John Lindal’s Blog

Second Life

From what I have read, Second Life appears to have become the Second Wild West. Justice is, figuratively speaking, enforced at gunpoint. The only big difference is that the stagecoaches are not constantly being robbed. But I’m sure people are working on that, if it hasn’t happened already — surely a PR event Second Life wants to avoid at all costs…

Second Life

I was amused to discover yesterday that Second Life is becoming very much like First Life. Regardless of whether you buy into the theory that Second Life is one big Ponzi Scheme, it is clear that only a few will truly get rich — Linden Labs being the biggest winner, of course — and that unwholesome activities abound. This should not come as a big surprise, since every other form of communication on the Internet, e.g., IRC, Usenet, IM, dating sites, and social networking sites, has succumbed to the same fate.

But it’s still a neat economy. Producers, be they of scripts, objects, or services, do make money, even though most of them surely pay more to Linden Labs in rent than they make, and a lot of the objects and services can safely be categorized as unwholesome. Probably the only way to really make a profit is to (a) be a land broker charging more for rent than Linden Labs does, (b) have a wildly successful store so you can afford the rent, or (c) provide services without a store.

2008 Olympics

All indicators point to China sweeping the Olympics when it is held in Beijing in 2008. Their plan is brilliant and simple: do nothing about the air pollution problem so athletes from other countries will suffocate and be unable to finish the competition.

Roomba

So we finally got a Roomba. There is just no time to clean with a toddler running around the house! It works very well. We release it when we leave for work and then clean and recharge it when we get home.