VWER, SL/RL

Meetings attended from exotic RL locations: 1 (good); Windchimes bought: 1 (superfluous to requirements); SL Czechs met in RL: 1 (good)
In RL am in Prague to give talk (well in fact gave it earlier today), which is obviously not exotic for people who live in Prague, but it is for me. However the city has decided to make me feel at home by providing British weather ie sun and showers (or now and then, downpours).
Today at the conference met Zdenek (SL name) who attended some of the "Information Literacy in SL" events. He interviewed me for student radio after my talk which was v. exciting. Was able to take pic of him beside a laptop showing his avatar (cool): you can see it on my serious blog here http://information-literacy.blogspot.com/2010/05/inforum-2010.html.
Am unusually well off for broadband, there is *free* broadband in the hotel, and free wifi at the conference venue. So took advantage of this by buying random SL item (new windchimes, like I need more windchimes), and attending Virtual Worlds Educators Round Table. Topic was teaching large groups. Olivia IMed me at the start to ask if I could take pics, and have already uploaded them to VWER pool http://www.flickr.com/groups/vwer/pool/ Most amusing is shown here. What did I do to annoy Profdan? 1st pic was of me contemplating windchimes and pretending they weren't a sad impulse purchase.

I am turning into me

Mashooka indian blouses bought (good): 2; Hair like RL hair bought: 1 (unsettling); Hot tub locations remodeled: 1 (good) ; Harpsichords bought: 1 (good)

Noticed some new hair from SLink and have been meaning to check them out, so tped over. Noticed fatal flaw immediately, i.e. however hard I looked none of the hair colours were blue so that should have been that.

However, still tried the demo, to see what I was missing, and struck me that ... it was somehow familiar and this was because it REMINDED ME OF MY OWN RL HAIR. So succumbed and bought hair in colour which is spookily like my own, or my own before it got streaks of grey in it anyway. Should mention that also possess some SL hair that is straight & roughly same length (though blue) as RL hair, but problem with long loose straight SL hair is that it inevitably disappears inside one's torso in a way that (thankfully) does not occur in RL, thus lessening the illusion.
Left hair on for a while and realised that not only was hair now rather like mine in RL, but my blouse was also very like raspberry pink indian silk blouse that I own in RL. Sat down for a while and took this pic from angle that is most like RL me ... and then removed hair and reverted to blueness.

Am pondering why felt rather shifty when wearing brown hair. Is it because once it looks like me, except thinner, taller, unlined, and with enormous eyes (and a few other minor imperfections ironed out, though my RL toes are a considerable improvement on SL ones), it seems like am living out a fantasy of being a younger self? Whereas once I add the blue hair it is a bit more whimsical and thus acceptable? Hmmmm.
Anyway upside is that SL hair has reminded me that used to wear RL hair a bit like this and ought to try it again as alternative to normal scraped back look that use when lecturing. Or is that an equally unsettling thought?

Well, forget all that, had a fun hour ripping out the old Hot Tub Platform on Infolit iSchool, which no-one seemed to visit much, and replacing it with a more atmospheric Hot Tub Glade (see above), which also opens up the fine views from this mountaintop location (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Infolit%20iSchool/64/83/54/ ). Incorporates a stone fountain and platform made by Grey Kurka and there was also a nice copiable tent which didn't use but it could come in handy for ... something or other.

Also bought harpsichord from same creator, which includes set of Bach's Goldberg Variations. You rez one of the music sheets and it plays a variation when clicked. Don't have to just use them with harpsichord, so may start planting Variations through the island as do have (from somewhere I can't remember where) a free copiable music stand. Installed harpsichord in hobbit house and took this pic which I think looks rather Vermeer-esque. Except with more bobbin chairs.

Sheila Yoshikawa is unwell

Appendix removed in RL: 1 (v.v. bad); Appendix removed in SL: 0 (good)

Advantages of SL pretty obvious on this one. Started feeling unwell at Relive08 virtual world conference, but stoically refrained mentioning this. By last Monday afternoon was in RL lying in hospital bed with highly inflamed appendix removed and little conciousness of Where or When. Am now mobile and at home, but in a sort of slow-motion version of RL self with limited movement options and ability to multitask apparently removed with appendix. There will therefore probably not be much blogging going on for next couple of weeks.