A Quiet Watercourse

I’ve been exploring the world of Steampunk a little recently.  On first glance, it simply looks like a form of Victorian costume play, but on closer inspection it seems to be more about an attitude; a state of mind, than how you’re dressed.

Having said that, the idea of introducing Victorian and Edwardian elements into my style is interesting and it does seem to lead to you making more of an effort.  I find myself liking pocket watches and the idea of wearing a waistcoat, I’m also finding myself leaning towards the older methods in other areas; but more on that another time.

It also seems to me that the attitude is one of building and modifying things yourself and using more durable items and technology, there is an avoidance reaction to mass branded things and a desire for the craftsmanship of a more by hand approach.  This is something I can relate to, and I do wish things were built to last and were more repairable these days.  I think those days of “mend and make do” will return as resource shortages start to bite though.

The Brass Goggles site is an excellent place to start looking and it seems that there is a lot to see, Amazon have had some business from me as I explore the fiction and also the music.

There is also a strong Steampunk presence in Secondlife, look for “New Babbage” and “Caledon”.

Here’s a fun experiment, my friend Peter over at The Buddha Diaries has started a meme on the above subject and is asking his blogger friends to carry it on.  I’m going to very interested to see how far this spreads.

The rules are really quite simple:

1. Answer the questions
2. Link back to the original meme
3. Tag others to participate

So without further ado, let’s get stuck in!

1) How do you sleep at night? Is your sleep affected by the national angst? Do you drop off easily, as you always did? Or does it take a while to get to sleep?

Generally, I sleep soundly, when I eventually get to sleep.  I’m a bit of a martyr to lying awake tossing and turning, depending on what I’ve been doing before I turn in.  I tend to wake quite early as well, then lie there listening for the alarm.

2) What strategies, if needed, do you use to get to sleep? Pills? Sheep? Late night television shows? And/or…?

I’ve used a few over the years, one was a relaxation technique in which you begin at the feet and imagine each part of your body (feet, shins, knees, thighs, etc) to be warm and heavy.  Another is to mentally release my grip on whatever is keeping me awake, then imagine it floating away.  Sometimes, it’s just a quick bathroom trip.

3) Do you wake up in the middle of the night, plagued by obsessive thoughts?

No, once I’m asleep, I rarely wake.  But, lying awake plagued by obsessive thoughts, guilty as charged I’m afraid!

4) What strategies do you have to get back to sleep?

In all honesty, I’d just use the ones from question 2.

5) Are your dreams affected? Are they more anxious than before? Do they wake you up in a sweat? Or are they peaceful, innocent, undisturbed by the general malaise?

Here’s an interesting one.  I rarely remember my dreams, those that I do recall are either terrfiying or just plain surreal.  I’ve often wondered why I only rarely recall them, and at one point in my life, I genuinely believed I didn’t dream at all.

So, in the spirit of the original post, I’d like to impose on the following people:

• abarefootman
• Drops of Water
• Riding The Wind
• Surfing the Tao

OK, time to return to the virtual world of Secondlife.  I’ve been quietly exploring this world for a while now, and have found that it has a large number of VERY creative people in here.

You may have heard of the Burning Man festival?  They do something quite similar in Secondlife, called Burning Life.

I missed last year’s, and as it’s that time again, I took a wander.

The landing area was quite packed with people, so I moved away and examined a few exhibits.  As a builder myself, I’ve come away with a few ideas which I aim to play with.

I took a few images while at the event, to see one of them in a larger size, just click on them.

This fellow caught my eye at first, as I walked round he followed me and the effect of blinking, made the eye  very disconcerting.

I know the scripts that go behind this and could have built something similar myself, that didn’t make any less unnerving!

I found this one next, a very shiny and animated piece, it put me in mind of an ornamental clock, it glowed and the movement was well thought out.

The spider caught my eye with a VERY intricately detailed clockwork mechanism, plus the key on its rear it makes me wish that the Linux client had an easier time making videos.  Static pictures really don’t do these pieces justice, animation like this takes some real planning!

Finally, I came across an alien adbuction scene and just had to try it out for a laugh…

All of this goes to show what I’ve believed for sometime now, Secondlife is not a video game.  I like to make the example that if the usual intenet shooters and virtual areas are like applications, then Secondlife is more like an underlying operating system, with the content built by, and for, those who use it

And I really must work out how to get some videos on here.

I know I’ve been quiet for a while, I seem to be losing my battle with the writers block at the moment.

This made me smile however and as it’s Friday, I figured it was working posting.

what the heck. 

 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/18/anglican_darth_vader/

I’ve decided to stop taking things quite so seriously, plus I haven’t done this for a while. 

You Belong in the Baby Boomer Generation

You fit in best with people born between 1943 and 1960.You are optimistic, rebellious, and even a little self centered. You still believe that you will change the world. You detest authority and rules. Deep down, you’re a non conformist.

What Generation Do You Belong In?

Well, I’ve been fully veggie since the 1st May, which Im very proud of, but I needed to make sure I was getting the right mix of nutrients in the right amount.

While browsing a vegetarian forum a few days ago, I came across Sparkpeople. It’s a site that does a food diary for you, including vitamins and other nutrients, an exercise log and the ability to track personal goals. There are forums for support and even a mini blog, all told this is just what I needed, just when I needed it.

I’ve started to track my meditations on there to make sure that I don’t miss it, I’m also going to start working with the Microcosmic Orbit again, as I’d fallen off the bandwagon on that one.

Well, it’s not Friday, but I feel like doing something a little more amusing and my blog seems to have been quite dark of late. So here’s a little quiz for everyone to have a go at. Here’s my result, let me know how you rate.

Your Dominant Thinking Style: Exploring

You thrive on the unknown and unpredictable. Novelty is your middle name.You are a challenger. You tend to challenge common assumptions and beliefs.An expert inventor and problem solver, you approach everything from new angles.You show people how to question their models of the world.

What’s Your Thinking Style?

I was thinking about writing a little about Christmas and Buddhism, but found that others have already done the job and done it better than I could have. In true geek tradition, I won’t waste time reinventing the wheel, but I’ll simply link to them.

First up is the Precious Metal blog, I enjoyed this post and like the way he points out the common ground between our two paths.

Secondly I’d like to share this article from the About Ulverston website. I especially liked the use of a parallel with Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, very nicely done.

Finally, I’d just like to take this chance to wish everyone everywhere a happy Christmas and a great New Year.

I was reading an interesting article by Cory Doctorow and as I know a few folks on Facebook and other such sites, I thought I’d link to the article here.

It’s an interesting read and I have to say I can certainly see his point, though he doesn’t cover the use of Facebook and other social sites for spamming.  I know I had to deal with spam friend requests on MySpace, and I expect to have to do the same with Facebook in the fullness of time.

It makes you question, as I have been, the exact amount of quality Facebook adds to a persons experience in cyberspace.

I’ve had a little time off from work this week, so as well as my favourite holiday pastime of not getting out of bed. I spent a little time asking and maybe answering a question. What good is Second Life and can a person who is interested in spiritual awakening make any use of it? I think the answer is a definite yes. Read on…..

There are several groups of Buddhists in Second Life, I joined “SL Buddhists” and later “Skeptical Buddhists”. A quick search turned up some meditation gardens and even a whole island devoted to dharma. I’ll write about Bodhi Island first.

Bodhi Island is run by a non profit group, it’s an entire island in Second Life (hereafter SL) devoted to Buddhist teachings, as a quick aside, SL is made up of large islands, which are subdivided into plots so residents can own and/or rent property of their own. teleported straight to the island and was deposited on a Lotus flower amid some trees. After taking in my surroundings and touching a few landmarks for more information, I started to explore. As I wandered the island, I found gems embedded in the landscape which when touched gave me snippets of Buddhist teachings in the Theravada tradition. As I reached one point in the landscape, a Dharma talk started streaming, i found it pleasing to just sit and listen for a while.

There are hidden areas all over the island for the determined visitor to find, which made my subsequent visits very enjoyable, as I found more hidden nooks that I’d missed. I think that this island just shows what can be achieved when someone thinks creatively, further, there are examples of architecture on this island that most visitors will probably never get to see up close. I’ve illustrated two of these in the screenshots, but there are more. Second Life has been criticised for being frivolous and of little value, but I’m finding that it can provide new and interesting ways of putting information across. I would never have had the chance to walk round and examine the buildings and structures I’ve seen faithfully reproduced on Bodhi island with using Second Life.

While wandering in SL I had the  good fortune to find a Buddhist sangha, The Skeptical Buddhists,  that meets regulary for both discussion and meditation and was able to join them for a discussion meeting.  Once again this brought home the fact that SL is a new angle on communication, reference notes were distributed quickly and effectively and we were able to review the history of what had been said. I found it particularly gratifying, given my sometime unreliable memory, to be able to copy and paste the chat into a text document so I can reread it later!

I think this has been a good start, I’m looking forward to seeing where this journey leads me!