The Geeky Meme

After I spend all Saturday glued to the TV watching hour upon hour of Doctor Who, of course Strawberry hit us with a rather timely meme ... The Geeky Meme!

Meme Instructions: Create an image depicting what you consider to be geeky/nerdy/dorky and/or answer the following questions! Don’t forget to leave a link to your post in the comments and if you do a picture for this meme, feel free to share it in the blog memes flickr group.

What do you consider yourself to be? Geek? Nerd? Dork? None of the above? All of the above? – Based on the definitions supplied by Strawberry in her blog post ... Geek sounds about right, but I don't know about smart. Nerd is almost spot on as I fear being near people and I've tested as having a very high IQ (but am without a clue as how to use it). Dork is as dork does, I guess, and I've been called one.

What was the first computer you ever owned? – Owned? Wow. An old Palm Pilot Color, a hand-me-down from my brother when he got a Sony running Palm OS. I've never owned what one might call a traditional computer, even today, but rather I've shared computers with my brother (he raised me) who almost never got rid of a computer. I've used a now-ancient 8088 PC and currently use a late-2009 27" iMac. At this time I "own" an Apple iPod Touch and an Apple iPad Air.

When and how did you first get on the internet? – I don't remember ever not having the Internet so I'd have to answer "As soon as I was sat in front of a computer." I was too young to really use it, but I had an AOL log-in.

Which geek fandom do you subscribe to? – None in particular. Like Strawberry, I enjoy Harry Potter and other "famous" randoms. A couple not typically subscribed to by the general populace: The dragon novels by Naomi Novik and Kim Harrison's Hollows books. Also on my reading list are more mainstream authors like Asimov, Clarke, Pournelle, Niven, Bear, and more.

Star Trek or Star Wars? – Both, and add in Battlestar Galactica to round out the Space group. I rather enjoy Doctor Who, as well, and most Sci-Fi on TV and in movies.

How Geeky Are You? –

Hoorah!! Take that, Norms!!
(And take the quiz here.)

SL Premium Gift Winter 2013

The Lab has updated the Premium Gift! You may recall that previous editions have been mostly vehicles (see here) that have eventually gone on to be items you could buy via Amazon. com (like this set). This gift is themed for Winter holidays – Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah (though you can't tell by the spelling of some object names that the latter holiday was included – The Lab has typos, too) – with decorated trees, wrapped presents (empty), themed bears, and even whole dressed dining tables brimming with food. I hopped to my favorite Premium Gift Kiosk (SLurl) and grabbed my set as soon as I could.

Included in the box I got was a note card with some helpful information:

Happy Holidays! 

This set includes tables and chairs for three different scrumptious dinners, plus other holiday decor! Everything can be copied as many times as you wish. 

The dining sets are "coalesced" objects -- each is a table and six chairs, coalesced into one inventory item with the proper chairs-to-table relationship. Once you've rezzed the table and chairs, you can move chairs around, or remove some if you don't have five other people for dinner. See the article on coalesced objects at: 

http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Building-tips/ta-p/700041#Section_.1

The "Ham Dinner" has a Land Impact value of 20; the "Brisket Dinner" has a LI value of 19; and the "Turkey Dinner" has a LI value of 16 (very low-fat!). You can light or extinguish the candles on the tables (and on the other decor items) by clicking on their wicks. 

Separate from the dinner tables are some other decor items -- candles, a menorah, a poinsettia, a garland and wreath; a variety of gift boxes to scatter about, and two decorated trees. The "Lo Detail" tree has a Land Impact value of 15; the "Hi Detail" tree has a Land Impact value of 26. 

There is a family of holiday teddy bears, including two that have "carrying animations" -- when you Wear the "Holiday Teddy Girl" or "Holiday Teddy Boy" you'll be hugging them to your chest! 

And there's a "Holiday Hat" to wear while distributing presents!

There is an awful lot of stuff in the box. I can't fit it all on the screen!!

All items are No Mod (so no fitting the hat to your avatar) and No Transfer (so no using the boxes to wraps the presents you give out. You'll need a mesh-capable viewer (but who doesn't have one these days?) and a place to unpack the box. Since you are a Premium member, might as well hit Sandbox Bricker (SLurl) or use Search to find another.

Here are some pictures with my impressions in the captions:

The bears are cute. They are based on the ones created for the last SL birthday celebration by Bonnie Mole.

One of the dinner tables has a full perm item ... can you find it?

The seats are animated and most offer to attach a knife and fork when you sit. They poof when you stand.

I'm so friggin' hungry now. This looks so delicious I'd be tempted to leave it up all the time. Thank you, Ancient Mole!

The trees are nice. I might put one up at the Pouloco station. Thank you, Crazy Mole!

So, there you have it. Another nice prezzie for being a Premium member. I'd love to hear how you plan on using these items so leave a comment if you post pictures somewhere, let me know and I'll take a peek.

Got Tier?

A number of years ago when I spent almost all my time on the Isle of Lesbos I had actually given up my Premium member perk of owning land so my allotment of free tier was wasted until a friend came up with an idea ... give it to him! Did you know that you can donate your allotment to any group to which you belong? This allowed him to expand a friendly little community that did good in Our World. After a couple  years I needed it back and I'm still using it today, but I was rather pleased to see my friend Dakota Schwade post a request along these lines on her MySL feed here. I contacted her about it and asked if I could blog about it since I don't have any spare tier at the moment and it is for such a worthy group. So here goes ...

 _______________________

NCI / New Citizens Incorporated Tier Donation

NCI has had to rely upon a few large tier donors in recent years. The problem inherent with that situation is that if one of the donors has to remove their tier donation, the land associated with the group may be placed into jeopardy.

And that is what has happened recently. A donor removed 6,000 square meters of tier donation (6,600 square meters which includes the 10% bonus given to tier donated to a group).

Ideally, NCI (and perhaps other groups as well) would prefer to rely upon a larger group of smaller tier donors, so that the loss of one or two donors has a reduced impact.

With that goal in mind, NCI is trying to secure tier donations from Premium Account members who (1) are not using their 512 square meters at all, (2) are perhaps not interested in using their Linden Home anymore and would consider abandoning it, or (3) have a fragment of tier remaining that they could donate.

 _______________________

So how do I go about this? Check out this NCI Wiki page for details.

Monday Meme: Introspection

Usually when I tackle on of Strawberry Singh's Monday Memes (this week's here and all here) I scan the questions but not her responses so I can try to be original. Sometimes I find that we have similar thoughts (poor Strawberry) but I imagine that since we are both in Second Life, we both are women, and we share some artistic bents, it shouldn't be a surprise me that our answers sometimes mesh. This introspection crap stuff I don't get, though. It is rather seldom that I look inside for contemplation ... it's messy in there. As uncomfortable as writing my responses was (introductions like this one I tend to write after the fact) I'm glad I tip-toed through the muck. Here we go ... Introspection.

Being Introspective and Looking Within Myself.

Meme instructions: Answer the following questions and don’t forget to leave a link to your post in the comments.

Regardless of your current number, how old do you actually feel? – By conventional measures, I am 25 years-old. Depending on who you ask, I'm either a very old soul or someone who still needs to grow up a considerable bit. As for myself, I certainly don't identify with my generation. At heart I'm really no more than 14, I'd say, though I adore the elements of culture from the 1930s to the 1970s.

Which is worse, failing or never trying? – The instance is the heart of relevance to this question. Most days I'm rather glad I've never tried skydiving without a parachute. On the whole, though, never trying seems to fairly boring. "That which does not kill you might strengthen you," to paraphrase many.

If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently? – This is a very difficult question as should the supposition be true, my circumstances would be quite different. Actually, I probably wouldn't even be here as my father would not have been around for his part in my conception. For argument's sake the premise is accepted so ... I would like to travel more, though I doubt I could afford it. It would be nice to have a girlfriend or a wife. I'd probably get back into photography.

Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things? – Oh, the right things. Karma can be a bitch.

Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton? – Joyful simpleton might be nice for a change. Being in Mensa hasn't gotten more more than a certificate and a regular newsletter. Mind you, I often find the clueless innocent rather depressing. One day they will learn disappointment, deep pain, and heartache, all things I do not cope well with myself.

Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend? – No. Then again, I don't have many friends. For those from whom I have earned this special appellation I simply say "I'm sorry." It is not in my nature to keep in touch or to cope well with another's pain.

Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now? – Yes. I bundle my pain and keep it deep within me so it is always there. I hope you don't do that.

At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive? – Recently ... hmm. Nope. Hasn't happened.

If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job? – Nope. Pretty much committed to being my step-mother's full-time care giver till she needs more or needs no more. I'd use the money to buy a small perk or two but otherwise invest it toward a life when my job ends.

If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today? – The person I care for most lives with me already. In the abstract, I'd want to visit the one person who could stop the extinction to warn them.

What do you feel is the difference between being alive and truly living? – Experience and contribution. A life well-lived and lived well.

If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake? – Mistakes can be quite painful, though I imagine that perspective and magnitude are at the heart of this question.

What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you? – [Redacted for being too NSFW]

If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be? – Be a Do Bee.

Drama

In the past week I've been running with a herd of Drama Llamas in SL, though not by choice. It was really like multiple herds, however, as no two llamas (I don't think they know each other, either) were talking to me about the same topic. I heard about everything – and I'm going to be vague and evasive here – nearly every day via IMs, direct Profile messages, note cards, blog comments, MySL comments, and more sources. Let me summarize what I heard ...

*gasp* Drama!

Caca ga laalaa da doo laa gaagaa ya goo doodoo dada. Ga drama-bye goo goo icky ya gaa doo dada laalaa ya. Goo doo bow-wow goo gaagaa gaagaa gaga yaya gaa widdle laalaa laalaa. Doodoo drama yaya laa googoo doo gaagaa gaagaa yaya dada goo dada. Yaya vroom-vroom ga doodoo doo da. Doo da gaagaa gaga mama gaagaa laa goo gaagaa gaa. Ya doo gaa gaa gaagaa googoo gaagaa googoo yaya goo dada gaga. Ya da yaya ga dada googoo drama gaga yaya. Ga laalaa gaga gaga dada laalaa doo I'm an ass doodoo ya goo gaa da. Googoo doodoo gaga laalaa googoo laalaa gaagaa doodoo laalaa drama gaa yaya laa. Googoo goo googoo ya laa gaga ga gaga. Doo googoo laalaa gaagaa laalaa doodoo gaga laa da ya laalaa. Da drama gaga ya da ga laa ga gaagaa gaagaa dada doo doo. Gasbag gaa goo doo ya gaagaa drama-coo. Googoo gaa ga gaagaa laalaa. Gaagaa laalaa gaga gaga goo goo gaa. Googoo dada da ya bye-bye da. Doo googoo ya Lady Gaga uppie gaagaa laalaa da da. Doo gaagaa gaa dada gaagaa dada doo-doo googoo drama. Doodoo doo.

Sorry. No theater degree here so I don't do drama. I'm more of a light-comedy kinda girl. Sci-fi along the lines of Firefly and Star Trek – nothing serious – and watching classic Perry Mason episodes is as close as I get to drama.

Press Release: Bay City Annual Tree Lighting & Charity Auction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Marianne McCann
Bay City Alliance
marianne.mccann@gmail.com 

BAY CITY ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING, CONCERT, AND FUNDRAISER

Fourth Annual Event celebrates the holiday season

BAY CITY, SL (11th November, 2013) - Come to the Bay City Fairgrounds on Sunday, 8th December 2013 from 1-4 pm SLT for a tree lighting, skating party, silent auction, music event featuring GoSpeed Racer, Grace McDunnough, and CelticMaidenWarrior Lancaster. The event will be held at the Bay City Fairgrounds, in North Channel (SLurl). There will be ice-skating, dancing, refreshments and lots of fun!

In addition to all the above, a silent auction is planned for the event. We are asking Second Life™ designers and artists to participate by providing fun, interesting, unique, or others transferrable items (or a no-copy object that the auction winner can give to you to redeem their prize, if the item(s) have to be no transfer) that reflect well on your Second Life pursuits. Please contact Marianne McCann to participate.

 Auction will end at the conclusion of the event at 4 p.m. SLT. All proceeds from the silent auction and from donation bins at the venue will go to Child's Play Charity (www.childsplaycharity.org). Child's Play is a 501c3 non profit organization offers online communities such as ours an opportunity to help seriously ill children around the globe during their hospital stays with the purchase of games and gaming equipment.

Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab® and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network. It is now the largest group for Residents of Bay City.

For more information, or to participate in the event, please contact Marianne McCann.

#  #  #

Fun With Maps

One of my favorite ways to explore Our World is to Map-Hop – Open the Map and double-click on a region at random. Sometimes it is not so random as I often zoom in to see some detail and then aim for something that looks interesting. It's almost like using Google Earth or one of the many mapping sites on the Interwebs. Here are a few interesting finds, but I won't list the SLurls so you have to open the Map to visit (and explore, I hope).

This one has been changing rapidly over the last few days. Maps can be quite ephemeral.

And why could these regions be sacred? Check where your Linden gifts are delivered from.

The region at the top is changed seasonally. You really must visit and see what it looks like from sea level or just above.

Everyone loves The Hand! It's not often you see embossed land, in this case the sea bed, but it is not uncommon to find regions in the shape of things like animal paws, symbols, and other familiar things.

UPDATE (Wed Nov 13 20:05:26 2013) I just heard from AlmostThere Inventor. You should check out Frantastica! Someone is now famous!!

Okay, you may think she was famous thanks to The Drax Files but her picture on The Poultry Report seals it.

Do you have a region that everyone should see via the Map? Post the name or the SLurl in the comments. I'd love to see them.

Monday Meme: Best & Worst

Picking ideas for Strawberry Singh's Monday Meme this week, Best & Worst, was rather like looking for Miss Right – near endless searching before finally settling for Miss Right-Now. Choosing among bests and worsts is as much about notion as it is memory or mood so what you read here would likely be different if I were to take up the challenge afresh tomorrow. Enjoy the fine selection of "bug" pictures from my archive as you read along.

Meme Instructions: Copy and paste the questions and answers below, delete my answers and input your own. The twist is, the final question you need to change and make up your own best & worst that you want to share.

Best thing about Second Life: Our World is a miracle, of sorts, freeing me from constraints that hold me back in Real Life. Often after enjoying a long session in-world I'm taken aback and have to pause when I forget that I cannot actually speak. I become so used to "talking" to people that my brain has to switch gears so I can Sign again.
Worst thing about Second Life: The ever increasing need for more advanced hardware. Example: Having upgraded to Apple's Mavericks OS I was delighted to find every application I have from Web browsers to games to image editors all run faster and more smoothly. Then there is Second Life. The Lab upgraded the viewer, too, adding extra lag and even more bugs.

Best thing in your inventory: Photos and screenshots that never made it to my hard drive or to my Flickr account. Maybe not some of the pictures that people have sent me over time – who told men that they best way to introduce themselves is to send a picture of "their" RL penis? – but generally, I treasure them all and look at them often. These I don't intentionally save, but some are just so funny.
Worst thing in your inventory: Depends on what you mean by "worst." I have far too many clothes, far to many builder kits I've never used and probably never will, and oh, so many items that have been made redundant because of newer versions.

Best earliest SL memory: When I was given landscaping rights and full permission to make over some 2048 m² brother's land. That was so much fun. I built something new nearly every day – ponds, creeks, hills, forests (small ones), rainbows, tree houses, caves, an asian palace, and more. Eventually, I was given permission to do whatever I wanted with all of our family land.
Worst earliest SL memory: More than a few Drama Llamas sauntered through the Isle of Lesbos over the years but an early one in particular got to me so badly that I chopped off my Real Life butt-length hair and ... well ... I wasn't kind to myself. I'm a better person today and a lot more wary.

Best thing you learned because of SL: My appearance on the Teen Grid was part of a program designed by a Real Life professional therapist so I could work on socialization skills and a couple phobias. Our World has helped me quite a bit and it is rare now when I have trouble leaving the house or being in small crowds.
Worst thing you learned because of SL: I'm stumped. Really stumped. This is the last item I tackled out of this whole set because I couldn't come up with anything. And I still can't. Sorry.

Best thing about blogging: Writing. Before blogging I still wrote, but in paper journals and for school work. To a writer, a well-written piece is almost like a narcotic (a mild one). Everything seems better and you want more.
Worst thing about blogging: Writers need ambition and will power, two things I sorely lack. There are days I could post 4-5 pieces and there are months when I'm lucky to post that often.

Best TV show I'm watching in Real Life: Top Gear (UK) is entertaining, informative, and very cleverly written. The "races" are the best segments as they go beyond the automobile to touch upon the local culture. One of the hosts (whom I shall not name) is clearly a jerk, but he's smart and eloquent and a joy to listen to when he's at his best.
Worst TV show I'm watching in Real Life: The Tomorrow People is simply an excuse to have actors in their mid-twenties, with perfect skin, fabulous hair, and the latest style sense stand around pretending they can emote. The writing is terrible, the blocking is awful, and the story drags. Why have I been watching it? Shows I watch with regularity are inevitably cancelled swiftly thus I'm hoping my "luck" kills this one.

My favorite TV bugs, Bugs Bunny.

I Wonder

With magnificent buildscapes, magical experiences, and myriad opportunities, Second Life is full of wonder. But there are times I wonder about other things in Our World ...

I wonder how our avatar appearance choices might change if we could look at Our World only in Mouselook rather staring at our fannies as we do now. More than a few people I've met have chosen a specific gender for their AVies s simply because they'd rather look at a more appealing rear end than their own RL gender's butts.

I wonder what might happen if a major social media company decided they needed to compete with Google's Cloud Party and bought Second Life from Linden Lab or simply bought the whole shebang. The Lab has made several attempts to make Our World a social space but has failed at every step. There's still a chance to revive MySL, but I don't see it happening.

I wonder what impact a desktop OS-like window pane system for Inventory, Landmarks, and other content might have upon Resident retention and even population growth. As I sort my inventory I can't help but think every few minutes that the antiquated DOS-tree directory format impedes even simple maintenance let alone full management.

I wonder how many current Linden Lab employees would be Residents of Our World if they weren't employees at The Lab. Further, how many former "Lab Rats" are now private citizens among us? Torley Linden and a few of the LDPW Moles are among the few active Lab employees that I see simply "living" with us and not just logging in to work.

What do you wonder about?

Espresso Yourself @The Pen

Last night I swiped a menu from The Pen (SLurl), a sort of beatnik-ish coffee shop created by Marianne McCann, during another Espresso Yourself Night and I thought I'd share it with you.

Espresso Yourself Night, every first Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. SLT at The Pen, located in the heart of Bay City - Mashpee, just off Route 66!

What is "Espresso Yourself?" It's a chance to take your spot on the stage and share. Tell a joke, share your poetry, read a chapter from your favorite book, sing a song. Just share! Voice or Text. Talent not required, but passion is mandatory. Also, no mimes.

The key here is to participate. How can you participate? Just choose an item off our menu!

1. ESPRESSO Our main stock in trade: Read a poem. Poetry is always encouraged at the pen. Share one of your own, or one by someone else. Read it on voice or type it out. You can even pre-record some sound files if you want to get really inventive.

2. CAPPUCCINO Share a favorite story. Could be something you've experienced that you want to share. Could be a story out of a book that makes you think or that you just enjoy. Maybe it's a story of your own, too, that you wish to share. All is encouraged.

3. CAFFÉ AU LAIT Share a picture of something you've built recently - or something you've built in the past - tell us about it, what were the challenges? What was fun? Share the experience.

4. CAFFÉ AMERICANO Free Advice. Tell Linden Lab how to fix Second Life, or tell us how to use it! This is soapbox time! Rant, rave, share.

5, CAFFÉ MOCHA I read the news today: tell us something you read in the newspaper/saw on the telly/spotted online that caught your eye. Tell us what's going on!

5. CAFFÉ MACCHIATO Random beauty! Show us a photo of something that caught your eye. Share something of beauty and tell us about it. Maybe it's a pretty thing from your first life, or maybe it's a gorgeous place in here.

6. CAFFÉ CORRETTO Surprise us: hand puppets, juggling, wacky gags, etc.! Do something different, weird, and wild. Delight the audience by going outside the box.

Just want to hang out? We'll let you can do that too: but you can still talk, still interact, and still be a part of the show. Everyone is a participant, even if you might not realize it.

Also, why not toss a few bones in the ol' tip jar, too, or buy a fresh cuppa? It helps keep the lights on. 

---- # ---- 

During last night's gathering I took to the mic and ranted ...

A topic near and dear to all your hearts is Topless Tuesday, but with so many children here, I'll have to speak in euphemisms. Let's talk about Anthony and Maureen, two total euphemistic people not related to anyone in this room for examples. (Editor's Note: Anthony and Maureen were 2 meters away from me.)

I used to be a beatnik like you, then I took a mic stand to the knee.

Anthony works out, eats right, and waxes his chestorial region so he's considered fairly attractive. According to the government, he may display this attractiveness anywhere that is not prohibited by a specific law, such as in a restaurant or where it may start a riot.

Maureen also works out, eats right, and has no relationship with gravity whatsoever so her torsicular portion is considered by many (more than by just Anthony, that is) to be freakin' fantabulous. Regardless of this, though, the government feels that Maureen should not proudly display the results of her sterling genetics and careful lifestyle for fear that someone might ... well, who knows might happen. Something they deem might be untoward such as floods, locusts, and mime insurrection.

Is this fair? Nay, I say, and not in a livestock way. Tis not fair that women (for Maureen in this example represents all women) should be banned from such expression for fear of whatever some minds fear. And so, I thought I'd bring Topless Tuesday to the Second Life MySL feeds.

Let's de-stigmatize the female form. Certainly, there are situations whereupon it might be inappropriate. Funerals, perhaps, or Sunday-Go-To-Meetin' events, and the like. But they would be just as inappropriate for men, too. The problem lies not in the presentation, but rather the reception. I challenge all of us, men and women alike to elevate our maturity along with our eyes and show women the same respect as we show men.

Perhaps I'll rant again next month. See you there?

Everyone Has A Twin - The Monday Meme

Sean Brady's Cool Beans Gacha "Yard Sale" is a very photogenic location (SLurl).

An old adage states that everyone has a twin somewhere and I find it to be surprisingly true. The other day my brother bumped into an online photo treasure trove loaded with pictures of his daughter,   Lydia, images which were hitherto unseen by us. Readers of this blog may recall that Lydia passed away quite a few years ago when she was about two-ish so a find like this was tremendous. As we pored over the images we speculated that his ex-wife must have digitized a slew of her albums. Then we found pictures of the little angel with an infant and we speculated that this was the little girl his ex-sister-in-law had but whom we never met. Even the names on the files were right.

Then we read that the Lydia in the picture was "now" (not sure what the author meant by that, but the pages were old we discovered) 13 years old. And a picture of this girl's father was on another page.

Doppelgänger. Twin. Spooky. Sadness.

How often does this happen? With everyone ever alive, I say. And, according to the  Winter Jefferson-inspired Monday Meme from Strawberry Singh this week (see here), the same bit of freaky crosses from the real to the virtual (and vice-versa ... if you've been in Second Life long enough, you've seen one of the many Angelina Jolie clones – or other famous copies – running around Our World).

Meme Instructions: Share a selfie of your avatar and a picture of the person you feel most looks like your avatar, or someone people have told you looks like your avatar or someone you tried to base your avatar’s looks on. Don’t forget to share your meme pictures in the Blog Memes Flickr Group.

Onward! Using the Celebrity Look A Like Generator mentioned in the blog post with a picture I once had in my Profile, it turns out that I look like Morgan Freeman. Sooooooooooo I logged into SL super fast and shot the pic at the start of this post so I could try for better something else. Not that Mr Freeman isn't a handsome man, mind you, as well as a talented, kind-hearted individual, but I rather hoped my avatar was a bit more femme than that particular stage and screen legend. Lo and Behold! The Generator now thinks I look like actress and all-round hottie Morgan Fairchild. An amazing name coincidence, to be sure, but more importantly, a better result in my eyes. Could be worse. I could look like Winona Ryder.

Oh. Crap.

Odd Stuff

This picture has nothing to do with the stuff in this post. I just like it.

Stuff wouldn't go into a cube: When I tried to put some Copy-able Halloween hair from Argrace into a cube for storage each item had to be dragged one-by-one. Trying to select everything in the folder then dragging would not work at any location on any day or even after a cache-clear relog. Turns out some 50% of the stuff I tried to put away gave me the same issues, regardless of maker, type, &c..

Name Tags mean that you know everyone's Stuff: Not sure why, but for the last month it has disturbed me that Second Life name tags let me see who is around me at all times. When I'm at the doctor's office I know who is who by face ... though sometimes I forget names ... but when I'm someplace unfamiliar I have no idea who is near me. Are we giving up some modicum of privacy because of name tags or the hover tips that show us an avatar's name?

Fetching Stuff: My Inventory has been in "Fetching ..." mode for a week now, even after a cache thrashing. Maybe it is time to do a clean install ... and buy a new computer.

This is an alt I need to log in sometime on a Linden Home I used to have and she's using the Dolphin viewer. She's still a member of that viewer's in-world group, I think.

Viewing Stuff: Why does the Firestorm viewer require me to relog after about an hour to clear increasing lag? It uses the same basic settings that I chose in the Official viewer. The latter refuses to rez many to very many textures since the most recent upgrade (and my installation of the Apple Mavericks OS). I miss the Exodus viewer and if I could afford to pay the coder a salary to bring it back, I would.

Second Life Stuff on my iPad: Now that everyone in our house uses iOS 7 on our iDevices (including a new pair of Air iPads) it's harder to hide my Second Life .... the risqué pictures for Topless Tuesday, for example. I need to turn off sharing pictures so I can get back to using the some fine apps to edit and enhance images. Now if only The Lab could get a decent app to run. This thing has a desktop-grade processor in it, for cryin' out loud.

Some Stuff is meshy: As creators become better and better with making mesh, I've noticed that the scale of some items is becoming more realistic, even doorways. Maybe the end of the 7-foot blonde is nigh? I bet it has to do with creating things off-world in software such as Blender where one isn't influenced by the avatar and existing unrealistically-proportioned stuff.

I wish Mesh had been around when the Empress Isle was built. And Advanced Lighting. It was a lovely place. The whole Lesbos archipelago was beautiful.