Last fall, I wrote about the search for a decent currency that would work on Pirate’s Atoll and the hypergrid. I decided that it had to be bitcoin, and immediately implemented BTC ATMs (web links to blockchain wallet) and a BTC tip jar as an immediate step.  What I could not do is implement a full currency system.  There are scripts that I can use to sell items in-world, and it is already possible to have BTC based web sales, but the currency remained vaporware….until now.

Hypergrid business reported about YrGrid, which implemented the uBTC (micro bitcoin) currency, which is simply BTC in a smaller denomination like a Satoshi. Equally promising is the future use of Mumble for voice, which can be encrypted end to end (unlike Vivox which is NSA friendly).  It is a closed grid for now, but hypergrid access will be coming soon.  There have been no plans to opensource the uBTC currency system, but I am bugging some of the fine folks at YrGrid about doing just that, in order that it may one day become an inter-grid currency.

In the meantime, accounts on YrGrid are free, and easily funded from Podex or your Bitcoin wallet.  Check them out, and give one of those slot machines a spin!

Adam01Time of The Adam01Time Show, came to the Kava Kava Party on Pirate’s Atoll and shot some great video of the event.  He featured the atoll on his show last week, and I think there will be more coverage.  It is a great show for getting an overview of different places on the hypergrid.

You can subscribe to the show here.

 

We will rock the beach with vibes from Strangeways Radio and SOMA FM, and possibly a few homespun tunes by DJ Strannik Zipper.  Deep into the night with deep house and more! Get on down to Pirates Atoll and head to Tiki Beach, Set your sun position to sunset or midnight and swing with the palm trees to deep tropical and pacific vibes.

Here is how to get here.

Thirza Ember of Hypergrid Safari fame has opened a new freebie swimwear floor in the Atoll Shop on Pirate’s Atoll.  She had just opened a lingerie shop on Nara’s Nook which added sizzle to the already hot realm of that romance novel themed writer’s colony.

Now nobody can show up on Pirate’s Atoll and worry about not being properly attired for Tiki Beach. At the moment, all of the creations are for lady avatars, but Thirza assured me that swimwear for men will be coming soon.

If you were there, then you already know that the OSCC for 2014 was fantastic.  If you missed it, then most of the sessions are available by video recording. I am going to go back and watch the sessions I missed.  There were a few technical glitches with sound, media or access (I couldn’t get into the first session), but Fleep Tuque and the team got everything ironed out quickly, and most everything went off without a hitch. There was a fantastic party at the Speakeasy on LFgrid with DJ Walter Balazic, and then the party here at the Atoll went on for more than 6 hours! We had around 50 visitors to the Atoll, and had nearly 30 all at the same time at the peak of the party.

I was afraid that being a Sunday night, not many people would want to come out, but the camaraderie of the conference was so good that people didn’t want it to end. Jaron Lanier once said that the most interesting thing in any virtual world is always another person, and when you get multiple persons all sharing goals and experiences, that is times ten!

Oh, and being a DJ is a lot of fun!

Here are some photos

 

 

Unofficial Start: 4:00PM (PST) with Strangeways Radio broadcasting live on Tiki Beach

Official Start: 7:00PM (PST) with Indie-Dream-Pop DJ Strannik Zipper of Pirate’s Atoll

Dance on Tiki Beach under the stars or the tropical sunset.

Discussion and chill zones on the beach, in the Celidh House Pub and in Caffe Pellegrino.

Floating Pirate Museum and Freebies!

OK, Now I am sounding like a concert promoter or something – enough of that! Come and unwind, compare notes on the conference or just chill and dance to the music!

Hypergrid to the New Tortuga Station and then click the telporter or one of the event posters to get to the beach!

Yes, I am foolishly taking the plunge once again (almost planning to fail gloriously) by getting ready for NaNoWriMo.  As part of the torture/fun, I am hosting a number of write-ins at Caffe Pellegrino.

Kick-Off Party: October 31st 10:00PM (SLT/PST) to 2:00AM (sooner or later). Come home in your post-halloween party haze and party some more.  Then at midnight, the silence falls as the icy hand of deadline touches you, and you write until your fingers bleed or until you pass out.

then…..

A write-in EVERY WEEKDAY starting at 6:00PM (SLT/PST).  I didn’t say we stopped, but we start again every weekday!

Free Virtual Coffee! Free Jukebox Access, Free Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

This is a perfect write-in for parents of busy children, shut-ins or the quarantined.

To come to the write in, hypergrid in and then use the teleporter subway to go to the Caffe.

UPDATE AFTER THE FACT: Since Nara’s Nook was also hosting NaNoWriMo write-ins, I ended up directing everybody to that location.  We’ll see about next year!

You will notice on the Opensimulator Conference Schedule, that the last item on Sunday is the Tiki Beach Dream-Pop Rave at 7:00PM (SLT).  I set the schedule late so as not to conflict with other events, but since there isn’t much happening after 3:30PM, I will get the party started at 4:00PM so that folks in difficult time zones can at least drop by for a while.  There will be freebie gifts for attendees, and in addition to socializing on the beach, you can also discuss the conference at the Caffe or chill in the Irish Pub, or go exploring the newly opened Pirate’s Museum.  Check back here for updates!

We had 19 adventurous avatars (and a straggler or two after the event) come and visit the Atoll as part of the Hypergrid Safari on October 22, 2014.  You can read about it on Thirza Ember’s blog HG Safari.

There was no discernible lag, and nobody lost their hair. Hosting guru Fernando Oliveira had just created a new asset server, which definitely speeded things up. People had fun dancing to th dream-pop beat on Tiki Beach, driving water taxis and other boats, exploring the pirate museum, swimming in (or falling into) the lagoon, and getting the Pirate’s Atoll gift box o freebies.

Bot staff member Betty Receptionist was excused from her usual post on the reception desk at the John Simmons HyperText office, to dance on the beach and interact with visitors.  Some of the things she came up with made folks laugh:

Read more

This sign, now in the train station in Pirate’s Atoll, is our official endorsement of a great hosting provider!

Fernando Oliveira has gone above and beyond to get things working with my many custom requests and continuously improve the hosted opensimulator experience.