Lazy Blogging: An AIM Conversation.

So I have a paper or two to write, and there has been a blog post I've wanted to make for a while.

I'm not going to be making that post today, so instead, here's a current events-related AIM conversation from a few minutes ago.

My away message at this point was simply, "The frontier". Here is where the conversation begins, with my friend Zach addressing the away message:

(04:29:01 PM) Zach: the final frontier?
(04:29:11 PM) Noah: There is no final frontier
(04:29:22 PM) Noah: Man can find or create new frontiers
(04:29:23 PM) Zach: I once heard it was space
(04:29:26 PM) Noah: yeah
(04:29:33 PM) Noah: but think of virtual frontiers, like MMO games
(04:29:42 PM) Noah: In many respects they really are a lawless kind of frontierland
(04:29:46 PM) Noah: chew on this
(04:30:01 PM) Noah: they have recently started the ball rolling on taxing virtual worlds
(04:30:05 PM) Zach: that's true to an extent, but then you venture into the question of what is real
(04:30:08 PM) Zach: what?
(04:30:08 PM) Noah: because people make millions of dollars in them
(04:30:10 PM) Noah: yes
(04:30:14 PM) Zach: how
(04:30:20 PM) Zach: how is that possible
(04:30:21 PM) Noah: I made a few hundred in Everquest you know
(04:30:30 PM) Noah: People start businesses. Selling in game currency, or other stuff
(04:30:34 PM) Noah: Second Life is probably the best example
(04:30:59 PM) Noah: It's not really a game so much as it is a virtual world, but it's got this scripting language that allows you to do pretty much anything. You can create objects, sell real estate, build a house, etc
(04:31:19 PM) Noah: recently someone made this thing that allowed them to duplicate any item in the world...this caused a lot of trouble in the game
(04:31:31 PM) Zach: is it the government taxing it or the games developers
(04:31:35 PM) Noah: gov't
(04:31:39 PM) Zach: Second life is out of control
(04:31:43 PM) Noah: let me try to find a link
(04:31:57 PM) Noah: http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2006/12/04/irs-wants-a-bite-of-the-virtual-world/
(04:31:59 PM) Noah: that'll do
(04:32:00 PM) Zach: I guess I don't see how the government has the authority to tax a virtual world
(04:32:22 PM) Zach: that is pretty fucked I say
(04:32:31 PM) Noah: it's just an example of how the world is changing
(04:32:49 PM) Noah: the world we live in always grows in new and unexpected ways, Zach
(04:33:25 PM) Zach: yeah
(04:33:34 PM) Zach: this was very unexpected to me
(04:33:47 PM) Zach: I need to up my propheseying game
(04:34:00 PM) Noah: But yeah, this whole conversation is basically what I'm getting at in my cryptic and two word long away message
(04:34:04 PM) Noah: There will ALWAYS be a new frontier
(04:34:54 PM) Zach: dude
(04:35:06 PM) Zach: this is the most thought provoking away message
(04:35:18 PM) Zach: i have read
(04:35:20 PM) Zach: in many a day
(04:35:23 PM) Noah: 8-)

After this, Zach went away, with a new away message.

"space ain't what it used to be"