IRS Careers Island

The IRS has set up shop in Secondlife with what basically amounts to a recruitment center. When I saw in the landmark description "Freebies" amongst other things I said "No freak'n way..I have to check this out !"

Well I never saw the freebies and the above photo was really as exciting as the place got. It was an overly large skybox with endless hallways it seems. I am thinking, wow, you went to great lengths to make this idiot proof...is this the kinda candidate you want to hire? The one who can find his way through the multitude of arrows leading you this way and that to a finally destination, that ultimately was only just a text board saying the type of job and connect to an outside web page. Than I thought..hey I get it. You want some one who can stand endless hours of tedium. Who can push pass the need to yawn deeply. Veeery clever you IRS folks.

     Well if you want a career in the IRS drop in and get "recruited". I think I failed the tedium test as I somehow found a window and jumped out hoping for a quick death. As I fell to my doom the final irony stabbed me like a knife.  A large IRS sign on the way down. Its so like them.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/IRS%20Careers%20Island/120/126/506

Alien Abduction Trailer Park

   On just the name alone, I decided to visit this place and see what kind of funky fun I could have. It sells itself as a unique shopping experience with activities, and in that it lives up to it. Its not necessarily high fun and product but presented in this format, it does make it fun to explore even if your not buying. I found several great deals but mostly I just goofed around exploring the place and being silly. Heck, you can even go up into the UFO and look down.

    If you don't set your standards too high, and just go for the heck of it, you should have fun. I did.

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Twomoons%20Island/79/146/48

Diving into the pool

Observation Deck, UFO

Collabor88

   Collabor88 follows in the heels of other joint projects by a select few but highly qualified designers. Not to far back $50L Fridays ended its run, and when you look out across the landscape the "hunt" events are growing a touch tiresome for many veterans. The creation of the promo centres that showcase the best, as well as shopping hubs that feature quality items by many is not a new idea, but this go round, it is the top designers, the ones who shunned such shared ventures in the past who are making these now the most exciting places.

  This particular store is pretty new, and features items for $88 L. On this visit I found a lovely top and bounce on a bed straight out of the movie, one flew over the Cuckoos Nest.
 

Recognize any of these designers? They are currently participating.

Barnesworth Anubis  Boom  Cheeky Pea  Clawtooth  Callie Cline
Cory Edo  Earthstones   Fashionably Dead  Illusory  Ingenue
Kyoot  Lisp Bazaar  Marukin   Nylon Outfitters  Pig
PDA / Antebellum  R2 Fashion   The Sea Hole  Tres Blah
Whippet & Buck  U.F.O.  Yummy  Vive 9

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Tails/82/209/2225    <--- Visit in world

or

http://collabor88.com/    <--------  visit their web site

   I was impressed to find they kept it basic and fairly open. This store will probably become a regular stop for me on my grid rounds.

Is it time for one of these in Secondlife?

     Lots of talk going around about the Linden corporate mindset and the future of Secondlife. Will it implode? Is the end so near or are we limping along happily as a cash cow while they try to find another type of sustainable revenue stream. Pretty weighty questions for many as we witness sims closing, lack of support and an apparent lost of direction over all. But wait..this just in !

Linden labs wants YOU....yes YOU, to write for them on their community blog. Why??  Because you know how much you love them and they know how much you wish to share that love..for FREE! I can see Chestnut Rau has a good bend on it and I agree with her. Still if you want, join them and become famous right?

Crap Mariner shows he understanding though and with his mechanical arm he has extended a fig leaf to the lindens with the generous offer of letting them submit posts for his blog with only a few minor conditions. How wonderfully generous.

It seems reasonable actually. Oh and in the spirit of Secondlife I stole Craps picture and claim fair use while snubbing my nose at SOPA.

    So my response to it all? Hmmmmm....

The picture at the top is my really cheap ass Dooms Day clock. Figured SL needed one now so we can all eagerly have fun updating it. I might improve it one day...not...  The prims are out of alignment and its made from cheap pine and the guts don't even work. Hell, I had to prop it up on some dead branches because I forgot to build adequate supports. Its perfect and a great representation of all the values we have come to embrace in Secondlife. No, our overlords have embraced that, the citizens however continue to try and enjoy themselves.This is actually the second one I build. The first one disappeared after a sim re-start, so I guess I don't have to submit a copy to them for the blog, they already got mine.

So...looking over the regions and current policies, I have set the clock to 10 minutes to derezz. Am I being too generous? Only time will tell. I should submit this blog now to them for review and possible posting..cause I know how much they need the input. Like the Linden Showcase..remember that one Lindens. I applied for the job to explore for you and display what I found on showcase and you turned me down..than one of the people you hired directly used my blog for their submissions to you. I'm over that now.

Flying Monkeys

Due to flying Monkeys at my home, I will have to slow down and post updates on a less regular basis. Have no fear though, as I have good people tackling the problem and plenty of monkey chow in the cupboard if it gets ugly.

Jumps into Exodus Viewer

  Yea, I have heard the talk and frankly I thought I was going to wait a little longer. The Mesh designs are coming out all over place by different designers and figured perhaps today I should download a Mesh compatible viewer and see what the big deal was. Sure, I was having fun watching all the funky ways non-mesh viewers tried to render them, from donuts to wonky boxes, but alas like an old redundant joke I grew tired of the simple humor of it.

     So I loaded this morning and tried Exodus.

Lets start with I don't hate it. No wait, don't take that as a negative. With my experience from other viewers that is huge. I remember practically pulling my hair out over their use. There is a number of parts to this new viewer that seemed practical and I was able to get started with it rather quickly. It did make me feel like a noobie trying to get around all the various functions but not impossible. I have been using my older viewer for so long that it had become second nature to me and so I was very quick and sharp when it came to the many functions.

I could break down all the features I suppose but hardly original. The above pick shows the basic start I got, locking in common use functions directly to the screen for easy and quick access but when I was monkeying around with the windlight aspect, I was not able to mindlessly cycle through them but rather had to pick and re pick over and over which I liked. I am using a beta version but as time goes I think I can fully expect to see functional improvements in all areas.

So, obviously I got nothing else done this morning. Heck, I didn't even think to change clothes today and given my almost endless supply of them I will have to wear two outfits tomorrow to make up for it. I don't know where this is all leading in the long run but MESH is with us and perhaps the time has come for all to get out of their comfort zone and find a MESH viewer as I have and get in with both feet. Till I am fully comfortable with this new viewer I can easily see myself swapping back and forth between it and my standard Phoenix viewer.

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     So what is next for Shini..what project can I get my hands dirty on. I am strongly considering going back to making more things. Maybe even selling a piece or two here and there. At present I don't have a high enough talent where I can sell something and still feel proud of the effort, but I am going to give it a try. Perhaps some funky tattoos to start to get in the whole mode of it. I will definitely need something to occupy my mind since I quit smoking today. I have tried too many times and failed so I hope this time it will stick but I make no promises to myself or others. I am just going to keep trying till it sticks.

Avalon Planetarium

http://slurl.com/secondlife/Space%20Destiny/202/105/47

      Those who know me, know my fascination with space science. I follow many institutions and ongoing research initiatives on a regular basis. Advance physics just does it for me, so when I learned of another science related project in SL, I just had to go.

     Welcome to the Avalon Planetarium. It is a fairly basic but noble venture. Utilizing kind of a slide show projected on to the dome, a text based narrator takes you on a journey while you listen to the space like calming music. The show lasts about 20 mins. I of course tried to follow it but my cam was not working due to the mega prim used in the dome. D'oh ! Now had I read the instructions at the door I would have found that by using just my arrow keys I could easily keep up. Once learning that I sat and enjoyed the images. I didn't learn anything new, and basically sat watching pretty images.

     I wished a few things had been better but in this particular field I am fussy I guess and quite bias to what I want to see.
1) idiot proof the theatre from..well..people like me. The ones who walk in and do not read the instructions.
2) is a voice over audio possible or will that cost too much for the stream.
3) The dome should be moving and not just have a static picture of the constellations. It would help to enhance the experience.
4) Maybe get real daring and build a show for a once or twice a week viewing (with a tip jar for your hard work) and use the time to have a more interactive show. Explain what you know or show what is happening in our current space research.

geez..I could go on and on. Maybe I should build my own darn planetarium. Hmmmm...too lazy or lack the needed skill to make it live up to my criticisms. You pick one, I am ok with both. I may however try something more basic in the future. Haha..you should see my list of things I say I am going to do one day. Man that thing is long. Well in terms of space science, I will probably get to that one before all the other to-do things on my list.

     All critisms aside, this is not a bad attempt for something not well suited yet for a full planetarium experience. It will come though, and from someone more talented than I to create what should be a wonderful experience in space. Though the dome doesn't move it dose change along with the pictures on the walls. Give it a try if your unfamilar with space science, you may enjoy it.

A Masculine man and his tube sock.

   So I was doing my daily reading this morning (which covers Blogs, news sites, general fluff) when my eye spotted on Fabfree a male model.

My immediate thought was, wow, for all the effort women make and all the interest in female clothing, skin and body shape, you would think that the same effort could be spent on men. When I look at this particular gentleman I could see so many things wrong with the shape and the way it abnormally contorts. Frankly it is a less than sexy look. Nice muscle big guy.

     This however is a less than ideal example of what you can find out there. Male fashion and the sort has come a long way since the early Secondlife days and although there is still a strong focus on the female end, many designers have created excellent male orientated shopping experiences just for those poor guys who no long wish to look..well...frankly too many look like dorks.

     So today I decided to go find a store that exemplified "Manhood". That testerone charged joy of guy places.

My first stop was the Jungle. Arggh..that be a real manly name. With lions in the courtyard and a burly man's man at the front door. Are you "intrigued"?  Ugh...no.

How ironic it was that I should wish to give an honest review of a place but be totally caught up with the giggles. How could I not? Look at this guy. Its like he was travelling down the road with the top down , hair fluttering in the wind, when suddenly a flying squirrel hits him dead in the chest...exploding. Squirrel fur everywhere. So now my morning quest was forgotten, and I got to no other business to review its designs or find a suitble high quality place for men.

Oh they exist to be sure and so I will have to pay a call on one in the future to show the endless possiblities. For today however, I am afraid I have became quite juvenile as I walked this business snapping shots of what essentially became my "own" private ha ha I guess.

omg...hahahaha.

Now I know where the missing sock from the dryer ended up.

A post that has nothing to do with Secondlife. Really

    I stumbled over this and had to share. Sometimes dark humor speaks volumes and potentially speaks of the underlining unhappiness that exists. So yea, this has nothing to do with my Secondlife little world where I escape to and generally focus my blog writing attention on. With great apologises I confess to finding this funny in a very twisted way. When I watch and read the world news I wonder sometimes why more people don't just snap.

Another closing in Secondlife..Hardcore Dark Alley

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2012/01/sl-sex-sim-hard-halley.html

hee...the only PG shot I seemed capably of taking on the sim.

     As reported in New World News, Dark Alley has decided to call it quits after a very long run (relative I guess when compared to other SL venues). This sim was devoted to mostly forced sex fantasies and the like. Reading the comments on the post of the announcement they ranged from a sad lost classic to good riddance.

     My take, well..mixed. When sex no longer can pay for itself one could say that it might be the canary in the coalmine. It may be marking the future of all SL. I doubt that. I am granted not happy with the marketing efforts of the Lindens and I also recognize that money is tight for many while at the end of the day the lab still needs to be paid for all the fun your having. Still....a death watch. I am not there yet. A certain malaise exists to be sure as many residents seem to be going through the motions to feed their addiction to the system, but are not truly imaginative enough to crave their own path. I am not in a rush to label them totally lazy, but still believe that the majority of Internet users fit a narrow category of "entertain me while I make no effort or invest little personal commitment".

     FACEBOOK games are great for mind numbing lazy no effort involved addictive slop. Even I have fallen prey to that. Like eating ice cream right out of the bucket. Too lazy to get a bowl and I would only have to wash it later. I recently stopped farmville and still going through withdrawals.

     But secondlife is not asleep. A few very keen individuals are still using it as a canvas; creating and experimenting. The full appreciation of this though goes no where if your not getting out and looking. Seeing what can be done. For me the only thing that held me back from creating a store years ago was my lack of talent. I could however create alot for the things I see....in the freebie bin that is. Secondlife is still vibrant and I think the closing of a long standing sex sim is not a panic situation. Zindra, the sex continent struggled when it first got under way as I remember.

    I have several ideas, several I have heard actually discussed by Lindens, for saving Secondlife. Simple functionality, grid stability and intelligent marketing would head that list. Thinking outside the box  though is as important as ever. Secondlife is no longer the media darling with huge potential, and the whole 3D avatar existence is now so yesterday and well copied on multiple platforms. Within Secondlife though is a community of amazing people who have demonstrated again and again a wonderful imagination and intelligence and those leaders should perhaps be tapped for ideas as part of a no-holds barred forum.

So...are you gonna miss Hardcore alley?  For the twisted people who find the joys of objectifying women and several OMG fetish pleasures, don't worry. A quick scan of adult areas shows no lack of places to debase yourself in or demonstrate your complete perversion. Remember, in this area of Secondlife, the Lindens are your super sekret friends.