Dear Diary...

With the simplest of thoughts, I unfetter myself from the surly chains of gravity and hurl myself skyward, becoming brother to the clouds. The land itself answers to my will, valleys appearing and hills being born at my command. Items, machines, even entire castles are summoned into being by a thought... and banished back into the void the same way. There is no construct so great I cannot shift it, no height so great I cannot overcome it.

My name is Solomon Devoix, and I am a god.

My name is Solomon Devoix, and this is my Second Life.

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Okay... Olympian generalities aside, if you're reading this, you probably already know what Second Life is. If you don't... in short, it's a huge, shared virtual world. Unlike games like World of Warcraft or City of Heroes, most of the content in Second Life is created by the inhabitants. It is not a game in the traditional sense... there are no "missions", no levels, no villians to bash or monsters to kill and loot their bodies. Second Life is just what the name says... a second, albeit virtual, life. Check it out at http://secondlife.com/

In a way, a lot of what can be done just as a matter of course in Second Life feels like the things that the gods out of myth were supposed to be capable of... hence the title of this blog and the opening paragraph. Overblown? Probably. But it just seems so completely appropriate...

Now, as awesome as Second Life is... it's not without its problems. Many of these are ongoing, frustrating, and most residents have the impression the Lindens (the true gods of SL) care nothing for the inhabitants... only for driving up the "total residents" number to attract backers (advertisers) no matter how much this overburdens the system for the paying residents and long-term (paying or not) residents.

Still... this is NOT a case of "I come not to praise Caesar, but to bury him." While the problems of Second Life are many and vexing... I feel that it is worth enduring for the other benefits, and have seen some hopeful signs from the Lindens of forthcoming improvements. Only time will tell.

Mostly I started this blog to record "choice" pieces of conversation I've heard in Second Life -- things that I think are funny, witty, or just out-and-out wierd. I'm also planning to eventually add snapshots of myself (in Second Life), my fiance, and other friends and such as time and energy permits.

Until then...