2009.07.15 01:00 - Geeks & RVs

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    The Guardian for this meeting was Tarmel Udimo. The comments are by Tarmel Udimo. Pema showed up pretty quickly after I arrived followed by Kat Lemieux, who 'mentored' Pema when he first  joined SL. Pema could only stay for a little while and then Kat and I got into talking computers and then RVs.

        Pema Pera: Hi Tarmel!
        Tarmel Udimo: Hi there Mr Pera!
        Pema Pera: :)
        Tarmel Udimo: Thanks for taking the log last time
         Pema Pera: yw :)
        Tarmel Udimo: I have been picking up quite a bit of casual work, which means my schedule is all over the place
           Pema Pera: looking forward to seeing you in RL in a month, it's coming closer now!
        Tarmel Udimo: yes me too, its coming up so fast
           Tarmel Udimo: how are things with you?
        Pema Pera: enjoying my stay in Japan, and enjoying doing those things I can find time for, among the very many more things I'd love to do as well :-)
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Tarmel Udimo: sounds like Japan suits you?
        Pema Pera: oh sure!
        Pema Pera: Hi Kat!
        Pema Pera: nice to see you here again!
        Kat Lemieux: Hello!
        Kat Lemieux: Thanks!
        Tarmel Udimo: Hi Kat, welcome
        Kat Lemieux: Hi, Tarmel.
        Tarmel Udimo: you have been here before it sounds like?
        Kat Lemieux: Yep
        Kat Lemieux: In the early days
        Tarmel Udimo: great!
        Pema Pera: Kat was my mentor, effectively, when I first came into Second Life :)
        Pema Pera: two years ago
        Tarmel Udimo: ahhh
        Kat Lemieux: Well, more like collaborator. You didn't need much mentoring
        Pema Pera: also the DIrector of the International Space Flight Museum
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Tarmel Udimo: I think I have been there
        Kat Lemieux: Cool!
        Kat Lemieux: I recently resigned as president/ceo of the nonprofit we started to support the museum
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Pema Pera: two surprises in one sentence!
        Tarmel Udimo: yes
        Kat Lemieux: I thought you knew?
        Pema Pera: you resigning and ISM now being a non-profit?
        Pema Pera: Who is the new president?
        Kat Lemieux: ISM has been a nonprofit corp since 2006, but not yet tax-exempt
        Kat Lemieux: Paradox is new pres.
        Pema Pera: ah, okay
        Kat Lemieux: I'm sec/treasurer
        Pema Pera: Oh, how nice!
        Pema Pera: Paradox will be busy, I'm sure
        Tarmel Udimo: was the work load becoming too much?
        Kat Lemieux: YEs, maybe too busy, but I'm not just too busy in RL, also a bit burned out.
        Kat Lemieux: The constant fight for funds when we're not taxexempt just got too discouraging
        Pema Pera: (I'll have to slip out soon -- the coffeeshop I'm sitting in, in Kyoto, is closing in a few minutes -- surprise surprise; they'll have a private party, they just announced :( )
        Kat Lemieux: I found myself being too negative, and think I was chasing people away who might help
        Kat Lemieux: How nice. And they didn't invite you?
        Tarmel Udimo: oh ok, thanks for dropping in pema
        Pema Pera: (life of an internet nomad)
        Kat Lemieux: ;-)
        Tarmel Udimo: :)
        Kat Lemieux: I know that story
        Pema Pera: great seeing you both again!
        Pema Pera: Kat is a nomad in RL, much more than I am !
        Kat Lemieux: Good to see you, too!
        Kat Lemieux: Take care!
        Tarmel Udimo: good to see you Pema!
        Pema Pera: bfn
        Tarmel Udimo: I think Kira might be going through the same thing
        Kat Lemieux: Oh?
        Tarmel Udimo: finding it hard to raise funds
        Kat Lemieux: I haven't been around for so long, I'm completely out of touch with what's been happening
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: YEah, most nonprofits are having trouble in this economy
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Tarmel Udimo: do you do anything else
        Kat Lemieux: If the IRS would get off their duff and finish approving our 501c3 it would help a lot
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: Well, right now I'm in grad school
        Tarmel Udimo: ok
        Kat Lemieux: And I just started a new business a couple of months ago with a couple of other people
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: We're hoping to have our first product ready to release in September, an ebook about "green" crafts
        Kat Lemieux: made from reused materials
        Kat Lemieux: what do you do, besides Kira?
        Tarmel Udimo: I'm an independent filmmaker
        Kat Lemieux: Cool!
        Tarmel Udimo: ie I suffer for my art:)
        Kat Lemieux: ;-) By definition
        Kat Lemieux: So do you actually use film, or was that an anachronism?
        Tarmel Udimo: yep, one is always trying to raise money to be able to be creative
        Tarmel Udimo: mainly digital
        Tarmel Udimo: its hard to imagine Pema being new to SL:)
        Kat Lemieux: Well, he's not anymore
        Kat Lemieux: And even when he was new to SL, he wasn't new to virtual worlds
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: So he picked it up very quickly
        Tarmel Udimo: I am sure he would
        Tarmel Udimo: were you in Pab when it first started
        Kat Lemieux: Sort of.
        Kat Lemieux: I was more involved in the precursor organization, "Quaq-SL Liaison" group
        Tarmel Udimo: ahh yes I've read about that on the kira website
        Kat Lemieux: YEah, it's pretty much defunct now, but it was fun while it lasted
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: Very diverse collection of people.
        Tarmel Udimo: was it centred around Being?
        Kat Lemieux: No, it was actually a combination of both Kira and MICA-VW, before either group was in SL
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: So more concentrated on migrating people from the Quaq world to SL than on what they'd do once they got here
        Kat Lemieux: SL is very different from Quaq
        Kat Lemieux: I don't know if you've been to that world?
        Tarmel Udimo: no, how is it different?
        Kat Lemieux: Not nearly as visual, but has more useful collaboration tools
        Tarmel Udimo: oh?
        Kat Lemieux: It's easier to share documents, etc. in Quaq
        Tarmel Udimo: oh okay so really more for working teams rather than just discussion
        Kat Lemieux: Right
        Kat Lemieux: Mostly aimed at academics and enterprise, not consumers
        Kat Lemieux: Also, it's pretty expensive to use
        Tarmel Udimo: ok
        Kat Lemieux: So it's not good for "outreach" kinds of activities
        Tarmel Udimo: and what about open sim?
        Kat Lemieux: I've used opensim, but haven't been there for months
        Kat Lemieux: It's still pretty raw, or was last time I was there
        Tarmel Udimo: why is that?
        Kat Lemieux: One of the valuable things about SL is the number of people who use it, so you have a large pool of potential contacts
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: Also, the scripting in OpenSim is still not quite up to SL standards
        Kat Lemieux: The developers have had to rewrite the LSL functions
        Kat Lemieux: since they are proprietary to Linden Lab
        Tarmel Udimo: can you just visit, set up an Avatar?
        Kat Lemieux: Certainly
        Kat Lemieux: And if you have a server, you can set up and connect to their grid, too, I think
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Tarmel Udimo: what's the web address, I am curious
        Kat Lemieux: At least, there are some worlds based on Open Sim you can do that with.
        Kat Lemieux: Hmmm... I'll have to look it up. If you look on my blog, it's in there somewhere, search on "virtual worlds" http://newmediaonthego.com
        Tarmel Udimo: thanks
        Kat Lemieux: There's actually a category called "Open Sim"
        Tarmel Udimo: are you happy for me to post the chat log with your comments?
        Kat Lemieux: Sure, no problem
        Kat Lemieux: http://opensim.org
        Tarmel Udimo: thanks
        Kat Lemieux: I had to use Firefox, since the SL browser wouldn't let me select the term from the dropdown categories menu
        Kat Lemieux: YW
        Kat Lemieux: I've written about a number of virtual worlds in my blog
        Tarmel Udimo: yes I am having a look
        Tarmel Udimo: so does that mean you are a....?
        Kat Lemieux: a geek ;-)
        Tarmel Udimo: I'm a wanna be geek, but never quite get there:)
        Kat Lemieux: ;-) I've had lots of practice
        Tarmel Udimo: like everything that's what it takes:)
        Kat Lemieux: Yep
        Kat Lemieux: It dates me, but I started playing with computers back in the mid-sixties
        Tarmel Udimo: wow, a real geek:)
        Kat Lemieux: Well, I really do mean "PLAYING" at that point. I didn't know what I was doing then
        Tarmel Udimo: nobody did either. I wish i could say I did too, but I only started in the 90's
        Kat Lemieux: ;-)
        Kat Lemieux: I bought my first microcomputer (as they were called then) in 1981
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Tarmel Udimo: dos?
        Kat Lemieux: I'd have gotten one a couple of years earlier, but we lived in Germany till late '79, and if I'd bought one that worked there, it wouldn't have worked in the States
        Kat Lemieux: Actually, not DOS
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Tarmel Udimo: oh?
        Kat Lemieux: First one was TRS-80
        Kat Lemieux: Then I learned Unix
        Tarmel Udimo: so DOS is fairly recent then?
        Kat Lemieux: Didn't get my hands on an IBM/Microsoft computer till around 1989.
        Kat Lemieux: Yes, but i started with Windows 2.0
        Kat Lemieux: not MS-DOS
        Tarmel Udimo: yeah I think that was me too actually
        Kat Lemieux: I had the TRS-80, then Amiga
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: Then at work, I used Windows 2.0, but mostly UNIX and whatever it was that ran on our network.... blanking out on the OS name now
        Kat Lemieux: VMS
    Kat Lemieux: I guess before that, though, you have to insert Xerox's OS, whatever that was, that ran on the 6085, but I mostly didn't get under the GUI then.
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Tarmel Udimo: the history of computers its all so fascinating
        Tarmel Udimo: I just don't think we all realised it was the beginning of a major shift
        Kat Lemieux: Oh, I think lots of people did realize what a paradigm shift it was
        Tarmel Udimo: ok but perhaps not where it would take us
        Kat Lemieux: We still don't know that
        Tarmel Udimo: :)
        Tarmel Udimo: will be happy when we have neural plug-ins direct mind to computer hook-up
        Kat Lemieux: Hmmm, I think that's going a little too far.
        Tarmel Udimo: hehehe
        Tarmel Udimo: it will have to be the next leap
        Kat Lemieux: Besides, I think you'll see nano bots you take like a pill before there's actual surgical implants
        Tarmel Udimo: ok
        Kat Lemieux: implants are so invasive!! (Like swallowing a nanobot isn't ????)
        Tarmel Udimo: been reading too much sci-fi lately:)
        Kat Lemieux: Nah, just hanging out with too many scientists
        Tarmel Udimo: hehehe
        Tarmel Udimo: will I admit it - I love this stuff
        Kat Lemieux: Yep, me, too
        Tarmel Udimo: reading a space opera by alastair reynolds
        Tarmel Udimo: british author
        Kat Lemieux: Any good?
        Tarmel Udimo: very!
        Kat Lemieux: Who's his publisher?
        Tarmel Udimo: three in the series,
        Tarmel Udimo: starting with Revelation Space
        Kat Lemieux: Provocative title
        Tarmel Udimo: Gollancz in the UK
        Kat Lemieux: OK.
        Kat Lemieux: I've been reading a lot from Baen Books recently.
        Tarmel Udimo: check it out
        Tarmel Udimo: yes?
        Kat Lemieux: As Piet said, I travel a lot, so I prefer ebooks
        Tarmel Udimo: ok
        Kat Lemieux: Baen has their entire list available on their website
        Tarmel Udimo: for business?
        Tarmel Udimo: ok
        Kat Lemieux: Not really. My husband and i don't like cold weather, so we migrate south in the winter
        Tarmel Udimo: where do you go?
        Kat Lemieux: He's retired, and I can work anywhere, so we live in our RV at least 6 months/year.
        Tarmel Udimo: RV?
        Kat Lemieux: We start out going to Florida, then go west to Texas/NewMexico/Arizona
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: Recreational Vehicle. If you're a brit, you'd call it a "caravan" I think
        Tarmel Udimo: OK I'm an Aussie:)
        Kat Lemieux: Well, I know y'all have 'em there, too.
        Tarmel Udimo: heheheh
        Tarmel Udimo: sure
        Kat Lemieux: We've thought of visiting Australia and renting an RV while we're there
        Tarmel Udimo: nods
        Kat Lemieux: I've talked to people who've done that
        Tarmel Udimo: yeah, well Aussies camp alot
        Tarmel Udimo: go Bush we call it
        Kat Lemieux: It's a great way to travel and see lots of places
        Tarmel Udimo: 'walkabout'
        Tarmel Udimo: yes
        Kat Lemieux: Yep, except you don't have to walk
        Tarmel Udimo: no
        Tarmel Udimo: Its not big here, not yet anyway
        Tarmel Udimo: tourists tend to do it more rent caravans etc but Aussies don't tend to
        Tarmel Udimo: they go to their summer holiday homes or go camping in the bush
        Kat Lemieux: Yep. There's lots of different kinds of "camping"
        Tarmel Udimo: yeah
        Kat Lemieux: We tend to not "rough it".
        Tarmel Udimo: understand
        Kat Lemieux: Our RV is on the large-ish size, and has lots of amenities
        Tarmel Udimo: sounds like fun
        Kat Lemieux: It limits us to some extent, since there's lots of back roads we really don't want to attempt with it.
        Kat Lemieux: But it's a lot more comfortable for long-term living than a small rig
        Tarmel Udimo: but you don't have to stick to just the highways do you?
        Kat Lemieux: We mostly do, but mainly for convenience.
        Tarmel Udimo: ok
        Tarmel Udimo: well if you're ever heading this way let me know
        Kat Lemieux: We drag our car behind our rig, though, and when we're parked we take it off and do lots of day trips
        Kat Lemieux: I shall, thanks!
        Tarmel Udimo: nice
        Tarmel Udimo: lovely!
        Kat Lemieux: Thank you!
        Tarmel Udimo: nice talking to you Kat
        Tarmel Udimo: I might head off to dinner now
        Kat Lemieux: You, too! I need to get some sleep. It's 4 a.m. here now. Yikes!
        Kat Lemieux: Nice meeting you!
        Tarmel Udimo: yikes is right!
        Tarmel Udimo: likewise
        Kat Lemieux: Thanks! See you again soon, I hope
        Tarmel Udimo: yep this is my slot so I am always here on wednesday 1:00am
        Kat Lemieux: Nice!
        Kat Lemieux: Ciao!
        Tarmel Udimo: bye for now!
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