Madelaine McMasters

Awe Thor wrote: Madelaine McMasters wrote: The statement made by Aethelwine was... "Schadenfreude is not a healthy pleasure to be boasting about." The study you cite reports that shadenfreude happens in children and, in the little I could find describing the report, makes no claims about any health effects deriving from it. The presence of shadenfreude is not in doubt. Dresden demonstrated it. The claim to be challenged here is that schadenfreude is not healthy. If the report offers evidence to the contrary, why didn't you mention it? The study offers no indication whatsoever that schadenfreude is not unhealthy. In fact, the tenor of the paper - albeit one written by Germans - implies that schadenfreude is an entirely natural emotion - and the conclusion of the researchers says: "Our data revealed first evidence that schadenfreude might have an important impact on social (i.e. helping) behaviour even among young children. Thus, it is highly important to further analyse the determinants and consequences of schadenfreude. Right now, we are standing at the beginning of the understanding of this emotion." Awe . . . is still waiting for any evidence of justification that schadenfreude is unhealthy, as Aethelwine unequivocally stated. The evidence that schadenfreude may impact helping behavior is precisely what you should have brought here in first place. I won't blindly trust that you quoted the study accurately, nor will I take the study itself as gospel (I'm simply being as wary as you), but appreciate being made aware of it. Aethelwine's statement was, I think, easy to comprehend. You had the chance to refute in the first volley and missed it. Instead, you fired off evidence (of shadenfreude in the young) that didn't even graze the target (shadenfreude is unhealthy). You don't advance a position by waiting for the other side to retreat while you stand still. This MadBagLady is happy to have got you to take a step forward. Gee, I'm even starting to sound like you! ;-)

Freya Mokusei wrote: I'd'd never, ever buy a laptop for SL. Hi Freya, the OP stated that a laptop was a requirement, and I think we can try to help Aaria make the best of that. There isn't enough space inside to dissipate the heat from extended use (>30minutes of use may damage components). Modern computers monitor their own temperatures and will throttle as necessary to avoid harmful temperatures. If this claim were true, how would warranties work? I can't speak for WinTel computers, but Apple's computers have temperature monitors (in addition to those inside the big chips) under control of a tiny computer which does not run the OS (it's called the System Management Controller or SMC in AppleSpeak). The SMC reports information to the main CPU, which can advise the user of system status (battery level, temperatures, etc) and regulate CPU/GPU speeds to maintain safe temperatures. In the event of a malfunction or malware in the main CPU or OS, the SMC will do what is necessary to maintain safe operating conditions, including turning off the laptop. I expect WinTel computers contain similar functionality. Absent this sort of protection against software malfunction, computer manufacturers warranty costs would be at the mercy of malware. They don't have room for a decent GPU. It's not a matter of physical room, the GPU is the size of a fingernail. It's a matter of power dissipation. Laptops are necessarily limited in this regard by their size, but one can (and I have) get reasonable SL performance from the confines of a laptop. There are gaming laptops with very capable nVIDIA GPUs, like the GTX680M, on board. They are expensive to be sure and probably have terrible battery life, but would run SL very nicely. Intel's integrated graphic hardware improves with every generation (as it must to avoid even more ridicule). From what I've read, Haswell integrated graphics, while still no match for the best nVIDIA GPU chips, give a good compromise between battery life and performance. For those who'll operate a laptop primarily from the wall outlet, the decreased battery runtime resulting from use of an external GPU would not be an issue. Then it becomes a matter of cooling. Furthermore, a desktop computer using a certain GPU will probably deliver better graphics performance than a laptop using exactly the same GPU because the laptop will run the chip at a lower frequency to increase battery life and reduce heat. Fan space is limited in a laptop. So, beware of reviews for a graphics ship in a desktop machine if you'll be getting it in a laptop. RAM can't always be replaced. True, laptops are generally more closed environments, so make sure you've got enough RAM and hard drive space in the initial configuration. Heavy draws on the battery caused by SL will shorten battery life, lack of internal regulation of voltage will shorten component lifespan. While it's true that rechargeable batteries have a finite cycle life, and energy intensive programs like SL will drain a battery quickly requiring more frequent charge cycles, that only happens when the computer is not plugged in. For most road warriors, the advantage of a laptop is not so much the battery operation as the transportability. If one generally operates their laptop within reach of a power outlet, battery life will be largely unaffected by usage. That said, the weakest link in a laptop is the battery. It wears out eventually, even if you don't use it. With regard to voltage regulation, the internal components of a laptop need the same care and feeding as those of a desktop, and they get it. The voltage regulators that supply the CPU, GPU, display backlight and other components are of the same design as those in a desktop, and maintain the same degree of regulation. Desktop computers are designed to run from AC mains voltages ranging from 100-240V. A laptop will accept the same range of AC voltage to operate the computer and charge the batteries. The ratio of battery cell voltage from full (4.2V) to empty (2.5V) is less than that for the acceptable range of AC line voltages. By having the moderating influence of the battery (which also protects you from blackouts), a laptop is a more benign electrical environment for components than a desktop. Unfortunately, this is more than offset by the physical abuse that arises from portability and the additional complexity of the battery system itself. They rarely have good ethernet/wired LAN controllers, and Wifi is not suitable for the amount of traffic required. I hear this issue raised often. I've been using SL via Wi-Fi since arriving here in 2008. I've never had an issue. Laptop wired ethernet connections, if present, are now usually 1GBit. It would be hard to imagine how even a lackluster controller design would affect SL performance when the Internet connection itself is likely to be 100x or more slower. Certainly Wi-Fi is subject to interference and the vagaries of unknown router quality on the road, but that's a limitation of the environment, not the computer. As Aaria will be on the road, dealing with those varied environments can't be avoided. Most laptops have both Wi-Fi and wired Ethernet, there's not much more one can ask for. The components are never designed for long life, or heavy use. (You will want both) The components used in laptops are of the same quality as those used in desktops. The reason laptops are more prone to failure is that they take more physical abuse. I still surf the web on a 10 year old Apple PowerBook and do astrophotography on a seven year old MacBook Pro, which sports a few dents supplied free of charge by a friend who no longer asks to borrow my computers. Laptops are built with more attention to durability than desktops, and necessarily so. That does not mean they'll last longer. You can't improve the specifications if Second Life changes the minimum hardware requirements tomorrow. Correct, which is why it's important to make your initial laptop choice carefully. Aaria, I have gathered from others here that nVIDIA GPUs work better with SL than ATI. The laptop you've mentioned has a mid-level nNIDIA GPU, so that's good. Intel's latest generation of CPUs (called Haswell) have improved integrated graphics controllers. This article suggests that Haswell processors with HD4000 level integrated graphics will offer performance comparable to that nVIDIA chip. Read it only if your eyes are slow to bleed ;-) The advantage of Haswell is that overall power consumption will be lower, resulting in either longer battery life or a lighter machine. Laptops containing those chips are just now becoming available. I wish I had more concrete advice to give. Good luck!

Awe Thor wrote: Aethelwine wrote: Awe Thor wrote: Aethelwine wrote: Dresden Ceriano wrote: Gadget Portal wrote: Wow, did this whole thing escalate out of control. It sure did, but it's been great. I just love threads where people talk about some interaction they had with a crazy person, only to have that crazy person come along and try to prove how crazy they're not... making themselves look that much more crazy. ...Dres Schadenfreude is not a healthy pleasure to be boasting about. What sort of nonsense is that? I can't see that you mean physically healthy, so you must be disparaging Dresden's mental health, in which case perhaps you would like to reference the relevant element of the DSM (either 4 or 5 would do) that supports your contention, since one narrow-minded person's opinion is all that it is. I entirely agree with Dresden; the Forums are a wonderful place to see morons demonstrate their idiocy, to see masochists complain about how badly they have been beaten up, to see naive serial romantics whinge about the ephemeral nature of their partners' affections, and especially to see those, like you, who would like to believe in the the underlying humanity of humanity, but are confronted here by the greater mass of humanity who enjoy nothing more than to hear the plaintive adult versions of the immature "It's not fair!". I note that - entirely appropriately it appears - you even have "whine" as part of your name. Awe . . . suggests you start a thread called "Healthy Pleasures" and see what responses that get s you. Are you intending to inject some humour in to the debate by making me laugh at your apparent lack of basic comprehension skills and bizarre logic? Well no laughs from me I am afraid i feel sorry for you and your delicate sensibilities... Awe Diddums... Maybe you should ask your mummy for help with understanding what has been said before sharing. A lack of comprehension? I was basing my comments on a professional study recently published in the British Journal of Developmental Psychology, which found that children as young as four had a righteous sense of schadenfreude, which had developed considerably by the time they were eight years old. Unless you have reasons for suggesting that this is only a pre-adolescent phenomenon - and I have considerable practical evidence to confirm it is not - then I would suggest that it is you who is suffering from a lack of comprehension and logic. Awe . . . I am afraid that the laugh is on you; I am enjoying your publicly humiliating verbal pratfall. ETA Particularly since you have demonstrated a considerable degree of moral insensitivity regarding maternal support. The statement made by Aethelwine was... "Schadenfreude is not a healthy pleasure to be boasting about." The study you cite reports that shadenfreude happens in children and, in the little I could find describing the report, makes no claims about any health effects deriving from it. The presence of shadenfreude is not in doubt. Dresden demonstrated it. The claim to be challenged here is that schadenfreude is not healthy. If the report offers evidence to the contrary, why didn't you mention it?

Hippie Bowman wrote: LOL! You people bring big smiles to my face! HAHAH! Peace!

valerie Inshan wrote: Ouh la la!!!

valerie Inshan wrote: Madelaine McMasters wrote: It would be easier to get my brain into the mood if you two would stop jabbering so early in the morning... Morning? It's 3:40 PM here. Wake up Maddy! By the time your yapping rides the winds from France to Wisconsin, it's unbearably early in the morning, 8:42AM to be painfully precise. Don't you tell me to wake up, you little French monkey!

Hippie Bowman wrote: valerie Inshan wrote: Good morning Hippie and all! Thinking of you (while mentally getting in the mood for vacation!) Hugs you tight! HEHEH! Morning Val! Hugs! Peace! It would be easier to get my brain into the mood if you two would stop jabbering so early in the morning...

Czari Zenovka wrote: Alicia Sautereau wrote: Czari Zenovka wrote: Madelaine McMasters wrote: Ceka Cianci wrote: speaking of that..has anyone seen or heard from Chris?i don't think i have seen him pop up in the group in a long long time..that or any forums.. i hope he is doing well..and wish the same for all.. I haven't seen him in ages, and share your wishes. Same here...how about Trout? Went swimming, late 2010 Remember some names, but to many new ones i`ve never heard of since the group was founded Don't you have another post to answer? Hmmmm... :matte-motes-wink: I arrived at the FC Hangout in May of 2010, and had probably drifted on within a year and a half. I don't recall either of you there. Pity, I'd have enjoyed poisoning you both with my bar snacks.

Drongle McMahon wrote: Maybe this will help... Here are four 16x16m squares with the same gravel texture applied, and starting at top left, across then down, 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 repeats. Note the obvious repeating pattern artefact due to low frequency variation in tone across the texture. That is the main problem with repeats. It is possible, but hard, to remove those variations. (There are also tricks with mesh UV maps to mitigate this). On the right is a closeup of the center of the same squares. I've spent long afternoons trying to even out textures for tiling. The fastest solution I've found is to lower my standards ;-)

Nio Skytower wrote: Maddy, Thanks. I think I grasp it now! The answer was really there the whole time. I tried another sample and was able to scale it down smaller this way. I just have to work on teaking the seamless part of the texture, because as it got smaller there were lines visable. Well, you wouldn't be the first person staring the answer in the face, Nio. There are seamless sand textures at that place I recommended elsewhere in this thread, but it's nice to know how to make them yourself as well. I learned how to do this in Photoshop years ago by experimenting on my own. Now there are many tutorials online. Here's one... I haven't watched the whole thing, and it is Photoshop specific, but the general idea of offsetting the starting texture by 1/2 in both horizontal and vertical, then fixing up the seams, applies to any photo editing tool. Google "create tileable textures" to get more tutorials. Have fun, Nio... and show us something when you're done!

Ceka Cianci wrote: speaking of that..has anyone seen or heard from Chris?i don't think i have seen him pop up in the group in a long long time..that or any forums.. i hope he is doing well..and wish the same for all.. I haven't seen him in ages, and share your wishes.

Czari Zenovka wrote: Fortunately, my mother divorced him and remarried the man that I truly wish had been my biological father, but he is definitely my "real" father and I love buying cards for him. I sent his card today but, since his birthday is at the end of this month, will get a gift for him then. When I got married, Dad wrote a check to my new hubby as a thank-you for taking me off his hands. When I got divorced and moved back home, he demanded a refund... and got it! I recently watched him scooting his young kids across the market parking lot in a shopping cart that looks like a space shuttle. Everybody was giggling. I'm glad I got out of his way. Dad would be proud of him. I'm saddened to hear of your biological father, but happy you got a real one. No need for the scare quotes, he's real ;-)

Czari Zenovka wrote: Accepts them gratefully. At this point, I just wish I could go to bed and in the morning the PC-fairy would have delivered a new system. Wonder what one has to place under their pillow for that? Try putting something under someone else's pillow?

Czari Zenovka wrote: Perrie Juran wrote: Czari Zenovka wrote: Czari Zenovka wrote: And now a "Blast From the Past" - My former partner and I dancing at the Forum Cartel in 2007. WOW!!! My look has sure changed!!!! Once a Red Head, Always a Red Head. Well yes, that part never changes. Come to think about it, I preferred to dress as I do now back then as well but my partner....well....he preferred a different look. I have only two photos of Maddy Marbach, one from day two in SL, and one from the FC Hangout (pinched from Mo's Flickr gallery), where I tended bar three years ago, until the patrons got fed up with my hot cuisine, and having their bums pinched (that's Ghosty I'm eyeing)...

Czari Zenovka wrote: ...to those of you who have built PCs - is it possible to purchase a pre-built PC, purchase a different case, and transfer the components to the new case? Common sense would tell me that if a decent PC can be updated then all the components should be able to come out of one case and into another. Just something I've been thinking about. Czari, this will depend upon the PC. As I said, my experience is a decade old, but the Dell and HP desktop computers I owned at that time were both ill suited for transferring anything to a new case. The Dell XPS had a nonstandard motherboard and power supply, the HP had a mini-ATX (I think that's what it's called) motherboard with only two PCI and two memory slots. The power supply was standard, but the cables to the motherboard were too short to allow moving it to a new case, which had them farther apart. The power supply also had a pigtail for only one hard drive. If I'd wanted to add another, I'd have needed a "Y" cable. To get to lower price points, the big-name manufacturers sacrifice compatibility to some extent. They need only be compatible with themselves. The power supply cables won't be an inch longer than necessary, the motherboard will contain connectors for only those things the box supports, such as perhaps two fans rather than six, 1-2 hard drives and one DVD drive. A quick check of a bog-standard desktop PC on HP's website shows no indication of the motherboard style, which is important as Perrie says. The components inside a no-name ready-built system are more likely to be transplantable in the future, as those systems are built from generic bits from various manufactures, which must all adhere to the basic standards to interoperate. The power supplies will have longer cables and more pigtails for hard drives. The motherboards will have connections for more fans, more hard drives, more DVD drives, etc. ... hands you two aspirin and a root-beer to wash them down. ETA: I think SATA hard drives get their power from the motherboard, so power supply pigtails may be less of an issue, though cable length will still be important.

Hippie Bowman wrote: valerie Inshan wrote: Good morning Hippie, Mr. Space Craft Builder! I just found something especially for you! Hugs and love ya my friend! http://www.buildtheenterprise.org/ OH wow Val! That is so far out! Thank you! And Happy hump day to you and all! Peace! I like that the "Build the Enterprise" organization has a "100 Year Roadmap". The "Long Now" organization is looking out 100 times farther and I hope to visit their clock when it's done... http://longnow.org And you'll find information on the clock here... http://longnow.org/clock/

Celestiall Nightfire wrote: *Makes plans to install bike path inworld, in hopes of getting a bent ear.... For safety's sake, make it really wide. In SL, I ride a unicycle.

Tex Monday wrote: I would also be ok, I think, if someone contacted me to express an opinion on something I did. I think that if I didn't like it, I would respectfully tell them so and then stop talking. That's just me though...I don't think I would contact someone to tell them that I didn't like what was said here. ..although, thre are people who are on my sh*t list....:matte-motes-sunglasses-3: Well, I know it would be okay with you since I once tapped your shoulder in world to comment on forum business and you were a peach, even when I threatened to see if I could peeve you. Now people will be flooding you with IMs and you can blame me. But if you do blame me, I win! ;-)

Celestiall Nightfire wrote: Today, June 12th, 2013, Facebook lights up with support and protest icons, in support of Edward Snowden. Here's the icon, for those that may wish to join in, and be part of this history. http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa21/wolfgang_99/Snowden-LPIcon-withshadow_zps7589e222.jpg *The icon is being used as a tempory profile picture. Also, because time moves on, this is history happening. : ) I'd have to join Facebook to wield the profile pic, but I'll be with you in spirit, Celestiall. Meanwhile, my neighbor, a state legislator, had the misfortune of going for his mail while I was out biking. His ear has been bent ;-)

Randall Ahren wrote: I just wanted one to peer into my neighbors' windows. Binoculars would be better suited, but I imagine you'll need hand's free operation. Even with a tripod, shaking will be an issue indoors. Should your imagination break free of your body, my previous recommendations apply. ETA: I have, on several occassions, looked at, and into, my neighbor's windows. My neighbors and their children have been with me when I do, marveling that, from 500 feet away, they can clearly see whether it's a mosquito or a fly on their window screen, and that their TV screen is constructed of red, green and blue pixels.

Randall Ahren wrote: I'd like a telescope. I have three, and Dad and I built one for the local high school back in the '80s. Check your local paper for "star parties" hosted by local amateur astronomy clubs or societies. Visit one. The members will bring out their various telescopes and offer you a look through them. You can compare the views, the costs, the difficulty of using them, etc. If you are hooked by the experience, they'll be happy to help you get up to speed with anything you get. Saturn will be the star of the show this summer, don't miss him! Here's a photograph I took through a telephoto lens and camera piggybacked on my eight inch reflector 16 years ago. This was April Fool's day 1997, about 11PM I think. My Father and I were sitting in a cemetary (my ex-hubby preferred to stay home in a warm bed ;-), sharing a thermos of hot chocolate and discussing life while I snapped off shot after shot of Comet Hale-Bopp. It's an evening I'll never forget.

This image is one of the defaults in my Apple TV's screen saver. I've now got a copy of it hanging on a wall in my RL home. I'm anthropomorphizing like crazy when I see it, but it makes a powerful statement to me. Yes, it's a Mom, but they're cool too.

Dillon Levenque wrote: And, since I smarted off replying to Maddy's post (I'm right, though: there is plenty of time, although to get it right you probably want to schedule the wedding for Saturday, and at someplace other than your parent's house) I do have an actual suggestion. I once sent my father a card that had a picture clipped from somewhere (I hope I'm not the only one who remembers those days) and put on a simple card that just said, "Happy Father's Day". The picture was of a male lion with at least three of his cubs climbing all over him, hanging by their teeth from his skin, etc. He was just lounging there looking forward, as lions do. Yes, I do know how male lions deal with cubs not theirs; it was still a great picture. Couldn't find it online (not surprising) but this one's not bad: edited, there I love it! There are so many fantastic animal pictures that capture the essense of fatherhood. I once gave Dad a Sandra Boynton Father's Day card. On the cover was just a tiny creature, with horns as I recall, and the phrase "Happy Father's Day". Inside it said "From your little monster." And last year, in the feeds, I posted this image I composited from several I found on the web... For all you fathers out there, thank you for helping bring us into the world, and for helping bring the world to us.

Nio Skytower wrote: Yes, I did try to tile it, but this is all new to me. I did manage to make seamless floor tiles. What do you mean by up the repeats? Is this in Photoshop or editing the prim? It just always looks Magnified in SL, as if I was I were looking at it in RL. I'm just not understanding how to scale it right, so it looks realistic in scale to SL View. That's my dilemma. This is inside SL. After you apply the texture, in the Edit window's Texture tab, you increase the horizontal and vertical Repeats Per Face to shrink the texture by filling the prim face with multiples of it.

I got married and moved out of my parent's house. That's probably more than you can get done by the weekend. ;-)