Lively – 3D Avatars and Rooms

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http://www.lively.com/html/landing.html

So far I’m disappointed with lively, but hopefully that will change.
I see that Google had to pull the adult content that appeared and one of the best ‘rooms’ on Lively, that wasn’t created in advance of the launch, was made by Pathfinder Linden, an employee of Linden Lab the creators of Second Life. However, on the positive side Lively is only 4 days old and still in Beta, so it should get better.

Watch this space for updates.

Difference engine in Second Life

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On this day in 1822, Charles Babbage proposed the use of a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society, some 186 years later and a replica of one of Babbage’s machines can be found in the  Virtual World mod Second Life:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Highlands/230/126/38

Second Life Difference Engine created by Independent State of Caledon resident Paul Churchill

Update 2024: Although ‘The Independent State of Caledon’ is still active and very much alive inside Second Life the Caledon Highlands sim is no more and I was unable to track down the difference engine in world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine

“On Mr. Babbage’s new machine for calculating and printing mathematical and astronomical tables…”

Difference Engine - Caledon Highlands

Some 186 years later and a replica of one of Babbage’s machines can be found in a Virtual World:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Caledon%20Highlands/230/126/38

Second Life Difference Engine created by Independent State of Caledon resident Paul Churchill

Update 2024: Although ‘The Independent State of Caledon’ is still active and very much alive inside Second Life the Caledon Highlands sim is no more and I was unable to track down the difference engine in world.

see also: http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/On_Mr._Babbage%27s_new_machine_for_calculating_and_printing_mathematical_and_astronomical_tables

Other Second Life related pages can be found here

Discovery relief mission is go • The Register

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http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/31/discovery_launch/

From the page:

“For those of you not up to speed on space toilets, the ASU failed on 21 May following a “loud noise” – apparently the failure of the air/water separator pump. Despite the ISS crew’s best attempts at DIY, they were obliged to request an emergency plumbing space-lift to tackle the problem.”

Well I never, good excuse for a nice pic though…

The Future of American Power

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http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/04/the_future_of_american_power.html

The Future of American Power

“The emerging international system is likely to be quite different from those that have preceded it. A hundred years ago, there was a multipolar order run by a collection of European governments, with constantly shifting alliances, rivalries, miscalculations, and wars. Then came the duopoly of the Cold War, more stable in some ways, but with the superpowers reacting and overreacting to each other’s every move. Since 1991, we have lived under a U.S. imperium, a unique, unipolar world in which the open global economy has expanded and accelerated. This expansion is driving the next change in the nature of the international order. At the politico-military level, we remain in a single-superpower world. But polarity is not a binary phenomenon. The world will not stay unipolar for decades and then suddenly, one afternoon, become multipolar. On every dimension other than military power — industrial, financial, social, cultural — the distribution of power is shifting, moving away from U.S. dominance. That does not mean we are entering an anti-American world. But we are moving into a post-American world, one defined and directed from many places and by many people.”

A very thought provoking article which I found via my good stumble ‘friend’ atongchan
http://atongchan.stumbleupon.com/

By George, its time to raise the flag! – Telegraph

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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/main.jhtml?xml=/portal/2007/04/20/nosplit/ftgeorge20.xml


Saint George is the pride of England’s throne,
From east to west he holds his own
And none may dare in their pride to say,
That Saint George’s Cross has seen its day
Saint George for merry England

When battle clouds at evening frown,
And the sun of peace in shade goes down,
The meteor flag shall its radiance cast
Lit up by the light of the gorgeous Past
Saint George for merry England

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好好学习天天向上

This is a famous saying by Mao Zedong and can often be seen in Chinese schools. A literal translation is ‘Good good study, day day up’ , a better translation would be ‘Study hard, keep improving’.

This is also an example of Mao’s distinctive calligraphy.