Sometimes I wonder ...

A recent move to Bay City, some land swaps in Nangrim, the constant desire to have a higher prim limit, and finding a nice little cottage for public use all coalesced into the thought ... Sometimes I wonder why I own land in Second Life. When I came to the Main Grid I was given 16 square meters of land from my brother and gradually earned more by doing things for a shop he owned at the time. Then I plowed money into my own land and between the two of us we had 3/4 of a whole region to ourselves.

But there were times over the last six years that I was "homeless," not owning land or having an actual structure like a house, instead simply logging in and out only at the Isle of Lesbos. Does an avatar really need shelter? What little fake rain occurs isn't damaging. We carry our wardrobes with us. Sex beds are everywhere. And there are plenty of public structures to use (and private ones, but that's another story). Look at what I found when map-hopping around Bay City ... A gingerbread cottage in Luna Shores (SLurl).

Built by a coalition of LDPW Moles, this little cottage is nestled away where very few people would ever find it. About Land shows traffic at 768 avatars. Not many at all despite being adjacent to a public sandbox.

The interior is adorable. Perfect for a "homeless" squatter to use as their own or for someone that wants to do a rustic-themed role play ... or other RP (look behind those green hospital screens to the right).

There are surprises inside and out. Always look around an LDPW build to see a Mole's sense of humor. 

I really do love my homes. The magic of Second Life means I can make them anything that I want them to be and at any time. But if I went homeless again, more SL magic means that I could actually live almost anywhere and still feel at home.

Astigmatism in SL

Aside from needing bifocals in my Real Life eyeglasses, I also suffer from Astigmatism. It is especially pronounced in dim light, like when riding in a car at night. The lines on the road blur and multiply almost to the point of complete double vision. Well, it seems that the Second Life viewer has the same issue.

As seen in the Vehicle Sandbox, Fortuna (SLurl) and mainland roads, as well.

The further you look into the distance on SL roadways that are created with side-by-side prims and mirrored textures, the more pronounced the blurred, astigmatic effect becomes.

A possible explanation? The construction method. This is from back in the day when the maximum prim size that Moles were allowed to use was 10m³.

I've seen this in not only the Official Viewer, but with Third Party Viewers, as well so it might be the rendering engine or it could be my graphics hardware. It doesn't seem to affect all receding straight lines, just the ones created by abutted prims with textures like these road markings. Anyone else notice this?

Pay Ben Linden (!?!)

Look what I found in the Balance region (SLurl), a Linden-owned vehicle sandbox:

Maybe this is a test build, especially since it is in a sandbox. And maybe it refunds any monies paid, though I haven't tried it to see if that might be true. But paying a Linden for content? Besides, there are nicer motorcycles for less money available, including some on the SL Marketplace. Quickly found is a full-perms "street racer" for L$19 (click here) plus quite a few L$10 bikes and choppers from Black Widow Motors (click here).

For my use today, I grabbed at L$10 Bug Mobile from the near by Busy Ben's Vehicle Lot and Rezzing Area (SLurl), a Linden-owned parcel where in-world creators can market their wares, like the Bug Mobile (see below), cars, planes, boats, and the motorcycles priced from L$50 for a basic sculpty model and on up to spendy, very nice ones.

Later I popped over to the race track in the Georgean region (SLurl) and grabbed a free Linden Mole-made hoverboard. Remember, the Moles love you.

New Premium Gift! [Updated]

Months after announcing a monthly gift for Premium Residents in Second Life, The Lab has finally gotten around to putting out a second one out at the various kiosks (click here for a location list). It is a fine-looking sailing boat, as you can see in the pic below. Hopefully it will encourage Residents to try the rather nice vehicle sandboxes available to Premium Residents (click here for a list of Premium Sandboxes).

If you are a Premium Resident, you probably received an email about the new gift so you can click the "A Sailor's Guide" links for other places to sail. The gift also comes with several landmarks for sailing locations. I'll try to find the nice sailing tutorial my friend Dusty came up with and post it here so you can get the most fun out of your boat if the included instructions aren't enough (just leave a comment).

The boat is very, very nice. A HUD lets you customize some textures as well as gives you control of how the boat is operated (wind vs. motor, for example), and other aspects of your experience. It appears to be well made by the Linden Moles (of course ... the Moles rock!). One really cool bit is that after you sit, simply click the boat and your avie moves from pose to pose to pose, one of which is perfect if you get seasick. Is the boat worth the membership fee? Probably not, but if you are a Premium Resident, then you should certainly take advantage of this freebie.

[Update] My friend Dusty contacted me with more info:

• The Linden boat seats up to 11 avies at a time.
• The Wind mode is "dumbed down a bit" so you have no real control over how the sails interact with the wind. So it's sort of like an Auto Pilot.
• Sailing classes or tutorials aren't really needed, but they might be if you upgrade to another boat, like the FREE Nemo 2 at Dusty's place (and other locations). 

I've sailed the Nemo 2 that Dusty recommends and it is more fun because you have to read the winds and make decisions. If I just want to party with folks, then the Linden boat would be great.

Riding the Rails!

Found a cute Thomas the Tank Engine at the Russian Welcome Area on the TechInvestLab sim (SLurl). The region appears to be a giant sandbox and building tutorial for Russian speakers. In one area is a box that gives out Particle Lab (SLurl) notes in Russian. A public shooting range is available and all areas seem to be accessible, if not understandable to non-Russian speakers.

Practicing Randomness

Try as I might I just can't be random enough to please the ::: BareRose ::: Raffle Item Orb. I used to do okay hanging out near the VIP Sandbox or the beautiful areas around it, but not for some time. Hanging out in the main area near some of the prizes of Bare Rose (SLurl) doesn't help. Spending a lot of money there certainly doesn't help but I love my wife and spent nearly L$1000 on her at B@R just the other night anyway. Not once at that time was I sufficiently random to be noticed by the Orb. Nor as I sit and post this blog with a real-time (for this moment) pic.

Building in Second Life™

One day I'd like to have my own sandbox with tutorials like this. Well, I'd probably have mine in English, but you get the idea.