Closing in on Kick Off

Warm Relay greetings,

WELL,.... here we are. Time is closing in on Kick Off celebrations for this years theme, for Relay For Life of Second Life, with Time For A Cure, on March 10th, 2011.

I've been watching the RFLofSL Event Board light up with teams and multi teams events every since team registrations opened on the 15th of February, with absolute delight, and I've been watching something else that that takes me back with amazement. (RFLofSL website Team Events)

Ever since the flood gates to the team registration opened not to long ago, and I've watching the numbers rolling in, I am floored! As of last Saturday there were over 75 teams registered on the site and the number of volunteers stunning. (RFLofSL website Team List)

Not only that, but the season hasn't officially started yet, and these volunteers are so ready, are so enthusiastic, with using Convio contributions, we have 4 teams that have reached Silver Level of RFLofSL Awards in fundraising, 6 teams with Bronze and 4 more teams taking aim on Bronze as of today.

I really don't know were end up in July, but I bet the value of one cup of my favorite drink of coffee donations on a RFLofSL kiosk, no one knows, were we end up. I bet every that prediction we all secretly make, but never talk about, won't come close to what will be, our legacy for Relay For Life of Second Life 2012.

I also secretly wonder how many sims we crash this year!!!

Any takers?

Bain

Passwords, passwords passwords,...

 Love 'em. Hate 'em

You got some many of them. And you have to change them often. You gotta make them hard, and you gotta remember them. Add that some place won't let you reuse old ones too. Recipe for disaster.

Here's what I tell people to do:  
Make a password strategy. 

I like using variables of relevance, and the calendar is a great place to start it's always changing. We have the year ~ 4 digits, odd / even numbers, could use 2 digits for year, 1 or 2 digits for odd / even, could just spell out odd / even. 

We have the months and seasons ~ 12 months ~4 seasons, odd / even numbers, more options to break this out, every two months counts for 6 values, and we have 4 seasons,

And we have our personal history, using pets, children, so on and so forth.

Swapping out characters for numbers or special characters like all 'i' will be '%' and all 'y' will be # idea.

So you see where I going I hope, but here's an important nugget. we know, we should not use the password at work for your FaceBook account at home, etc., so we now have a forth variable, and that "were" the password is to be used. 

Now I'm not suggesting using the actual site name such as FaceBook, more like service type, work, home, social media home, social media work, personal email, business email. Here again it will be relevant to you.

And last, the order you place these variables and items together.

So here's an example.

Year: odd /even = odd/evn to keep the same number of characters in the password

Month: 2 digit value used backward March = 30

Winny, Sally, Milly, Finny = Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall and all 'i' will be '(' and all 'y' will be ')'

My 5 item service list: 3 characters.

wok =  work

hoe = home

mem = my personal email

wem = work email

msm = my social media

It's Dec, 1st 2011 time to change passwords, and so my password for works email is 1w(nn)wem21 and my personal home computer is,.. twitter, emails,... 

I win a trip to 2 week cruise, I come back, oh darn, what's my password again? Not a problem, because I can rebuild it and come up with the same one, every time. 

How's that for a simple easy way to make a strong password system, only you can generate, yet so easy to remember. Maybe, you only do the year and names, or just the months and seasons, or seasons and service, or even using a total different system.. Either way, when you make relevant you, you can never forget that.

I suggest you take your time, make sure you remember your selection of variables, over time.  Make your system, write it down and hide it. Two weeks later, write it out again and compare copies. Once you have it committed to memory, shred the copies and roll it out slowly.

Lastly, don't use this example, as it's the same 5 service list and 4 season example I've used, time and time again, because I can never forget it!

I hope this help you stay protected and safe.

Bain Finch

Past, Present, Future, . . .

. . . . , it all comes together in Relay.

If you've worked in RFLofSL for a while, as many of YOU have, this should all sound SO familiar,...

I was a contract mechanical designer for 12 years, in the last 9, in a small 2-3 person design studio before the down turn in the automotive and manufacturing industry. So I learned how to wear several job "hats" all day long, enven working multiple project as different stages. And I've worked with people of different skill levels, using their strong ones, and developing their weak ones.

A typical project length for us might be a month to 2-3 months range. Every project required the coordination of many people I never met in person, and the refinement of details as the project progressed.

For example, I'm designing a press, I know some of the forces needed, but as I design more of the press, those force slowly get known, to the point I can order the parts and have then arrive in time for when the assembling of the real press is scheduled to begin. Some parts can wait until later, some parts need to be know right away because of lead time in the purchase ordering process.

The other major skills is dealing with gaming changing issues as you can imagine. And the last is how to pace oneself to finish the project. I once worked 48 days straight every day, and never felt burnt out, panicked, stressed out,... I am working with other professionals and we are all working our professions in a professional manner. But we are also humans, and we make mistakes, but as professionals, get deal with it in a professional manner and move on.

I'm pretty good at seeing the whole project scope, developing a concept of the whole project while, working out a sequence of events and deadlines to keep the whole project moving at a steady pace, coordinating with everyone I need to coordinate with, all the while refining the constructing details of each stage and level and meeting the deadline with a quality job.

The key is communications, up and down the chain, making sure the people get the info, when they need it and prioritizing task. Task that help people in their task rates higher than task that move me along in mine. But you know all this all ready,... ;-P

The project lead should share progress reports to all members, which does help keep people on task, helps them make decisions, as they're hearing details from other team members progress. The lead should also report progress to his superior to keep them informed of your progress, which helps them and the team, for when there are issues of concern, not being addressed and can be quickly efficiently communicated back down. 

Otherwise, no issues, no time wasted, and everyone's on task. I'm not wasting my superiors time making then wonder what going on, they know. And my team not wasting time on a fools errand.

Overall "directives" flow top down, summary reports flow up. Works on small design offices in the real world and that's how I am doing my undertakings here RFLofSL.

The sharing of my working philosophy may have taken 10 minutes of my efficiency today, but what did I just do for all of us for the future?

Bain

Why do we Relay in SL?

Some of the discussion I love talking about, well besides why they Relay, and why Relay in Second Life, is why Second Life in the first place? Why do we love this world?

I've been here in various forms since the spring of '07, and at the time I was 46, single, and living in small summer tourist town, so the winters were long and boring with all the weather. So falling upon Second Life was a blessing for me. Since those days, I've explored this world, and I admired the creativeness of this place. All the way from the sims and clothing, I loved the way you can express yourself in your avatar shape and species.

And I admired the community builders of this world, the people that bring people together. From about '08 I've always hosted at clubs, I just love creating fun.

Just under 3 years ago I found this small semi private club and I fell in love with, all because of the owner. She built this with a foundation of providing a safe place for it members, whom were all child avatars, whom all understood the Term of Service for Second Life.

Along the way, in the beginning I didn't realized I was also explored myself. When I first landed in Second Life, I quickly made my way though all the perverse places and found that rather shallow and self serving and role playing just wasn't my thing.

But I did met a few interesting souls that set my course in new directions, and I have never looked back. My course were those places were helping people was part of their philosophy. That's when I was hooked on Second Life. And that's when I began exploring me.

Was about this time, I met someone that was a male in a female avatar and openly admitted it, and that really peeked my interest. After many amazing discussion I set on and new exploration. I've been a little boy, a little girl, when through the teen years, when to high school even.

Having gone though a second child hood in both sexes, Then I grew up, again, and began exploring my sexuality. I'll be honest, sometimes I did tell my partners, sometimes I did. And yes, in all forms, straight, bi and crossed. Human and non human too just for good measure but it was always me and going on in my life within context of who my avatar was at the time.

2009 I got laid off from my career as a mechanical designer, designing automation equipment for the automotive industry and returned to school for a quick upgrade on my IT skills I developed as a designer. But I wasn't having a good time of it and knew I needed a change.

SO I dove into the one place I knew I could find the answer, Second Life

In the fall of 2010 I created a female avatar, but was pretty much done with my sexual exploration and began my exploration of what really was my passion of life which bring me to the club I've been hosting these last 3 years.

It had several factor I already knew I loved about myself. I was a place that first provided a safe environment. A place that I could plan, create and organize, which are other skills I enjoy using. And the membership were all long term 2nd lifers who knew who they were, and that was important to me. So openly shared their real life with each other, some never left their character, and we all respect that in each other. So were child, some teens, and even a few adults, but we all respected the our collective moral and ethical values. The other major love of the club was it was half Euro people and half Americans and that was awesome. I just LOVE the international aspect of Second Life!!!

My very first friend I met with this avatar was in her last days of Inflammatory Breast Cancer and was the most amazing death I ever witnessed. She planned it all out in both worlds, arranged to have her young daughter come in world, for her life's celebrations to her friends in Second Life were she wrote the most amazing / profound piece I ever hear from such a young soul. That change me forever. (reaches for tissue again)

In the month before her final days, I ask my members of my club, to send her their prayers and well wishes to my friend, and was approached my approached by a club member and told me she is a 21 year old Leukemia Survivor and is still in the trenches today. She's amazing. I love her like my own daughter. That's one thing I never expected to find here. When my friend died, I took up her cause and began spreading the word about Inflammatory Breast Cancer and in so doing found more places doing the same for they cause and I was truly reborn in both 1st and 2nd lives.

And that when I found Relay in Second Life,
and through Relay I found who I am,
and what I really like to do
and I am working on both sides of the keyboard doing that very thing.
and Bain was born,
and born to Relay.

But I'll get more into that in another post. For now I would like to conclude this with, in my exploration of life with 2nd lifers, I discovered that these are some of the common reason many people of Second Life love this place I think.

It gives people with limitations of life, be it because they live in place where they have of extend community who think like they do. Or people that are on the moved. Or people that just have that creative need. I could go on, but you wrap that with peoples want to Relay, and I think there you have one of the common reason RFLofSL is so well loved as well, because no matter where you are, you CAN RELAY!

I hope you enjoyed my little journey back to my past and back again.

Bain Finch

And so it begins,...

Well, well, well. 

We are well into the new year, and that means, the new season for "Relay For Life of Second Life" will be kicking off. How cool is that?! As you know, this season's theme is "Time For A Cure". Which in a place like Second Life, a theme like that, is a license to go "nuts" for the creative's minds for the season's events and builds. Or at least that's what I hear from some of the teams. Guess "Time" will tell, all in due "Time"....

Dates are firmed up. Team registration open February 15th, and thanks to a whole bunch of talented minds, have done a sweet re-design of the RFLofSL team site which should be going online soon. I'll update you on that, when it is. But what I've seen of it, it's going a great help to meet the people in Relay For Life of Second Life, read why they Relay, follow the teams and events, all during the season and so much more. SO a big warm "THANK YOU" to everyone involved, on that project!

Many of the committees are looking for volunteers, in all sorts of capacities. From committee members, builders, scripter's, event performers, DJs, musicians, hosts, mentoring, sponsors, machinima, and, and, and.... For more information, join the "Relay For Life Volunteers" group in Second Life, check past notices, or, just open an IM and say "I want to volunteer", I am sure, you'll be scooped up in seconds. The same can be said for all the teams, established ones and new ones. So keep an eye out for notices in the "Relay For Life Volunteers" group. 

I know doing the Off Season Coordinator roll, I meet and talked to several people wanting to start a team. So I hooked them up with our very awesome PrettyKitty Gumbo, whom is heading up the "Teams Committee". But through that roll, and last years experience, and the lead up to this season, in discussion with all the wonderful people I have meet along the way, the one many things we talks about, is "why". 

Three letters that form one of the most profound words in the English language. As a child one of the simplest question to discovery. As a human, sometimes, one of the hardest, to find answers for.

I know for myself, I am super thrilled to be here. Ever since I found Relay last year, my whole real life has changed. My goals have changed. Well, that's not completely correct. I do have a goal to start a small business serving small business, that hasn't changed. What has changed, is the "how", and that's because of Relay. So yours truly, last September at the age of 50, enrolled into a 2 year college program for Advertising, and I am having a blast. I get to use all the best parts of the skills sets and work environments, I enjoyed the most from my previous careers, and I get to use them for something I enjoy doing. 

Last year, I read so many "Why I Relay" statements, postings, commemorative and luminary, wrote several myself I never posted, because I could find mine, I just knew I found myself though relay. And I DO LOVE to Relay. 

Maybe that's it I guess,...   "I Relay, for the love of Relay".

Bain Finch

Co-Chair, PR & Media Relations