4 July 2009: Walpole

[13:24] Melch Savon: Hey Jago -- early for once
[13:24] Jago Constantine: Hey, Melch /cool outfit
[13:24] Melch Savon: Thanks -- found it wandering around last night
[13:25] Jago Constantine: Where from?
[13:25] Melch Savon: let me check the note in inventory
[13:25] Melch Savon: Blue Galaxy. They make you buy it piecemeal though, so it adds up.
[13:25] Jago Constantine: heh
[13:25] Melch Savon: I think I am wearing about L$1500
[13:26] Jago Constantine: I like the mall at Insilico ... some great things there
[13:26] Melch Savon: Insilico remains one of the coolest places I've seen in SL -- not that I have seen it all by any means, but still
[13:26] Melch Savon: I found a 40 foot tall cross in Golden Gate Park yesterday
[13:26] Jago Constantine: RL?
[13:27] Melch Savon: Apparently it is the site that Francis Drake's minister preached the first sermon in English in North America
[13:27] Melch Savon: Yes, wrapping up a guided tour iPhone app
[13:27] Jago Constantine: wow
[13:27] Melch Savon: Doing the park first -- I spent three hours going around and getting latitude / longitude readings.
[13:27] Jago Constantine: there you go / what were the readings for?
[13:29] Melch Savon: So you can say 'how do I get there from wherever I am right now' and I can map it on Google Maps
[13:29] Jago Constantine: ah
[13:29] Melch Savon: Later I'll make a web site where people can make their own tours, or even games where you only find things out if it is a certain time of day.
[13:29] Jago Constantine: hehe
[13:29] Melch Savon: Then I'll add in overlays to reality / Virtual objects on the iPhone screen which is showing what the camera sees, than sort of thing
[13:30] Jago Constantine: cool project
[13:30] Melch Savon: It's a hobby, but the nice thing about being laid off (the only nice thing) is I can work on my projects
[13:30] Jago Constantine: heh
[13:30] Jago Constantine: a man of leisure
[13:31] Melch Savon: Until I can't pay the bills any longer
[13:31] Jago Constantine: yeah
[13:31] Melch Savon: Which means pretty soon I'll have to leave San Francisco for cheaper locales
[13:31] Jago Constantine: somewhere close?
[13:31] Melch Savon: Luckily I own an empty condo in Phoenix. The tenant had to leave, and there is no mortgage, so living there will be cheap / No, not really close / Nor as cool of a place
[13:32] Jago Constantine: ah ... that will be a cultural change
[13:32] Melch Savon: I lived there 4.5 years. Its not like I can do alot while keeping costs to a minimum anyways
[13:32] Jago Constantine: yeah
[13:32] Melch Savon: I have some contract work leads, hopefully they will pan out as well
[13:32] Jago Constantine: great
[13:33] Melch Savon: Enough about my little world though -- what have you been up to?
[13:33] Jago Constantine: well we're still waiting for this parcel to be swapped for zindra land
[13:34] Jago Constantine: the lindens got like 700 swap requests in the first hour I think
[13:34] Melch Savon: Ouch
[13:34] Jago Constantine: they were being processed in order, and we're 10.07am / lol / I think they did like 5 minutes worth / now they paused for the weekend
[13:35] Melch Savon: It's a big holiday here in the US too. They probably left early yesterday. Most businesses never even opened
[13:35] Melch Savon: A bit after this I am heading off to join the festivities myself
[13:36] Jago Constantine: cool
[13:36] Jago Constantine: fireworks and barbecues>
[13:36] Jago Constantine: ?
[13:36] Melch Savon: Well, assuming I don't let myself get sucked into working on the iphone app. I need to wrap it up to start the next project
[13:37] Jago Constantine: heh
[13:37] Melch Savon: Building a web site with professional quality writers tools. You pay $50 to $100 in the store, with $80 a year in upgrades. I'll sell it as a webservice for $3 a month.
[13:37] Jago Constantine: cool
[13:38] Melch Savon: A friend of mine just left the board of a screenwriters association -- if I make a version that formats for screenwriters, he says he'll push it in his group
[13:38] Melch Savon: For a revenue split of course
[13:38] Jago Constantine: hehe
[13:38] Melch Savon: Yeah, there's lots of cool stuff that can be done out there
[13:38] Jago Constantine: indeed
[13:40] Melch Savon: oh, and I continue to fight the urge to learn to build in SL. I just don't think I have as much hope of making $ there.
[13:41] Melch Savon pauses ... he does too much at once, doesn't he?
[13:41] Jago Constantine: heh ... I have a lot of things going on too :P / I think it's achievable to break even with SL
[13:42] Melch Savon: Sure -- but make a living? Some people do, but I think the odds are against you
[13:42] Jago Constantine: well if you make a good product ...
[13:43] Jago Constantine: I mean, I sell t-shirts with national flags on them
[13:43] Jago Constantine: they're not too great, but I sell 1 a day for L$50
[13:43] Melch Savon: Hmm .. . I have never tried, so I have to go with your experience here
[13:43] Jago Constantine: lol / with no marketing
[13:43] Melch Savon: That's pretty nice actually
[13:43] Jago Constantine: they just keep going out through xstreetsl
[13:44] Jago Constantine: and I don't even have a US flag :P
[13:44] Jago Constantine: I sold a bunch for canada day this week
[13:44] Jago Constantine: this is papua new guinea
[13:44] Melch Savon: Should have done the US. We celebrate being a country today
[13:45] Jago Constantine: yeah lol
[13:45] Melch Savon: I'm sure lots of people were looking for it
[13:45] Jago Constantine: I'll have it done for next year / Because it's more of a hobby (I plan to have all the flags eventually) / I'm not fussed about doing the US first :P
[13:46] Melch Savon: It would have been a product of opportunity anyways. No one would buy it tomorrow
[13:46] Melch Savon: THat is a really nicely done shirt though
[13:46] Jago Constantine: Hey, Cache, welcome
[13:46] Melch Savon: Hello there Cache
[13:46] Cache Forster: Greetings Folks :)
[13:46] Jago Constantine: Cool avatar ... you remind me of teddy roosevelt
[13:47] Melch Savon starts thinking of the puns ... cache fault ... cache hit ... cache miss ...
[13:47] Cache Forster: this avatar "Has been rode hard .....and put up wet"
[13:48] Jago Constantine: lol / have a look around the ship if you want / the meeting is in 10 minutes or so
[13:48] Cache Forster: Thank you
[13:49] Jago Constantine: I'm running a promotions group for zindra residents
[13:49] Jago Constantine: even though I haven't moved yet :P
[13:50] Jago Constantine: we had a big zindrapendence day party last night
[13:50] Melch Savon: Zindrapendence?
[13:50] Jago Constantine: heh independence day/opening of zindra
[13:51] Melch Savon: No, I got it -- I just thought it was funny
[13:51] Jago Constantine: heh / we had about 30+ people on the sim for 4 hours dancing / great dj / SO, Cache, do you always wear that shape?
[13:58] Cache Forster: is this on the continent of Ursala ?
[13:58] Jago Constantine: No, it's not
[13:58] Jago Constantine: I'm waiting for a land swap for my museum upstairs
[13:59] Jago Constantine: Hi, Groove, welcome
[13:59] Jago Constantine: :)
[13:59] Groove Dagger: hello / wow it's hard to get in here
[13:59] Jago Constantine: sorry, did you miss the landmark giver?
[13:59] Melch Savon: Hey Groove
[14:00] Groove Dagger: yeah... first the event teleported me to ground level
[14:00] Jago Constantine: ah strange
[14:00] Cache Forster: soory I am not ignoring your question of trying to be terse -
[14:00] Jago Constantine: Well, it's gone 2pm, so if you would like to sit down we can start :) / Basically for you newcomers, we go round the group and talk about the last science fiction we read / you're welcome to just sit in and audit if you want to
[14:01] Groove Dagger: oh right, i just found out this event a couple hours ago, so i haven't exactly prepared
[14:01] Jago Constantine: No worries :) / You might feel more comfortable when you've heard the rest of us :)
[14:02] Groove Dagger: alrighty then ㋡
[14:02] Jago Constantine: Anyway, I've been re-reading Douglas Adams' 'Mostly Harmless'
[14:03] Jago Constantine: book 5 of his Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy
[14:03] Jago Constantine: :P
[14:03] Jago Constantine: It's as funny as the other ones, but it has a slightly more cynical or melancholy tone to it
[14:04] Melch Savon: Eddi!
[14:04] Groove Dagger: hello eddi
[14:04] Jago Constantine: Hi, Eddi :)
[14:04] Jago Constantine: we just started
[14:04] Eddi Haskell: hi / rezzing
[14:04] Jago Constantine: Sure
[14:04] Jago Constantine: Anyway there's one hilarious sequence in the novel where Arthur Dent, the hapless protagonist of the series
[14:05] Eddi Haskell: how is everyone
[14:05] Jago Constantine: ends up on a prehistoric planet
[14:05] Jago Constantine: there's an old trope in sci fi about people travelling to primitive times or worlds and introducing technology
[14:06] Jago Constantine: well arthur realises, like many people in the modern world, that he doesn't know much about making things
[14:06] Jago Constantine: so he ends up introducing the one invention he can reliably make
[14:06] Jago Constantine: the sandwich :P
[14:07] Bryce Galbraith: Hi all.
[14:07] Eddi Haskell: hi bryce
[14:07] Groove Dagger: hello bryce
[14:07] Melch Savon waves
[14:07] Jago Constantine: Hi, bryce, welcome
[14:08] Bryce Galbraith: Been a while since I've been able to come by here.
[14:08] Melch Savon: Arthur invents beer?
[14:08] Jago Constantine: heh no ... just the sandwich
[14:08] Melch Savon: The towel?
[14:09] Groove Dagger: i remember that book
[14:09] Melch Savon: *sigh* Civilization must start somewhere I guess
[14:09] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:09] Groove Dagger: i read a single compilation of all 5 (6?) back to back
[14:10] Groove Dagger: the ending was a bit of a downer
[14:10] Jago Constantine: oh did we lose Cache?
[14:10] Jago Constantine: yeah it was
[14:10] Groove Dagger: douglas said that he was depressed when he wrote that one, and he regreted it later
[14:10] Jago Constantine: yeah... that comes across
[14:10] Bryce Galbraith: Are you talking about the last books in the Hitchhiker's series?
[14:11] Groove Dagger: so he was sorta thinking about a 6th book where everyone ends up in the afterlife or something ㋡
[14:11] Jago Constantine: Mostly Harmless
[14:11] Bryce Galbraith: I came in mid-conversation...sorry.
[14:11] Jago Constantine: no worries :)
[14:12] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, I read the Hitchhiker's series and sometimes give the first three a re-read, but I thought 'So Long and Thanks for All the Fish' and definitely 'Mostly Harmless' kinda went awry.
[14:12] Groove Dagger: yeah fish was a bit strange, a lot of pointless flying...
[14:13] Groove Dagger: i finally saw the tv version, it was all over youtube ㋡ pretty cool
[14:13] Jago Constantine: yeah I like the tv version
[14:14] Jago Constantine: many don't :P
[14:14] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, I thought the tv version was rather more true to the books. The movie went off into something unrecognizable.
[14:14] Bryce Galbraith: I never heard the radio version though.
[14:14] Groove Dagger: i had the radio version. i dont remember if i finished it
[14:15] Melch Savon: I relistened to it 2 weeks ago -- I still think the radio version is the best
[14:15] Groove Dagger: tv is better, probably. the voice acting is almost the same
[14:16] Groove Dagger: but the radio one is more "complete"
[14:16] Bryce Galbraith: I guess the radio version was really the original and the books came later.
[14:16] Bryce Galbraith: .. and then the tv version after that.
[14:16] Groove Dagger: i'm not sure of that
[14:16] Groove Dagger: i had the order written down somewhere
[14:16] Bryce Galbraith: Did any of you read the 'Dirk Gently' books?
[14:16] Melch Savon: Years ago, yeah.
[14:16] Jago Constantine: yes, I really like them
[14:17] Groove Dagger: oh you're right, radio, book then tv. at least the beginning
[14:17] Jago Constantine: yeah I think thats the order
[14:17] Jago Constantine: and there was a text based computer game
[14:18] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:18] Groove Dagger: oh i have that game memorized
[14:18] Groove Dagger: i played it when it came out on my c-64
[14:18] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, that's right... from Infocom. I had that :)
[14:18] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:18] Bryce Galbraith: That was actually pretty funny to play... as a text-based game it worked well actually.
[14:18] Groove Dagger: i even had the box and all, with the plastic bag containing a microscopic space fleet :D
[14:18] Bryce Galbraith: Yep! :)
[14:18] Jago Constantine: wow
[14:18] Groove Dagger: and peril sensitive glasses
[14:19] Bryce Galbraith: and the fluff... and I think a 'Don't Panic' button maybe.
[14:19] Groove Dagger: i can play it end to end without reloading, haha
[14:19] Groove Dagger: there's a flash version on the BBC site.
[14:19] Jago Constantine: oh that's cool
[14:20] Groove Dagger: with fan art graphics
[14:20] Groove Dagger: oh also someone found and old hard disk of infocom, with the sequel
[14:20] Jago Constantine: Hi, celt, welcome!
[14:20] Groove Dagger: but it was mostly a draft with two incomplete rooms :D
[14:20] Bryce Galbraith: Hi Celt
[14:20] Groove Dagger: hi celt
[14:21] Jago Constantine: awesome avatar
[14:21] Celt Faith: hello
[14:21] Eddi Haskell: oh lord i thought it was my older sister for a second
[14:21] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:21] Eddi Haskell: hi there penguin
[14:21] Bryce Galbraith: Yes, very nice av...
[14:21] Celt Faith: ty
[14:21] Groove Dagger: great avie... i need to find how to do that
[14:21] Celt Faith: so what did I miss
[14:22] Jago Constantine: we've been discussing douglas adms
[14:22] Jago Constantine: adams
[14:22] Jago Constantine: I re-read Mostly Harmless
[14:22] Jago Constantine: this week
[14:22] Celt Faith: I have heard the name but I hvae not read anything that he has done
[14:22] Jago Constantine: Ok ... he's a very funny and clever writer
[14:22] Groove Dagger: i played starship titanic also
[14:22] Jago Constantine: he was
[14:22] Celt Faith: starship titanic, there is a new one for me
[14:23] Bryce Galbraith: I'd say Douglas Adams and the Hitchhiker's series was a pretty significant part of my education growing up :) That and Monty Python....
[14:23] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:23] Groove Dagger: lately i've got most of my british humour from PTerry.
[14:24] Jago Constantine: yes, I like his early books better :)
[14:24] Groove Dagger: me too, they're a bit more substance
[14:25] Jago Constantine: Ok, Bryce... read anything good this week?
[14:25] Groove Dagger: adams was a bit more gag-based, but still pretty good
[14:26] Bryce Galbraith: Unfortunately I haven't.... been really busy with work this past week to the exclusion of most everything else :(
[14:26] Jago Constantine: no worries :)
[14:26] Jago Constantine: how about since you were with us last?
[14:27] Bryce Galbraith: I did pick up Vernor Vinge's 'Rainbows End' but I haven't had a chance to get into that yet.
[14:27] Jago Constantine: ok ... that's a good read ... anything of vinge's is :)
[14:28] Bryce Galbraith: I was already reading Stephen Baxter's 'Evolution', which is interesting but fairly long...
[14:29] Bryce Galbraith: Especially earlier in the book when he's more or less writing about different critters running around and all... it gets more interesting later though when humans emerge.
[14:29] Jago Constantine: yes ... I didn't get into that one from memory
[14:31] Bryce Galbraith: I have to say though it's sort of interesting in that there really aren't any 'main' characters really. Oh yeah, there's a couple of characters in the beginning that then pop up later, but they are really there as just a couple of anchoring points for telling a story stretching millions of years.
[14:31] Jago Constantine: yeah
[14:32] Bryce Galbraith: It's fairly ambitious and I have to give Baxter credit for attempting it. I don't think it winds up being the same kind of read as other novels though.
[14:32] Jago Constantine: Baxter is nothing if not ambitious :)
[14:33] Jago Constantine: he usually writes cosmologically or conceptually interesting stuff
[14:33] Bryce Galbraith: That's true... sometimes you have an author that, after you read something of theirs, you just want a simple comic book!
[14:33] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:33] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, I think my favorite book by Baxter is 'The TIme Ships', which is kind of a sequel to Wells' 'The Time Machine
[14:34] Jago Constantine: I'm not sure what mine is ... maybe Anti-Ice
[14:34] Bryce Galbraith: I love your ship here, btw.
[14:34] Jago Constantine: thanks ... eddi got it as a gift from a designer he photographed for his magazine
[14:34] Eddi Haskell: well i would like ot give all of you and issue of july vr style, it is the steampunk issue, I am creative direcvtor, i reviewed this
[14:35] Jago Constantine: see?
[14:35] Jago Constantine: :P
[14:35] Eddi Haskell: you might recognize the guy on the cover
[14:35] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:35] Melch Savon: Thanks Eddi!
[14:35] Groove Dagger: nice
[14:35] Eddi Haskell: sure!
[14:35] Bryce Galbraith: Cool, thanks Eddi :)
[14:36] Eddi Haskell: sure
[14:36] Groove Dagger: an UI magazine, clever :D
[14:36] Eddi Haskell: ui?
[14:36] Groove Dagger: i'm a bit of a noob, hehe
[14:36] Jago Constantine: HUD magazine
[14:36] Jago Constantine: user interface
[14:36] Groove Dagger: HUD yes
[14:36] Eddi Haskell: yah butu can rex it
[14:36] Eddi Haskell: rez ir
[14:36] Eddi Haskell: im a bit out of it to type now lol
[14:36] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:37] Groove Dagger: i only started SL yesterday
[14:37] Jago Constantine: Oh, wow - welcome!
[14:37] Eddi Haskell: you have a nice name
[14:37] Melch Savon: Wow, welcome Groove!
[14:37] Eddi Haskell: congrats
[14:37] Groove Dagger: thanks
[14:37] Eddi Haskell: if you need clothes let me kknow
[14:37] Groove Dagger: okay i will ㋡
[14:37] Jago Constantine: you've had an account since 2007 tho?
[14:37] Groove Dagger: i got a bunch of freebies from machienenerk or wossname
[14:38] Melch Savon: Hello Marcel
[14:38] Jago Constantine: Hi, Marcel, welcome
[14:38] Marcel Rydell: hi
[14:38] Bryce Galbraith: Hi Marcel
[14:38] Groove Dagger: yes, i installed, got a torch and a chainmail, then got lost and quitted
[14:38] Eddi Haskell: hi marcel!
[14:38] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:38] Groove Dagger: probably lasted 30 minutes, lol
[14:38] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:38] Bryce Galbraith: Well hopefully you'll have a more interesting time this time around :)
[14:39] Groove Dagger: i think so, it seems a bit more streamlined. windows go click and stuff
[14:39] Bryce Galbraith: I remember my first WoW experience....mostly consisting of dying repeatedly.
[14:39] Groove Dagger: i'm actually good at this software stuff... just that SL back then was like trying to fight with MS excel
[14:39] Bryce Galbraith: I think that innoculated me somewhat so I haven't tried WoW since... I just don't think I have the requisite time to invest in that!
[14:39] Jago Constantine: I think with WoW you have to pick your battles
[14:40] Groove Dagger: i started playing CoH a while ago, it was funner than most mmo's i've played
[14:40] Jago Constantine: Anyway ... Eddi hasn't read anything this week, so Melch, how about you?
[14:40] Melch Savon: Yes, but we spoke about it before. I finally read Doctorow's Little Brother
[14:40] Jago Constantine: oh great ... how did you like it?
[14:41] Melch Savon: As always, Cory had an amazing message. I answered some of my own questions from our previous talks, and learnde some new stuff
[14:41] Melch Savon: I think he cheated on getting most internet traffic to being encrypted though
[14:41] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:42] Jago Constantine: I'll take your word on that one
[14:42] Melch Savon: That leads me to think that smart programmers today will encrypt the network traffic for their own programs, so that private conversations won't stand out like they do now
[14:42] Melch Savon: So I put encrypted communications in my current app, though I don't really need them
[14:43] Melch Savon: Beyond that, great book. Also too likely to happen
[14:43] Melch Savon: Americans are much too ready to give up freedom for the illusion of security
[14:43] Groove Dagger: reminds me of the stuff i read at techdirt
[14:43] Melch Savon: techdirt?
[14:43] Groove Dagger: every day about how corporations ban people from whistling on copyrighted tunes
[14:43] Groove Dagger: yes a blog
[14:44] Eddi Haskell: yeh i keep on getting my videos in you tube tagged for content stuff
[14:44] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:44] Groove Dagger: hehe
[14:44] Eddi Haskell: that guy on the cover is jago
[14:45] Melch Savon: Lessig wrote a book, Free Culture, a few years ago addressing that and how it came about
[14:45] Melch Savon: Basically code can find and enforce publishers version of product rights, regardless of the law
[14:45] Jago Constantine: I haven't read that
[14:45] Jago Constantine: good point
[14:46] Melch Savon: So, for example, Alice in Wonderland is clearly out of copright. But Sony Readers don't let you copy its text to a clipboard, or let the reader read it outloud
[14:46] Melch Savon: They are defining the use of cultural public domain to their own ends
[14:46] Melch Savon: interesting stuff
[14:46] Jago Constantine: very
[14:46] Bryce Galbraith: wow
[14:46] Groove Dagger: yes that's exactly the kind of thing the blog covers
[14:47] Bryce Galbraith: what is the blog again?
[14:47] Groove Dagger: techdirt.com
[14:47] Melch Savon: with the DMCA, which makes it illegal to try to circumvent copyright code, fair use no longer applies. The DMCA does not recognize fair use
[14:47] Melch Savon: Yes, just bookmarked it
[14:47] Groove Dagger: i didn't even know it until i randomly started using igoogle, hehe
[14:47] Bryce Galbraith: Thanks for the link....
[14:48] Melch Savon: So essentially companies are now trying to enforce, with code, how the products of the culture are being used, not for the common good, but for their profits
[14:48] Melch Savon: The original purpose of copyright law is totally twisted
[14:48] Jago Constantine: yes
[14:48] Groove Dagger: also, newspapers are trying to copyright news and facts
[14:49] Melch Savon: Exactly -- amazing stuff
[14:49] Jago Constantine: and of course copyright extension
[14:49] Melch Savon: Not many people seem to care either -- which really wierds me out. I talk to them, and they say 'so'?
[14:49] Jago Constantine: mickey mouse and friends
[14:49] Groove Dagger: it's amazing how many people comment on that blog insulting the author and defending the poor widdle corporations
[14:49] Jago Constantine: that's purely for corporate profits
[14:50] Melch Savon: Well, profits are good, but there is a point where it harms the common good
[14:50] Jago Constantine: sure
[14:50] Groove Dagger: yeah
[14:50] Melch Savon: English law in the 1700s recognized that, which is part of why copyright was orginally 17 years with only one etension possible
[14:50] Groove Dagger: then came mickey mouse, lol
[14:51] Jago Constantine: maybe that was related to author lifespan :P
[14:51] Groove Dagger: they turned it to the lifespan, + x years. and kept upping it
[14:51] Melch Savon: It did not cover parodies either -- which is how Disney could take the Steamboat Willile concept from Buster Keaton, and later make it to Mickey Mouse, without paying a dime
[14:51] Groove Dagger: originally, it was more like how pharmaceuticals work: you get n years of exclusivity, then it goes public, whether you are alive or not
[14:51] Melch Savon: Well now it is what, 90 years infinitely renewable in the US?
[14:52] Melch Savon: Groove, exactly
[14:52] Groove Dagger: right now, is author death plus 70 years or so
[14:52] Groove Dagger: which is ridiculous
[14:52] Eddi Haskell: group has an iq of like 150 on average lsitening to you
[14:52] Melch Savon: Law is horribly behind the technology, and lobbyists have put in on a different course
[14:52] Jago Constantine: and if we ever succeed in life extension technology ... it could potentially be centuries even without the +70 years
[14:52] Bryce Galbraith: completely. the patent system is out of control too.
[14:52] Melch Savon: Bull.
[14:53] Jago Constantine: bull what?
[14:53] Melch Savon: 10 to 20 years is plenty to benefit the creator I think. If they want more, create more. How much can one make in 10 years off a popular work?
[14:53] Groove Dagger: an interesting point is that, before copyright, every one of the great works of literature would be infringing it
[14:53] Melch Savon: sorry -- the whole idea of extended like + 70 years
[14:53] Groove Dagger: every single author would be sued by the author before him
[14:54] Groove Dagger: becayse he "copied his idea"
[14:54] Jago Constantine: I hope to read that novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies soon
[14:54] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, I have that on my list too....looks interesting.
[14:54] Groove Dagger: that sounds like a great title :D
[14:54] Melch Savon: It's another example of how we should toss the current forms of government and try again. They are becoming enemies of the public good -- and that is really scary
[14:54] Jago Constantine: I wonder if the author's schtick can sustain a whole novel
[14:55] Jago Constantine: it's really just a modified version of pride and prejudice
[14:55] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah... it could be cool or it might just not work too.
[14:55] Groove Dagger: it has good reviews apparently
[14:56] Jago Constantine: Groove, do you want to talk about anything you read recently?
[14:56] Groove Dagger: sure
[14:56] Jago Constantine: I knew you'd come round :P
[14:56] Groove Dagger: well, there are two sci-fi series that are fresh in memory
[14:56] Groove Dagger: the latest i've read, and would at best be pulp sci-fi, is the books of John Carter of Mars
[14:57] Jago Constantine: oh nice
[14:57] Groove Dagger: which btw is in the public domain
[14:57] Jago Constantine: yes
[14:57] Groove Dagger: for anyone who wants to download 'em in guttenberg
[14:57] Jago Constantine: you'd think there'd be a Second Life version of that
[14:57] Jago Constantine: it wouldn't face the problems that the Dune sims did
[14:57] Groove Dagger: the interesting thing about them, is to consider how silly was the whole space-thing considered back in the ... 30s? 40s?can't remember
[14:58] Jago Constantine: maybe 30s
[14:58] Groove Dagger: the science is really whack
[14:58] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:58] Groove Dagger: for instance, it turns out the martians have discovered that light spectrum doesn't have 7 "rays", but 9. and one of those can make giant airships fly
[14:58] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:59] Jago Constantine: yes I remember that
[14:59] Groove Dagger: but it's a fun read. it's very low-tech, with some crazy stuff
[14:59] Groove Dagger: it reminded me of a short story i read in some old compilations of the magazine of Science Fiction and fantasy
[14:59] Bryce Galbraith: Sounds fun... never read the series but I'd like to sometime.
[14:59] Jago Constantine: well they're on gutenberg, so any time :)
[14:59] Groove Dagger: you should, they can be downloaded for free
[15:00] Groove Dagger: i think the last 3 or so books are still copyrighted, but taht still leaves like a dozen free
[15:00] Groove Dagger: this story was incredible: it's the story of Martian astronauts that arrive to Earth
[15:00] Jago Constantine: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/62
[15:00] Groove Dagger: and guess, they discovered that Earth is devoid of life and made up of blue sand
[15:01] Jago Constantine: hmm
[15:01] Groove Dagger: and other silliness. so it's like, 30's pulp martian sci-fi
[15:01] Jago Constantine: so what was the explanation for that?
[15:01] Groove Dagger: the explanation? that's what Martians thought so they made silly sci-fi about earth and blue sand
[15:02] Jago Constantine: ahhhh
[15:02] Groove Dagger: plus, you could grow a money tree if you planted money in the sand
[15:02] Jago Constantine: lol
[15:02] Bryce Galbraith: oh now that would be nice!
[15:02] Groove Dagger: lol
[15:02] Jago Constantine: I get it ... it's like an inverse of our seeing 'seas' on mars
[15:02] Groove Dagger: exactly
[15:03] Jago Constantine: the martians, without seas, imagine blue deserts
[15:03] Groove Dagger: brb
[15:03] Jago Constantine: ok
[15:03] Bryce Galbraith: That does sound kind of cool though -- blue deserts...
[15:03] Jago Constantine: yeah
[15:03] Groove Dagger: back
[15:03] Groove Dagger: the other stuff i've read that i remember is all the neuromancer stuff
[15:03] Jago Constantine: cool, gibson
[15:04] Groove Dagger: i only read it about a couple of years ago
[15:04] Groove Dagger: i don't have many thoughts on that, right now, tho :D
[15:04] Jago Constantine: no worries
[15:04] Groove Dagger: except that it was cool stuff. Gibson said
[15:04] Jago Constantine: the hour is up and it's time for breakfast for me :)
[15:04] Jago Constantine: go on, groove
[15:04] Groove Dagger: hehe
[15:04] Groove Dagger: "had i know anything about computers, i wouldn't have written it"
[15:04] Jago Constantine: lol
[15:05] Jago Constantine: he will be the edgar rice burroughs of cyberpunk :P
[15:05] Groove Dagger: yeah
[15:05] Groove Dagger: funny, he pretty much invented cyberpunk, and most computer fans try to emulate him
[15:05] Jago Constantine: yes, it's huge
[15:05] Jago Constantine: I will try to get a venue in Insilico next saturday
[15:06] Groove Dagger: he made more realistic stuff later, something called the Bridge series iirc
[15:06] Groove Dagger: ok
[15:06] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, I should head out and get on with some other things I need to work on. Nice talking with you all!
[15:06] Jago Constantine: hopefully I'll have got this land swapped for a parcel in zindra by then
[15:06] Groove Dagger: it was nice talking
[15:06] Melch Savon: bye al
[15:06] Eddi Haskell: would anyone want to write about sci fi in sl in the magazine?
[15:06] Jago Constantine: thanks for coming :)
[15:06] Groove Dagger: cool runnings
[15:06] Bryce Galbraith: Thanks for hosting :)
[15:06] Bryce Galbraith: Bye all
[15:06] Eddi Haskell: bye!
[15:06] Jago Constantine: bye, bryce
[15:07] Eddi Haskell: see you next time groove!
[15:07] Jago Constantine: thanks for joining the group, groove :)
[15:07] Groove Dagger: see yous
[15:07] Groove Dagger: ㋡
[15:07] Eddi Haskell: jago im heading out now
[15:07] Jago Constantine: cya!

14 March 2009: Armada

[13:56] Jago Constantine: Hi, Bryce, welcome :)
[13:56] Bryce Galbraith: Hi Jago
[13:56] Jago Constantine: You're the first to arrive :)
[13:56] Bryce Galbraith: :)
[13:57] Jago Constantine: That means you get to find a seat with the best pose lol
[13:57] Bryce Galbraith: maybe I'll wait for the room to finish rezzing before trying to move around... / :)
[13:57] Jago Constantine: lol yes
[13:58] Bryce Galbraith: I like the cat there...
[13:58] Jago Constantine: Yes it's cute / I think its from damiani / Damani, yes
[13:59] Bryce Galbraith: brb....
[13:59] Jago Constantine: ok
[14:00] Eddi Haskell: hello
[14:00] Jago Constantine: Hey, Eddi :) / heh nice pose
[14:01] Bryce Galbraith: Hi Eddi
[14:01] Eddi Haskell: hi / my computer is messed up / and i dont know what to do LOL
[14:01] Bryce Galbraith: Well, you can always re-install the OS .:)
[14:01] Eddi Haskell: that wont help
[14:01] Bryce Galbraith: That might be a bit extreme....but effective! / Hi Lewis
[14:01] Jago Constantine: Hey, Lewis :)
[14:01] Eddi Haskell: if you look at the picture i gave you
[14:02] Lewis Luminos: hi everyone
[14:02] Eddi Haskell: you can see triangles / that is what is wrong / hi lewid / l;ewis
[14:02] Lewis Luminos: waiting for things to rez
[14:02] Jago Constantine: Sure :)
[14:02] Bryce Galbraith: Ah.... this is just in SL....not the rest of your computer then, right Eddi?
[14:03] Jago Constantine: Oh nice costume Lewis :)
[14:03] Lewis Luminos: heh its the same coat I wore last week
[14:03] Jago Constantine: I am kind of appropriate, my clothes could be anywhen from edwardian onwards
[14:03] Lewis Luminos: with cap and pipe instead of punk hair and cyber gear
[14:04] Bryce Galbraith: Hi Redgrrl
[14:04] Jago Constantine: Gentlemen, this is Redgrrl, the owner here :)
[14:04] Redgrrl Llewellyn: Welcome to my Club and Reading Room!
[14:04] Lewis Luminos: hi redgrrl
[14:04] Redgrrl Llewellyn: i'm so glad you could visit us! .....and happy to have you here! / i'm also a librarian RL so i couldn't resist to listen in
[14:05] Jago Constantine: There is a tip jar on the bar which I encourage you to use :)
[14:05] Redgrrl Llewellyn: thank you Mr. Constantine too kind / and please everyone drink up!
[14:05] Jago Constantine: Thankyou for letting us meet here :)
[14:06] Jago Constantine: Ok, for Bryce and Redgrrl, the meeting usually works like this
[14:06] Jago Constantine: we go round the group and discuss the last book we read
[14:06] Jago Constantine: after that, we talk about what we plan to read next
[14:07] Jago Constantine: but there's plenty of latitude for meandering conversation :)
[14:07] Lewis Luminos: we do tend to meander quite a bit *g*
[14:07] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:07] Bryce Galbraith: :) / sounds good....
[14:07] Jago Constantine: Anyway last week I read this novel by Brian Herbert, Sidney's Comet
[14:08] Jago Constantine: This week I read the sequel, The Garbage Chronicles
[14:08] Jago Constantine: They're satirical sci fi about consumerism
[14:09] Jago Constantine: and I really liked them, as I said last week, I wish Brian had kept writing that instead of going on to write Dune sequels
[14:10] Jago Constantine: The Garbage Chronicles is much better than his first book, he really improved quickly from his debut
[14:10] Bryce Galbraith: Interesting...I wasn't familiar with either of those. I guess the 'Dune' franchise has a higher profile...
[14:11] Jago Constantine: Yes, I suppose you can't blame him. His early books were whimsical and funny, but he was no Douglas Adams or Terry Pratchett
[14:12] Bryce Galbraith: I noticed on Amazon.com that there is a (relatively) new release of Sidney's Comet (Jan. 2008)..
[14:12] Jago Constantine: must be due to the popularity of the new dune books
[14:13] Bryce Galbraith: I haven't read anything by Brian Herbert actually. Both of these books were written earlier in his career though it looks like -- mid 80's....
[14:13] Jago Constantine: Yes, and you can tell they're from the 80s
[14:13] Lewis Luminos: really? that long ago?
[14:13] Jago Constantine: yes / Actually, Sidney's Comet reminded me of the movie Wall-E
[14:14] Bryce Galbraith: The synopsis reminded me of an episode of Futurama :)
[14:14] Jago Constantine: That too :)
[14:14] Redgrrl Llewellyn: my favourite book is Time and Again by Jack Finney...time travel illustrated and Victtorian
[14:14] Jago Constantine: I haven't read it / What is it about?
[14:14] Eddi Haskell: is there a bart simpson character in futurama? that is what i feel like at these discussions
[14:14] Redgrrl Llewellyn: its' a great Sci Fi
[14:14] Eddi Haskell: lol
[14:15] Jago Constantine: lol eddi / you should read more sci fi
[14:15] Redgrrl Llewellyn: a modern guy is recruited to travel back in time to solve a mystery
[14:15] Eddi Haskell: i got snow crash / im startng
[14:15] Jago Constantine: oh sounds interesting, redgrrl
[14:15] Lewis Luminos: sounds like just my sort of thing redgrrl
[14:15] Redgrrl Llewellyn: the last book i read was Fingersmith by Sarah Walters..."novel is awash with all manner of gloomy Dickensian leitmotifs: pickpockets, orphans, grim prisons, lunatic asylums, "laughing villains," and, of course, "stolen fortunes and girls made out to be mad."
[14:16] Jago Constantine: Yes I thought of making up a bingo card of victorian cliche
[14:16] Redgrrl Llewellyn: and that's's all i'm going to add gents! enjoy your meeting!
[14:16] Jago Constantine: absinthe, pickpockets, etc
[14:16] Redgrrl Llewellyn: omg that would be brilliant! / twirling mustaches
[14:16] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:16] Jago Constantine: thanks for coming, redgrrl!
[14:17] Redgrrl Llewellyn: cheers dears and the secret opium den upstairs is open to you , too!
[14:17] Bryce Galbraith: Bye Redgrrl!
[14:17] Bryce Galbraith: :)
[14:17] Jago Constantine: Ok, Lewis, how did you go this week? / sci fi wise
[14:18] Lewis Luminos: nothing at all until Thursday, then guess what I bought? *grins*
[14:18] Jago Constantine: lol The Scar?
[14:18] Lewis Luminos: Yep :-D
[14:18] Jago Constantine: awesome :)
[14:18] Lewis Luminos: not very far into it let but loving it
[14:18] Lewis Luminos: *yet
[14:19] Jago Constantine: Have a look around here later, the whole region is built on boats
[14:19] Lewis Luminos: yeah I did have a zoom out with the camera and a bit opf a look round that way
[14:19] Bryce Galbraith: This is by China Mieville, right?
[14:19] Lewis Luminos: yes
[14:19] Jago Constantine: Yes
[14:20] Lewis Luminos: I read Perdido Street about 3 weeks ago
[14:20] Jago Constantine: This sim is based on the book
[14:20] Bryce Galbraith: Ah, okay :)
[14:20] Jago Constantine: It's set on a floating city called Armada / I liked The Scar more than Perdido Street Station
[14:21] Lewis Luminos: I'm not sure yet. I really liked Perdido so its a hard act to follow
[14:21] Jago Constantine: I suppose if you haven't read much you might not be on the floating city yet, Lewis, so I won't say anything :P
[14:21] Lewis Luminos: and I'm only about 5-6 chapters into the Scar so far / oh yeah we got to the floating city
[14:22] Jago Constantine: It's a really unique concept I think / offhand I can't recall anything else like it
[14:22] Lewis Luminos: made me think of the Raft in snow crash
[14:22] Jago Constantine: other than waterworld
[14:23] Lewis Luminos: only I guess Armada is a lot bigger than the Raft
[14:23] Jago Constantine: true ... and the raft wasn't the setting for a whole book / so not as detailed
[14:24] Lewis Luminos: it wasnt as complex anyway. The Raft had only been going a short while. The Armada... didnt it say some of the ships in it had been there hundreds of years?
[14:24] Jago Constantine: I think so yes
[14:24] Lewis Luminos: great concept though
[14:25] Jago Constantine: some with big trees growing on them
[14:25] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, it's been a while since I read Snow Crash but the Raft was just one of the locations and it felt like a transitive point in the novel. A cool idea that Stephenson came up with but didn't feel the need to explore in more depth :)
[14:25] Lewis Luminos: I wondered whether they grew plant food in Armada / or just steal it
[14:25] Jago Constantine: Well, he has so many cool ideas I guess he has to skip over them
[14:26] Jago Constantine: So what have you read lately, Bryce?
[14:26] Bryce Galbraith: Last week I finished 'Death: A Life' by George Pendle. Not exactly science fiction, but definitely a good, fun read :)
[14:26] Jago Constantine: What's it about?
[14:27] Bryce Galbraith: It's basically the autobiography of Death and along the way a funny re-tell of the Creation up to modern times.
[14:27] Bryce Galbraith: Very irreverent too...
[14:27] Bryce Galbraith: :)
[14:27] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:27] Jago Constantine: I have seen biographies of God and the Devil before
[14:27] Bryce Galbraith: Before that I read Charles Stross' 'Saturn's Children'
[14:27] Lewis Luminos likes irreverent
[14:27] Jago Constantine: I loved Saturn's Children / the concept was great
[14:28] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, I loved that book too! Lots of real interesting ideas, but also the way the story unfolded was really interesting too.
[14:28] Bryce Galbraith: I like the take on robots and the Three Laws...
[14:28] Jago Constantine: Basically Lewis, robots in the future are programmed to obey humans / Humans died out tho
[14:29] Bryce Galbraith: And then humans go extinct without giving any final instructions or, more specifically, giving robots freedom.
[14:29] Jago Constantine: so robots manage their own affairs, but a plot arises to resurrect a human from dna
[14:30] Jago Constantine: and raise it under the control of some group
[14:30] Jago Constantine: that will have control of all robots by proxy
[14:30] Jago Constantine: it's a lot more clever than it sounds from my description :P
[14:31] Bryce Galbraith: I think what makes the book work is that Stross also explores what this robot civilization is like along the way.
[14:31] Bryce Galbraith: The robots are basically very flawed too -- just like their human creators.
[14:31] Jago Constantine: yes, it's rather ruthless
[14:32] Bryce Galbraith: They can be cruel and ruthless, but also have emotions too.
[14:32] Jago Constantine: they buy and sell each other
[14:32] Jago Constantine: the protagonist is a sex robot whose ultimate erotic object is a human male ... but they are extinct
[14:32] Bryce Galbraith: At best they are able to own themselves because they create these shell corporations that they control which in turn owns them.
[14:33] Bryce Galbraith: An interesting departure from Asimov's robots is that most of the robots are not human-shaped, in the era the book takes place in.
[14:33] Bryce Galbraith: The robots are more compact and some have very functional shapes.
[14:34] Jago Constantine: Yes, I think androids are a really limited design
[14:35] Bryce Galbraith: Just like in the new Battlestar Galactica, where the cylon raiders _are_ the robots, in Saturn's Children the spaceships and buildings in cities even are basically robots.
[14:36] Jago Constantine: So at the moment, I'm reading a cheap thriller, I should finish it in a few days ... not sure what sci fi I will read next
[14:36] Jago Constantine: I guess Lewis will be reading The Scar :)
[14:36] Lewis Luminos: yeah I think that will keep me going the rest of this week
[14:36] Bryce Galbraith: I just started 'Evolution' by Stephen Baxter...just got started though the other night so I'm only a couple chapters in.
[14:37] Jago Constantine: it's nice and thick, good value for money lol / Oh cool, I've been reading some Stephen Baxter / I think I read Evolution a while back / what is the plot again?
[14:38] Bryce Galbraith: Well, I just started so I can't say much :) But it looks to be basically a novel of the evolution of life on earth...
[14:38] Jago Constantine: Hi, Fourside, thanks for coming :)
[14:39] Eddi Haskell: back
[14:39] Bryce Galbraith: starting in the Cretaceous...then going back a bit actually to the Jurassic.
[14:39] Jago Constantine: Baxter writes a lot of evolutionary sci fi
[14:39] Fourside Janus: Hi, still rezzing.
[14:39] Bryce Galbraith: I'm interested to see what he does with it. :)
[14:39] Bryce Galbraith: I really loved Baxter's sequence to The Time Machine ... The Time Ships.
[14:39] Jago Constantine: A lot of his books and stories involve human evolutionary twists
[14:39] Jago Constantine: I didn't read that, I should :)
[14:40] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, seems like he likes to write in long long time frames -- millions of years!
[14:40] Jago Constantine: yes lol
[14:40] Bryce Galbraith: Yeah, I highly recommend Time Ships...
[14:40] Jago Constantine: the last book of his I read took just 10000 years :P
[14:40] Bryce Galbraith: Oh, short then ;)
[14:40] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:40] Lewis Luminos: lol is that all?
[14:40] Bryce Galbraith: Hi Fourside...
[14:41] Jago Constantine: Hi, fourside, have you read any good sci fi lately?
[14:42] Fourside Janus: Ah, finnally rezzed!
[14:42] Jago Constantine: By the way, Bryce and Fourside, would you like an invite to the group?
[14:42] Bryce Galbraith: Yes, please
[14:43] Fourside Janus: Sure.
[14:43] Jago Constantine: Great :)
[14:43] Jago Constantine: I send out notices of where the next meeting will be
[14:43] Jago Constantine: and if you like, you can always talk about sci fi during the week :)
[14:44] Fourside Janus: Sounds interesting.
[14:44] Jago Constantine: The next meeting will either be at the Museum of Robots, or at the Channel Island Asylum :)
[14:45] Bryce Galbraith: ok...
[14:45] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:45] Fourside Janus: O.o
[14:45] Jago Constantine: The asylum is a nice linden-build
[14:45] Jago Constantine: Creepy
[14:46] Jago Constantine: it's haunted
[14:46] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:46] Bryce Galbraith: It's running on a server... of course it's haunted! :) / Ghosts in the machine...
[14:46] Jago Constantine: lol / So Fourside, have you read any good sci fi, or do you plan to?
[14:48] Fourside Janus: Funny, i could remember them all before you asked... >_>
[14:48] Bryce Galbraith: :)
[14:49] Jago Constantine: heh yes I just went blank before about the title of the last Stephen Baxter I read / lol
[14:49] Bryce Galbraith: Another book I read a couple months ago that I thought was real interesting was a book called 'Inverted World' by Christopher Priest. / The book was written in the 1970s sometime actually..
[14:50] Jago Constantine: hmm it is set in a world where space is distorted, right?
[14:50] Bryce Galbraith: Yep...exactly.
[14:51] Fourside Janus: How so?
[14:51] Bryce Galbraith: The inhabitants of the city are always trying to move the city forward on rails.
[14:51] Bryce Galbraith: So it is sort of like a train car where people are laying track in front of it and removing it from behind.
[14:51] Jago Constantine: I like the concept of a moving city :)
[14:52] Bryce Galbraith: All in an effort to reach the 'optimum' , which is sort of a zone of normality... but it's always moving.
[14:52] Bryce Galbraith: SO the city has to keep moving.
[14:52] Jago Constantine: There's a nice book, Calenture, by Storm Constantine, set in a world of moving cities
[14:53] Lewis Luminos: I've read some of hers but not that one
[14:53] Jago Constantine: it's good, kind of surreal / a little steampunk
[14:54] Lewis Luminos has met Storm in RL :-D
[14:54] Jago Constantine: wow cool!
[14:54] Eddi Haskell: guys i have to run
[14:54] Jago Constantine: Ok babe
[14:54] Eddi Haskell: make a quick appearance at an opening / i will be on later / take care gusy thanks
[14:54] Bryce Galbraith: Looks interesting... Calenture. I'll have to check that out.
[14:54] Lewis Luminos: bye Eddi
[14:55] Bryce Galbraith: Bye Eddi
[14:55] Eddi Haskell: bye all!
[14:55] Bryce Galbraith: Actually I should be heading out as well.
[14:55] Fourside Janus: bye
[14:55] Jago Constantine: Well, it's almost the hour :)
[14:55] Bryce Galbraith: Nice talking with you all :)
[14:55] Jago Constantine: And we've gone through everyone
[14:55] Lewis Luminos: always a pleasure
[14:55] Jago Constantine: Hope to see you next week!
[14:55] Bryce Galbraith: Yep! Nice meeting you all.
[14:55] Fourside Janus: Glad I could catch the end. Bye!
[14:55] Jago Constantine: I will send out a landmark to the group / otherwise search for science fiction in events / we're the only one lol
[14:56] Lewis Luminos: well I think I'm going to explore the sim :)
[14:57] Jago Constantine: oh here is something for you
[14:57] Fourside Janus: I'm checiking out a newly opened Edo Period sim next...
[14:57] Jago Constantine: Redgrrl gave it to me / There are some nice japanese sims around / Ok, bye Lewis, Fourside!
[14:58] Lewis Luminos: thanks Jago
[14:58] Fourside Janus: Take care! ^_^
[14:58] Jago Constantine: If you like the sim, tip the jar here :)

28 February 2009: Liberation Square

[14:03] Jago Constantine: So, have you read anything this week?
[14:03] Lewis Luminos: finished Perdido Street Station / omg what an ending / poor Lin / and poor Yag too :(
[14:04] Jago Constantine: Yeah ... / Harsh stuff
[14:04] Lewis Luminos: definitely not a happy ending
[14:04] Jago Constantine: He's not a happy ending kind of writer
[14:04] Lewis Luminos: and then I read something esle that wasn;t science fiction at all
[14:04] Lewis Luminos: lol
[14:04] Jago Constantine: GET OUT!
[14:04] Jago Constantine: just kidding
[14:04] Lewis Luminos: lol
[14:05] Jago Constantine: What was it?
[14:05] Lewis Luminos: The Piano
[14:05] Jago Constantine: Was there a movie of that?
[14:05] Lewis Luminos: yes but I've not seen it / I intend to now
[14:05] Jago Constantine: I think I've seen parts of it anyway
[14:05] Lewis Luminos: not my usual sort of book, but I enjoyed it
[14:05] Jago Constantine: or maybe that was a spoof / lol
[14:06] Lewis Luminos is not into chick-flick stuff normally
[14:06] Jago Constantine: ok
[14:06] Jago Constantine: Well, I read Stephen Baxter's 'Space'
[14:06] Lewis Luminos: was it good?
[14:06] Jago Constantine: It was great
[14:07] Jago Constantine: It's really mindblowing cosmological science fiction
[14:07] Jago Constantine: Begins maybe 20 years in the future and goes for 10,000 years lol
[14:07] Lewis Luminos: wow thats some saga
[14:08] Jago Constantine: Yeah... it's told as vignettes from different points in history / As characters travel through hyperspace (kind of) and skip through time in the outside universe / It's written from an interesting angle about the fermi paradox and why we haven't seen any aliens
[14:09] Lewis Luminos: sounds like an interesting approach / oh? what does it say about that?
[14:10] Jago Constantine: yeah it is, it's the second book in a trilogy but it stands alone / that's kind of a spoiler :P
[14:11] Lewis Luminos: I read a few books in the battletech/Mechwarrior universe, and there are no aliens there either
[14:11] Lewis Luminos: but it doesnt detract from it at all.
[14:12] Jago Constantine: This has aliens, and the question is why did they show up now
[14:12] Lewis Luminos: aah
[14:12] Jago Constantine: just when we emerge into a high tech civilisation / because there should have been some around long before us / Anyway, I'd previously read the third novel in the series, and was disappointed / So I'm glad I read them out of order / lol
[14:13] Lewis Luminos: was that because you read them out of order?
[14:14] Jago Constantine: No, I think I would have been disappointed anyway / The third book had some interesting ideas
[14:14] Lewis Luminos: I try to read them in sequence wherever possible
[14:14] Jago Constantine: me too
[14:14] Lewis Luminos: my library annoys me, sometimes they only have one book out of a trilogy
[14:14] Lewis Luminos: usually not the first
[14:15] Jago Constantine: lol I hate that / And noone will borrow that book unless they read the first / so it's pointless
[14:15] Lewis Luminos: *nods*
[14:15] Jago Constantine: I see the same thing in DVD stores / When I look for anime series
[14:15] Lewis Luminos: yeah
[14:15] Jago Constantine: they sold the first disc and have discs 2-12 on the shelf lo
[14:15] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:16] Lewis Luminos: my daughter collects anime so I'm familiar with that complaint
[14:16] Jago Constantine: Do I want to order it in? No! I want it now or I get something else :P
[14:16] Lewis Luminos: lol
[14:16] Jago Constantine: I just joined netflix or the australian version
[14:16] Lewis Luminos: I never really got into anime much at all
[14:16] Jago Constantine: that's fantastic, the best way to do it
[14:16] Lewis Luminos: I dont have the patience to watch them
[14:17] Jago Constantine: heh they can vary wildly in their quality
[14:17] MT Mimulus: Hi Jago
[14:17] Lewis Luminos: rather read the manga / hi MT
[14:17] Jago Constantine: Hi, rant, hi, MT
[14:17] MT Mimulus: Hello Lewis
[14:17] Lewis Luminos: hi Rant
[14:17] Jago Constantine: Try clicking on the innner edge
[14:17] rant Ugajin: hi
[14:18] Jago Constantine: We're just discussing what we read this week
[14:18] rant Ugajin: sorry to be late
[14:18] Jago Constantine: Lewis finished Perdido Street Station by China Mieville / I read Space by Stephen Baxter
[14:18] rant Ugajin: i came to listen
[14:19] Jago Constantine: That's cool :) / Did we lose MT?
[14:19] rant Ugajin: she went to eat / do you know Dan Simmons?
[14:19] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:19] Jago Constantine: Yes, the last book I read of his was The Terror
[14:19] Lewis Luminos doesn't
[14:19] Jago Constantine: I loved it
[14:19] rant Ugajin: what is his trilogy called? / based on greek myths
[14:20] Jago Constantine: Hmm not sure about a trilogy ... he wrote four books in the Hyperion Cantos
[14:20] rant Ugajin: those are them
[14:20] Jago Constantine: and I think it was two based on the greek myths
[14:20] Jago Constantine: Ilium and Olympos
[14:20] rant Ugajin: yes / must read them again
[14:20] Jago Constantine: I loved the first greek one, but the sequel a bit less
[14:20] Lewis Luminos: ohh. I say Olympos this week in the library
[14:20] rant Ugajin: what did you guys read last?
[14:21] Lewis Luminos: *saw
[14:21] rant Ugajin: is that in world?
[14:21] Lewis Luminos: I read Perdido Street Statiion
[14:21] rant Ugajin: have you talked about it Lewis?
[14:21] Jago Constantine: He can recap :)
[14:21] rant Ugajin: please
[14:22] Lewis Luminos: sure, well its a very gritty urban setting / fairly low-tech world, almost steam-punk-ish
[14:22] Jago Constantine: I would call it steampunk
[14:22] Lewis Luminos: with a classic science fiction theme - bug-hunting / in this case literally
[14:22] rant Ugajin: bug hunting?
[14:22] Jago Constantine: like in alien
[14:22] Lewis Luminos: the heroes are after some giant killer moths
[14:23] Jago Constantine: the plot revolves around hunting a monster / or The Thing
[14:23] Lewis Luminos: whilst dodging the militia and the local drug-gangs / *nods* same sort of theme as Alien, / xcept the setting is an urban city, not a spaceship
[14:23] rant Ugajin: i see
[14:24] Lewis Luminos: anyay. I really enjoyed it
[14:24] Jago Constantine: I recommend the sequel too, I liked it more - The Scar
[14:24] Lewis Luminos: yeah I will have to buy that one I think
[14:24] Lewis Luminos: definitely want to read more about the city
[14:24] Jago Constantine: It's set in a city too, but one made of thousands of ships lashed together
[14:25] Lewis Luminos: oh its not New Crozubon then?
[14:25] Jago Constantine: No, though it has characters from there
[14:25] Lewis Luminos: ooh. :)
[14:26] Jago Constantine: So I read Space by Stephen Baxter / it's a cosmological science fiction novel / looks at big questions about the universe
[14:27] rant Ugajin: wha are the big questions?
[14:27] Jago Constantine: the plot stretches over thousands of years as characters travel through hyperspace / The main one is the fermi paradox - where is everyone? / Why haven't we discovered any trace of aliens / They show up in the book, so the question becomes, why now? Why did they appear just when we did
[14:28] rant Ugajin: we are immortals?
[14:28] Jago Constantine: the characters?
[14:28] rant Ugajin: yes the charachters
[14:28] Jago Constantine: they live a long time because of the hyperspace ... they skip through normal time
[14:29] rant Ugajin: but they live and die
[14:29] Jago Constantine: basically they're being transmitted and reassembled at different places / yes
[14:29] Lewis Luminos: interesting philosophical questions there
[14:29] rant Ugajin: haha
[14:29] Lewis Luminos: about self identity
[14:29] rant Ugajin: ??
[14:30] Jago Constantine: Yeah ... there are lots of cool, big scale effects too / like terraforming the moon and so on / alien invasions / So next I'm going to read an old anthology I picked up ... Galactic Dreamers / edited by Robert Silverberg.
[14:32] rant Ugajin: what is that about Jago?
[14:32] Jago Constantine: Stories by Jack Vance, James Blish, Brian Aldiss, J G Ballard, Cordwainer Smith
[14:32] Jago Constantine: sounds good
[14:32] rant Ugajin: hi boris
[14:32] Jago Constantine: It says it's about / "Visionary" science fiction
[14:33] Lewis Luminos: isn't ALL science fiction "visionary"?
[14:33] rant Ugajin: what does visionary mean in this context?
[14:33] Jago Constantine: yeah, but some more than others
[14:33] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:33] Jago Constantine: wait I'll grab it and check the blurb
[14:33] rant Ugajin: lol
[14:34] rant Ugajin: where's betsy?
[14:34] Jago Constantine: 'for Silverberg ... the best science-fiction stories are visionary and mystical'
[14:34] rant Ugajin: k
[14:34] Lewis Luminos: I would agree with that
[14:34] Jago Constantine: 'offering that transcendental experience that only the best science fiction can provide / I think it's supposed to be mind-expanding :) / I'll let you know how it is next week at the meeting :) / What are you reading next, Lewis?
[14:36] Lewis Luminos: The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
[14:36] Lewis Luminos: set in the near future
[14:36] Jago Constantine: I've never read any of hers :P
[14:37] Lewis Luminos: about a guy who's a genius mathematician
[14:37] Lewis Luminos: well more than that
[14:37] Lewis Luminos: mind like a computer
[14:37] rant Ugajin: i sec brb
[14:37] Jago Constantine: ok
[14:38] Jago Constantine: heh and what does he do?
[14:38] Lewis Luminos: I'm not sure yet, not started reading it
[14:38] Jago Constantine: heh ok
[14:38] Lewis Luminos: seems to be somewhat cyberpunk-y, based on the blurb
[14:38] Jago Constantine: Ok
[14:39] Lewis Luminos: talks about a Corporation that he works for
[14:39] Jago Constantine: Anything with corporations sounds a little cyberpunk
[14:39] Jago Constantine: heh
[14:39] Lewis Luminos: *nods* part of the definition :-D
[14:40] Jago Constantine: Oh, if I made a group for Science Fiction Saturday, would you be interested?
[14:43] Jago Constantine: You there?
[14:43] Lewis Luminos: sorry yeah
[14:43] Lewis Luminos: and yes definitely
[14:44] Jago Constantine: Cool :)
[14:44] Lewis Luminos: thanks :)
[14:44] Jago Constantine: I was thinking maybe we could have meetings elsewhere sometimes
[14:44] Jago Constantine: Like at Insilico :)
[14:45] Jago Constantine: Of course, I like to get traffic up on my land lol
[14:45] Lewis Luminos: I have a meeting venue available too
[14:45] Jago Constantine: Oh how did your philosophy group go?
[14:45] Lewis Luminos: not started yet
[14:45] Lewis Luminos: First one next weekend
[14:45] Jago Constantine: ah ok
[14:46] Jago Constantine: What's your venue like?
[14:46] Lewis Luminos: its a garden, with seating,
[14:46] Lewis Luminos: dancefloor, in case anyone wants a party
[14:46] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:47] Jago Constantine: Well, I'm kind of talked out :P
[14:48] Jago Constantine: Less people this week lol
[14:48] Jago Constantine: Fewer
[14:48] Lewis Luminos: *nods*
[14:48] Jago Constantine: Got anything else sci fi you want to talk about?
[14:48] Lewis Luminos: these things take time to get into a pattern
[14:48] Jago Constantine: Yeag
[14:48] Jago Constantine: yeah
[14:48] Lewis Luminos: ah MT is back
[14:48] Jago Constantine: Oh I watched a sci fi anime called Gasaraki, which was pretty dull
[14:49] Lewis Luminos: maybe she has a book to talk about
[14:49] Jago Constantine: Hi, MT, are you a sci fi reader?
[14:49] Jago Constantine: rant is afk I think
[14:50] Jago Constantine: anyway I don't recommend Gasaraki unless you're into mecha
[14:50] MT Mimulus: Sorry I had to leave
[14:50] Jago Constantine: No worries :)
[14:50] Jago Constantine: Have you read any science fiction lately, MT?
[14:50] MT Mimulus: I'm reading The Algebraist right now
[14:51] Jago Constantine: Cool, Iain Banks
[14:51] Jago Constantine: I liked that one
[14:51] MT Mimulus: Yes. Its very good - funny
[14:51] Jago Constantine: The aliens are whimsical
[14:51] Jago Constantine: the main aliens
[14:51] Lewis Luminos: hehe
[14:51] Lewis Luminos: sounds fun
[14:52] MT Mimulus: It is. A good read
[14:52] Jago Constantine: they have an economy based on kudos
[14:52] MT Mimulus: Sounds familiar, doesn't it
[14:52] Lewis Luminos: yeah but I can't place where from
[14:52] Lewis Luminos: great idea though
[14:53] Jago Constantine: it's like Cory Doctorow's book
[14:53] Jago Constantine: the magic kingdom one
[14:53] Lewis Luminos: like trading favours
[14:53] Jago Constantine: yeah
[14:53] Jago Constantine: In that people have power based on their reputation
[14:53] Lewis Luminos: *nods*
[14:53] MT Mimulus: But lacking any logic to the system
[14:53] Jago Constantine: hehe
[14:53] Lewis Luminos: ohh I remember where I've come across that idea before
[14:54] MT Mimulus: Whre is that Lewis?
[14:54] Lewis Luminos: Vampire the masquerade. The RPG
[14:54] Jago Constantine: lol really?
[14:54] Lewis Luminos: it all revolves round political intrigue
[14:54] Jago Constantine: how did that work
[14:54] Lewis Luminos: social status
[14:54] Lewis Luminos: depends on who owes you favours
[14:54] Jago Constantine: oh cool
[14:55] Lewis Luminos: the more important the people that owe you, the more important you become
[14:55] Lewis Luminos: thus you rise up the social ladder
[14:55] Lewis Luminos: whilst trying to avoid being staked, of course
[14:56] Jago Constantine: lol
[14:56] MT Mimulus: How often do you hold these discussions, Jago?
[14:57] Jago Constantine: this is the second one
[14:57] Jago Constantine: once a week is the plan
[14:57] MT Mimulus: Is there usually a theme proposed?
[14:57] MT Mimulus: Or I should say, will there be?
[14:57] Jago Constantine: The theme is just sci fi :)
[14:58] Jago Constantine: What we've done is talk about what we each read last, and what we want to read next
[14:58] MT Mimulus: I see
[14:58] Jago Constantine: With some free discussion of course
[14:59] Jago Constantine: I just made a group if you're interested
[14:59] MT Mimulus: Yes
[14:59] Jago Constantine: Although the notices will be in events too
[14:59] MT Mimulus: If I have room
[14:59] Lewis Luminos: and on SL Universe forums :)
[14:59] Jago Constantine: yes, and on SLU
[15:00] Jago Constantine: Thanks for joining :)
[15:00] MT Mimulus: Thanks Jago
[15:00] Jago Constantine: We might have meetings at different locations sometimes
[15:00] Jago Constantine: I was thinking Insilico, the cyberpunk sim
[15:01] MT Mimulus: I haven't been there - should be interesting
[15:01] Jago Constantine: or the museum of robots
[15:01] Lewis Luminos: that would be cool :)
[15:01] MT Mimulus: Yes it would be
[15:01] Jago Constantine: Feel free to post to group chat
[15:01] Lewis Luminos: maybe we should dress the part too
[15:01] Jago Constantine: During the week if you like
[15:01] MT Mimulus: OK
[15:01] Lewis Luminos: ok
[15:02] Jago Constantine: It is a group for discussion after all ;)
[15:02] Jago Constantine: If we meet at an rp place like insilico it would be good to dress the part :)
[15:02] Lewis Luminos: yeah thats what I was thinking
[15:02] Jago Constantine: I will check with the Insilico owner and see if she'd let us meet there
[15:03] MT Mimulus: ok
[15:03] Jago Constantine: they have an out of character bar
[15:03] Jago Constantine: Is rant there, MT? Would he like to join the group?
[15:04] MT Mimulus: I don't think so
[15:04] MT Mimulus: He seems to be away
[15:04] Jago Constantine: Would he be interested in the group?
[15:05] MT Mimulus: I think he is interested in Sci Fi but I don't know about joining a group
[15:05] MT Mimulus: Hello Boris
[15:05] Lewis Luminos: even the dog is trying to wake him up
[15:05] Jago Constantine: heh
[15:05] MT Mimulus: haha
[15:05] Jago Constantine: I just set the group so any of you can invite members
[15:05] Jago Constantine: It's also open enrolment anyway :)
[15:05] MT Mimulus: OK Jago
[15:05] Lewis Luminos: cool, thanks