Julio's Life Redux - DonJulio Flagon

Have you ever thought about how you would live your life if you could be anything you wanted to be? Imagine a virtual world where you could define who you were, where you lived, what you did, when you did it, and how you did it. A place where you could travel to any location within a second and buy/sell the virtual representation of any object found in your life. This world is known as Second Life. A virtual world created by Linden Labs offered free of charge to users around the world.

Upon joining Second Life, I landed on Orientation Island where I followed the initial tutorial to help me understand how to perform the basics within this new virtual world. I immediately started my search for businesses in Second Life and quickly found the big tech companies of Dell

and IBM.

I headed to Dell first, but did not find any other virtual people there. The campus was pretty neat and you could actually take a train to different locations within campus. Dell has an orientation island for their new customers, Dell City with store fronts that sell

Dell-branded clothes, and a Dell Factory where you can actually build your own computer. Second Life is known to attract a big consumer audience and this is a great way for Dell and other companies to interface with their customers via press releases, store fronts, customer service, etc. After spending some time at Dell, I needed to find a business that actually had people. So I went to IBM.

IBM was very similar to Dell in the way that it was used. I actually had an opportunity to meet an IBM employee that works in Sao Paolo, Brazil. We discussed the Brazilian economy and how he is currently working on projects

where his American counterparts have been laid off. I then enjoyed playing the Service Oriented Architecture drums they had on their island and got to play some good tunes. That’s when I thought to myself, “Wait, this is Second Life, why I am I just going to IBM and Dell!?” I started thinking about what I would do if I had the chance of doing whatever I wanted.

So I, DonJulio Flagon, put on my tuxedo, searched for Frank’s Place (“SL’s Premier Dance Club”) and teleported to a classy joint where the men wore tuxedos, the

women wore expensive dresses, and you danced all night to the tunes of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Harry Connick, Jr. and other of my Jazz favorites. When I got to Frank’s, I was greeted by a very nice hostess, who briefly told me about the place and escorted me to the dance floor where couples were dancing a waltz. Naturally, I went up to a classy lady that turned out to be the senior manager at Frank’s and here’s how it went down:

[22:20] DonJulio Flagon: hi Shiloh, how you doing?

[22:20] Shiloh Tachikawa: Hello sir...how are you?

[22:20] DonJulio Flagon: great, can you tell me when this place was created?

[22:21] Shiloh Tachikawa: Uh...last August I want to say?

[22:21] Shiloh Tachikawa: Maybe late July

[22:21] DonJulio Flagon: love the tunes...classy

[22:21] Shiloh Tachikawa: Thank you sir

[22:23] DonJulio Flagon: i would love to you ask you dance., but can you show me how to move this body of mine...this is my first time in second life

[22:24] Shiloh Tachikawa: Actually sir...I thank you for your kind offer...but I am working and cannot...just ask another lady here...then head to the floor and click on the black ball

[22:24] DonJulio Flagon: will do...what are your responsibilities on the job

[22:25] Shiloh Tachikawa: To keep the peace...enforce dress code...help out ppl that need it...that sort of thing

[22:26] DonJulio Flagon: how does this place make the money to pay you?

[22:26] Shiloh Tachikawa: From sales generated by the Galleria across from here

[22:27] DonJulio Flagon: what do they sell?

[22:28] Shiloh Tachikawa: Pretty much everything...but mostly nicer clothes

[22:28] DonJulio Flagon: how many visitors do you get on a nightly basis?

[22:28] DonJulio Flagon: are weekends really busy?

[22:29] Shiloh Tachikawa: My but aren't you the inquisitive type?

[22:29] DonJulio Flagon: honestly...i am working on a school assignment where we have to

research two businesses in second life

[22:30] Shiloh Tachikawa: Then you would be best served by contacting the owners then

[22:31] Shiloh Tachikawa: Send a notecard to Mr Gymmy Sinatra explaining what you are doing

[22:32] Shiloh Tachikawa: Sorry sir...I need to move while I work

[22:32] DonJulio Flagon: tks for all the help

[22:32] Shiloh Tachikawa: You are very welcome

My favorite part of that conversation was that she could not dance because she was working. Working!? I then sat down to have a cocktail with a “model” and I bummed a cigarette off of Ken. I actually listened to a DJ telling all us at Frank's "I hope Second Life brings you more happy dances and romance at Frank's". Frank's was built on SL to allow people to wear what they wanted, request songs, talk to whomever, dance, and even start a romance. Here’s me at Frank’s relaxing and smoking a cigarette.

When I started this Second Life experience I immediately thought to myself what a waste of time. I have enough things that I could be working on in my First life; but, to my pleasant surprise this was truly fun. Technology will only continue to improve and that will subsequently improve the user experience. The better Linden Labs makes it for the user, the bigger user base it will be able to attract and retain. The possibilities are endless and every new experience has you asking for more. In any case, I now know that after a long day at work, I will always be able to wind down at Frank’s place!

Los Diablos - Spring Ride - 2009

Last year, I decided that I wanted to celebrate my 30th birthday riding my motorcycle in Texas Hill Country. After a few months of planning, 5 of us got on board and took the journey. We decided to call ourselves Los Diablos, but after the trip, we probably felt more like los diablitos! Here are some of our highlights and photos.

March 13th, Day 1: Houston, TX to Fredericksburg, TX (~240 miles)

This day was the worst weather day we experienced on the trip. The temperature outside ranged from 35 to 46 degrees and it rained on us at least 50% of the time. We made it in peace to Fredericksburg, but we were drenched. A guy we met in Columbus put it best when he said, "Who put a gun to your head to make you ride in this weather?!?".

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A	11:00AM	Ride to Columbus, TX. Take I-10 West and ride to Columbus, TX. (~ 70 miles)
B	12:15PM	Fill up motorcycles, get a snack, and get ready to leave for San Marcos, TX.
C	12:30PM	Ride to San Marcos, TX. Take I-10W to Luling, TX (exit 632). Take TX-80 to San Marcos. (~ 95 miles)
--	02:15PM	Fill up motorcycles and get ready to leave for Wimberley, TX.
D	02:30PM	Ride to Wimberley, TX. Take FM-12/Ranch Rd 12 to Wimberley, TX. (~ 15 miles)
--	03:00PM	Have late lunch in Wimberley, TX.
E	04:15PM	Ride to Fredericksburg, TX. Take FM 12 North to FM-2325. FM-2325 for 16 miles to FM-165. Continue on 4th St/FM-1623 and continue to follow FM-1623 all the way to US-290. Then 290 all the way to Fredericksburg. (~ 60 miles)
--	06:15PM	Check-in to Fredericksburg Inn and Suites and have dinner at "The Brewery"

March 14th, Day 2: Three Sisters Loop (~ 322 miles)

Thankfully on this day it did not rain, but it was even colder than the first day. It was so cold, we had to stop in the middle of nowhere to put on even more layers of clothing. Fortunately, after we started riding through Three Sisters Loop, we were having such a good time on those twisties that for a few minutes we forgot how cold it was. We finished the day's ride by riding to Kerrville and then finally to Austin.

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A	07:00AM	Breakfast in Fredericksburg, TX. Make sure tanks are full.
B	08:15AM	Ride to Camp Wood, TX. Take TX-16 to Camp Wood, TX. Take TX-16 south for 22 miles to I-10W. Exit 490 and take TX-41 west for 46 miles to Ranch Road 335. Take RR 335 for 25 miles to Barksdale. Take TX-55 south for 5 miles to Camp Wood, TX. (~120 miles)
--	11:30AM	Fill up motorcycles and leave for Leakey, TX.
C	12:00PM	Ride to Leakey, TX. Take RR 337 to Leakey, TX. (~ 22 miles)
--	12:30PM	Lunch in Leakey, TX.
D	02:00PM	Ride to Kerrville, TX. Take RR 336 to begin trip to Kerrville, TX. Head 26 miles on Ranch Rd 336 to TX-41. Turn right on TX-41 and go for 17 miles until you get to Farm-To-Market Rd 1340. Go about 20 miles on Farm-To-Market Rd until you get to TX-39. Turn left on TX-39 and continue to TX-27 until you get to Kerrville, TX. (~ 78 miles).
--	04:00PM	Short break at Starbuck's like "true" rough riders!
EF	04:30PM	Ride to Austin, TX. Take TX-16 to begin trip to Austin, TX. Ride 25 miles to get to Fredericksburg on TX-16. Take 290 for 70 miles until you get to hwy 1 loop. Take TX-1N for 4 miles until Cesar Chavez St. Go all the way down Cesar Chavez into downtown, make a left on Congress and get to the hotel at 701 Congress Avenue. (~ 102 miles).

March 15th, Day 3: Austin, TX to Houston, TX (~170 miles)

This day was not as cold as the first two days, but we did get soaked during the last 30 minutes of our ride. All in all, weather was not great, but it was a fun trip that we hope to repeat in the future.

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A	12:30PM	Brunch at Manuel's
B	02:00PM	Ride to Houston, TX. (~ 170 miles)

Netflix Streaming

One of my favorite tech offerings is Netflix's current online movie streaming service called "Watch Instantly". This service allows Netflix customers with any $8.99 monthly plan or higher to watch a library of over 12,000 movies and TV episodes with unlimited time.

To watch the movies over the internet you can do one of the following:

• Watch from your PC via Internet Explorer
  
• Watch from your TV by hooking your computer up to your TV via a PC or HDMI connection
  
• Watch from your TV via an external device that you can connect directly to your TV via HDMI or component cables
  

The external devices in the market at this time are the Roku Player and devices that have the Netflix streaming service integrated as a value-add. These devices include the XBOX 360, TiVO DVR, Samsung BD-P2550 blu-ray player, LG BD300 blu-ray player, and now even some LG HDTVs.

As you can see, there are many devices that allow you to use this service. For example, if you already are a NetFlix subscriber and you have a qualified plan you can start watching movies over your PC immediately. The best way to experience this service though is to watch it from your TV. This is the route that I pursued.

I bought the Roku Player for a one-time cost of $100 back in September 2008. When I received it, it was a small black box that came with a small remote control with very few buttons (I like that). The setup was a breeze. I simply did the following to begin using my Roku Player:

• Plugged the Roku Player to my TV via an HDMI cable and powered it on
  
• Entered my WEP (wired equivalent privacy) key for my wireless router so it could link up to the internet
  
• Entered my Netflix username/password
  

Once you have successfully completed these steps you can now see your instant queue. Your instant queue may be empty, so you have to fill it up by doing the following:

• Login to your Netflix account from your PC
  
• Click on the "Watch Instantly" tab
  
• Browse movies, and click "Add Instant" for the movies you want to watch
  

Your Roku Player is being updated real-time, so once you have added the movies to your queue, your Roku Player will show something like this (picture from www.cnet.com):

You can now watch movies instantly and some of the movies are even in HD (720P). You won't even notice that they are streaming as video compression technologies and more bandwidth have made movie streaming a reality.

In short, if you love movies and don't really use all those cable channels, then:

• Sign up for Netflix
  
• Get a Roku Player or one of the other devices listed above
  
• Get an HD antenna
  
• Drop your cable and save at least $50 a month ($600/year)
  

I believe this to be a great value to consumers. I don't believe in Apple's renting a movie and having it available for 24 hours model. Whether in a bad economy or good economy, the subscription-based model for streaming movies is the way to go. Go Netflix!