Caledon Libraries, Part 3

Our last part of the journey takes us first to Mayfair.

The interior shows some of the collections.

Mayfair also has a reading room.

One can sit under an ancient tree and lose the evening in a book.

[Edit 1/12/09 - I forgot Wellsian!] The H.G. Wells branch in, naturally, Wellsian has a more modern - dare one say futuristic? - design.

The collection is strong in speculative fiction.

Finally, the newly-opened Oxbridge University would be incomplete without a branch of the library:

Caledon Libraries, Part 2

Continuing our tour of Caledon's libraries, we have the Vannevar Bush Reading Garden, in Caledon Prime. According to the font of all knowledge, Wikipedia, Bush, among his many accomplishments, "introduced the concept of what he called the memex in the 1930s, a microfilm-based 'device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility.'"

It's a little dark to read in this photograph, but one can imagine the setting during a nice, sunny summer day. And is that a trebuchet in the garden?

Too dark to read, but not too dark to sit in contemplation.

And now for something completely different! The Tanglewood library, in Tinyville.

I feel like a giant!

Rothesay Tunnels

Caledonians seem to have an innate love of tunnels. Perhaps it dates back to the days when Caledonians were not as...respectable, and their income often derived from maritime adventures. A quick but undetectable escape route might come in handy. Then again, having a quick escape route is also advisble if, say, one likes to dally with married women whose husbands are both jealous and heavily armed. And a cellar is a useful place in which to age wine and store whisky, in any event.

Laird Brideswell has tunnels in Rothesay that connect both to Victoria City and Lord Argylle's property. No doubt there are others under the lands. It would be unladylike to speculate as to their purpose(s).

Mondserrat

Mondserrat. What can I say, except that Caledon seems to have very bad luck when it comes to island discoveries? First it was Saint Kitts: geologically stable island paradise, right? Sure it was, just up to the moment when it exploded.

Now a new discovery: Mondserrat. One arrives in an undersea vessel of dubious quality.


Earlier visitors seemed to have problems as well. And what's with the cat worship?


Uh-oh. The mushroom cloud does not look good.


To quote Dr. Ian Malcolm: "Oooh, ahhh, that's how it always starts. Then later there's running and screaming." I think we've reached the running and screaming stage.

Mondserrat is a fiendish diversion planned by the Guv and executed with the help of Mr. Denver Hax. The careful observer might see the Ordinal Enterprises Clock-Winding Pistol in my hand. Trust me, something of similar or even greater firepower will come in handy. The area is damage-enabled, and there are a fair number of things, both animate and inanimate, that can cause damage. Good luck in completing the mission without an untimely teleport back "home" as your health winds down to zero!

Caledon Libraries, Part 1

Things change. Perhaps things change in Caledon a little more slowly than elsewhere, but, still, one can wake up one day and find a familiar spot changed completely.

I had reflected on that some time ago, when Mr. Drinkwater made an ominous announcement during ISC chat regarding the potential sale of some library properties. I hastened to memorialize all the ones I could find, lest I would later regret not doing so after one or more branches had passed into history.

Victoria City is blessed with (at least) three library properties: the flagship Whitehorn Memorial Library, seen below from the exterior...

...and interior.


Victoria City is also blessed with a reading room. Again, the exterior...

...and interior.

More recently, the city has become host to a library branch that houses the steampunk collection - appropriately, contained on a floating airship skeleton, moored to the ground by a stout steel cable:

Parts 2 and 3 will explore the other areas of Caledon that are blessed with library branches. Whilst delivery of desired volumes is rapid no matter how remote one's corner of the nation, proximity to a branch is always helpful, lest one resort to the delivery method of Mr. Veritable Quandry: a trebuchet.

A Brief Digression

One hesitates before allowing one's other life to cross with the life that is the subject of this Journal. Nonetheless, by way of explaining my brief absence from these pages, I offer but three photographs.


When the score is 0-0, anything is still possible.


Finally, in these times of wild fiscal irresponsibility, it helps to recall that, once upon a time, there were voices of reason and, more surprisingly, those voices occasionally were heard. From the Reagan Presidential Library:

Today, Uncle Sam would be much, much fatter.

It All Depends on the Definition of Classy. Or Sexy. Or Even Clothing

Here is a store whose tag line is "Classy sexy clothing." I suppose it's in the eye of the beholder.

Friends and "Friends" (but Not "with Benefits")

Perhaps the parenthetical was unnecessary, but I did not want to give the casual reader any wrong ideas.

It occurred to me that I have very few "friends" - I mean, those people on the list that pops up when one types Ctrl-Shift-F. Sixteen, to be exact, including several alts. (If you don't like yourself, who will?) The Guv, because he's friends with everyone. A few real friends. One real friend who must have become a former friend for reasons I cannot fathom, but whose decision I will respect. The rest are all people I met when they were tres noob, who felt, I suppose, that one offered "friendship" after exchanging a few pleasantries. Who am I to say no? (I draw the line at people who offer "friendship" as I fly by, or have not yet spoken a word, or whose first words are a solicitation for an intimate act. I do have some standards, just low ones.

The last category - the "Hi, nice to know you, wanna be friends?" people - generally populate the list but are never heard from again. I realize that some of that is me - I could have taken the time to IM, ask how things are going, and so on - but that's the way (Second) life is sometimes. My guess is that other names were on the list, and they eventually deleted me when they forgot who I was, why I was on their "friends" list, and got tired of the blue box popping up, saying "[Name of Complete Stranger] is Now Online."

One such gentleman, however, offered me a teleport to a sim. I was sufficiently intrigued to click on the appropriate button, only to find myself...in a laggalicious gaming/camping sim. Wheee! That teaches me a lesson.

Then there are those whom I consider friends who have never been "friends." I don't know why. Have we never gotten around to it? Do we not need to know when one another is on-line? Some other reason? All of the above?

The alternate title for this post is: "It's Not Always the Size of One's Friends List that Matters."

ISC Chat as a Lifeline

Much - and I'm too lazy to track down the posts and create links - has been made of how ISC chat has become a substitute for in-world meetings where individuals and groups could chat in person, as it were. Fair enough, I suppose, although it's far from clear to me why the discussion is enhanced if I am sitting in a pub with you versus sending messages over a screen scrolling with text. It's not as though we're particularly good at facial expressions or other body language that enhance in-person conversations out in that other (some may say Real) world. Meeting in person can convey information about another through his or her attire, and can allow a more accurate guess - but still a guess - about someone's gender; still and all, I'm not completely sold on the concept, except as an extension of the paradigm of the character-in-world.

Let me suggest two reasons why I think ISC chat is a great idea for someone like me. (Your mileage may vary.) First, I have limited time in-world, especially during the week. Generally an hour in the evening, maybe an hour and a half. And I require some of that time for all the other computer-related housekeeping tasks that need to be done during the week. Consequently, I try to multitask: visit a new sim to take some pictures, pay the Guv his rent, check e-mail, get caught up on various Journals, perhaps post something to this Journal, perform various tasks in Quicken...it's a great time saver to participate in or just listen to the conversation in chat without being there. Yes, it has its own problems, and it's always interesting to meet someone for the first time to find that he or she looks nothing like one imaged from the conversation. (You try squinting at slow-to-load Profile pictures and tell me what a person looks like, smart aleck.) But it's certainly a Godsend to the casual SL-er.

Second, given the schedule I outlined above, and somewhat more extended in-world time on the weekend, it's difficult for me to get to scheduled events. During the week, most events start at 5 p.m. SLT or around 8 p.m. SLT, with the occasional Brit-centric event occuring while I am still toiling away to earn a shilling or two. Even on the weekend, the timing of events often makes it difficult for me to attend. I'm not complaining; the timing is what it is because it's convenient for a large number of people. Participating in ISC chat allows me to be part of the community, even if it is a small part, despite my schedule.

One final point, which may be related to the growth in the size of Caledon and the number of her citizens: like others, I often wander through Caledon, and occasionally come across individuals or small groups. Generally, I'll say hello, good morning, good evening, how're'ya doin', or some such, particularly if the person does not appear to be engaged in heavily cerebral activity, but I hesitate to start up a conversation both because I am quite shy and because I dislike interrupting people who are going about their business. Even someone who appears idle can be busily scripting, thinking, preparing taxes, et cetera. Perhaps things were different when Caledon was smaller and more people knew one another. Perhaps some wonder why that Jameson woman is so stand-offish. But in ISC chat, everyone who participates does so voluntarily. The danger, of course, that everyone has to listen involuntarily (short of turning off chat entirely), but it strikes me that the advantages are many and disadvantages relatively few.

Drama? What Drama?

I came back from a week of R&R, totally disconnected from the Aetherweb - okay, full disclosure time, I did have a Crackberry, and I did check e-mail once a day, but that's all, I swear! - only to return to a full-blown war over politeness, civility, and tolerance in Caledon. By the time I started reading various Aetheric Journals, I got the impression that at least some of the debate was impolite, uncivil, and intolerant.

Fortunately, much of the debate has been quite civil, and quite informative. Without trying to rehash the whole thing, I will note that Baron Wulfenbach has links to two of the longest posts and comments, on His Grace Argylle's Journal and on Miss Emilly Orr's journal, and many others have weighed in as well.

The clearest thing to come out of the discussion is that there are competing visions for what Caledon should be. That's completely expected in such a large group. Lord Argylle may be representative of the "always in character" position (if I am not doing him a disservice), while Miss Orr may be representative of the "let it fly" position (which I am sure is at least a small disservice to her, but time is short for me tonight - read the originals). It seems to me that both arguments have merit, but they are different visions. Mr. Pearse is standing guard against the barbarians at the gate, a battle he knows he will eventually lose, given the large population Caledon now has, but, like a good soldier, he fights it anyway. Miss Orr is happy with a looser intepretation of "light roleplay," but where the two agree - where everyone is in agreement, it seems - is that politeness, civility, and tolerance are essential ingredients for our society, even if not everyone agrees on the exact bounds.

Mr. Dagger baited our poor, overworked Guvnah into a very un-Guv-like response which I, for one, liked immensely because it showed the human side of our leader. But I also agree with Guvnah Shang's view that he cannot impose his version of politeness onto ISC chat - suffice it to say that tyranny is never a good option.

In the end, those who enjoy the world we have will stay, and those who do not will move on. That much is a truism. What will that world be? I expect it to be more-or-less true to the Guv's original vision: polite Victorian and steampunk light roleplay. And I hope to be there with all of you.