Last Day For The Fantasy Faire

 

 It's the last day of the Fantasy Faire, and the last day in which you'll be able to enjoy the Fairelands for this year before they close to the general public. One can do a little sightseeing, like I did.

 

There are also impromptu events and gatherings. I missed the Centaur Parade, but I did catch a "Mad Dragon Party" at the Fairechylde following a dragonflight.

 

 I continued to come across avatars of all kinds. 

 

I would end up doing the rest of the quest, finding the last of the ingredients ...

 

 And after finishing the ritual, one flash of light, and the quest was complete. 

 

 And a trip to the final area to get the prizes. 

 

Enjoy the last day of the Faire,

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Echovets Gateway For Veteran Newcomers Now Open

 

 

 Last month, the Newser reported that Echovets had been granted a gateway sim by Linden Lab, the first and so far the only one to be aimed at newcomers who are military veterans. But it had been an empty sim that needed to be built on. A few days ago, Echovets' leader, Stacy Lee (Stacy Maracas), informed me the gateway was now open for newcomers, the construction of it's buildings completed. 

"Here at Echo Group Band of Brothers Gateway, we know how overwhelming Second Life can be when you first rezz in.  We went out of our way to ensure our uniformed service residents, their families and supporters, not only receive the knowledge of being a new resident, but also interactive everything for hands on learning as well.  We feel that it will make new residents want to stay in Second Life and keep learning more."

Stacy described herself as exhausted, but proud of what the sim had become and now had to offer. There was a newcomer orientation area where one could learn the basics on how to get about Second Life. But there was more. There was a mall area. There was a golf course. There was a bumper boats pool. There was a sandbox. There was a picturesque garden. There was a firepit welcome area. And more. 

 

One place Stacy was particularly proud of was the Echovets Bike Track. Located over the sim, it offered a long track that would take some time for motorcycles, or perhaps cars or horses, to make their way up to the end. It offered occasional signs and other scenery along the track, sometimes funny, sometimes serious.

A valuable asset for military veterans new to Second Life.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Echo%20Group%20Welcome/15/239/25

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Linden Lab's Buyout Now Official, Second Life Listed As Part Of Waterfield Network

 
Almost unnoticed at the end of Linden Lab's announcement that the move of Second Life's data to Cloud servers was now complete was an announcement of another kind. When the Lab announced the agreement with a group of investors to be acquired in July, it was mentioned the deal required the approval of the US Government. At the end of Tuesday's announcement, it was stated the approval was finally granted after a review. The big reason for the approval was Linden Lab's money service Tilia.

 Another noteworthy development for the new year is that Linden Lab has new owners! As announced in mid-2020, an investment group led by Randy Waterfield and Brad Oberwager signed an agreement to acquire the company subject to regulatory approval by financial regulators in the U.S. related to Tilia Inc.’s status as a licensed money transmitter as well as other customary closing conditions. We are pleased to share that the regulatory review has been completed and Linden Lab is now under new ownership.  

On the Waterfield Holdings webpage, Second Life was listed as part of the Waterfield Network, alongside other companies such as Goldman Sachs.

And what does this mean for Second Life and it's residents? For now, not much. It was earlier stated that the investors plans were to pretty much let Linden Lab continue to run Second Life as they see fit. In this latest announcement, they hinted the investors would be sending over some money.

While the owners may be new, things are “business as usual” in Second Life. Last year saw strong growth for our virtual world and, as a result of this acquisition we expect even more resources in 2021 to further improve and grow Second Life in the future.  

Hamlet Au in New World Notes would have a few things to say on the topic. Among them, that over time Waterfield would likely send the Lab some directives over time to keep it's profit margin. This likely includes higher fees and more incentives to go Premium.

Hat Tip: Hamlet Au

Bixyl Shuftan

Announcement: Toys For Tots Donation Drive Total

December 26, 2020

TOYS FOR TOTS 2020 FINAL COLLECTION NUMBERS !

Merry Christmas Happy Holidays To All !

Thanks to all of you, we have all pitched in and
help make this Christmas a better one for many
underprivileged children.

This year was a very successful Toys For Tots
Donation Drive For us here in Second Life. I want
to thank all of you for your efforts and support.

We have collected a Grant Total of: $2,022,318L
Which Equates to = $8,098.00 US
Process Credit Fee = $283.00 US
With Draw Fee From Second Life = $405.00 US
Which Gives Us A Total  Of = $7,410,00 US

Kickazz Audio Stream Rental Donated an
additional $1090.00 US to round out a donation
Total of $8500.00 US

Yea Us !  High 5's All Around.

TOP THREE DONATION COLLECTORS
517650    Chuck Clip 

207534    Yazhu Ichibara

170090    TheCowb0y Resident -

There is no way to put into words how thankful
and appreciative I am of all of you. Smile, and
feel proud of the smiles you helped create !

A special thank you goes out to two individuals,
that year after year work hard to help make
our drive successful. Thank you, Steffi Spires
and CherryBlossum Garnet !

REMEMBER:
“What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us;
what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
― Albert Pike

Thank all of you again,
Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year,

Jayson Marjeta

"Thanks Again To Everyone" "Sabrina Online" Internet Comic Ends After Twenty Years

For many of us, comics are a favorite part of the newspaper. So when the Internet and World Wide Web was coming of age in the 1990s, some artists began drawing and publishing comic strips on a regular basis. Most would last only a few years before the cartoonist either ran out of ideas or real life made it too difficult to keep up his/her schedule. But others would keep going. Among one of these first online comics to gain a following was "Sabrina Online" by Eric Schwartz. Starting off with a girl connecting to the Internet, the strip went through a number of plots and tales of Sabrina and her friends.

On September 15, twenty years to the month after the comics first went up, Schwartz uploaded the last of the strips, Sabrina marrying her boyfriend, followed by a message.

'Sabrina Online' first appeared on the web on September 15, 1996. It seemed fitting to bring the strip to a close twenty years to the day later, ending with a bang (of sorts) rather than keeping the strip plodding along month to month indefinitely without any focus or goal. I want to thank all of Sabrina's readers and fans out there, whether you've been there from the start or discovered the strip more recently. You all are the power that helped me keep the comic rolling as long as it has. While all good things must end, Sabrina, R.C., Zig Zag, Amy, and everyone else are not gone. It's only the regular monthly strip that is completed, but new stories and works from the Sabrina-verse will pop up from time to time. Just drop by for news and info, whether on this site, Furaffinity, or elsewhere. Thanks again to everyone. I can only hope you enjoyed the two-decade ride anywhere near as much as I did.

Over the years, the strip has gotten Schwartz a number of fans, inspiring a great deal of fanart and some fanfiction, and been translated into several languages. Some fans led by Cindy "Zig Zag" Babii, built in Second Life a "Double Z Studios," also called "ZZ Studios," named after the place where the title character of the comic ended up with a job as the webmaster. The place is still around today at Sheridan (64, 145, 2500).

 The comic itself can be found at sabrina-online.com. Be aware that the strip rates a PG-13 as while there's almost no profanity and no real nudity, it does touch on adult topics. That the strip got a bit edgy without going past a certain boundary (much), was likely part of it's appeal, along with the quality of the art and characters.

It should be noted Schwartz stated while this is the conclusion of "Sabrina Online," he will be doing more tales later on of the characters "from time to time." So fans should be hearing more about the Amiga and Transformer loving skunkgirl soon.

Bixyl Shuftan