Now that the new version of Second Life supports an in-world mozilla web browser, we soon will be able to web surf without leaving the confines of virtuality. Like all things, there are new opportunities and potential problems associated with an in-world browser, i.e.: Con: Potentially new viruses and trojan horses being propogated in-world Con:…
Baby falcons falling from the sky!
Hanging out at Cindy’s place in mid-town, I peeked out the window and saw what looked like a little hawk standing motionless on the sidewalk. We headed out to check on the little guy, just as a small crowd was gathering around him. We debated about what we should do. Someone tried calling 311. Cindy…
“An Inconvenient Truth”: the most important slide show you will see all year
Cindy and I saw “An Inconvenient Truth” last night. As someone who should be fairly well informed on these issues, with frequent contact with environmental activists and experts, I was surprised and appalled by the urgency of the ecological crisis facing our planet. It is indeed terribly “inconvenient” to face the reality that within our…
Negroponte’s $130 laptop versus Intel’s $400 laptop
According to ZDNET, John Negroponte announced a couple of days ago that the first iteration of the “$100 laptop” from the One Laptop Per Child initiative will be closer to $130 to $140 dollars. Even at $130, this computer still comes in at a pricepoint that governments like China, Brazil and South Africa could consider…
Defending human dignity with a cell phone
I was honored to be invited to a one day strategic discussion today on a new human rights video hub being created by the non-profit WITNESS. Started at the initiative of Peter Gabriel, in 1992, WITNESS uses the power of video to open the eyes of the world to human rights abuses. Traditionally their work…
The Second Life Theme Song!
My pal Frankyboy, aka Ill Bixby of Ill Clan Productions, tells me that his crew have gone back to the mixing board and uploaded the unofficial Second Life Theme Song for your listening pleasure. This little ditty was originally recorded as background to episode eight of their machinima talk show "Trash Talk" that was filmed…
Down with reactionary bloggers!
For the 40th anniversary of the Chinese Cultural Revolution Ah Q Weekly’s chinese blog re-designed an old poster from the Cultural Revolution to comment on Chinese government censorship of the internet, and bloggers in particular. According to Oi wan Lam of Global Voices, "The original poster depicts a worker using Mao’s tiny red book to…
Convenient simulation of an Inconvenient Truth?
Just checked out the Second Life island of Svarga, lovingly designed by Laukosargas Svarog with its own virtual ecosystem. Laukosargas not only created virtual flowers and trees that grow, she also populated the island with bees that pollinate the flowers, clouds that bring rain, and sun-lit and shady areas with different growth patterns. It’s the…
Quaint name Ann Street
I got a call this morning from the Citibank fraud prevention unit about some odd charges to my Mastercard. I cleared that up in short order with one of their telephone reps, assuring me that my identity was not being stolen. Been there, done that, got the bad credit report to show for it. As…
Piña colada ices and really really tiny buildings
Cindy and I spent a lovely May day recently hanging out in Queens. First stop was Columbian food in Corona. Colombian tamales are filled with a little bit of everything — beef, chicken, pork, vegetables, the works. Really a meal wrapped in banana leaves. Then we headed to the Queens Museum of Art, where we…