24 November, 2009

you can arm yourself, alarm yourself but there's nowhere you can run

Nomnivore!

Pardon.

Apparently there's a gnome thing in Left 4 Dead, the first version. Not wanting to be outdone, I guess, there's a gnome in the spin-off, as well. Being as this is the internet, someone captured the whole jarring adventure for posterity.

Out of the mouths of MMORPG: "...if you're anxiously watching for the next big thing to come around and grab your attention, what you might actually be doing is anxiously looking for an escape from the game that you're currently playing."

It's a list of five ways to know when you're just not into your MMO anymore, but I think it applies equally well to virtual worlds. Second Life in particular, all things considered, and that passage above reflects what many of us feel right now: if all we're doing is sitting around hoping for the perfect combination of Blue Mars and Sims Online to stroll by, so we can get OUT of Second Life...kids, we are just marking time.

And Eloh Elliot cements the issue for "reasonable proposals" from the Lindens.

(This entry's good, too: "It's biblical: Colossus Linden keeps saying 'flood' as if he's building an ark." Hee! And she has a translation from the Linden on the Roadmap article.)

So the saga of parcel-switching continues: no nibbles yet on the parcel for sale in Penzance, but now two offers on potential land to move too.

Oh, for great wealth--I'm more than slightly tempted to invest in both.

In other news, Mininova is restricting its content distribution to existing torrents only, by order of a Dutch court. While they are considering an appeal, they are surprised that the court did not find in their favor, due to a few factors:

The court did not agree with Brein on all demands. Specifically, it ruled that Mininova does not infringe copyright and neighboring rights. The court also found Mininova can not be expected to remove files that are “reasonably likely” [to] refer to infringing material.

Remarkably, the verdict does not give any consideration to the fact that Mininova has developed a content filter for Brein, nor to the cooperation between Mininova and other organizations of rights holders. This surprises Mininova, because it has always stressed the importance of cooperation.

The main reason people go to Mininova over more known torrent providers like Pirate Bay is simple: Mininova checks their files for viruses and riders, and in general, content found there can be trusted to be clean, and safe within reason. This case was important because, while they did engage in content creation in terms of offering company-generated Torrent files, they were very conscious of the large number of lines already drawn, in their homelands and abroad, in terms of operation. Everything they created, they argued, was not infringing, and while (as a file hosting service) they received content that could be considered infringing, they did develop a working filter system that weeded out the worst offenders.

As stated, they haven't decided yet whether they're going forward with an appeal, but they were shocked by the verdict--especially when the courts ruled that their actions, according to Dutch law, were not copyright-infringing.

In yet other news, the job search continues to be dismal. I got involved with something odd last night called Earn2Life. Located in Vargas, they offer a HUD that basically consists of five separate steps.

Step One:
Get HUD from machine.

This was easy--find machine; click machine; get HUD.

Step Two:
Attach HUD to...well, HUD.

This was where things started to get complex, and honestly, it's a step many newcomers would be utterly baffled by. The signs past this point kept saying, Push the Select Offer button, and I'm looking at the equivalent of a sine wave in invisi-prims.

Then I realized it was tilted at an angle, upside down, and facing the wrong way. A quick bit of editing--and a bit of detaching, and reattaching to the center position, as it detached my AO--and I was ready to start.

Step Three:
Push the Select Offer button, wait for acknowledgement, and start earning Lindens.

This was where it got complex as well. From what people have been saying in the group chat, sometimes the HUD gets stuck on one address. Sometimes it won't port people at all. Always, it turns off after each offer completion, and I'm nearly 100% sure it's designed to do that.

I kept at it, though. Going from business center to home rental place, making sure to "wander" (their idea of "wandering" is just not to stop moving, and sometimes when the offer's only in someone's small shop/office, it's hard to fully "explore" without walking off the parcel--in which case the HUD beeps at you in a loud and distressing fashion) until my minute or two minutes or four minutes were up--then acknowledging the receipt of funds.

I couldn't draw out funds without signing up for an account online; okay, I bought the bullet and did that, assigning a password that was very far from my SL password just in case. I couldn't draw out funds earned until I hit L$10; to be safe, I waited until I hit L$20. Then I turned the HUD on and pressed "Withdraw".

I was told to go to the site; I went to the site; I was told I had successfully drawn out L$20; and I would receive it on the 29th of November, four days hence.

I'll keep the HUD around, but effectively, that terminated my involvement with them. I'll likely ditch the group on the 30th.

The other option I'm considering is Blue Moon Bordello. Now, I know, 'Bordello' in the title is rather a tip-off, and the fact that the parcel is on Adult land is not exactly subtle. But they say they're hiring dancers as well as escorts, which makes me think the escorting is optional.

I may be wrong, there.

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
1. You must be an adult, preferably over 21 at least.


Right. Fine there...

2. Your avatar must be of good enough quality to blend in with our Club

I think I can do that, yes...

3. You must be able to communicate effectively in written English and type reasonably well. Translators are not adequate.

LOL I kin speke an typ rel gud!

*coughs* Sorry. Moving on...

4. The Blue Moon only hires adult human females. That means that we do not hire people who appear as anything else.

...

How....species-ist. And this is also why I didn't talk to them last night, as I was wandering the grid in golden neko form. But, okay, fine, it's a common prohibition, and it's not like I don't have human skins. I'm fine there.

5. You must agree not to work for other clubs or work as a freelancer while employed [at] The Blue Moon.

I guess that's fair--but further perusal of their rules makes this both better and worse. Their Conditions and Rules notecard says that dancers, strippers and escorts must have the Blue Moon mentioned in their Profile and their Profile Picks....and man, I'm out of room as it is. I can't be adding every single business I wander through! I don't have the space!

6. The Blue Moon is designed as a vintage Bordello. We encourage that all girls dress and act accordingly - think 1950s and before - then add a dash of steampunk and a hint of 21st Century glam.


........

The...hell?

So what they want is...

This: media

plus this: steampunk,media

plus apparently...this? media

Huh?

(The above images, btw, left to right: Copyright Al Buell, all rights reserved; found on the Boy of Bow blog, no idea where xie found it, though the picture itself credits "misspixie93"; and all rights reserved to Jean-Claude Forest, originator of the "Barbarella" character, and to Paramount Pictures, current holders of the copyright for the 1968 film version.)

I don't quite get it; maybe it's an SL thing.

I'll think it over and keep looking, but the job market at present is rather dismal. I just want something to do to earn Lindens that doesn't take up a Picks slot. Is this so hard?

2 comments:

Rhianon Jameson said...

How do you break up with your MMO? "Sorry, it's not you, it's me."

Not sure how 21st century glam fits in with Betty Page, or how that fits in with Steampun, but hey, it's a niche.

Emilly Orr said...

Honestly, most people just leave, figuring the MMO will only make a scene if they try to just be friends.

And I'm not sure, either, which is another reason why I haven't talked to them...but still. Place is pretty, I'll give them that.

hide away, they say, 'cos we don't want your broken parts

Yeah, so...remember that thing I was recovering from? You know, last year ? Yeah. I did it again. So this is Em Faw Down Go Boom part ...