Here Be Dragons: A Look at the Isle of Wyrm’s Steam Dragon Festival

Last weekend, the Isle of Wyrms held their "Steam Dragon Festival." What's it like when the best known dragon place on the Grid holds a big event? Bixyl Shuftan drops in to find out.

Read more in Events.

Cartoon of the Day

By Xymbers Slade

After the Storm at Podex

It was a late summer day at the Podex exchange. As usual, the tellers were doing business with customers, and chatting among themselves about events. Some talked about inworld happenings, such as the Isle of Wyrms festival and the Zindra Expo. Others talked about events in reality, such as the once in a century earthquake in the eastern United States, and Hurricaine Irene, which smashed into the East Coast. Some tellers remarked they had yet to see certain friends log inworld, “I hope they’re okay.”

About this time, one particular avatar walked in. He was dressed oddly, in skin-diving gear. His flippers smacked the floor as he made his way to the teller, who addressed him, “Um, can I help you.”

“Yes please. In real-life, I live in one of the places hit by the hurricane, and power to the bank is still out. I need to sell a few Lindens for real cash.”

“Right away, Sir.” The teller asked him how many Lindens he wanted to exchange, “Our minumum is one thousand Lindens, and our maximum 50,000 Lindens a day.” The diver gave an ammount. The teller then asked, “And is this your first transaction? If so, there’s a 48 hour waiting period for security reasons.” “No, I’ve been here before. Just not when having to deal with a flooded home.” he glanced at his flippered feet.

The teller punched some numbers, and after a minute, “All set, Sir. The Lindens have been exchanged for dollars on your account.”

“Thanks a bunch. I’ll have it up on my credit card in no time.”

“By the way, if I may ask, if your bank in real life is not yet operating, I assume the stores have yet to receive power. What do you plan to buy?”

“The hardware store nearby also sells wind-power windmills, and I need a new battery.” The avatar then flickered, “Oh squid. And my power just - “ the sentence was never finished as the avatar was cut off in mid-sentence, and moments away faded away into the cloud of particles of someone going offline.

The teller stared at where the avatar was, and after a few moments, went back to business.

The Podex Exchange is located at Moonbeam (26, 223, 34), with a website at http://www.podex.info/ . Jacek Shuftan is the CEO.

Bixyl Shuftan

Xymbers Slade Offline due to Irene

Both Gemma Cleanslate and I were in the path of Hurricane Irene, but didn't lose power for too long. For Xymbers Slade however, I got an email from him via a computer outside his home. It seems part of his block was knocked offline, and the power company considers it a low-priority area. When he'll get power back, he's not sure.

"Not happy. Not happy at all. "

Hopefully he'll have it up soon. In the meantime, a follow-up to his "8-Bit Area" story is up today, and he has a couple cartoons to be published later.

Events this Week in Second Life from August 30th to Sept 5th

August changes to September this month, and with it, some last chances for summer fun. From DJ music parties at clubs to talk shows to races, one can find a variety of events in Second Life, some of which we've listed.

Read more in Events.

Behind the 8-Bit Area

Xymbers Slade recently went back to the 8-Bit Area and Electrobit City, a tribute to the days of Nintendo, to meet up with the two people behind the build: Jei Desoto and Kris Spade. The two were willing to sit down for an interview, and explain a few things about how the places came to be.

Read more in Design.

NOAA Island - Virtual Weather

With Hurricane Irene in the news recently, I decided to take another look at a place I first reported on a few years ago, NOAA island. Set up in the Meteora sim, the sim is set up to educate residents about weather and ocean science, in ways that are often entertaining.


Read more in Places.

Quark Allen DJs at United for Change

From 12 to 2 PM on Sunday August the 28th, DJ Quark Allen performed his trance tunes at the Eternalis sim for the "United for Change" fundraiser for Kenyan children. At 12:25, Lalabel Demina announced a total of more than 109,000 L had been raised. 100 Lindens was enough to buy a meal, so this was enough for 1090 meals.

The event would go on until 5 PM. SL Newser hadn't heard what the final total raised was.

Ludo Merit and the Prism Walk

Netera Landar recently talked to a Ludo Merit, one whom had created a unique exhibit: the Prism Hero Walk. "Because we are all heroes," Ludo told, "and each of these steps is a step in the life of a hero."

Read more in People.

Everlasting Kiss Furniture

I first ran into Eve Quintessa a few years ago. A woman interested in photography and pictures, she set up a photo and graphics studio named “Graphics by Eve.” More recently, she has expanded her talents by getting into building. The store where to find her wares: Everlasting Kiss Furniture.

Dropping in using the landmark I was given, for the Phoenix Delectable sim, I appeared in a small gazebo. Stepping inside, I found Eve helping out someone, “... Oh and lemme give you a little sneak peek. The new group gift is coming out on Monday. But I'll give you a copy today. . The adirondack chair in red, white & blue. Thank you so much for being such a good customer!” “Thanks a bunch,” the other girl smiled, “I’m going to go set it out now.” “Thank you so much for being such a good customer! ... If you have any issues, just let me know!

Once her business with the customer was done, Eve turned to me, saying business was good, “It's picking up. She bough some custom furniture. ... liked her custom sofa. ... She's a good customer - bought out almost the whole downstairs!”

Eve’s partner dropped by, and she introduced me to him: Ramses Hansome. Ramses felt the items in the store would be of extra appeal to those “who enjoy beach living, people with beach homes. We have all the right furniture for them.” Eve added, “People who like casual living - but still want more than just beach chairs. A lot of people have commented on the textures we've used.”

Eve showed me around a little. In the southwest corner of the store’s ground floor was the bedroom department, with a number of beds and other furniture of for sale. But what most people would see first would be the “Shabby Chic” section in the middle part of the store, with well-built items that were both fairly low on both prims and price. Upstairs were some accessories. There was also a “coming soon” display of what set Eve would soon have for sale.

Near the front desk was a weekly promotional sale item at half off for a week, when I visited a “Backyard Party Set” with a deck patio, fencing, lights, deck chairs and table, a bench with couples poses, and a hurricane lamp & potted tree. The whole set was 149 L for the week. For those in the store group, with the cute tite “Addicted to Kissing” (try wearing that at certain clubs ;-) ), there are weekly gifts for members. One can pick them up either next to the front desk or on the front deck next to the sign.

Eve also offers plants and gardening items for sale. To the south of the store, down a path from the gazebo, is the greenhouse and garden center. For a few Lindens, one can get gardening tools, pots, and indivudual plants. You can also get herbal gardens or a while greenhouse for 200 Lindens.

To the west of the EK Furniture store is the Graphics by Eve Photography and Graphic Design Studio. Eve continues to run the studio, taking professionally done pictures. There are numerous displays of her work here, including a few partial nudes. Eve says one of her favorite subjects is Halloween, and plans on doing a number of shoots in October.

West of the studio and near the shore is the barn. Currently it is empty, but Eve plans to make good use of it in the future. For now, it serves as decoration for the area outside the store. Much of the sim has been set up not for shopping, but for a relaxed countrside look, with water lapping at the shoreline.

Eve Quintessa has a Flikr page up, with pictures of both her furniture plus examples of her studio shots. The store also has it’s own blog page, showing the latest goods for sale and the latest deals.

So for quality furniture, especially for the outdoors, and maybe a relaxing stroll in the fields once the shopping is over, stop by Eve Quintessa’s Everlasting Kiss Furniture store.

Everlasting Kiss Furniture Store is at Phoenix Delectable (179, 156, 27)

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Youtube: Check It Out - BURN2 - 2011 is coming!

Here is the Machinima for Burn2 2011 by Chantal Harvey and Patrick Faith

Cartoon of the Day

By Xymbers Slade

For those who don't know, a "facelight" is an attachment in Second Life to make the face of one's avatar look slightly brighter and a little easier to see when the light is getting dim (doesn't work if your av is too different from human).

Looks like this girl tried to tweak the settings and got a little too much. ;-)

A Brief Outtage, but Made It

I managed to stay online longer than I expected. Ended up losing power, but only for a few hours.

So, still in business.

The hurricane didn't seem to do much to my own house, a few branches off the trees. But there was still some damage around the area, and still thousands without power on the east coast. But like with Isabelle a few years ago, it'll be fixed.

Bixyl Shuftan

SL Youtube: Avination's Aniversary

Remember the A1B Aniversary at the Avination Grid? The A-Team later published a youtube of their event.



They also have some photos of the celebration on their Flickr account Here.

I noticed one of the A-Team, Zandzum, was going about in a clown suit. But no one "pittied the fool." ;-)

United for Change

This weekend, there's a charity event aimed at helping children in Africa. A number of musicians and others are donating their time and talent. Among them Quark Allen, whom plays from 12-2PM. There are also games, poetry & story readings, and African fashion shows.

"Join the festivities and help out a good cause at United for Change, a charity event for the nonprofit Live and Learn in Kenya held Aug. 27-28 in Second Life. Have fun and experience live deejays, concerts, art and photo exhibits and more! Schedule and more info at: http://unitedforchange.no-ip.fr."

The event, which will last until Sunday, August 28th, is at the Eternalis sim (139, 221, 22)

Beth Odets Fiddling on the Grid Again

Just before 2PM on Friday August 26th yesterday, Beth Odets made a group announcement that she would be performing music in a few minutes. She would be playing at the Oceanus aquatic club. The response in the group was full of cheers and praises, "Yay!" "Yay Beth!" Beth was clearly in good spirits, poking fun at her recent surgery, "This'll be the first time since my brain drain."


Heading over to Oceanus, the club was quickly getting filled. It was clear Beth's fans had missed her. The cheers continued, and the crowd both eagerly awaited her music and expressed well-wishes for a continued recovery.

Welcome back to Second Life, Beth.

Bixyl Shuftan

The Storm

Well, as I type this, Hurricaine Irene is smashing it's way onto the East Coast. While it's expected to weaken somewhat, it's still a powerful storm, and it's still iffy about keeping electric power. I went ahead and uploaded a few stories ahead of time, so that will keep the paper updated for a while.

I've had a number of people wishing me well through this mess. To them, thank you for keeping me in your thoughts. Hopefully I'll manage without trouble.

And to my friend whom wished I could just sprout wings and fly away, well, I remembered this picture I took at the NOAA sim a while back. If the hurricane had been a Category 4 or 5, I would have gotten out like a bat out of ... heck. But it's not, so while things may be a little rough, I'll be fine.

Bixyl Shuftan

Zindra Expo Starts Today

From today Friday August 26 to Sunday September 4rth, the 2011 Zindra Expo, "The Forbidden Carnival," will be taking place. Taking place over eight days and four sims, there are numerous events, some taking advantage of the adult rating of the region.

The expo is set up in the sims Girenzi, Jaraded, Tramboyn, and Distrel. To get there, head to the entrance at Distrel (194, 62, 57), where you can pick up a guide to the event.

There are many kinds of events here, from live music performances, to build contests, fashion shows, lectures and discussions, celeberty guest appearances, and of course dance parties. This being Zindra, many (but not all) the events deal in adult topics.

To get around, there are goofy cars, elephant rides, sailboats for the waterways, balloons, space shuttle rides, and "forbidden float" rides. Between events, one can pick up clothes and, er-um, toys, grab freebie clothes and a corndog, ride a ferris wheel, go on bubbles and pirate rides, go to a "fight club," and more.

And yes, the Zyndra Expo has a hotel, with the rooms having beds.

The Zyndra Expo also wanted to give a chance for businesses to advertise here. SL Newser and it's music sponsor KVXN Radio have small advertising booths here.

So for those interested in an event on the wilder side of Second Life, the Zindra Expo is worth a look. The event goes on until September 4rth.

Bixyl Shuftan.

The Approaching Storm

Hurricaine Irene continues to bear down on the East Coast in real life, and it looks like much of the country, including my real life home, is in it's path.

While I'm hoping not to lose power, its more likely I'll be without Internet access for some time.

Yours truly is busy getting ready, but am uploading a few things ahead of time to keep things updating. Hopefully the down time will be short, or even better none.

Bixyl Shuftan

Mars Institute Island and the SEEDS Project

Grey Lupindo took a recent trip to the Sci-Lands for a little interplanetary exploration. First was the Mars Institute, which informs people about current study and plans for future exploration of the red planet. Then she looked at the SEEDS Project, which is aimed at creating self-sustaining communities in space

Read more in Places.

IOW Fall Festival 2011 - Celebrating the Steam Dragon

These festivals are held to raise money for The creator of Isles of Wyrms (Daryth Kennedy) favorite charity, as well as our events fund.
St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in the UK - http://www.sttiggywinkles.org.uk/

Games and trains and Rides area - ongoing fun
Trains, Games, and Rides, Tir na Nog (131, 121, 1500)

Fishing Contests - times to be announced

Maze of Doom - ongoing fun
Isle of Wyrms, Cave Maze, Tir na Nog (163, 152, 79)

Keiko's Archade Game - ongoing fun (Top Scores at end of fest to receive IOW avatar Certificate)

Vendor booths Area - ongoing

GEAR Hunt - Aug 25th 12:01am - 11:59 pm 28th
(results to be announce 29th or 30th)


Thur August 25th:
12:01 am (00:01) - GEAR Hunt for all - sponsered by
C.O.O.K.I.E.S. vs Secret Council of Hatchlings

11:00 Festival Opening Comments -
Mayor Cora and Onix Harbinger

12pm Charity Auction Opening

12pm POL Arida - Live in concert
Concert Venue, Hedgetopia (170, 14, 502)
Isle of Wyrms, Concert Venuem Cathedral (165, 237, 502)

5pm Songbird1028 Sorbet - LIVE Concert
Concert Venue, Hedgetopia (170, 14, 502)
Isle of Wyrms, Concert Venuem Cathedral (165, 237, 502)

Friday August 26th:

2pm - Kinagree - Smith - live concert
Concert Venue, Hedgetopia (170, 14, 502)
Isle of Wyrms, Concert Venuem Cathedral (165, 237, 502)

4pm - Steam Powered Drum Circle - DJ Daekar
Trains, Games, and Rides, Tir na Nog (131, 121, 1500)

Saturday August 27th:

12pm - Thea and The Greenman - Live concert
Concert Venue, Hedgetopia (170, 14, 502)

Isle of Wyrms, Concert Venuem Cathedral (165, 237, 502)

2pm - Steam Powered Festival Ball - DJ Edger
Trains, Games, and Rides, Tir na Nog (131, 121, 1500)

Sunday August 28th:

12 pm - Close of Charity Auction (results to be announced by the following day)
12:30pm - Ganjo Mokeev - Live Concert
Concert Venue, Hegetopia (170, 14, 502)
Isle of Wyrms, Concert Venuem Cathedral (165, 237, 502)

2pm - JaNa KYoMooN - live concert
Concert Venue, Hegetopia (170, 14, 502)
Isle of Wyrms, Concert Venuem Cathedral (165, 237, 502)


3pm - closing comments and festival end fireworks
Concert Venue, Hegetopia (170, 14, 502)


11:59pm - Gear hunt Closes


Thank you to all who helped make this Festival a reality and for all the support of our community and to St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital...Without YOU this would not be possible.

A Gathering Of Friends

They called it "A Gathering of Friends at Bowery Beach" and it was dedicated to a woman who is known and respected by all. Her name is Beth Odets and if you follow her solo and streaming duets you know she's a talented violinist with a wonderful sense of humor.

On Monday, Aug. 22, Odets was admitted into the hospital to have brain surgery. Rock Doghouse and a sim full of devoted friends, and her brother, gathered to show their love and support. Updates were given throughout the night.

On an impressive stage, when I received my invite from Jackson Sharpshire, was Matthew Perreault, Odets real-life buddy and SL partner. The only way to describe what we were all experiencing was connected. Connected to the people who love her and connected to her to show our support.


Musicians took turns performing. Up next were KevinMThomas Carpool and Edward Lowell. Following them were Bat Masters and Steely Decosta. The songs, as well as the many texted comments, were very touching.

The next morning, I learned from Sharpshire that Beth, Rock and other friends were skyping with Odets via phone shortly after she awoke.

Netara Landar

*Editor's Note* I was able to drop in thanks to Netara, and it was quite an event. The grounds in front of the stage were truly packed. One line that stood out was Rock Doghouse saying, "Thanks everyone for being here for Beth... she knows everyone is here and says thank you and loves ya... she is going into surgery right now... drafty hospital gown and all (grin)."

How to Create a New Avatar With a Surname

The “Prim Perfect” newsletter has a useful tip if you want to create a new account with a last name chosen from a list. One can through a third-party portal: the New Media Consortium portal. Saffia Widdershins, who wrote the article, credits the tip to Whirly Fizzle. She thought there were similar portals to the Grid where one could also get an account with a surname, but wasn’t aware of them yet. For now, “if I meet someone who wants to try out Second Life, I’m going to be pointing them here as their starting point.” The list of surnames she thought was a bit small, but still it was a choice.

Saffia (and presumably many others) feel the tip is a necessity because getting stuck with the generic last name of “Resident” is undesirable to many, “why is Linden Lab still insisting on something that a large number of existing residents hate, and which is causing misery and confusion for new residents – and landing them with something that may well prove a burden to them for much of their Second Lives?” Others, such as Ceejay Writer and Arwyn Quandry, have expressed similar opinions, feeling Linden Lab’s new naming system permanently labeled these accounts as noobs. Ceejay commented with older shopkeepers jittery of theft might be quick to conclude “Resident” avatars are copybotters and ban them for no other reason.

Bringing up her question, Hamlet Au commented, “Interestingly, I've talked to several Lindens past and present about the topic, and they don't like the new system either. But it may be too late to change, or too far done the priority list to change it any time soon.”

There is a JIRA requesting that Linden Labs at least make last names for new accounts an option again. As of this article, so far it has over 1200 votes.

Sources: Prim Perfect, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Reader Submitted: Cartoon of the Day

From OraSine Resident (Jasmine Dawn), me sitting with the lady in New Babbage for few cups of coffee. Looks like she has some creative ways of settling a bill.

The Relay for Life 2011 Wrap-Up Party

Last Saturday, the "Seasons of Hope" fundraising season for the Relay for Life came to a close. The Relayers marked the day with a "Wrap-Up" party, giving out awards to those who distinguished themselves. Plus the theme for next year was announced.

Read more in People.

Mesh is Here

Tuesday was the day mesh was finally introduced across the Grid. Contrary to what a few friends expected, it didn’t mean Viewer 1.23 and third-party viewers were suddenly blocked. Instead, Second Life went on more or less as before. The weekend did seem a bit glitchy at times.

The Linden forums have a post about some of the more technical details, from Oskar Linden. On the Blog, there was this:

Today, mesh technology is available gridwide in Second Life. All SL users can now benefit from mesh technology, no matter what you do or where you are inworld. If you shop, be sure to check out items built using mesh — they can sit alongside everything else you own and love in SL, but often look superslick, and may have greater detailing or design than a similar item built without mesh. If you build, mesh is another option to help you access unlimited creativity. All the other traditional SL building options are still intact, we’ve just added to your toolkit. If you sell things, selling objects created using mesh is one way to diversify your offering. If you own land, well-made mesh objects can be used to increase efficiency and maintain optimum performance on your parcel. Make sure you use the new Viewer to view and upload mesh objects correctly; older viewers will not render objects created with mesh correctly. Please check with third-party viewers; mesh support may vary.

Going about a little, Second Life appeared like it has lately. A bit laggy, but nothing new that I noticed. Everything rezzed if given time. For about the past couple weeks, I have seen a few womens’ boots appear a bit scrambled, but when I asked a friend about one, she told me they were several months old, and definately not Mesh.

And so, Mesh is finally here. But life on the Grid goes on as before.

Sources: Linden Blog, Linden Forums

New Sponsor

Second Life Newser is happy to announce a sponsorship from Steelhead City, a Steampunk-themed region which has been making a name for itself through it's Relay for Life efforts, in addition to it's over-the-top events.

"Not exactly the West that you were expecting. Welcome to the world of Gaslamp Fantasy. Steelhead City, in addition to cowboys, is home to Moon Elves, a woman who's half cat, mad scientists and crazed inventors, a werewolf sheriff....and that's just the city council members."

Current sims: Steelhead City, Steelhead Harborside, Steelhead Boomtown, Steelhed Port Harbor, Steelhead Shanghai, Steelhead St. Helens, Steelhead Nevermoor

To get to the Steelhead Visitors Center, head to Steelhead (83, 251, 26)

Events this Week in Second Life from August 23rd to August 29th

August is coming to a close, but the events in Second Life never end. From the various music clubs and their parties (probably more than a few beach parties with this being late summer), to talk shows, to book and poetry readings, and more. Also, this upcoming weekend is the Zindra Expo.


Read more in Events.

Weather Alert

It's late August, which is about the time a hurricane sometimes drops in where I live. And this year, there's one headed in my general direction. A category 3, the last time one got close to my home, power was out for a week. A more direct hit, well, I could be out of commision for a while.

Hopefully the storm will turn out to sea, but things could get a bit touch-and-go in the next few days.

Bixyl Shuftan

Relay for Life Raises $375,000, Breaks Record

Relay For Life, the signature fundraising event of the American Cancer Society, has once again shattered records in Second Life.

Less than halfway through the 2011 Relay season, the Relay For Life of Second Life had already raised more than one million dollars all-time.

At the Wrap-Up Party on Saturday, August 20, 2011 Event Chair MamaP Beerbaum proudly announced that the seventh Relay For Life of Second Life had set a new season fundraising record of US$375,000, had a record number of 140 teams, and a record number of over 3,000 relayers.

This year’s theme was ‘Seasons of Hope’ and was the largest to date, with a track lined by luminaria winding through 41 sims of amazing builds representing the different seasons. Some 2,140 avatars completed one or more laps, a combined total of 3,486 laps, and visited the campsites and the designer sims. And 4,817 luminaria were lit in support of loved ones going through treatment, and in memory of those heroes who have passed on.

Speaking to committee and team members and volunteers at the Wrap-Up Party, MamaP Beerbaum said: ‘WOW, What a wonderful Relay we had! From Kick-Off in March to Relay Weekend in July, you all worked non-stop, with a passion and commitment that never wavered!

‘As I think back on this season, I am in awe of so many things. We broke so many records. We took the theme ‘Seasons of Hope’ to places we never thought it would go. And we brought it to life on 41 sims creating a breathtaking experience for all who found their way there. And most importantly we proved that we really can work together as One Team!

‘Thank you for giving me the honor of being your chair. Thank you for showing the world that SL is a good place, and that in this Second Life of ours, we CAN make a difference.’

Stingray9798 Raymaker ( in real life Jeff Montegut, the American Cancer Society representative in Second Life) said: ‘It makes me the proudest person in the whole ACS office to represent the coolest people on the planet!’

Spirit of Relay

The ‘Spirit of Relay’ individual award went this year to Daaneth Kivioq. Announcing the award, last year’s winner Ember Farina said: ‘The Individual Spirit of Relay is awarded to the individual that embodies the 'Spirit of the Relay' and takes into consideration the 'spirit' of the individual, how they embraced Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society Mission, and the enthusiasm displayed.’

This year, just as Relay was kicking into high gear, Daaneth suffered a debilitating stroke. Ember said: ‘His motivation for a fast recovery was actually Relay for Life! He worried so much about his team that he came back in world before he could even read or type; they all used voice to communicate with him to ensure that the team would keep moving forward.’

Nevar Lobo, co-captain of last year’s winner of the ‘Spirit of Relay’ team award, announced this year's team winner Team OD, followed by Steelhead Salmons in second place and Team Caledon in third place.

For a complete list of Wrap-Up Awards see: http://rflofsl.blogspot.com/2011/08/final-award-winners.html

For more pictures from the Wrap-Up Party see http://www.flickr.com/photos/ishtarskiss/.

Looking ahead

Looking ahead to 2012 MamaP Beerbaum announced that she would be continuing as Event Chair, supported by this year’s Co-Chair Dwen Dooley and new Co-Chair Nikki Mathieson. Nikki, who has been relaying in Second Life since 2007 and was this year’s Event Day area chair, said: ‘It is a tremendous honor to be invited to be a Co-Chair and I really look forward to the upcoming season.’ Her message to Relayers was ‘Keep relaying all winter... Do that by bringing someone... anyone... even if it's just one person who doesn't know about us... to ACS Island and let them know we're here... in SL. Tell them about our RFL season and get them watching for that kick off in the spring... invite them to it... get them excited and enthused to jump onboard with us.’

The Kick-Off for RFL of SL 2012 will be on March 10, 2012. Next year’s theme will be ‘Time for a Cure’. And the clock is already ticking!

Discussion on Respect of Intellectual Property at Sojourner Auditorium

Intellectual Property Respect
Presented by: Zinnia Zauber

Monday, August 22, 2011
12pm SLT/PDT and repeated at 6pm SLT/PDT
The Sojourner Auditorium, Virtual Ability Island (53, 172, 23)


Learn about how protecting and respecting Intellectual property makes us all successful and safe.
*** viewer 2 or compatible viewer recommended ***


Presenter Bio: I am an artist, instructor, and superhero (arts advocate) promoting the importance of creative education and community.

I am a college instructor and arts advocate promoting the importance of creative education and community participation in the arts that are active and inclusive. My superpower is expression through color.
I teach with the University of Washington Virtual Worlds program, Peninsula College, Nonprofit Commons, and my own smart art instruction.

Voice and text.

Abbots Areodrome Saved From Closing by New Owner

Recently, SL Newser heard about Abbots Aerodrome being saved from vanishing from the Grid. To begin with, Abbots is thought to be the second oldest airport in Second Life. It was founded in January 2004, and has gone through several reconstructions and expansions, spreading out, and upwards. The current aerodrome has four levels and takes up the majority of the sim.

Earlier this month, the owner Cubey Terra announced on the SL Universe forum that the place would be closing on September 1st. After seven and a half years, he was a “old and tired avatar” whom wanted to retire. The news was greeted with sadness on the forum and elsewhere. Even those with little interest in air activities didn’t like hearing about a place enjoyed by so many for so long coming down.

Fortunately, Cubey was willing to sell the place. And a few days ago a Cheshyr Pontchartrain announced he was making arrangements to buy the place, “The airport name and vendors will change, per Cubey’s request, but the airport will remain open to the public, and give new airplane makers a chance to spread their wings.”

Dropping by the place, it truly was a sight. On the ground level, I could see an automated airliner go down the runway and climb into the air. An elevator took me to the top floor where there was a small social area for anyone taking a rest, plus a shopping area that included transforming plane/robots and flying battlesuits, and even suit helmets for furry avatars. The top floor had four smaller platforms in each direction, two for skydiving, and two for blimps. There was a blimp for sale, but it was available for demo rides up in the sky where one could fly at a slow, leisurely pace.

And that’s just one floor, obviously there’s much more, and a must-see for pilots and anyone else whom loves flying, parachuting, and other aireal activities. When Daniel Voyager did a “Top Ten Airports” in Second Life, Abbot’s Aerodrome was near the top.

One catch is that all names owned by Cubey Terra are to be removed from the airport, including “Abbots Aerodrome,” once the place changes hands. Cheshyr is still open to ideas for a new name, “I’m thinking something involving Costello’s. (grin)”

Daniel Voyager and New World Notes also have articles about Abbots Areodrome. One can find more information on the Second Life Wikia entry too. Cuby Terra's post on the potential closure showed the airport throughout the years.

The entrance to Abbots Areodrome is at Abbots (163, 147, 71).

Bixyl Shuftan

Burn2 Announcement

BURN 2 selects art and theme camps from submissions.

Burning Man- Deep Hole, August 20, 2011 - As BURN2 starts up, one of the most looked forward to pre-BURN announcements of the selections for juried theme camps and art plots. BURN2 follows the BURNING MAN 10 principles and gifts plots on the virtual ePlaya to groups who have submitted proposals to the BURN2 Art Team. These groups will be amazing us, engaging us, and energizing the ePlaya with their work Oct 1 - 9 when BURN2 opens Gate Road!

So with a textual drum roll we would like to announce the selectees for the 2011 BURN2 Burn!

*Cosmic Circusality* by The ChangHigh Sisters Fireshow of Light, Life and Love, Yman Juran

*TRANSITORY THRESHOLDS*, Caro Fayray

*Skelly-Mer*, Maya Paris

*Verismo*, Cienega Soon

We are very excited to see what these camps and art installations look like! We aren’t giving out exactly what these camps will be..just that we think they will be amazing!

We want to thank EVERYONE who submitted an application for one of the plots. Your ideas ARE AMAZING. You made it incredibly difficult! We want to encourage you to grab your own plot now and build that camp! If you need sponsors to get that plot please reach out to us info@burn2.org and we will give you a few suggestions!

There is a BIG announcement still to come..who are the Invited Artists of the BURN???!! What ART has the ART team found in SL, new discoveries, new expressions, things that make you laugh, cry, weep, or put on your dust mask? Stay tuned..that announcement is coming shortly!

About BURN2: BURN2 follows BURNING MAN’s 10 Principles to spread Burning Culture through volunteerism and the celebration of Community, Art, and Fire on the virtual ePlaya. A place for SL residents and Burners alike to radically participate in one of the most loved events in Second Life.

Contact:

Emcee Widget

BURN2 Communications

info@burn2.org

www.burn2.org

Cartoon of the Day: Why Griefers Hate Furries

The 8-Bit Area

Xymbers Slade recently was at "The 8-Bit Area," a tribute to the days of Nintendo. Starting out at a seemingly abandoned place, it led to another, which had a portion one could play around much like the game

Read more in Places.

*Addition* Article changed after Xymbers sent more details

SLCC 2011: Game Mechanics, and Rod Humble’s Speech

Events last weekend, real life and in Second Life, kept me away from the Second Life Community Convention inworld. Daniel Voyager described attendance as “around 15 – 50+ at any given time during the weekend and i’m sure at Oakland there was a good attendance number.“ Daniel wrote several in-depth articles and posts on the event, such as this one for videos and pictures.

New World Notes also had a few articles. Among them, that it was announced in a keynote panel that game mechanics would be introduced as part of the experience for new users. Hamlet Au called this announcement “easily the most important of the panel, because the lack of a game-like structure is a key part of the confusion that causes almost all new SL users to feel frustrated and aimless, and subsequently, quit shortly after installing the client.”

"Second Life is not a game," spoke Executive Producer Michael "Gez Linden" Gesner during the panel, "However... you can use game mechanics and game systems to help people become more comfortable in Second Life... we're trying to get people over that initial hurdle."

The Linden team “now has specialty roles for specific varieties of SL content.”

Art - Durian Linden - durian@lindenlab.com
Gaming & Breedables - Gez Linden - gez@lindenlab.com
Roleplaying - Esbee Linden - esbee@lindenlab.com
Adult - Charlar Linden - charlar@lindenlab.com
Education - Geo Linden - geo@lindenlab.com
Music - Nya Linden - nya@lindenlab.com
Fashion- Cassanda Linden - cassandra@lindenlab.com

Hamlet Au also noted that ironically enough, people at the convention weren’t on Second Life that much while there,”this is the first one where I noticed a serious lack of SLCC attendees logged into SL.” Instead they were using social media sites such as Facebook. His readers responded that iPhones were easier to carry than the computers they felt logging onto the Grid needed, plus “not being able to plug into power means your battery is dead fairly quickly.”

The highlight was Linden Labs’ CEO Rod Humble (Rodnik Linden) giving his keynote address. Last year, Philip Linden dropped a bombshell when he announced the Teen Grid would be merged with the main one. Nothing so dramatic was announced this time, though there were a few subjects of interest.


A recording of Linden Lab's CEO Rod Humble/Rodvik Linden, giving his keynote address, taken last weekend at 1PM Aug 13th.

Rod committed himself to becoming more experienced with getting around on the grid, “this first time addressing you, (it’s) as a relative newb. Hopefully this time next year ... I’ll be a little more experienced.” He noted Second Life was getting 16,000 new sign-ups every day, “something that many games would kill for.” Talking about the “why people go in” Second Life, he admitted he couldn’t really put a finger on it. He felt this mystery was part of it’s charm. He went on to say that when he first came to Linden Lab, he had the impression Second Life was much like “the Sims.” He quickly found out it wasn’t like that at all, “everything created by others. ... everyone creates, even if it’s just relationships.” On the issue of “the point” of Second Life, he felt it was the need for people to create, “the creativity is what makes us human.”

He talked about such creativity being shared, and another important role being identity and being about to “segregate” the different roles one has. He commented he was “disturbed” by the rise of certain social networks which did not recognize any right to privacy of any of these roles. He commented that people act differently when they go to church from when they go to a sporting event, and admitted being part of an online soccer forum where he expressed a very different side of himself with his “obscenity-laden rants.”

Rod also expressed the goal for the company to give the family members of each a Second Life account, “right now, we’re about halfway through that project.”

Rod stated that Linden Lab planned to work more on region crashes in the Grid, “less features, more on fixes.”For the rest of the year, they would put a little more focus on costumer service, addressing concerns, and the lag. He talked about the quality of service. He also brought of the subject of griefers, wanting to “make life unpleasant for griefers, in an inhumane way.” Rod also mentioned improvements to Premium accounts, with new features added.

He also took questions via 3x5 notecards from the audience, and answered some. One of the first was about protecting content creators. Rod answered that “we have several plans.” He mentioned some new products, involving tablets, saying “sales of desktop (computers) had fallen flat.” Linden Lab would be working on products besides Second Life.

He mentioned Second Life was getting more new users these days. But they were not showing up on the Grid like before. They were different in that they were spending less time logged on, and spending more time socializing. He mentioned tools on the horizon, such as facial recognition and voice recognition. He commented at one point about “Second Life a killer ap for education. ... Best we can do is support. ... It is not for Linden Lab or me to push it’s users into a direction.”

Of Viewer 2, Rod commented that the Lindens didn’t want to annoy their customers, and if some residents didn’t want to use Viewer 2, that was “fair enough.” But they had worked a lot on the viewer, with new features in the codebase, and just couldn’t give it up. But Rod was willing to work on further improvements, adding more features from Viewer 1.

He mentioned getting a Twitter account, saying the only reason he got one was because residents has asked him to, “the best way to get in touch with me is through my profile ... or message me on Twitter.”

Of clothes being affected by long rezz times and lag, Rod seemed to be saying the improvements being worked on would be through Mesh.

A few times, Rod was asked about land pricing. Each time, he refused to answer, “I’m not going to be talking about that.”

He talked about the “new user experience,” saying the destination guide had been a big help, and the Lab would work on further improvements. He talked of setting up some newbie areas where they could go to chat.

One interesting point was when one of the audience asked about if the Lindens would bring back Community Gateways. Rod, admitting his unfamiliarity, asked, “what are those?” Someone explained they were branded web portals from a few years ago. Rod responded, “That’s a great idea. What happened to them?” The audience enjoyed a few chuckles of the CEO’s “noob status.”

Rod stated at one point that no other major companies had tried to duplicate what Second Life has, “except maybe Google.” Someone asked if Linden Lab was planing to “once again go overseas.” Rod answered they would. He talked about “localizing in languages,” such as Russian and Thai.

Daniel Voyager and Hamlet Au also have articles about Rod Humble's address. Others whom have posted about the SLCC include Modem World by Inara Pey, Ciaran Laval, and the Betterverse.

Sources: Daniel Voyager, New World Notes

Bixyl Shuftan

Sunweaver Landlady's Real-Life Family Suffers Tragedy

The following was sent as group notices yesterday and today for the Sunweavers.

Rita's RL sister's and her RL nephew and his family, GF, daughter and son, die in fire, this past Tuesday morning. Only one boy survives after jumping from second story window. Here is the link to the news: http://www.fox2now.com/news/ktvi-8-year-old-dies-two-days-after-fatal-fire-20110818,0,5069209.story

It appears there was a working fire detector in the house and it went off. Lauren (mother), perhaps Cameron too, were attempting to get the kids out of the house, but were overcome by the smoke, during the attempt. Only Dominic made it to safety. Sabine and Daaneth McGettigan are collecting for my sister and her loss, if you wish to donate to help out.

Railway Sidetrip

Gemma's back riding the rails, but this story is about a little sidetrip she took. She went from rail to ferry to a local drilling rig. But what was the drill drilling? Gemma found a surprise.

Read more in Places.

Interview with Daaneth McGettigan (Daaneth Kivioq)

Recently, Second Life Newser had a chance to interview the co-captain of the Relay for Life Passionate Redheads team, Daaneth McGettigan (account name Daaneth Kivioq). Daanaeth talked about how he joined Second Life and the Relay, some of the history of the Passionate Redheads, his recent stroke, and his sim which has been the location of a number of Relay events.

Read more in People.

Relay for Life Wrapup Party

This Saturday, the "Seasons of Hope" Relay for Life season officially comes to an end. All from the various teams, and their friends, are invited to the Florida Keys sim for the "Wrap-Up" party. From 3-4 PM SL time is live music from Damian Carbenell. at 4 PM, T1 Radio takes over the tunage. And at 4:30, the Awards Ceremony begins.

August 20th, at 3PM SL time