{"id":5417,"date":"2015-09-29T21:01:21","date_gmt":"2015-09-29T20:01:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sl.governormarley.com\/?p=5417"},"modified":"2015-09-30T01:18:52","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T00:18:52","slug":"second-life-reddit-are-not-the-hives-of-scum-and-villainy-droids-youre-looking-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sl.governormarley.com\/?p=5417","title":{"rendered":"Second Life & Reddit Are Not The Hives Of Scum And Villainy Droids You’re Looking For"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Hanna's<\/a><\/p>\n

Whereas some people were disappointed about NASA’s Mars Announcement<\/a> yesterday, I was bloody well excited :<\/p>\n

New findings from NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) provide the strongest evidence yet that liquid water flows intermittently on present-day Mars.<\/em><\/p>\n

Using an imaging spectrometer on MRO, researchers detected signatures of hydrated minerals on slopes where mysterious streaks are seen on the Red Planet. These darkish streaks appear to ebb and flow over time. They darken and appear to flow down steep slopes during warm seasons, and then fade in cooler seasons. They appear in several locations on Mars when temperatures are above minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 23 Celsius), and disappear at colder times.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOur quest on Mars has been to \u2018follow the water,\u2019 in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we\u2019ve long suspected,\u201d said John Grunsfeld, astronaut and associate administrator of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. \u201cThis is a significant development, as it appears to confirm that water — albeit briny — is flowing today on the surface of Mars.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I mean ok, it’s not like Ripley’s Alien has been found but it’s exciting enough. Indeed I was so excited that I went looking for Martian artifacts in Second Life and popped along to Reddit to read an AMA (Ask Me Anything) between Reddit Users and NASA scientists<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Inside<\/a><\/p>\n

Now if you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last few years you may be forgiven for thinking that Second Life and Reddit are wretched hives of scum and villainy where no decent person would set foot. However if you scratch beneath the surface you find two platforms with some bloody great content.<\/p>\n

My first space port of call was Hanna’s Martian Colony, which is a user created area with a very good science fiction vibe. I then went to the SL Planetarium which is next to the international space flight museum and also has a section about exploration of Mars from previous missions.<\/p>\n

However, alas, I realised that despite Second Life having shows such as Virtually Speaking Science<\/a> and indeed, just Virtual Speaking<\/a> (which is more about politics), the NASA scientists would not be coming to Second Life to talk. I’m not sure anywhere in Second Life would be large enough to house them. Therefore I had to go to Reddit, a place I’m not really that familiar with, other than reading that it’s a wretched hive of scum and villainy.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Explorer<\/a><\/p>\n

The NASA participants at Reddit were :<\/p>\n