Porky Gorky

I shall tackle my first question; does life exist outside of our solar system? The building blocks of life seem to exist throughout the universe and are a significant part of star formation. In the aftermath of supernova explosions and the process of star formation, pre-biotic molecules are spontaneously formed in nebulae. Such pre-biotic molecules appear to exist across the universe and existed before the creation of the Solar System, although it is thought that about 9 billion years or so of stars forming and dying were required to produce the right conditions. As successive generations of stars have burned out and exploded as supernovae, all the natural elements that we know of are spread around the Universe to form the stars planets and all living things. So there is nothing special about our solar system, the elements used to construct it are the same as those used to construct the rest of the universe. We know the basic ingredients for life have been out there in the cosmos for the past 4.75 billion years. Any solar systems that have formed since then (like our own) are prime candidates in the search for life. So a star is born and the pre-biotic molecules need to find themselves an environment that hosts the right conditions necessary to support life. This should not be a problem. There’s estimated to be up to 400 billion stars in our galaxy alone, and our galaxy is pretty small compared to most. Our next door neighbour the Andromeda galaxy has a trillion stars. Latest research indicates that there are 500 billion galaxies just in the observable universe alone, who knows how many more there are beyond that. The estimated number of stars in the known universe is a trillion trillion. That’s 1000000000000000000000000. So with that many stars out there I think it can be safely assumed that there are billions of earth like planets out there that orbit around their host star within the comfortable goldilocks zone that is conducive to supporting life. So we have the ingredients, we have the locations…..now all we need is the miracle,,,,that spark that created the chemical reaction that results in the first signs of life on a planet. Some assume there must have been a “spark”, a freakish accident with a rogue bolt of lightning or some divine intervention or some other special occurrence when it comes to life beginning on earth. This assumption has arisen out of ignorance because we simply do not know how life began, how a combination of elements formed to create life. It’s a question that is up there with “what existed before the big Bang”? We just don’t know and will probably never know as there is no way to observe it. However, just because we cannot create artificial life in a lab does not mean the process is impossible or even complicated. It just means we have not worked it out yet, there is something we are missing. So scientifically there is no way for us to determine how often life is created on any given planet, we have no base comparison as we don’t even know how it started here. So now we have to really start hypothesising. For me the answer is simple. This universe has been one long journey of evolution with it’s sole purpose being to provide a platform that supports life. What other point is there to stars? What is their function other than to provide energy to the bodies of matter that orbit them and to provide the raw materials for the formation of new stars. Early generations of stars act as factories providing the elemental raw materials for the generations to come. 9 billion years later all the ingredients are present in the universe to create, host and support life. The mere fact that we exist is testament to this. If the universe had not evolved to support life we would not be here. Therefore I think it stands to reason that life is abundant throughout the universe. The sole purpose of the universe is to support life in my opinion. Using the word "purpose" also implies that it was designed with this function in mind, which I also believe to be true but that is a whole seperate epic thread in itself.

Phil Deakins wrote: Do you believe the Ancient Astronaut theories that suggest that Aliens have shaped all of Human History? Definitely not. One piece of 'evidence' for ancient astronauts is ancient drawings of human-shaped beings with space helmets on; i.e. a sort of circle round the head. They can't be differentiated from pictures of human beings with halos, so the space helmet idea is nonsense. Another so-called piece of evidence was, how could men from so long ago have erected the statues on Christmas Island. Nobody knew until someone actually asked the islanders to do it - and they did. Those two pieces of so-called evidence are created by a Dutchman (I forget his name), along with other nonsence pieces that he cites as evidence for ancient astrnauts. Aaah you are referring to Mr. Erich Von Daniken who I guess could be considered the forefather of these theories. Erich and his protege Giorgo Tsoukalos have managed to popularise the idea significantly through their TV show on The History Channel in the US. I really like the show but purely from an entertainment standpoint. They often contradict themselves, manipulating history so that it fits into their theories and quite often neglecting to mention well documented evidence that proves their theories are not true in many instances. If anyone believes anything said by Von Daniken or Tsoukalos on the subject of ancient aliens then I recommend you watch this video which dissects some of the core theories and debunkes them. Be warned that it is 3 hours long as there is a hell of a lot of nonsense that needs to be debunked :matte-motes-big-grin:

Tired of answering the same old questions and having the same old discussion in the GD forum? If so then pull up a chair and join me here as we talk about Aliens! Here are some talking points. Does life exist outside of our solar system?If so, has that life developed intelligence that rivals and surpasses our own?Do you believe aliens have visited Earth in the recent past i.e. Roswell etc.?Do you believe the Ancient Astronaut theories that suggest that Aliens have shaped all of Human History?Do you think governments are covering up the existence of Alien UFO’s or using the phenomena to mask their own secrets projects?Will we ever be able to communicate with an Alien civilisation if we find one or if they find us?What do you think an alien life form might look like?Is it a good idea for us to be searching for ET’s and broadcasting our position in the galaxy or should we be trying to hide?Discuss…

It's a contentious issue for sure. I think if people are making money by selling content that has been copied from Star Trek, then whoever owns the intellectual rights to the Star Trek designs is entitled to a percentage of the profits and are fully within their rights to stop you selling the content for profit. However if you only copy Star Trek designs for personal, non commercial use then I think the Studio's should let that go, after all you are basically promoting their brand for free and receiving no payment or profit for doing so. This sort of problem has also hit the game modding community recently. Some of the mods for GTA 4 which were distributed for free were shut down by Time Warner for using Batman vehicles from the rebooted films I think as studios struggle to keep a hold on their intellectual property rights going forward they will be targeting virtual/game environments more and more as the size of the userbase for these platforms increase.

Celestiall Nightfire wrote: No, my memory is just fine. The old forum that I referred to was not the RA forum. I never posted to that, and did not even know it existed. I posted on the old SLX forums. It was not owned by LL. It was a separate company owned by SLX, which was the business started by Apotheus Silverman, and then absorbed by LL when they purchased the company from him. SLX was the forum for the SL-Exchange (not owned or operated by LL) https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/WEB-1046?page=com.atlassian.jira.plugin.system.issuetabpanels%3Achangehistory-tabpanel http://secondlife.wikia.com/wiki/Apotheus_Silverman https://www.xstreetsl.com/forum_archive/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewforum&f=12&topicdays=0&start=150 When SLX was purchased by LL, they changed the name to X-Street. It then became a forum owned and operated by LL, and the old SLX employees were gradually gotten rid of. Silverman stayed on for a while and helped LL assimilates the software into LL use. All the while what you call the "old RA" forum was actually owned by LL and in use. THEN, LL decided to merge the two forums....the one-year old "newish" X-Street forum, which was now under LL ownership. (had been SLX and not LL owned) Merge with what you call RA forum, which was the LL owned forum. The merged item became the old GD (General Discussion forum) Which then, became this....SL forum. Linden Lab never changed the name from SLX to X-streeet. Apotheus did this in late 2008, around the time that LL changed their trademark license. LL did not buy X-Street until early 2009 and it was already called X-street SL by then. Also the X-street forums did not merge with the SL forums at the time LL took over. I remember being at a town hall meeting where this was discussed. Migrating all the threads from X street forums to SL forums was not possible due to software incompatibility not to mentioned issues such as it would have borked up peoples post counts and also there were people posting on Xstreet forums that were banned from SL forums. In the end I think some of the more popular threads on the X street forums were recreated on the SL forums but that was it.

16 wrote: Ender's Game by Orson Card. It win both the Nebula and Hugo ages ago in the 1980s is about a boy and his classmates who play a computer space war game with huge battle fleets the way only children can. like no fear and not worry about how many ships and planets they lose and destroy. they just play to win. is not a game tho and they dont know until after they have won is supposed to be a film came out next year I love Enders Game, one of the best sci-fi books i've ever read, there are lots of sequels too that are equally as good. They annouced the film in 2003 and it should arrive in 2013. I've been wainting 10 years for this movie!

It's an interesting idea but a scary one. You run the risk of dying (logging out) everytime you travel to a new region but on the plus side you could upgrade your genitals to facilitate any sexual encounter you partake in. So good and bad points.

Build virtual worlds.

I just finished Further: Beyond the Threshold by Chris Robertson. I thought it was great. My wife thought it was bollocks. I should review books for a living with insight like that :matte-motes-big-grin:

Phil Deakins wrote: I find it a lot easier these days to stay out of the forum than it was before they started changing the forum software. Back then, the discussions were often so interesting that it was hard to stay out. Now if find it difficult to come across a really interesting thread. I only pop in to fill a bit of time, and there are periods when I don't pop in for quite a while. So, to answer your question, no I don't get tired of posting here. I don't post much because there isn't much that's of real interest to me. BRING BACK THE BOTS!!! I agree completely. Remember we had that epic discussion about the origions of the universe a while back? I think that was the most interesting thread I have seen all year. SL has been talked to death. We should start more non SL related threads....try and answers some of lifes fundamental questions :smileyvery-happy:

Deltango Vale wrote: What a difference now from when I joined in October 2006. Back then, Linden Lab was posting frequently. There was also a monthly LL Newsletter. The company was engaged with Second Life, enthusiastic - the forum buzzed with excitement - and one had to be damn sharp to venture an opinion. I remember being terrified of Argent Stonecutter, who could eviscerate a fool with a three-word comment and, of course, the Prokodile. Those were amazing days in Second Life. For five long years, Linden Lab strove to make SL as banal as possible and it worked. I started on the forums in 2005 and although it was allot more active I think you are seeing it through rose tinted glasses a bit. There was endless amounts of trolling, epic arguments and constant bickering between certain individuals and factions and the whole thing was moderated by res mods, some of whom (we learnt later) were using alts to instigate some of the disorder. I agree that the forums did buzz with excitement allot more back then, but it was also full of nasty and spiteful posts and no one was safe from being harassed simply for posting an opinion.

Deja Letov wrote: ......I appreciate her and everything she's done. I would never want to lose her! I had an employee from 2007 to 2010 who did 75% of the customer support and all the boring admin side of the business. This left me lots more time to build, and looking back at those years they were definitely my most productive with regards to releasing new content etc. However the bubble burst after 3 years and they left SL and my production went down hill from there. I had relied more and more on this person as the businesses grew over the years, and once they left I found myself swamped, with 80% of my time spent not building. So I guess the point of this post is....if you can find a good and trustworthy employee in SL then take good care of them and treat them well, because the minute they leave, a big old chunk of "work" will come and kick you up the arse. :matte-motes-big-grin:

Phil Deakins wrote: So your "passtime" has been running the business and all that it entails. And you may well have treated the business as a game. I did too for almost 6 years. The profits were the score, high search rankings generated profits, and I am very good at getting top search rankings. My life in SL was a game to me - just like yours is to you. But none of that has ever made SL itself a game. Disagree.... Lets look at one definition of the word game: "A competitive activity or sport in which players contend with each other according to a set of rules" This definition essentially sums up commerce in SL. Anyone who partakes in commerce in SL is playing the "game" whether they choose to acknowledge it or not. SL is no different to other games. Take EVE Online and WOW for example. Both have economy's. In EVE you can manufacture and trade for ISK and then sell that ISK for real money. In WOW you can farm gold then sell it for real money. Just like in SL, if you don't want to earn money you can go and play games within your chosen virtual platform instead. SL, WOW and EVE are the same. If you say SL is not a game then do you think that EVE Online and WOW are not games either?

Phil Deakins wrote: Quote It's not a game, simply because it doesn't have any gamepley; i.e. there is nothing to play. Yes, there are some small games within it but SL itself simply isn't a game. I can offer you a word to describe the nature of SL - it's a 'passtime' I have to disagree here Phil. Having conducted business here for 8+ years now I totally look at SL as an in depth commerce game. There are rules to follow and varying skills and tactics that need to to be learnt and utilised to combat the various failing and quirky systems that are in place to support commerce in SL. These skills range from "winning" at inworld search and MP keywords to learning how to successfully conduct business within a volatile and unstable environment that is managed by a company that refuses to get involved with resident/merchant disputes. SL is a small microsystem that can be used, manipulated and mastered to great effect if you know how to play the game. So saying SL is not a game is wrong imho. To me it is a game. I think determining whether or not SL is a game should be left to the discretion of each individual player/user.

I used to have this happen allot years ago. Normally the mini-map goes a shade of pink/red when you are disconnected so keep an eye on that and use it as a cue to relog.

Elite Runner wrote: ..... riding in the CR-Z Hybrid/Fox Motors Rezzie (that is tuned with superchargers, turbochargers and NOS and have rally and offroad lights and a spoiler)... You could have just said "car" and avoided the shamless plugging. :matte-motes-sick:

The tagline for this virtual world used to be "your world, your imagination". I don't know if that is still applicable today as our imaginations are restricted more by Linden Lab's rules and bugs/issues, However, it is a good starting point on what the creators of SL envisioned. A world where all the content and activities were built and organised solely by the residents. The usership of this platform peaked between 2007 and 2009 and the world grew rapidly to accommodate the influx of new users. Unfortunately as some of the users went away, the land did not, so we are now left with a large world that is seemly sparsely populated, it's more of a case that the people that are here are now more spread out. So for a new player starting today that has no interest in the creative side of the game, I think your main objective is to find these illusive pockets of community, attempt to make contact and see if they are living a second life that you want to get involved in. No one is going to come along and hand you a mission like every other MMO, you really have to set your own goals for this world, with the point of the game being to go out and achieve those goals whether they be social, commercial or personal.

I've built hundreds of houses and buildings for commercial gain but have never felt the need to own and set up my own house. I guess my home is a cluttered disorganised half sim building site that contains lots of buildings at various stages of completion. I like my disorganised workspace allot and when I moved to a new plot a few years ago I hated starting off with a blank workspace.

I LOL'ed

What did you guys bet?

Phil Deakins wrote: LMAO! (if Johnny Vegas is who I think he is - Monkey ads?) He'd make an.... interesting.... Dr. Who lol Well they went with the young option this time. So the next Doctor needs to be either a woman, black or fat. Johnny is in with a chance, although Rusty Lee probably has a better chance of getting it.

Phil Deakins wrote: Just out of interest, the reason I didn't like how he played the role was very specific. His predecessor (I'm not good at remembering names) used to talk quickly at times and it was hard enough to get a grip on understanding and following what he was saying, but I sort of managed. Matt Smith seemed to be copying that but he spoke even faster at times and it was impossible to follow. It seemed that he was emulating David Tenant (I remembered his name while I was writing) but doing it even more so, and it made the whole thing hard to follow - for me, anyway. Subtitles :matte-motes-big-grin:

aaaah you must be from a parallel universe in which LL made all the right decisions and things got better. Either that or you are mental.

Aye, Matt Smith is my least favourite Doctor. Hopefully they will kill him soon and get someone new in. I think they should use Johnny Vegas.

Have you not been watching Doctor-Who recently Phil? The Doctor has been busy eradicating himself from History, even the Daleks don't know who he is any more and have forgotten their centuries old war against him. This is just another small part of his plan to negate his presence in the universe,