A Look back on Land From O to H

There's something cleansing about making major changes on one's property. 

Bringing Cartoon World to Hydrangea seems to be a logical course of action, though not a comfortable one.  Cartoon World WAS my first land over four years ago on Gaeta 4 continent, and would have been fine if it weren't for those two griefers disguised as entrepreneur. They taught me to keep my borders wide with their two-bit alpha bushes routine.  As a result I went from 512 to 2048.  Since then the couple broke up: he left SL and she has sex and leather groups listed in her profile.  

Capital Improvements under way in Hydrangea

I would still be in Juliet (Nautlius) if it weren't for some land-grubbing weirdo from another sim who up and decided to expand to 3 sims to make a European village. The expanse of land to my south was on an incline below towards water, and as soon as they acquired it they erected a massive wall from a megapim so all I could do is look straight up to see the sky.  Within a week I had a nice piece of land in Anilis, perfectly timed a day before the anti-adfarm rules went into effect.  I was right beside TMA, the Jewish neighborhood founded by Beth Odets and along an SLRR line. Within hours Wacko bought the Juliet land.

During my time in Juliet I'd gained an additional area of land in Angler, an empty sim parceled out for beach property.  While Juliet was for a home, my gallery and a 7seas fishing area, Angler was for a pool shop.  Anilis was nice and roomy if not oddly shaped, and of course there were the neighbors in Nessus. Cartoon World - still in its original terra cotta design - was moved intact from Juliet.

I waited a good long time there while the SLRR project was set aside for things such as building Zindra.  Then Flossberg, Straaf and AnnMarie Otoole (aka SL's slumlords of transportation) started running their crappy boxes by my place on the tracks.  Since then and long after my departure SLRR has has proceeded and the Virtual Rail Consortium aka VRC now has a presencein Anilis with a rail house by a new junction (an additional set of tracks branching east was added by the LDPW.

Documented weirdness at Angler and the need to expand Cartoon World put me into a position to look towards Bay City.  I bartered land and Lindens to get my first parcel in Falconmoon just over 2 years ago.  Halfway through I moved to the street and sold the previous plot.

I wanted a diner. I made one on my Winterfaire land for the season to try out and was keen to move on to a permanent one.  Anillis wasn't conducive to a diner; I gave up on the concept of a Bay City Rollers Diner due to not being rich enough for an auctioned spot beside Route 66. I watched an abandoned parcel in Pawpaw at a 3-way intersection which was was given up by a Scion chicken breeder (we had a problem with those lagging down Anilis and neighboring regions during the Scion Craze).  It never saw auction; Linden Labs took it back and made it into an SLRR station.  All's well that ends well...

Remember Plano?  It was PG, too small, and situated too close to Prok's rentals.  I was glad to get rid of it.  1024sqm became "too small."

While exploring the atoll, I came on Hydrangea and abandoned land bordered by two routes and a winding path connecting them.  I envisioned people riding their vehicles along Route 4 and coming upon a sign with a rotating top and a "family restaurant," aka diner with parking.  That would be MY diner there someday. 

I waited for almost half a year when it happened.  I parceled out and sold Anilis (couldn't afford tier for both or I would have kept it) and saved up the money. I was ready to outbid anyone to US$75.  Times being what they were, with porn being relocated to the new Zindra continent, the market was mush. It was mine for less than $35 when it finally went to auction.  My friends and I partied on the bare land and I blessed it with a consecration ceremony. 

A little over a year ago I bought the last of my tier in Hydrangea when somebody abandoned a small parcel in the same sim. More prims...

Cartoon World on Gershwin Blvd in Bay City - Falconmoon.

Selling my Bay City property won't lower my tier in any way.  There's  nothing wrong with the location.  In fact, this is the finest parcel available in all of Bay City at the moment.

Slipstream into the Weekend w/Space Junk

Let the artwork commence...

Snurky is getting assistance from an interesting source for her snail this week.  Look for her at the track this Sunday with a special sponsor ;)

I'm tallying topics for my SL8B project.  See, I list topics, then I draw these topics.  Specifically sketch the first in detail, draw sequentially for the middle, then perhaps - well idunno for the ends, but I'll find out.  It all depends on the list of course...

Tonight is my next dance party at Cartoon World to raise money for Relay For Life.  Stop on by, even if you can't donate.  Having fun is important too. ArtSpace level from 6pm SLT.

I've switched control rooms to allow for more prims.  Time to go in for the kill on several projects.  I really love the versatility of this new TARDIS system.

On a similar note, it's very awkward when someone refers to me as a Timelord.  I'm not, you know.  Not even a wannabe.  There is only one The Doctor who fits that description, and I'm the other The Doctor.  There's no illusion as to what my default visage is.  Well okay.  This is all about illusion.  But I've no illusions about it.

On an obscurely related note, I've found something revolting in New Babbage.  I got this line and it's been stomped over in a way one wouldn't expect.  A group of women avatars have an overt sexual fixation over a resident there whose avatar is a farm animal from the waist down.  That falls into bestiality in my book.  So while most people are being extremely polite and addressing eachother in a quaint manner, these types carry on in the middle of it in a way one wouldn't in mixed company under any circumstances, much less if the subject was biologically compatible.  I behave myself and just leave group chat once it's deteriorated to an inappropriate level - and it almost always does when they're on.  At social events it's pretty much unavoidable, and leaving abruptly would make too much of a statement.  It's tough enough trying to feel at home as a newb in a community as it is that I have this fairly gross verbal display in my face...

On a lighter note, I met some people there last night who were very nice. Seems I'm better on a one-two person basis rather than the group or group chat.  There were "several green dots about on the map" which isn't often the case when I come on.

Update: In fairness, it seems one of the women is now the same species. Still, the concept of "get a room" must escape their culture.

Ketchup May 2011

I was this close to taking out a new stream last Friday to celebrate my return home that night.  But with short notice who'd come?

Anyway there's a big weekend coming up for Bay City for their third anniversary.  It's also my second since the gallery opened there.  Am doing a dance party featuring music from the 20th century (I'm that ecclectic normally anyway).  Again it will be to raise money for Relay For Life, with donation of creations and a kiosk to divvy up between two teams I represent.  So if you like what you see: buy.  If you like what you hear: tip for a good cause.

Things to do:

Poster for Bay City event.  Theme will be purple.

Replace slideshow, box and listgiver at Retro Metro in Sistiana with new ones from Fishiversary and post to 7Seas' forum.  Note it's back to a 1-minute rez time for bait and rod purchases; there must have been a griefer lockdown in Nova Albion at some point that it was changed to no-rez.

Refine the Gallifrey Ten swim trunks.  I think a smaller denser pattern may look better.

More important than the swim trunks are to finish off the first wave of sketches for Artifictions and draw another couple of racing snails for shirts.  One will be purple.

Dance and fish at Bacchus on the Beach.  I realize that new fish or no, I'll never become a Hall of Famer and unlock the omega level if I let my alts fish.

The Road Less Hoverboarded

  As mentioned previously here and/or on Twitter, I've taken to going to places in Second Life either via TARDIS or hoverboard over teleporting or by Stargate. The folks at New London have given me my own TARDIS landing spot on a moon just a ways from a Judoon ship.  I've mastered three different routes from The Starship Diner to TMA Nessus and the railyards of Gluphasia.  I've easily navigated from Purple in Sansara across the water to Heterocera up the Atoll coast to Starship Diner.

What fascinates me the most is the roadside content.  Think of it: about two-and a half years ago most of Mainland was cluttered with cheesy porn and adfarms along bare roadbeds.  Now the porn is gone, the adfarms are 90% clear, and the roads paved.  In fact it seems properties along these roads live up to what the Moles have put down.  There is true inspiration at work.

While I've made the excursion from Cartoon World in Bay City to Abbotts Aerodrome, it's a dodgy route which involves skirting the Ahern Welcome Area to avoid the lag and 4-way region crossing (especially since once you crash, the ride is over; there are no rezzing zones nearby) and traversing terrain there's the risk of hitting a banline.

I've even attempted from Heterocera to Bay City, a very difficult and irritating route by virtue of poor terraforming and intermittent patches of road.  Even went from Andrew Linden's office hour location in Denby to Abbotts, an equally unpleasant feat with the added obstacle of a full help island region bordered by banlined parcels.

Sansara needs a major replanning.  No access to key areas from roads - when there IS a road - except between the Bay City- Nova Albion - Suburbs sector (and guess what? Two of those communities are not recognized by LL as part of Sansara).  You can see they plopped down some regions, added more regions, still more, pieces added here, some snowy ones there, some beach terrain in the corner...

There's no budget for it nor staff.  It seems to me many people who once owned estates - when they stay in SL - could be embracing large chunks of Mainland more and more; the dollar auctions are empty.

We're certainly seeing less 512's on Mainland.  Homesteads are bringing people into the Noob Continent as a first step (when inhabitants aren't Oldbies or estate owners).  They break out from there in search of open spaces and roomy, configurable land.  It could be why roadside lands more and more have that fresh look to them.  Michael Linden has indicated that he and the Moles have been assigned to add more land to the N C so there's certainly fresh meat for a new generation of property owners to set the look.

Rambling Along Gershwin Boulevard

So maybe it was too yellow.

I've added wood trim, which looks fine for the exterior.  Not too sure about the trim inside.  It may be less distracting for future murals and vendors if the wall segments had a common gradient.

Once the first chapter of the comic is up and Snurky's Burn2 is set, I think I'll make more art on tee's and set up the parcel beside my gallery as a park with a kiosk of silly things.

On the Dr Who front, I'm more convinced than ever that the majority of USA fans are scary and way too serious.  I've found the fans from the UK regard the series much the way people of my age here regard The Wizard of Oz.  It's just part of our culture and a neverending source of amusement.  Sure we know every word of the movie and the story of Margaret Hamilton's accident in Munchkinland, but it's more about the music and the fun - and where you were when you first saw it - and less about the serious facts or it being a profound cinematic milestone (which it wasn't actually).

Doctor Who fans threw a FUN party last Friday, with people dressed creatively, silly, and with the simple intent to have a good time.  Some were their Time Lord personae, all unique with a little touch of something Whoish on them (like the one holding a recorder).  The Staypuft Marshmallow Man and Robbie the Robot were on hand.  Creepy little fanboys with their freebie wannabe Tennant and Smith avatars showed up, then left.  You gonna tell me they weren't underage Americans?

I'll see the revelers again no doubt.  Play good tunes and it's hard to get rid of me.

On the "research" front, I've gotten a little sharper at drawing a comics version of Matt Smith for my story (aka "The Other Smith" LOL gotta love some of those fan designations).  Actually it's been fine from the start by the comments of the teaser poster, but it didn't suit my sensibilities.

I'm halfway through watching Series 4 on DVD.  Looks like I'm almost caught up with the new adventures, and just in time.

I'll have to state here what I've since tweeted.  I made a judgement call in a blog post a while back: I've since come to really enjoy David Tennant as The Doctor.  He's a brilliant actor - when he's allowed to act.  That's the key thing.  He put in some marvelous performances before things went over the top and overly insane.  He's also damn good on radio and audiobooks (I highly recommend "Pest Control").  I guess for me he's "The Other Smith" (hahaha... Love that...), and I hope to make a Tenth Doctor story should the first one go over well.

But first things first.

Dalek Deco Rift

I never realized (which translates into "I didn't pay attention because I ran inside before the façade rezzed") until the other day and watching the first of a three-parter from series 3 that the town square The Doctor frequently parked the Tardis for extended visits was in Second Life and in a rezzable area, perhaps for the purpose of allowing Tardis owners to refuel.  I see Sevhen and I will be making that pitstop soon.

It would be fun to have friends in the Tardis emerge with us in a procession out of the box until there was a small crowd.  Unfortunately it isn't my region and there's an autoreturn limit of ten minutes, so including GoSpeed to DJ for us during the pitstop is out of the question. 

Then of course we would all pack up and go back into the Tardis and move on - probably to my diner for eats...

And someone would record it on video.  Not me because I lag from it.

By the way, someone let the Dalek out again yesterday.  They opened the back door.  The thing made its way to the road, where Linden Labs returned it to my inventory.

Your object 'Roaming Renegade Dalek v1.10' has been returned to your inventory lost and found folder by (???) from parcel 'Route 4' at Hydrangea 53, 161 due to parcel auto return.

Daleks are fun.  I put one in my dumpster out back for anyone who wants a copy.

Cartoon World...

It's too yellow, even for me.  I'm thinking of wood paneling or lapis trim.  It needs more contrasts.  I have a lapis texture I made 5 years ago for a deco nightclub that I can adapt.  I'll put it to the test.

I was in the Grand Central area this morning for a dr apptment and took a closer look at the Chrysler Building and how they approached window designs. It looks easier than I thought.

I have a design already drawn which I'll fine tune with the things I've learned visiting the Chrysler.

Afternoon: More and more people like the pitstop idea.  Sevhen and I will try a short one tonight, but there may be a bigger todo eventually.

Wild and Wacky Grid Doings and Stuff

Learning more about my Tardis, I've set a personal landing point by the freebie dumpster. There are two more sets of levers which offer locations: one is for landing locations set as private, the other for what might be recent locations.  And a third which works with commands to list all landing locations in a specified sim.

3 out of 2 ain't bad.

From first hand experience the DCL network removes deleted landing points from the database after a time, so why are there still dead locations on the list?  hmmm...

Restored the nicer but noisy timescoop to the Cartoon World lobby; you can't get updates without a rezzed product.

Someone who made a neat underhenge for the Pandorica (there are a few now) responded to my inquiry about their restricting the sim from child avatars.  While they can make whatever rules they want for their estate (and I always comply), I have to express what a shame it is when someone makes a rule for the wrong reasons in an effort to justify a bias.  His perspective was, to paraphrase: "I've seen those news clips on YouTube about pervs and Age Play, therefore child avatars are all dirty old men and I don't want them on my property."  Sorry Marianne - that place was cool and I would have liked to take you there on an adventure.

What would The Doctor have said about that?

In other news, Snurky donated some of her bait money to Burning Life for the land lottery.  It's time she got into some projects; she's a deserving avatar.  Burning Life is privately funded now and they need our help.

There are textures missing from my inventory.  All steps taken have not restored any.  I can always re-up them, and I had to in order to restore Errol Flynn trailer access on the gallery property, but I already paid for these the first time.  I think Linden Labs should eat one month of tier, because it was most of the orig Bay City Cartoon World structure and tons of art which cost me (the online comics alone add up to a small fortune).

Emeraldgate.  The fun continues.

Dr Who audiobooks.  I've acquired two off iTunes: one read by David Tennant in the first person and one read by Matt Smith.  I like them, but feel they should be called audioshortstories.  Compare with several CD *sets* I own of Robert Picardo reading Voyager novels; you can best believe those don't come out to under 2 hours per book.

I'm planning a second Dr. Who comic after the current one I'm working on. The second might be for the Tenth Doctor.

Ole Yeller

I dunno - can a building have too much yellow?

It's bright and cheery with the potential to ward off Bloodlines stalkers. 

The old parcel is empty for the moment.  Maybe I'll put a small, lowprim park there, or maybe a little kiosk like the kind I always wanted a small parcel in Nova Albion for.

The comic is progressing slowly, perhaps a bit too "safely."  I just want things to look good. 

Way back when I started taking Character Animation in Cal Arts, I grew averse to backgrounds, a consequence of penciling hundreds of poses over a quick set of lines representing an environment set on another level (pencil tests are backlit).  This never left me, and I'm always wanting to get right to the characters.

I'm like that about characters too.  I have many shallow and incidental types in the story - not to mention a villain.  It's hard to put equal effort into figures one has little regard for, so I've made a consious effort to slow down to catch these.

There are many characters which are intentionally simple. They represent simple avatars.  Then almost-realistic.  Then there's representing actual people on the grid.  My notes for the comic are over 4 pages, very little of it about plot.


More info as it becomes available.