Holiday season is here.

It's always a pleasant time. Great traditions the Christians claimed as their own while absorbing cultures worldwide for a millennia, all rolled up into one big celebratory season.

More people wear decorative antlers than Santa hats in Second Life.  There's just so much more you can do with them.

For me the aesthetic of a wagon in the woods reached perfection when the snows came to St John Woods last weekend.  I sat in my chair by the fire, sometimes on cushions in the wagon, and took in the glory of nature embracing its new season. Something I could never have in real life.  Not anymore at any rate; climate change has altered NYC's seasons forever.

You may be wondering how an early 20th century Louisiana community gets a snowy winter.  It doesn't.  St John's other three sims may have nippy mornings about now, perhaps rising into the 60s F on the average.  St John Woods is a deciduous equilibrium for those of us who need seasons. It never lost most of its rental base from its previous incarnation as a New England gothic community.  The location may be a touch more mystifying in its proximity but remains well defined by the seasons.

I may be committing a sin typing some of this on an iPhone during a rabbi's sermon.  He's a brilliant speaker; wish rabbis were socially savvy when I was a kid.  Dad is one of several people in his congregation who have turned 90 within the past few months.  There's a big celebration following the service with salads and cholent (hard to explain what cholent is. I'll asterisk it and explain at the end in italics)*.  During the service the celebrants were called up to the "stage" for an honorary chapter or "Par shah" reading from the torah, with Dad performing the "chapter blessing". It was an interesting sight, but unfortunately one I couldn't take pictures of.  Fundamentally it's not my faith any longer, but one can never lose their heritage. Or memory of recitals regardless of the years.

Reading today's chapter about Jacob and his bratty kids and Judah's daughter-in-law passed up the line of sons as they each dropped dead, I don't get how the Bible could ever be the foundation for a benevolent faith.  It's full of deception, indiscriminate screwing and murder.

My shop at the RFL Christmas Expo

Holiday season events were at least as numerous as there were for Halloween. Second Life had a fever for celebration this time around.

My booths at the Mieville Thames Frost Fair and Relay For Life's Christmas Expo may not have brought much sales - my items seldom do - but they did bring some attention to my venues in St John and some smiles here and there.  A comic story was among items displayed at the latter.

Toontown had some surprises in addition to annual clothing and street decor. Toons got to enjoy special winter outfits and accessories plus snowball fights in the playground.  The added joy of Snow around town and on the estate made for a magical holiday for all ages.

Snowman heads and gardening in the snow in Toontown Rewritten

*During special holidays plus the Sabbath, observant Jews may not create fire. This means cooking is not an option. However keeping an existing flame throughout is okay. Cholent is a stew of sorts made from meat, beans, etc. and spooned out throughout the day as desired.

In the Bonkers Month of November

 

Saturday
I sit as I sometimes do, a mile walk away from home, in a Peruvian restaurant for breakfast.  It's a rare morning here: instead of TV they're playing Peruvian ballads.  30 years ago I would have revelled in a place which served Inca Kola.  Ah, back when alcohol and caffeine were just mild stimulants...

I'm always late putting my stuff down for the Fishiversary an FFF.  I used to take off a day before them, but RL is just too demanding of me lately.  Still lots more to catch in a few hours.  I suppose since I no longer have a fishing spot they're all exclusive for the festival.

Tuesday
The FFF is now on borrowed time - literally.  It continues until LL clears out the regions.

Now come the hats for 2 holiday markets. 

I asked my coworker about the 3 kings and it's apparent that aside from their cultural origins, their hats bear little resemblance from one image to another.  That leaves things wide open for some spectacular holiday mad hats, many of which will debut  at Mieville's Thames River Frost Fair. 

For those who never saw my novelty pools I'll be showcasing them too.  Back in the Blaxxun VRML days these were quite popular.  They've translated well for Second Life (mind you I've rebuilt them from scratch).  Debuting will be a series of kiddie style inflated pools in yummy holiday patterns.

Hot on the heels of this will be the Relay For Life Xmas Expo.  Two exclusive items will be offered there.  No thoughts yet on what.

Throwing Stones at a 2D Façade

September and November 2014 properties in Hydrangea

Okay we're in premium mode with no tier. A small shop with a drawn storefront on Route 4.

When I was a noob I questioned the logic of abandoning Mainland property you could just as soon sell. But there also comes the question of sitting on a large amount of land versus paying another month of tier. 

Tier is the great equalizer on Mainland.  It is your best friend when a tacky wannabe mall pops up to block your sunset.  You lack of interest will bring back your view.  Right now it's my best friend, buffering me from the fugly stylings of Banline Bob.

I had my building revelation at last and drew the details.  Literally. The façade is one big texture.  9 simple prims. Still pondering over the pavement out front.

Cartoon World alpha shop awaiting roof decoration and Linden intervention
(remove/lower tree blocking storefront and tweaking the path from Route 4)

November is proving to be the new October when it comes to off the scale bonkers busy.  I signed up for Mieville's holiday shopping sim, the 7Seas Fall Fishing Festival, and the Relay For Life Xmas Expo.  The first two require set up within the next 2 weeks, with RFL's in about 3.   New Daleks, mad hats, tie dyes and more to be made.  Will I have time to finally make a salvage rod?  Only time or lack thereof will tell.

Time's Running Out...

The diner is going bye bye.

There were two possibilities:

1. LDPW would pick up the land and make something epic with it, and

2. I abandon most of it and give myself some time without "Banline Bob" doing the fugly up against my borders.



(Can you believe it? I did business with him and now he has banlines against me around a blank parcel. Any content he has is way out of range of them. What a redneck extortionist)

Funny how the moment you reduce a little, you get bullied via terrain.

The latter is what will occur; before November 1st the Starship Diner is going to get picked up.  Then again anything is possible with abandoned land, so maybe both will occur!

A small parcel may remain for something. Maybe a shop if I get up enough inspiration to design one. It would have to be minimalist given the prim quota.

I'd be interested in a rental on a private estate in the right community.

A second Scourgemobile below joins the other one cited last blog post.

If it were easy I would have picked it up by now.  It's not. That's been my main property for over 5 years.

Thursday night it's going.

Good riddance AnnMarie.

Is This Good-bye to the Starship Diner?

The time has come.

I'm not sure when or how or how much, but I'm planning to reduce my Mainland footprint even further and pick up the diner. 

It was great concept and I had to indulge in the aesthetic of allowing people to drive on the road with a rest stop looming on the horizon, a lit sign breaking the rural darkness.  I've done that for over five years, and many people have stopped their vehicles in my parking spots, noobs checking out the food replicator...

But with Annmarie's drunk Scourgemobiles permitted to dominate Mainland routes and run pedestrians and residential riders off the roads, I'm compelled to withdraw enhanced support for Linden Labs.  Since Jack left there's been very little evidence in the Lab's desire to, as he put it, take an active role as landlord of the grid's largest estate.

Why isn't Annmarie oToole aka Annmarie Oleander aka AnnMarie Resident permbanned?
Seems Linden Labs needs their business more than mine. They've made that clear.

That and bloody stupid timing. I think I can count on one hand when we had a proper gathering in there. Most of the time it was just me. Always someone's rez day or RL thing or something.

I haven't yet decided whether I'm keeping a little for a shop or leave mainland altogether.  I've begun to add items to the Marketplace.  I've made so much over the years yet offered so very little of it.

The "other skybox landlord" has placed stupid banlines along our common border. Stupid because he just constructs skyhomes which aren't occupied, then sends them up where there are no banlines anyway. 

Personally I think the moles should make a diner right on that spot.

Since beginning this entry I've put seasonal mad hats on the SL Marketplace.

My knee is shaping up well.  The tough part of physical therapy is having to cancel it, and I feel next week should be my last one.  I've bonded well with my therapist and will miss her.

A Miraculous Recovery?

Since about Tuesday I can carefully scale the steps one leg over the other.

Their citing the location of the torn meniscus brought to light that I have had this in both knees since about eight years.  So what had been causing the pain and compromised ability?  Orthopedist couldn't say but shared that he'd seen a record number of patients about knee pain over the past couple of months.

Physical therapist was amused that I knew most of the exercises she was going to assign me for home, those which I was able to resume this week in fact.  She also echoed the orthopedist in that I am to refrain from any mile-plus walking, to keep them short.  I guess sticking to the designated home exercise regimen between sessions makes up for it, at least for the time being.

I'm sorry to say I had an ambitious walk from my primary to get some groceries then home yesterday.

Miz Gabi took time out to shift me over into the woods, so the wagon rolled down to it's new spot. All I can say is: ahhhhh!

Let the Healing Begin

Seraph Club enjoyed quite a debut.  The live singer - which was actually a karaoke singer (I suppose I'm the last to know how these types of performances work) was a perfect match as a 30s-40s style torch singer, with an hour of DJing by Mr Pearse following.  The turnout was difficult to gauge because the sim employs a parade of bots for shop window dummies and staged civilians.  You'd think for events they'd dismiss those to minimize lag. 

Anyway if I were to gauge I'd say there were over forty in the club at some point.  It was a good crowd, and I know most of them.  I'd imagine many had to set their RL alarms to attend for this special milestone...

I've just met with the orthopedist. Torn meniscus. Not the end of the world but it could be if I'm not careful.  Mayo clinic's description of symptoms is spot on.  It's not severe so surgery is not critical, so let the PT begin!

What to do about a shop next to the diner? Still feel I should have it somewhere else. I'm not as inspired as I'd like to be about what for a building I'd want for Cartoon World where I'm situated.  The toony ones I found were high LI (I expected better of mesh) and I'm at a loss for any private sims for shopping and whether their prospects are good ones.

Toonfest has been extended for a week to allow more people to experience it. With the deluge of so many players hitting Toontown Rewritten at the same time the developers had their stress test and made a maddening number of updates within a couple of days.  The new content is impressive and the prospect of getting doodles is promising.