Parvin to the Rescue

Yesterday the Much Honored Bock McMillan, laird of Southern Charm, prince of Cascade Falls, Sovereign Ruler of the Commonwealth of Southern Enchantment Region and Outer Territories and finally UN appointed Protector of the Solace Island and Mount Whitney sims in SecondLife, was close to a nervous breakdown.

The laird was puttering about at his ongoing supersecret project - which is to be revealed to the world in the not to distant future - but there was a building thingamabob that he just couldn't get quite right despite having been at it for hours. As he saw that Parvin, a.k.a. Xcept Atlas (left, archive photo) the laird's friend and the Market Lead of the Gay Archipelago, was close by the laird in his desperation called out to him for help.

Parvin swiftly responded to the cry for help, took a look at the problem at hand and said in a calm voice: "Well, I am not a builder but I am good at maths and I believe this issue can be solved with three prims, a square, a triangle and a semicircle." Whereupon he immediately started working on proving his point.

The laird looked on in wonderment as the brilliant man worked on the solution to his difficult situation. Parvin was done in less than  five minutes. The result was amazing and the botheration was completely solved to his satisfaction.

The laird was so relieved and overjoyed that he was prepared to knight the beautiful and highly respectful young man on the spot. Uncertain whether that would fit into the rest of Parvin's chosen existence in SecondLife the laird instead settled on giving him a gold medal for his excellent service.

I of course at once contacted Rico, the Lead of GA, to inform him what a brilliant and accomplished Market Lead he had.

When Tomais arrived at the scene he was put to work on texturing the prims according to the lairds wishes and his own better judgement. 

Let me tell you, the final result is stupendous and fabulous, as you will get the opportunity to witness with your own eyes in the near future. 

I am a man with no real talent for SecondLife, which so highly relies on the creativity and skills of it's resident's. However, to paraphrase Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire", "I have always depended on the kindness of my family and friends."

I do have a knack of inadvertently surrounding myself with an abundance of amazingly skilled and talented family and friends who can help me out and guide me whenever I need it. I love them all dearly!

Metronomic Oscillation Harmony

"If you place 32 metronomes on a static object and set them rocking out of phase with one another, they will remain that way indefinitely. Place them on a moveable surface, however, and something very interesting (and very mesmerizing) happens.

The metronomes in this video fall into the latter camp. Energy from the motion of one ticking metronome can affect the motion of every metronome around it, while the motion of every other metronome affects the motion of our original metronome right back. All this inter-metronome "communication" is facilitated by the board, which serves as an energetic intermediary between all the metronomes that rest upon its surface. The metronomes in this video (which are really just pendulums, or, if you want to get really technical, oscillators) are said to be "coupled."

The math and physics surrounding coupled oscillators are actually relevant to a variety of scientific phenomena, including the transfer of sound and thermal conductivity. For a much more detailed explanation of how this works, and how to try it for yourself, check out this excellent video by condensed matter physicist Adam Milcovich."

From io9.com