it's start in Belarus in the 1990s, but since moved its headquarters out of the country. Following the invasion, it fired one of the staff whom made some comments in support of the war. And a few days ago, it announced it was withdrawing completely from Belarus and Russia. The following was posted on it's Discord channel:

Over the past weeks, Wargaming has been conducting a strategic review of business operations worldwide. The company has decided it will not own or operate any businesses in Russia and Belarus and will leave both countries.

Effective March 31 2022, the company started the process of closing its studio in Minsk, Belarus and transferred its live games business in Russia and Belarus to local management of Lesta Studio that is no longer affiliated with Wargaming. The company will not profit from this process either today or going forward. Much to the contrary, we expect to suffer substantial losses as a direct result of this decision.

Going forward, in all other countries Wargaming will continue to operate World of Warships as before. The game servers will be operating as usual, and players' accounts, as well as their in-game property accumulated through purchase or any other means, will remain unchanged.

No doubt there will be more developments in this ongoing story.
 
Sources: BBC, New World Notes, Time , Reuters, PC Gamer, Wargaming 

Bixyl Shuftan
 

RFL: My Mother's Caregiver

 

Today I'm deviating from my usual writing about something in Second Life, although it is about something that will affect my time here in the virtual world. Lately my real life has gotten less predictable as someone in real life close to me is now in need of help, and it's up to me to do so.

More in Extra.
 

DJ Matt Sets Up GoFundMe After Robbery

 
DJ Matt (Matt Carlton) raised plenty of dollars for the Relay for Life in Second Life, such as the DJ competition in April. Unfortunately, she herself right now is in need of money. Her luck recently took a turn for the worst. Her storage shed was broken into, and a number of items were stolen, notably lawn equipment and kitchen appliances.

We found my shed was broken into at my property on Monday, all my lawn equipment was stolen as was all my small kitchen appliances and cookware I was storing in there while redoing wiring and drywall at the house. They took some other miscellaneous stuff, like and old PC and some old radios, but not as bad as the other things. Anything easy to snatch was gone.  I been staying with my parents furring this remodel but now this has really screwed us over. I did not have insurance for this property either. I hate asking for help but I'm at a loss as to what to do. Anything is appreciated. I am even currently selling my old Pathfinder just to try and get extra cash to get a more efficient car just to make deliveries to try and dig out of this hole I am in, but it just seems to keep getting deeper. I'm not great at asking things like this so....I guess I'll leave it at this. Thankfully the house was not harmed and the shed door just needs new hinges....

Matt set up a GoFundMe for anyone wishing to donate. As of the writing of this article, $20 has been donated.

Other ways to get money to her include purchasing items from her small online store, or getting a copy of her cookbook.

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview with JolieElle Parfort

 

JolieElle Parfort is a real-life artist whom shows her works here in Second Life. She describes herself as being one all her life. Her most recent way of doing art is to take photos and using digital tools to make them into painting-like images. Recently, Newser reporter Kayly Iali interviewed her about how she became an artist and how she came to the virtual world.

Read Kayly's interview in People.

Commentary: Why The Furry Fandom Isn't A Community

To people looking at a fanbase from outside, especially those with little familiarity with it, it's members may seem very much alike and more or less unified. The reality is, a large fanbase often has many internal divisions. For instance, Star Wars fans are split on how good the different trilogies are. Fantasy fans are split on the use of "chainmail bikini" armor for female fighters. And those are just two of the issues that the fanbases have, along with the petty rivalries individuals and small groups can have with one another. And then there's the furry fandom. While some from the outside see it as a monolithic group, it actually isn't. In his commentary, Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich) reminds us of that.

Read Cyfir's article in People.

Gamer Gets Help For Friend Having Seizure 5000 Miles Away

To those who say online friends aren't real friends, the parents of a 17 year old gamer, Adian Jackson, would disagree. They were watching TV in their home in Widnes, Great Britian, while their son was playing games on his computer upstairs. They had no idea anything was amiss until two police cars with lights flashing drove over. The three officers told them they'd gotten a call that something was wrong with the boy. Going upstairs, the boy was found "severely disoriented and not fully conscious of his surroundings." He still had his headset on, and a gamer friend, the one whom had made the call, was still online trying to talk to him.

The other gamer was Dia Lathora of Texas, 5000 miles away. While they were both gaming online, he suddenly stopped talking Dia was able to guess he was having a seizure. She had his address, but not his phone number, so she tried to reach an emergency number. While she couldn't find it, she was able to talk to someone, and though that person was able to explain what was happening.

"We always say to the kids, be careful who you speak to online," Caroline Jackson stated, "but in this case, it was invaluable."

Sources: BBC News, Liverpool Echo

Newser Reporter Writes Children's Book

Marcel Mosswood is known in Second Life as an artist, as well as an accomplished reporter for the Second Life Newser. But one can now add real-life author as part of her accomplishments. On Facebook yesterday, she announced she had finished writing, and illustrating, a children's story, "Jrappa The Giraffe And His Chicken Soup." The book was written under her real-life name.

It's done! My children book in RL! YAY!!

Written and illustrated by me. It's a story about a giraffe who would like to cook chicken soup, but it is not only a story, I put math learning between the story.

I hope children will be more like to learn math with this book.

Two other writers for the Newser, Grease Coakes and Nydia Tungsten, have also written books in real life, and went on to publish them.

Hurricane Update

Following it's turn to the north after heading to Florida, Hurricane Dorian has been battering the East Coast as it makes it's way north. Thursday it was hitting South Carolina, and by Thursday night it was North Carolina's turn. In South Carolina alone, more than a quarter million are without power. This number does not count those who lost it in other states.

Today the storm will be hitting southeast Virginia. After that, by Saturday morning Massachusetts' coastal areas will be getting high winds. then the storm will go through Nova Scotia and Labrador.


If someone whom is usually on Second Life on Friday's isn't, they might be in one of the areas affected by the hurricane. For those yet to be hit, be prepared.

ouruces: Greenvile News, wunderground.com, The Post and Courier
Image Source: NOAA

Bixyl Shuftan

Hurricane Update

For the Bahamas, Hurricane Dorian has been nothing short of devastating. The most powerful storm to hit the islands, seven deaths have been recorded, a total expected to go up after the departure of high winds allows for better searches. Having been heading slowly in the direction of Florida for the past several days, the storm has started to make it's turn northward while it's weakened to a Category Two. So while the Sunshine State is getting plenty of wind and rain, it looks like it's going to avoid a direct hit.

The bad news, the storm will be heading up the coast from Florida, to Georgia, to South Carolina, to North Carolina, to SE Virginia. Residents at or near the coastal areas of these states are urged to keep a close eye on weather reports for the next few days. At the very least, make plans for a day or so of lost power (including the local gas station and ATM). Closer to the path of the eyewall of the storm, homes could experience real damage.

Be prepared

Souruces: Associated Press, Reuters, wunnderground.com
Image Source: NOAA

Bixyl Shuftan

Hurricane Dorian Threatens East Coast

Real life is very likely to bring some unpleasant news to the East Coast of the United States soon. After coming through the eastern Caribbean, Hurricane Dorian has been gathering strength and heading to the Bahamas as a Category Four storm. Heading to Florida, there are signs the storm will turn northward and weaken somewhat. Unfortunately, this means that Georgia and North and South Carolina are threatened. Residents in the affected area are likely to experience power outages, and possibly worse in places where the storm makes a direct hit.

Those in the southeast, keep an eye on the weather.

Sources: wunderground.com, Associated Press, weather.com
Image Source: NOAA

Reflections

It hasn't been an easy week for me. Someone I was close to in real life passed away a week ago, which left me pondering much how he meant to me over the years. While the subject of what I write about confused him sometimes, he did appreciate me (and others on the team) writing about the Relay for Life and veterans' charities, as well as 9/11 remembrances.

To those whom were there for me with words of support, or even just listening, thank you.

Bixyl Shuftan

Computer Update

Just a short note that shortly after the last update, the new computer finally arrived. And last night got it set up and working.

Unfortunately, not all the news is good. Also last night, I heard about some real-life developments that will likely affect updates in the next few weeks.

Stay tuned for details.

When A Friend Passes Away

Deaflegacy recently experienced a personal tragedy when one of her closest friends in real life died. Saying goodbye to someone you care about is never easy. It's even harder when that someone departs to the hereafter. Deaflegacy wrote a few words about her friend, mentioning she's not alone in having lost someone they care about.

Read Deaflegacy's story in People.

Tales From Outside SL: Plagued Doctor at the Furry Con

While the following story doesn't have much to do with Second Life, it does involve a resident of our virtual world. JB Raccoon told the Newser about a friend of his, who wishes for now to be known as only "The Attendee," who went to a 'con in an unusual costume. For a couple days, all went well. Then he was stopped by one of the 'con staff who had objections to some props on the outfit that hadn't been a problem before with him and with others no one was raising issues.

Read the story in Extra.

Hurricane Mathew Threatens US East Coast

Some residents of Second Life are finding real life will likely cut off their connection for a while. Hurricane Mathew, a storm that delivered death and destruction in Haiti and the Bahamas, is heading to Florida as a highly dangerous Category Four hurricane, making impact there today. But instead of making landfall there, it looks like it will brush the East Coast that while slowly lessening in strength will still be destructive. Evacuations are already being ordered in Georgia, and North and South Carolina have declared emergencies.

For Second Life residents in the storm's path, a likely consequence is the cutoff of electric power, and being cut off from Second Life/ Already at least one DJ living in Florida sent a notice to the clubs she performs at that she will be offline indefinitely due to the certain loss of power.

As a few of the Newser's writers live in areas likely to be affected by the storm, there is a chance stories could be delayed, possibly updates in general to the Newser as yours truly the editor is among them. So for now, it's wait and see, making sure there's enough emergency supplies on hand, and taking any calls to evacuate seriously.

Bixyl Shuftan

A Request For Honor Flight Letters

Dusk Griswold, one of the Sunweaver community's residents, recently contacted the Newser about a certain request, one involving older veterans.

"Are you familiar with the Honor Flight?" she asked me, "They happen all over the country. Basically, they fly veterans to (Washington) DC to see the WW2 memorial, at no cost to them. Someone we know is taking their father in law on one in a few weeks, he served from 1945-1948."

Of the people involved in taking the veteran on the flight, "They are asking people to write short notes thanking him for his service, so on the flight ,each veteran will have a mailbag. I would like to see if anyone would like to write a short note that will go to the veteran to read on the flight. It would be a real life letter or card.

"The veteran's name is Charles Pool. The address is: Charles Pool, c/o Aline Wallace, PO Box 409, Cuba IL 61427-0409. They need to have the letters by Sept 13. The son-in-law who will travel with the veteran is Phil St. John."

Dusk commented the only connection to Second Life this had was, "my connection to the family. ... His daughter died of cancer a few years ago. There is a public butterfly garden (in real life) named after the daughter. My real-life spouse knew the daughter, and knows Phil."


Dusk felt one of the issues in the was how was the Second World War was passing from living memory, "I think it is important to honor veterans, and we are quickly losing the WW2 vets." She mentioned Rita Mariner, the leader of the Sunweaver community, her father was one, "Although the honor flights are not limited to WW2 vets, they do give priority to (them). When I was waiting for the boarding time on my flight from DC, they announced over the PA the arrival of an honor flight. A lot of people applauded."

Once again, the address is

Charles Pool
c/o Aline Wallace
PO Box 409,
Cuba IL
61427-0409.

The deadline for the letters is September 13

Bixyl Shuftan

Man Pleads Guilty to Second Life Land Fraud in Real Life Court

While the goings-on in virtual worlds are beyond the understanding of many in real life, the court system found a scam involving thousands of dollars done online clear enough to bring to real life court. In this case, a man plead guilty to swindling a woman in a Second Life real estate deal.

In April 2015, Joshua Bills was arrested and charged with fraud. The crime: a virtual real estate scam, "In the complaint, it stated that a loan agreement was made with Bills for $53,500 for the purposes of expanding his online real estate company. Bills was to use the money to purchase land that he would manage through his company, within the game Second Life, in exchange for a promissory note that would pay $10,000 for the investment within 24 months."

The woman whom was targeted had been renting a home in Second Life from Bills. Then, "He suggested she invest with him to buy more land within the game so he could manage it and make both of them money." But instead of investing the money as promised, the majority of it went to his E-Trade investment account.

Indiana Securities Commissioner Alex Glass commented in a statement, "This was certainly a unique case in that it dealt with online, virtual real estate. However, upon examination of the facts, this case is very similar to a conventional real estate investment scheme. Con artists are always finding new and unique ways to scam trusting individuals out of their hard earned money."

Bills plead guilty in Marion County Indiana court. He was sentenced in late July to three years probation, and ordered to repay the woman he defrauded in full.

Hamlet Au of New World Notes, which also wrote about the case, commented, "this conviction helps establish a legal precedent for future prosecution of other virtual scams."

Sources: Business Weekly, ind.gov 

Bixyl Shuftan