Skull attachments, like hair, in wrong p …

Skull attachments, like hair, in wrong place and Sacha on IRC explained how to get around this quirk. It seems that attachment points are only saved when you detach and take something into inventory. If you don’t do that, when you relog the attachment will be on your skull but too high. If you really want to get specific look for ’saving attachment on point UUID’ in your OpenSim console when you remove it. Like others, I keep the console up when running my preview OpenSim instance on my desktop, often while viewer is not full screen so I can see what every viewer action is doing to my sim.

I finally figured out how to get rid of …

I finally figured out how to get rid of the black bars in the current SL or Hippo viewer when first connecting to an OpenSim. The clue the tipped me off was that when first connecting to my desktop sim the “Uploaded asset data for transaction …” would scroll across implying that something cached or available in the viewer was being uploaded as the default skin or shape. If I used a viewer that did not have the info cached for some reason it would upload a corrupted shape or skin and that would become the new default. So here’s what I did.

1. Drop the desktop db
2. Restart OpenSim
3. Delete the Application Data/Second Life directory entirely
4. Startup SL browser pointing to SL itself
5. Load the Test Avatar from the Character menu under Advanced
6. Strip
7. Create a new skin and shape in inventory
8. Wear them from inventory.
9. Log out of SL
10. Log into desktop OS using same viewer
11. Watch for the “Uploaded asset data for transaction …”
12. Notice bars gone now

Rough, but that seems to have done the trick.

Posted responses to cokes avatar ad on b …

Posted responses to Coke’s avatar ad on both Eightbar and Massively. I am a little surprised to read all the heat around that ad. If Coke’s idea was to generate a little bit of controversy and viral marketing from the online buzz about that ad it seems to be working. I couldn’t stop playing the ad. I love it. Like I commented there

My personal favorite was the super hero ambivalent to the mother in need and the mother texting while swinging her child.

I found this ad a pleasant, perfect walk down the fine line of showing how avatars are becoming mainstream virtual representations of ourselves and the importance of staying logged into real life. Both are critical parts of society today. It is not one v.s. the other.

I often wonder when I meet a stranger in real life what their avatar would be. Just today while walking around the store, helping a few reach things from the top self (like I am of suitable stature to help there, pfff), and admiring all the people enjoying their day at the store buying milk, eggs, cereal, beer, whatever. I do think about what is the person inside that real life avatar. People, in general, rock.

I have always admired Caleb Booker’s in …

I have always admired Caleb Booker’s insights like this exquisite blog post discussing The Anatomy of an Avatar. He particularly caused me to revisit an issue I thought I had settled for myself, text v.s. voice chat. As I reflect back, I remembered some important realities about my virtuality.

By far the deepest, most real relationships ever fostered in my experience in Second Life where founded on voice. In fact, voice became the means of fun times when wife and I and our friends would attend virtual social events and have so much fun talking to other while our hands were busy with virtual surfboard waves, hang-gliders, bouncy balls, or poking through profiles as we whispered about people over our private line. I miss those times. It has been a while. I think it is because I have been in OpenSim regions so much these days and none of them have voice enabled, yet. It will definitely be a good thing. Although I suppose I could use skype, it just doesn’t come as naturally as selecting ‘voice chat’ with an avatar.

However, one of my most rewarding relationships, professionally and personally, has been purely text via chat and blogs. I imagine this is much like some of the more recognized correspondence relationships I have read of in the 1900s.

At the end of the virtual day, my relationship is deeper with those who I have spoken with as well as IMed. Voice not only creates huge efficiencies in virtual collaboration, it is just more natural for more people.