I Finally Find Someone in Second Life!

 

Antarctica is otherworldly, like nothing I've ever seen before. Stark, cold, beautiful desolation.

Mark Hoppus

 

          This is an important story for me!

          Why you may ask?

          My three loyal readers (Yes, someone actually volunteered to be the third!  Honest, no threats or other inducements!) may recall my quest in Second Life (SL) to meet someone from every continent in Real Life (RL).

          To date I’d met someone from every continent except Antarctica.

          For a long time, I’ve blogged and used social media to try and locate a SL resident in the frozen continent. 

          Finally, after a referral from a mutual friend I was introduced to someone who works in Antarctica and who also resides inworld!

          This is their story!

          However, this story will be a little different from other stories I’ve written.

          For starters, my interviewee has asked to remain anonymous.

          Anonymous as in not even revealing their SL identity.

          So, to honor that request, I’ve scrubbed the interview of any possible references to either SL or RL identity including that of the referrer.

          (And no, the reason is not as Significant Other suggests which is that the interviewee is embarrassed to be seen with me in public even if it is inworld!)

          I meet the interviewee inworld when they’re not “on the ice” in RL.

          The interviewee explained to me why I’d had such a difficult time finding anyone in SL while they’re on station in the Antarctica. 

          (Like how I’m using the lingo?)

          Bandwidth at the station is limited.

          Priority is given to scientists and research. 

          Support staff, while able to access the Internet, can’t use social media. 

          Internet access goes through government websites so blocked and restricted websites have to be dealt with.

          (I think this means they can’t access WikiLeaks.) 

          Speed is very slow.

          I was told to imagine a good household high speed network being used by 1,000 people! 

          (Ouch!)

          All personal laptops need to be screened and cleared before being connected to the station network.

          All telephone calls are routed through Denver, Colorado and appear as having originated from there. 

          Some informal tests of SL from the station explain why I’ve never been able to meet anyone inworld while they’re actually there. 

          Laptops have to be dumbed down to their lowest settings. 

          Low lag sims are the best ones to visit.

          If someone were to try and visit a popular sim with dancing and streaming music then they would probably not hear the music.       

          Things take a long time to rez and all other avatars at a sim may only be gray objects. 

          The whole SL experience from Antarctica is described as very “trying.” 

          On the other hand, I got a great story about what life is like at the bottom of the world!

          (I have to give you something, don’t I?)

          My interviewee is in a good position to know about life on station in Antarctica.

          They have been deployed five times.

          Their normal deployment is known as “Winfly” which starts in mid-August to supplement the overwinter crew and starts to bring the station back to life, their season usually ends in late February. 

          The interviewee has never overwintered and is not sure if they want to. 

          (Significant Other appears worried by my interest in overwintering.)

          Life in Antarctica was explained to me.

          I’m told to imagine a college dorm with fifty year olds.

It’s very interesting and a “way cool” collection of people.

There is plenty to do in the free time if anyone wants to. (I wonder what else one would do?)

There are two bars, a coffee house and wine bar. A full size basketball court, rock climbing wall, hiking trails, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, and mountain biking are available for the physically inclined.

Full arts and crafts, a very extensive library, full weight gym and gerbil gym and a local radio station fill out the activities. 

          The hardest part, the interviewee says is being away from family back home. Station residents are as isolated as one can get and stay on the planet. And not just being able to go off station and walk by oneself. For safety it’s always at least two people with a radio and a laid out plan of when they'll be back.

A word about going outdoors in Antarctica before we go any further.

          As my interviewee puts it, “and for God’s sake don't forget to let them know when you are back on station!”

Seems that if a couple (always a pair) are scheduled to be back at let’s say 5:00PM and can't make it back at that time, if they radio in then all’s good. But if they forget at 5:01PM then they start to call building to building looking for the miscreants. If they are not found by 5:30PM then the active Search and Rescue (SAR) is alerted and they start to search the ice for them.

Seems things begin to get unpleasant at that point. 

The point of this story - So don't forget to call in!

(I guess we all have stress in our jobs wherever we are!)

Now the best part of being there according to my interviewee is penguins!

The interviewee has seen some of the most fantastic scenery.

Clouds like nowhere else.

When there are sunrise and sunsets, they’re mind blowing. 

And if you like to do photography, it’s like having died and gone to heaven.

 And many keep going back because of the people they work with.

They are all one big family. 

(Almost sounds like SL doesn’t it?)

What’s missed most while on station?

Fresh fruits and vegetables is the reply!

What’s a typical day like in Antarctica?

          According to my interviewee it starts out with stretching. It helps prevent cold muscle injuries.

Then at the work center everyone’ll get together and plan their day.

They'll do their work.

Lunch is around 12:00 to 1:00PM and back out again.

End of day is heading back to the work center around 5:00PM-ish and doing paper work and time cards.

(Bureaucracy is everywhere!)

There are two fifteen minute breaks during the day also.

As our interview ends, my interviewee makes a few final comments

Living and working in the Antarctica is not for everyone.

A lot of people only do one season, some never even finish that. Others keep coming back. The interviewee knows of several people that have thirty-five seasons down there. 

I’m also told that once there was a seventy-nine year old working there.

Seems as long as you pass the physical you can go! 

Wanting to be sensitive to my interviewee’s time (After all, there’s only so much available in the warm climes before going back!) I thank them for their time and candor and take my leave.

As I reviewed my notes and prepared for this story, I couldn’t help but think how

much life in Antarctica is like life inworld. 

People leave their real lives and come together for a short time, possibly over an extended period, to live and work together.

Their common experience bonds them.

Maybe if Antarctica gets better bandwidth support then we may see more of them inworld!

I’d like to thank my interviewee and the one who introduced us for helping me to complete one of my goals in SL!

You know who you are and many thanks! 

Also, all the pictures included with this story were taken by the interviewee who generously permitted me to use them!   

Now that this quest is finished, what’s next for me inworld?

I wonder if anyone on the International Space Station (ISS) ever visits SL?

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

I can be found on Google+ as webspelunker Ghostraven.

My flickr Photostream is located here.

On Skype I’m webspelunker Ghostraven.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

          Open roads and kind fires!

 

 

Can I Find Someone in Second Life?

Antarctica is otherworldly, like nothing I've ever seen before. Stark, cold, beautiful desolation.

Mark Hoppus

 

          After several years of wandering and blogging about Second Life (SL), I’ve come to the conclusion that from all walks of life in Real Life (RL), people have come inworld to become avatars and do whatever it is that they do.  (Sometimes totally contrary to what they do in RL.  I wonder does anyone ever come inworld to become more conservative?)

          While one never knows another’s true identity inworld nor should they unless it is given voluntarily, I get the impression I’ve met technical geeks, writers, educators, librarians, artists, university students, homemakers, the curious, the unemployed, retirees, and many others.  In conversation with many of them, I’ve come to realize that I’ve met people from every continent but one. 

          That continent is Antarctica. 

          This has now become my quest (Yes, one among many as Significant Other reminds me.) inworld, to meet someone who is actually in Antarctica when we get together.  With this, I’ll have met someone from every continent.  (What can I tell you?  I’m easy to please.)

          Now, some may argue, like those who deny Pluto is a planet, that Antarctica is not a continent.  (Significant Other has asked, that for the record, Pluto is a planet and Antarctica is not a continent.)  I being the traditionalist that I am firmly believe that Antarctica is a continent and Pluto is a planet.  (Significant Other and I have learned a long time ago to reconcile our differences.  As long as I’m OK with being wrong, we have no issues.)

          Somewhere under all that ice is a big rock anchored to the bottom of the ocean.  (My apologies to geologists who may be cringing right about now.)  There is native life.  Maybe just some penguins and seals (Again apologies to any life forms that I may have omitted.) but they’re alive and they were born there.  There are human inhabitants.  Admittedly, SL probably has more on any given day than Antarctica does but they’re there.  Even if their survival depends on the navies and air forces of several large countries who may have ulterior motives (Don’t worry, I’m not going to start any conspiracy theories here.) they live and work there.

From my traffic analysis on Blogger, I get some very rough high level data on the geographic distribution of the readers of my blog.  (No need to have any privacy worries, very high level and I’d call it metadata except that term seems to have fallen out of fashion lately for reasons that I won’t go into here.)  North America, Europe, and Australasia typically have the most readers followed by Asia, South America, and Africa in that order.  But, never once have I seen anyone drop in from the South Pole.

Why is that?

I watch enough shows on the National Geographic channel to know that the inhabitants there aren’t exactly living in igloos chewing on seal meat to survive.  In fact, their accommodations look better than some RL hotels former employers have dispatched me to. 

          Watching the recent world news about the Russian exploration ship trapped in the pack ice off the coast of Antarctica, I know they have broadband access (and pretty good bandwidth from the looks of it.) 

          Many of the inhabitants are the technical sorts who love to surf the Internet and visit virtual worlds.  (I gotta believe that if you’re in Antarctica then you have some desire to travel and explore.  Either that or you did a really bad job of reading the job description you just posted for.)  They must have lot of time on their hands.  What do they do with it?  (Keep your minds out of the gutter!  This is still not that kind of blog.) 

          There are Americans there after all!  I believe that it’s impossible for my fellow country folks to go anywhere without smart phone access.

          Does Blogger perhaps lump the traffic into some nearby place like Australia?

          To date, despite my best efforts, I have no good explanations.  (We won’t go into Significant Other’s explanation that maybe an entire community is just showing good sense and avoiding me.)  I’ve made inquiries inworld.  I’ve searched the Internet.  I’ve tried to contact Antarctica.  (I’d hate to think what government agencies may be trying to figure out who I am.)  I’m beginning to suspect that they really like their solitude down there. 

          So, as always I turn to my readers for help.

          Does anyone have any ideas as to why we don’t seem to have any representation from Antarctica?  If anyone is reading this and they’re down there I’d really welcome a reply.

          Does anyone know anyone stationed down there and would they be willing to reach out on my behalf?

          Finally, if folks could ask around in their SL or RL (academia might have some promise here) about how Antarctica is connected to the Internet I’d be grateful. 

          I also plan to try and contact other places in RL that theoretically could access SL like the International Space Station, submarines, and any other places people might care to suggest.

          I’ll keep everyone posted on my progress and thanks in advance to all who help!

          And, if you’re following in Antarctica please drop us a line and let us know you’re there!  We’d love to hear from you!           

My Twitter handle is @webspelunker.  Please feel free to follow me and I’d be happy to follow you.

As always, I’m grateful to all inworld for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.    

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

          If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.