2020.08.12 13:00 - Legacy Heads

Wol Euler: hello eliza
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Wol :))))
Eliza Madrigal: Ah, much better
Wol Euler: mermaids should have wet feet :)
Eliza Madrigal: Exactly ^.^
Eliza Madrigal: How are you doing?
Wol Euler: mixed
Eliza Madrigal: Feels forever since last check in
Wol Euler: yeah, time is really odd
Wol Euler: I am experiencing it in both extremes at once
Wol Euler: the weeks are flashing past, but the hours drag unbearably
Eliza Madrigal nods
Eliza Madrigal: That's insightful
Wol Euler: both "how can this possibly be august already" and "omg will this afternoon never end"
Eliza Madrigal: And no real way to remedy that weirdness
Wol Euler nods.

--BELL--
 

Wol Euler: how are you?
Wol Euler: hello tura
Eliza Madrigal: Mixed, too, but maybe less extreme :)
Eliza Madrigal: Hi Tura :)
Tura Brezoianu: hi Wol, Eliza
Eliza Madrigal: I feel a little better than I have been in some ways
Wol Euler: that's good!
Eliza Madrigal: work a little better, still going to therapy once a week, so feel like I have a project, lol - me!
Wol Euler: heheheheh

Eliza Madrigal: How are you doing, Tura?
Tura Brezoianu: Ok. Things are slowly opening up again here. I've booked a session in the swimming pool for tomorrow.
Eliza Madrigal: Oooh, good for you
Wol Euler: nice
Wol Euler: "booked" as in restricted number of people at any one time?
Tura Brezoianu: Yes, they have limited numbers, no showers, no lockers, everything has to be booked in advance. Better than nothing though.
Eliza Madrigal: Sure
Eliza Madrigal: Much
Wol Euler nods.

Tura Brezoianu: How's the isolation thing going where you are?
Eliza Madrigal: We're all kind of holding breath again here, since schools are opening and we haven't tamed our numbers at all
Wol Euler: and also far better than pretending that the virus has gone away, la la la la la, and just opening wide up
Eliza Madrigal: People are better about masks in Miami, but I don't think I've seen true social distancing happening anywhere in a while
Eliza Madrigal: Can only do one's best I guess
Wol Euler: it seems to be fading here, too, sad to say
Wol Euler: shoppers all wear masks, counter clerks mostly have them hanging off one ear or below their chin
Wol Euler: which infuriates me. Either wear the goddamned thing or don't wear it.
Eliza Madrigal nods. I just drove by a restaurant, everyone eating outside, but, no masks except for the wait staff
Eliza Madrigal: cause, of course... can't eat with a mask...
Eliza Madrigal: but... it seems silly
Wol Euler: it is silly
Wol Euler: we as a species are incredibly selfish and short-sighted and greedy
Eliza Madrigal: also the tables were packed and quite close
Wol Euler: and probably doomed
Eliza Madrigal: :)

Tura Brezoianu: Over here, the government is subsidising people to eat out.
Eliza Madrigal: Something about your saying that makes me smile though
Eliza Madrigal: Wow, really?
Wol Euler: I thought that was for takeaways?
Eliza Madrigal: This is something I haven't heard about
Tura Brezoianu: No, sit-down places. I haven't done it, but you get a discount off the bill and the restaurant can claim it back from teh government.
Wol Euler: craziness
Tura Brezoianu: To help struggling places get back on their feet again
Wol Euler: I understand the theory behind it, but really ...
Eliza Madrigal: I guess that makes sense once you've made the decision to plow through with openings
Eliza Madrigal: I have felt very badly for small businesses, although large ones prob. benefit more from every incentive

Eliza Madrigal: Ah well, thankfully we're still here and mostly healthy!
Wol Euler knocks on wood.
Wol Euler: I was just thinking back to ... two years ago?
Wol Euler: when we three met in Amsterdam

Tura Brezoianu: There's a small baker just up the road from me, that's been open all through this. I've deliberately given them some of my custom, even though I would usually have got bread from the supermarket.
Eliza Madrigal: That's wonderful
Tura Brezoianu: I remember the Amsterdam meeting
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: it seems like anohter world, or a fictional setting
Eliza Madrigal: probably that business relationship with the bakery will last a long time
Wol Euler: people would just get up one day and get on an airplane and fly thousands of miles, just like that, then fly back again
Eliza Madrigal: It seemed that way to me when we were there, too ^.^

--BELL--

Eliza Madrigal: (fictional setting/another world)
Eliza Madrigal: sits in a little memory snow globe for me now
Tura Brezoianu: Early last year, I decided to pop over to Vilnius for a concert, just a thousand miles away. It'll be a while before we're back in that world.
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: I met a neighbour on my way home who said that he and family were going to France tomorrow, two weeks in NOrmandie. It sounded like a really strange thing to do, and foolishly brave
Wol Euler: they will be driving, at least, not flying
Eliza Madrigal: I'd just rather wait to do things until I can experience them as fully as possible

Tura Brezoianu: The trouble with going abroad is you don't know if you'll be allowed back in.
Wol Euler: ha, right
Eliza Madrigal: I won't be allowed out :)
Wol Euler laughs.
Wol Euler: that is sadly correct
Eliza Madrigal: Nor Bleu, who I see approaching. We are cell mates
Wol Euler: :)

Eliza Madrigal: Hi Bleu :)
Wol Euler: hello bleu
Tura Brezoianu: hi Bleu
Bleu Oleander: hi all :)
Eliza Madrigal: We've been comparing notes, how things are. :) How are you?
Bleu Oleander: I am doing well ... hoping you all are too!
Wol Euler nods.
Eliza Madrigal: fairly.. I do see find lots of silver linings. I feel as though the work I'm doing in therapy is progressing rapidly, and I am finding some better balances
Eliza Madrigal: maybe because there is so much space around that work... can process more fully, feel a little more settled than I was feeling, most of the time

Eliza Madrigal: Ah, I read that Braiding Sweetgrass book! Beautiful!
Bleu Oleander: yes!
Eliza Madrigal: Well, listened to.
Wol Euler grins.
Eliza Madrigal: May be preferable in this case...her voice is so nice
Bleu Oleander: some books works really well as audio and this one did
Eliza Madrigal nods
Eliza Madrigal: Don't do Stalin 2 on audio ::laughs:::
Bleu Oleander: haha!
Bleu Oleander: I generally prefer fiction to non-fiction on audio
Eliza Madrigal nods

Wol Euler is a luddite, and has never heard an audioboo
Wol Euler: k
Eliza Madrigal: One of the Rovelli books is on audio read by Cumberbatch... is excellent
Bleu Oleander: really?
Eliza Madrigal: WOW!
Wol Euler: oldfashioned :)
Wol Euler: and cheap
Wol Euler: I don'T even have an ebook reader
Eliza Madrigal grins
Eliza Madrigal: that was my next question
Wol Euler: just these old papery things

Bleu Oleander: our library has quite a lot of audio books for free
Bleu Oleander: and ebooks
Eliza Madrigal: I do audible, every other month
Bleu Oleander: I like to sample the library audio books to get a taste of the book and then buy if it sounds interesting
Wol Euler: buy as audio?

--BELL--
 

Bleu Oleander: buy as ebook
Bleu Oleander: sometimes I buy audio version as well if I know the author or like the reader
Eliza Madrigal: The only book I have as audio and print and ebook is Jonathan Strange
Wol Euler smiles.
Wol Euler: the closest I can come to that is having a very few books in two languages (both paper)
Bleu Oleander: :)
Eliza Madrigal: I'd like to have that experience in my next life
Eliza Madrigal: reading in a few languages
Wol Euler: every now and then I wake up to the fact that I am doing it, and say "wow" and am really pleased by it
Bleu Oleander: :)
Wol Euler: it started because we all had to learn French as second language in school
Wol Euler: I was intrigued, and delighted, and good at it
Bleu Oleander: languages were a struggle for me ... attempted a few times but never stuck
Wol Euler: I think it's a lot easier if you learn at least one additional when you are quite young
Eliza Madrigal: We had Spanish classes, but I don't think they expected us to learn it. I did pick up quite a bit living here, but not nearly enough
Wol Euler: before your brain gets totally set on a single path
Tura Brezoianu: Every time I go to a foreign country, I try to learn some of the language, but I don't get beyond being able to read the signage at railway stations.
Eliza Madrigal: That's something, though, and suggests that with more time in those places you'd pick up a lot
Wol Euler: don't knock it!
Wol Euler: agreed
Eliza Madrigal: I probably know a lot of Korean now, but don't have a chance to use it
Wol Euler: ha! :D
Wol Euler: that would be worth pursuing, IMO
Eliza Madrigal: I'm hooked on the sound of it... the music of it
Eliza Madrigal: but not a large Korean community in Miami

Eliza Madrigal: I should be watching novellas
Wol Euler: I thought you were? telenovella?
Wol Euler: or is that specifically live actors?
Eliza Madrigal: Not really... Korean dramas are different than Spanish soap operas... at least as I think of them
Eliza Madrigal: they are short, most complete after 16 episodes. British format?
Eliza Madrigal: and are really focused on things like justice and virtue
Wol Euler: interesting ...
Eliza Madrigal nods
Eliza Madrigal: There's a range, but the ones I'm drawn to are more like that
Eliza Madrigal: anyway :)
Wol Euler smiles.

Eliza Madrigal: What's your group doing, Bleu? Did you do the watch party?

--BELL--

[long pause]

Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal gets ready to keep prattling on....
Eliza Madrigal laughs
Wol Euler: heheheheh
Wol Euler: there is a pleasing slowness to conversation in SL, or can be
Wol Euler: an un-hurriedness
Eliza Madrigal: Sometimes I feel like, "Oh, this will be over so fast... better fill it up!"
Wol Euler: :)
Eliza Madrigal: Just like getting to go away and be together on retreat, I guess... precious time
Wol Euler: I felt that sometimes, in Halifax, torn between wanting to relax and just flow, and feeling the clock ticking down behind me
Eliza Madrigal nods
Eliza Madrigal: Meteor shower last night reminded me of how bright the stars were in Nova Scotia

Eliza Madrigal: I never come in and 'see what happens' in SL like I used to...
Eliza Madrigal: a very child-like way of approaching, but often magical
Eliza Madrigal: What about you guys?
Wol Euler: I've been back more often and for longer than before the lockdown started
Wol Euler: and an alt is attending a weekly series of workshops (discussions) run by Tom Boellsdorf
Wol Euler: who wrote "coming of age in second life"
Eliza Madrigal: Ah
Eliza Madrigal: I didn't know that was happening
Tura Brezoianu: I have that book, because one must, but I don't think I've got around to reading it :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Wol Euler: hehehehe
Wol Euler: thursday 11am SL time
Eliza Madrigal: ah, boo. imposible
Eliza Madrigal: imposible', meant to write :P

Eliza Madrigal: What are they about? Building on the work before?
Wol Euler: in a way, yes, they are about the society of SL and how we live here
Wol Euler: but there is a lot of discussion of the outside world, specifically the virus and the lockdown
Wol Euler: and how that affects us
Wol Euler: for example, that people return to SL :)
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Eliza Madrigal: Kiremimi might be interested in that. Do you know how much longer it will go on?
Wol Euler: short answer: no
Wol Euler: it's open-ended and will continue as long as there is interest

--BELL--
 

Eliza Madrigal: Do you see a lot of familiar faces in SL lately? That you hadn't seen in a while?
Wol Euler: a few, yes, some old names recurring
Wol Euler: and meeting strangers who talk about coming back after many years away
Eliza Madrigal: Nice to hear that
Wol Euler: 10 yr old accounts that hadn't been logged into in eight years
Eliza Madrigal: @@
Eliza Madrigal: Covid effects may be farther reaching than we even imagine
Wol Euler smiles.
Eliza Madrigal: effects of isolation
Wol Euler: I see a related effect in warcraft as well, actually
Wol Euler: pre-virus people would log in, do their character's tasks, tehn log out and get the next one
Wol Euler: these days there is a lot more conversation, people are hanging out in the cities and chatting more than tehy used to
Eliza Madrigal: so interesting... I guess it makes sense but, still surprises me
Eliza Madrigal: we still don't see each other's human faces... though we do see each other's faces
Eliza Madrigal: when I was driving today I was looking at people in their cars more... just to see no masks
Wol Euler nods.
Eliza Madrigal: maybe it shows that there's a closeness people remember
Wol Euler: I think so
Wol Euler: and also a need/desire for contact which wasn't so strong before
Wol Euler: or which could be more easily satisfied, put it that way
Eliza Madrigal nods
Eliza Madrigal: many find SL in times of change
Eliza Madrigal: experimenting
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal: I wonder how the meditation communities are doing
Wol Euler: I don't know
Wol Euler: but I'd guess that they too are seeing a slight return boost
Eliza Madrigal: Hm, maybe I will plan a day to just come in for hours and wander open-endedly
Wol Euler smiles.

--BELL--
 

Eliza Madrigal: Will welcome suggestions of what to explore :)
Bleu Oleander: sorry ... had a call I had to take but back now
Wol Euler: wb
Eliza Madrigal: :) thought you might have
Eliza Madrigal: wb
Bleu Oleander: thanks
Eliza Madrigal: just chatting... now about SL these days
Bleu Oleander: ah ok
Bleu Oleander: I saw some sort of sl history museum
Eliza Madrigal: recently?
Bleu Oleander: yes I'll see if I can find the link
Eliza Madrigal: thank you
Wol Euler: nice
Bleu Oleander: https://danielvoyager.wordpress.com/...istory-museum/
Eliza Madrigal: So now on my list: 1) make (buy) a mesh body for Eliza, 2) make time for aimless wandering
Eliza Madrigal: excellent

Bleu Oleander: I have a mesh body and played with it a while
Bleu Oleander: but hard to do more arty stuff with it
Wol Euler: if you want any advice or suggestions, feel free to ping me
Eliza Madrigal: appreciate that
Bleu Oleander: yes! thanks
Eliza Madrigal: I can see how that would be an issue for you Bleu
Wol Euler: actually there is now BOM
Bleu Oleander: yes I think for me, I need to learn how to design and make mesh
Wol Euler: which "projects" textures onto the mesh body
Wol Euler: which would be a way of getting art onto a mesh shape
Bleu Oleander: oh how does that work?
Eliza Madrigal: sounds complicated
Bleu Oleander: yes
Wol Euler: it's messy but not complicated as such
Wol Euler: almost all body makers now support it
Bleu Oleander: can all viewers that see mesh see that too?
Wol Euler: any viewer that can see mesh will see the texture on it, yes
Bleu Oleander: cool
Eliza Madrigal: promising
Tura Brezoianu: It means you can wear ordinary system clothing with mesh bodies.
Wol Euler: right
Bleu Oleander: oh that's interesting
Wol Euler: though it must be said that the results can be disappointing, because the mesh shape is so different
Wol Euler: fingers and toes in particular are messy
Bleu Oleander: so you need to buy something to add to the mesh body?
Wol Euler: toenail on the side of the toe, not atop it, for example

Tura Brezoianu: I recently got a mesh body, which looks almost exactly like my stndard SL body.
Wol Euler: in every case that I know of, the BOM support is included in the price
Eliza Madrigal: Are you able to make the textures work then, Tura?
Eliza Madrigal: I've never even gotten feet/toes right with this body :)
Eliza Madrigal: fins are safer
Tura Brezoianu: I'm wearing it right now.
Bleu Oleander: haha
Eliza Madrigal: Oh!
Bleu Oleander: looks very similar
Eliza Madrigal: Your clothing fits well
Wol Euler: oh wow
Wol Euler: I take it all back :) that is remarkably good
Tura Brezoianu: Except for the head, that's still the standard av head. Mesh bodies and heads are almsot always sold separately.

Bleu Oleander: so that's system clothing on mesh body?
Wol Euler: yes, many people keep their legacy heads (like me)
Eliza Madrigal: legacy heads sounds like a band
Tura Brezoianu: If you look closely at my neck you'll see they don't quite join properly.
Bleu Oleander: ha!
Eliza Madrigal zooms
Tura Brezoianu: Yes, all my system clothing works the same. I sometimes have to adjust the positions of attachments like shoes.
Eliza Madrigal: ever so slight difference of skin tone?
Wol Euler nods.
Bleu Oleander: this is my mesh avi
Tura Brezoianu: So I get to say I've kept up with the latest innovations, while looking exactly the same.
Eliza Madrigal giggles
Wol Euler grins.

--BELL--
 

Wol Euler: looks good, bleu
Wol Euler: which body is that?
Eliza Madrigal: great hair, Bleu
Bleu Oleander: maitreya
Bleu Oleander: with lelutka head

Eliza Madrigal: Is it better to go to shops, or scroll through marketplace?
Wol Euler: I like to go to the shops, because you can usually see people there wearing the body
Wol Euler: and talk to them
Wol Euler: when you get the demos
Tura Brezoianu: I prefer shopping inworld. Marketplace sort of pulls me out of SL.
Wol Euler: right
Eliza Madrigal: true
Bleu Oleander: I like looking around in sl
Bleu Oleander: I like reading some of the blogs to see reviews
Bleu Oleander: and how to's
Eliza Madrigal: that's a good idea too
Eliza Madrigal: I have so many slight variations of this avatar...
Eliza Madrigal: I make tiny changes and feel so different
Eliza Madrigal: don't want to lose that
Bleu Oleander: yes me too
Bleu Oleander: don't really feel like myself with this avi
Eliza Madrigal: great eyebrows though! :)
Wol Euler: you'll probably need to try several demos, and tweak your body shape a few times on each one, before you find one that feels like "you"
Bleu Oleander: yes!
Bleu Oleander: the heads are harder to do
Eliza Madrigal: "I wish, I wish, I wish I were a fish..."
Wol Euler: I despaired of mesh heads, couldn't get any of them to look at all like me
Bleu Oleander: yes you can spend hours and not get anywhere!
Eliza Madrigal: :/
Wol Euler: start with the body
Bleu Oleander: yep
Eliza Madrigal: I have to admit there are a few friends I've had trouble connecting to their new appearances, where usually I adjust pretty well
Bleu Oleander: actually I started with just feet and hands :)

Tura Brezoianu: I remember when you were a cat, Wol :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Wol Euler: the lifesized one?
Wol Euler: I still have that somewhere
Bleu Oleander: fun to pull out the old versions
Tura Brezoianu: Yes, was that just a phase? It's the first one I knew you as.
Wol Euler: it was a momentary fancy only
Wol Euler: copying someone who had one
Wol Euler: but you can't put clothes or boots on a realistic lifesized cat :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)

Bleu Oleander: how do the complexity numbers affect the experience?
Bleu Oleander: I see we're all about the same complextiy but difference ranks
Eliza Madrigal: sometimes I can't see people... the facilitator of the meeting I attend Wed nights is often out of my range unless I raise it
Wol Euler: that is the onl.y time I notice or care, tbh
Eliza Madrigal: remember when we all had to strip down our jewelry and everything to get into the theater presentation?

--BELL--

Wol Euler nods.
Bleu Oleander: ha yes
Wol Euler: SL has improved remarkably in these dozen or so years
Bleu Oleander: hair especially used to be bad
Eliza Madrigal: yes, omg
Eliza Madrigal: I'd often have to change hair to stay somewhere
Bleu Oleander: yep
Eliza Madrigal: funny to think about now

Wol Euler: ther is an amusing social effect of mesh bodies
Wol Euler: whih is that in crowded places they rez slowly, and piecemeal, and naked
Bleu Oleander: yes!
Wol Euler: and gradually assemble themslves, and then the clothes appear
Wol Euler: and nobody ever mentions this.
Wol Euler: we pretend not to see each other in flying bits, naked
Bleu Oleander: that's why I haven't switched really
Eliza Madrigal: fascinating, love it
Eliza Madrigal: like families sharing small spaces
Tura Brezoianu: I have a couple of low-lag outfits for that, absolutely no attachments, even system hair.
Wol Euler: right
Bleu Oleander: all body parts floating around :)
Wol Euler: well, referring to it would jar the immersion, so it makes sense not to
Eliza Madrigal: Still find it fascinating how embarrassed I can feel for real if there is an exposure slip up in SL
Bleu Oleander: funny :)
Wol Euler: indeed
Wol Euler: yet another proof that these are indeed "us"
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Bleu Oleander: indeed
Bleu Oleander: like cars in rl :)

Eliza Madrigal: Remember when Rhiannon began coming to PaB, and we had weeks of talking about nakedness and figuring out our own lines as a group?
Bleu Oleander: yes :)
Wol Euler nods.
Eliza Madrigal: I think she's still having meetings, come to think of it... maybe I saw a group invite a few weeks ago
Wol Euler: yes, I still get invites from her every saturday
Eliza Madrigal: Ah
Wol Euler: philosophy corner, or some such
Eliza Madrigal: yes
Wol Euler: but it conflicts with a longstanding engagement
Eliza Madrigal: I've probably seen the widest range of avatars at those events
Bleu Oleander: and art events
Eliza Madrigal: will attend more of those, if I Project Re-immersion goes well

Bleu Oleander: re-immersion? I must have missed that?
Wol Euler grins.
Eliza Madrigal: Am already making a project out of a slight thought an hour ago that has been snowballing as we chat
Eliza Madrigal giggles
Bleu Oleander: ok :)
Wol Euler: heheheeh
Bleu Oleander: I'm starting to get used to my mesh body as we speak :)
Wol Euler: good for you
Bleu Oleander: the connection is fast
Wol Euler nods.
Wol Euler: and the more you tune it, the stronger that gets
Eliza Madrigal: Nice!
Bleu Oleander: happens with eyeglasses in rl ... get used to the new ones and can't go back to the older ones hehe
Wol Euler: similar yeah :)
Eliza Madrigal: :)
Eliza Madrigal: I'm off tomorrow, just not normally, so maybe I can attend the Tom discussions? Are they open to everyone?
Wol Euler: yes
Bleu Oleander: what is that?
Wol Euler: my alt will log on and send you the LM
Eliza Madrigal: thank you!

Wol Euler: Tom Boellsdorf, who wrote "coming of age in SL" is running a weekly discussion group
Wol Euler: about SL and RL in times of lockdown and social stress
Wol Euler: thursday 10 am
 

--BELL--
 

Bleu Oleander: oh nice ... we had a salon with him years ago
Bleu Oleander: would you send me a LM too?
Wol Euler: will do
Bleu Oleander: thanks!
Wol Euler: midnight, time to go
Wol Euler: but I will send those LMs tonight
Bleu Oleander: nice to see you all
Wol Euler: likewise <3
Wol Euler: take care, stay safe
Eliza Madrigal: Thanks for the nice long session
Bleu Oleander: nice to get out of my dots for a while
Wol Euler: thanks for staying :)
Eliza Madrigal smiles
Tura Brezoianu: Thanks everyone
Eliza Madrigal: <3
Bleu Oleander: take care and see you soon
Tura Brezoianu: goodnight all
Wol Euler: we'll get you back into them, if you wish :D
Bleu Oleander: ha!

Wol Euler: eliza's mermaid might be more dificult
Eliza Madrigal: :) Can still use AOs though?
Bleu Oleander: I had a mermaid once I think
Wol Euler: oh yes
Eliza Madrigal: I'm sure there is nice mesh mermaid garb
Bleu Oleander: love the AO
Wol Euler: better tahn before, in fact, because of bento
Eliza Madrigal: Me too, so fun
Wol Euler: fine gesture control
Wol Euler: new dances with finger motion!
Eliza Madrigal: Oh, yes you mentioned that!
Eliza Madrigal: Maybe we'll be dancing differently come next PaB anniversary party :)
Wol Euler: heheheh
Bleu Oleander: haha!
Eliza Madrigal: Okay night, sweet dreams!
Bleu Oleander: bye bye
Wol Euler: goodngiht
Wol Euler: take care