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Some fun facts you may or may not have known about the solstice can be found here, thanks to our friends at Discover Magazine.
I got out to the park today - was a perfect day - low 80's F and a few white clouds with a light breeze.
I took some pictures - a few here - see em all on my Flickr page (link in the sidebar). As always, click to make em big!
To see how people all around the globe celebrate(d) the Solstice, click here, thanks to our friends at National Geographic!
I hope your Solstice was full of sunshine (even if you live in the southern hemisphere)!
- Location:home
- Mood:
rejuvenated - Music:dogs barking
I recently came across this picture:
Considering using it as my userpic here.I actually don't think I have a physical addiction to coffee as much as I joke about it. I do tend to rely heavily on it to get me through the afternoon slump that is 3-5 pm. (And to stay up later so I can be online, of course.) But I have gone days without it (shocking but true!) with no ill effects. And especially in the summers I can completely forego my morning jolt and not indulge until the afternoon. But I do enjoy it!
If you've ever wondered just how much is too much caffeine, the folks over at Energy Fiend have created a fun (?) calculator to help you out and keep you safe! Click here to check it out: Caffeine Calculator. The rest of the site is interesting as well.
There's been a ton of studies out lately that tout the benefits of caffeine, but I won't bore you with them here.
Chemically, caffeine is a rather attractive molecule. So attractive that at least one small company makes jewelry in the shape of the molecule! I saw these first-hand at the National Science Teacher's Association Conference last fall. They are prettier in person and though I wanted a necklace, I did not have the money. Nobody I tell believes me when I hint that I want one for Christmas or my birthday, lol. Click here to see them: Caffeine Jewelry
There's always lots of humor to be found in fellow caffeine addicts. Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert understands the importance of coffee in getting through a day at the office like nobody else. The strip below hangs next to my desk at work:
Ok, that's it - nothing too deep - just a light-hearted look at my favorite molecule!
Don't forget to get outside tomorrow as it's the summer solstice here in the northern hemisphere. The day with the most hours of daylight. For my Australian readers - it's the winter solstice - they day with the least amount of daylight - so get outside and enjoy what there is of it.
- Location:home
- Mood:
energetic - Music:Duffy - Rockferry
Historically, both the number 13 as well as Fridays have been seen as unlucky or ill omens. For more detailed info, click here:
http://www.snopes.com/luck/friday13.asp
Putting both pieces together to fear and/or revile Friday the 13th, seems to be a more recent invention, and one relegated to Western, Christian-dominated cultures.
I had always heard it linked to the end of the Templars in Europe, on Friday, October 13, 1307, when King Philip of France ordered all the seneschals in Europe to arrest the Templars on charges of heresy on the same day.
However, there is little written record of Friday the 13th being specifically unlucky prior to the 1800s.
We humans tend to fufill our own prophesies and look for connections when no causality is implied. When the Apollo 13 mission suffered near-catastrophic failures, people blamed the "bad luck" on the number of the mission. We seem to want to impose order and reason where there is none.
One survey, quoted in this article from National Geographic,http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2
cites one fourth of the respondents associate the number 13 with bad luck.
Personally, I feel we make our own "luck" - generally by making wise decisions and listening to our intuition or "gut".
Do you do anything differently on Friday the 13th? Let me know in the comments!
- Location:home
- Mood:
curious - Music:Jason Mraz
The first is a song you may have heard on a Mac advertisement, but that I first heard on my favorite RL radio station. It's called New Soul by Yael Naim. The lyrics are a great statement for what joining SL was like for me:
I'm a new soul
I came to this strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit bout how to give and take
But since I came here, felt the joy and now fear
Finding myself making every possible mistake
See I'm a young soul in this very strange world
Hoping I could learn a bit bout what is true and fake
But why all this hate? try to communicate
Finding trust and love is not always easy to make
If I ever invest the time and money into machinima software, this is a song I want to make an SL machinima to.
The second thing is a wonderful post Torley made today: click here to read it.
SecondLife has allowed me to grow in ways I never dreamed possible and in a very short time. I've forged connections - deep and lasting connections - with people I would never have met otherwise as they live far away and often in distant lands.
I've been able to transfer lessons learned about myself and about dealing with other people to real life, and that is just a wonderful gift.
SecondLife has challenged me on multiple levels, and it continues to draw me in and keep me engaged intellectually and emotionally every single day.
Before SL, I was existing - just getting through each day.
Now I am LIVING. Both lives. It's been a wild, crazy, amazing ride - I don't want to get off any time soon!
Today I am thankful for:
1. A wonderful year in Second Life.
2. All the amazing people I have met during the last year.
3. Air conditioning.
- Location:home
- Mood: content
- Music:New Soul by Yael Naim
- Location:home
- Mood:
contemplative - Music:the air conditioner...ahhhh
I took a break from that to catch up on other blogs (see the sidebar). And what had Torley posted recently? Why a survey about newbie avatars! FINALLY, Linden Labs is doing something about the utter hideousness (is that a word? Well it should be!) of newbie avatar choices. Torley's giving his readers a "sneak peek" at some of the ideas they are tossing around. It sounds like there will be a more formal survey and/or announcement on the SL blog in the near future. But if you'd like to feel like your opinion matters now - in the planning stages - go take the survey here: http://torley.com/do-these-avatars-rock-s
Some are incredibly...awful. Others are wonderfully diverse! People who are not white! People who are clearly not under 30! Avatars that are not human! And Nye, if you are reading this - you have to take the survey just to see the one I affectionately call "boxy". The commentors to Torley's blog post have some very good points, but it was refreshing to see at least baby steps in the right direction!
Maybe it has something to do with the new CEO, M Linden, and his recent newbie avatar experiences. Click here to read all about his first week in-world as CEO: http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/05/27/my-f
Do YOU have embarrassing
Sigh....just...sad. I think my photography skills have improved since then too.
Today I am thankful for:
1. People who thought I was beautiful even though I looked like the picture above. yikes!
2. School's officially done, though I have a work day tomorrow.
3. My migraine went away (boo to high pressure fronts - yay for 20 min naps!)
- Location:home
- Mood: refreshed
- Music:blissful silence
Yesterday was my SL rez-day; my one-year SL-birthday. I cannot believe it's been an entire year. I think if I added up all the days I was not in-world for even a few minutes, the number would be countable on my own two hands. I know that within a week, I'd made several good friends (three of whom I still keep in touch with today) and felt I'd found a home in Bear (Bear Infohub).
I want to blog more thoroughly about my first year in SL when I have the mental faculties to do it justice. I've just come off a 60 hour work week followed immediately by a 15 hour work day yesterday. I am beat. So...lengthy, introspective post will be coming soon.
However! Advance notice here - I will be hosting a rez-day party on my beach this coming Saturday, 7 June. Time to be determined (if you look at the map in the sidebar you will see my scheduling dilemma). I now have a cool fun trivia game (thanks lance!) and there may even be a beach movie streamed in! If any of my DJ friends reading this would care to put together a few hours worth of songs (not necessarily beach songs) or could donate a stream for a few hours and walk me through how to stream (I once knew how!) that would be awesome! Otherwise we'll find some music to dance to and throw all the dance balls I still have out on the sand. Mostly, just come and hang out and have some fun reminiscing and seeing old friends. The LM is in my picks under ~Me, or look for the invite soon.
But, so you are not left empty-handed with this post, I have an awesomely fun video for you to watch! The sound adds a lot, so do turn that on. It's work friendly-ish, just...different. Check out the whole website when you're done (peter - you HAVE to watch this one!). It's about 7 min, but seems less than half that long!
clicky here: http://blublu.org/sito/video/muto.htm (Thanks to Lefty for the link!)
Today I am thankful for:
1. Graduation is OVER! woot!
2. I got all my grades turned in and finished the permanent record files as well.
3. Friends who find fun things to make me smile (i.e. trivia and the above video)
- Location:home
- Mood:
tired - Music:the dog whimpering in his sleep
Wow...ten days since my last post and already the last day of May! Time flies when you're under stress!
But today...a visual treat! One of the first places to ever make it into my picks in my SL profile was Teal. (Thanks Will!)
Teal is so much! But it's primarily about particles. Particles in SL are actually generated client-side, meaning they are generated by your computer. So how you see Teal may be different than how I see Teal. The key to optimal viewing (and there are signs posted everywhere to remind you of this) is to go into preferences on the edit tab and on the graphics tab there, move the slider for particles all the way to the right. Or as far to the right as you can go without crashing your machine.
The primary mode of transport around Teal (Ethereal Teal is the actual name of the (PG) sim) is by balloon!
Once seated in the balloon, you can choose to visit all that Teal has to offer. I suggest starting off in St. Mark's Square. A well-done replica with a few buildings you can enter and explore.
Another fun way to get around teal is by gondola. Unfortunately, the last two times I've visited, the boat-rezzer was not working. Hopefully Jopsy will get that fixed straight away (more on Jopsy later).
The next place I take people when showing them Teal is the caves. It's an incongruous bit of Middle Earth, but great fun if you are a fan of LOTR (Lord of the Rings for those who are not fans). At the center of the meandering caves is a fun treat! I could spend hours just zoning out to the ever-changing particles within the sphere. There used to be chairs to sit in so you could do just that, but standing works just as well in SL.
A lot of the fun stuff in Teal is up in the sky! (That's where the balloon comes in handy.) There's a cloud chateau and a floating citadel to explore.
But the main draw to Teal is particles as I mentioned above. There are two places to view the particles, the Cloud Chateau and the Fireworks display. Be aware that the fireworks only run sundown to sunrise sim time. I actually HAVE spent hours just watching the particle shows on this sim. With my new graphics card, I was finally able to get some amazing shots to share with you. I took over 30 pictures, but I will only inflict a few on you today.
Click to make em big and tell me they would not make awesome desktop images? Particles are a blast! And there's SO much you can do with them besides make pretty pictures! They add movement and a measure of realism to SL.
If you catch the particle bug and want to learn how to amaze your friends, never fear! The main draw to Teal is Jopsy's Particle Lab!
The particle lab is an interactive tutorial that will walk you through everything you ever wanted to know about how to write a particle script! There's even a handy sandbox in the middle to try out your new skillz! 
All of this was created by the AMAZING Jopsy Pendragon. He was away from SL for a while, but came back several months ago and keeps tweaking things and making Teal more amzing every time I visit. I was lucky enough to run into Jopsy shortly after he came back in the sandbox above. He was very nice and helpful to everyone there even though he was busy working on his own projects.
There are more treats hidden around Teal I did not mention here...there's a shop of silly things (peter -check out his Fae Wings), a beach for snuggling with your sweetie, and if you can find the oracle you will laugh for days!
Want to go explore Ethereal Teal rightnow? Click here! http://slurl.com/secondlife/Teal/128/128/3
Today I am thankful for:
1. Friends and family new and old that make SL so much fun every day.
2. Challenges like scripting particles that make SL so intriguing and mentally stimulating.
3. Yesterday was my last teaching day...only four more days of meetings and graduation to get through and summer can begin!
- Location:home
- Mood:
artistic - Music:the ceiling fan (it's finally over 80F)
Time for another cool SL sim spotlight post! I've known about this sim for what seems like forever, but have not been back in quite a while. The Isle of Wyrms (Wyrm being the Old English word for dragon) is a phenomenal place to visit. When you first arrive, you are in the cathedral:
Inside, you can find all the information about dragons and other related creatures. Also hedgehogs. (To my understanding, the sim owner/creator has a vested interest in a RL hedgehog rescue organization and just loves the little creatures.) But it's mostly dragons. There are dragon eggs arrayed on one wall - one for each breed of dragon. By clicking the eggs, you can choose to preview that dragon avatar in one of three forms - hatchling, wyrmling, or dragon. Wyrmlings are smaller than full grown dragons. The selected dragon avatar will then temp-rez in the middle of the room.
At any given time, you can find humans and dragons to converse with in the cathedral. (note the eggs along the wall in the first pic)
A hatchling is much smaller than a wyrmling (shown above).
The three sizes of avatars vary in cost, as one might expect. But here's the real catch. You can actually only purchase the wrymling or hatchling size! The full-sized dragons (and they are HUGE) are only made available four times each year - on the equinoxes and the solstices. AND - it's by lottery. That's right - only 210 dragons will be made available for the summer solstice. Rather an ingenious marketing ploy - but once you start exploring the Isle of Wyrms...you won't care! There's a group to join and find out about all the fun events they have - and many welcome human avatars too for those days you just don't wanna put on the scales.
There are also wyverns available - dragon-like creatures that walk on two legs and can wield a sword. Only two varieties are currently available. In the picture behind the wyvern eggs you can see just how much customization one can do to one of these avatars. It's all hud-driven and very easy to do.
Once you purchase an avatar, you are given an egg to rez and then open and copy the parts into your inventory. If you'd like to do it RIGHTNOW you can walk across the bridge....
And through the portal into the sandbox below:
There is so much more on this sim! It's really a whole community and culture unto itself. And if it all seems a bit daunting, never fear - there's a wiki and even forums on the Internet to help you get acclimated. You can even preview each breed of dragon there and find out more about the lore surrounding each one to help you choose which one you want to become. http://www.daryth.com/draconica/index.ph
This time around, I went with the ice dragon. I actually love winter and the ice dragon just looks really sleek. Plus I was rather amused by the contradiction of an ice-breathing dragon. I took my egg home to unpack it:
And then proceeded to "wear" my new avatar: (warning! don't forget to go into appearance and SAVE your current avatar shape, skin, hair, eyes, etc...for easy changing back to human) It breathes snow and ice! And it looks really awesome in flight!
So...get thee to the Isle of Wyrms (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Cathedral/12
Today I am thankful for:
1. Dragons!
2. Friends new and old.
3. Finally getting my Master's Degree! woot
- Location:home
- Mood:
amused - Music:Loreena McKennitt
I came across this website while reading the forums of a site I belong to. It was under the "Off-Topic" section of threads, so don't assume anything!
It's part of a British advertising campaign for K-Y Touch massage oil, so part of it is shameless plug but it's mostly funny.
It cracks Me up. You'll need Flash installed and headphones (or speakers if you live alone - this is NOT a work-friendly site!).
Are you British in bed? http://www.areyoubritishinbed.co.uk/...e
Do run through it more than once just for laughs, as you'll get some different questions each time.
The first time I did it I was dubbed: 56% Congolese! (who knew?)
"You are wild & unpredictable!
Like the murky waters of the Congo, your lovemaking is wild and unpredictable, and always, always, deep. You are very possessive of your territory in the bedroom and always put up a fight before being conquered."
BEFORE BEING CONQUERED?! EXCUSE ME?! hmph!
Well anyway, good for a laugh or two! Go run through it and post your results here - I wanna know! *wink
Today I am thankful for:
1. Wonderful supportive friends who make me laugh.
2. New shoes!
3. Caramel lattes with three shots of espresso....ahhhhh... bliss!
- Location:home
- Mood:
silly - Music:"Mercy" by Duffy
One of the great things about Second Life and the Internet in general, is being able to connect with people from all over the world - finding like-minded individuals you might never meet otherwise. Making some genuinely deep connections is amazing but comes with risk - you have to put a bit of yourself out there to get something back in return.
There is an added risk with knowing someone deeply online however. They can choose to become truly lost to you. They can quite literally drop off the face of the Earth. Most of the time you don't even know their real name. When they are gone, they are gone completely as if they never existed at all.
I have lost a number of online friends in recent weeks for various reasons. Most of them have decided that SL was becoming too much of an impediment to their real lives and was having a negative impact on their real life relationships. Fair enough - especially if there was romance involved in any way with someone they'd met online.
But why lose the friendships? If we truly believe our lives are enriched by knowing our online friends, does it not make sense to keep them around in some way? To maintain contact? To me, when someone becomes lost to Me on purpose it sort of negates what we'd had ... what we'd built. I know that isn't true. And most of the time it isn't just ME they've blocked out - it's all online contact with everyone. I don't take it personally.
But they leave a hole all the same. And each one that goes makes it just a bit harder to trust the next.
I've had a few romantic involvements in my almost 12 months in SL. All but two I have remained good friends with. It may take time, but eventually we get to a point where the friendship that came first reasserts itself and we carry on.
But two have chosen otherwise - chosen to be selfish and childish. And I'm not sure if that says more about them or about myself that I end up with such needy flawed people. These two left with no discussion - not a hint of adult behavior to be seen - and simply cut off all venues of possible contact on my end. One has continued to watch me from afar (a bit disconcerting) and ever once in a great while will let me know he is.
But essentially - once someone chooses to become lost...they are. And I find that difficult.
Forgive my melancholy mood today - I promise a much more upbeat post this weekend. Honest!
Today I am thankful for:
1. Good friends to get me through tough times.
2. Having had the friendships and relationships I've had in SL - each has taught me something and given me more.
3. The continued stretch of true spring weather - and no rain today on the school's outdoor walk-a-thon!
- Location:school
- Mood:
sad - Music:Jason Mraz
In trying (mostly in vain) to explain my addiction/obsession with SL to those who have never been in-world, I have tried to explain how SL spills over to RL in a really good way. I found after only a short time of being in-world (well ok - short time on the calendar - but it seemed like a lifetime of experiences) I was happier and more confident and relaxed in my real world interactions. I was able to take what I was learning about myself in SL - and what I was enjoying about interacting there - and applying both consciously and subconsciously to real life. I sounded like I was a junkie justifying her addiction. But I meant every word. It was just hard to explain. (Kinda like certain Beatles lyrics?)
Well...science (or what poses for science in popular culture anyway) has come to my rescue! Check out this article from Time Magazine:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8
Go on...go read...I'll wait.
No really - go read it or you won't get what I am saying the rest of the post.
...............
Back? Ok, good.
I can't believe they were able to quantify what I've known instictively from almost day one in SL.
The parts that touch on physical attractiveness are intriguing as well. I've had numerous conversations with friends in SL about the sterotypical ideal of "beauty" most avatars ascribe to. Some friends of mine deliberately craft their avatars to resemble their real-world selves - down to every lump and gray hair. But most of us don't. And I think both approaches are fine. Most people will end up with an avatar that represents their individual idea of what is attractive on some level. And being attracted to an avatar's appearance, we know we share a similar aesthetic with the soul behind the keyboard.
Personally, I deliberately created my avatar to be the same height I am in RL. Same color eyes. ONE of my (number deleted to protect the innocent) hairstyles is the same as my real hair. But the shape of her...well that is the shape I had in college. Almost exactly. And it does motivate me somewhat to work a bit harder in RL to get back to that shape. Somewhat. Maybe I need to tape a photo of my avatar to the treadmill and the fridge? That will ensure I NEVER become the walrus! *wink
Today I am thankful for:
1. Good friends who send me links to cool articles!
2. Having a student who not only got a perfect score at the State Science Fair, she also called me at home to tell me.
3. Being appreciated for who I am on some very deep levels by some really great people.
- Location:home
- Mood: contemplative
- Music:um...Beatles ... duh
As promised, I did manage to get to the park and take some pictures of spring. Today was a quintessential spring day - 60 degrees F, cloudless blue sky, very little breeze. The trees have all managed to sprout new green leaves. The colors of green are so TENDER - gentle and sweet, if those adjectives can be applied to a color. Here, see what I mean?
The one thing I can't impart to you here is the total experience - the breeze in your hair, the sun gently warming your face, the sounds of six or more different birds calling at once.
But the flowering trees? Wow - they added such unexpected punches of color! Here, take a look:
Spring flowers are among my absolute favorites. The park had planted some,
but the wildflowers are always my favorites:
I love finding the unexpected on my walks through the woods. Like two flowers alone in the middle of a sea of grass, or a stunning fungus nearly hidden on the forest floor.
As always - click em to see em big - and all 41 shots (raw off the digital) are on Flickr.
That's it today - nothing deep and insightful - just pretty pictures of spring. I think the fungus may become my next desktop image...which is your favorite?
Today I am thankful for:
1. Spring flowers and weather!
2. burgers on the grill
3. a second life full of friends to get me through days when first life is pretty sucky
- Location:home
- Mood: rejuvenated
- Music:none
(Those of you that know My RL a bit know exactly what's been sucking my time and energy the last month or so. Still no answers - but maybe soon. HUGE thanks and hugs to all of you who keep praying - it is deeply appreciated.)
Today is a day to celebrate spring and new life - traditionally a day to celebrate fertility whether you call it May Day or Beltane. (want more info? click here: http://www.theholidayspot.com/mayday/his
I always feel rather blessed to live in a climate that provides such distinct seasons. The meterological first day of spring is March 20, but for me, May 1 has always FELT like spring. Around here, it's quite likely there will be snow on the ground come March 20, and we almost always have a day or two with snow in April. But May...ahhh .... that 's when the trees have sprouted tiny, light green leaves, the flowers and flowering trees are in full bloom and the days grow warm enough to shed jackets and sweaters. A time for new beginnings and fresh starts and growth.
I'll try to get out to the park this weekend and get some pictures to share.
May is a time of transition and change for me at work as well. My 8th graders graduate and go on to high school (10 different schools this year between the 30 of them) - for them it's a time to enter into the next phase of their life - and it's my job to help guide them through it.
I've gone through a lot of changes in SL as I've noted before. I'm feeling rather settled in my current incarnation, however. Perhaps its time to consider what changes need to happen in my RL. Because there are some looming and long overdue. And I have changed in this past year - quite considerably on the inside at least.
Today I am thankful for:
1. Spring weather and flowers
2. Support of good friends
3. A functional cell phone (finally!)
- Location:school (shh!)
- Mood: contemplative
- Music:nothing but the ticking of the clock on the wall
I call it "blurring the lines" between SL and RL. I find that as much as I'd (on some level) like to keep the two very separate, I simply can't do it 100%. There are things that make me, ME. Just as there are things that I really don't see are relevant. And as I stated above, the more I know you and the closer I feel to you, the more you will learn about the RL, "atomic" me.
To each their own of course, and yes, you CAN get to know the person behind the keyboard without any RL details at all - their personality will come through no matter what. And we have the unique opportunity in SL to only show the parts of ourselves we want others to see. I don't judge anyone on their choices of where to draw the line - or where and how to blur it - just an observation.
On a much lighter note (yet still related!) content creators in SL often find amusing ways to blur the lines. Case in point is this gas station draven and I stumbled across while shopping the other day.
Now personally, I do not understand the obsession with motor vehicles in SL - it's SL people - you can FLY! But I do like my Green Turtle Sloop, so perhaps I should not protest too loudly. (Although I don't own a boat in RL and I do miss sailing so ...um....yeah.) However, this store was actually selling signs - neon and otherwise, not cars. If you can't read the red and yellow signs - click the photo to make it bigger. This place just cracked me up. I am still chuckling.
Such a fun example of "blurring the lines" and a much appreciated bit of humor.
Today I am thankful for:
1. Finally being able to open the windows in the house for fresh air!
2. Humor
3. Love
- Location:home
- Mood: amused
- Music:Norah Jones
Upon arriving home from work today I was greeted by my 11 year old saying "Mom! There's a baby squirrel on our porch!" And there was. And she'd named it Buddy. And fed it bread crumbs. It was SOOOO cute! Barely old enough to have its eyes open. He apparently fell out of the 30 foot tall maple tree in our front yard and momma squirrel was nowhere to be found.
Luckily we have a non-profit organization nearby that takes in injured wildlife and rehabilitates it. I called and they said to bring it out. So one old shoebox with holes poked in the lid, one old kitchen towel, and a 40 minute drive later we safely delivered Buddy to his new home. They'll feed him formula until he's old enough to feed himself. They said he was about 4 weeks old and seemed to be in good health. So good deed done for the day. :D
Yes, of course I took pictures first! Here ya go:
Awwwww...isn't he cute?
Today I am thankful for:
1. The wild animal rescue place!
2. A long-overdue stretch of beautiful spring weather.
3. Seeing the first flowers and flowering trees of the season today! (Both were pink!)
- Location:home
- Mood:
grateful - Music:Mark Knopfler
It's a video showing what SL looked like in its infancy - all the way back to August, 2001!
It's readily apparent that most (all?) the developers were male - the only way to terraform was to drop grenades on the ground and EVERYONE was issued a gun! LOL
There was RAIN! (But it did not discriminate between indoors and out!)
The Ators were kewl! I kinda wish those were still around to blow up. But ew....the avatars!
Anyway, as we all bitch and moan about the latest hiccups and problems with new features and new viewers and being forced to upload a newer version, maybe we should pause and see just how far we've come. I for one am grateful to all the hours LL employees spend working on such a complex interface.
This video kinda helped put things in perspective for me. Seeing what LL has accomplished in less than 7 years is pretty amazing in my view.
Enjoy!
Today I am thankful for:
1. The past 30 days.
2. The first 70 degrees F day in what seems like FOREVER!
3. My migraine is gone! :D
- Location:home
- Mood: curious
- Music:Justice: DVNO
Blitz and his kittty stopped by to chat. A few of the furries across the mountains shouted over some friendly comments and we got to meet the newest residents of the sim as they set up house on the other side of the pond.
I don't think draven had experienced anything quite like it before - he commented that he never knew there could be this kind of FUN in SL (meaning I suppose non-sexual-activity-type fun)!
The system is pretty cool - you can fish with a one-Linden rod or with a L$250 rod that lets you earn experience points as you catch fish. And yes, you actually catch FISH! And garbage (like a bikini top or an old boot). And special rare items like blueprints or tiny scuba-people. The fish (and scuba people) are wearable pets. They swim around your head or torso and emit the occasional bubble. You can set their options and even name them (via floating text). Too much fun! The more experience points you rack up the higher the level you achieve. Higher levels allow you to catch rarer fish and other items. Apparently there are fishing contests around the grid using this system and there's even a group to join so you can find out all about it.
If you look closely you can see my little scuba guy and draven's manta ray swimming round our heads. And yes that IS a replica of Stone Henge in the background - I told you Belvedere was unique! LOL
Mostly though, it was a really nice way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon - fishing on a neighbor's dock and just hanging out with friends.
If you are one of those people who just hops around the same three or four sims and maybe hits the same few stores to go shopping, you owe it to yourself to get out there and see just what SL has to offer. Like draven, you may just be amazed at what's out there!
And if you live in a place where you don't know a single neighbor - shame on you! Go introduce yourself and make some new friends. You never know - they may just put in a dock and let you fish!
Today I am thankful for:
1. Lazy Saturdays
2. Friends & Neighbors
3. draven
- Location:home
- Mood: happy
- Music:U2 - Joshua Tree
I rent a parcel on a 4-sim estate called Belvedere. It was the first place I ever lived in SL, thanks to a friend knowing someone else who lived there. He thought I'd like it and fit in, and despite only knowing me a few weeks, he was right! (Thanks Tevor!) I have moved to different parcels within the same estate, but have never left Belvedere. It truly is my SL neighborhood.
Belvedere is unique in that it caters to creative thinkers. The parcels are not square - they are irregularly shaped to fit in with the streams and hills scattered throughout. There is "neutral space" between each parcel that belongs to the estate and is generally landscaped. Natural boundaries. Creativity is encouraged, the only limit on housing being one of height so as not to restrict others' views. As a result, Belvedere is an amazing visual treat to explore - and it is always changing as people adapt or re-build their structures.
Personally I have lived in a tiki hut, a giant treehouse I built with my then-partner, a windmill on a beach, and now a cave-like grotto filled with waterfalls. I have neighbors who have lived in a giant space ship, a beanstalk that reached from the ground to above cloud level, a house anchored to the ground by a huge chain, lighthouses, a gypsy caravan, and all manner of creatively built houses and structures. Hardly a box-house to be seen.
I used the term "neighbor" because that is what the Belvedere residents truly are. I've lived there since last June and MANY have been there much longer. So people actually get to KNOW their neighbors. That was one of the goals of the owner. The funniest part for me was learning that the sim owner (who yes, also lives on the estate) lives about an hour's drive from me in RL! We are neighbors in both worlds lol. He hired me a few months ago to be the Estate Manager so I try to help him deal with any issues that come up. But those have been amazingly few - people in Belvedere are mostly just really good people!
And just like the neighborhood of my youth - people drop by each other's homes or gather from time to time at one another's places to just hang out. Or somebody may stream music and invite some neighbors over to dance. One night at my parcel, I looked around and realized I was chatting with neighbors who lived in Australia, France, the US, and England. I open my home to my friends and neighbors to use when I am not there. And they do! Some come to snuggle in the grotto, others come to just sit on my dock and watch a sunset. I love that!
One neighbor put in a fishing system that lets you actually catch fish! Another built a waterfall and beach area on some of the "public" land between plots that anyone on the sim can use. That's the other added attraction - if it benefits the whole estate, you can beautify the public land between plots. The other unique thing about Belvedere is the rent - you pay per prims used - not square meters. You can always add more prims as needed. So the plots are smaller but the creativity is through the roof! erm...sky rather - the sky is FULL of amazing things as well.
The people are as diverse as their homes. There's furry and human and elf and demon. There's gay and straight and bi. There's vanilla and bdsm. And there's every combination concievable. All living together in relative harmony on the same estate! Some pretty successful designers of various merchandise in SL also live in Belvedere - and while I'm sure at least a few could well afford a larger place or maybe their own sim, they continue to live here - and I have to believe it's due in large part to the sense of "belonging" one gets in a true neighborhood.
So for those that scoff at the idea of a metaverse, I humbly offer Belvedere as a shining example of how it can work. How SL can bring together very diverse people from all around the world. Living, loving, creating, appreciating, and just being together. We're all nighbors in the metaverse, even if half of us spell it neighbours. *wink
Today I am thankful for:
1. Belvedere!
2. Awesome neighbors!
3. having health insurance
- Location:school...shhh!
- Mood: grateful
- Music:changing classes in the hall
My school is smack in the middle of a fairly large suburb, but on wooded land. When I look out my windows, all I see is nature - and that often includes animals. Today we had a group of 5 white tailed deer stop by to forage after the long hard winter. We see deer periodically, but never so many - and they came back three times during the school day!
The reaction to the deer was universally the same - an irresistable urge to watch them and and an almost instantly awed hush. Even my principal was very excited to see them. To many in this area of Ohio the deer are pests - there are too many and they eat bark off trees and wreck havoc in gardens. But today everyone felt honored to be granted the opportunity to watch these creatures in their natural habitat. I was able to walk outside and get fairly close - probably within 12-15 meters or so (definitely withing SL talking range lol). However, my little digital camera was not really up to the task of photographing them accurately without a tripod. I got a few halfway decent shots (you can tell they're deer anyway):
** Unlike most of my pics - these do NOT look good big - they will only get grainier - sorry.
One shot turned out almost ethereal and ghost-like. These (like 95% of my pics here and on Flickr) are unretouched other than some cropping - straight off the camera.
In SL, I recently re-visited a site I had not been to since my first few weeks in SL. It's a fun little zoo on a pg sim! It's called Escapade Zoo & Safari Park. The animals are decently done for the most part and there's lots of nice places to sit and relax. There are also information boxes by many animals - if you click them you get information about that species!
Toledo has a really good zoo, but it's just been too cold and damp lately to even consider going. This virtual zoo filled the bill and even has a couple of things no RL zoo has! I've only added a few pics here - click on the link to my Flickr page on the left and you can see them all.
Some of the animals have looped anims - the koala for example wakes up and eats a few leaves then goes back to sleep (see the zzzzzz?). There's even a train to ride and a nicely landscaped garden area as well with a peacock roaming about, just like the RL zoo of my childhood had!
Go visit it today: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Apollonia/66/1
Today I am thankful for:
1. Being able to get so close to nature at my work.
2. Buds on the trees and temperatures above 50F.
3. My students pulling off a phenomenally good musical earlier tonight!
- Location:home
- Mood: tired
- Music:snoring dog
