Madelaine McMasters

2-13-2014 Linden Research shutters its doors after a massive exodus of residents from Second Life in the wake of Phil Deakins proof a year earlier that SL meters ≠ RL meters. That proof uncorks a cascade of revelations which culminate in the realization that the entirety of SL has approximately no basis in reality. 2-13-2017 Responding to complaints by local businesses over the dilapidated appearance of the long abandoned Linden Research offices, city inspectors discover the interior of the structure filled with empty, desicated watermelon hulls surrounding the building's only chair.

valerie Inshan wrote: Madelaine McMasters wrote: ...dusts off Val's lap and sits down. Why didn't you post our RL picture, Maddy? It's about time we make our coming out. ...shimmies a li'l.

Dillon Levenque wrote: Madelaine McMasters wrote: Don't you say a word, Dillon. Once I saw Lynda's and 16's posts I knew you'd cut loose ;-). I don't recall that BFJO one, either. Can't wait to have a chance to get my ears on and listen. I have to say I was a little bit disappointed. What about Buckwheat Zydeco and Asleep at the Wheel? KK! Buckwheat Zydeco... Asleep at the Wheel... Diana Krall and Natalie Cole... Natalie's Pop... Bucky's Kid... Julie Minami... Pappo... The Pied Pipers... Tierney Sutton... Elfa's Voices and Jazz Band (from Indonesia)... Aura Urziceanu Rully (after shushing the piano player's "How High the Moon" ;-)... The Four Freshmen (Japan 1964, starting at 3:38)... Bossa Nova Beatnicks... The Fintan Gilligan Trio (Ireland)... Say-Go & 加地なお子... Alexander!... Nick Jones... Cheetah Girls... And the last nail in the coffin... How's that for taking a perfectly good idea and driving it into the ground? ;-)

...dusts off Val's lap and sits down.

Jadeclaw Denfu wrote: My favorite is the one from the BFJO. The kids can play. Seriously. There is a channel with a fat load of videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/bfjofan3/videos?view=0 One excellent performance after another. Amethyst Jetaime wrote: "SL has way too much of the decayed looking builds IMO, Its has become cliche." I don't understand, why so much needs to look like 1970s New York or like Oslar Petroleum Thanks to Google Streetview, there is almost a whole planet, that could be used as an inspiration. And regarding recreating the 66 in its heydays, there is enough photographic material on the net to make that possible. I agree Jadeclaw, the kids are fantastic. I'm not a fan of the post apocalyptic / decayed look either, unless the sim is empty and I can imagine it's all mine and I can fix it up. My parents spent their honeymoon traveling Route 66. By the time I was old enough for road trips, it had been forgotten, bypassed by the Interstate system. The Mother Road was a beautiful build, as evocative as AM Radio's "The Expansion and The Far Away". The buildings in both of those settings were used, but neither worn out nor neglected. My three favorite sims in all of my five years in SL have been "The Expansion and The Far Away", "The Mother Road" and another Japanese creation called "Nah!". That sim was perpetually dark and rainy, with a dimly lit footpath and lightning/thunder off on the horizon. All of these sims were, for me, perfect places to sit and think. Sadly, they are all gone, so I must now think on my feet.

I love it, 16! Here's a Japanese Big Band cover to compliment the Japanese creators of "The Mother Road"... Manhattan Transfer... Rolling Stones (1964)... Brian Setzer... Munich Swing Orchestra... The Dutch swing it too... The girls do it proud (I love this!)... And finally... http://vimeo.com/16837855 Don't you say a word, Dillon.

Dillon Levenque wrote: Kelli May wrote: I don't know much about it, but I hear it's a good place to get your kicks. Now you've done it. She'll be at this for hours ;-). Pffft!

Kelli May wrote: I don't know much about it, but I hear it's a good place to get your kicks.

Janelle Darkstone wrote: It wouldn't be hard to recreate a small part of old 66. Just create an abandoned building and throw some tumbleweeds in front of it. Heck, most of SL looks like that anyhow. I think you underestimate the challenge... TMR was created by Renn Luik and Macolinn McMillan, two native Japanese who admittedly suffered from faux American nostalgia. The care they took in constructing the place was evident at every turn. I miss it.

friscolives wrote: I have an IMac, about 2 1/2 to 3 years old. I've been able to run SL on it well, but recently have not been able to load the updates to my viewer ( Firestorm.) and now getting on SL is becoming an issue. I'm worried that soon I wont be able to access it, since I can't download the latest browsers for whatever reason. I am curious if this is a known problem, or someone knows how to resolve it? Any advise would be helpful. Frisco, could you be more specific about why you're unable to download the latest browsers and tell us which version of OS X you're running?

The Mother Road was a wonderful photo spot, Ricky. Unfortunately, it's gone.

Dillon Levenque wrote: Congratulations on having spent the night and come back for the update. Some of the advice in this thread might work for you. Of course, you DO have to somehow set yourself apart from the competition ;-). I've got the suit, tie and fedora. Do you think I could pass muster without the cigar? I fear coughing, wheezing and nausea would work against me.

2-10-2013 Preliminary results of a UK investigation into the presence of horse meat in packages of beef lasagna have implicated a little known bovine organized crime ring known as the "French Moofia". 2-10-2014 Tragedy strikes the maiden flight of Iran's new Quaher-313 super stealth figther when the rubber band powering the plane's "Divine Retribution" engine snaps. The pilot, who ejected from the stricken aircraft moments before it rolled to a stop inside the hanger just three meters from where it started, suffered rug burns on both elbows from the flailing rubber band, as well as numerous balsa wood splinters. Iranian defense department officials, overcome by model airplane glue fumes, were unavailable for comment. 2-10-2015 Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces, attempting to break up the first annual "Three Meter" model airplane contest, are repelled by thousands of long range paper airplanes launched by participating elementary school children. US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, in a rare show of sympathy for the beleaguered Revolutionary Guard, admitted that school children are "cunning little devils".

Hippie Bowman wrote: Wonderful Picture Maddy! The camera doesn't do it justice!

Hippie Bowman wrote: valerie Inshan wrote: Lol Hippie, having spent a whole winter in Milwaukee then in Chicago, a long time ago, I can understand why you moved to Florida! Oh yes! OMG I love it here! Hugs my friend! Peace! You can have your year round bikini and sandal weather, I'll take whatever Wisconsin throws at me, like the view from my patio this morning... That image is 4000x1129 pixels (right click it and open in a new window to see it full size), the original is 17000x4800. Here's a link to a 13,000 x 3755 image you can magnify. Click the magnifier at the top of the page, then drag the zoom slider at the bottom of the pop up window to set the magnification, then rag the image to pan... https://picasaweb.google.com/114952765255635537874/February8201304#5842656222516874450

Where are you from? Wisconsin, USA When did you join SL originally? April 6, 2008 What have you mainly spent your time doing in SL in the past? I climbed into a roller coaster relationship and rode it for 2.5 years while learning to build and script, eventually designing everything on our little island in the Maldives. Most of my creations are from this time. When the coaster hit bottom, I incinerated the original Madelaine and left SL. Five weeks later (Brenda Connolly bet I would return within three, so I won) the current Madelaine was born. Since then I've primarily danced with friends. My in-world time is the now lowest it's been since joining. How are you planning to spend your time in SL in 2013? Like Immy, I don't plan (RL or SL). I go where each day takes me.

Here's another of the grande dames of computing, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper... http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57389728-10391709/grace-hopper-she-taught-computers-to-talk/ I keep a few nanoseconds around to give visitors. They look like Grace's. I also have a tiny bobbin (sewing machine size and only partly filled) of wire that's a microsecond long. It's not as impressive as Grace's big loop, until you compare my wire to my hair, which is fourteen times thicker. I could carry a millisecond of that wire (186 miles and less than five ounces) in my purse. For those who want their own microseconds, you can get more than eighty of them from this 15 mile spool... http://www.amazon.com/Magnet-Wire-Enameled-Copper-AWG/dp/B007HAO0DY/ref=pd_sbs_indust_3

I sleep in monster proof jammies. You'll notice they don't come through the door in my bedroom wall... You however, sleep in soft things that monsters adore... Caveat slumberer.

Chosen Few wrote: I've got nothing substantial to contribute to this thread, but I did have to chime in to say I absolutely love the title. "Is there rain without particles?" I feel like it should be the title of a great work by a philospher poet, or a theoretical physicist, or both. Is the rain in Spain mainly in the euclidian plane?

Porky Gorky wrote: Animated rain on layered prims is much more realistic than particles when you want rain around buildings and not in them. I've also used this effect inside buildings where I wanted it to rain inside and not out. I was building a rainforest inside an old church. AM Radio's prim based falling snow at "The Quiet" was lovely, and did not fall inside the cabin. By being a bit creative with the particle texture and emission pattern, you can keep rain out of buildings, I've constructed an emitter that drops a "sheet" of rain in front of my house. For those who are interested, you can see it here... http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Forgotten%20City/178/210/35 If it's not raining or snowing in front of the lighthouse, just walk inside and touch the sunset photo hanging on the wall over the workbench. That will cycle through Off/Rain/Snow.

leon Bowler wrote: If you assume the code is in the image, the image can just be a key, like a picture of Big Ben, it is a static image that is repeated, like a work of art then that could be the key, any image can be the key, the code is in the innocent program as data looking random but when XORed with a certain image could produce code. So any computer would looked fine and virus free until a certain image was shown on it or on a texture and a segment of code would be made and executed. It doesn't make any difference what is in the image, code or key. Bits is bits and you won't be able to hide very many of them without being apparent in the image. And you can't just bury bits in the image and expect to retrieve them on the other end because SL uses lossy JPEG2000 compression. You'd have to encode your bits with sufficient redundancy to survive the compression losses. If you can't get out exactly the bits you put in, you can XOR your heart out and you'll get nothing but noise. You have also not explained how the hidden code in the image would be executed by software which is completely unaware of it. Executing your nefarious hidden code would require a nefarious decoder-loader-executor to already exist on your computer. If that's already there, why on Earth go through all the trouble of getting more code through SL textures when you can simply call China and get bucketloads of it directly? If the nefarious decoder-loader-executor is not already on your computer, the images are just that... images. @16, you could bury hidden messages in the least significant bits of an image without making them terribly apparent, as you suggest. Rather than having 256 levels of red, green and blue and alpha, the resulting image could have 128 levels, with each 32 bit pixel carrying four bits of nefarious code. If we presume the code is roughly random, the result would be an image which looks a tiny bit noisy (perhaps imperceptibly so). That would give you four million bits (half a megabyte) in a 32Mbit 1024x1024 image, room enough for a reasonably naughty algorithm. As for detecting the hidden bits, camera sensors are noisy and it's not uncommon to see a pixel or more of noise in a digital photograph. So it might be impossible to detect that hidden message, as it could be smaller than, or indistinguishable from, the image noise. I just read about the F5 steganographic algorithm, which claims to be able to embed messages up to 13% of the size of a large JPEG image while retaining 80% image quality. That's far higher than I expected. http://www2.htw-dresden.de/~westfeld/publikationen/f5.pdf My refutation of Mr. Bowler's theory that code is riding in on images is based entirely on the need to have a nefarioius decoder already in place on the target computer. If it's there, the machine is already infected. He must explain how that got there and why it would go through all the hassle of digging more code out of textures.

leon Bowler wrote: I am saying that is how would do it, could hide any code or data in an image not poss to scan them because an image pattern is only related to humans and not to logic, there is no algorithm that I can think of that could see any form of code pattern in a image, what do you relate a picture to, a program can only relate a bit pattern to another pattern and with virus hunters it relates to instructions executed, an image would give those patterns at random with no order to compute so must be seen as random data and ignored, but just XOR a repeating string over that image and like magic a line of code appears that does relate to every action in the machine but the virus scanner has gone thinking it all random, any clearer? No clearer to me, but let me take a shot at rephrasing. It do not believe it is possible to transmit a self contained nefarious program from SL to a PC via an image. SL textures begin their life as image files on a creation PC in any of several SL compatible upload formats (TIFF, PNG, TGA, JPG, etc). Upon upload, SL's servers decode/decompress/recompress the texture in JPEG2000 format. This process would destroy any malicious code that was not itself "hidden" in some fashion that could survive the image compression process. The technique of hiding information "in plain sight" inside carrier images is called steganography. Steganographic encoding algorithms abound, but they require matching decoding algorithms in whatever receives the carrier images. The information density of steganographic techniques is fairly low if the carrier image is intended to pass even cursory tampering inspection by humans. The more information you attempt to hide in a carrier image, the more noticeable the image degradation becomes. I can imagine hiding a few hundred bytes of code in a large texture, but no more. Since reception of malware via carrier images requires an already existing malicious decoder on the receiving end, the use of images to carry additional malware hardly makes sense. The existing malware would have far more efficient means of aquiring more trouble. There are file formats (like MS Office documents and e-mail attachments) that allow embedded algorithms. Those infection vectors have been exploited for years and various methods have been deployed to block them. I don't believe SL uses any such file formats, as that would require the receiving computer to contain a means of executing the attached algorithms, regardless of the receiving computer OS (Win/Mac/Linux). Java is the only mechanism I could reasonably expect to perform such a function. SL does not require Java. Occam's razor suggests to me that, as others have said, the malware scanning software inadvertently identified an SL texture as malware when it is not. It's been more than a decade since I used malware scanning tools. I stopped because I found those tools to be more malicious than anything they never found.

AM Radio covered a sim with snow by gridding the area with flat megaprims on which he animated textures. It was a prim intensive solution (I'll guess a hundred or more prims in total), but very pleasant to watch.

valerie Inshan wrote: Lol, Maddy, that is one freaky version you posted here! /me stares suspiciously at the post-it notes on my desk.... This is the beauty of storytelling, isn't it? I love that people can so wonderfully put into words and images the feelings that we all share, but seldom express.

valerie Inshan wrote: Link of the day: the latest Disney Studio's short film. Wonderfully done and so romantic! :heart: Thanks for finding that, Val. It's an uplifting bookend to another powerful "paper" metaphor that has haunted me for years...