Getting Ready For I Pink I Can

 

 

North of the American Cancer Society sim, things are looking spooky. In American Cancer Society2, I saw some dark scenery with dim skies and dark buildings. These are shops for the upcoming Making Strides's "I Pink I Can" fundraiser, a Halloween-themed fundraiser to donate money to fight breast cancer.

Get ready to celebrate life, spread awareness, and support a great cause at our spectacular "I Pink I Can" Breast Cancer Event! We've got an amazing lineup of live entertainment, thrilling attractions, and heartwarming activities for the whole family to enjoy. Together, we can make a difference and help those affected by breast cancer.

The organizers say to expect live performances, camping, trick or treating, shopping, comedy, movies at a drive-in, campfire spooky tales, and more.

 

The event goes on from Friday September 27 to Sunday October 20. 

For more information, check the website here: https://linktr.ee/ipinkican

Bixyl Shuftan

Animal Crossing Sim of Retroville

 

Many readers are likely familiar with "Animal Crossing," an open-ended game by Nintendo that's gotten several sequels over the years. Recently the Newser found out about a place in Second Life that's modeled off it: Retroville. So how did Retroville come about and what can one do there?

Read more in Places.
 

Rare Sight: Camping For Linden Dollars

 

 Now here's a sight I haven't seen in many years in Second Life. 

Zipping around the mainland while trying out a Cloud data detector (more about that later), my curiosity drew me high above a sim to the platform above full of stores and hangouts, and I happened to notice what looked like an avatar cleaning a window. I thought it was the building owner, or maybe his/her assistant. But getting closer, I noticed the following display at the ladder:

Camper: (name of avatar)
L$1 every 95 minutes
So far: $L0

It was a blast from the past, an actual camping spot!

When I first came to Second Life in 2006-2007, camping spots were very common. They were a means to boost traffic for a sim for just a few Lindens per avatar. Some sims had a lot of them, and they were in many different styles. In some, you just sat down. Others had you dancing in place. And some made it look like your avatar was performing some task such as sweeping or cleaning. There was even a website that listed camping spots and how much they paid. 

Like many other things in Second Life, camping had it's fans and it's detractors. Many called it "gaming the system" as high traffic numbers attracted more people. One friend of mine commented "if you must camp, do so in a sim that isn't heavily populated." Supposedly some people would be on for hours to get just a few Lindens, which got some people wondering if these campers were better off taking an SL job or buying Linden dollars.

To me, it was a way to get a few extra Lindens while checking my email and maybe a few websites (I didn't usually have too many IMs at this time), usually at a spot that paid me a few Lindens every 10-15 minutes. But once the emails were done, I'd soon be gone. Why didn't I buy Linden dollars? After a talk with family once I got on Second Life, I decided not to put any real money into the virtual world for a while. Once I got a job at SL Newspaper, I pretty much stopped using camping spots.

It's hard to say exactly when camping for Linden dollars went downhill. I think by 2009, they had become an uncommon sight. Second Life was starting to change as money wasn't as easy to come by as in the early days. Although camping would remain, it would be in the form of chairs that would allow you a free item, usually in stores, for sitting on them for a half hour or so. A much better deal if you were trying to get Lindens for new clothes. Camping for Lindens, aside from a few rare locations such as this, pretty much became history.

 Bixyl Shuftan

Linden Home Camping Area Appears in Bellisseria

Remember the Linden Home campers that were up on display at the Second Life Birthday this year? Well, some were finally made available for people to claim. A number of sims have been added to southern Bellisseria. But these are different than areas made earlier.

Some of the trailers looked unclaimed or ready to be moved into, either they actually were unclaimed (rare for a Linden Home), or someone did and hadn't moved in yet.

Others had signs that they were claimed. And there were a variety of camping homes available. There was even an electrical outlet pole next to each.

The scenery of the park area was well-detailed too, with dirt roads and railroads.  Of the latter, I found rail bridges, as well as railroad car rezz stations, water towers, and signal lights.

There were streams in some sims. In others, rivers. One sim had a large lake area. The Linden Moles are still at work in developing the new continent. And this new area is definitely worth a look, even if you have no intention of getting a Linden Home.

Bixyl Shuftan

RFL Team Sunbeamers Reach 400K, Win Campsite Award

With the Relay Weekend over, the various teams have much to cheer about. This includes Team Sunbeamers, whom while it took a month to go from 250K to 300,000 Linden dollars, raised, the Weekend event provided a big boost. The campsite kiosk alone took in 86K, bringing the team total to 410,000 Linden dollars. While a milestone in itself, the team hopes to make one more: Jade level.

Sunnies:  If you can donate, please do, time is running out for this year's RFL, RELAY WEEKEND is almost over and time to collect and count donations is fast approaching an end, for this year.  I would love to reach JADE Level, but can't do it without your support and help.  Please donate to any SUNBEAMER Kiosk, as much as you can, so we can reach thew 500,000L level and make JADE!

Yours truly is also offering a "Jade Avatar Challenge," going green for a week (except when doing interviews, or anything else obviously Newser related).

Other teams also have much to crow about. Among them is the newcomer first year team "Camping for a Cure" which has raised almost two million Lindens and put itself in the number three spot in the team totals page.

Go Sunbeamers! Go Relay!

Camping Sim Copacabana To Close

Another sim is closing. This is one that's been around only a few months, but apparently it quickly gained a following.

In early September, I heard about a new campground sim: Copacabana. The place was run by Pen and Jade Dragon, with help from Nick Munsch. It was throwing a party, and out of curiosity I dropped by. I had a nice fun time. There was music, laughing, and a mechanical bull going. Looking around, there were other activities, such as horseback riding with a rezzer that could give you a horse if you didn't have one, paintball, and more. Had there not been so much to write the following week, I would have mentioned the place in the paper. But the Enquirer did. So all seemed well.

Recently, Gemma Cleanslate told me about an announcement made by the campground. They were closing. They had underestimated what it would take to run the place, and had an additional, more important responsibility to take care of.

Yes, the rumors are true Copacabana is on it's last month of service.. Officially closing Nov. 1st.
To fill in some answers here is what's going on..

When i opened this sim, I honestly wasn't prepared, none of us were, for how successful it wouldbecome. In such a short amount of time our numbers climbed beyond our wildest dreams..the people we met, the adventures we took.. all so amazing.. but something even more magical then success came from this adventure.. Pen and i adopted not 1, but 4 children!! 

All because of this amazing sim, our lives were changed forever!!

At the end of the day though, time becomes an issues.. running a sim takes a lot of time..
and chasing 4 hooligans who got into the paint cans also takes a lot of time.. something had to give.. and even though I know many of your will be as sad as we are to see it go.. i just rather chase my little motley crew around right now..

Thank you to the Munsch family, and the many many campers who have come and gone..

God Spe..... DROP THAT PAINT CAN...

till we meet again...

signing off ...

jadeylynn

For more information, check out the sim website, or it's Facebook page.  For those whom are still want to visit the place, try to rent a week, or take part in it's activities before it closes, head to http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Serena%20Copacabana/30/30/22

Hat Tip: Gemma Cleanslate

Bixyl Shuftan

The Grand Canyon

Britty Bee is back with a new story about her travels across Second Life. Here, she writes about her trip to the Grand Canyon. One could just relax and admire the view. But there's much more to do here such as camping, ballooning, horseback riding, and a few things not available yet at the real life canyon. A great place for an adventure. Just be a little careful where you yodel.

Read Britty's article in Places.

Experience Nature at Oyster Bay

Kelly BloodyKitty is back with another article of her explorations. She recently explored Oyster Bay, designed by Lick Sim Designs. Instead of a fancy castle, space station, or big city, what she found was simple nature, grassm trees, waterfalls, hills, and water. One could take their special someone to the cuddle area, swim at the docks, go cliff diving, or just simply sit back and relax in the greenery, all without the downside of biting bugs in real life.

Read Kelly's article in Places. 

King Izzy's Camping Adventure

By Bixyl Shuftan

I was recently contacted by Mysti77, who invited me to take a look at her sim. She had something out of the ordinary for Second Life: a campground. Mysti was the owner of "King Izzy's Camping Adventure" at the Salty Sands sim. The place gets it's name from KingIzzy, her partner.

Accepting her teleport request, I arrived, and was surprised to hear the roar of a cougar leaping at me, which I dodged. "Hi Bix - look out!" Mysti shouted, "This wildcat is trying to bite you!" Fortunately I managed to slip away from it. Then a bear appeared near Mysti, but made no aggressive moves. "Do I need a gun or a bat?" I asked Mysti. She laughed, "That's part of the hunting contest, wildcats, bears, things like that. You could win 500L if you are the top hunter of the month. Monthly contest." Then we saw a deer appear beside us. With a grin, I remarked, "Well, guess the buck really did stop here." Mysti had a good laugh, "Hahahaha!" One joins the hunting by clicking on the stump next to the rules about it, "Any Second Life gun will do. But, if they don't have a gun or can't afford one, there is a free gun giver about the instruction sign. If they don't like guns, they can use a paintball gun." She explained there were some SL kids who like to camp, and she didn't like the idea of mixing kids with firearms.

The campground had more to offer than just hunting, "We have 4-wheelers, biking, hiking, fishing, row boats, kayaing, canoeing and even hang gliding. ... We have a beach too and paintball. ... And we offer cabins or campsite to rent for taking vacations." Renting a cabin for a week costs 250 Lindens, and you're able to place up to fifty prims worth of objects there, "All cabins are fully furnished." There are also campsites one can rent for fifteen Lindens a day, and can rezz about five prims worth of objects, "like a cooler or something small. The campsites have everything they need already." She told me one could stay at a cabin for as long as they wanted as long as they kept paying the rent.

Mysti showed me the boating area, a pier next to a beach where one could rezz a canoe, kayak, or rowboat, "and we have inner tubes and bumper boats." Besides the hunting game I encountered at the start, there was also a duck hunting area in the northwest part of the campground. One can hear the quackers before seeing them, swimming from a bush in the water. There was also a playground and picnic area, "This is a community area. Families have picnics here." There was a climbable rope "net," as well as swings, and a pile of leaves one can jump around in. Just walking through it rustles up a few stray leaves.

Mysti then took me to one of the cabins. This particular one had three main rooms, a living room with a couch and a "table" made from wooden pallets, a kitchen with a stove and refrigerator as well as a sink, and a bedroom. "We can add different beds for families," she told me, "or sleeping bags if they prefer."

Next was the largest building at the campground, their music club "Club Izzy." Mysti called it a "small club," though being in a wilderness area made it look a bit large. It was a bit dark inside as there was no party, but one could see music and band posters on the wall, as well as an American flag, plus a bar at one side where one could get a beer. Mysti explained they hadn't used the place much, and were thinking about remodeling it into an outdoor style club. It is currently, and will be after remodeling as well, available for weddings and private parties.

Before the campground, Mysti told me she and her friends were DJs. She explained her SL grandaughter Jules Fetuccio was the one who built the sim, "She did it for the family and now we decided to open it up to the public. It was started about a year ago and just finished last month." Designing the place took time, "Jules wanted to have everything perfect so people could experience a camping vacation in Second Life."

Lastly, I took a look at the "fishing hole" as Mysti called it. Mysti sat down at one of the chairs and took out a rod and reel, giggling, "I fish while I work in real life," saying she was lucky to have a job where she could do that. This wasn't the fishing game I'd seen in other places in Second Life, but something different, Fish Hunt. Mysti explained, "You earn Lindens and experience points doing this." People could start off with a free fishing rod, "You can get one off the marketplace, just look up 'Fish Hunt.' And it's always better to invest in some worms," she gestured to four crates of worms behind her, Small, Tasty, Enchanted, and Magic, "You'll catch bigger fish and get more Linden per fish."

It was there I ran into Jules. Talking to her, Jules explained it had been fun building the campground, "This sim is my first big build so it's been a work in progress. I've been with Mysti and Izzy for five years this year in their family, so it has been a labor of love for them." Building the place, the club and the overall landscaping her favorite parts. The trickiest part was the trails, "They were the hardest part for me to lay out on the sim with all the hills and turns." Another spot she enjoyed creating was a small pond and waterfall near one of the cabins for rent. Jules also took the time to iron out some bugs, some more amusing than others, "I was trying to adjust the kitchen in those little cabins and I ended up outside the window with my arms folded on the sill. I looked like a peeping tom," she chuckled, "Took me a while to figure out how that happened."

They did have some special holiday events. In October, they had the fishing hole full of zombies. Also, "everyone loved the decorations as well at Christmas. We had a huge fish hunt event that lasted for hours and many DJs providing entertainment and music."

There are some plans for the future besides remodeling the club. Jules stated, "I've been thinking about putting in some skyboxes for the renters to have their privacy. Just a place to get away for private moments, you know." "This is a family/kid friendly sim," Mysti explained, "so those things must be kept in strict privacy."

"We plan on doing more events very soon," Mysti informed, "Another fishing tourney and maybe some kind of a contest or something. ... We were thinking of having a King Izzy's Camper of the month contest." She added they still need to work out the details for it.

Jules was proud of what they had accomplished,"I think we've put in just about every recreational feature we could find for the sim also so I don't see anyone getting bored here."

So for a fun camping experience, head on over to "King Izzy's Camping Adventure."

"People need to take a break from the ordinary in their Second Lives for a while and take a vacation."

Salty Sands (128, 124, 21)

Bixyl Shuftan

Postcard from Breezes

Arya Boutique is full of the nicest well made clothing, based from the India theme to many other styles. Very nice welcoming gifts to be had. and a staff that is so truly great. They have the nicest camp chairs and two of the most helpful kindest camp helpers. I have never seen such warm people. Chatting goes on all time, unlike what few camps that are left in SL. Arya (227, 173, 22)