a swarm of moth winged avatars take flight

I have attended my share of Second Life memorial services, and would like to congratulate Justin Esparza on a well run event. I particularly enjoyed watching the avatar swarm attach their moth wings and fly away - a touching tribute.

Osprey Therian memorial

The crowd included a number of SLebrities. Game god Torley Linden (cleverly disguised in a pink suite with watermelon tie) was present under the alt account Torley Sr.

Also in attendance was well-known entrepreneuer Stroker Serpentine, and internet troll Prokofy Neva Neva. The tone of the memorial was such that the excitable Neva somehow managed to avoid mentioning the menace of technocommunist conspiracies even once and instead distributed Osprey's moth feelers to augment the avatar moth wings used for the flight to Iris Moth Temple.

Everyone was on their best behavior, and discussed ways to allow Vivian Kendall's fictional character Osprey Therian to continue her virtual existence. Let us hope that Torley can help smooth over any problems that might arise with the transfer of control of Osprey's account and assets.

Torley and Prokofy stand united in advancing the Osprey Therian fictional character cause

[09:57] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Hey Ilia, Bixyl...
[09:57] Bixyl Shuftan: And yes, it's been a while
[09:57] Marianne McCann: A fine bunch of avatars
[09:57] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Tish!
[09:57] Holocluck Henly: heya Bix
[09:57] Justin Esparza wonders if Magellan Linden will show up today or tomorrow...
[09:57] Robin Sojourner: Lots of us never get out of our workrooms, I'm guessing.
[09:57] Rhiannon Chatnoir: it is like a creative oldbie convention .. Os would ♥ it
[09:57] Marianne McCann: Avi, welcome
[09:57] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Kumi, I've always been, in one way or another. Torley Sr. was my original "form", and the first one I met Os in...
[09:57] Justin Esparza nods
[09:57] Tish (laetizia.coronet): I'm looking at th fine fleur of SL here. I shouldn't be among you.
[09:57] Holocluck Henly: He may be hiding between rocks discretely
[09:57] Kennylex Luckless: I has a bottle of rum, I may live dangerous if Magellan comes
[09:57] Avi Arrow: hi mari, thanks
[09:57] Kennylex Luckless: Hello Avi.
[09:58] NikoKito Aries: welcome Avi
[09:58] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): We used to be feted... or something... ha ha ha...
[09:58] Holocluck Henly knows most of these people
[09:58] Justin Esparza: Good point, Holocluck!
[09:58] Gomi Mfume: ah! so this *is* torley torley?
[09:58] Kumi Kuhr: FIC ㋡
[09:58] Avi Arrow: hi to everyone
[09:58] Gomi Mfume: hiya
[09:58] Kumi Kuhr: FIC as feeves
[09:58] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Gomi, well my Resident alt, but yes, certainly.
[09:58] Tish (laetizia.coronet): LOL Torley
[09:58] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Cultural references!
[09:58] Francesca Alva: heheh - long time since I heard that
[09:58] Justin Esparza: Couple more minutes and then I'll give a quick intro.
[09:58] Rhiannon Chatnoir: not sure I ever met the resident alt, but good to see you again here Torley
[09:58] Holocluck Henly misses HBA...
[09:59] Marianne McCann: Me too, Doc
[09:59] Francesca Alva: you were already a Linden when I joined Torley
[09:59] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Used to be that Lindens couldn't/shouldn't disclose their alts due to charges of favoritism. Long time, long time.

one of Torley Linden's alt accounts

[09:59] Justin Esparza: 2:00am for HBA or he'd be here.
[09:59] Bixyl Shuftan: I think when we met Torley, it was because someone from the Discovery Channel was taking a look at the Gris.
[09:59] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): You too Rhiannon.
[09:59] Justin Esparza: Is that right...
[09:59] Justin Esparza: ?
[09:59] Justin Esparza: Hmmm?
[09:59] Justin Esparza: No he's later!
[09:59] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I have old pictures of many of you... haha... in my archives...
[09:59] Patch Lamington: hi avi
[09:59] Bixyl Shuftan: Grid, pardon my spilling.
[09:59] Justin Esparza: 6:00pm!
[09:59] Francesca Alva: hello Otenth
[09:59] Marianne McCann: Hey Otenth
[10:00] Otenth Håkon Paderborn (otenth.paderborn) waves to everyone
[10:00] Justin Esparza: Okay. Welcome everyone!
[10:00] Mossant Paravane waves
[10:00] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): still trying to figure out how to get my vewer larger on screen in mac
[10:00] NikoKito Aries: welcome Otenth
[10:00] NikoKito Aries (Q-Translator es->en): To welcome Tenth "," correction_type ": [1]}," server_time ": 15}
[10:00] Justin Esparza: Thank you all for coming together today to honor one of our friends, Osprey Therian.
[10:00] Kumi Kuhr: eek sorry LRacer!
[10:00] Justin Esparza: In the physical world was known as Vivian Kendall.
[10:01] Justin Esparza: You probably don't know me from Adam, but I am the creator behind the avatar Salazar Jack and the Forest of Kahruvel.
[10:01] Justin Esparza: My real name is Justin Esparza and I live in Washington State in the USA.
[10:02] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): HE IS EXPOSING HIMSELF!
[10:02] Ilianexsi Sojourner:
[10:02] Holocluck Henly notices it's a PG sim
[10:02] Kumi Kuhr: le gasp!
[10:02] Enjah (enjah.mysterio) faints
[10:02] Justin Esparza flashes for thecameras
[10:02] Marianne McCann: o.O
[10:02] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Think of the children!
[10:02] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): <.<
[10:02] Justin Esparza: I have known Osprey inworld since 2004.
[10:02] Tish (laetizia.coronet) covers Kennylex' eyes
[10:02] Holocluck Henly: actually your RL self bears a physical resemblance to sal except for the color
[10:02] Justin Esparza: But really only in Second Life.
[10:02] Lucy Tornado: lol
[10:03] Kennylex Luckless: I am just small ans silly, not a kid
[10:03] Justin Esparza: I did not know her really well in the physical world.
[10:03] Justin Esparza: But I have visited her in real life on three occasions.
[10:03] Justin Esparza: And she was just the same there as she was here.
[10:03] Francesca Alva: hello Wild
[10:03] Molly Montale: I watched a video an hour ago, and one of the first thinks I thought of was "I need to send this to Osprey, she'll really enjoy it".

Vivian and her avatar

[10:03] Justin Esparza: Behind me is a photo of Vivian with her Osprey Avatar.
[10:04] Justin Esparza: And a photo of her as a little girl.
[10:04] Justin Esparza: Even at that age she was 100% Osprey, right?
[10:04] Robin Sojourner nods
[10:04] Lucy Tornado: she was
[10:04] Kumi Kuhr for sure
[10:04] Marianne McCann: mmmhm!
[10:04] Ilianexsi Sojourner:
[10:04] Lucy Tornado: a warrior
[10:04] Justin Esparza: You can click on the photo box and get some items that you can use today, if you don't have them already.
[10:05] Marianne McCann: Welcome, Prokofy
[10:05] Arrehn Oberlander: An adventurer
[10:05] Francesca Alva: hello Prok
[10:05] Justin Esparza: One is a notecard with some info about Vivian/Osprey.
[10:05] Justin Esparza: There are her Moth wings.
[10:05] Prokofy Neva: Hello
[10:05] NikoKito Aries: welcome Prokofy
[10:05] NikoKito Aries (Q-Translator es->en): Prokofy welcome
[10:05] Justin Esparza: Which you can also see behind you on the hill by Zayn Till.
[10:06] Justin Esparza: There is a landmark to the Iris Infohub.
[10:06] Justin Esparza: And a copy of this photo.
[10:06] Marianne McCann: Hey Thea
[10:06] Thea (theadee): Hi Marianne
[10:07] Justin Esparza: I think it was Holocluck who first suggested that he might wear her wings today and that lead me to think we could all do it as a trubute at the end of this gathering and fly up north to the Iris Infohub together.
[10:07] Tish (laetizia.coronet) whispers: (31 avis)
[10:07] Justin Esparza: Osprey would always do that on her rez day.
[10:07] Object owned by Justin Esparza. gave you 'Vivian Kendall/Osprey Therian Memorial Sat Dec 14 10am SLT' ( http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bodega/224/139/23 ).
[10:07] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:08] Justin Esparza: This land herre has been used by Osprey for as long as I can remember.
[10:08] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): yes she never moved
[10:08] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): was amazing to me
[10:08] Justin Esparza: I met with her about a month ago in real life and she wanted to know if I was interested in taking over her Art Westerburg account.
[10:08] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): YAY ART WE WANT ART
[10:09] Justin Esparza: Art's account is a lifetime account and controls almost all of the land here.
[10:09] Lucy Tornado: up with art!
[10:09] Francesca Alva: welcome back Holo
[10:09] Justin Esparza: So I said I would and keep her land herre as long as I could.
[10:09] Zayn Till: ART!!!!
[10:09] Holocluck Henly: ty. you had to mention me lol
[10:09] Holocluck Henly: (hope this is all going to be transcribed)
[10:10] Justin Esparza: We also talked about the legacy of the Osprey Therian avatar.
[10:10] Bixyl Shuftan: (yes I am taking notes Holo)
[10:10] NikoKito Aries: Thanks Bixyl
[10:10] Bixyl Shuftan: welcome
[10:10] Justin Esparza: And she was excited about having her avatar continue on as part of the world after she was gone.
[10:10] Holocluck Henly: Art = the giant Maria too?
[10:10] Lucy Tornado: that was brilliant
[10:11] Justin Esparza: So we decided to try and do that and pattern her activity a bit after Magellan Linden's.
[10:11] Kumi Kuhr: what a wonderful idea
[10:11] Marianne McCann nods in agreement
[10:11] Robin Sojourner: Thanks, Justin.
[10:11] Holocluck Henly: here here!
[10:11] Justin Esparza: It is my understanding that she has formally included these things in her will and I will be meeting with her executor later this month to begin that process.
[10:12] Molly Montale: I remember when There closed. Osprey felt very badly that her avatar could no longer exist
[10:12] Justin Esparza: As I want to work with Linden Lab, if possible, to accomplish that.
[10:12] Lucy Tornado: yes!
[10:12] Kumi Kuhr: it'll be a new situation for LL
[10:12] Justin Esparza: My first memory of Osprey was a photo she posted online in the Second Life forums.
[10:12] Marianne McCann: Same, I s'pect, in Glitch Molly.
[10:13] Rhiannon Chatnoir: there has been some passing on of assets/land before, certainly when The Sojourner passed on.. at the time Pathfinder who was still a Linden helped in that process
[10:13] Patch Lamington: I 'knew' osprey from her photos before I had my own rezday... when I was checking out SL
[10:13] Justin Esparza: She was exploring a cave in the Stinson region that my avatar, Salazar Jack, and another friend, Champie Jack, has discovered.
[10:13] Patch Lamington: her sailing photos always mesmerized me
[10:14] Justin Esparza: She posted a photo of herself wavng from the entrance to the cave and said that she was wearing steel-toed boots to protect her feet.
[10:14] Rhiannon Chatnoir: Patch, yes she went on these epic saling journies and documented her travels of the Linden waterways
[10:14] Justin Esparza: It was a runnign joke with us after that.
[10:14] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I was often inspired by Os' photos of eclectic and bizarre attractions in SL... pieces of our unique culture here. Does anyone else remember her Roadside Attractions exhibit?
[10:15] Justin Esparza: I loved her sailing expeditions.
[10:15] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yes Torley
[10:15] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): I DO remember yes
[10:15] Marianne McCann: Hey Fenix, Stroker, Mami.
[10:15] Ilianexsi Sojourner: I always enjoyed the photo contests at the gallery.
[10:15] Fenix Eldritch: Heya
[10:15] NikoKito Aries: yes remember
[10:15] Kumi Kuhr: hey Stroker ㋡
[10:15] Holocluck Henly: I was a noob when I found out about the photo contests and that's how I knew her
[10:15] Marianne McCann: Ilianexsi - that was when I first got to know Osprey. That and attending TSMGO
[10:15] Justin Esparza: I don't tink I saw the whole exhibit, but i have seen individual pieces of it.

Stroker Serpentine

[10:15] Stroker Serpentine: Hi Kumi
[10:15] Rhiannon Chatnoir: and the photo studio and book shop her and Enjah ran.. and those monthly contests where she would set up dioramas
[10:16] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): Osprey Therian = Force of Nature
[10:16] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I thought about road trips and the kinds of unexpected landmarks you might see across the territory... and that kept me coming back for exploration inworld, so Os was a very positive influence on my early days inworld.
[10:16] Justin Esparza: I will be keeping a permanent page for Vivian/Osprey at http://kahruvel.com/vivian.html
[10:16] Monty Talbot seconds "Osprey Therian = Force of Nature"
[10:17] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Yep.
[10:17] Kumi Kuhr: bookmarked, Justin
[10:17] Marianne McCann: Oh my yes
[10:17] Monty Talbot: absolutely Enjah
[10:17] Justin Esparza: At some point I will make it so one can add a comment to it directly.
[10:17] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): what will happen to her blog, Justin?
[10:17] NikoKito Aries: yes please
[10:17] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): www.atomic-raygun.com
[10:17] Tish (laetizia.coronet): oh dear the vehicle/me petitions SL for an Osprey sim if not already done
[10:17] Tish (laetizia.coronet): oops
[10:17] Justin Esparza: But for now, you can send me a comment and I will make sure and post it there.
[10:18] Tish (laetizia.coronet) petitions SL for an Osprey sim if not already done
[10:18] Justin Esparza: I don't know about her atomic-raygun.com blog, Enjah. I don't have access to that I don't think.
[10:18] Justin Esparza: Unless the computer she gave me can give access.
[10:18] Justin Esparza: I will check that out.
[10:18] Holocluck Henly: Does she own the domain? Maybe that's in her will as well
[10:18] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): I am sure it will in her blogger profile
[10:19] Rhiannon Chatnoir: yeah was wondering on that, some of it is on blogger, which will most likely stay, but anything that had hosting paid for it will probably go after awhile
[10:19] Justin Esparza: It may be. i will make sure to research that.
[10:19] Justin Esparza: Good points!
[10:19] Holocluck Henly: Well if it's hers then it can be transfered over.
[10:20] Holocluck Henly: at least long enough to acquire and archive
[10:20] Kumi Kuhr: Justin, I have a link to pix of the 2010 Duck Prank that Os organised for Lucy Tornado: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10238602@N06/sets/72157623528556231/
[10:20] Holocluck Henly:
[10:20] Lucy Tornado: *blush*
[10:20] Kumi Kuhr: it was such a hoot
[10:20] Ilianexsi Sojourner: That was awesome.
[10:20] Holocluck Henly: ducks have their own group too
[10:20] Justin Esparza: She has given me access to Osprey, Art both verbally and in emails. And she willed her computer to me. Which I have just set up.
[10:20] Lucy Tornado: ~*~OMG~*~ it was
[10:20] Justin Esparza: Thanks, Kumi.
[10:21] Kumi Kuhr: OMG Os is really going to live on
[10:21] Kumi Kuhr: in spirit
[10:21] Justin Esparza: But I will have to wait to talk with her executor to get the details.

a new team of typists are taking over

[10:21] Justin Esparza: Oh!
[10:21] Justin Esparza: Also...
[10:22] Justin Esparza: Tommorrow at 10:00 am SLT. The Osprey Therian character will be going through the unstable portal in the Rodeo region to search for Salazar Jack.
[10:22] Enjah (enjah.mysterio) is happy and sad all at the same time
[10:22] Lucy Tornado: me too!
[10:22] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Me too.
[10:22] Holocluck Henly: hugs Enjah
[10:22] Justin Esparza: So yes, her adventures will be continuing in a tangible way as well.
[10:22] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): That's so beautiful and fitting. The voyage continues.
[10:23] Francesca Alva nods
[10:23] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): yes she loved searching for people
[10:23] Tish (laetizia.coronet): second life, literally
[10:23] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): hehe third life
[10:23] Justin Esparza: And, sometime next year, there will be more activity all around.
[10:23] Tish (laetizia.coronet): right you are!
[10:23] Lucy Tornado: a new phase
[10:24] Holocluck Henly: Maybe something special for Nova's 10th?
[10:24] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:24] Justin Esparza: Does anyone have any questions that I might have missed or that I can possibly answer?
[10:24] Justin Esparza is not a touch typist
[10:24] NikoKito Aries: good idea Holo
[10:24] NikoKito Aries (Q-Translator es->en): good idea to Holo
[10:24] Prokofy Neva: Did you get the Lindens to allow you to continue her avatar?
[10:24] Justin Esparza: Yes, Holo, great idea!
[10:24] Stroker Serpentine: wb Rhiannon
[10:24] Holocluck Henly: Os used to organize the anniversary parades till she couldn't any longer it would be a perfect tribute
[10:25] Justin Esparza: I will have to contact them to find out, Prokofy.
[10:25] Lucy Tornado: she loved/loves parades!
[10:25] Prokofy Neva: Surely they will understand
[10:25] Kumi Kuhr: I'd just like to say what an amazing woman to have gathered such a divergent bunch of people ㋡
[10:25] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Ah! Justin, if you happen to find Os' Foot B Gone spray in her bequeathed inventory, can you please send me a copy? I was looking for it in my inventories but didn't find it.
[10:25] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Let me know if I... er Torley Linden... can do anything to help with that communication.
[10:25] Lucy Tornado: hahahahahaha
[10:25] Justin Esparza: The TOS does state that there has to be written permission from them to transfer an account.
[10:25] Patch Lamington: I wondered if we could submit pics for a show at the art gallery? don't know who has access for theland... but perhaps people might like to pick out one photo from their inventory?
[10:25] Tish (laetizia.coronet): I'll write the permission no problem
[10:25] Justin Esparza: So I will go down that path and see where it leads.
[10:26] Lucy Tornado: she could have a whole museum of brilliant creations
[10:26] Justin Esparza: I will Torley, yes.
[10:26] Kumi Kuhr: I'd love to give you a pic to display Patch
[10:26] Lucy Tornado: foot be gone reminds me of the spray can of STOP IT
[10:26] Ilianexsi Sojourner: That's a cool idea.
[10:26] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): In 2005 (long before any of this fancy Advanced Lighting Model stuff), I griped about the ugly avatar foot shadows and Os manifested a cure.
[10:26] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): That's some context.
[10:26] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Thanks Justin!
[10:26] NikoKito Aries: or a foundation with her name
[10:26] Lucy Tornado: lmao
[10:26] Marianne McCann: I beliebe I have some zom-b-gone here somewhere
[10:26] Mossant Paravane: We had such a great time working on Nova's 5th parade...Osprey has a wonderful video on her YouTube channel. Would be nice if we could honor her at the 10th.
[10:26] Holocluck Henly: lol
[10:26] Justin Esparza: And thanks, Torley. I will contact Torley Linden to get some bearings on that.
[10:26] Lucy Tornado: that was useful too
[10:27] Prokofy Neva: I must put up a photo display of our early Moth Swarms that was fun, Osprey made this Moth Staff for me, look at the level of detail, even little moth feathers
[10:27] Holocluck Henly: i love that video
[10:27] Molly Montale: my b-gone is no transfer
[10:27] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): mine too
[10:27] Vick Forcella: Looks amazing prok
[10:27] Ilianexsi Sojourner: I have the lantern she made, with the moths that come out at night.
[10:27] Justin Esparza: Patch, do you mean Osprey's photo studio in Grignano, Nova Albion?
[10:27] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Thanks for checking Molly!
[10:27] Prokofy Neva: She especially made those lamps for the Iris Moth Temple when the Lindens' lanterns disappeared mysteriously
[10:27] Patch Lamington: yes...
[10:28] Patch Lamington: I drove there today.
[10:28] Justin Esparza: The land is controlled by avatars I created.
[10:28] Justin Esparza: So yes, that is possible.
[10:28] Lucy Tornado: LOL monty, from the raindrops act
[10:29] Monty Talbot: my small tribute
[10:29] Justin Esparza: Prokofy, I love what you and Osprey did up in Iris to preserve and promote that area. Well done!
[10:29] Tish (laetizia.coronet): (34 in sim)
[10:29] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): anyone remember the UN-Linden Cards she made?
[10:29] Vick Forcella: Moth is truely Amazing
[10:30] Justin Esparza: A nice number, Tish.
[10:30] Prokofy Neva: It's jessica Ornitz's build and Osprey helped early on and then later when the lanterns disappeared
[10:30] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Yes Enjah!
[10:30] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Yeah, the Moth Temple is such a fantastic place.
[10:30] Rhiannon Chatnoir: And, I still own the old cathedral in Darkwood, you are all welcome to light a candle there for Osprey
[10:30] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I remember when that northern area was first opened up and anew... my gosh. Flashbacks!
[10:30] NikoKito Aries: good place
[10:30] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): thanks Rhiannon!
[10:30] Marianne McCann: I still have an un linden card or two. I think the dispenser used to be over at TSMGO
[10:30] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Heterocera Atoll...
[10:30] Justin Esparza: A small sampling of Vivian Kendall's real life artwork is just up the hill here in a small gallery that Osprey created.
[10:30] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): yes
[10:30] Marianne McCann: Still have her ol roadside attractions plate and cup out, too.
[10:31] Francesca Alva: I have her runestones
[10:31] Holocluck Henly: flying from here to the temple is nothing
[10:31] Holocluck Henly: btw
[10:31] Rhiannon Chatnoir: I still have a notecard from her of her artist's statement from the first relay for life where I curated an art auction and had some of her work in it
[10:31] Molly Montale: the hitch-hiker's sign
[10:31] Enjah (enjah.mysterio) remembers when Osprey wanted her to make an avatar named Ted Wingnut, who made the pencil tree, supposedly
[10:31] Lucy Tornado: oh yes
[10:32] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): I happened to see Magellan Linden the other day, maybe Os and he will team up on some dynamic duo adventures! Like comic book crossovers.
[10:32] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): MAGELLAN?!?!?!?
[10:32] Holocluck Henly:
[10:32] Justin Esparza: That would be soooo awesome, torley!
[10:32] Francesca Alva: ㋡
[10:32] Mossant Paravane: That would be fantastic!
[10:32] Rhiannon Chatnoir: heh Torley
[10:32] Fenix Eldritch: Long time no see, Amulius
[10:32] Molly Montale: keep them away from the rum
[10:32] RacerX Gullwing: Well I'm sorry but I have to go. Thanks for doing all this Salazar Jack and everyone. I have a giant snail race I haveto get too. Osprey was one of our early snails 2004 2005 I hope she wont mind if I run off good seeing you everyone
[10:32] Holocluck Henly: Heya Fenix ltns to you too
[10:33] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): bye Racer!
[10:33] Justin Esparza: Thanks RacerX!
[10:33] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): good seeing you
[10:33] Marianne McCann: Take care, Racer
[10:33] Lucy Tornado: bye Racer
[10:33] Francesca Alva: •·.·´¯`·.·• Bye Bye! •·.·´¯`·.·•
[10:33] Francesca Alva: Racer
[10:33] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): RacerX my goodness, it's been ages! Take care.
[10:33] Kumi Kuhr: good racing Racer!
[10:33] Gomi Mfume: take care, racerx
[10:33] Stroker Serpentine: Cya Racer
[10:33] Patch Lamington: bye raacer
[10:33] Holocluck Henly: later racer
[10:33] Rhiannon Chatnoir: so good to see you Racer
[10:33] Lucy Tornado: kumi are you racing?
[10:33] Bixyl Shuftan: see you Racer
[10:33] Kumi Kuhr: not today Lucy
[10:33] NikoKito Aries: take care
[10:33] Frans Charming: Take care racer
[10:33] Holocluck Henly: I've taken to being a spectator will wait for the video this week
[10:33] Tish (laetizia.coronet): I'll be off soon, I'm hearing kitchen sounds (dinner time here)
[10:33] Lucy Tornado: tsk tsk
[10:34] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): and here it is lunch time so I will have to depart as well
[10:34] Kumi Kuhr: shall we all have a fly before we bye?
[10:34] Justin Esparza: One of my favorite memories is participating in The Show Must Go On that first year. as Salazar Jack.
[10:34] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): Justin, this was wonderful
[10:34] Lucy Tornado: oh yes
[10:34] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:34] Holocluck Henly likes the video with sal and os dancing
[10:34] Lucy Tornado: that was amazing
[10:34] Prokofy Neva: yes I remember that show
[10:34] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): TSMGO was a huge high point of my life
[10:34] Lucy Tornado: we were terrified
[10:34] Marianne McCann: TSMGO was amazing
[10:34] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:34] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): I would be there with my entire screen filled with windows, trying to keep it together
[10:34] Justin Esparza: Let's go ahead and don our moth wings for those that are flying up to the Iris Moth Temple...
[10:34] Prokofy Neva: Where did you see Magellan?
[10:34] Lucy Tornado: yes
[10:34] Kumi Kuhr: I loved my short time with TSMGO
[10:35] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): I will fly with you then I have to go
[10:35] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:35] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): Another memory I have is Os doing Combat Cards with Doc Boffin, I happened to drop by in an arena match...
[10:35] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): oh yes
[10:35] Marianne McCann: That, the parades, and the photo gallery taught me so much about the world and it's possibilities.
[10:35] Tish (laetizia.coronet): have a safe flight everyone, and thank you Justin for doing all this
[10:35] Holocluck Henly: I've hoverboarded from here before. we use the passage at purple. many people here know it too
[10:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: nod yes
[10:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: I am on a card!
[10:35] Prokofy Neva: I have osprey's moth feelers too if you want
[10:35] Giant Moth: Press the FLY button at the bottom of your screen and use keyboard ARROWS and PAGE-UP to move. Right-click to COPY these wings and drag out from INVENTORY to WEAR.
[10:35] Rhiannon Chatnoir: she included her friends as much as she could in her adventures
[10:36] Marianne McCann: Please, Prokofy
[10:36] Justin Esparza: Oh yes, Prokofy. I do want!
[10:36] Justin Esparza: Thanks.
[10:36] Tish (laetizia.coronet): Fly on, little wing... I'm offline.
[10:36] Rhiannon Chatnoir: and never lost this amazing sense of exploration and play
[10:36] Vick Forcella: tc Tish
[10:36] Lucy Tornado: bye tish
[10:36] Marianne McCann: Take care, Tish
[10:36] Prokofy Neva: I will put them out in Iris
[10:36] Justin Esparza: Three cheers for Osprey!
[10:36] Monty Talbot: UNCLE JACK !
[10:36] Justin Esparza: Hip hip...
[10:36] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): HIP HIP HOORAY!
[10:36] Kumi Kuhr shouts: hip hip hooray!
[10:36] Molly Montale: \o/
[10:36] Torley Sr. (torley.olmstead): HOORAY!
[10:36] Ilianexsi Sojourner: Hooray!
[10:36] Prokofy Neva: hip hip hooray!
[10:36] Lucy Tornado: hip hip hooray
[10:36] Vick Forcella: Hooray!
[10:36] Monty Talbot: HORAY
[10:36] Enjah (enjah.mysterio): YAYAYYYYYY
[10:36] Patch Lamington: ooray!
[10:36] Molly Montale: *:-.,_,.-:*'``'*Yayyyyyyy!!!!*:-.,_,.-:*'``'*
[10:36] Marianne McCann shouts: Hooooray!
[10:36] Justin Esparza: hip hip hooray!

One ex-player hopes for $60,000 USD refund as class action settlement mandates payments to exiles

Over the last several days, players banned from the Second Life virtual world have begun receiving notification of a proposed class action settlement (full text here) which will pay the involuntary exiles for their virtual land and both the USD and L$ spacebux currency in their accounts. The former players also have the option of either accepting a $15 USD payment for their inventory of virtual goods, or selling the  goods on Linden Lab's Marketplace web site.

For those who dabbled in virtual land on a large scale, Linden Lab's $1000 USD sim setup fee will be refunded. With refunds for virtual land holdings set at L$ 2/square meter, and the exchange rate set L$ 252 per USD, payouts for virtual land barons could be significant. Those who formerly owned entire sims are looking at refunds of about $1500 for a sim -- each sim is 65,536 square meters in area.

  Philip Rosedale and Linden Research admit no wrongdoing, but are willing to settle

I contacted former land baron Intlibber Brautigan - who was suddenly banned in 2009 while in possession of ~40 sims. Mr. Brautigan did some back of the envelope calculations and said, "Excellent. So that's 42 sims, times 1000 bucks plus 130k L$. So that's almost 60K US I'll get just for the sims".

Intlibber Brautigan

Brautigan went on to say that the money will be shared with shareholders in his former Second Life ventures:

If I am able to recover money from this settlement, it will be divided among BNT shareholders, BNT Financial shareholders and ACE shareholders, according to their last recorded portfolio holding at the time our assets and accounts were stolen by LL. I thank all our shareholders for their patience in the past few years as this legal process has run its course, and their faith that I have always acted in their best interest to the best of my abilities.

As for his personal share of the refund, and his attitude toward Linden Lab, Brautigan told me,

My share of the settlement money, minus shareholders portion, will be invested in my new virtual world project designed to put SL out of business. Any other persons interested in investing in this goal are encouraged to contact me on Facebook.

Mr. Brautigan's  Ancapistan Capital Exchange group on Facebook is here.

Masakazu Kojima

I was first alerted to the class action settlement Friday afternoon by Masakasu Kojima who said she had around $500 USD in her account after being threatened and then struck by Linden Lab's ban hammer.

Ms. Kojima also told me at least one of the infamous Voted5 group had also been contacted via e-mail about the settlement. Given the freewheeling approach to banning accounts practiced by Linden Lab, we can only speculate on how many others players are yet to be contacted.

There are also questions about how players' virtual goods inventory will be sold. Who sets the price - the owner of the goods, or Linden Lab? Or will there be an auction? Perhaps a special section in the Marketplace for sales of rare and collectable virtual goods from banned players? This might help maximize the potential revenue from the sales, and benefit the Lab by increasing demand for  L$ spacebux.

Ms. Kojima also wondered how the SL digital rights management system would affect inventory sales and asked, "What about notrans (no-transfer) stuff? What about copyable stuff? Do they sell stuff you made full permissions?".

But the biggest question is whether Linden Lab will provide refunds to those banned after the class action enrollment period ends.

As a matter of basic fairness, we can hope the game gods have learned a lesson in fair play.  If not,  should players continue to expect to fight multi-year legal battles to force  the Lab to respect basic property rights?

$15 for all your virtual wares - except for DMCA'ed and copybotted goods

Why does everyone hate my video?

Strategic blunder is probably the best description of the last week's decision to publish Jessica Tozer's 30 minute interview with General Keith Alexander on YouTube. What were they thinking?

After the strangely-edited video was placed in the free-fire zone of open public YouTube ratings, the General has been subjected to continuous withering enemy fire from viewers. Apparently  Keith "collect-it-all" Alexander's vision of NSA unconstitutional blanket surveillance is not popular. As of this writing, the video has 247 "likes" and 14,889 dislikes. 

Doesn't Alexander have someone in PR to advise against this sort of doomed propaganda social media outreach? With a 98% downvote rating, the NSA will need more than a oddly-staged video with narco-ambient background music to persuade the public.

Or is this part of an effort to throw Alexander under the bus? Cowboy Keith seems to have some enemies in the security establishment based on a recent less-than-complimentary piece in Foreign Policy. A convenient scapegoat might be useful to distract the public from deeper systemic issues.

Alexander poses with his co-star: a yellow extension cord

Even after putting aside the motivation for the video, I was left with questions. It would be interesting to know why someone couldn't find a better chair for the General Alexander to perch on for this video. I understand Alexander enjoys the Star Trek motif at Fort Belvoir's "Information Dominance Center", but his chair in this video is less than impressive.

I'd also like to know why yellow extension cord on the floor is effectively a co-star in the video. The yellow power cord appears frequently as the camera pans back and the editors try to vary the scene without ever showing Ms. Tozer speaking.

YouTube voting irregularities?

Despite an overwhelmingly negative reaction from YouTube viewers, a certain amount of paranoia has been evident in the comments, along with some odd fluctuations in the voting. If you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear - unless you are critical of the current regime.

time to rally the Booz Allen contractors for more upvotes?

While it was recently announced that Gen. Alexander is planning to retire from the NSA next year, and despite the undeniable allure of the private security contractor revolving door, we can hope that the General can find time to join forces with Rebecca Black to sing a "Friday" duet.

Just think of the YouTube ratings they could achieve.

I realized something was terribly wrong when The Herald's electronic press fell *out of sync* with the soothing retro-euro-disco thump of Daft Punk's Random Access Memories playing in the editorial offices.

Normally the technical staff are careful to avoid harshing the mellow of the writers, but now the clatter of the press was fighting a winning battle against the sound of a Moog module synced to the click track in "Giorgio by Moroder". I didn't even want to think about what might happen by the time "Get Lucky" rolled around.

A familiar voice could be heard yelling "THIS SHIT WILL NOT STAND!" from the machine room as a mob of enraged engineers chanted

WTF? NSA?
WTF!! NSA!!
GIMPED ELLIPTIC CURVE CYPTO?
NO FUCKING WAY!!!

The chaotic cacophony of enraged engineers completely overwhelmed Daft Punk when the door opened and the mob spilled into the offices brandishing cross-compilers, git repos, malformed packets, Macbook Pros, and carpal tunnel wrist braces - the tools of their trade.

I put down the copy of Vanity Fair I had been reading. A tall black-clad figure marched across the newsroom and slammed an iPad on my desk, nearly upsetting my glass of coconut water. "Did you see this shit, Pix?"

Smiling sweetly, I asked, "Is there something wrong, Mark?", then glanced at the iPad and frowned. Mark McCahill - one the the Herald's technical staff - had been reading The Guardian again.

I was eventually able to shoo the other engineers back to work with the promise that I would talk to McCahill and see if there might be a coherent story for Herald readers - but I had my doubts.

We'd been through this scene before. Over the summer, as whistleblower Edward Snowden's leaks corroded what little remaining credibility the Obama regime might have, the engineers grew increasingly angry. Strangely enough, most engineers want to build systems that benefit society, believe in the rule of law, and even take constitutional privacy protections seriously. Who knew?

The best approach calm the situation seemed to be an interview, so I invited the ponytailed binary boy to have a seat.

Pixeleen Mistral: So what is it this time?
Mark McCahill: The NSA and GCHQ have been intentionally gimping the crypto standards for the Internet, strong arming IT vendors into releasing products with security-defeating backdoors, and running man-in-the middle attacks. This sort of thing destroys the foundations of trust and commerce on the Internet. It is so bad that Bruce Schneier - one of the gods of cryptography - sent out the bat signal last week. Bruce is calling for the November IETF internet standards meeting to hold an emergency session to figure out how to fix what the NSA has broken. It's time to take the Internet back.

Pixeleen Mistral: Well everybody knows that the NSA spies.
Mark McCahill: Sure, but we now know unethical engineers and out of control government agencies have been doing what we had suspected - intentionally weakening the security systems the internet uses. And they did this so they can spy on everyone, everywhere via the sort of dragnet surveillance that requires building enormous data centers at great expense. The only people that benefit from this are power freaks in the government, their contractors, and corrupt politicians that approve NSA overreach and are rewarded with campaign contributions from the contractors. This is the sort of positive feedback loop of corruption that Lawrence Lessig has been warning about for years.

Pixeleen Mistral: Why do you think they are doing that?
Mark McCahill: Arrogance combined with stupidity. The NSA assumed that nobody would find the backdoors they introduced - a very dangerous assumption given how poorly they protect their secrets. I'd like to see the risk analysis the NSA did when they started down this path - if they even bothered. Based on what I have read about NSA leader 'Cowboy' Keith Alexander, cost/benefit analysis is just not how he rolls. I can't even begin to guess what this will cost the USA's I.T. industry in lost sales. So chalk it up to delusional leadership. Take a look at Tom Englehardt's "And Then There Was One" piece - it explains a lot about the political dementia of the USA.

Pixeleen Mistral: Ok I can see the arrogance part, but where is the stupidity?
Mark McCahill: The NSA doesn't even know exactly which documents Snowden took, which is obvious because each time the NSA denies something, the denial is shown to be a lie by the next leak. Seems like the NSA have weak internal security, doesn't it? Aren't they supposed to be good at this sort of thing?

The head of the NSA - General Keith Alexander - says he is going to use automation to get rid of 90% of the 1000 system administrators the NSA has to prevent another Edward Snowden-style leak. If they can really automate systems that much, why haven't they done so already? Was cowboy Keith worried about upsetting the gravy train for NSA contractors like Booz Allen Hamilton? Sounds to me like the NSA has way too much money to throw around. This looks like a bad case of outsourcing and consultants run wild.

Pixeleen Mistral: How so?
Mark McCahill: A classic failure mode for I.T. projects occurs when you bring in "visionary" consultants who then expand the scope of the project to build a bigger empire and run up more billable hours.

Foreign Policy has a great story about how Alexander rose to power and built his empire. Foreign Policy says Alexander hired a Hollywood set designer to make his Fort Belvoir "Information Dominance Center" look like the bridge of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek to impress members of congress when they came through on tours. Sound familiar?

Pixeleen Mistral: Sounds like those Justice League Unlimited guys who were spying their way through Second Life a few years ago. I've got a picture here somewhere...

Would Keith Alexander would approve of the JLU command center? yes.

Mark McCahill: They wanted to connect the dots too, didn't they? That Foreign Policy article has a great passage that raises questions about how effective Alexander's dragnet surveillance fetish really is in 'fighting terrorism':

When he ran INSCOM and was horning in on the NSA's turf, Alexander was fond of building charts that showed how a suspected terrorist was connected to a much broader network of people via his communications or the contacts in his phone or email account.

"He had all these diagrams showing how this guy was connected to that guy and to that guy," says a former NSA official who heard Alexander give briefings on the floor of the Information Dominance Center. "Some of my colleagues and I were skeptical. Later, we had a chance to review the information. It turns out that all [that] those guys were connected to were pizza shops."

…

A retired military officer who worked with Alexander also describes a "massive network chart" that was purportedly about al Qaeda and its connections in Afghanistan. Upon closer examination, the retired officer says, "We found there was no data behind the links. No verifiable sources. We later found out that a quarter of the guys named on the chart had already been killed in Afghanistan."

Pixeleen Mistral: i c
Mark McCahill: Are Keith Alexander and his boss James Clapper competent at anything other than empire building? You really should read that Foreign Policy profile of Alexander. Check out the money quotes about Alexander and Heath - his semi-tame techie sidekick:

"Heath was at Alexander's side for the expansion of Internet surveillance under the PRISM program. Colleagues say it fell largely to him to design technologies that tried to make sense of all the new information the NSA was gobbling up. But Heath had developed a reputation for building expensive systems that never really work as promised and then leaving them half-baked in order to follow Alexander on to some new mission.

"He moved fairly fast and loose with money and spent a lot of it," the retired officer says. "He doubled the size of the Information Dominance Center and then built another facility right next door to it. They didn't need it. It's just what Heath and Alexander wanted to do." The Information Operations Center, as it was called, was underused and spent too much money, says the retired officer. "It's a center in search of a customer."

...

"There's two ways of looking at these guys," the retired military officer says. "Two visionaries who took risks and pushed the intelligence community forward. Or as two guys who blew a monumental amount of money."

Pixeleen Mistral: So what is next?
Mark McCahill: Well, the NSA will have a hard time offering any advice to standards committees - who would trust them now? A lot of effort will go into re-doing the security and privacy underpinnings of the Internet, now that we know the spy agencies are completely out of control. 

In terms of technical strategy, since the NSA is treating the public as an adversary, look for serious work on privacy and anonymity-preserving standards designed for anyone to use. I'd love to see robust IPSec and TOR built into everyone's home WIFI router.

Pixeleen Mistral: what do you say to readers who are skeptical that the NSA and spy communities are a problem?
Mark McCahill: The best response is something Glenn Greenwald said a while ago. Google 'the Church committee, FBI, and Martin Luther King" and tell me what you find. 

Pixeleen Mistral: what have I missed? Is there anything else you want to share with the Herald readers?
Mark McCahill: It's been real Pix, and now I see what Urizenus meant about being 'self-identical'.

Pixeleen Mistral: I know what you mean - now can you get back to the machine room and get that press back in sync? Get Lucky is going to start playing any minute, and I have stories to write.
 

The former game god attempted to make the best of a bad situation by marveling that there are still active players in the game - not an uncommon sentiment, but perhaps not the most politic thing to admit.

Philip Rosedale: gob smacked by Second Life trouble?

"That was crazy painful. I guess my first thought is, its so inspiring what a great community we've still got here, even with - I mean look at me, I'm the guy who created this thing and it just took me an hour to get this working" - Philip Rosedale

The strangely pale and wax-like Rosedale appears to have been suffering from life-threatening blood loss at the fangs of in-world vampires -- or possibly from some bad decisions in his avatar skin and animation selections. Previous incarnations of Philip look significantly more lively.

sparkle-crotch biker-bar Philip poses, circa 2010

Apollo Manga's 30 minute video documents Rosedale's visit to the Second Life for an interview by Emcee Widget as part of the festivities surrounding Burn 2 - a virtual Burning Man celebration held in-world. 

Formerly known in Second Life as Philip Linden, Rosedale recently left Linden Lab and launched HighFidelity - a new venture that may someday be a competing platform.

Now that he is no longer on Linden Lab's staff, Rosedale was forced to drop the "Linden" last name which denotes staff members. But Rosedale still has some pull, since he was not forced to use the standard-issue "Resident" last name, and instead is the only Second Life player with Rosedale as a last name.

only one player with the last name Rosedale

Rosedale's struggles could explain a problem that Hamlet "Hammie" Au of the Linden Lab fanboy site New World Notes is concerned about - falling revenue due to declining numbers of players willing to pay eye-watering sums for virtual land in the game.

However, another school of thought believes that if Linden Lab were to cut the prices on the 10-year old platform's main product, the invisible hand of the market might lead to more demand and greater total revenue - a concept that Hammie Au assures everyone will never occur.

My reluctant dance partner Hammie may be right, but something had better change soon, if the projections on Ener Hax's chart are at all accurate:

Ener Hax projects Second Life's decline

Meanwhile, I wonder if Philip Rosedale was sending a subliminal message with his new avatar's death-like pallor. Is this the end? Will we ever see Philip in drag or rocking the glitter crotch look again?

Philip Linden's everyday look in 2004

2004: Urizenus Sklar (left) interviews Philip Linden in drag (right) 

After reading the New York Times' revelation that the US government pays AT&T employees to sit with DEA and local law enforcement agents and query a phone record database "that contains the records of decades of Americans’ phone calls" and and adds four billion call records to the database every day, I began wondering what all this costs.

Based on public records, it appears that AT&T has been paid approximately $900,000/year by the Harris County, Texas Sheriff's Department over each of the last 5 years under a sole source agreement for services associated with "Operation Hemisphere". AP reports that the "federal government pays the salaries of four AT&T employees", but only one of these employees is in Texas, so the total cost of Operation Hemisphere remains unclear. Is AT&T also charging $900,000/year for each of the other 3 employees? In any case, there seems to be plenty of room for profit.

One of the Hemisphere training slides published by the NYT shows a total of 2770 requests for 2012. 

How confident can one be that AT&T is billing $900,000/year in Texas?

Experienced Internet Detectives agree - reading through the comments on most web sites risks permanently lowering your opinion of the collective intelligence of the public, but this risk is offset by an occasional surprisingly insightful gem. So I was delighted to come across a comment that points out Harris County budget public hearing notifications mention Operation Hemisphere -- and costs.

Didn't Harris County get the memo?

Spending a few minutes with a google search tailored to look through the http://www.co.harris.tx.us site for mention of Operation Hemisphere uncovered a wealth of public meeting notices with budget statements running back to 2008 -- and a neatly symmetric pattern of grants to the Sheriff's Department and matching sole source payments for professional services to AT&T.

While the NYT claims the formerly secret program reaches back 26 years, it appears AT&T is in a position to supply uniquely valuable information dating back decades, put the NSA's collect-it-all ambitions to shame, and profit handsomely while doing so. 

Unfortunately, this may also damage AT&T's reputation as pointed questions about 4th Amendment rights are raised, and an arrangement where records are released via administrative subpoena rather than via a judicial warrant could lead some to conclude that this is another example of unconstitutional government overreach. Certainly Tyler Durden over at ZeroHedge is not alone in concluding "America is now officially an authoritarian state, in which personal privacy no longer exists in any capacity, in which the public-private complex collaborates against its citizens without express prior public knowledge or permission".

Harris County details grants and sole source professional service payments

date	type	dollars	description
01/22/08	sole source services	$944,321	AT&T for purchase of service associated with Operation Hemisphere for the Sheriff’s Department for the period ending July 31, 2008 at an approximate cost of $944,321.
10/07/08	grant	$950,000	Accept additional 2008 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Grant funds from the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the amount of $950,000 to support the Houston Intelligence Support Center’s Operation Hemisphere to interdict illegal drug trafficking.
03/10/09	sole source services	$910,705	AT&T for intelligence services provided to the Intelligence Support Center, Operation Hemisphere Program, for the Sheriff's Department for the period of August 1, 2008-July 31, 2009 at an estimated cost of $910,705.
06/09/09	grant	$1,226,649	Accept 2009 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area grant funds in the total amount of $1,226,649 for the Major Drug Squad, Houston Money Laundering, Houston Intelligence Support Center, Truck, Air, Rail, and Port, Gang and Non-Traditional Gang Squad, and Houston Intelligence Support Center-Operation Hemisphere initiatives.
01/12/10	sole source services	$391,172	AT&T in the amount of $391,172 for Operation Hemisphere investigative services for the Sheriff's Department.
05/11/10	grant	$450,000	Accept an amendment to an agreement with the Office of National Drug Control Policy for 2009 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area supplemental grant funds in the amount of $450,000 for the Houston Intelligence Support Center-Operation Hemisphere Initiative.
07/27/10	sole source services	$469,407	AT&T in the amount of $469,407 for Operation Hemisphere investigative services for the Sheriff’s Department.
09/14/10	grant	$924,500	Accept 2010 High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Grant funds in the amount of $924,500 for the Operation Hemisphere initiative.
02/08/11	sole source services	$924,500	AT&T sole source for Operation Hemisphere, formerly Hudson Hawk, investigative services for the Sheriff’s Department in the amount of $924,500.
01/24/12	grant	$666,667	Accept High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Grant funds in the additional amount of $666,667 from the Office of National Drug Control Policy for the Houston Intelligence Support Center – Operation Hemisphere Initiative.
05/08/12	sole source services	$762,111	AT&T in the amount of $762,111 for Operation Hemisphere investigative services for the Sheriff’s Department for the period ending June 30, 2012.
11/06/12	grant	$373,795	An amendment to an agreement with the Office of National Drug Control Policy for additional High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Grant funds in the amount of $373,795 for the Houston Intelligence Support Center-Operation Hemisphere Initiative
01/29/13	sole source service	$373,795	AT&T in the amount of $373,795 sole source for Operation Hemisphere investigative services for the Sheriff’s Department for the period ending June 30, 2013.

I decided to join the Waze traffic map game on my new iPhone last week, after reading far too many stories moaning about how Apple should never have dropped Google Maps from the new version of iOS.  The general tone of the Apple Map coverage has been along the lines of ZOMG!!! My iPhone is ruined 4evah! the Apple Maps are wrong in some places! How will life be worth living without Google?!?

This coverage overlooks certain troubling aspects of Google, the wardriving WIFI snooping Internet ad agency that keeps telling itself don't be evil - then quietly overrides web browser privacy protections. I've been limiting my contact with all things Google after that unfortunate Google+ suspension that locked up my e-mail and data until Google eventually decided I was real after all.

GPS-enabled roleplay leads to live traffic and police sighting reports

So I'm fine with leaving Google Maps behind - especially now that I'm experiencing a whole new form of role play. I have spent most of the week playing the part of an autonomous techno-communist node in a network of mobile GPS sensors roaming real life's highways.

It's great! Not only do I get to play an open ended augmented reality MMORPG and contribute to the improvement of the human condition, I'm being rewarded with points and a rising ranking among the other players. In return for being tracked by my phone as I drive, I can level up and marvel at how my commute has been gameified.

Best of all, I am almost past the Waze noobie avatar look - a baby with a pacifier.

a selection of waze avatars - after your drive 100 miles

I've got my eye on some much more fashionable outfits, and hope someday I will be able to earn even better virtual clothes as I drive to work and report accidents and traffic backups - the fundamental form of gameplay in Waze. Why grind in WoW when you have to drive work anyway? If you are daring, you can text chat with other players, although I'm not sure how that could work if you are also supposed to be driving your car.

While the realtime traffic condition reports are quite good, I do think Waze could use a few of Second Life's fashion designers to help with the avatars. Aren't all avatars supposed to wear impossible spike heels and skankolicious outfits?

noobies with pacifiers and fashionistas on the mean streets of Durham, NC

Setting aside the virtual fashion scene and game play, Waze has an interesting business model that is something like a traffic oriented version of Wikipedia -- crowd sourcing both map updates and traffic reports. In contrast, Google throws money at the mapping problem by running dedicated Google cars wherever it can, but there are practical limits to how many cars Google can put on the roads. Waze should be able to compete with Google for at least map and traffic information at lower cost by crowd sourcing reports from people who were driving anyway.

I expect to be joined by quite a few more players, after Apple's Tim Cook mentioned mentioned last Friday that Waze is an alternative to Apple's iOS Map while the Foxconn smartphone and tablet reseller redraws their maps.

Now if we just had a real money trade for Waze points, I might be able to get that crown the cool players have a little sooner.

Early this week, Linden Lab destroyed the Sandvich region of Second Life and banned Sandvich land owner Sarilia Tryce and associates from the game, presumably in response to the Justice League Unlimited gang's favorite tactics: abuse report frenzy. The JLU and their allies were spurred into action as news spread of a terrifying situation at high altitude in Sandvich: a recreation of Fort Longcat - a virtual museum of PN, Soviet Woodbury, 4Chan /b/tard memes. Shock!!! Horrors!!!

outside Fort Longcat high above Sandvik sim

For the JLU, this sort of enemy sighting instantly leads to an unthinking knee jerk reaction - kill it with fire - regardless of the consequences. So while the Sandvich nuke job was initially hailed by JLU partisans, gradually the realization dawned that seizing property without compensation or explanation could lead to unfavorable publicity. Strangely, some believe property rights should extend to all.

Tizzers Foxchase [file photo]

Had the anti-griefers been trolled into damaging their beloved Lab's reputation by the notorious perma-banned Tizzers Foxchase and friends? Did the Woodbury/Wrong Hands/PN faction set up a win-win situation by promoting Second Life with a Steam-themed sim which could attract more players to their community - or embarrass the Lab if the ban hammer fell?

trouble in the sky?

Ms. Foxchase has now experienced 4 rounds of mass bans and sim deletions, so the end game for any visit to Rod Humble's platform for user-generated spooge palaces creativity  is clear - but what are the motivations?

I was able to explore some of these questions shortly after Sandvich fell off the world map in an exclusive interview with Ms. Foxchase as I looked over some pictures I had taken on a visit to the Sandvich sim fort Longcat re-creation a few weeks ago.

do you want to join the discussion?

While there were certainly portions of Fort Longcat that seem designed to offend - the room of flapping penises might not be the best advertisement for Second Life - I wonder if more traditional and well established top 20 SL attractions such as Bukkake Bliss Island will impress Linden Lab's new target market: Stream players. Why isn't the JLU working to improve SL's image where it really counts?

the garage in Fort Longcat: Kalel Venkman's JLU patrol car

As we discussed game governance, Tizzers told me her alt account Hissyfits Resident when deleted had $600 USD worth of mesh clothes - a sobering thought for any fashionista - but comforting to those who enjoy the long running Second Life meta-game: Authoritarian Kleptocracy.

You may wonder why Authoritarian Kleptocracy seems to be Linden Lab's favored form of governance, but it does make a certain amount of sense to those unconcerned with the rule-of-law and moving beyond a feudal society. Fear and intimidation -- do you really want to lose your virtual clothes? -- may well cut the costs of sandbox game governance, but at the cost of increased player cynicism and pointed questions about LL's new ventures.

Where will Rod Humble draw the line? Now that the Lab has released knock-off copies of Crayons Physics Deluxe and Minecraft, should we fear for our 2D-physics enabled iPad finger paintings and triangle-based constructions? With these thoughts in mind, I fired up my new Apple iMojoWire 5 for a chat with Tizzers.

Pixeleen Mistral: Ever since Linden Lab announced two new games - Createoverse and Patterns - I've been wondering about game gods' plan to handle governance across the product line. If you are banned in SL are you also banned in their other games? What if someone makes a naughty looking thing in Createoverse - will there be an adult Createoverse? 

Tizzers Foxchase: And the question beyond that is, if SL uses Steamcloud, will SL bans affect Steam accounts?

Pixeleen Mistral: getting back to the Sandvich situation, should we assume that Soft Linden is taking the virtual law into his own hands here - or was this a ban that went through normal channels?

Tizzers Foxchase: Generally mass wipes and sim nukes aren't done through normal channels.

Greetings,
This email is notification that Linden Lab has terminated your access to the Second Life virtual world due to severe or repeated violations of the Second Life Terms of Service or Community Standards which broadly interfere with or disrupt the Second Life community. Your account has been permanently disabled. Depending on the nature of the recorded violations, additional alternate or household accounts may also have been disabled.

The decision to terminate your Second Life access was reached after investigating your use of the Second Life software and service. If you would like to appeal your termination, you may contact Second Life Support, by creating a support ticket type of "Abuse Appeal" on support.second life.com.

Sincerely,
Linden Lab

defending the world from furry scum

Pixeleen Mistral: I think you guys are clearly the record holders for sim-smackdowns

Tizzers Foxchase: for the record, I have about 600 USD worth of purchases on Hissyfits Resident, just buying *stuff*. Like crap loads of mesh clothes. lol

Pixeleen Mistral: has this setback discouraged you from playing Second Life? or do you plan to return?

Tizzers Foxchase: Being censored by Linden Lab has never discouraged us from returning to the grid. Despite the shortcomings of the company running it, many of us still enjoy the game with the hopes that one day somebody will build a better SL sans Linden Lab.

Pixeleen Mistral: so why do you think Linden Lab continues to use what are apparently ineffective measures to "protect" their game from this sort of meta-gaming and rouge narrative?
This is the 4th time your faction has been banned and had your sims nuked - Linden Lab does not seem to be employing effective counter-measures

Tizzers Foxchase: I think there remains a handful of vocal residents and Linden employees that continue to harbor grudges from the past. Despite the fact that our group stays to itself, the fact that we exist shatters their world. I imagine these people flood Linden Lab with correspondence until something is done.

Pixeleen Mistral: should Second Life players expect your faction to return?

Tizzers Foxchase: You can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave.

Pixeleen Mistral: i c
Was the owner of the land that Linden Lab confiscated today compensated for the loss of his property?

Tizzers Foxchase: There was never any compensation for the purchase of the sim. As in typical Linden Lab fashion, we've received the creepy silent treatment.

an Afroduck picture and boxes of equipment

its dangerous to go alone - take this

Pixeleen Mistral: Would you advise others to play Second Life? You seem to be willing to play for fairly high stakes but what about someone who is just getting started?

Tizzers Foxchase: Professionalism and customer service aren't strong points at Linden Lab. It's a very political company with many different conflicting opinions and visions internally. This is really brought to light by the GlassDoor reviews by former employees. http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Linden-Lab-Reviews-E100549.htm

Pixeleen Mistral: But you continue to play - despite the odds - why?

Tizzers Foxchase: Unfortunately Second Life remains the only "game in town" at least in terms of collaborative virtual world spaces. Being able to contiguously co-exist with thousands of other people simultaneously is a really cool thing. I get a lot of satisfaction from watching people genuinely enjoy the communities that we create.

Pixeleen Mistral: and you have also created an infrastructure outside SL that allows your group to survive these periodic mass bans

Tizzers Foxchase: Skype has been invaluable in that regard. It has essentially become my SL friends list and many of us have been in 24/7 chats dating back several years. Getting banned is just a minor hiccup because we rarely need our in-world friends list or chat ability.

Pool's Closed inside the "dead n****r storage" room

Pixeleen Mistral: So there is really very little Linden Lab can do to discourage your faction - do you think there will ever be some sort of peaceful coexistence?

Tizzers Foxchase: I think by now Linden realizes that these bans are mostly token PR statements showing good faith on their part, rather than effective measures to rid the grid of who they consider persona non grata.

Pixeleen Mistral: that seems like a realistic appraisal of the situation

Tizzers Foxchase: Most of us are in favor of peaceful coexistence. The core group rarely left the Sandvich sim.

trolling crew

Pixeleen Mistral: perhaps some of your critics will attempt to attract and retain Steam players
We can hope that the Justice League Unlimited and Ravenglass Rentals will pick up the slack - or maybe not. Do you think that the JLU and Ravenglass Rentals will attract more paying players than Sandvich would have?

Tizzers Foxchase: When Sarilia and I discovered that Second Life was going to be listed on Valve's Steam platform, we knew that was a demographic of gamers that would fit in well with ours. Sandvich was created to be a familiar place for these people. This idea was reinforced when photos of the sim reached the front page of Reddit's r/gaming with over 1800 upvotes. I'm not sure I could say the same about Ravenglass Rentals.

Pixeleen Mistral: we can only hope the game gods know best. Is there anything else you would like to tell the Herald readers? what have I missed?

Tizzers Foxchase: Second Life is a stepping stone in the history of virtual worlds. The best thing we could do is learn what not to do, and apply that in future competing products. In the meantime, rock fresh.

Monday, Linden Lab suddenly deleted the Sandvich sim, a popular Steam-themed region in Second Life which inspired a chaotic YouTube video tribute. The Lab's action sparked a round of protests as banned players were stripped of their virtual assets - without any sort of due process - and took their complaints to teh Interwebs' court of public opinion with a post at the Reddit.com web site titled "R.I.P. Steam/Reddit Second Life theme park. Linden Lab banned it".

Sandvich sim before the ban hammer fell

The post reached #16 - leveling up to the front page of Reddit - and has received over 750 comments as of this writing. This may be more than just another tempest in a sandbox world. Reddit.com is currently ranked as the 66th most popular web site in the US and 137th worldwide, while Second Life's appeal has become much more selective in recent years - a problem widely attributed to exorbitant virtual land prices, bait and switch business tactics, and a history of questionable game governance.

The situation is so dire that even hardcore fanbois are now running thought experiments on a player buyout of Second Life.

Lab nukes sim - makes front page news at Reddit.com

Hoping to reverse - or perhaps delay - Second Life's decline, Linden Lab recently announced that Second Life will be listed in the popular Steam game portal with the promise of exposing the game to a larger audience. This news inspired a group of Second Life players to re-purpose a Reddit themed region that ex-Linden Lab staffer Hamlet Au has been hyping for months into a Steam-themed sim in hopes that this might grow their community as Steam players began exploring Second Life.

However, in the meta-gaming faction wars of Second Life, growing your community can be seen as an existential threat to other groups - or even the game itself. Oh noes! Could it be that a long standing feud between The Justice League Unlimited and the Soviet Woodbury/Wrong Hands/PN factions led to Linden Lab's removal of Sandvich sim? It seems so.

Kalel Venkman claims responsibility and thanks Michael Linden

According to what appears to be a screen capture of a Proactive Security group notice, JLU gang leader Kalel Venkman is claiming responsibility for identifying a "Woodbury/PN enclave". Mr. Venkman - who appears in Second Life in the form of a Superman avatar - was gracious enough to thank Michael Linden for his part in the Sandvich smackdown. It is good to see that Lab staff seem willing to take sides in the in-world faction wars -- this will certainly inspire more players to spend $295/month renting server space. What could possibly go wrong?

However, despite the confidence that a superman-of-steel avatar with a weakness for frivolous DMCA complaints inspires, I do have a few questions. Did Venkman ever consider what sort of publicity he would garner for Second Life? With friends like Venkman, who needs enemies?

Michael Linden's involvement in the Sandvich destruction also raises questions. Michael was most recently sighted working on the road crew Linden Department of Public Works and not believed to be involved in Second Life governance. Perhaps he made an exception this one time - but why?

More to the point, mixed signals from the game gods were evident as certain Linden Lab staff including Tommy Linden had been sighted at Sandvich sim socializing with the sim owners and builders. It appears that Tommy Linden enjoyed his visit so much that he posted a picture to his my.secondlife.com profile at one point - then suddenly removed it. But the evidence lives on on in the Google cache. Is it any wonder that the Sandvich residents were caught off guard? In the hall of mirrors that is teh interwebs, who can you really trust?

Tommy Linden liked Sandvich sim - then changed his mind

There is no question Linden Lab CEO and Aston Villa fan Rod Humble knows his soccer. But Rod Humble seems to be taking a classic end-game page from the American football playbook - the Hail Mary pass - as he moves to market Second Life through a 3rd party -- Valve's Steam game portal/social network.

On the surface, this appears to be a clever move - in January Steam was reported to have 5 million concurrent players and 40 million accounts. The risk?

"Great marketing only makes a bad product fail faster.”
- David Ogilvy

Current Second Life players have greeted the Steam announcement with some skepticism, wondering  how SL's  wonky user interface, exorbitant land tier fees, dated graphics, questionable customer service, and lack of structure will win over Steam players accustomed to a more polished experience -- and gameplay similar to Valve's own HalfLife.

If the SL experience disappoints the Steam hordes, look for a wave of bad word-of-mouth reviews and an upsurge in "griefing" and meta-gaming as some Steam players are bored and give up - or try to impose a PvP narrative on Second Life. Could this be why Linden Lab is only now turning to Steam as a marketing tool?

But at this point Humble may have little choice other than to chuck the ball toward the endzone and hope for the best.

Second Life player concurrency has been in steady decline since February according to Tateru Nino's Second Life statistical charts (see charts below). Falling concurrency continues a trend the Herald pointed out in April 2011. With ongoing pricing pressure from other virtual worlds, and high profile group defections such as the SL Elf Clan who happily abandoned SL for Inworldz, the long term viability of Second Life is a very real question.

median player concurrency has been dropping since February

Can Steam turn up the daily sign ups - and will they stay?

In light of dropping interest in the game, a move to broaden the product line and presumably make use of the SL server farm for other products would be understandable. But the "shared creative spaces"/"shared creativity tool" products outside Second Life Humble promised over a year ago at the Second Life Community Conference 2011 are nowhere to be seen, so the Lab remains dependent on it's Second Life cash cow to fund new product development.

Could the new product delay have played a part in the departure of Bob Komin, Linden Lab's CFO and COO? The remainder of this year will be telling, as the Lab grapples with management changes in the wake of Komin's departure, un-met promises of new non-SL products, and a do-or-die encounter with Steam.