The Philosophical Computer

A few years ago, I wrote a journal entry on my deviantART page, titled Brainfood. Along with it, I created the drawing as seen below. I called it The Philosophical Computer. A computer with a low form of conscience, thinking about why he exists.



I enjoyed thinking about modern technology in a philosophical way. I think it makes it easier to understand the questions we may have about ourselves and our world. Therefor, I decided to make this idea a common category on this blog, recognizable by the computer icon in the upper right of the post.

Especially with the current developments in Second Life, I think it becomes even clearer. After all, we now have a true 3rd person in its own world. Of course it's controlled by a human somewhere in meatspace, but it should be fun thinking about the avatars as if they have a consciousness and a free will. I may let it move forward, he thinks he walks by himself.

So from now on, I'll be calling this "The Philosophical Computer". I must admit I haven't checked yet, but if something like this already exists, let me know :P
Hope you enjoy!

I have a blog now!

Yes, it is true. I have given in and started a blog. The person that leaves his devART journal untouched for months (just because there's nothing interesting to say) has a blog. Why?

(crossposted to my deviantART page)

Well, it goes back a long way really. As you may know, I became a Second Life Resident on December 12, 2006. I liked the building and scripting there, so I made my first careful steps in creating. I'm not sure how exactly one thing led to another, but it was something like this:

I had read about sim crashes and thought that's be the worst thing that could happen. So for my first scripting steps, I searched for an empty region and picked Aswan to do my scripting. I figured, then if I do something stupid and crash the region, nobody is harmed.

So I scripted there and when I was done, I went on exploring the areas around Aswan. I flew South and noticed a huge sculpture there. It turned out that sculpture was called The Maestro and it was on display at Oyster Bay. I checked the place out and liked it, the aquarium very much too.

I did see the owner Morris Vig there, but he was talking to somebody and I didn't want to disturb. So I visited the Aquarium and made a small donation (I believe it was L$5 or L$10) to Oyster Bay. Only a minute later or so I got an IM from Morris, thanking me for the donation. It must've been the only time in SL history I actually got a "Thank You" for a donation, and to think it was such a terribly small donation too! Morris then invited me to the Oyster Bay group, a title I from then on wore with pride! I felt now accepted in SL. I should note before this I only really had contact with anybody other than the people I already knew from a Dutch forum.

Because I now was member of the Oyster Bay group, I received a Notice of the Avatars Against The War party with DJ Doubledown Tandino. This party was on Sunday, January 28 2007.

There I also learned of the protests coming up at Second Life's virtual Capitol Hill. And being against the war myself, I also went there.

One and a half hour into the protest, an avatar named Spider Mycron joined us. Spider is an Iraqi, so he could tell us exactly how the war affected life in Iraq.
He talked for over an hour and already during this conversation, people suggested we needed to get his story out to the world. I figured it'd be a good idea for me to put it on a blog, because I had recently joined a project named "Scoopt Words".

Scoopt is a site where everybody can upload newsworthy photos, allowing journalists around the world to buy those photos. Scoopt Words was similar, but instead of photos the dealt with news posted on people's blogs. I must add the Scoopt Words project no longer exists now. It was an experiment, but apparently didn't quite work as expected. So it was only during that short time these events had to lead to me starting a blog!

So back at the end of January 2007, I posted the chatlog of Spider's conversation during the protest. And putting my blog on Scoopt Words, I actually got an e-mail from a Scoopt employee, telling me they'd try to get the story out. But unfortunately I've never heard anything of it since, and at this time, the Dutch tv already has a blog of an Iraqi man up, so I'm sure there's more info on that to be found there.

I had enormous problems posting on Blogger using Opera on my Mac, I'd posted the entries with the chatlog on a Windoze machine. Needless to say, once I had posted all about the protest, I didn't continue blogging.

However, I always kept it open in a tab, so I could never forget I had the possibility of posting things I'd like to tell the world. Early August 2007, exactly 6 months after my last Iraq post, I wanted to see if maybe it worked now. And yes! I was able to make a post, with some minor Blogger issues.

But seeing it worked, I started to like it some more. And soon I posted more, even though they're not all the best posts in the world. I was searching and waiting for inspiration and just today I found that.

Even though today's post is a bit silly, I think it takes practice to find inspiration. After all, I've just typed this whole, huge post too! Sorry about that, btw.
Thank you for your interest (if you are interested, of course)!

Sometimes you need to stand still

A few weeks ago, I quite terribly hurt one of my toes while clipping its nail. It took some time to heal, but due to the nature of its current state, it will take some more time to fully recover. But now it doesn't hurt anymore at least, and I can do anything I want.

However a few days ago, when it still hurt a bit, I was going to spend the day with a friend. I had to walk for 20 minutes to the train station, early in the morning, so I was in a bit of a hurry. I put my shoe on too fast and hurt the toe again. I could hardly walk! I really didn't want to miss my train, so I just went as fast as possible, which wasn't nearly fast enough. I feared for the worst.

Then it happened. I neared a crossing where I had to wait a few seconds for some bicycles. When I started walking again, I noticed the pain was gone. Or at least, most of it. I quickly walked on to the station and arrived there well in time. So my lesson for the day was, sometimes you need to stand still in order to move forward.

Of course everybody knows you have to let your body rest after an injury, but it is my opinion this also goes for everything else. Nowadays people (and corporations) think to stand still is to move backwards, but if you keep going forward all the time, even if you face problems, chances are in the long run you only get more problems.

This week, there are two situations where I told people to take their time, slow down if necessary, because in my opinion that would only solve issues faster.

The first situation was at Oyster Bay, where due to a simple error, a large part of the build disappeared. The owner Morris Vig doesn't have the time to fix this right away (and it's a lot of work too), so I told him to take his time. It's no use if he'd just throw everything from his Lost & Found folder back onto the land. Yes, then it's be fixed fast, but it's not getting any prettier.

The second situation is the scheduled maintenance on the Second Life servers. While I write this, the grid is closed. I commented on the blog I'd rather have to wait a bit longer than to jump right back inworld and find I can't rez, teleport, pay...

There sure are much more people having problems at the time, to them I'd like to say the exact same thing. Take your time sorting everything out. You can try to move on and partially ignore your problems, that won't get you anywhere in the long run. Sometimes you need to stand still in order to move forward.

Places of interest

This is a list of my favorite places in Second Life, including some extra info on it (like Linden Office Hours). The list will be edited over time, when I find more places to add, delete places that aren't there anymore or add more info. I'll add a link to this post in the sidebar, to keep it accessible at all times.

Please excuse the mess the page currently is, it's a work in progress. More places will be added soon!

Table of contents

• Art


• Linden's Offices


• Truly Outrageous (aka Areas of Outstanding Virtual Beauty. The catchphrase Truly Outrageous is inspired by the 1980s TV show Jem)


• No Component

Crescent Moon Museum
If you like art, surely you also like a good museum. And that's what Crescent Moon is, they have the coolest art on display and it's especially interested in Starax/Light Waves works. The museum is the oldest art museum in SL! It's just cool.

Crescent Moon Museum is owned by Tayzia Abattoir.

---

Gallery Tamrannoch
There are always amazing works of art to be found at the Gallery. Mostly photography, but also other 2D art. But also 3D art! And if that's not enonugh, there are also live music performances often.
Gallery Tamrannoch and Sea Song Gallery in the region directly adjacent belong together and are owned by Autopilotpatty Poppy (or just "Miss Poppy").

---

The Photography Studio in Grignano
Organizes a monthly photo contest! :D

Blog more or less associated: Second Life Art News



Bridie Linden's House
Release Candidate (and General) Triage is Wednesdays 3 PM PDT at Bridie's House.

---

Torley Watermelinden Land of Happiness, Fruit, & Recitations
Torley Linden's Office.
Torley's Office Hours:
Thursdays 12 PM PDT.

Torley has a blog: Torley Lives.



International Spaceflight Museum
Since I found this late 2006/early 2007, the ISM has become much larger (or at least, so it seems). And I think it is expanding still. Whenever something new happens, like a shuttle launch, people gather here to watch the event live on video screens.

The museum also has a website.

---

Lauk's Nest
A well-known place in SL. It often has new artwork on display and there's always the Mayan temple to explore.

---

Shivar
One of the first places I found in SL. It was still winter then, so all was covered in snow. Back then I couldn't believe this was all made in SL using the same sort of plywood prims I had rezzed on Help Island. The great artist behind it all is YadNi Monde.

---

Splash Aquatics
Amazing world beneath the waves. Splash has an aquarium and all the tools you'd need if you want your own water decorations.

No Component

Centre For Water Studies @ Better World Island
Lots of info on how to make a Better World. I like the Water Studies a lot here, relaxing pond with animals.

---

Ubuntu
This is new for me, I found it recently after visiting Better World and thought it was a cool place.

---

Intemptesta Nox
Also new for me, apparently a Phantom Of The Opera themed region. Looks very good, but those Builder's Grids and plywood floors make me think it's a work in progress...

---

Imagination Breeding
It's a zoo! Also one of the first places I found in January 2007. I was happy to see it still exists today.

---

Brenner
A region with some cool stuff put there by Lindens.

---

Climbable Beanstalk
Made by Steller Sunshine, this beanstalk is a piece of SL history. A prize will be awarded if people can show they can climb it without flying or other tools.

---

Balloon Tour of Linden Village
Even though the tour only covers Ambleside and Linden Village has grown immensely since the Tour started, it is still fun. Be sure to yell "Hi" if you see any Lindens in the Village. ;)

---

SL History Museum
Lots of photos, notecards and items from the history of our beloved Second Life. Be sure to grab your free "Primitar" here. Primitar is the very first avatar in SL, even from before SL was SL! You can see Primitar in action in this video.

---

Rodeo Forest
A place of historical value, especially to the Jack family.

What's this all about then?

So for some reason you stumbled upon this blog and you'd like to know what it's about. There are some posts with a chatlog of some sort you see and a rant at Google for not being able to make a user-friendly blog/photo service. What else can you expect?

The short answer is this blog will be about everything. Everything I have an opinion about (or not); everything I just want to say (this entry is an example of that); good, underestimated YouTube vids maybe; Second Life; rants; praise... Everything!

You may ask yourself, is there a reason to keep an eye on this blog then? If it's all about my opinion and what I have to say, what's in it for you? I can't answer that question, that's exactly where you come in. If you like my posts, then watch this blog, if you don't, then don't. Feel free to leave comments, I'll read them all and always try to say something back. Just be respectful and everything. I'm sure you're sensible enough :)

Last question you might want to ask, what is Young Media? Well, my name is Daedalus Young (actually, that's my Second Life name, which is good enough for here), so that's where Young comes from. And I'm into everything media, art, photography, film, tv, radio, internet. So that makes Young Media. This blog will not specifically or necessarily cover only those subjects, but you can expect it. (Also follow these links to get a better idea of what I find fun/interesting/weird/amusing)

If you have any more questions, ask them here. I hope you will enjoy reading my thoughts and we can inspire eachother. Have fun!

Blogger and Opera: Does it finally work now?

This is really a test post to see if Blogger now finally can be used on the best browser ever made: Opera.

Back when I posted the Avatars Against The War posts, I had to do so using Safari on my Mac and the awfully slow Internet Exploder on an awfully slow Windoze machine. And even then, I couldn't upload images, that's why I used deviantART embedded images.

Now I recently tried logging in again, which failed a few times until I realized blogger.com needs google.com cookies. I usually have in my Opera prefs "Accept only cookies from the site I visit" checked, as I don't want some crappy bannersite planting cookies on my machine. Changing this setting to allow cookies from external sites, I now was able to login Blogger and post this message.

The only problem now is... The Opera logo at the top right of this message isn't showing, while when I enter its url directly in my browser, it loads fine. :S See this thread.

Update: Somebody pointed me to the Picasa stuff, where uploaded images can be managed and I got a completely different url for the small logo. Pasting that in here seems to fix it. Now I want to delete the larger one from the album, but both the thumbnails appear the same size, and it lacks something useful like... a filename, so I have no idea which to delete. Come on Google, I thought your business was in online tools, I'd have expected you knew how to implement things other sites are using since 2000 already!