Category Archives: Fun Stuff - Page 2

Hmm, steamy…

Posted by on February 11, 2010 No comments

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”.

Carrying the meme: How do you sleep at night?

Posted by on February 25, 2009 2 comments

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:

Burning Life 2008

Posted by on September 29, 2008 No comments

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.

snapshot_006.jpeg 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!

snapshot_007.jpegI 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.

snapshot_008.jpegThe 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!

snapshot_009.jpegFinally, 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.