Miss Bay City Info

This just in ... Some details for the next Miss Bay City contest to be held during Hot Bay City Nights starting on August 23rd have been released by event emcee Pygar Bu.

This contest is for all avatars, and there are no limits on how you present yourself. However, we would like you to appear in some sort of vintage clothing appropriate for the period (1940-65).

The contest will be held during the event, hosted by Pygar Bu, and DJed by GoSpeed Racer of KONA Radio. Contestants are encouraged to "act the part" of a beauty contest participant, and will be expected to answer a pageant-style question or two.

What you get from the contest: a special group tag in the Bay City Alliance group (if you aren't a member, ask Marianne McCann for an invite), a sash and tiara, and city-wide recognition! :-D

Sound like fun? Bring your best smile, and be our next "Miss Bay City"!

The annual event will again be held at the Bay City Fairgrounds (SLurl). Creators of some of Second Life's best vintage automobiles will have their wares on display and if previous years are any indication, there may be some freebies to grab. Dances and a car wash will be held with all proceeds going to Childs Play, a charity that seeks to enrich the lives of children in hospitals.

Reporting for Etv News and The Poultry Report, I'm Uccie Galway.

Happy 1st Caturday!

It's the first Caturday of 2014 so I decided to visit one of the happiest places in SL, the Minna Watermill which you'll find, in of all places, Minna (SLurl)! Kennylex Luckless and associates have stocked the building with freebies like toys, vehicles, avatars, and building tutorials. Drop in anytime and you might even run into the kitty-friendly Kenny himself.

Look for the near by tip jar, too, and donate if you can so Kenny can keep making wonderful stuff. You'll even get another fun build of his for being generous!

Barney's Bay

Zyx Flux was bugging me again to give her a travel writing assignment, so I sent her off to Barney's Bay (two regions, really; SLurl to the main region), a Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW) build that I found in the official Linden Parks and Recreation Directory. Its the tourist-centric remnants of a quaint old sea-side fishing village and a beautiful place to visit. Here is Zyx's report:

The square at Barney's Bay is a lovely spot and I imagine it is even more beautiful on a sunny day. 

Barney's Bay, established in the mid- to late-1800s by most accounts, is a very quiet place, perhaps because I visited on a very overcast day, the sky just begging to be allowed to let it's pent up rain loose below. Seagulls circled overhead waiting to pounce on treats dropped by absent tourists while shop signs squeakily swung in the light ocean breeze. Occasionally a fog horn sounded from the island's light house, adding to the lonely feeling that permeates the village. The Holiday homes around the perimeter are empty but freshly painted and well-maintained, awaiting the trourist season to begin. I'm sure that on sunny days in warmer weather the shops and square are busier and people head out into the docks for some sailing (in a nice rezzable Linden sailboat) or fishing (7Seas compatible, but bring your own gear and bait).

The beach is small but it is likely festooned with umbrellas and chairs and towels in warmer months.

Surely at its peak Barney's Bay was a thriving fishing village with a considerable population. Today the main square is bordered by shops for tourists including one for souvenirs, one for flowers, several shops for sweets such as ice cream and cakes, a coffee shop, the Mole & Mole Travel Agency, and the Hog's Head Tavern, where you can quaff a pint of Sweaty Old Mole and other select lagers.

The sea was calm today, a portent that the heavy weather would soon grow worse. Two different sailboats are available, including one that uses the region winds (and thus actual skill) for movement. The superbly made fishing trawler at the edge of the region is worth a look and should be a good place from which to cast your fishing line.

From the statue's plaque:
Bernard "The Navibator" McShnott
Captain of the HMS Besott when it ran aground at
Barney's rock. He was locked in his cabin at the time
after confiscating a sailor's "periodical" when he
earned his nickname.

A truly excellent Mole-made village bicycle is yours for the taking, just click for a copy. Then rez it from your Inventory — yes, anyone can rez any prims they want here — and take a ride around the village.

The central water well must be purely decorative and a later addition, however, as any well deep enough to draw water on an island such as this would pull up brackish water, at best, and even seawater under the right conditions. Still, it is beautiful and really enhances the quaintness of the village.

Inside the sweet shop you can get a free lollypop with a click, but the other candies are securely locked up. The jars hold a couple dozen varieties including two kinds of gobstoppers, Barney's Squishy Bottoms, and Barney's Aniseed Mole Balls. Click everywhere in the other shops for some freebies, but be ready for disappointment. Only t-shirts are available in the souvenir shop despite a plethora of wonderful collectables set out on display.

The Mole & Mole Travel Agency is a warm spot on a cold day (fireplace not pictured) and you can can click the nearly two dozen "brochures" for landmarks to other wonderful LDPW builds.

Even in the off season Barney's Bay is a fun place and I was glad to spend most of the day there today. I don't keep many landmarks, but I'm certainly saving one for this location. My congratulations to all the Moles and the entire LDPW for another fine build.

# # #

Exterior Pictures: Windlight set to Lost; Water set to [TOR] Impure
The region standard seems to be typical for Mainland, but an occasional fog would fill the docks area for simulated weather.

Interior Pictures: Windlight set to Default Noon

Garden Mole has been busy

Have I mentioned how much I like Mainland or how much I love the Linden Moles? Cruising up Route 1 on a borrowed bicycle yesterday, I passed by a little greenhouse in Clearwing (SLurl), just sitting there and looking pretty. Later I sent my ace gardening assistant and all-round sweet pixy, Zyx Flux, to check it out. Here are her pictures and comments:

"The tiny greenhouse and butterfly house is an adorable addition to Route 1 in Clearwing. Check out the special stained glass windows on the side. They make a great background inside. Outside but not pictured is a picnic table. Various vehicles you can ride pass by pretty regularly and some of the shops along the way loan out bicycles or other vehicles."

"Little water features dot the inside because butterflies get thirsty, you know, and pixies like to cool their feet. The lush foliage is a bit overgrown so maybe I should come back and work for a bit so all the plants can be healthy."

"So many Linden plants artfully arranged demonstrate what a good gardener can do with things everyone has in their basic inventory. I spent a good half-hour inside exploring and had a delightful time. Deffo this place gets a Landmark."

Later she found a Mole Mart up the road and sent along information so I could post about the freebies there on the Lucky Kitty Crew Blog. I really like the Mainland. So much to see and do.

Premium Content Update

Actually, there is no update. The nice furniture that The Lab set out for Premium Account members to grab for free in several places (such as Sandbox Mirificatio; SLurl) is still available, well past the 30 day mark that I expected the content to change.

The original announcement was made September 1st so I was rather hoping there would be something new to grab a couple weeks ago. Stopping by one gift site today, however, I found the first items offered still in the giver. I guess if you still want them, you can get them. Before I (unilaterally) declare (as is my won't, at times) that this benefit is dead ("bereft of life," to quote the usually inimitable Mr Praline), I'd like to hear from some official (preferably Linden) source. Got one?

Burn2: Gifts

Burn2, the virtual extension of Burning Man into Second Life, opens October 1st at Noon (SLT) and there are tons of freebies to compliment the fantastic art and fun activities. I've spent the last few weeks finding them, but there may be some I've missed. Most freebies can be found at the Schwag Building at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/81/183/24.

Some of these goodies are duplicated at various parcels, but not all. Here's a (reasonably) comprehensive list in no particular order. You may need to look about each parcel as things move:

First Responder Manual
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Hualapai/146/222/24

Whole avies and official clothes
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/126/46/24

Antientropic (this is a rather fun sculpture)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Hualapai/213/33/25

Mesh Textures/Templates
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Hualapai/203/193/24

Skelly Suit (Think Mexico's Day of the Dead)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Hualapai/104/35/25

Lamp Lighter Freebies
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Deep%20Hole/105/141/24

Monkey Avie
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Black%20Rock/139/209/24

Fun & Strange
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Hualapai/34/95/24

Mystical Tree
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Black%20Rock/246/53/24

The Line (various places at …)
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Silver%20Seed/114/114/24

Rites of Passage Museum
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Silver%20Seed/53/104/24

Transitory Thresholds
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Man-%20Silver%20Seed/41/123/24

Are you a Camper and I missed your gift? Feel free to post it in Comments! Some updates are on the LKC blog here.

Burn2: Freebies

Burn2, the extension of Burning Man into Second Life, starts up soon and one of the things I'm doing while helping to get things going is finding the freebies that will be offered so I can publish a list on the Lucky Kitty Crew blog. This is an outfit from Maya Paris's Skelly Mer installation. You'll be able to see more of this fantastic piece and grab the unique avatar when the sims open to the public October 1st.

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!

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.

Designer Showcase Network

You may have seen one of these 45 or so kiosks in-world (like this one at the Isle of Lesbos - SLurl) and wondered "What is it?"

The "Designer Showcase Network" is a service connecting content creators of Second Life with prospective customers. Residents of SL can subscribe to the DSN free of charge via any of the various kiosks, and chose among 9 channels. The Network then delivers promotional samples from the participating designers to them - no more than one per day and channel, randomly selected.

I'm subscribed to the Gadgets, Vehicles and Weapons and the Business, Tools and Services channels. and this morning I was given a *Stinkeye Armpit Hair* and a language translation services kiosk. Who knows what I'll get tomorrow. Check out the "Featured Designer Archive" (Web) to see some of the past freebs. As a merchant I'm thinking about how I could best leverage this for my business, but I know that I'm recommending this to all the vendors that I know and would like to have sending some freebs to me.

Uccie Poultry's Openlife

Way back when I had a Windows PC (read: The Dark Ages) I had an Openlife (OL) account. I was Uccello Norton. After I started using an Apple computer I'd still log into the Openlife Web site to keep the account alive but I guess that without appearing in-world they got tired of me. So when I tried to log in today Ms. Norton was "dead."

But they now support Apple OSX so I'm back. That's me there, Uccie Poultry. I'm standing at (125, 128, 201) in the Sandbox on my first prim looking at my first shape. Seem familiar? I copied it from Second Life^® (SL), number by number in the Appearance mode. Oddly, I started life on this grid as a woman. No choice for changing gender that I saw other than going into appearance mode. All the better, I guess. Now for some nice prim hair and better clothes, then I'm all set.

The better clothes came right away. There are some Freebie shops near the Welcome area. Nothing fancy, but better than the n00bie stuff you are automatically dressed with. And the options for upgraded skins. Actually, the n00bie skin looked pretty good. I didn't look to see if I had the proper bits under the clothes, but the face texture was nice. The default Animation Override (AO) was much better than SL's, too.

Right now there is no economy and I can't figure out how to upload textures without crashing, but I'm not upset. OL is beta. Says so right on the home page (Web). With only 40,269 residents the service has a long way to grow. If you can move about in SL, though, you can handle OL. Might wanna give it a try and claim the name you want to have now.

Too Busy To Enjoy

Creating a new prize hunt for the Isle of Lesbos, decorating for the Holidays and for a fashion show at the Isle plus running around grabbing some freebies has kept me rather busy. Too busy, I'm afraid, to spend as much time at my home as I wish I could. But news today means I have to make more time ... Home :::poofs::: on the 15th.

Uni-Jetstream Fun

Some time ago (last May to be exact, but I did write about it for the Lucky Kitty Crew blog at the time) I had planned to profile the Jetstream Pavilion in Ginza (SLurl) for it's great freebie and clever build but time gets away from me and I totally missed. But this is a must-see place for those who like to explore. The entrance is pure corporate vanilla, but still tasteful and attractive, and doesn't give any hint as to the fun inside. Go up to what looks like an empty elevator shaft and 'sit' to begin.

You are quickly whisked through a tunnel, banking and arcing along with a series of pens. "Aha!" you say to yourself. "Jetstream is about writing instruments!" Some very clever scripting has the pens writing around you as you fly.

The end of the ride drops you at a sales showroom. You can't buy the pens here, but you can learn more about various models and about the Uniball company. If you can read Japanese. With English as my only language I simply satisfied myself with looking at the well-made displays, silently complimenting the skilled builders. There is a great "cutaway" view of the product that describes in English and in Japanese how the pen functions.

Exploring around I found my way to the roof where I eventually figured out how to get a freebie flying-pen-surfboard-thing that is a blast to use.

The flying pen vendor actually has instruction in English.

It is good to cam around. The builders are very good and the design is very attractive. I wish more corporate sites in-world were this good. I learned about the product and came away with a positive feeling toward the company.

And I got a great pen I can fly! Go get yours. I checked today and the site is still there. Use your new pen to fly around the sim to visit some nice stores and other attractive builds. Maybe pick up the freebie tattoos in Lovely Hearts (SLurl).

Some thoughts about prize hunts

The Isle of Lesbos is running another prize hunt so I'm partly excited and partly sad. Excited because I worked hard on this one (just on volume ... 40 prizes! ... not complexity) adding some fun elements and some nice prizes (if I can toot my own horn). Sad because I see too many folks making land-marked lists of prize locations for others to follow.

C'mon, folks! The stuff is free, odds are you won't use it all anyway, and the prize isn't the point. Treat it as a game, not a harvest! Once again, I'll be moving the prizes around every few days to defeat the listers. That takes time and increases the sadness.

Three more hunts this year ... Halloween, U.S. Thanksgiving, and Christmas. No idea what I'll do for prizes. I'm running out of ideas and "mini-projects" that I have tucked away. I don't want to do pumpkins again this year. I'm thinking of a maze. Maybe with pumpkins. For Thanksgiving I might do turkey legs again. That was funny. Maybe bring back the "treasure hunt" gimmick from previous hunts. Last year's Christmas stockings were nice but maybe Christmas Cookies this year.

I just hope that people have fun. Sometimes I spend a fair bit of my own money on these things and that is fine if folks are having a good time. I just don't like the idea of cheaters profiting from my sweat, skills, and shekels. This is what I do it for: "I thank you :-)) well its so beautiful all around I didn't know that ... very nice places everywhere ... I basically knew the dance floor and the beach only so far ..." This was part of a nice IM I received shortly after the hunt started. Surprising it was so quick but very welcome, indeed.

Meeting the Supreme Overlord

So I popped into Bay City (SLurl) to grab the Freebies mentioned on the official SL™ blog and who did I find? Why it was Governor Linden! Sure, there is no "real" such person, but folks were pickled tink that she was there. When I notified the Lucky Kitty Crew a couple begged to be teleported in to see the 'Supreme Overlord.' My wife Angela (not pictured below, but you can see her IM greeting to me) and my friend Serenity showed up, too.


Ms. Linden confirmed that the Mole avies used by the Linden Department of Public Works (wiki entry) were made by the very talented Wynx Whiplash. They got the avies free, but you can buy one at Extrovirtual.

Now if you are wondering why everyone is standing around, we were watching a Linden having trouble setting the box to be sold for L$0. Yep. The issue was mentioned on the official blog, too, but I figured it would be fixed by the time I got there. It wasn't, so I offered a free "giver' script. She declined my offer and put one of her own in -- then deleted it saying that a script showing her as the creator shouldn't be released in the wild. I choked back "But the script I'm happy to give you would deliver the contents in a folder without a copy of itself! And then folks wouldn't need to unpack the box!" Honestly, it is so hard to teach a Linden :::giggle:::

The freebies turned out to be some great textures used by the moles working on Bay City but many of the objects included made me wonder why I was turned down to be a mole. Certainly I'm no a fabulous builder, but I've turned out better things than these while just killing time. Don't get me wrong, please. The builds were good. Certainly not n00bie efforts. Maybe I expected too much. Hopefully the items I haven't seen yet are better. Bay City itself was rather good and seeing the textures from the box "in action" was cool.

(Note: this post is an edited version of a post on the LKC blog.)

Busy Busy Busy

I've been spending quality time with my lovely wife, Angela, busy at the Isle of Lesbos where I make signs, stand guard and have started a new "hunt" project. My hard drive is filled with pics backed up from my explorations, but until I get the time, enjoy these:


One of my recent projects at the Isle ... signs for the new area where folks can rez their purchases. This is the Instructional one. Another was a simple arrow. I work mostly in Acorn but often use GIMP for some of the trickier edits where I really wish I had a $700+ program.

I love Japanese sims. My friend Serenkitty is always recommending them for cool freebies. I go for the great architecture or unique builds ... and things like this :)

The Garden of Da Vinci. I don't know, but I keep wandering by the place. This is not my pic. I got it in-world somewhere. Possibly at the Garden.

Peugeot in Progress

Today's exploration was another landmark I had been sitting on for a while and decided that I really had to go or just delete the @#$%ing thing. Can you guess where I went?


Good guess! I went to Peugeot (SLurl)! If the subtly hidden landscape logo didn't clue you in, the not-so subtle brand name islands will reveal all. The landscaping is rather nicely done and there is a strange pattern in the water that doesn't seem to be on the ground texture. It almost mimics the flying roadscape above. No flora or fauna in the water so swim or scuba just for the exercise.


One of the teleport options at the entrance takes you to an airborne promotional area. Information about a contest that has ended can be found here plus some lounge areas. This is a rather fun build and interestingly you can't fly into the domes. Unlike similar structures in the Second Life™ world, these are not phantom.


Nearer ground level is another area to lounge on the roof of a meeting center. Like many corporate builds it is likely designed for press conferences and employee education. One of the nicer features, is a display about concept cars from Peugeot.

But what is a car sim with out cars? For some L$400 you can purchase a sporty little beast and speed off along a scenic motorway. If that is not in your budget you can spend just L$50 on a BMX-style bicycle


Not wanting to spend the cash nor being able to rez my own vehicle, I jumped on my wonderful travel snail and slimed up the motorway. The engineering, as you can see in the following picture or the first one in this post. is clearly not possible in real life though I suspect the builder might be working on this. Along the way I found many untextured prims and unfinished projects, like un-anchored railings.


But, hey!, I'm not one to complain about reality. After all, I was riding a snail with all my lion fur and bits fluffed in the simulated wind. That also means that the thought "hmm ... internal combustion engines shouldn't work underwater" only fleetingly crossed my mind as I urged my snail down the slope and into the the water, into the mineshaft that the road itself went into.


While not thinking about breathing underwater I came across a nice "picture window" that kept me separated from the only water-borne life I could find outside the aquarium on the roof of the meeting center. If you look closely you will note the edge of the "glass" behind me in the following picture shows that some more building needs to be done.


If you bought the BMX-style bike and want to ride it in the Peugeot sim you can teleport over 250 meters up to what I call a skate park. Had I been paying more attention I would have noted what the builder called it though that is no promise I would have remembered it. Like much of the build this is very nice and setting the whole thing on a giant bicycle wheel was just darned clever.


This is a fun sim to visit and I hope they finish it. As the aforementioned contest has ended I suspect that more work is not planned. So quickly grab your skates or wearable bike or wearable automobile and head for Peugeot. Well worth a visit.

Isle of Tranquility

A friend of mine nabbed an adorable cupcake costume and I had to have one, too. So I went to the nearest YumYum store and bought it (only L$99!!!). The box had a landmark for a "main store" so I had to go there (SLurl). Boy was that worth the trip! They had some nice freebies but mostly is was a beautiful build .. and I got to dive into a giant plate of cupcakes!

:::giggles::: The display is for sale, but I didn't get it. Instead I went outside and explored the rest of the Isle of Tranquility (SLurl).

Like the store, the rest of the sim is very attractively done. Some skimping on things like wrought iron railings, but most folks won't notice. In the pic above I'm looking westerly from a main square-like area. The water is nicely integrated and trees are everywhere. My biggest smile came from my whole visit came from the generally excellent textures.

The canals are really something and despite the lack of flora and fauna on the sea floor, I was pleased to find that some of the canals run under the buildings. Silly me, I should have checked to see how many prims were available in the sim whenever it occurred to me that the out-of-the-way places should have little details like leaves or animals or other signs of life.

One of the canal areas is a marvelous multi-level complex that made me want to go swimming, fishing, and shopping all at the same time. Many folks I know wouldn't go from shop to shop to shop in a complex as shown above let alone in a non-mall formatted sim like this so I wonder how the merchants fare. Not that I noticed many shops. I was busy playing with sky settings (Windlight) and composition.

There is one area of the sim that is .. well, tacky ... compared to the rest of the build. At one time in the not too distant past I might have called this a nice build but compared to everything else in the Isle of Tranquility, this is ... grr ... I'll say it again ... tacky. The textures are mostly nice but not realistic like the other builders used. The space utilization is also out-of-theme with it's typical retailer layout. And why is prim water used to make a stream about a half meter above Linden water?