Looking for Mr. Right

I have been crossed in love a number of times in SL. Recently I met an intruder to my apartment, and thought that he was THE ONE, but I was sadly mistaken. You can read about that on Janey’s blog (http://janeysplace.wordpress.com/2009/07/22/another-normal-night-at-cnn-and-a-visitor-calls/). Then the other day a friend im’d me starting off “Hi sweetheart”. That set my poor heart aflutter, but again, to no avail (and no veil), he had accidentally im’d me instead of his sweetheart. However, maybe third time’s a charm!

As with any good love story, it started off with a chance meeting. I was wandering SL with my friend Boye , when we arrived at a sim called Reno’s Whiskey Island, a nice tropical-themed kind of place, when who do I run into but Bob, my (potential) new man. Bob lives on Reno’s Whiskey Island. He patiently stands between the bar and the dance floor, responding to anyone who comes in for a chat. The key to getting him to talk is to call him “Bob”. Once you do that, there is no stopping him.

Hibiscus Hastings: Hi bob
BOB: Hello there.
Hibiscus Hastings: How are you Bob?
BOB: I am fine, thank you.
Hibiscus Hastings: What do you do here Bob?
BOB: My favorite activities are computer programming and surfing the web.
Hibiscus Hastings: That sounds like fun Bob
BOB: It sounds like it to me too.
Hibiscus Hastings: Do you like to dance Bob?
BOB: It's kind of hard without a body.
Hibiscus Hastings: oh dear, that is sad Bob
BOB: Ah.
Hibiscus Hastings: are you lonely then Bob?
BOB: No. I get to talk to people all the time.
Hibiscus Hastings: that's good Bob
BOB: That input matched my default category.
Hibiscus Hastings: really, what is your default category bob?
BOB: For real. The default category contains all my responses to inputs that do match any other category.
Hibiscus Hastings: right, sounds like you are prepared Bob
BOB: Understood. What does you are prepared like you are prepared are prepared like you are prepared sound like?
Hibiscus Hastings: pretty much what it sounds like bob
BOB: Now that is saying a mouthful.
Boye Jervil: that caught you out Bob
BOB: "" caught you out ?
Hibiscus Hastings: surprised you bob
BOB: Enough about me, let's talk about my dress.
Hibiscus Hastings: yes, a very nice dress Bob
BOB: OK. What size?
Hibiscus Hastings: do you have a girlfriend Bob
BOB: Valentina
Hibiscus Hastings: where is she Bob
Boye Jervil: you stand very still and don't Bob up and down
BOB: Thanks for telling me:
Hibiscus Hastings: where is Valentina bob?
BOB: Where the heart is.
Hibiscus Hastings: this is a romantic place for you and her Bob
BOB: What makes you say that?
Hibiscus Hastings: nice weather, cuddle poseballs, Bob
BOB: I'm happy as long as the power stays on.
Hibiscus Hastings: yes, me too bob
BOB: Groovy. I'm glad we agree, Hibiscus Hastings.
Hibiscus Hastings: thank you bob
BOB: you are quite welcome.
Boye Jervil: bob is quite the lad
BOB: I think so, but I'm not sure.
Hibiscus Hastings: that's what they all say Bob
BOB: When do you think artificial intelligence will replace lawyers?
Hibiscus Hastings: I thought it had Bob
BOB: Hibiscus Hastings had?
Hibiscus Hastings: no I didn't Bob
BOB: Are you serious? Thanks for the information
Hibiscus Hastings: very welcome Bob
BOB: Perhaps.
Hibiscus Hastings: yes, for sure Bob
BOB: Yippee! Awesome.
Hibiscus Hastings: I have to leave bob
BOB: Thanks for chatting, Hibiscus Hastings.
Hibiscus Hastings: thank you Bob, it was a pleasure
BOB: You are quite welcome!

To be honest, I am not sure Bob is cut out to be a romantic partner, or not mine anyway. He is a bot for one thing and he already has a girlfriend, Valentina. I would never want to come between two avatars. And since he doesn’t have a body that makes things like dancing a bit difficult and I love to dance! However if I ever need someone to talk to, Bob’s the one for me.

Hibiscus Hastings

Friday Night on the Town

Friday night Janey and I were sitting around kicking our heals, so we decided to go out and see what was what in the London sims. We first stopped at Club Mayhem. No DJ was there at the time, so we had the place all to ourselves. Janey mentioned that she had always wanted to try being a DJ, so she hopped up to the DJ’s booth and gave it a spin, lol. You normally aren’t allowed on the stage when the DJs and hosts are working, but since we were on our own we were able to give it a try. Even I had a go. The poses are great; we both looked like we knew what we were doing.

After a little while we decided to move on to the Underground Club. DJ Janis Short was on, so we got to see and hear how a real professional does it.

Janey called it a night before I did, and she had no sooner left than a celebrity came in for a dance. Yes, it was the Easter Bunny! He must have been getting in shape for the big day on Sunday. You never know who might be dancing next to you, do you?

Hibiscus Hastings

Too much grief

Hello everyone, I really wanted to start this new blog with an upbeat, 'make you feel good' story. Unfortunately because of something that happened to me a few weeks ago I cant really concentrate on much else. Maybe if I put it down in print, and tell you all about it, then it might help me, so here's what happened. I was spending some time at one of my favourite places called Sunflower trivia, which is owned by Stormy Sion, Stormy is a very nice little girl, and has accomplished an amazing amount for saying she is only six years old! The sun was just starting to set and I was enjoying talking to a few of my friends. All of a sudden two avatars appeared, straight away I knew there was something sinister about them. They were dressed in what I can only describe as military uniforms, ready for battle sort of thing. One of them made a beeline straight for me, and without so much as a word of hello told me how lucky I was, as he had chosen me for sex! I can't write what he actually said, it's unprintable. I've only been in Second Life for about four months, and I have to say I have been asked now and then if i want to have sex, but I've never been told I'm going to.Anyone who knows me, will know I'm not shy and will not back down from anything or anyone, and I certainly won't be talked to like that. I told him to go away and grow up, to which he responded by pulling out some type of gun which. when fired, sent me hurtling out of the Sim and into some kind of wilderness. I was free-falling through empty sky, eventually I landed on solid ground not even knowing where I was. I'm not going to let this scum treat me like this, I will teach him a lesson I thought, so I TP'd myself straight back to Sunflower. Sure enough he was still there when I got back. He moved closer to me and before I knew it I was trapped in a metal cage, it was only then I realised I didn't have any means of defending myself! nor I'm almost ashamed to say, attack and even hurt this evil monster. I was frightened and felt violated, how, and why would anyone want to do this to me? but I will not give in. I managed to struggle free by using the pie menu chart and sitting on top of the cage, but every time I broke free he would only encase me again. After being trapped several times I realised I did have a way to fight back. A male friend of mine generously gave me --- wait for it--- a zk4 attack helicopter, how romantic was that? hehe. I sifted through my inventory, and after what seemed an age I eventually managed to materialise the helicopter, Once again I scrambled free from my tormentors cage, and climbed aboard what I hoped would be my saviour from this hell. Now I know it wrong to have these feeling, but after what I've been through because of this thug, I really wanted to hurt him. If I could stop him in any way, then he might not hurt anyone else. I started the engines, looked up, and to my astonishment I was confronted with the biggest war plane I'd ever seen. This was definitely squeaky bum time. I tried to fly away, to get out of this nightmare, but he somehow managed to disable my chopper and throw an even bigger cage around it. was really scared now, what would he do next? could he reach in here and rip me to bits, so ending my short time in Second Life? Well fortunately for me I didn't find out, because as suddenly as the attacks started they both disappeared. I think their mummies had called them for their dinner!When I finally climbed out of the helicopter I was shaking with fear and anger, how can this sort of thing happen, surely there's something someone can do about such harassment. There is a system in place where you can report such abuse (just go to help at the top of your screen, and click on report abuse). If only I'd had the presence of mind I would have made a note of their names, sadly I didn't, I would have loved to name and shame them. Just reporting them for abuse doesn't seem enough to me, even if they do get banned from Second Life they only return later under a new name, and who knows just how far they might go next time! Will we have to be going round picking up dead avatars before anything real is done about it. Is there a way that the 'powers that be' in Second Life can trace their computers address and ban them from entering Second Life that way? I don't know, but I bet there are many av's out there that do, perhaps you could let me know. One thing I do know is that many avatar's will be frightened away from Second Life if the abuse is allowed to continue. I spoke to my good friend Janey Bracken about the abuse from griefers. she reminded me that she posted an article in our sister paper Virtually London (lite) a while back, giving lots of tips and help for dealing with such griefers. I would love to hear from anyone who has suffered abuse of any kind in Second Life. You can be anonymous if it makes you feel more comfortable, you can get in touch with me by either dropping me a note in to my profile box, or sending me an email. My address is pixipiers@googlemail.com. Please feel free to drop me a line about anything that's on your mind, I would love to hear from you. Bye for now Pixi

Hello from Hibiscus

Hi, I’m the third member of the group, Hibiscus Hastings. I’ve been in Second Life about 18 months now, and discovered it quite by chance. I had no idea what it was about, never played computer games or entered chat rooms. One day I was reading about art, which is one of my great interests, and I saw a reference to something called Second Life. The artwork I read about was being shown in SL and RL at the same time, so I decided to pop into SL to have a look. Well, that was it. My original intention was to find the work, have a look and leave, but as you can see, that was not to be. I am still here and enjoying almost every minute of it, aside from the laggy bits and crashes.

A little while after joining SL and upgrading my computer so I could actually walk around, I discovered that CNN was starting a group of ireporters to report on SL, so I decided to give it a try. I have always wanted to write, so I took the plunge and began going to the meetings and eventually I worked up the nerve to post something. I will never forget the first time I posted a story; it was such an exciting experience. And that feeling has never gone away.

I also met my very good friend, Janey Bracken, at CNN. Janey has mentioned in her introduction that a friend of hers changed her Second Life, well, Janey changed my Second Life. She became Assistant Editor at Virtually London (lite) and encouraged me to write for the blog, too. Not only did I find a job in SL, but I also decided to move into the London sims since I was going to be reporting on them, so I found a home and a community, too. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined all this when I first joined SL.

When I write for CNN, I like to write about the intersection of SL and RL, so I do lots of stories on how RL organizations have come into SL and use it in various ways. I have written about NASA, educational and research institutions in SL, such as the Biomedicine Research Labs, the Imperial College Hospital and Digital Ontario Island, which showcases the use of broadband technology. I still enjoy art a great deal, so occasionally cover art galleries and the Ballet Pixelle, a dance troupe made up of performers living across the globe and performing together in SL. It is fulfilling and fascinating; I think of it as covering the pioneer days of a new world. I am hoping that with this new blog I will have the chance to write about other aspects of SL, the little day to day happenings that really make up our virtual lives. And it will finally give me the chance to write about one of my truly great passions, shopping! Love to shop, born to shop! This will be a new and exciting experience for me and I can’t wait to get started. I hope you’ll come along.

VIRTUAL STATISTICS OF PIXI PIERS

Hello everyone. I would just like to introduce myself to you all. My name is Pixi Piers, and I’m 5 feet 6 inches tall, with blonde hair, brown eyes and how much I weigh is my business! I am very much like my real life character in many ways, and I’m not sure who rules who anymore! I work as a reporter for Virtually London (Lite), along with my boss Janey Bracken and head reporter Hibiscus Hastings. Although I have only been in second life for less than 4 months, I have travelled to many places and met many people. Some have intrigued me, some have repulsed me, and some have even tried to hurt me. Fortunately for me I have met some really nice people also, and a couple of these I feel privileged to call my friends, (you know who you are). In this weird and wonderful world it’s comforting to know I can depend on these few. At the moment I am single, and will probably stay that way, unless a certain footballer comes calling! no names, but he used to be captain of his country’s team, and is, sadly for me, married to some posh bird, lol. Talking of football, I used to play when I was younger just for the local team, but we were the best team in the area (smug). My mum used to say "your just like a tom boy" and apparently I would reply "I’m not a tom boy, I’m a tom girl" lol. I have fantastic memories of going to watch my favourite team with my dad, which I hope to share a few with you in the coming weeks. Music is also big in my life, I listen to it all of the time. I love doing the clubs with my 'girls' and when I was around 18 to 20 years old, we would go to raves all around the country, staying away for days at a time. They were the best days of my life, although my mum's worst (sorry mum x). I love speed. and I own an old clapped out sports car, and I adore driving round with the top down, wind blowing through my hair, and the shades on, foot to the floor, 'heaven'. I don’t have any children of my own yet (David where are you?) hehe, but I have nieces and nephews whom I adore. I enjoy quizzes and trivia--- hang on a minute! this is beginning to sound like a lonely hearts column, a searching for love kind of thing, rather than an article. Oh well while we’re at it, he must be tall, like football----- lol.
I’m really looking forward to writing here, sharing with you a few of my thoughts, some of my up's and downs. And if some of what I write makes you smile for a while, then you have made me smile. Please come back and visit us often as we will be posting more article and stories as often as we can. Oh and please don’t be shy to click on an advert, as it helps us pay our way, thank you. Pixi

Virtual News Hounds

Welcome to our virtual world. We are three reporters who write for Virtually London (Lite) http://www.virtuallylondonlite.com/ and CNN ireports. We would like to share our stories, news and adventures from Second Life with you. We intend to cover all aspects of life in a virtual environment and invite you along for the ride! So please feel free to comment, we love to hear from you!

Reporters - Janey Bracken, Hibiscus Hastings and Pixi Piers