Free Easter Display!

It looks like The Lab won't be sponsoring an Easter Egg Decorating Contest this year so the display I made is being given away FREE at Dolce Valentina (SLurl; Adult region). Enjoy!

It's BACK! SVARGA!!

New World Notes announced yesterday the return of Svarga, the legendary living ecosystem experiment in Second Life (Web; SLurl). Hamlet Au has confirmation that Linden Lab has purchased the property as part of a program to promote and preserve the arts (Web). When I heard about a year ago that Svarga was closing I had hoped that the Lab would do such a thing. Actually, I had hoped to purchase it myself, but I'm glad that someone did.

In my brief, 20-minute look around, almost nothing has changed. Most obvious is the lack of items for sale in the store, but some plants that I remember floating mid-air are still in place as is the slightly "suspicious" plant that yields a surprise. The futuristic sound experience that was tucked in a corner is gone ("[19:08] svarga wasp whispers: There was an exciting chat to sound experiment here [19:08] svarga wasp whispers: we hope to get it back soon," announces the tour wasp), as is the Wyrm sea dragon that I often swam near, and as I write this I'm looking for the "float in space" activity that used to make me nauseous. These "missing" items were likely No Trans so were retained by their owner. However, I did find a hidden library that I hadn't seen before.

Interestingly, the L$1 bird feeders still pay Laukosargas Svarog, the original owner (pay the dispenser at night and it refunds your money ... sometimes more) and she's still listed as the land owner in About Land, under the Svarga group, despite a statement in her profile that says that the land has a new owner. Confirming this is he region information. It shows that Patch Linden (Concierge Team Manager) is the owner. I would think that Governor Linden would be the owner. Perhaps it is all being sorted at this time.

Now I'm curious, though. Was the region simply hidden, like the Cornfield regions, or was it re-created from a back up? Either would explain the mis-positioned plants. If it was brought back from storage, the Lab could have gone far enough back to return the dragon and other items (Yes, the Lab can copy anything it wants). I'm also a bit curious that mushrooms seats from the Relic shop are still here yet the really great hammock from the same shop is gone. Again, it might have been No Trans. The one in my inventory isn't transferable.

In any case, I'm very happy to have Svarga back. From it's inception it was well ahead of it's time in design and execution. Compared with some of the marvels of texturing, sculpties, and particle scripting that have been developed during it's absence a few aspects seem a bit dated, but the region is still a masterpiece.

Postscript: I don't clearly remember the tour vehicle being a wasp, but rather an ugly pod. Does anyone remember a wasp?

Red Hot Chili Pipers @ Lesbos!

The famous Red Hot Chili Pipers (Web) have a Tribute Band in Second Life and they ROCK! I was very happy to see them at the Isle of Lesbos today. Here are some pix:

Locking My Door

I'm a proud owner of a Linden Home, a "free" benefit of having a Premium account. It is nice to have a well-made house and a full 117 prims typical for a 512m² land parcel. Instead of using the bulk of the prim allotment for a structure, I can use them all for furniture and landscaping. Actually, the landscaping is pretty much included, but as you can see, I added some extra plants. The Lab has also included a clever system that lets me customize, too an extent, the structure's textures, control the fireplace, and even lock the door.

But if it is locked, only I can open or close the door. My wife, Angela, can't get in. So I created JIRA issue MISC-4022: "Linden Home Door Access Rights."

As a happy Linden Home owner I have no complaints, but I would like to have a feature added/changed. At this time, only the Owner may operate a locked door. The change I would like is the ability for the owner to specify who else may open/close the door. Perhaps this can be set through the Linden Home Control Panel Web Page. Only the owner can access that page so their home security is preserved.

Not that a locked door is "real" security anyway. Even if a parcel ban is active others can still cam in and unless an owner locks the use of poseballs/furniture in the home, anyone can "sit" for entry (unless a parcel ban is in place). Letting others open/close the door is just a nicety.

If you have a moment, please click the link above, log-in, and vote for this request. Not a home owner so you don't care? Understandable, but please vote anyway? Then consider getting yourself one of these fine properties. Lots of varieties available in very attractive neighborhoods. The Official Blog (Web) has links to take you to the Infohubs that service the four themed regions of homes. At each you can pick up various freebies, too, including all the textures used to create the Linden Homes.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Still a day to go to the holiday here in the U.S., but I've been celebrating for a week now.

I Miss Linden Trees & Particle Rain

The tree that is controlling both my lives right now is partly gone. This is a shot from the day it fell. Dunno how tall it is ... 75 feet? One of the oldest trees in the neighborhood I'm told. The base is in the back yard of the house behind ours.

This shot is from the front of the house and shows the part (abut 15 feet) that had to be removed just to patch the roof. Three guys removed the part and patched the roof in under an hour for $400! I wish 400 RL dollars was as cheep as 400 Linden dollars. The rest of the tree is there until Thursday.

Half of the kitchen/dining ceiling needs to be replaced and one of the walls. Maybe not the window but nearly the entire roof was damaged by the tree or the winds over the last couple storms. Some were up to 90 m.p.h. and the recent rains totaled over 6 inches for our area. I miss Linden trees and particle rain.

Where is Uccello now?

Staring at a tree sticking through the ceiling of the dining room is where I am. So we have partial power, water everywhere, and the fresh scent of pine in the air. My main computer is dead and I'm going to be busy for a few days. Please send note cards if it's important.

SL Viewer 2.0 Beta Features

I've started a discussion thread in the forums about features that seem to be missing from the 2.o Beta viewer compared to earlier viewers and what I'd like to see brought back.