Welcome to Strengths Island

I’ve been hanging out on Strengths Island for a couple days now,
and couple nights too I think — writing up instructions for the Island’s activities, so you can pop over there and enjoy them too.

I’ll be linking to a few basic tutorials from my Second Life A-Z throughout these explanations. You’ll be able to skip those parts if you’re already familiar with how to perform those tasks in Second Life.

I decided to take a chance at over explaining this stuff a little, in order to encourage more educators to sign up for Second Life and come check out this Island.

There’s a pretty good chance I’m there right now, if you want to come by and say hi. Teleport Now.

Here’s a fun way to aquaint yourself with the Island and all of its various educational activities:
a Balloon Ride Tour.

Here’s how to take the balloon ride:

  • Teleport Here

  • Right click or apple/click and choose “sit,” to sit in the balloon.

  • Type “start” in your local chat window to start the ride.

Now let’s learn some more about the “Strengths Movement in general…

Not very long ago. In a galaxy not too far away…

Once upon a time, I met a skateboarding, breakdancing Tin Woodsman named Gary Bukowski

Gary is a Wishfarmer.

The Wishfarmers are basically a group of Second Life Wizards.

Now I spend my days and nights on Wishfarmers Isle, often just enjoying the surroundings around me, and trying remember what it was I used to do in that other place “out there.”

Our latest creation is Strengths Island, which you are about to hear a lot more about…


My Adventure As A Wishfarmer Begins

Teleport to Strengths Island

So I promised that I would start blogging more — about everything, but in particular about the projects I’ve been working on these days, which are mainly in Second Life.

Well, I’ll finally start making good on that promise today, and I’m really excited about keeping you more in the loop on what I’m working on, so you can help me make it better.

The Second Life learning curve is a brutal one, but I know that soon, if I keep at it 24-7, I’ll eventually absorb all the necessary data to effectively mesh with the grid.

Until then, I’m taking as many notes as I can about all my experiences during this precious time, when I still feel like a “Noob” (a SL new user), so I can incorporate them into my writings and teachings accordingly.

It’s been a while since I’ve really taken on the mission of mastering something new like this. In 1996, although I knew very little about computer programming at the time, I decided I wanted to learn everything about Web Standards — especially HTML and XML. Thanks to several members of the W3C’s staff and its original XML Working Group (who spent countless hours on the phone and writing emails to help me learn all the details), in just a few years, I was teaching XML for UC Berkeley Extension Online.

Then, in 2001, I decided to ramp up on Copyright Law in the hopes that it might somehow combine with my technical skills to perhaps play a role in helping to turn the copyright situation around. That time, although I wasn’t even sure myself where my research would take me (and again, as a result of countless individuals taking me under their wing, to help me learn quickly), I found myself a co-founder of Creative Commons, working with Lawrence Lessig.

So, as you can see, these leaps into the void seem to pay off for me, generally, in both the short and long term. I consider this to be another such leap.

This latest endeavor also ties in nicely with the graduate and undergraduate level teaching on social networking and virtual worlds I’ve been doing for Prof. Michelle Wolf and Prof. Marie Drennan at SF State’s Broadcast Electronic Communications Arts Department (BECA). I’m having a blast learning these new interactive education concepts and technologies from The Wishfarmers, and I am eagerly incorporating them into my own bevy of teaching knowledge and materials.

I guess by now it’s pretty obvious that I truly believe virtual worlds have the potential to help shape and improve our lives. And not just the lives of those online, but also the those out in regular old “meatspace.” It seems clear to me that virtual worlds are no more a fad or passing phase than the Internet itself.

But now I’m getting ahead of myself, and it’s usually best to start at the beginning…

RetarDEAD Themesong Out: Featuring Yours Truly

Wired just published a piece on the follow up to the lovely little piece of poo that is Monsturd.
(My Monsturd site.)
Could directors Rick Popko and Dan West think of anything worse than a serial killing shit monster?
Of course they could!
The new movie is called “The RetarDEAD” — and I’ll apologize to just about everyone ahead of time for its very existence. There’s just no excuse.
I got to play the wife of one of the main characters this time!
I have some ‘making of’ videos and things to put up with me singing lead in a duet with Girl Trouble lead singer Kurt “KP” Kendall, and also singing backups with the “Retardettes.”
Here’s a
link to the mp3 — I have the lyrics around here somewhere.
Oh and the song is totally available for remix:

Creative Commons License

The song is ultimately at the audience’s expense. If that helps any.

Video of Aubrey de Grey on Colbert Report

Wow my worlds collide again. I just met Aubrey last October.
Now, he’s on the Colbert Report.
(sidenote: I have an 45 minute interview of my own with him that I’ll be putting up soon, but I really wanted to present it just the right way. I told him I wanted the “homer simpson version” of what the hell he was talking about, and by golly, I think he gave it to me 🙂
Stephen’s skepticism actually does a really nice job of framing Aubrey arguments too! Nice work Stephen!
You can find out more by picking up a copy of Aubrey’s book too.



Learn more about Aubrey’s SENS platform.
All hail The Colbert Report.

Pete Worden Live From NASA Ames – In Second Life – 9:30 AM PST/SLT

NASA gave me the OK last night to invite you to the virtual version of a little event,
The Next Generation Exploration Conference-2 , that’s taking place this week at NASA Ames Research Center.
This morning, (Tuesday, February 12) at 9:30 AM, Pete Worden will be kicking things off.
Here’s the SLURL to the:
NASA Sun Amphitheatre.
Gary Bukowski from The Wishfarmers and I helped them set up last night.
What a blast! (And I, too, am becoming a Wishfarmer! 🙂

Big Tuesday Going On “Somewhere out there”

I’m going out to go vote right now…… and I’ve already said “go obama” and all that…
But in reality, I’m much more fixated on virtual reality right now, as I’ve been working with a group of people called “The Wishfarmers” that you’re going to hear me start yappin’ about… as is my way… when I get infatuated with a new project.
Come to my metaverse playpen, and click “play” on your video and audio controls.
It’s pretty cool, courtesy of
Electric Sheep Artist Spot Draves.
Spot will be doing an exhibit in the
Node Zero Galleries in early March.

Teleport

I Say: “Vote For Obama!” – My Mom Says: “Vote for Hillary!”

My mom has never done anything like this before, but, she’s asked me to let you know that she is voting for Hillary.
I don’t know which is funnier – Thinking you might vote for Obama because I do, or thinking you’ll vote for Hillary because my mother does.
The choice, of course, is yours 🙂
My Mom Says: “Vote for Hillary!” – But I Say “Vote for Obama!”