Officially Sanctioned Megaprim Use!

The new Welcome Islands and Discovery Islands for new Residents are nicely designed and executed. This fresh approach may also indicate a policy change recognizable to more experienced Residents, though: Officially sanctioned use of megaprims, those building blocks larger than users can normally create in-world. As you can see from this picture taken at Discovery Island Public 3 (SLurl), Governor Linden owns a 100x100x30 prim in the shell of the island's "shopping mall" section. It was created by Day Oh and last owned by Ryker Beck.

Miss Beck is part of the ILL Clan, the group that created the new regions (Web), and has been in-world for over three years so I imagine she has heard that The Lab doesn't permit the use of megaprims in their builds or in Resident-created builds for official Linden activities such as Burning Life and the Second Life Birthdays. Does her use of this huge prim here mark a sea change?

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.

Zindra Tree Roots

Shortly after the adult-access continent of Zindra was opened I took a stroll to see the hubbub and discovered some nice architecture, interesting landscaping, and some truly horrendous region crossings, the latter usually occurring right along roads. I went again today to see the new monorail system (Web) and found not just a really cool build, but a "problem" that I figured would be cleared up once the LL Moles building the regions had left: Tree Roots.

During a sim crossing on my first visit I found that each tree has a sphere prim below it, deep in the ground. "For positioning," I figured and thought "they'll clean these up and add to the prim count." Apparently not, if the image here is a comparison. I was at the Eichorn Cove station (SLurl) and a typical sim crossing again dropped me underground for a while where I saw the "tree roots" were still there. Zindra is a really interesting place filled with, if not people, mysteries to be solved.

Quality vs. Quantity: Ordinal Malaprop

Once again, Ordinal Malaprop has an insightful post that it worth your time. In "On the one hand, and on the other hand" (Web) she asserts that reliability is a more necessary goal for Linden Labs virtual world Second Life than new features. Look for my comment there.

Insurance and Folder Perms and Backups

Recent events and a discussion of the SL asset permission system on Tatero Nino's blog Dwell On It (Web) has got me thinking once again (earlier post) that some sort of insurance system should be developed to protect against inventory loss. The event: A club I was building disappeared from my inventory. The in-world copy was deleted to conserve prims and now only one link set remains, some carefully adjusted curtains. Maybe the cause was some form of stupidity on my part. Some recent health issues have left me not entirely "here," so to speak. But if the cause was similar to my previous losses then I'll be well and truly upset.

At one time I owned nearly every dragon pet made by Winx Whiplash, beautiful L$400 creatures that captured my heart the first time I saw them. The collection took nearly two years to build and it disappeared over night. Along with an expensive and now unobtainable riding unicorn and dozens upon dozens of other critters, avatars, and other objects from a variety of folders. My Wryms dragons were copyable and I had the backups. Same with some other objects, but the dragons were gone. All the standard recovery methods failed and I was without my pets or the funds to replace them.

If this had been Real Life some homeowner's insurance would have covered the property loss and I'd have the cash to rebuild the herd. Sure, I'd have to prove the loss and there would be paperwork, but eventually my losses would be made whole. Why can't there be insurance inSL?

For one, it would require the cooperation of The Lab, and their acquisition of XStreet leads me to believe they'd rather have us spend money to replace assets than to use resources to recover or replace them. Actually, the arrangement could be a boon if there was a way to verify that an asset was no longer in the databases (think UUID) then a requested replacement could be sent via Xstreet in a manner much like the Midnight Mania prize redelivery system developed by Shep Korvin.

Secondly, planning for schemers and hackers would mean considerable investment in a secure system. I don't believe The Lab would be willing to work with someone to do this even if a turn-key solution was provided. Again, it would not be to the benefit of The Lab if they are not convinced it is a serious issue. And would you want to admit that your servers lose inventory?

Maybe The Lab could be convinced to let users set permissions on our folders and assets. The folders for Objects or Scripts, for example, can't be deleted. I would love to have the ability to set "can't delete" on folders I've created or even on individual items in a folder. It wouldn't be fool proof (there are too many talented fools) and it wouldn't prevent on-server losses, but it's an idea.

Or maybe The Lab could implement backups. Everything that I have with full C/M/T permissions is eventually copied to an Alt I created for storage. Same for things that I can transfer and but seldom use. This has helped on a few occasions, but won't solve the problem with losing No Trans assets. Here is a chance for The Lab to make some more money: Backups for Premium accounts. Just a thought. I have two premium accounts and my brother has a third. That is $216USD per year they get from our household. Some value-added consideration would be nice.

G'Bye, Prospero

Prospero Linden leaves Second Life® and the memorials at his office (SLurl) have begun. You will be missed, Prospero.

The freebies from his office are gone but I'm sure you can still get them at Sarah Nerd's place. Handy stuff.

See: Dwell On It

See: His (rapidly changing) Wiki entry.

See: His user page in the Wiki.

The Future for Avatars - Deformations FAQ

The following is reprinted with the kind permission of Daryth Kennedy from a note card received in-world:

Daryth and the rest of the Isle of Wyrms staff would very much appreciate your support for the JIRA issue:

http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-2374

__________________________________________________________

Avatars in Second Life have been evolving since the very beginning. If you’d like to see them continue to improve with more realistic movement and more artistic possibilities, please help by voting to support Deformations.

This is an issue that effects the future for all Avatar collectors and creators. Without official support, LL has plans to disable the uploading of future Deformation anims. Our aim is to fight to gain proper support from LL for deformations instead of letting this amazing tool be disabled.

__________________________________________________________

What are Deformations?

Deformations transform the appearance of an avatar beyond what

can normally be achieved via "Edit Appearance"

A deform animation can move a joint such as a knee or elbow to a different location, allowing for shapes and animations beyond the movement and size restrictions of

a basic human skeleton.

Why are Deformations important?

Both the Basilisk Dragons/Wyrmlings/Hatchlings and the Seawolf dragons use

deformations as a vital component of their construction. Neither sets of AVs could

look the way they do without Deformations.

*see Below the FAQ for a longer list of reasons to support Deformations*

Why is this JIRA important?

Although LL have agreed to respect existing content with respect to deformations

they plan to patch the route via which new deformations can be created thus making

it difficult/impossible for new content to use deformations. IF we can get LL to adopt

this JIRa then deformations, in some fashion, will become a supported part of the SL

experience and eligible for a few annoying bugs to be fixed.

Why is your vote so important?

Currently LL are primarily only concentrating on infrastructure work on SL. Several

Lindens have stated that work of this nature will only be undertaken if a JIRA receives

a lot of votes. Previous JIRAs have needed around 1000 votes in order to get LL to

sit-up and take notice.

We feel that this issue is much more than content created within the context of the

Isle of Wyrms and to that end IoW staff have been working closely with Seawolf staff

to raise awareness of this issue to both are communities and to other avatar creators

in Second Life.

What's this I hear about Gryphons?

Development is well underway and they'll be the next avatar available at the Isle of

Wyrms cathedral. Other creatures such as phoenix, chimeras, dragon turtles, and

hippogriff are also on the drawing board for later in the year.

__________________________________________________________

Six reasons to support Deformations

* Improves the overall appearance of SL * much like sculpties have, by increasing the potential for more realistic and artistic creations.

* They would help SL look less out-of-date * While LL is celebrating that SL is six years old, it also means the technology is at least six yeas out of date ... something like deformations will help bring SL back up to the animation level that people see & expect in 2009. All LL has to do with something like deformations is properly support it and the content creators will take care of the rest ...

* They allow for more out of the box thinking * For many people, being something other than human in a virtual world is simply a given: why be human when you could be ANYTHING else. Deformations allow for much more impressively created & animated avatars.

* They may even increase the appeal of SL to new players * or those that might have left, by allowing for a higher level of quality in animations and character design.

* Disabling the ability to use deforms wont solve the problem * If LL's concern is griefing or misuse, there's already a slew of ugly deform anims in SL, pulling the plug on any new ones isn't going to make the griefing go away. Its just like any other tool in SL, there's always people who are going to abuse them, the root of the problem is the people themselves not the tool they use.

* LL can claim its a feature and not just another bug * They won't have to do a lot of work for something that appears to add "new" functionality - just clean up the functionality of something that's already there.

__________________________________________________________

Useful Links:

The main JIRA issue:

http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-2374

The Council forum post for info & updates:

http://www.daryth.com/council/showthread.php?t=2878

Stickman Ingmann's page on how to vote for a JIRA:

http://www.seawolf-monsters.com/wiki/KB/OtherIssues-JiraVoting

__________________________________________________________

Thank you for your time and your vote

The Beauty of Adult Content

For some reason The Lab felt it was important to feature how attractive the infrastructure of the new Adult Content Continent (AKA, Pornsylvania) in yesterday's announcement (Web) of further developments of the bifurcation of the World. Admittedly, it is very attractive and doesn't take a lot of imagination to see the architectural innuendo, but the information was surprisingly informative and vague at the same time. Once again we are directed to the forums for discussions but an actual time frame was given:

When Viewer 1.23 is final and ready to become the main Viewer (again, estimated to be by the end of June), the full implementation process will begin - all regions will need to be maturity-rated, search will be filtered for everyone, Adult content on the mainland will need to move to the new continent, and access to Adult regions and search results will be limited to Residents with verified accounts.

Having once had an adult content business -- I operated an adult motel in Nangrim and sold porn next to someone else's strip club and a Brazilian casino -- my interest in this issue is a bit more than passing. The idea of having to move from land that I owned and on which I paid tier to a completely new location where competition is a quick walk away is disconcerting. If I have time I'll pop by the forum (Web) and try to wade through the chaff but if anyone knows of a good summary, please post a comment. If The Lab has taken as much care with this move as they seem to have with the pictured infrastructure then this could be an example of come beautiful logistics and a far cry from the Age Verification process (Web) to date.

Egg Update (?)

Apparently my egg for the Linden BunnyJam (Web) hunt has been found. Go to the Linden Chalet (SLurl) and claim the egg pictured here. Inside is a basket with this same egg on top and what appears to be every egg submitted for the decoration contest, including multiples from one person and rather dull ones named for various Lindens. Or many, at least, including mine.

The question is, I guess, What does this mean? No winners have been announced and I haven't heard if my egg was "findable" like this brown one was. The winners have to be announced by tomorrow or the next day and I think I have a shot (albeit a small one) at the Top Three and the L$5000 spending spree on XStreet SL (Web).

See previous Post here for a pic of my egg.

Giant Easter Egg

At 2:15am local time (US East Coast), I finished my entry for the First Annual BunnyJam Egg Decorating Contest (Web) and sent it to Mia Linden. Fifty-seven prims of yummy goodness, with a custom texture by my wife, Angela Seale, on the shell. I'll leave it in Earth Park (SLurl) until after the Holiday if you'd like to see it.

UPDATE: My egg is on display at the BunnyJam! (SLurl)

My own personal grid

Yesterday, the Linden Lab^® blog featured a post by Amanda Linden that rather got my hopes up about having my own personal grid (Web). "Today, we’re pleased to share that the stand-alone version of Second Life solution is currently in the alpha phase," she wrote. Imagine, being able to build while completely disconnected from the Interwebs and from servers lagged by the presence of others. No more watching moved prims snap back because of server hiccups. No more paying L$10 to upload a texture just to find it doesn't quite work so you can try again, texture after texture. Imagine being able to finalize a build in a fast, reliable workspace then move it in-world.

Maybe I'm making some wish-based assumptions, but it sounds like a personal grid could be a boon for builders. And landscapers! I love to terraform but don't have my own sim to try new designs. It is easy to imagine having a personal grid living on my iMac with a full parcel of region-sized land to play upon. erm . . to work. Right, work.

Would much time elapse before the Lab or others find a way to connect these stand alone installations? Probably not. And I suspect that a distributed grid platform is a possible goal. It makes too much sense to not spread the construct across multiple sites.

SLWorld & DowntownSL

In the long-standing tradition of the Disney Resorts, it seems that Linden Labs® is separating the Wonder Magic and the Wink-Wink-Nudge-Nudge Magic because "it has become clear that some Residents are interested in pursuing certain 'Adult' activities in Second Life that others would rather not casually encounter" (Web). At Disney World you can enjoy entertainment that seldom touches mature themes (unless you know the back stories, look very carefully at details, or just have "that" kinda mind) but you need to go to a geographically segregated Downtown Disney (Web) area for the mature fare. Of course, this is Disney, so don't expect Las Vegas or Amsterdam. Just more drunks and lower necklines (no, the buxom Princesses in the main parks are wholesome virgins).

Just when did the Lab notice this? My first day in-world was tame compared to many residents I've talked to, but I turned down sex several times. When I used a male avie to avoid all the sex offers, a gay man offered to bed me (well, more like ... well, it wasn't a bed). At no time were any of the parties involved naked, showing various bits despite clothing, or even using adult language.

So if the adult content is moved to a segregated region where you need to be age-verified to enter, how is this going to stop public nudity in Welcome Areas, trashy talk in malls, and folks with "sex wallet" attachments from getting it on anywhere they want? And what about purveyors of body parts?

"Then there's relocation costs for those who have content that needs to be moved, the status of skins (a skin is essentially a nude image -- will the highest-quality and most-detailed skins be available to the unverified?), ..." (Tateru Nino, Web).

The Isle of Lesbos Mall (SLurl) is a privately owned region so it's vendors are protected, but looking at some who I know have locations on the mainland, I wonder how their content will be judged. One is a swimwear maker and the sheer suit line she has leaves some things to the imagination, but not by much. Will they be mature under the new system? I see the same thing every year in the local Real Life shopping malls when beachwear hits the racks (pun intended).

Can't say I have much of an opinion, though. As I've said before, SL is Their World, Their Content. The Lab can do much as they wish. And the best adult content isn't on the mainland anyway. What I do find interesting is that this initiative is typical of policy changes: presentation and implementation comes in fits and starts with very little clear communication. How long ago was Age Verification started? It seems like something that has fallen so far off the radar even NASA couldn't track it. But it looks like we are finally on our way to having SLWorld & DowntownSL.

Recommended Reads:

• You Need a Real ID to Look at Fake Tits (Web)
• Amsterdammed: Linden Lab to Segregate "Adult" Content in Second Life to Red Light Continent (Real Life ID Required (Web)
• Linden Lab changes course for Second Life's mature content (Web)
• Second Life Bloggers React To Lindens' New "Amsterdam" Policy Announcement: Who Do You Agree With? (Web)

Amazin' 3D

Even as busy with building as I've been (my apologies for the dearth of recent posts) I still try to keep up with news, with particular attention to Apple products. Most newsworthy of late is the Safari 4 Web browser βeta (Web) and the interesting technologies that I really hope Linden Labs^® (SL) sees. A number of features Wowed me and have already made Web surfing a better experience but what really impressed me with respect to my virtual life is this 3D on 2D Canvas demo (Web). This makes the Second Life^® "flexi" feature seem like late 20^th Century kludge.

Generally I'm pleased with the flexi feature in SL though I hardly use it. Having something like this feature would certainly encourage me to explore using flexi in more of my builds. I bet clothing designers would kill to have this feature and simultaneously kill themselves at the prospect of rebuilding their entire lines.

A better flexi option would likely have helped some of my recent builds, but the thought of active shadows based on light sources in a build -- Dynamic Shadows -- kept coming to me while I was working. I've had to use more prims to re-create shadows than I would have liked and to have given everything a shadow would have used an enormous number of prims. In addition to the shadow option, I'd like to see Environmentally Conditional Volumes (ECV).

ECV would allow a region owner or manager to define a space then fully control all of it's environmental aspects, such as time of day, sun position, sea level, gravity, etc. Sort of a region within a region. Except for gravity, all these settings can be changed on a region-wide basis. But ECV would enable a portion of the space within a region to act like a separate region. Thus a "skybox" could be created with genuine Linden water and a fixed sun to simulate land at twilight, for example, without effecting the environment in the rest of the main region. Combine this with Dynamic Shadows and imagine the possibilities.

Land Cutting in my 'hood

On 28 January 2009, Linden Labs published a blog post about Land Cutting (AKA, Micro Parcels) (see Web; with an update on 12 February Web) a process in which land is cut into tiny lots, once popular for Ad Farms (Web). Prior to that I bought a 512m² parcel in Shouldice for just over L$2,000 and thought about a slightly smaller connected piece for nearly the same cost per square meter. I wish I had bought it then, or better yet, at the deeply discounted price it eventually fell to a few days later.

Instead, it was bought by someone that also acquired other lots in the area and started to make micro parcels (click picture at left for larger image) as did other area land owners. My thought is that this practice effectively reduces the value of my land because who really wants to own next to micro parcels? Fortunately, I'm not about to sell. My land isn't really residential, the airship there is mostly for use by friends and it mostly serves as a memorial (Web) And I might simply turn it into a warehouse for inventory.

Not entirely sure my point behind this post, but I find the sudden appearance of all these property line patterns rather amusing. Maybe the Lab will give me 256m² from these 'land barons' gratis for being so nice :::smiles angelically:::

Home Page Pix

Perhaps in conjunction with changes to the SecondLife.com home page that non-residents see (read about the controversy over this on Vint Falken's blog > Web), the Lab has begun showing some very attractive scenic images when the viewer starts up. Shortly before the Holidays some nice images of barren land started appearing at the log-in screen, changing with the time of day and shifting locations. Then during the Holidays some clever Wintery scenes were showed. Now with Spring about 2 months away in RL's Northern Hemsiphere we are getting some variety like the stunning (okay, the color isn't impressive) landscape.

But like the images on the home page and those during the Holidays, I doubt there are many people who know where these places are and there is no information on how to find them. I'd love to add cliffs like these to properties that I work with and if I could get with in a few tens of meters a simple "Inspect" could lead me to the creator. Maybe generate a sale or two and help the economy. Does anyone else think that this could be done a little better? Even Windoze Paint (Web) could be used to add a text SLurl or region name. Got a Mac? Acorn rocks (Web) and I bet M Linden can afford to pony up $49.99 USD just from the commisions from my sales on XStreet (my shop > Web) last year.

Yes, I like the change. No, I don't like the extra time that it takes to load the viewer (deffo slower than the pre-prettifyed viewer days). But I think it is a plus over all. It is a work in progress. Now how I can get some of my pix there? Got some good ones on Flickr (Web).

XStreet & OnRez Acquisition Reactions

Quite a few blog hours have been burned over the XStreet & OnRez acquisitions so, of course, Hamlet Au of New World Notes has done a round up (Web). I've posted a comment there (Web) and I copied it below for those who just can't wait to read it or who are too lazy to click a link.

---------------------------

A feeling of betrayal was my first reaction. On my blog I wrote that "the situation reminds me of the plight suffered by my Irish immigrant ancestors who worked the mills and mines, paid in Scrip redeemable only in the Company Store, essentially no better than indentured servants." The acquisition of the independent services gives more power to The Company. Rather then spend the money to solve asset database server issues they chose to spend money to monetize Residents, further relegating us to the role of revenue streams rather than having us participate in the "Your World, Your Imagination" partnership.

I agree with Hiro Pendragon that shopping malls will suffer unless they are innovative or closely linked to a community such as you see with Rocket City FurMeet, the Isle of Lesbos, and the Raglan Shire malls. The loss of OnRez and the elevation of XStreet to being the official shopping service could lead small-scale merchants to abandon an in-world presence in favor of being only virtually virtual. What would this do to the economy? What would this do to the culture?

Smarter people than me likely have answers to those questions just like they (i.e., Peter Stindberg ... "Hi, Peter! Love your blog!") are much more competent to judge issues like trading Linden Dollars. From my point of view (very small merchant; active shopper; experienced Resident) not having an independent source where I can trade my currency is not a big issue. But rather I liked being able to keep a sizable portion of my funds tucked away off The Company's notoriously unreliable servers. I've seen my Inventory whittled down by server issues and I full well expect to some day see my Linden Dollar balance not recover from a 'Loading ...' state.

The upside of the news? Maybe people using in-world search will find my shop and buy more of my products (Look out, Peter! I sell upwards of L$600 of stuff on XStreet each month). Sure, I'm not trying hard to make a living or earn a lot of money ... mostly I build what I feel like building and price it low to recover my costs and a wee bit more ... but some money is nice. And being able to send purchases to anyone in-world, not just registered service users, will be wonderful. Or will anyone miss having go to a terminal or find a place to rez a wallet to deposit money for a purchase?

Up or down, right or wrong, good or bad, keep this in mind: We don't have a choice. It was taken away from us.

Linden Labs Acquires Xstreet SL & OnRez

This letter (click for larger image) greeted me this morning, announcing that Linden Labs^® has acquired both the Xtreet SL^® (Web) and OnRez^® (Web) shopping portals (read more on the official blog). My first feeling after OMGoodness was betrayal. Then I felt outrage ... "What a buncha Communists!" More about that in a moment.

Upon reflection, I'm not 100% sure why I felt betrayal, but initial reactions are usually spot on. The situation reminds me of the plight suffered by my Irish immigrant ancestors who worked the mills and mines, paid in Scrip redeemable only in the Company Store, essentially no better than indentured servants. At one time the Lab provided the infrastructure in a "Your World, Your Imagination" (Web) partnership with the residents. Gradually they have been taking the world back. For example, the Lab killed the banks leaving an alt account or Xstreet/OnRez the only places to stash money in case of balance issues. And now they consolidate the shopping industry, killing an important part of free enterprise. Of course, I'm not required to list my creations with Xstreet, but the service is so popular that not doing so would be foolish. The listing/sales commission that is paid to Xstreet will now go to the Lab, one more step to completely owning the means of production and a Communist utopia.

Perhaps that is a bit harsh, but consider that creators have to pay for texture uploads, have to constantly tweak scripts to compensate for changes in code, are not allowed to create prims larger or smaller than certain sizes, have no truly fair means by which to pursue copyright infringements or defend claims of same, and are hamstrung in many other ways, it is easy to make the analogy. Perhaps not Communism, but certainly not a business-friendly environment.

Like many I'll need to see how things work out. What is clear, however, is that the Lab is shifting us from being Residents to being Revenue Streams.

The Downs and Downs of Second Life

Once again I ponder the "Log Ins are Disabled" message or similar ones and wonder if I should begin to devote my weekends to Real Life (iRL) rather than to Second Life^®. Perhaps I should get out and enjoy the 20℉ temperature as I slog through 8" of fresh snow to see where the next anticipated 5" would look best (in Maine we are required to move snow to the prettiest spots for the pleasure of the tourists). At least iRL I can change clothes, give things to others, and spend money.

As usual, database problems are the scapegoats for the regular round of weekend issues. Would it help if fewer people were in-world, putting less stress on the databases? If so, then as someone with two premium accounts I vote we limit the free account access during times of stress. Give Premium customers a perk here, Linden Labs^®. Let us use the world we are paying to access.

Perhaps that wouldn't really be fair, but I'm not the first to suggest that nor will I be the last. Such a move would upset the many, many members that don't pay a subscription, especially if their in-world activities are vital to the economy. I wonder if it is possible to determine an avie's economic worth.

Ooooh. If that doesn't have the smack of discrimination to it ...

See? Gotta let me in-world so I don't wax philosophical out here in the cold.

Mermaiding @ Splash Aquatics!

If you go to the Dive Shop at Splash Aquatics (SLurl) you can slip into the Dive Hole and enter the fabulous salt water aquarium that Kaikou Splash has created. Here is my friend Usra in her beautiful Betta Splendens avie by Tekelili Tantalus (SLurl) enjoying the lush scenery. This spot really needs to be featured by Linden Labs^® as a top destination to show what Second Life^® is capable of being. Furthering the excellence, Kaikou added educational materials about our fragile planet to his shop so you can not only purchase the goodies that make up his aquarium but you can learn something, too.

Splash Aquatics also features freshwater items, decorative elements for your landscape, and much, much more. A theater is on the grounds and you can relax with some freshwater fishing (not 7Seas Fishing, but an original game that is rather fun). If you'd rather not dive in with the fishies, the aquarium has a tunnel tour for landlubbers.

For divers, snorkelers, beach lovers, and anyone who just likes exploring, Kaikou has also built Dive World: PADI Scuba Diving Underwater World (SLurl). Usra and I dive there a lot. Like the aquarium there is a lot to see and much to learn. Educational signs at Dive World link to highly-informative Web pages. Really, you don't need dive gear or to be a mermaid or even have a swim AO*). You can simply walk the ocean floor (or fake swim in Fly mode).

###

*Swim AO: Usra uses the Zi Ree's ZiSwim (SLurl? Shop is missing!) while I use the Swimmer by Siggy Romulus (SLurl). Many AO attachments allow you to add animations for swimming, but don't actually keep your avie afloat like these specialty units.

The Homestead

Word is that my home will :::poof::: in less than a month. Nothing is permanent, but I guess this is as good as it gets. Every time I think of tweaking or remodeling I stop, thinking "this is perfect." At most I'll upgrade a texture or replace one plant with a better one. Some of the best plants are from the basic Linden inventory, especially the grasses. I use them in all my builds. And I like a touch of whimsy. That boulder over the falls is a re-textured Luskwood cat head. I sit on my tire swing for long stretches, watching the fishies in the pond and soaking in the mountain air.

A bit closer in shows my giant frog from Wynx Whiplash and my cuddle raft. Mystical lights appear over the pond at night and the butterflies come out with a glow. Most of my pictures of my land are from this angle. The only structure is a fabulous gazebo filled with pillows and snuggles. I'm not big on houses, but if you were to fly up from here you'd find my airship. It has a living area, bed, and more. There is an empty lot next to mine and a few days after these pictures were taken I added a castle from the same company that made the gazebo. Just for fun. No furniture inside. It just looks right. Maybe I'll post pix of it later.

Go West, young woman. And you'll find the sim edge. Filling the void with water is probably most economical means for Linden Labs to make the Grid but it is very unnatural. Okies, okies ... we live in a virtual world. I love my beach, but on the other two or three sides I'd like to see more land. Don't ask me to change this view, though. This is a great place to swim and dive (I have a coral reef) and just plain relax.

My wife/partner and I are building a sim that will be just as beautiful, but in ways very different from my home. "My home." Sorry, Angela. I know we have a skybox in Dreams that is Home and the new sim is Home, too, but you understand what this place means to me. Remember your land in Novi?