Thursday Bullets

• Here's a picture of a few of us watching GC2008 outside the Methodist Meetinghouse in Second Life. Yes, I know that the video feed is upside down and backwards. It seems that a quarter of the viewers don't see the video at all or hear any audio, a quarter hear the audio, but see no video, a quarter of us see the live feed upside down and backwards and a quarter of the viewers see it just fine and wonder what's wrong with the rest of us. I think there is something deeply theological about that. The recorded videos play back just fine -- it's the live streaming video that gets messed up. I almost didn't want to stream until the feed was perfect, but that's sort of like not having anyone over until the house is perfect -- I don't think that it will ever happen.
• This is myself, Carol from Smallest Angel, Gavin and John Meunier from Come to the Waters. I'd link, but I'm lazy today. I added the bubble chairs yesterday when I realized that some of the problem with streaming was probably due to the fact that the parcel was "full." The folding chairs took up too many resources.
• Last night was a biggie -- they voted to keep the Discipline the same per homosexuals not being ordained clergy. They also discussed other changes -- and most of the time have voted to keep the Discipline as is. The issues are so very complex at times: the leg bone is connected to the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone -- literally a connectional system. If legislation A is enacted, the people B are going to feel displaced. If people B are displaced then people C will not support legislation D. I'm not going to get into what exactly A-D are but just say that it has been interesting to be a fly on the wall. For a beautiful and heartfelt summary of the issue, go to the Rankin File. Here's an excerpt:

  I know that this is how politics works and I guess, most of the time, I'm quite OK with it working this way. But when I see the emotion permeating this particular vote; when I watch people weep after the vote because, once again, they feel that the church has spurned them or someone they love, I think to myself, "There has to be a better way to deal with this issue."

• On other fronts, I'm shopping for gaming headsets for use in SL. The problems I have with what I can find: too heavy, mic boom too short, uncomfortable. I'll still just shop for a while.
• And I have to shop for a dance dress for Chaos. My little girlies are growing up.
• I got my Rotten Banana Belt (yellow with black stripe) last week. Loving Husband was correct and I was wrong (there, I said it, ok?)
• The gas thing is freaking me out. I figured it is costing me $.33 a mile. I used $10 of gas yesterday. I'm planning on combining trips as often as possible. I'm reading on the interwebs how to save on gas mileage. And it's gallons, not galleons as Jim so aptly pointed out. I'm going to save galleons on my gallons, though.
• I'm reading a couple of books to help me write a proposal for the SL church thingy. "The World is Flat" from a couple of years ago and "Exodus to the Virtual World." Interesting reading.
• I'm still sorting books.
• I'm still thinking about Theremin -- I may take pictures this afternoon.
• But first today, I think I will sit outside in the sunshine and listen to the birdsong.
  
• More Later.