The Blog Skids and the Second Life
I have enjoyed blog, and I'm not quitting for good, but I have taken an unexpected, and extended, break. Why? Partly, I was out of town for a couple weeks; I was getting my grades in; now I'm back at work. School, church, family...all these take time...the most prolific bloggers, in general, don't have both family and career. But I've managed to be fairly regular up here nonetheless, whether the post was crafted or not. I still consider it a valuable place to share. Why am I hesitant to continue working on it at the moment?
Hesitant may not be the right word. The answer is really two words: Second Life.
I'm surprised how many people, how many students, haven't heard of SL. It's a three-dimensional interactive avatar-based world. It is Neal Stephenson's metaverse from Snowcrash. I bipped in before I left town because I have a friend whose college is buying an 'island' there. I had no idea what that meant. And I admit I got a bit hypnotized. When I returned, still on vacation and with lots of extra time, I played some more.
How will this feel long-term? I don't know. Am I giving up on my blog friends, on Chris and Romy and Scott and the Funkiller? No. They have golden hearts all. But for the moment, I'm spending time in the grid. It's a strange and marvelous place. Equal portions of both.
And I've been working my butt off as an NT amateur, digging into the professional scholarship, struggling with fundamental questions of existence. For me, the NT stuff was never just about sorting the details, it was about the Big Picture itself. I was (and am, still) on the track of Something significant. You know, that work was hard, a rigorous hobby even for someone perhaps born for difficult challenges. I still hold those questions in my mind, but it's nice to spend time doing something completely meaningless, silly, fun.
Is there a dark side to my SL adventures? Perhaps. I can be, uh, obesessive. I am easily drawn in and hypnotized by the environment. I've found myself, once or twice, playing well past when I'd normally eat lunch, for example. I'm using my brain in a way that doesn't directly profit me. But I've only been doing it for three weeks or so (not counting vacation) and I may well tire of it.
In the meantime, school is on with force. My job at the church is not quite over (though I'm looking forward to the break) and I continue to make my family my first priority...at least I believe I'm doing that.
I was always part geek, part 'white and nerdy.' SL is chock full of people like that. Well, the people behind the avatars. It's living sci-fi.
I know the key is balance, to most everything that is the key. My back injury has not let me work out and SL has filled some of that time void. Again, it's a strange thing that's happened to me. Probably a temporary one. In the meantime, I encourage exploration by those of you with time. It's vast and growing daily. It's what the Web will look like, perhaps, in a dozen or so years. IBM is there. And since it's all built by the inhabitants so is much creativity.
Well, that's all I have time for. I haven't played all weekend; I sailed yesterday, actually, and then spent today with S working around the yard (what in this life is as much fun as chain sawing trees) and watching TV. I'm okay. I think. But time will tell better.
I will still blog here, but perhaps not as often. Sad, really. I haven't made any decision, it's just been happening...
Peace to all.
Hesitant may not be the right word. The answer is really two words: Second Life.
I'm surprised how many people, how many students, haven't heard of SL. It's a three-dimensional interactive avatar-based world. It is Neal Stephenson's metaverse from Snowcrash. I bipped in before I left town because I have a friend whose college is buying an 'island' there. I had no idea what that meant. And I admit I got a bit hypnotized. When I returned, still on vacation and with lots of extra time, I played some more.
How will this feel long-term? I don't know. Am I giving up on my blog friends, on Chris and Romy and Scott and the Funkiller? No. They have golden hearts all. But for the moment, I'm spending time in the grid. It's a strange and marvelous place. Equal portions of both.
And I've been working my butt off as an NT amateur, digging into the professional scholarship, struggling with fundamental questions of existence. For me, the NT stuff was never just about sorting the details, it was about the Big Picture itself. I was (and am, still) on the track of Something significant. You know, that work was hard, a rigorous hobby even for someone perhaps born for difficult challenges. I still hold those questions in my mind, but it's nice to spend time doing something completely meaningless, silly, fun.
Is there a dark side to my SL adventures? Perhaps. I can be, uh, obesessive. I am easily drawn in and hypnotized by the environment. I've found myself, once or twice, playing well past when I'd normally eat lunch, for example. I'm using my brain in a way that doesn't directly profit me. But I've only been doing it for three weeks or so (not counting vacation) and I may well tire of it.
In the meantime, school is on with force. My job at the church is not quite over (though I'm looking forward to the break) and I continue to make my family my first priority...at least I believe I'm doing that.
I was always part geek, part 'white and nerdy.' SL is chock full of people like that. Well, the people behind the avatars. It's living sci-fi.
I know the key is balance, to most everything that is the key. My back injury has not let me work out and SL has filled some of that time void. Again, it's a strange thing that's happened to me. Probably a temporary one. In the meantime, I encourage exploration by those of you with time. It's vast and growing daily. It's what the Web will look like, perhaps, in a dozen or so years. IBM is there. And since it's all built by the inhabitants so is much creativity.
Well, that's all I have time for. I haven't played all weekend; I sailed yesterday, actually, and then spent today with S working around the yard (what in this life is as much fun as chain sawing trees) and watching TV. I'm okay. I think. But time will tell better.
I will still blog here, but perhaps not as often. Sad, really. I haven't made any decision, it's just been happening...
Peace to all.
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