Super!

Yesterday I was treated to an IMAX 3D Experience and the premiere of Superman Returns. Definitely worth seeing anywhere, but the 3D aspects of the movie that were part of the IMAX show added just that much more interest.

Today's 3D technology is sophisticated and precise. Not at all like the schlocky B-list horror films of the '50s where you had to wear those wonky red/blue lens glasses. Remember Creature from the Black Lagoon? You still get glasses but they're cool.

For me, of course, as a technical writer, I was just as thrilled by the explanation of the IMAX technology as by the movie itself. "Light from the 15,000-watt lamp of some IMAX projectors is so bright that, if one were operated on the moon, people on Earth could see it with the naked eye."

And this is Canadian technology. I remember seeing it first at Expo '67 in Montreal.

About half the installed IMAX theatres are within museums, planetariums, and maritime centres. The other half are in commercial venues.

If you haven't seen an IMAX 3D film, put that on your list of things to do. Near the top.

Virtual Economies

Continuing the theme of multiple universes and alternate realities, I was speaking with my son RJ about the state of the gaming industry. One of the persistent topics of conversation on game forums is "gold farming", the practice of marathon play to build up in-game money, status, attributes, and artifacts, and then selling these accounts in the real world for real currency.

The media have given some notoriety to Chinese gold farmers but I suspect that this is not a purely localized phenomenon. This could occur anywhere there are players willing to spend the hundreds of hours necessary to evolve an account, and others willing to exploit them.

The exposés talk about sweatshops where players spend 10-12 hours or more a day playing games such as World of Warcraft and Lineage to build up the accounts. They are paid on the order of sweatshop workers anywhere else, but also may get room and board -- the better to keep them close to the computer so they can spend the maximum amount of time playing.

The word "playing" is not entirely accurate in this context. While those working the game may have been attracted to the idea of being able to make money doing something they both love and are good at, when it becomes a horrendous job, there's nothing of "play" left about it. For those who exploit them, it is definitely not a game.

All the MMORPG games prohibit such sales of accounts between gamers. Enforcing it, now that's a challenge.

For young people who want the cachet of being able to play at the upper levels in a game, with enhanced weapons or magic, large purses of gold, and advanced talents such as sorcery, healing, and strength, it's much easier to buy the fully-developed character than spend the time putting experience on it in the game.

One wonders at the logic of that, but it doesn't matter. Wherever there is a new frontier, there are new forms of trade, as well as enterprising, if not ethical, shopkeepers who will attempt to make a buck any way they can. And yes, even the oldest profession is represented in the virtual world of gaming -- again, not legally, but nevertheless lucratively for those who engage in it.

In-game economies are a vital part of game play. Virtual characters need to be resupplied for every mission or task, just as real world adventurers always have been. Learning to manage those resources is half the fun. But even in alternate realities and virtual worlds, there can be a dark underside.

Alternate Realities

I am a fan of good science fiction. I don't read it as much as I used to, simply because I am too busy with other things, and my pile of books-to-read is already high enough without adding any to it. But in my youth, which wasn't that long ago really, I used to escape into other worlds on a regular basis. Listening to Shoutcast radio last night, to Larry Niven's The Integral Trees story about the Smoke Ring reminded me of this.

It strikes me that our favorite SF writers, and many scientists too, have long pondered the idea of multiple universes and alternate realities. As a writer, I can create a new world any time I want by applying fingers to keyboard to manifest my thoughts. Artists, potters, musicians, architects, programmers, all have the ability to create and bring their inner vision into outer being.

Real estate developers can look at a parcel of land -- beyond the price tag -- and envision a new neighborhood, an office building, or a mall.

Now look at the Internet. If that is not another universe and an alternate reality, I don't know what is. There is real estate being developed there all the time. Billions of web pages currently exist and more are being established every minute.

In effect, we, those of us who are involved in creating on the Internet, have fashioned our own universe, and make our own worlds.

As I ramp up my online businesses I think about this vast territory in which I am a digital pioneer.

So it's all true. When we run out of room on our beloved Earth, we look for new worlds to inhabit. They just don't have to be millions of miles away.

World Cup City

Toronto is one of those multiculturally-rich cosmopolitan cities where the variety of foods and languages is matched only by the diversity of our leisure time pursuits. This makes it the ideal place to experience the World Cup of soccer, or more properly football. (It's only Canada and the US that one must distinguish between soccer and football; soccer IS football everywhere else in the world.)

During World Cup play, the flag sellers are out in force, and automobiles throughout the region sport flags in support of their favorite team nation. No flags for Canada Day yet, which is July 1st, but we don't mind. There is enthusiasm in the air. We're somewhat disappointed that Korea didn't make it a bit farther, but we're rooting just as strongly for Germany, Portugal, Ghana, England, Spain, France, and Brazil, the same way we supported Angola, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, Argentina, and the Netherlands.

Today both Italy and Ukraine teams won their matches. Toronto's Italian and Ukrainian communities celebrated boisterously. Many of us were Italian or Ukrainian for at least a few moments so we could cheer, too. And there are still matches to go. Ultimately, it doesn't really, really matter which team wins the World Cup. It will be a great excuse for a celebration in a city that needs no excuses. There are Torontonians and Canadians from every one of the nations represented in the World Cup.

Germany and other locations might HAVE the World Cup; in Toronto we ARE the World Cup.

BTW, isn't it cool that the final match will be in Berlin?

Day of Rest

Good idea, isn't it?