morality plays on stages of sin; the easy way out, or the easy way in?

Ultimate irony of irony: Dilbert for June 10th, the day after news of Linden Labs layoffs reached the grid.

Yeah. Fire all the smart people. Excellent plan, LL.

Speaking of that, there's now a Linden graveyard. Go visit. It's worth your time just to see it, take it all in, how MUCH the grid lost in one single day.

I'm also morbidly amused that today--considering the advancement of FaceBookLife--I got this, purportedly from FaceBook, but with a warning that it might not be from the right people, in my spam folder on Gmail:

You have deactivated your Facebook account.

Yes, yes I have. A long time ago. I would have deleted my FaceBook account if I'd had that option. Instead, I deactivated it because you simps are so paranoid you think everyone is going to ache inside until they're back on FaceBook, embraced by the beast.

You can reactivate your account at any time by logging into Facebook using your old login email and password.

I'm sure, but handy tip: I will never reactivate my FaceBook account. Never. Never. EVER.

You will be able to use the site like you used to.

Never used the site. Signed up for the sole purpose of getting a piece of armor given out during one of Runes of Magic's media tie-in events. Even if Runes does this again? FaceBook won't see me return.

I am intrigued, though, that it came perfectly packaged--like a FaceBook email--with no asking for my password or other identifying details--like a FaceBook email--with all the FaceBook logo art--like a FaceBook email. And it tossed a link at the bottom which seems to be from FaceBook.

Yet it came into my spam folder, just dripping with warnings from Gchat not to trust it. I am amused.

Meanwhile, God is playing a new game, and popped 'round for a chat:

Stiv: Em, what up?
emilly.orr: Hmm? Sorry, was trying to get more info on the Foxconn suicides
emilly.orr: Hiya
Stiv: Foxconn?
emilly.orr: Mmhmm
Stiv: Is that a college or a convention?

Well, put in those terms, it's likely both, in a darkly morbid way...but no.

emilly.orr: Chinese company
emilly.orr: http://www.szcpost.com/2010/05/foxconn-suicides.html
Stiv: In space battles. Can you sum it for me now?
Stiv: Ill read it after

God has a short attention span. He always has.

emilly.orr: To sum up: Foxconn makes everything. People jump from the rooftops in despair because Foxconn treats them like animals in cages.
Stiv: Wow
emilly.orr: Apple products, including the iPhone, are built at Foxconn
emilly.orr: Apple's looking really bad
Stiv: Like, literal cages?
Stiv: Or 1984 living in a metaphorical cage?
emilly.orr: Well, what would you call keeping twelve people per dormitory room hundreds of miles from their families and not letting them leave, interact with boyfriends/girlfriends/husbands/wives/children?
Stiv: So a little of both
emilly.orr: While making them PAY the company to KEEP them employed, plus docking them if they speak, take breaks, get to work late, or don't buy everything from the company that the company says they need?
emilly.orr: They get docked half their pay if they wash their uniforms at the dorms instead of using the company dry cleaning service--which also charges them for the dry cleaning
Stiv: Like a evil Pullman town
emilly.orr: Yeah

Though the concept of an "evil" Pullman town amuses.

Friend of mine, when relating something similar, simply commented, "Welcome to China." Apparently, this is how things are done there. So much for the power of the people, unless "the people" was always intended to mean "mindless, easily replaced drones" over "empowered working class, striving for the common good of all".

Stiv: Strange how some dystopian future stuff seems to be happening
Stiv: Sweet, just found some earl grey tea on an aliens corpse
emilly.orr laughs

And like that, we're back to the game. So he was telling me about his flirty security officer. Apparently stacked and blue, with antennae, which sounds--save for the stacked part--like Andorian, but on the other hand, I didn't want to burden God with races he might not be familiar with. We know how forgetful God can be.

But this weirdly segued into a discourse on how NPCs in Star Trek Online are set up--namely, they're not just NPCs; you have some control over their appearance. I don't know if there are species and gender selectors, but there are height, weight, face shape, hand shape, and--you guessed it--breast sliders, to customize that token officer's appearance to your precise...needs?

Stiv: Hmm, just maxed out the bust size
Stiv: Not that impressed
emilly.orr: Some games it works, some games it doesn't
emilly.orr: Doesn't work in Runes either
emilly.orr: I see people with breasts maxed and it looks like they have two slightly buoyant tubes attached to their ribs
Stiv: Wow, negative on my last comment
Stiv: She is 7 foot tall amazon woman

I'm not entirely sure; I think he maxed out the breast sliders and then randomized the rest, but who can say? He might have maxed out the breasts, then maxed out everything else. My Lord Stiv is not a god of moderation.

Stiv: Hahah, she now has two large rocks in her jumpsuit
Stiv: Jesus