A Special Request

Click to embiggen or see it on Flickr.

Once in a while my wife asks me to wear something special for her. This is what she picked.

Really.

This is for you, Catnip!

Merry Christmas from Angela & Uccie

Year in Review: MySL

For the last however many days – it seems like forever, but Internet time is like that – the My Second Life feeds have been down and few people have been able to post pictures. As a means of keeping our community together it is nearly dead and just waiting to be buried. As with the year 2012, though, I spent a good part of my 2013 posting pictures and sharing my Second Life with friends and various hangers-on. Here's a sampling of my snapshots. I hope you enjoy them. Click the titles over the pictures to see the original posts.

Mole Day!

Dancing with Angela at Mole Day, an annual Bay City event honoring our friends the Moles from the Linden Department of Public Works (LDPW). Tons of Moles turned out and a good time was had by all.

One Billion Rising (OBR)

Yes, I misspelled my name on my own shirt. But I was Greeter Lead for OBR, a worthwhile event iRL and iSL.

Modeling

My friend Kaelin makes some wonderful mesh avatars and I was thrilled when she asked me to model some of them for her. Check out my blog (here) for entries about her and the avatars.

Merlin and Death in the Forest of Kahruvel

On a couple of my several visits to the Forest of Karhuvel to do what I could for the investigation into the disappearance of Salazar Jack (see here for more info) I ran into Merlin (yes, that Merlin) and one time watched him talking to Death (I had a pic ready to post here but lost it).

Topless Tuesday

Apparently, I started Topless Tuesday.
The main thrust of this blog post was to point out that I hadn't accomplished anything of note in 2013. It seems, though, that I inaugurated the MySL feeds tradition on February 19 with the above image and this blog post.

Caturdays!!

I also used the MySL feeds to document Caturdays (sometimes Fursdays, too).

The Pouloco Station

My brother's Pouloco gas station in Bay City - Dennis (SLurl) was often featured on the MySL feeds by me and others. He's thinking of doing something different for 2014, with fewer dinosaurs, I hope.

Holidays

Holidays would often find me zipping around The Grid in some sort of themed outfit. Easter 2013 was Cabbit Time.

Griefers

My friend Marianne was often the target of griefing, sometimes intentionally, but like when the birds attacked her home lots of us rallied around and held Abuse Report parties. As a community, Bay City residents will do the same whenever ne'er do wells strike Our Fair City. Sometimes there's dancing.

One for the Guys

Not too long after Topless Tuesday started the guys started Wiener Wednesday. I helped.

Bay City Alliance Meetings

Lots of Bay City Alliance meetings. We start with Metrics, Moles, Servers, and Events. Then we move onto Food and sometimes Dancing or Food Fights.

Miss Bay City

My loving wife Angela reined as Miss Bay City for a year and was featured in the town's anniversary parade. With the help of Anthony, I put together a parade car for her and hired Kato to drive her. Sadly, I crashed and my account was locked so I couldn't actually be in the parade.

Towel Day!

May 25th was Towel Day, celebrating the life of author Douglas Adams.

Rodvik Sneaks Into Bay City

Filmmaker Drax helped Our Fearless Leader Rodvik Linden sneak into Bay City but a crowd quickly formed. By the way, Rod? You still owe me a bear.

Fireworks!

The skies of Livingtree caught fire every week over the Summer and I attended whenever I could if only to see if "this time" Marianne would finally burn down the school building.

Relaxing

MySL was a great way to document all the times I just hung out. Which was often.

SL10B

Second Life's 10th Birthday Party was amazing, at least what I saw of it. I was banned for doing mySL10B job someone who claimed to be a good friend. The same person who trained me to do what I was doing that got me fired. Really made the whole event suck. But I visited some highlights like this history walk by Marianne McCann.

Boobies!

During 2013 I upgraded my "implants" in SL because I like the look and I'm this big iRL, too, so I wound up taking lots of pictures of me and The Girls for the MySL feed. Look for more next year, of course.

CC Columbo

My brother CC pops in as himself now and then, though usually he hangs out in Caladon in his other avatar. We have one computer that runs SL fairly well and one that is rather poor at it but sometimes we can hang out together.

A Nice Pair

Lots of boobies pictures from me on MySL in 2013, but I tried to keep them funny.

Hot Bay City Nights

Another event in Bay City is the annual Hot Bay City Nights. It's a car show, a car wash, a dance, and a Miss Bay City Pageant, too. Money raised at this and many other events in Our Fair city go to childsplay.org

There are about a dozen more pictures I singled out from my snaps bin, but this post has gone on long enough and you can review my blog (here) and on Flickr (here) to see lots of what I might have posted on MySL because I'd often put the best of them in other places. What you should really be doing is going out and making your own memories in Second Life.

Miss Bay City - Angela Seale

A year has cycled by in Bay City and the reign of our first Miss Bay City, Angela Seale-Poultry, is coming to an end. Later today, a new MBC will be chosen during Hot Bay City Nights at the Bay City Fairgrounds (SLurl). The contest starts at 1pm SLT but drop in early if you'd like to enter so various guidelines can be explained and so you can check out the free car the winner gets.

The Poultry Report: Congratulations, Angela, on a full year as Miss Bay City! How does it feel to be a beauty queen?

Angela Seale-Poultry: Thank you, well, it's not something that I ever expected to be, so I guess this leads to the excitement of Second Life. Here you can experience things that you never would have thought in Real Life.

TPR: What was the highlight of your reign?

APS: I would have say Mole day, and meeting so many Bay City residents, and being able to spread the community of Bay City, I never thought I'd meet so many wonderful people.

TPR: I'd have thought it might have been riding in a custom convertible during the 5th anniversary parade. What was that like, all those people waving at you and such?

APS: That was fun and everything was amazing, but it felt a bit... strange to me being the center of attention. I'm not a very "look at me" person in Real Life, so the fifth anniversary to me is really a blur of parade, party, meeting people, designing, shopping, and it was just a blur to be honest I sort of wish I had a video of it all so I could remember everything.


TPR: You are the first Miss Bay City ever? Pretty daunting task to set the precedents, right?

APS: Yes, and I wish I had been able honestly to have had more time available to set a much higher bar, and I hope that my successors will set a much higher bar than I did. I tried initially to set a very high bar, but I didn't set it quite high enough for myself to be candid and I hope that Bay City gets a much better representative in it's future Miss Bay City.

TPR: Any advice for the incoming Miss Bay City?

APS: Relax, absorb everything, meet everyone you can, go to every event you can, and enjoy the whirlwind year you are about to have. Take LOTS of pictures, make lots of memories, and have as much fun as you can.

TPR:  Thank you, Angela, for your time today and for a great year as Miss Bay City!

APS: Thank you, and everyone remember that Bay City isn't a person, it isn't a place, Bay City is all of us, and we are in Second Life to have fun!

Sneak Peek: Hot Bay City Nights

It is Hot Bay City Nights time again ... sort of like. The event starts August 24th (tomorrow as I publish this) though you could sneak in now (SLurl) and look at the vintage cars for sale, the wonderful build by Marianne McCann, Ever Dreamscape's Car Wash at the Mole Gas pumps, and more. If you don't want the surprise completely ruined, just gander at these sneak peek shots I took today.

The event has the quintessential flavor of Bay City, one of Second Life's most vibrant communities.

There's more than just cars, beer, girls in bikinis, and dancing. You can actually role play here!

Quite a few vendors are on display, many with freebies, so there's lots of autos and trucks to drool over.

The runway here will be busy from 1-2pm SLT on the 24th for the Miss Bay City contest with Emcee Pygar Bu and last year's Miss Bay City, Angela Seale-Poultry, as one of the judges. The winner gets a car and (more importantly) all the prestige that goes with the title.

Did I mention there would be cars? Check out the Bay City Post here for a list of automakers.

Yes, I mentioned beer. But there will be more entertainment than just drinking. There's a charity car wash to raise funds for Child's Play, a group that provides toys to children in hospitals. There will be DJs, too, and probably some wacky spontaneity (Ever is involved, after all, you know).

August 23 midnight SLT: Hot Bay City Nights opens.

August 24 1-2 PM SLT: “Miss Bay City” Bikini Contest with Master of Ceremonies, Pygar Bu. Contest judges are ADudeNamed Anthony, Evola Courtois, and Angela Seale- Poultry

August 24 1-3 PM SLT:  Dancing with DJ GoSpeed Racer

August 25 10 AM – Noon SLT: Car wash, with host Benjamin Wahl.

August 28 6-8PM SLT Car Wash: Hostess Nadia Soldya.

August 31 2-4PM SLT Car Wash: Hostess Ever Dreamscape.

September 1 5-7PM SLT Closing party with DJ!

Intriguing Questions Meme

Strawberry Singh posted on her blog yet another blog meme challenge today and I'm so far behind with my writing that I'm going to take up the current one and possibly skip the older ones. I'm probably being lazy about it, but she promised in her post that this should be easy, so here I go with ten "Intriguing Questions."

An "intriguing picture" that has nothing to do with the post's theme.

01. How do you deal with criticism? So many people think that criticism automatically connotes "bad" or "negative" that they often take any comments as such. I do my best to listen and formulate a response, addressing each point made by the critic. In Real Life it often stops at this point. Mom, my biggest critic and usually the one most often to go negative, still doesn't understand Sign Language well and seldom has the patience to wait for me to put a response on my iPad so mostly I nod and swallow it. In Second Life I try to listen and give a measured response, but often I'm impatient and just give in. Not that I get much feedback, though. No, I'm not perfect, but I do so little that folks feel like commenting on, I guess.

02. What’s the most infuriating thing other SL residents do? Troll. I count griefing as trolling, too, as it amounts to the same thing … someone so bored with their own pathetic life that to feel better about themselves they try to take down others. I have no patience for trolls. Report, mute, and move on thus depriving them of the attention they crave.

03. Which SL resident would you most like to have lunch with and why? So many choices, but if I had to pick one … Kennylex Luckless. Sorry if anyone out there is jumping up and down shouting "Why not me?!?!" but it's just lunch and Kenny is so darned creative. hmmm … "creative" is not enough. Unique. Special. Joyful. Funny. Amusing. Generous. I could go on. People in my SL family know that I'd like to have more than lunch with them so hopefully they'll stop the jumping now.

PIcture shamelessly lifted from Kenny's MySL feed (here). You'll often find this adorable genius in Natoma near the Ivory Tower of Primitives sandbox (SLurl) or in Minna (SLurl) or even stalking looking for Torley Linden across The Grid (wherever fine Torleys are sold).

04. Who would you say is your “anti” role model? Someone who serves as a warning rather than an inspiration? There's a list that is long and distinguished, I'll say, but it takes all kinds of people to run a railroad. An anti-role model at least serves as a measure to show how much we value positive role models. Vice-versa, mind you, but I think you get the idea.

05. What was something you used to enjoy, but was ruined for you? Second Life Birthdays and events of that kind in general. Because of one individual I don't even want to attend let alone assist. I'm that shaken. I was thoroughly screwed and didn't even get a kiss first. How others trust this person who claims to be tolerant, inclusive, and anti-drama, I don't know.

06. What’s something you want to do that you’d be embarrassed to tell other people about? Really, who is going to answer this question? Well, telling some people some of the things I can think of wouldn't be embarrassing, but I'll tell them in private, perhaps with diagrams.

07. What’s the oddest term of endearment you’ve ever used or that someone’s used for you? "Myfe." Kuthola Homewood, a DJ at the old Isle of Lesbos and a friend, used the word "mife" as a term of endearment with her then SL wife … My Wife. My Wife. Mife. Angela (my wife) and I "Americanized" it from the original Dutch made-up word to be Myfe (My Wife).

08. Have you ever fallen in love with another SL resident? Yes *smile*

09. Describe a time/event in your SLife that you're nostalgic for. Like Strawberry's response to this item, I sometimes pine for the magic of discovering Second Life for the first time, like the time I described in this post of my wondrous discovery of talking dragons back when I was still "young" in this world. I suppose we all become jaded but what better place than Second Life

10. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you? RL? Take me on a real vacation. I haven't been on one in over a decade and the way things are going I may never see another. SL? I can't think of anything, really. Things are going pretty well, in general.

Another Post, Another Meme

No, no, no, I haven't been blogging much. No time, thanks to Real Life. Serious stuff, but I won't bother you with it. Suffice to say I've found some time today and wouldn't you know, I learned about a new meme-challenge from Strawberry Singh: 10 SL Firsts. Read her's here but first check out mine ...

My first best friend in SL is Threshin Barnett. We would get in synch so much that often we'd meet for the day and find that we were dressed alike.

01. First SL Friend: To keep things simple, I'll stick with the current Uccello Poultry "character" on the Main Grid. Really, I started SL on the Teen Grid and remember quite a few people from there, few of which, however, actually transitioned to the Main Grid.

CC Columbo, my brother, in Nangrim waaaayyyy back in the day. Graphics were so bad that the grass wouldn't rez as green. This was probably 2008 when we had about 1024 square meters or so between us – enough for a nice pond. Eventually, we owned about 3/4 of the region before selling out to a Brazillian casino days before gambling was banned. But we are back and you can visit us any time (SLurl).

Of course, I met up with my brother, CC Columbo, right away and begged him to let me have a Premium account so I could have my own land. No dice, but he did let me let me set my home to his land in Nangrim (this spot, to be precise). I met a few people there including Dusty Jamberoo whom I still know today.

02. First SL Kiss: That would be Kala, my brother's SL girlfriend at the time. Yes, I know *facepaw* I had taken her to the Isle of Lesbos to show her around and she kissed me. We didn't go any further than that, but it was a funny parallel to an RL situation that won't ever be discussed again.

Wow ... didn't think I had any pictures of Mary left since the PC crashed and we switched to Macs. Sadly, the backup discs won't work with the Mac so everything is gone.

03. First SLex time/place/partner: Mary. I think. It was so long ago now. The first opportunity I had though, was with a gay male neighbor in Nangrim. Long story made short ...

I started my Main Grid existence as a male because I didn't want to deal with men hitting on me. Actually, at that point, I still hated (yes, hated) almost all men (family excepted) in general due to my RL experience with them. So I was chatting with a guy with land next to ours when he invited me into his gypsy caravan and tried to make out with me. Yep. He was gay. I didn't even have an AO at that point. I was less than a week old. Very next chance I got I flipped the "gender" switch in the shape editor and went shopping.

04. First SL Partner/Girlfriend/Boyfriend/Wife/Husband: Mary, and I'm sure now. She left me without telling me, having started up a relationship with someone else. That lasted about two weeks and she tried to come back. HA! Fat chance. Still, she was special.

Angela and I go steampunk now and then.

Today, I'm married to the wonderful Angela Seale. We've been together since September 2007.

05. First SL Job: Modeling, what else?!? Back in the day, one's first job was either modeling or dancing (read: Hooker). I didn't get paid as I modeled stuff for my brother's shop. I've done some modeling since for Bare Rose (I won a contest where the prize was to model one outfit), LapGirl, and various art photographers (read: nudes!).

Many regular readers know I also worked at the Isle of Lesbos. As I joke I used to run about with a "Threshin's Secretary" tag as if I was the Isle manager's 2nd banana. One day Threshin Barnett gave me the Isle Secretary role. To that point I had been a Jill-of-All-Trades for the Isle, though my first real work there (and my first for-pay work anywhere) was as an event hostess.

06. First SL Creation: A cube. It is a tradition I started ... rez a cube and date it then stuff it away somewhere safe ... whenever I create an avatar. After that? The first real thing I made was a set of earrings.

Meeting with Zed Linden about blogging for The Lab.

07. First Encounter with a Linden: That's hard to remember. I really don't know, but I am happy to say I have a few as friends now. And Moles!!

I was so excited to "meet" Vint Falken once though she wasn't really there. I sent this pic to her and she sent back a nice IM. We conversed once in a while but never became friends. She's the first SLebrity that comes to mind when I thought about point #08 below but she wasn't the "first" well-known resident I'd met to that point.

08. First Encounter with an SLebrity: I guess everyone is a SLebrity in one circle or another, but if you define it as "a big name most people know" I'd have to say Janeforyou Barbara, the owner of the Isle of Lesbos. She was one of the forces behind the early LGBT community in SL having created the first resort for women in SL.

I see Miss Jane, Shilo, Eveie, Threshin, Me, Mousra, Aryon, and many more here.

09. First SL Sim you fell in love with: Really hard to say. I've always been a Mainland girl, but the Isle of Lesbos was the first Estate-type sim I fell in love with .... relaxing, beautiful, no male pressures, and wonderful women who became my SL family.

10. First SL Blog Post:

I've had many blogs prior to this one. In fact, I just finished deleting one so I could start afresh. What i would like to do with this blog is report on things i do in what seems to be my primary life, the Second Life™ world (*SL). So this won't be so much about me as about who I am through what I do and where I go.

That is how I started "Another Attempt," my first post on The Poultry Report on April 24, 2008.

The SL Pet Peeves Meme!

The renowned Strawberry Singh is out with a new meme: SL Pet Peeves. Read her's here and look for your favorite Second Life bloggers to give their own lists, too. Here's mine, starting with a Topless Tuesday pic. Yes, I'm mixing memes, but I am a professional.

1. Inappropriate use of Full Bright. Once in a while it is a handy feature. The HUD frame I used for the pic above is set to Full Bright. Most HUDs look better that way. Whole buildings DON'T! Plants DON'T! Most jewelry doesn't. Outdoor signs like on a building can benefit from this feature but Full Bright needs to be modified to allow gradations to be of real use.

2. The Camera Controls don't allow fine adjustments when graphics quality is increased or when additional graphics features are turned on. For this photo, for example, I had to turn off Lighting and Shadows to use the Camera Controls then turn on eye candy again shoot.

3. Residents that assume all conversations must be in Instant Message. Really? If I'm within 5 meters of you, talk to me in Main Chat as if we were near one another in Real Life. And let me include my wife in this ... she will mix the two even if we are alone anywhere other than in our apartment. Yes, yes, you wanna say something naughty and suggestive, I understand, Ange, but whisper it maybe? I get real confused since the strokes trying to follow one conversation in several places. And this goes for the rest of you, too, 'cept for the naughty bits. That's a no-no unless I start it.

4. The Viewer. Really, I do miss the slide-out panes for Inventory, Outfits, etc, and if I can't have them back then I want the friggin' windows to remember where I last put them. I prefer the Official Viewer to any Third Party Viewer, but that doesn't mean I like it 100%. A few items in my March 20 post on this blog mentioned the viewer a few times along with other things I want in Second Life.

5. Inventory permissions need to let me give away my stuff. If I buy a blouse iRL and decide I don't like it after a while, I can sell it or give it away. Why can't I do that iSL? Yes, some articles of clothing will let me do that, but I think all items should be transferable. Of course, all things would be No Copy (if the creator chooses). The Residents should start a serious debate on this subject.

But, this is only Tuesday. Tomorrow I might have other peeves. If my wife whispers just the right naughties to me I have no peeves at all. You can be sure, though, that I'll feature any future pet peeves on this blog, so keep reading.

Another of Strawberry's Memes

Apparently Strawberry Singh has enough time on her hands to work up Second Life memes and blog about them. So many memes that Seicher Rae actually started a Web page to track them (see it here and the original here). The current meme is about procrastination, it seems, though I don't see the connection to the questions. Maybe I misread something, but basically the instructions were to answer some questions, so here I go.

What is the rez date for your current SL Avatar that you use most often? June18, 2006. It is also the date of my RL 18th birthday. The day before I was on the Teen Grid under a different name.

Where was the first place you made friends as a newb and got to know people in Second Life? Nangrim, where I still have a home, and at the Isle of Lesbos. I still know some of the first people I met in the first week.

Where do you spend most of your SL time now? Most of my time is spent in Bay City, Nangrim, and various beaches and sandboxes. I like to explore a lot but I tend to haunt Linden-owned lands.

Who is your closest friend in Second Life? (only pick one) Friend? Or wife? So I don't offend the latter, Angela Seale. I guess I'm not allowed to name _____________ or _____________ or _____________, but you all know who you are.

What is the most favorite thing in your inventory? (only pick one) My Inventory structure. It allows me to easily sort and almost as easily find anything. It has taken years to develop and as long as I don't let incoming items moulder somewhere, it works very well. My alts are better at this than I am.

The last thing you purchased in Second Life? A texture upload is the last thing that I spent money on in Second Life. The last object? Probably a bass drum from the Arcade gacha.

What color clothing does your avatar wear most often? Earth tones and greens.

Do you prefer to walk, run or fly? Fly! I've yet to find a walk or run anim I really like but flying is so much fun anyway. And I love to swim.

What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done in SL? Wouldn't you like to know?

Who would you like to play YOU, in the movie of your SLife? I really have no idea. Really. Um. No. No idea. Anyone but Lindsay Lohan?

My Seven SL Facts Meme

First I saw Caitlin Tobias do it. Then I saw Vick Forcella do it. Apparently they both saw Strawberry Singh do it. Now I have to just do it, too ... write down Seven SL Facts. Based on what I've read from these people's blogs, these facts are about me. Well, their blogs were about them so mine should be about me. You get the idea.

ONE – That's me in the picture above. Yes, I have a male form for my Uccello Poultry "character." Basically I flipped the gender switch in the shape editor, tweaked a few numbers so "he" meets the so-called Standard Sizing that most clothing creators adhere to, then grabbed a skin and some clothes. Of course, I'm also a Furry, a Tiny, a dragon, and hundreds of other forms. Like many in  SL, I'm a polymorph.

TWO – When I started afresh on the Main Grid after dumping my Teen Grid account, I began as a male to avoid getting hit on by men. Sex wasn't rampant on the TG, but if anyone tells you there was no sex there, they are pulling one of your body parts. Two days later I switched to female when one of my first neighbors tried to introduce me to gay male sex in SL.

THREE – Yes, I have had pixel sex (not with that neighbor). Deal with it.

FOUR – Second Life has helped me come to terms with a number of phobias and neuroses so my Real Life is much less turbulent. Thank you, Linden Lab. Now can you please make a good iOS client?

FIVE – Why don't I use Voice in Second Life? Same reason I have phobias and neuroses. My throat was slit so badly (as in inexpertly) when I was nine-ish years old iRL that my vocal cords are irreparable. I can use an electrolarynx to speak, but it is much easier to use American Sign Language or write on an iDevice to communicate.

SIX – I don't dance iSL, either. Well, if my wife (Angela Seale with whom I have had pixel sex – deal with it) wants to dance then I will. Or if it is a special event like One Billion Rising or someone's Birthdday/Rezzday then you might catch me doing it (dancing, not pixel sex). Dancing just strikes me as silly. Really, most animations do at different times, but dancing is just ... just ... I dunno. I'm baffled.

SEVEN – As far as I know, I am not banned anywhere. There was a time I was banned in lots of places just because I worked at the Isle of Lesbos. Proof that lesbians are human, too, as they can be just as mean and petty as straight people. Makes you wonder why someone is banned from certain activities and conventions because who they want to have sex with when by all other accounts they are "normal."

BONUS FACT! I have more than a few alts.  This one is from India.

Found Images & Moles

For some reason I had a few extra minutes this morning so I took the time to download pix from my SL camera's memory card and I came across a few images I don't recall shooting. Here they are in order and and some speculative commentary.

I don't recall being in this part of town recently, but that is the new headquarters of eTV and the Bay City Post in Bay City - Dennis (SLurl). While Linden Department of Public Works Moles are not a strange sight in Our Fair City, I've never seen one in a suit before, or with a black Mercedes automobile. After the second picture I found quite a few images of my feet, the inside of the camera case, and the sky on the memory card.

Outside The Pen in Bay City - Mashpee (SLurl - from the roof across the way, I was able to determine after visiting again just this afternoon).

A well-known statue across the street from The Pen and the mysterious "Mole In Black" again.

That 'flashy thing' could mean the mole is simply a tourist reliving Mole History.

Again, after this last photo, there is nothing with this mysterious mole on the memory card,  just quite a few snaps of bowling balls from the Hot Balls bowling alley in Bay City - Orleans (SLurl - very near The Pen). The statue to the First Mole on The Moon is in the park across the street from The Pen. Near the statue is a unique sculpture that shows our solar system, but with a planet I've never heard of before. I documented this here, here, here, and here on the MySL feeds a couple weeks earlier.

That visit to the park is clear in my mind as it was a nice outing with my wife, Angela. But the visit to Bay City - Mashpee for the pictures in this post? I don't remember it at all. Adding to the mystery is the image EXIF data which shows that all were taken just this morning.