Cartoon of the Day: Happy "Talk Like a Pirate Day"

ShadowRene Ivanova and me in my "Pie rat" look at Luskwood. The mouse may soon be in for quite a hug.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day: Caught Cupid

Taken with the help of ShadowRene Ivanova. Looks like Cupid got caught trying to pull one of his pranks. To get out of it, he'll have to use one of his golden tipped arrows on someone, and hope the guy doesn't have a snake phobia.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Tales from Podex: Eggs Over Squeezy

By Bixyl Shuftan


March had been a good month for the Podex Exchange. As always, people went there to exchange their dollars, Euros, and other global currencies along with bitcoins for Lindens. Often they'd talk to the tellers what they were getting them for. Some were out to enjoy the winter season while there was still winter around. Others were buying them for apparel for the St. Patrick's parties, getting outfits, decorations, and kegs of green beer. Then there was the start of the Relay Season, and people were donating to their teams in various events. And of course, late in the month people were starting to get Easter decorations, which would fall on the first weekend in April.

The tellers were talking about the various goings on, when a certain figure walked in. He was wearing some colorful shorts, had long ears, and was carrying a basket of eggs and chocolates. And there was a sign inside, "Happy Easter."

The tellers looked at him, "Um, can we help you?"

"Yes, I'm the local Easter Bunny around here, and need to hide some eggs. This looks like a good spot."

"You want to hide eggs here?"

"Yes, in the back of the place, in the room you call the vault."

"I think not," the teller chuckled, "Clumsy Cooper, you honestly thought that lame disguise would work?"

"Who's Clumsy? I'm just here to hide some eggs."

"Yeah, right. Just turn right around before we call the police."

"Okay, be that way!" Clumsy then pulled out one of the eggs, "These are actually bombs. Just hand over the Lindens, and no one gets hurt."

The teller laughed, "The only bomb is your act. We're calling the cops."

Clumsy reacted by taking the egg and hurling it at the teller. But it didn't hit him. Instead, it hit the counter, bounced off, and hit him square in the forehead, "Owwwww!

"Get 'im!"

Realizing his plot was foiled, Clumsy turned around to bolt away. But while he had been confronting the tellers, someone had stepped inside the exchange after him. From the waist down, she had a serpintine, snakelike body: a naga. Clumsy yelped and tried to get around her. But she whipped her tail out at him, and tripped him. He tried to scramble up, but found her tail winding around him. "Ahhhhhhh!" He yelped again, trying to break free, but the naga's tail was just too strong. Clumsy was tighly bound.

"Lemme go!" the burglar begged.

"So ya can rob this place again?" The naga asked.

"Heeeellllppp!" Clumsy looked frightened.

"How long can you hold him, Ma'am?" one of the tellers asked.

"How long does it take to get the police here?" She answered.

"Not long. You want anything while we wait."

"Nah, I'm fine. He's actually kinda cute. I just wanna give him a nice big squeeze."

Clumsy felt the coils around him get a little tighter. He wasn't sure who to be afraid of more, time in the slammer, or being a little too close to a phobia of his.

"Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?"

It wasn't long before the SLPD arrived. Clumsy Cooper was arrested and charged with attempted griefing.

But even if Cooper's scheme had worked, there was no way he could have gotten away with any ill-gotten gains. “All our exchanges are done through electronic transfer,” a teller later explained to the SLPD, “He wouldn’t have walked away with a single Linden.”

The Podex Exchange has a record of being one of the safest Linden exchange services in Second Life, the data processing done outside the exchange, and has a record of thousands of satisfied customers. Transactions can be done at their website, or their location inworld at the Coda sim at (45, 218, 61).

Note: The preceding is a fictional story, written for the dual purpose of advertisement and entertainment.

By Bixyl Shuftan 

Tales From Podex: Money After Mardi Gras

By Bixyl Shuftan


It was a fairly typical mid-February day in the Podex Exchange. Even though it was winter, people still had a need for Lindens, whether for clothes, a new look, or just tipping the local DJ. And so they kept coming. And this being February, there was another reason: Valentines Day. Men, and some women came by to get Lindens for the purpose of getting something for their sweetheart, whether it be flowers, jewelery, or renting a private place for a day or two. They made some good business up to and during February 14.

But Valentines Day wasn't the only reason people were getting Lindens. There were fundraising events, such as the Second Life science-fiction convention which collected cash for cancer research. Then there was the big party that took place shortly after Valentines Day: Mardi Gras. Coming so soon after the day associated with romance, Some were calling it the singles' counterpart of the better-known holiday. And people would spend money for fancy outfits, or in the case of the guys for beads.

It was at one point that the attention of the tellers was drawn to a couple visitors at the door. Both were women, but one didn't have any feet but instead from the waist down had a serpentine, snakelike body, wearing a black and red dress. The other was a bit more normal, having legs, but was covered in white fur with a tail and rounded ears. She was shorter, wearing a purplish dress, and a lot of beads.

"Um, can we help you?" one of the tellers asked.

"Yes," spoke the shorter lady, "We're going shopping to get dresses for tonight's party, and we're likely to need a few more Lindens."

"Certainly, Ma'am. Just fill out this short form, and we'll make the trade through Paypal, Ukash, direct bank transfer, Bitcoin Wallet, and a number of other ways ."

The two stepped over, the smaller lady walking and the taller using her tail to push herself over.

"So what currency will you be using to exchange for the Lindens?" the teller went on?

"British Pounds," the white-furred lady answered.

"Certainly. Just put down the ammount you wish to exchange for, and the transfer should just take a few minutes."

"I have a bit of currency in another virtual world," the taller woman asked, "I don't suppose I could bring some of that over?"

"We can transfer and exchange with several other virtual world currencies to Second Life Lindens. We added the Adult Grid, Mobius, and Lost Paradise not long ago."

It didn't take long at all for the exchange to be made, and the two ladies soon had their Lindens.

"There you go," the teller told them, "Please come again soon."

"We probably will. Too bad no one will throw us Lindens like these beads earlier."

"From a Mardi Gras parade?

"Yeah. One of the floats pushed me into the water. I had to take of my shirt to wring it dry, and all of a sudden the guys nearby started tossing these beads at us."

They had a good chuckle, and the women went on their way.

The Podex Exchange is located at the Coda sim at (45, 218, 61), with a website at http://www.podex.info/. Jacek Shuftan is the CEO. Besides Second Life Lindens, it deals in the currencies of nine other virtual worlds.

Note: The preceding is a fictional story, written for the dual purpose of advertisement and entertainment.

Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

From the Christmas Expo, which attracted avatars of all kinds, including some whom needed a little help functioning in the cold.

By Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Taken with the help of my neighbor ShadowRene Ivanova. A real mouse in this position would be in quite a pickle. With anthro mice and naga however, well some of the latter love to tease. ;-)

By Bixyl Shuftan

Cartoon of the Day

Taken at Club Zero Gravity's "Monster Mash" party

By Bixyl Shuftan