Tag: Atlantis

Virtually Speaking

I don’t know about all of you, but I can say with certainty that I am exhausted from fighting with my body. So instead of battling against Father Time, I’ve found a way to live my life and enjoy the things I can no longer do. A new world has provided the tools for opportunities to travel without leaving the sofa, garden without scooping up a bit of dirt or fighting those ugly tomato worms.

I play golf, have a huge home and don’t have to clean the toilets.

I can do so many things I thought were now lost to me.

And all I have to do is enter the virtual world.

There is so much talk today about kids being on their computers too much. I concur. Fresh air, and of course I must add that none of that is available in Los Angeles, and sunshine, that you can actually get here, are still vital for good health.

But for an old broad who still loves to garden, play a lousy game of golf and enjoy the comforts of a spacious home without the responsibility that comes along with owning one, there is a virtual world. It affords me all the possibilities I thought were lost long ago.

There are of course many ways to enter this world.

One that is really amazing is VR or Oculus Rift, invented by a genius named Palmer Luckey. A tech wunderkind that figured out a way to simply put on a mask and enter a whole new realm of reality.

On VR I am able to play golf, solve mysteries like Sherlock Holmes and enter worlds so real, and even scary, I am still in awe of the technology.

I play golf with my grandsons or fight Darth Vader. And yes, he is just as scary in the virtual world.

I can enter ancient worlds and go on a scavenger hunt. Or golf through Atlantis and wonder at a world that exists now I never thought I’d ever experience.

It all seems so real and vibrant and best of all you can fly through these worlds as though you had wings.

No airplane necessary just float around and hover over these amazing sights.

As a child these wonders were what science fiction movies were made of and now, well they’re actually here.

Was it worth the wait? You bet.

I have also discovered the world of online gaming, no not gambling. Roblox. Like an online Atari.

There are hundreds of games to play and all of the technology is truly stunning.

The best part is playing these games with my grandsons.

One game called Grow a Garden is one we all play. You can plant your own garden with vegetables and flowers. Design the landscape and enjoy contests.

We play it all the time and my daughter who thought we were all silly, is now as into it as we are. Hilariously so are many of her friends as well. Adults, kids just a fun way to be creative and grow a beautiful garden. It’s a great way to spend time together when we’re apart and be able to share fun experiences.

By now you probably think I’ve truly lost it, but some of the games on Roblox are also educational.

Adopt Me teaches kids to own and care for a pet.

Of course there are others like Steal a Brainrot that well, I just don’t know.

But it’s all in fun.

There are even Squid Games and cooking contests.

If it all sounds crazy, well perhaps it is.

But I must admit I love being able to do so many things with my grandsons that don’t involve battling with Light Sabers or bouncing on the trampoline.

I even have a Tik Tok account with a hundred and fifty-five thousand followers as The Roblox Grammy.  The kids, and there are millions, love watching this old broad play Murder Mystery or design clothes for a fashion show. Or any one of so many other things we can do.

With travel so different today, and not in a good way, I can enjoy Italy on VR. I don’t have to wait in TSA lines, worry about delays or barely missing another plane miles over the earth.

I can kick off my shoes, fluff the couch pillows and climb Machu Pichu without having to stop and catch my breath.

Is seeing the Mona Lisa or Eiffel Tower the same online as up close and personal? Of course not. Sure, I wish I could still do so many things now that I once never thought twice about.  

Still, if one is going to grow old at least there is a way to travel and check stuff off your bucket list without missing a beat. And is this really any different from rushing home from school and planting ourselves in front of the TV to watch Howdy Doody?

Is it fun to travel through outer space without a rocket? Yep. Would NASA let me anyway at this age? I’m pretty sure I couldn’t pass the endurance test anymore. Besides space capsules feel so claustrophobic.

Okay so we never got the Jetpacks, or the hoverboards, or Beep Beep Rosie, but taking advantage of a new reality once in a while is a fun way to leap into the future. And in our present world that’s a gift.

Well, I’d love to stay and chat but I have a golf game with my grandson. Scottie Scheffler look out. You’ve got some stiff virtual competition from this old broad.

Virtual Reality is Virtually All We Were Promised

There is an alternate universe now and I don’t mean on another planet. I have discovered virtual reality and I can’t even say enough good things about this world.

Baby Boomers at various times were promised certain amazing inventions awaiting us in the future.

Hover boards, Jet Packs, Beep Beep Rosie, and virtual reality were all wonders we could look forward to experiencing in our futures.

Somehow Beep Beep Rosie fell short when a little round thing that kept bumping into walls and held a teaspoon full of dirt appeared. Sorry, Rosie, but I’m still waiting.

Hover boards, well if they exist, I haven’t seen one and neither have most. And, of course at this age I’d probably fall off and break my hip anyway. So I guess the hover board thing is a non-starter now.

Jet packs, boy that’s a disappointment. That was the one I was super excited about. Can you imagine not having to fight traffic and just be able to hop into the sky like a bird and fly to the mall. Sign me up!

I suppose I have been rather let down by the technology that I expected and never showed up as promised.

Now artificial intelligence seems to be more of a threat than a promise, I feel like I’d like to register a complaint with my local high-tech geniuses. Excuse me, can you swear this thing won’t take over my life and do evil?

Somehow I’m thinking that would be a big no.

Don’t even get me started with the whole killer robot thing.

So what can please you, you ask as I complain?

I’m here to tell you I am a huge fan of virtual reality.

It’s even spread to gaming of which I am also a devotee and greatly enjoy.

I’ll begin with Roblox an online Atari or Nintendo that has more games than anyone can play. Within those games are many that allow you to create your own world. Homes and cities and anything within your own imagination. What a trip? Such fun to enter your own world after you’ve created it to your own specifications.

Still, I must admit above all I am a huge fan of virtual reality.

If you’ve never tried it, it’s a trip into any world you seek to visit.

You can travel to distant lands without leaving your home. See the wonders of the world close up and personal without hiking up mountains. Even climb Mt. Everest without breaking a sweat. The vistas and beauty is all there and you can enjoy each moment at your leisure.

Once you put the mask on your eyes you enter worlds beyond your expectations and see things you cannot ever see on this earth.

One game I play is a mini golf game with different courses including Atlantis, The Gardens of Babylon and even a trip to Venice, Italy.

The ability of the designers of these worlds to leave you breathless is incredible. You’re certain you’ve entered the past, a planet, a new galaxy or universes never imagined in a lifetime.

You find yourself lost in places so beautiful and serene you don’t want to leave. You can be underwater one moment and in outer space the next. This technology truly lives up to the hype. However, not everyone is so keen to travel through these methods. It is a bit freaky leaving the earth and I’m sure many resist the whole experience.

I however choose to embrace every moment and feel quite content sitting underwater in Atlantis and watching giant sea turtles swim by. Or gazing at the hanging gardens of Babylon with all its magnificent color and spectacle.

Then begs the questions is this virtual world a place to merely escape to or can it be just as real as the one in which we are living.

How easy is it to trade the insanity of our present times for the serenity and beauty of worlds we merely have to don a mask to enter.

No news filled with horrible stories. No awareness of all the hatred and evil around us. Just pure beauty and contentment as we sightsee in a virtual universe designed to take us on a great adventure.

Now of course I’m not inferring it is merely all perfect in this virtual reality. There are games so real you actually gasp when Darth Vader appears and draws his light saber to attack. Outer space is so dark and foreboding you are constantly afraid you’ll fall off the edge of the galaxy.

Yet the ability to fly and move about freely without even a jetpack is quite enticing.

Albeit it can throw you off balance at times if you soar too high.

All I know is I can golf like Arnold Palmer, fly like a bird and climb Machu Pichu without aching feet reveling in all these experiences.

So many of the great innovations in these times seem to be enjoyed and embraced by younger generations. Yet we dreamed of these inventions and because we created them in our minds, they actually came into existence.

Why should we not be able to avail ourselves of their wonders?

So you can’t golf one day because your arthritis is acting up. Don a VR mask and compete with the pros.

Had to postpone that trip to Italy? Ride the canals of Venice in a gondola and just soak in the scenery. Couldn’t afford the passage on that Virgin Galactic flight to the edge of the universe? No problem you can explore outer space in your pajamas.

Oh sure it isn’t the real thing of course, but when it’s a substitute you can enjoy, hey why not?

We’ve always escaped to the movies, into books and many other ways for years to create our own reality, this is merely another way to achieve that peaceful state.

Have fun touring Europe today, I’ll be playing golf on a galaxy far far away. Happy virtual reality, everyone. You dreamed it and you deserve to enjoy its wonders.