Warning, time sink

The reason I don't post here as much as I'd like is, well, I'm easily distracted. Projects lure me like shiny objects do a magpie. It's kind of sad, but fun.

So, the other day I read a Wired magazine article about Second Life. In brief, it's like an MMORPG sans the G. There is no game, just a huge virtual hang out spot. Yeah, I didn't think it sounded that amusing either, but I had to look.

The thing is, the content is almost entirely player generated. And it has a scripting language that can make the objects in the world exhibit a myriad of behaviors. As a programmer, I sort of have to figure out how make something. It's like a compulsion.

The odd thing is, people might pay me for the stuff I make. Yeah, so what, in game commerce is nothing new. However, the in games cash here actually has a real world exchange rate.

I'm having more fun than I expected banging around this virtual toy. So much fun that I ditched the one off avatar name I stared exploring with and paid to get one of my standard gaming aliases instated. For the for seeable future, I expect this will be a major distraction.