What We Look Like

A reader writes:

Hey, I know you guys want to be anonymous and all, but we're dying here! Can't we get at least one picture of you guys?

Sincerely,
Darth Chad
Winslow, Arizona

Well Darth, today is you're lucky day! Below is the first ever public picture of Kid Various. Behold!















Wait for it...

Kid Various seeking danger and derring-do!

Kid Various in all his glory in Second Life. This is the way The Kid sees himself, and finally, he's got a forum to make all the rest of you bastards seem him like that too!

Second Life (or 2L as the hipsters call it) is an interesting phenomenon. It's less popular than World of Warcraft, but still sports over 2 million users. The Kid is thrilled by it, because it's the first baby steps into the matrix. In 30 years we'll just be able to plug ourselves into 2L and fully experience it.

There is no "game" specifically, but simply a shared social environment. What's interesting is that are "quests" which revolve pretty much around searching for sex or consumer items. So actually, it's kinda like real life.

But better, because it's on a computer.

Which got The Kid to thinking that we view real life as a game too. That sort of pleasure center that gets hit when you go out and buy stuff. You're fulfilling a quest. The Kid mainly gets this around books and DVD's - but it could be anything. Do you know how many malls he had to hit to find the right pair of boots?

And real money is involved. You can exchange real dollars for Linden dollars at a currency exchange which actually reflects a market price for the Linde dollar as more are bought or sold. Or you can earn Linden dollars by having a job within the game. So you're forced to get a crappy job in 2L to support your shopping quests. Again, kinda like real life.

But better, because it's on a computer...