CavernSense

Oh sure, who says we should always be in balance?

I’m sitting here, at the gates of the Cavern, packed, loaded, showered, pressed, and …

I can’t get in

Am I evolved?  Balanced?  Am I breathing properly?

Heck no!  I am hammering away at the authentication and download servers just as merrily and mightily as anyone else.  I want to go home!  LOL

If I could… JUST (click) PUSH (click) that password THROUGH (click, click)  I could CALM DOWN!

Must laugh at ones self quite a lot this evening.  I’ve been taking Laughing Tonic quite liberally, but I’m still somber enough to obey the “please try again” button on the “cannot connect to site” page.

Try again!  Try again!  Try again!

Ah well, soon I will cheer “Huzzah!” and this day will enter the calendar archives as another in the  history of the D’ni and Uru Community.

If you order now, you can get this Complete, Customized, Personal Repair Manual of Instruction. We don’t know what the Manual of Instruction says yet, or what it will be about when it’s finished, but we wrote it for you anyway and so we would appreciated it if you would buy it. It’s for you, it’s free, and all you have to do is pay shipping.  You wouldn’t want to seem ungrateful for this thing we did for you, now would you?

You see, we have decided something is wrong with you and although we don’t know anything about you, we have seen or heard you once and decided we are experts on your problems.  From that total lack of information we put together a Manual of Instruction to “fix” whatever we think is wrong with you.  It’s really easy, you know, like a television, or a dishwasher.  We’ve seen people say they can “fix” other people they don’t know anything about all over the internet.  So we decided we could, too.
That is why we have put it out there for sale. If you are unhappy with your personalized repair Manual for any reason whatsoever, you can return it for a full refund (minus the shipping charge, which we keep to cover shipping). And there’s no obligation to buy more. Except, of course, our feelings will be hurt and we will publicly trounce you for daring to be the ungrateful wretch you are for not appreciating the fixing of you we took all this time to do.
But we know that once you have this “fix-you-the-problem” Manual we have written (because we know you better than you do and can fix you whereas you cannot fix yourself) you will want to continue investing in our Manuals of Instruction. They are the most handy, informative, and useful Manuals you will ever have purchased. With your first Manual, you will also receive a form which allows you to order future Manuals.

And the best part about them is that they are all FREE! (just pay shipping)

Order now!

(price does not include ink or paper. Shipping is 299.00. Multiple orders will be shipped separately. A separate shipping charge of 299.00 will be applied to each order. Given the terrible exchange rate on the US dollar, we’d appreciate it if you sent the shipping payment in Euros. Or even Canadian Dollars. We would also take 299 bars of gold-pressed latinum, since gold is still worth something here and latinum sounds a lot like platinum, which is worth something, too. Deeds to land also welcome.)

This one is for Ruby O’Degee.

I am thrilled that things have been moving along at a turtle’s pace at the new Guild of Healers’ Outreach Retreat in Second Life.  We’ve finished with the basic build so that our activities can be held in our own space.  Now it’s just a matter of fussing about and modifying bits here and there.

The Silk Road Event was wonderful, as was Radio KTDN’s Anniversary.  After those events in Eder D’uru and around other Ages in Second Life, we held our own Meet & Greet or Opening Gathering in the Retreat on June 28, 2009.  It was a lot of fun, even though I discovered that I was expected to lead a mini-meditation session.  I managed to pull that off with some help from Ktahdn and his perfect choice of meditation music.  We are now holding regular meditations, and surprisingly they seem to be doing some folks some good.  Huzzah!

Ruby came to live with us up above on the surface at Eder D’uru.  Actually, I should say we took up residence below the CCNE office after she pulled it out of the hole.  The resulting cavernous opening was perfect for a retreat space.  Ruby, LC, Jane, OMJ, Tyion even… they have all arrived safely to join Alty, DudeMom, Tai’lahr, Dagda, Marten, and others who we’ve known around the community had been in Sl for some time.  (We’ll not mention Madge just yet…) I had been there myself for over a year, although I hadn’t actually been there.  I was busy building the monastery prototype in Kaneva for a RL project and learning about texturing, building blocks, and integrating 2D with a 3D environment.  It really did prepare me to quickly build the Retreat once we decided to move in. And, the RL project moves on.  Huzzah!

It looks like the Rooftop gang might make their way back to a Rooftop, too.  Convector Felium has appeared again to create havoc that Lord Chaos would heartily approve of.   Between he and Ruby the stories will begin to flow thick and heavy, I expect.  I will have to work very hard to maintain some sense of serenity in the Retreat.  Jane isn’t much help, although she does try very hard to be serious around me.  I don’t know why she laughs so much — can’t be anything I might have said…

Tai’lahr has informed me that she has spotted Serious Nonsense building up in areas around the Retreat, especially once Convector Felium mentioned he would like to help with the meditation session on Laughter.  I don’t know why a meditation session would be of such interest, but I will move ahead with it nonetheless and let him join us if he is of a mind to — provided he is cordial to Serious Nonsense.   As for the building, I’ve tried to make sure there is prim-room available for everyone who wishes to build.  I am a great defender of Serious Nonsense as well as an advocate of Healing,  so I object not at all to sharing my tools and conversation with others during the many activities I enjoy.  I don’t really think Tai minded the results Serious Nonsense left behind.  No prims ended up in anyone else’s parcels, nor were the textures of an unpleasant color.

’twas Ktahdn who let that tree root stick out below the treehouse floor….

Which, during each encounter, did them an age of good.  Some didn’t appreciate the benefits, but they got over that.  Of course, I enjoyed the encounters since I myself am very serious all the time.

I agree with the philosophy of Nonsense.  It should be as Serious as possible, as often as it can.  It, like laughter, should be so overwhelmingly effervescent that it bubbles up from wherever it originates and spills out over the top to be abundantly shared by everyone whether they want it or not.

Seriously.  Why should Nonsense be boxed in, shoved down the tunnel into the lowest, darkest caves of the cavern, and waved away with a dismissive gesture when what shows up on the surface is, in fact less real and much more nonsensical than Nonsense itself?**  I mean really… who gets to decide what is real and valued and observationally worthy and what other things are utter nonsense?  When I finally meet that person I’m going to immediately disagree just to see what my punishment will be.  It will be interesting to be an infidel or a heretic or a blasphemer or a quack or a loon-a-tic.

**(Btw, if you didn’t all of that read the sentence again.  Slowly.  It will eventually make sense.  I promise the grammar and punctuation are correct.)

I have a soft spot for Nonsense.  Like the misunderstood gypsy it is forced to travel in search of a permanent home.  Interestingly, it doesn’t see that it has a home everywhere, even in the most serious-minded, logically oriented, conservatively traditional “I-must-always-be-in-the-right” individual.  I mean, really…. who in the world is always and ever always right?

When I meet that person I’m going to immediately disagree just to see what my punishment will be.  Punishing me may make that person feel better, too, and I’m sure will teach me a right good lesson.  Then I will show Nonsense exactly where it has been living, which will make Nonsense feel better, too.

Everyone will have reaped the benefits of our Explorers encounter, and I will have done a good day’s work.  The result? A win-win situation.

Now that just makes good Cavernsense.

Serious Nonsense plans to mingle amicably with other explorers during the Radio KTDN Fourth Anniversary. This should be great fun…

I haven’t written in here for a very long time.  Had lots to say and nothing that seemed, well, shareable.  But a lot has happened since the first Guild of Healers’ Gathering in our forum chatroom.  Along with the lovely music LC played, we also had a rather nice conversation.  Didn’t keep a chatlog (didn’t need a chatlog to remember the uplifting nature of the gathering), but we did make a decision that looks like it is going to motivate the Guild to “get going.” That motivator was, of course, that we wanted to be with (and help) people.

Seems we finally had a way to do what we’d been trying to do without the Cavern.  It was sad (no Cavern) and exciting (other MMO’s) at the same time, but we rectified the situation by deciding to send out an Outreach team to explore options for other gatherings.  That made me feel better, anyway, because I can see the Guild Retreat as temporary or as a branch of the guild until we have a space in the cavern when it finally reopens.  At that I stopped feeling guilty.

And, once I stopped worrying about feeling guilty, I started digging in and moving dirt around in our new SL space.  Now that was fun.  Planting flowers, trees, moving rocks, cutting the streambed…. these things I always enjoy.  Looks not half bad, either.

The Healers’ Silk Road event is tomorrow.   I think we are ready.  I expect CCN will cover it, too (lol, since I’m still on that team).  If nothing else, it will be an interesting experiment.  And, knowing several members of the crowd who are coming, it will be great fun as well.

Interesting and fun?  Now that makes good CavernSense.

I had another look at the discussion on the MOUL forum about User Created Content that Calam started. I won’t use his words, but I’ll point you to the thread so you can read it yourself. Ahvree has been asking for pre-made building blocks that new players (unfamiliar with age-building) can move, place, cover with images (textures), rotate, stack… you get the picture. I agree with her and mzsv that the moveable blocks probably aren’t in the cards for now (and won’t be in the ages, either) And then Ahvree, in a voice that seems familiar somehow, says that it is common sense for builders to devote energy to other builders in telling the story and building new ages first, before spending time on boring building blocks (like legos). Then she says something interesting: “Common sense doesn’t sound like an exciting advertising campaign for a game that could appeal to hundreds and not tens.”

“But Cavernsense does” I said to myself, and then outloud on the forum.

Then I heard the voices in the ethers…  “Huh?”

Yeah, I agree, what in the heck is CavernSense? Hmmm, don’t know really, except that explorers use it all the time when they help each other. Can’t point to it except I can see it everywhere in the community. Maybe I should use apophatic language here and say what it is not.

Cuz that I can say a bit about.

Let’s see…

Cavernsense is not cheese. It gets better with age, but It’s never stinky.

Cavernsense is not light. You can’t see it but its presence makes everything seem brighter.

Cavernsense is not a hammer. You can use it constantly and never pound anything down.

Cavernsense is not a burden. If you get tired of it you can always toss it aside.

Cavernsense is not currency. You can keep it all to yourself and still give it away.

Not much, but that’s a start. Later I’ll try to define what it is. Might need some help on that though.

Well known by now is the news on June 30, 2008 that Cyan received the rights to MOUL from GameTap.

Huzzah!

Good thing I hadn’t completely unpacked my linking books and sparklies —- What? I wasn’t supposed to work those loose and transport them to the surface with me? Oh… my bad.

Since then we’ve heard that Cyan is planning to give explorers the tools to build ages, import them into the cavern, and perhaps add bits and pieces to our Relto. I’m glad to hear this. Since I’ve been at Kaneva I’ve become rather attached to moving blocks around and texturing them. I’m still not versed in Blender, but just working with 3D objects and textures has already taught me quite a bit. The Medieval Village is coming along well; the Professor plans to document the site sometime this fall. She’s asked me to collaborate with her on that — what fun!

There seems to be some consternation regarding the free distribution of the tools from Cyan. I’ve been taking some time to read the posts at the Guild of Writers. The Writers seem to disagree a bit about the degree to which they should be involved in any type of control over the tools distribution. Of course, Cyan will make the decision, but I think it is good that the Writers are concerned with the nature of their role in the re-restoration.  It will be interesting to see how this all plays out. There are quite a number of very talented people there — I’m hoping that if/when the Guild of Healers is fully restored we can collaborate with a team of Writers to build a Healer’s Age. Of course, that’s assuming that Cyan would allow us to do that. I wish I was better versed so I could ask some of my questions without sounding like an idiot. For now, though, since I would sound like an idiot, I will keep reading. When I find more time I’ll go back to learning Blender.

The Messengers are to be the source of information from Cyan to the Community and from Community Groups to the Community. I am glad to see things coming together there. I would like to remain involved in that as well — “ha ha,” RL whispers in my ear, “you think you’ll have time for anything?” Well, I am making progress on the dissertation, and it will someday be finished. When that time comes, then I’ll see. This summer is the big push to get as much done as possible, so I hope to be more free this fall.

Yesterday I finally felt like I’d completed all the “heavy lifting” for the dissertation. My theories, arguments, and evidence is sorted and the arguments I wish to make are in sentences on paper (so to speak). Now that they are in place, I don’t have to concentrate quite as hard on what it is I am trying to say. Hence, a blog post today. Kind of makes sense, I think. Chores first, reward with play. Right now I’m off to read more forum threads. Today I will spend some time at the Maintainers’ forum. They, too, have significant involvement with the reopening of the Cavern. I’m interested to see what it all means for a normal explorer like me. And there’s more to it, of course. The Maintainers will be an important part of the Healers’ Guild, especially in the story….

Oops. That will have to wait for a bit. No sense getting ahead of myself. Besides, I have to load up those sparklies and get them back into the Cavern before anyone notices they are gone.

~Ghaelen

I posted this on MOUL Flooding in the Midwest then it occurred to me I have a blog I’ve not been using.

>>The storms and heavy rains over the last few weeks have caused rivers and streams across Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan to swell to record levels. Eastern Iowa and Western Wisconsin and Illinois are particularly hard hit, as most rivers flow toward the Mississippi, which is also reaching flood stage. Cities such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Davenport, and numerous small towns are experiencing floods in the streets. Many can now only get around in boats.

This is on the heels of several weeks of devastating tornadoes (one wiped out a whole town, and part of another). It gets more amazing every day, in a most unpleasant way. I have not experience more than basement flooding (thank goodness) but I watch neighboring towns struggle with rising rivers during yet another round of storms.

It is not a rapid catastrophe that makes big news, but a slow, steady destruction by a very powerful and moving force. It is really quite terrible. Farmers who have finally gotten their crops planted are now watching their new plantings drown under several feet of water. The University of Iowa is in danger of losing an art center, museum, and music building. Those who live along the rivers are watching the rivers submerge their homes. Since Iowa doesn’t normally make it into the national weather map, I thought a short update was in order. What does make the news is nothing like the real thing. Over half of the counties in Iowa have now been declared disaster areas (updated to 55 out of 99). The breadbasket of the country isn’t going to make much bread if this doesn’t end soon. <<

I’ve been watching the weather on the news, which has been on air all day. One large city (Cedar Rapids) has evacuated 8000 people from their homes. Downtown Cedar Rapids is under about two feet of water. So many little towns are devastated. Iowa City is evacuating people along the Iowa River. Des Moines, Davenport, and a multitude of small towns along about a dozen rivers are evacuating and homes are going under.

We’re getting close to meeting the criteria for the 500 year flood. And it is still raining. It is really too amazing to explain well enough for anyone to really understand.

A tidbit about the flood, with pics. There are many of them on YouTube already, but the music in this one seems appropriate.
Cedar Rapids in the Flood of 2009

It is about time. Throw out some of those ridiculous standardized tests. How can numbers on a scale possibly show how students will perform in the classroom? Or how they will do in life when they find their niche? Anyone who advocates standardized tests from behind a desk needs to go in the classroom and teach for a while — get in there and talk to them as if they are people. Every single student brings something different and unique to the group. Sometimes it is annoying behavior, but most of the time it is a skill or a bit of knowledge or the ability to question all the “trust me” messages they get bombarded with by companies that only want their money. “Heh, don’t question me just pay me.”

Or the messages from our “for the people” government. “Don’t question me, just obey me.”

I won’t start in on the myriad of other “don’t question me” authoritative figures. That would only turn into a rant.

Some colleges have decided to drop the requirement for the SAT. Huzzah! There is nothing worse than a group of students whose creativity and analytical thinking is squelched because the teacher has to teach to the test. Students are coming to college expecting to be told what they have to learn. They are often shocked when I tell them I want them to think first, learn second. LOL, that they question.  Well, it’s a start.

I hope that this policy trickles, no floods down to the grade school level. We should leave the tests behind rather than the students and teachers whose relationship suffers as they struggle not to fail the tests — and each other.

Well, I do believe the upgrading, updating, re-baiting, and rearranging is almost done. I moved the CavernScents story to its new home, and when it it properly skinned and dressed I’ll ask if it can be added it to UruBlogs. Even after the Cavern has closed I find myself investigating… oh, there I go again. That’s a story of a different character and I have to stop criss-crossing the criss-crossable boundaries. “Obey, Ghaelen. Walk over there and talk about that.”

I am just grateful to the blog divinities that I didn’t break this blog as I stumbled around trying to move the installation from Fantastico to Simple Scripts. It worked. Huzzah! I do like the export function in Wordpress. That helps a lot.