My impression of Northern Voice might be incomplete since I arrived late, but here are some superficial observations of NV culture in bullet form:
It is very popular and very packed. More bums than seats for some talks.
Enthusiasm abounds for blogging: technologies, social relevance, strategies, and more.
Attendees appear to be predominantly Macophiles: MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones abound. It was rare to see Windows. I was so ashamed of my Samsung netbook. So déclassé.
Many people like to divide their time between Twitter and the speaker, occasionally including the one giving the talk.
Many attendees do not look good in a lime green t-shirt.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the party at The Academic, despite having a ticket, but I’ll definitely be back for the 9:30am start. That is, I’ll be there if I can find a shirt. Stupid laundry day.
Months ago, I signed up for a conference that I knew nothing about for reasons that weren’t actually clear to me at the time. It was, admittedly, kind of an impulse buy. I’d heard of Northern Voice, I knew it was a conference for blogging and social media, but knew nothing about it beyond that. And though I’ve had this blog now since 2002 (see my archives), I’ve never thought to head out in the real world to connect with fellow bloggers and discuss the techniques, experience, and meaning of blogging. So the decision to attend Northern Voice 2011, my third conference of any kind, is a bit of a departure for me. My question now is this: Why am I going?
As a conference newbie, I have no idea what to expect when I get there, so I imagine I’ll figure out what it’s all about after I hang out for a bit. I’ll even try to Twitter my experience and “live blog” a little because that seems hip, and anyone who knows me will be familiar with exactly how hip I am. Maybe after a few hours of discussing blogging, discussing blogging meta-discussion, and meta-blogging meta-discussion, I’ll know why I’m there.
If you’re looking for me there, I’ll be the bald guy in the corner with a confused look and most likely the ONLY attendee not blogging/tweeting on an iPhone.
Today, having a bit of time on my hands, I decided to give Ener’s Sim-on-a-Stick a try, so I downloaded the zip file from simonastick.com. The setup was amazingly simple: you just copy the files to a USB stick (or to a folder on your hard drive, as I did) and run the various components. Within a few minutes of unzipping it, I had a single-region grid running locally, and had logged in and rezzed this cube:
It all starts with a cube: running OpenSim server, MoWes, and the Imprudence viewer.
The possibilities for applied use are intriguing. If I can find a way to export my content from Second Life and import it into OpenSim, then there’s a chance that I can take Abbotts Aerodrome and all of my creations with me should Second Life or its economy falter. Because it’s hosted locally, and therefore private, I could use OpenSim for simulations, demonstrations, and presentations for work-related projects.
Sim-on-a-Stick makes OpenSim approachable to an average user. It requires little in the way of technical skills to set up, and it’s completely self-contained so that it can be easily carried with you on your keychain. Everything really is better on a stick.
Combine softened butter with the white and brown sugar. Mash ’em together until it’s an even consistency.
Add the eggs and vanilla and bash them around until you have a nice brownish mush.
Dissolve a half teaspoon of baking soda in a teaspoon of hot water (fizzzz!) and add it to the brownish mush with the salt.
Add the chocolate chips and bacon bits.
Add the flour a half cup at a time and really bash it around. Get in there with your fists if you have to, until that cookie dough is battered into submission.
Put on a non-stick cookie sheet in small balls, spaced well apart. Stick a chunk of crispy bacon on top of each ball for appearances. Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes. Not too long or they get dry and tasteless.
Let them cool, then melt the chocolate in a double-boiler or the microwave. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies and let them set in the fridge.
In a move that is sure to shock the aircraft world and make people doubt my sanity, I am making seven of my classic Terra airplanes totally free! That’s a discount of roughly 100%. Drop by the runway at Abbotts Aerodrome to pick up all 7 or visit the SL Marketplace website.
