Chatting with virtual world researchers Jeff and Shaowen Bardzell, I found out that a seriously desired artifact in Second Life, not unlike in First Life, is hair. Swishy, shiny, thick, luscious hair. But there is one problem with this fabulous hair: It is computationally costly to render in comparison with the average avatar body. And so, sadly, your avatar body arrives before your hair. For a matter of moments, no matter how fashionable your garb, you’re as bald as a coot.