Reviews: Jano Runo

Something about the Latin-style on acoustic guitar. Jano Runo both brings acoustic guitar but also appears to be in a band that provides, in their words, a range of Bossa Nova, Samba, and Tropical music. I have only heard him play solo, so I can't speak to that, but here is the myspace site. He hails from Mexico.

Although I was thoroughly enchanted with his guitar playing and highly recommend him for a good listen, I have to give him a mixed review. When I went to see him, he was very much singing off key. It was that sort of off key one gets when they are used to using a monitor, or have a cold, and can't hear themselves as well as they would like.

Still, the masterful guitarwork easily covered for the ocassional bit of flat notedness.

Look him up, he's worth your time.

Builds 10: The Airship

More airship.

No, I'm not house proud. Not in the least. Why do you ask?

This is a nice shot looking into the main entrance foyer. You can see the folded-up gangplank as the grill on the far inside wall.

A nice view of the top of the engine wheels as seen from the passageway connecting the front and back of the ship. They are also connected on the level above where you can walk across the open deck, but this is not recommended at high atmospheric elevations where the air is thin and the temperature very cold. Besides, aside from a hatch locking down the hangar bay on the bottom, there are no air locks on the ship. It is not really designed for space flight. Though the techs at the research lab are working on a field to create a self-contained bubble of air around the ship. They have gotten as far as moving the air with us in the engine field, but it bleeds off far too rapidly, give at maximum two hours of external air when beyond the breathable atmosphere. Only really useful for speedy emergency rescues ... mostly of lab techs getting cocky about the integrity of their new high atmosphere flying devices.

Copy to the Left, Copy to the Right

Had a most interesting if rather galling experience recently.

I had the opportunity to pick up some distance learning courses at a school where I used to teach to offset a little underemployment. All courses I have taught before, one of which I wrote myself from scratch.

So I went into the online course shells and found them blank.

So I did what I did every semester I had been teaching there and asked about having the master shell from a prior semester copied over (usually just an active shell from a faculty of record, though they were getting master shells set up). I was told they couldn't do that without the express permission of the person who created that course, even though one of them was my own course and most probably still quite derivative thereof. This was new. Annoying, but new.

So I complained to the few key people about the apparent poor implementation of a rule, the conflation of ownership and usage right, and the need for departments to clarify and track who does and does not want to share so that no one has to scramble to track down owners (especially if resigned, deceased, or otherwise indisposed). I also sent out e-mails asking everyone who had taught the course last semester or was teaching it this semester if I might have a copy of the course materials for the online shell. My hopes were not high because it was two weeks before the beginning of the semester. How many full-time faculty are answering their e-mail at that time?

The responses to date, though few in number, have been most stunning. A few faculty have actually become offended that I would have the temerity to ask to use the materials *they* had developed for *their* classes. One replied with a bit of jovial condescension that reeks of that academic arrogance that will some day drive me out of academe. And more importantly, my department chair got an angry call from the administration for my having the gall to question the academic integrity of this rule which was not set by the administration, but by the Faculty Association itself. To their defense, I was probably overreacting a little, when it is now one week out and I suddenly discover I have to create three courses from scratch.

My former office mate (old classrooms split into faculty cubicles), who has also taught the course I developed did offer me his copy, but we couldn't find a version of it in the online archives, and others have taught it since then.

This is a large school and the courses are entry level. One of the courses has ten different faculty members teaching sections this Fall. So it is not an issue of one person controlling the course and being jealous of a section farmed out to an adjunct. Moreover, as I noted above, one of the courses I have been refused a copy of is one I created myself and openly shared with any faculty who were teaching it. I would even mirror it on a public Web site so that the information was not locked away in proprietary course management software. It is this last element that really got me miffed.

I should point out that to date no one has replied with any counter arguments to my arguments beyond the administration telling my chair to shut me up, which does not, so far as I recall, qualify as a reasoned response.

So, rather than going on a tirade here, I am going to itemize my arguments over a series of postings. Suffice to say for now it revolves around conflating ownership rights and usage rights and the problem of faculty failing to communicate and share resources in order to ensure academic integrity and continuity between course sections. It seems the school has everyone jealously doing and hoarding their own work, thus increasing the workload of all faculty due to duplication of effort, and selling it to them as a benefit for them, at the cost of both the growth that comes from the interaction of ideas and minds and of the potential quality of education being provided to the students.

Hope that threat is enough to egg you on to read through the rest of the series. It is goign to be mixed with other things. I still have over a week of stuff queued up to post. I've had to step up to twice a day to get through it all.

For my own part, I have stopped asking for copies of the online materials from anyone and am rewriting the courses from scratch (Did I mention I was underemployed this Fall? Okay, and I found an archived copy of my old course that still uses the same texts, complete with all support materials ... which is good because I had to fight tooth and nail to get the publisher to provide me with a Mac-compatible version thereof.) with a specifically stated Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license on all materials. That means my permission to copy the course materials into new sections is inscribed right in the documents, and it means that permission to copy course materials and any derivatives thereof remains with any copies made. May ruffle a few feathers, but it is an approach that has just recently survived its day in court, so I intend to stick with it.

Last time I checked, being and educator is about sharing knowledge. I know a bunch of people who are getting copies of Everything I Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten this Christmas. Or maybe The Missing Piece.

Laser Parking

Laser parking from the treehugger waste of energy department.

The question I have is not how much energy it uses, but does it have a disintegrate setting for when someone else tries to steal your space?

My Phallic Symbol is Bigger Than Yours

All in all, worth it just for the title.

From treehugger.

Where Baby Tardises Come From

Where baby Tardises come from.

Very clever, disguising a Tardis as the London Underground. Very clever indeed.

For those of you who have only ever seen the new Dr. Who, feel free to ignore this reference.

The source: modernmechanix.com

What is the plural of Tardis anyway? Tardii?

Builds 9: The Airship

Some more shots of my airship in progress.

First is a view out from the engineering control room onto the engine. Yes, the control board has no controls on it yet. I am looking for some good control panel textures that don't involve things like bakelite knobs and backlit dials.

The glassy sphere in the middle is a battery that is made of a substance I am not allowed to discuss, but that has a very high capacity. It can keep the ship aloft for weeks without a recharge. As it expends it is consumed from the middle out. When it starts looking like a transparent hollow glass bauble, worry.

It is linked directly to the drive system, which draws the most power, and there is a reciprocating electric engine on the far side (need to get a picture of that) to drive the mechanicals on board the ship.

It is hard to see on these shots, but the entire power source and engine arrangement rests in a cradle that looks a little fragile. In part this is because the engine does not push or pull the ship, it moves it as a unit. A benefit of field-based drive systems. It is also in part because the engine and power source are not as stable as they could be, so the cradle and lower girders are rigged to be blown out in an emergency so the engine can be ejected. Reserve power should be enough for a semi-controlled landing by carefully destabilizing the antigravity field generators. Try to land on water and try to evacuate any small craft from the lower hangar bay and seal all hatches before hitting said water. Mobility and buoyancy are both good things.

Living Small

One problem with living in Second Life is there are scale issues caused by the rendering engines which make builds that are scaled to normal Real World size. That means every place is huge and drafty.

If you make doorways less than three meters some people may not even be able to walk through them. In fact, I have a secret hideout which is well protected from most everyone simply by having a doorway that is only 5'6" or so.

But that is just a kvetch. I am really writing this because I like small, elegant spaces. Perhaps one reason I liked Japan. Even an old 1950s tower packed with two room flats had an elegance to the minimalism (and doorways that were exactly 2 meters tall, less the lip).

So when something tiny and space efficient comes along, I like to share it. This is old news, but worth the look.

I would so live in this place. And I love how National Geographic is finally learning editing styles from MTV. Not that it is necessarily a good thing (or a bad one).

Russian Steampunk

Russian Steampunk.

All the more interesting because it is based on a real tank ... thing ... objet d'art from right around World War I.

The image, with more renders, can be found at the Russian site livenet. Sort of makes you want to learn Russian, just so you can know what it is all about.

But never fear, the English version is here! Even better, it is a more detailed writeup by the WW I military history buffs and modellers at Landships.

U2

Another Bill Bailey spoofy bit.

Kraftwerk

Okay, I died laughing.

Now that I'm dead, that should leave me plenty of time for other things.

Tokyo Apocalypse

Found on boingboing and Pink Tentacle, post apocalyptic art of Tokyo street scenes.

Definitely worth a peek. For inspiration if nothing else.

Builds 8: The Airship

Some more airship shots. Got quite a few. Will be posting them sporadically.

A clean viewing angle so you can get a better idea of what you are looking at. Yep, that sim it is sitting in is my sandbox, and there is a previous building sitting there in the next sim over.

Yes, the paddle wheels really are the propulsion system, but no they don't turn. They generate a field that creates thrust to move the ship. At some point I hope to create a glowing ball lightning animation that loops through the paddles creating a sense of movement.

Another moody view from the bottom which shows the forced perspective of the SL rendering engine very nicely. The angled metal plates are four field generators all at right angles to each other. For you conspiracy buffs, it is the basic format of Telsa's anti-gravity field generator, purportedly impounded and covered up by the U.S. and Polish governments. Okay, his drawings used rounded disks, but I like my design better.

The Bubble Has Burst

This is it folks, the bubble has officially burst.

Pop Goes Mr. Bubble

So let us all pause for a moment of silent mourning.

...

And thank the gods that we still have rubber ducky!

How to Make Architecture Creepy

Some sniping back and forth on the level of pollution in China in the comments for the article Chinese Air Bars on BLDG. But that is old news.

The important bit is to look at the picture: a monolithic icon dedicated to media and modernism turned into a dark presence looming over the city. From an aesthetic stance, the transformation is worth far more than arguments over the air quality in Beijing.

Here is the original image.

And here for reference is an image on a different day. Borrowed from Neoliberal Fragements. The photo is from almost exactly the same distance at almost the same angle, the foggy foreground building on the left above appears to the center in the photo below for a sense of distance. Given the angle of the shadows in the shot, I would guess some of the haze could simply be the remains of a morning fog. Personally I love foggy mornings. Ironic that pollution will often make them more beautiful and not less.

Of course, and as with most architecture, the real thing somehow lacks the grace and aethereal beauty of the conception, which is presented in a shining clean city with shining crystal blue windows that are somehow oblvious to the fact that the primary lightsource is outside of them, surrounded by more shining buildings, and at a scale that hides the people scurrying off to work in its shadow, should they even be represented at all, let along the stray scrap of litter scurrying down the street in the wind.

---

Just found a better view with the same scene from further back and on high. Building also looks a little less intimidating in this one and better fit to the scene. The murky shot at the top seems to be from right inside that traffic loop. The image is from e-architect.

Second Life?

Okay, this is old news, but I just came across it.

Pictures, and food, for thought on the nature of urban form and the nature of the people that live in those urban forms.

extreme rich-poor divides from deputydog.

Okay, the title probably needs some explanation. Unless, of course, you've spent much time in Second Life.

Planet Mongo

Okay, this place is not mine. It is someone else's.

I am insanely jealous.

Anyway, the sim is called Planet Mongo and it is well worth the look. An amazing application of huge prims to create a huge build. Pretty much an entire sim for a single large superstructure.

I had to pan all the way out to 512 to be able to snap this shot.

It looks like it is still under construction and currently lacking many vendors, but that's okay, it is worth it just for the opportunity to walk around in a pretty amazing piece of art.

Yes, the red fuzzy bits below it are clouds. It is up pretty high, and is pretty tall itself. At ground level are the ruins of a once thriving civilization and the remains of a shattered island. Oh, and a slime processing plant. Though why you would add fruity flavoring to slime is a little worrisome.

一番可愛いだよ！

Okay, I so totally want one of these (photo below from the same).

Course, I really, really want one of these too.

I'd even settle for a full-scale, non-working figurine. Too too too cute.

Builds 7: The Airship

My current build.

An airship. A steam punk airship.

Okay, so it is sort of lacking in steam, but thanks to Telsa's advanced in solid state batteries and field effects, it is a nice robust electric airship appropriately decked out for the Guilded Age. The entire front of the airship is even a formal ballroom, because, well, what's an airship without a ballroom?

It is still very much a work in progress.

First, a nice moody shot because I needed some new wallpaper.

And a simple side elevation for those who like boring mechanical views. The ship is roughly 70 meters long. The ballroom is at the front, with storage and and engineering below it. There is a working gangplank on the other side of the two story entrance foyer to the ballroom.

Reviews: Von Johin

If you want good old school, dusky R&B in your Second Life experience, this is your man. I hate to say it, but I think I just found someone I like better than Komuso Tokugawa (don't tell him I said that though).

Von Johin is like a glass of smooth whiskey on a cool, quiet summer evening, if you like whiskey, that is. I mean, for those who do, I don't have to say any more. For those who don't like whiskey, kk, your loss. Okay, I confess, I have to be in a pretty foul mood to think whiskey tastes good. Maybe that is why it is a drink that goes so well with the blues. It is the taste of misery, and it sooths the heart to drink it.

Von Johin himself is not a glass of whiskey, though it is Second Life, so why not? But he is a serious performer, complete with corporate sponsorship. Okay, having family in the industry, I can say that means alot. Guitar companies don't encourage you to use their logo unless you can make people swoon to have a six (or twelve) stringed marvel of their own. And well, yeah, his playing is very swooney.

Definitely worth throwing those Lindens at. Book him at your next event so I can come and party. Okay, should probably let me know first so I am not off grocery shopping in Real Life^™ though.

Ooops. This was supposed to be tomorrow's post. Oh well.

Reviews: Joaquin Gustav

Okay, today's review is Joaquin Gustav. Spanish guitar in Second Life.

And just awesome. An intimate instrument like the guitar, softly played, lends itself to listening in a virual world, where the headphones only increase the intimacy, giving one the feeling that they are sitting in a small little club in Real Life^™ listening to the music live.

Joaquin is a music instructor and performer from Argentina. One of the wonderful things about second life is that you can listen to someone live from France one hour, Argentina after that, and then finish up with a group of friends all thousands of miles apart all listening to someone performing in Toronto.

Anyway, Joaquin has a talent for taking any piece ever written it seems and turning it into a gentle tango that tugs at the heart chords. His music is gentle and soft and makes you want to hurt anyone with the temerity to launch an audible gesture. His riff on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is in and of itself worth the price of admission. But he has a talent for picking interesting songs that you would never think of as instrumental pieces for Spanish guitar until you find them in his capable hands.

Yeah, I know. It is not a Spanish guitar he is holding. Then again, it's Second Life. He could be holding a lute and the guitar sitting on his lap in the comfort of his home would still sound exactly the same.

Certainly an artist worth your attention. Okay, probably gonna say that alot in these reviews. Then again, if I think it is worth commenting on, then it is probably worth seeing.

In unrelated news, I was in attendance in Joaquin's concert in a new skin which was drawing some compliments, so here I am, looking a little more Indic than usual. I know, vanity, but it's not a bad look.

On a side side note, Googling him led me to the purevolume Web site. Way cool. Look at all those events in my area. Not with Joaquin, wrong continent, but still.

Addendum: Okay, helps if I spell his name right. At least I was consistent.

Shanghai Sim

Okay, this is so totally worth a look: http://sh.edushi.com/

It is a virtual version of Shanghai, all rendered in SimCity axonometric style (ooh, I learned a new word, and here I was about to call is isometric). The detailing is awesome, though it looks much cleaner than the real thing, and it is full navigable in the basic Google maps way. It even has hotlink buttons to tell you where the McDonalds and KFC restaurants are.

Zoom in and all the bus stops, car parks, and metro lines are labeled, as well as all the street names. And if you get tired of all the buildings, the "2-D" mode functions like a standard street map.

Full screen mode seems to give it indigestion in Opera, at least the blocks would stop downloading correctly at times and would get confused on where to position themselves (Hey, let's all hind on the edge of the screen over here!), but still pretty neat.

Reviews: Azriahl Hax

Okay, when I'm not building, I am out exploring the live music scene in Second Life (or dancing up a storm at a clothing optional party ... o.O ... but that's a different story). So I thought I would take the time to comment on some of what I like. Besides then I can remember who I liked and why while trying to figure out who to book for my own club. Not that I ever get around to organizing parties, but the club is there, waiting for me to get motivated.

Our first victim is Azriahl Hax, who immediately gets kudos for performing as a smallish furry dwarfed by the mike that no one could bother to adjust. Being short myself, I really do notice these things.

He presents a very nice mix of contemporary covers mixed with idle chatter and disarmingly self-depreciating humor. He is talented and comfortable with what he does, and it shows. Oh, and his music is good too. Well, his playing of other people's music on his guitar while he sings along is good.

He just sent me an e-mail in response to this post to imply that some of the tunes may or may not have been his. Though the between song monologues is usually when I am sneaking out for a cup of tea or something. So I won't commit either way right now. Was good, either way. Ooooh, and he's got a website, check it!

Okay, not that exciting a review, but it's my first one, be nice while I ramp up to speed, and keep an eye out of Azriahl in Second Life.

Builds 6: A Foggy Morning on the Sim

Okay, the environmental effects tools in the Second Life client are just loads of fun for taking pictures. Too bad the estate owner can actually set them as the default for the sim for special events ad the like.

Playing with the foggy preset provides a beautiful foggy morning casting itself over the land.

This by the way is my real home in SL, and the first think I ever tried to built. Not all that pretty, but very low prim and has some clever features (like the hidden door to the second floor). It is a simple traditional shinto shrine in form. Maybe some day I will rebuild it without all the mistakes and poorly aligned prims.

A foggy morning doesn't mean it won't be a wonderful evening.

For those who want to look at these builds in person, they are on Bagoombah and surrounding sims. It is an open sim but it is residential, so be nice and heed the sentry bots that some tenants like to annoy the rest of us with. They are a work in progress, so no guarantees on where the mountains wil be tomorrow.