Talamh Teaghlaigh, Nangrim

My home outside Bay City is Talamh Teaghlaigh, Nangrim. It's a 1024m² plot adjacent to my brother's smaller plot, the Lydia Rose Memorial Park. The two parcels are, in effect, one home big home for both of us. We both contribute to the general design and implementation of same with the family gardner Zyx Flux helping out, too. Here's what we did today ...

CC insisted on the cow chairs. He must be thinking of his on-going efforts to teach our RL cats to moo like cows.

I added a modified version of my big "ocean deck" that has often been a part of my various homes over the years. It was 32 LI but quickly became 19 LI when I converted it all to a Convex Hull physical shape then trimmed it a bit more as I changed to a sculpty ladder from an all-prim one. CC and Zyx did the plant work and I added some furniture.

A view from the Memorial Park side.

Somehow we wound up with a lot "prims" left over. And I see that CC added a memorial stone again (insert big smile here). If anything, our home feels warmer now, and more complete. The tall grasses make a big difference as does the elevation of the new addition. Drop in sometime (SLurl) and visit for a while. If you don't see us you might see others as we both have a habit of telling strangers and noobies to make themselves at home.

Exploring Second Life Meme

Alright, it's Wednesday and the ever talented Strawberry Singh was far more punctual with her Monday meme challenge this week: Exploring Second Life (original post here). Sue me. Regular readers of this blog know that  I often write about places to visit (heck, explore and exploration are among the mess of post tags I mishandle). After a hectic start to the week I've finally found some time to dig into my Landmarks so here goes ...

Meme Instructions: Share 1 to 5 of your favorite places on the grid. I feel like exploring and discovering new places. Share places you think everyone should visit and also tell us why they are your favorites.

Cripes! How to choose? My Cool Builds, Recreation, and Really Scenic Places landmarks folders have so many great locations. Here is a more or less random list because some I'd like to recommend are down for maintenance (The Calas Galadhon regions, for example), private access only, or no longer exist (I miss the Isle of Lesbos).

The Lydia Rose Memorial Park - SLurl

One place I often write about (like here) is the wonderful space my brother built in Nangrim, The Lydia Rose Memorial Park, one of my homes in Second Life. With just a few gaps, The Park has been here since before I came to the Main Grid, my brother (CC Columbo in SL) having set aside a space to remember the passing of his Real Life daughter. Today, a simple flowered cross is the only indication of the land's purpose. As I mentioned, it is our family home. CC lives in the cabin, my pixy characters live in the gardner's barn, and there's a family apartment not-so-cleverly hidden well up in the sky for all of us to use.

The "Las" Islands - SLurl

This simple archipelago of five regions represents what I believe to be the best tropical islands in all Second Life so I visit often and have frequently featured them in this blog (like here). Goodness knows that Our World is rampantly populated with tropical spaces, but these are executed so well and feel so natural, I'm drawn here with great regularity. Well worth a visit if you haven't been here and if you have, it's time to go back. Today.

Mhindepinde Rez Zone - SLurl

This location outside Bay City is a surrogate for all those wonderful Linden Department of Public Works "Mole" builds that fill Our World. Search my blog for LDPW and you'll see post after post of such places. Whether you want to launch a boat, fly an airplane, have a thrilling adventure, relax on a beach, explore a seaside village, or most anything you can think of doing, our Mole friends have built something for you.

And with that all-inclusive entry, I'm going to end this post so you can stop reading and get out exploring! I'd love to read your recommendation in the Comments sometime.

Lydia Rose Memorial Park

Too many things happening in Real Life to even notice that I've neglected my blog. To rub more salt in the wound, the pictures in this post aren't mine. Sitting down after folding some laundry, I found these ten pictures on the computer desktop. Looks like my brother, CC Columbo, has been busy, not just rebuilding the Lydia Rose Memorial Park in Nangrim (SLurl) but taking pictures, too. As well he should. He has artfully decorated some 1536m² of land and added a home for himself, the first in years (he lived in a cave for a while). I hope you enjoy these while I attend to even more Real Life tasks.

The land is also our family home, only a portion of it being labeled as the park.

It seems much larger at ground level. To the left is the park proper, but this layout blends it with the family land. Cleverly hidden like all other skyboxes in SL is our family apartment.

When I saw the barn I figured it was a good place to put out my hay stacks cuddle and one of my unscripted horses. I need to find a nice mesh one to save prims.

The Full Bright trees in the distance belong to a neighbor we've had for some six years.

My pixy alt, Zyx the gardener, snuck in some plants and pots.

A fairy statue for Lydia, letting a bird fly free.

I have to ask about the Celtic knot outside the cabin. Probably just decorative.

CC's cabin. My wife (Angela) calls it CC's Study. This is exactly what he'd have iRL if he could, I imagine. He's always favored this sort of setting when building in Second Life.

Books, a fire, and comfy furniture in a rustic cabin. 

The rare picture of CC himself. He almost never snaps his own image.

New Home: Teaghlaigh in Bay City

With the generous assistance of Marianne McCann and Marx Dudek, my brother (CC Columbo) and I were able to purchase some land in Bay City, that wonderful part of mainland that is more than just a place, but a community, as well. Every parcel we've looked at in the past year has been outrageously priced but fortune and friends smiled on us so we now have Teaghlaigh in Bay City (SLurl), a home and a "coming soon" garden shop.

Teaghlaigh in Bay City is a simple home and an empty garden shop. Well, there is some furniture in the back and a few plants, but right now it's status is "Coming Soon" as a store getting ready to open. Actually, we may not have enough prims left to have an actual shop, but you never know. I'd like to start making plants to sell.

The greenhouse end is very nice with a  great view of a very unkempt lawn. Originally, my brother had a lovely gazebo and garden set here, but Bay City is an urban landscape and as much as we liked what he had done, it just didn't fit. That's when CC got the idea of "opening a business" that would allow us to keep a lot of greenery.

My contribution to the decoration was finding this nice desk for CC to buy (I was broke) and coming up with the backstory: Teaghlaigh is a small remnant of an old family farm with a city growing up around it. The family (CC, me, and my wife, Angela Seale) still live at the farm and are going to use what is left to make a go at a garden shop.

Our land is right on a canal with ferries regularly passing under a drawbridge. The canal wall and a fair chunk of land on the dry side is Linden-owned so technically we can't build on it, but the ground prims we put down are anchored on our side and will likely be overlooked by the authorities. I sure wish I could extend the grass over there.

With this land acquisition, CC is selling his land adjacent to the Memorial Park in Nangrim (SLurl) — two 512m² lots and a 1024m² lot. Each is only $L1/m² and that's cheap. I also have a 384m² lot that I should put up for sale, too, but I promised some friends that they could set their Home there, though no one has taken  me up on it as far as I know.

The land in Nangrim, my first home in Second Life. The Memorial Park remains, of course, but some 2048m² of land is up for sale, cheap. Wanna be a neighbor with free run of the Park? Actually, you can just come visit, if you want, either at Bay City or Nangrim. Everyone is always welcome.

SL9B: Memorial Park

When I was finally pushed into applying for an exhibit space at Second Life's 9th Birthday event (SL9B) — I was stuck for ideas of what to build and time was short so I had decided to not apply — it struck me that replicating the Memorial Park at the Isle of Lesbos would be an appropriate build for the theme of Community (as I mentioned here a few days ago). Since then my wife, Angela Seale, and I have been working as Build Partners to complete the project. At first, I wanted to start with a miniature replica as close to the original in proportions as possible, but with a square parcel of 32m² in mind versus the sprawling rectangle of the original. Angela then took my build and started making mods that would make it an evolution (as all builds on Lesbos tend to be evolutions) as seen in the squarish build toward the rear in the picture below.

Angela's evolution build in the background with my roundy version in the foreground.

From the incept, however, I knew that we likely wouldn't win the west-facing sim edge space that I asked for (double-sized, please) so we could duplicate the sunset view and off-sim statue of the original, I thought "the build should be accessible from all sides so maybe make it roundy ..." So tonight I built the version you see in the foreground of the picture above. I hope Angela likes it. I bought some cherry trees similar to the ones at the original memorial, partly by accident since I really wanted the demos instead, and made some planters with nice sculpty grass and dirt. The main gravestone is not in place yet, nor are the remembrance candles and other details, but like I keep boasting in SL9B chat, the build is done.

Until Angela or I get another idea.

Mainland Treat: Memorial Park

One of my particular delights in Second Life is exploring the Mainland. Often I'll just open up the map, zoom out, and then double-click on a random spot to teleport there. Other times I'll find a road or a railroad and follow it to look around, rezzing a vehicle if I can.

Another delight is CC Columbo's (my RL brother!) return to Mainland. He has a Linden home, but last May he found a parcel in Nangrim that he had previously owned and it was for sale. Cheap. So he bought it and rebuilt the Memorial Park (SLurl), a site dedicated to my niece/his daughter who passed away some years ago, just like when he first lived in Nangrim. Well, maybe not "just like" in appearance. The new incarnation is, in my opinion, much prettier because sculpty prims, better textures, and a better viewer experience combine to make his current design much more attractive.

A birdseye view of the Memorial Park, a "standard" 512 square meter parcel. To the left in this picture is north.

When I watched CC build he ignored all my input with a kind silence, slapping my hand but once as I reached for the computer mouse, but as I had hoped, he did put in a couple chair so folks can sit and enjoy the view.

I was surprised when he pulled the fairy statue from his inventory and a pond just like I own, though I later learned that he had snuck the latter out of my inventory while I was in the shower earlier that day. The only change he made after finishing is the addition of the cooler near the chairs. I've asked a few times if he'll put a memorial stone in like has at his house but he never answers. In the old park he had a board with clickable prims that dispensed note cards with information about his daughter and the disease that took her life, Metachromic Leukodystrophy.

Yes, it has been a couple months since he finished the Park, but the lack of memorial and his silence led me to believe he is looking for a bit of privacy so I haven't specifically blogged about his effort. But then again, he is on Mainland and the parcel is open to all. And I think it is one of the most beautiful small builds in all Second Life. I'm proud of what he's done and think it needs time in the spotlight.

Happy Birthday, CC!

It's my brother's RL birthday today ... he's OLD! But I have to be nice if I'm going to get some Dairy Queen ice cream cake so I thought I'd post some pix of his better side, CC Columbo in Second Life.

When I came to the Main Grid, CC was usually orange for some reason. He's on some land in Nangrim right on the sim edge. See the gray ground? It is really green. Read more about that in this post here.

He still uses this home sometimes. On the mantle from left to right are pictures of him and Kayla, a neighbor in Nangrim, and a picture of his RL daughter, Lydia Rose. She's the reason behind the Memorial Park and one of the reasons we are both in SL.

For Christmas one year I got him a nice female shape and skin as a joke. He's been changing and hiding his password pretty regularly since then. This also shows my taste in women. Oh! I need therapy.

Like me, he has many avies, but he is a hyena more often than not. Behind him is a memorial to his daughter. He always has one out somewhere in SL at any given time. I miss my niece, too.

Lately CC is an elf. I helped kit him out one day. Shopping in-world with my brother is a lot like shopping with him IRL ... we both want it to end fast. But he's pretty buff, if I do say so myself. He wanted to look his RL age and size, but I nixed that, partly on the grounds that it is hard to make an old-looking, hefty avie in SL. Clothes, attachments, and AOs seem to be all geared to the young.

Happy Birthday, CC! You are the Bestest Big Brother a girl could have. Just don't tell my other big brothers I said that, okay? Huggs!!

Donating to Japan Disaster Relief

If you are like me, you've been crying off and on since the news about the Japan earthquake and tsunami disaster was announced. I stayed up watching the news in awe and grief until I couldn't take it any more. Then I laid down and had nightmares. There is not much I can do other than pray, but if buying this Relief Teddy Bear from the SL Marketplace makes even a wee bit of difference ...

There are going to be many opportunities in Second Life and outside our world for you to help. Please do. I'm leaving this bear for the ladies to visit at Memorial Park on the Isle of Lesbos.

He's Back!

My brother (in SL and RL), CC Columbo, seems to be spending more time in Second Life. I've seen him in-world sometimes when he (or his alt) logs in from a friend's computer. But lately he's been logging in from home. A day or so ago he bought more land adjacent to the lots we share and has added a really nice pool from Siggy's Waterworks. Come visit us anytime (SLurl). The Memorial Park has a long history in various locations but is always a fun place.

Yes, my shop is there, too. No one comes for that, though. People hang out at the pond or the hot tub after they visit the really cool aquarium at our neighbor, Splash Aquatics. Now they can hang out at the pool (and a 2nd hot tub).

Just some recent pix

My Angela recently won a Neko outfit from a Midnight Mania and hasn't changed clothes since. Not that she's big on changing clothes anyway, but she really loves this outfit. And she's adorable. In this shot she's stretched out over me in the standard "gaze' pose you'll find in most MLP furniture. I took this in Mouselook.

This is me and Angela, sitting in the Memorial Park at Lesbos (pre-Nekoness). It is a comfortable, relaxing place and for various reasons we've been spending quite a bit of time there of late. Some of the time has been used to remodel a bit.

I write posts for the Lucky Tribe blog, featuring prizes from various Tribe affiliates. This shot shows me sitting at a lovely Japanese-style table set from one of the Tribe shops. It would be nice to put it in my airship home, but it's 20 more prims that what I have now. Maybe I'll trot it out for special occasions.

If you've been reading this blog then you've noticed that I love two places in Second Life: The Isle of Lesbos and Dive World. So here I am in Dive World wearing my Bay Watch swimsuit and rescue floatie, watching the surfers (that you can't see) to make sure they are safe. I should look for that whistle and lanyard I have somewhere.

Last night Angela and I just hung out in my airship, cuddling and talking and snuggling and sharing. :::sigh:::

No, the text didn't stick with each photo, but you can figure it out.

Memorial Parks

Queen Coronet: Linden Memorial Park - Now open Thanks for sharing this, Queen. Huggs.

As readers of of this blog may know, Memorial Parks are important to me in Second Life. One of the first spots I saw in the main grid was the Lydia Rose Memorial Park (one evolution pictured at left), a tribute my brother built for his daughter. A plot of land I own is now called just "Memorial Park" and is a tribute to her and others that I've been close to that have passed on. And creating the Memorial Park at the Isle of Lesbos was a both a great sorry and a great joy.

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:::

Memorial Park Memory

When my PC laptop died I had scattered and limited backups so quite a few things are gone forever. This image turned up, much to my giggly pleasure, for this goes way back into my life in our virtual world. The Memorial Park in Nangrim was on it's way to being huge and I had my first in-world girlfriend. We had invited a couple friends to just relax in the Park with some Classical music on the stream. Someone put on wings and started dancing so we all put on wings and danced. Then someone released particles and the clothes started coming off. It was a beautiful night. We danced and made small talk and just enjoyed being there for quite some time. Serendipity. Happy serendipity.

New Memorial Park

When my brother, CC Columbo, started his Second Life^® one of his activities was building a parkland with a memorial for his daughter. At one point he owned most of the mainland region called Nangrim and when I came from the Teen Grid I added to it, helping to form a sprawling landscape where people could relax in a "natural" setting. Over time it had many forms but it always featured a focus point about my niece, usually pictures and an info signboard. Eventually we sold some land when CC minimized his time in-world and then sold the balance when a pre-gambling ban casino kept the sim full, completely locking us out.

Not too long ago I used nearly the last of my Christmas gift money to get a premium account for my regular Alt and then had her buy a 512m² plot of land (SLurl) to use as a home and to re-create -- if only in part -- the Memorial Park. Since then I sometimes wander by the computer while CC is using it for something and spot the SL viewer, open and showing his avie sitting at the grave.

If you visit, please click the stone for information about the disease that took little Lydia's life.