What Prokofy doesn’t mention is that it was the very end of the session, that everyone was saying good-bye, and that George had just announced that everyone would be kicked off now so he could save the recording. If you need any proof of this, simply check out the recording - it will he at the very end of the 1-hour discussion, which Profoky joined at the 57 minute mark.

As for the rest, well, judge for yourself.

Maybe it was a good thing not to be plugged into the Connectivism inanity. I will have to find your Utterz — I just don’t use that much because it’s cluttery.

It’s a firehose of stuff, but…they don’t say that much NEW or INTERESTING really, do they? Or…what do you think ?

I found myself in a Disconnectivism mode myself tonight. Not sure why. Stephen Downes disconnected me from some chat he was moderating even though I didn’t say anything objectionable — and they supposedly don’t censor anyway. I have no idea if it wasn’t a glitch.
http://secondthoughts.typepad.com/second_thoughts/2008/09/i-saw-a-notice.html

The point is, Connectivism is a weak religious doctrine if the Internet goes down, or if somebody censors somebody else. That makes it hugely brittle and flawed.

We had Ike pass over us as well, but all we got was a stiff breeze and some nice warm tropical air. And some threatening clouds.

> I realized I am quite weirded out by posting a voicemail to anyone who happens to hear it!

I actually know you you feel. It’s odd to just post - especially if it’s personal, like your own voice - not knowing who will get it.

It’s something you actually get used to over time, though.

I am very sorry to hear about the damage that you incurred. I have spoken to a few Lindens with regard to the obstacles that many affected by the storm are dealing with in hopes that they can make some exception to allow residents to properly take care of billing issues. Unfortunately Tara and Malburns aren’t Lindens or my pleas would have made the rounds.

You touched on a few issues that are plaguing us here in Texas and Louisiana thanks to Ike. I think it is probably most imperative that there be a way to address these issues in a world where online transactions can affect bank accounts if loss of connectivity prevents you from managing your money for an extended period of time.

Here are two scenarios that are currently nightmarish for me.

1)I own and manage several regions in Second Life. Many residents, especially European residents prefer to pay in Linden Dollars to avoid VAT or because PayPal and other online payment services are not available to them (at least on a subscription basis). While these residents are paying tier and it is being collected in my account, if I cannot get online to convert those Linden Dollars into funds that Linden Lab will accept as payment when my own tier is due, payments are drawn from my bank account. And while I made special accommodations to place extra funds in my account because I knew the storm was approaching, if it becomes necessary for me to use those funds instead to take care of issues that arise because of the storm, I am going to take care of that first.

Personally I despise cellphones. I am wired enough as it is. Now that does not mean that I do not have access to one, it just means that I find it more of an annoying way to communicate than is provided by other devices. In the instance of Ike, communications and internet access via cellphone have been spotty at best because the network is saturated. At that point you can only send text messages and even then they do not all go through. Given that, wireless connectivity provides absolutely no guarantee or security blanket for managing your funds.

2) Online merchandise sold via Ebay or web site. Man, this is a mess. If you have 200 items or so out there (maybe more) and a storm is approaching, what do you do? Race to de-list items or race to secure your home and business? I don’t want glass or water in my face or all over my belongings, so I guess I better board up my windows instead… Well.. great.. The storm arrives; kills power for 4 days and you have made sales that you have to accept payment on and in some cases convert to US dollars because the order is from overseas. If you don’t take care of this, you run the risk of trashing your sellers reputation on Ebay. Once you have taken care of that, your reputation is still at risk because now you have to deal with the fact that the US Mail and/or even private mail carriers are unable to service your area. (Not to mention that you just realized that you used most of your tape on your windows *grits teeth*).

Now, while those issues are indeed stressful and troublesome on a personal level, it really makes you think about our dependence upon these avenues of communication and how the loss of them is surely degrading the security of our nation right now. We really need government representatives that are dedicated to promoting science and technology to address these issues and provide at least some redundancy to restore communications as quickly as possible. Radio is great. Good ole AM, but when the community cannot call in to be the eyes and ears and report to radio stations and law enforcement officials which issues may need to receive priority, it puts the community, if not the nation at great risk. The Houston/Galveston area is home to extremely vital operations. Many, many refineries, NASA, The Houston Ship Channel etc.. Loss of any one of these would be crippling to our security and economy.

You are absolutely correct with regards to people really holding everything together (I remember when LL placed value on this, they’d do well to remember the value of community themselves.) My neighbors here in Houston have been wonderful. Some of us have power while those right next door may not, but everyone is sharing what they can. I am supplying many neighbors with ice and a place to keep some of their perishable foods. I have an extra refrigerator and freezer in my garage and I am fortunate in that I have had power restored somewhat quickly. My internet connectivity at this time comes and goes. It lasts a few hours and then it disappears.. (hope it lasts this time).. I have cleaned up the mess outside and to be honest it appears at first glance that task was easier than what I have to clean up online.

You might recall I was cut off for most of 4 days last December in the wake of an incredible snow/rain/melt/flood/mudslide event in my area. No electricity, no phone, no heat, AND blocked roads! I don’t have a cell phone (I am not out traveling around enough to warrant the expense), so that wasn’t an option - a ride down to the local firehall where power and phone had been restored (on day 4 when the rain finally stopped) enabled me to make contact again. At least I’d been up and down on power for about a day before things really got bad so folks knew!

So this is me trying to get out of my comfort zone. I did receive and appreciate Tara’s message but didn’t take the time to think more reflectively about the route the message took. I have been quietly learning from you for a while now so it helps to see you express your own hesitation and I want to mostly say thanks for allowing me to follow you.

BTW, the SL tour and your build in Chilbo is really amazing. I did have a few new ‘aha’ moments yesterday about the different types of educational experiences that can occur in SL.