some may have noticed that header change which is something i like to do from time to time. i like putting things up there that make me smile or portray Enclave Harbour in a positive light

this weekend i put up my bubble gum pink GD3000 spaceship (aka grid destroyer) which is actually something to spark an in-world activity about space travel and future energy. it’s a crazy build with something like 3000 prims! o_O

the more significant change is the LLC statement in the blog header (and footer too). as part of subQuark’s work, he has been setting himself up as a self-publisher for the Enclave Harbour science field trip workbook and that means forming a limited liability company (LLC). i’m jockeying to be the official CVO (chief virtual officer) but so far i only have the “endearing” title of chief monkey with a generous compensation package of a few burritos a month (we do lunch at least once a week and i earn every bite of those burritos or fish tacos, yum)

so what does being part of an LLC mean?

maybe we can patent stuff like virtual worlds in a browser (snap, already done by the nefarious SpotON3D) or patent an avatar that always starts walking with its right foot (do you know what foot you lead with in-world? if it’s the right one, we’ll set up a sliding fee(t) scale based on how many steps you take) =p

what? drat, i’m being told that we won’t be patenting anything. bah, what a killjoy! =D

being part of an LLC basically means nada for me or this blog, except that maybe the hosting costs for the blog and simonastick.com become a business expense (monkey business more likely) =)

so big whoop on the LLC, especially since it does not help me in my impious quest to dominate the world *back to the drawing board* so now you know, just in case you were wondering =)

talking about tax deductions – the google ad on the right has earned a whopping $31.14 cents and it has to hit $100 before they’ll cut a check. so either none of you are interested in zoosk.com ads (good grief on that hook-up site) or maybe i scrap the ad. i don’t like running ads for a few reasons

first they don’t add any value to why you stop by and read the blog, second i don’t want anyone to think i am playing favourites (it’s clear when i play favourites because i tend to say so! and mainly because if it’s something i really like – such as Sim Host, Imprudence, and InWorldz – you’ll know it). that’s not saying i can’t be bought – if Patriot USB sticks is reading this, i’ll rant and rave about your new USB 3.0 stick if you send me one and if it really is fast

so with that, i’m taking down the dumb ad and will be donating $35 to Overte for OpenSim (maybe that’s a tax write-off?)

speaking of donations, do consider donating to your fave third-party viewer, OpenSim, OSGrid, or even directly to an OpenSim developer or two  =)

                          

i guess it could be construed that i was promoting an in-world currency system with my post about one of our scripters’ work. and i guess some people will think i work for Reaction Grid because i blab so much about it

i don’t work for Reaction Grid, we get nothing for talking about it, and i talk about it because i think it works very well. besides, PayPal is not in-world currency, but that is another matter. i was trying to expand people’s thinking by talking about micropayments in OpenSim, give props to my brilliant scripter, using an trustworthy site like PayPal, and blah, blah, blah – tangential note for DreamWalker: don’t actually implement your vendor system – go innovate on something else atm (!)

i blog about a lot of stuff virtual world wise and most is specific to OpenSim and Second Life. last night’s post about harnessing waste water power does not mean that Second Life, OpenSim, or Reaction Grid endorse that as a possible “green” solution. i just found it fascinating =)

this blog is purely the ramblings of an avatar. heck, i am not even real – i am facebook certified fake!

but i like Reaction Grid and will talk about it (although i will do so with less fervor and try to be more generic). here is the biggest reason that anyone can see why i think Reaction Grid is the best for us – i spend gobs of hours making stuff for subQuark in it. i don’t sell anything i make, in fact, i give it away for free. why?

because OpenSim needs content and i am altruistic in some things (like being a certified firefighter and paramedic for a volunteer department in Texas for two years)

i had three teachers in the other night and they loved all the stuff i have made. not because they are great builds (they are okay imo, but certainly not amazing) but because there were there to explore!

OpenSim lacks the content that Second Life has and that is a big reason that OpenSim lags in growth. but in time, people like me and many others will create the things needed. i like making office stuff like chairs, water coolers, and so on because those are the things i used to buy in Second Life and took for granted (i wish i could make a decent tree though) =\

i don’t spend hours making stuff because i am a lonely homebody with nothing to do. i work fulltime, do freelance work, have a family, spend hours a week discussing stuff with subQuark (and he blabs way more than i do!), and would love to get to bed before 2 AM! i also don’t make stuff to sell - so why the heck would i make anything?

i believe that what subQuark is working on, virtual field trips for kids to learn environmental science, is a noble cause. i am so frigging sappy that i believe his work could possible impact future decision makers. i also believe that a use of OpenSim like that showcases how good it is for education. Reaction Grid is for educators and i think that is really neat grid to do this type of work on

okay, where was i? oh yeah, why do i go on and on and on about OpenSim?

i think it is a fabulous creative outlet and a better alternative for some uses. you may have remembered me saying the city of Edmonton should do something besides SL. i have had a conversation with the city’s CIO about this and, in fact, one of the lead developers for their projects is in Reaction Grid

one of the blog’s commentators makes very good points, or at least points that really cause me to reflect. he commended us on getting that mention in the Top 10 Blog. we were also the fifth fastest growing WordPress last year and are in the top 2.6 to 3.1% off all global web traffic! not too bad for a fakey person

and he pointed out that OpenSim needs more blogs like this one (that made me smile like a monkey). i don’t know of many other blogs that evangelise about OpenSim (in our sidebar we list some blogs that do)

why does OpenSim need any loud mouths like me?

well, they don’t!

i like to share what i find and i like being honest and i wear my heart on my sleeve (little and cold as it is) =p

i think that information like this might help others tap into what i think is a good thing. right now i think Reaction Grid is a good thing but that’s just my two cents and only my opinion

i also think that being able to blog and tweet makes for a better world. not that my posts and chirps mean anything, but blogging and tweeting in general helps improve the world

look at Iran last year. i personally think that Twitter helped stop a lot of potential violence

so i blog from my heart, i blog my thoughts, i blog the way i see it (distorted as it is from real life challenges, traumas, and all the other crap we all have)

i don’t blog for Second Life, OpenSim, Reaction Grid, or even subQuark – i blog because i want to share the joy i find in it

what do you find joy in? let the world know! no one has to read anyone’s blogs, let them decide what to read, what you blog about might be exactly what someone else needs right at that moment (kinda like a paramedic)

namas te =)

btw, i don’t endorse anything, i don’t even run ads on the blog (well, i do endorse subQuark, he’s family)

                          

woohoo! we hit 9000 flickr pics and 700 blog posts with our hydro-electric project

so?

well, that and a canadian quarter will let you play bar games for beers (but not buy the beers) =D

while 9000 flickr pics of nothing but second life and reaction grid is a buttload of pics, Torley has 22,577 pics!!!

of course, his full-time job is in second life so he has an advantage there  =)

oh oh, the harbour popo is here =p

                          

hi all  =) hope your Halloween was spookie *resisting urge to say spooktacular* =D

okay, blogging and all that “social networking” stuff.  subQuark is HUGE into it and sets up our “strategy” for using it

and you know what? it works out pretty well and is not a huge time suck (i thought it would be) o_O

we keep running across peeps with sl businesses that are passionate and believe in what they create. if one thing is true about virtual businesses, it is that it takes perseverance, passion, talent, and patience

so for those that are truly interested in creating more for their business, consider blogging and a grassroots  social networking campaign =)

but that takes time . . .

yes it does and as soon as we hear that, well, we step back. but some people are open to improving their exposure. in fact, those that embrace their own online networking tend to get more ener-gized! *derr* =p

some suggestions to make it easy

1. make some sort of logo or online avatar image to use on your new accounts
2. pick a unique name (like your avatar’s name or your biz name – do a quick search)
3. get a Yahoo mail and a Gmail account for that name (use one of these for everything else)
4. set up a gravatar account
5. get a free flickr account (uses your Yahoo ID)
6. get a twitter account
7. get a free blog (we like WordPress, but Google’s blogger is one of several others)
8. open a facebook account (you can do a normal page, which is limited to 5,000 friends or a fan page which has no limit)

once you have these setup, connect them! (that means complete the profiles with links back to your blog and a maps.secondlife url too)

connecting them saves time (lots of time). some blogs can be set to auto tweet whenever you write a new post and your twitter can auto update your facebook wall

your flickr can be connected to your blog, twitter, and facebook too (if you set your flickr images to creative commons licensing, then others can use them and spread your name around)

use one of your flickr images in each blog post (flickr is owned by Yahoo, so it helps your search ranking)

this is a great start! you can go bananas and do other stuff, like a free CafePress store, YouTube, blip.tv, LinkedIn, all the sl forums, and so on

if you search either “ener hax“ or “iliveisl“ you’ll see all the nutty things we are in

then blog! don’t see it as a chore, see it as being your own marketing department! and don’t be all pushy about your sales, people hate being told to buy this or buy that  :\

educate people as to what you have, unique features of your whatever, and also share a bit about you and your adventures in virtual worlds

$621 million will be spent in virtual worlds this year.  someone is getting that money – if they don’t know about you, how will they ever become a customer?

customers are people, not dollar signs, be honest, be helpful, and tell them that your product or service is not right for them if it isn’t =)

poutine est la meilleure aliment

                          

be safe, not paranoid

how great is this?

so we have Google AdSense up on the blog and it works by looking at what you write about and doing ads on that. 

google spiders crawl all the blog posts and make a list of key terms and we figured that there should be lots of sl related stuff.  makes sense to us anyway (doh! sense? ad sense! or more like ad cents . . .  if we are lucky)  ^_^

so in this screenshot, the sl convention advertisement makes sense *refrains fom the pun again* as one of today’s ads (bear with us, we are all hyped up with our first ads)  :D

but look at the second ad! lol XD

we do talk alot about bunkers (Ener’s emo home), converted fallout shelters (Eville Atomic Lounge), and our latest “petite” fallout shelter in enercity park (it’s so small that it’s a major pia to cam around in it)

if you like, see our earlier post on the free places for you to hang out in that mentions all those places

*wonders if zombie ads will show up*

so it seems you can be safe isl and irl now! phew, what a relief! =p

buy an rl bomb shelter today and support your fave blog! =D