Burning Life 08 - Code Region

There is an awful lot to see at Burning Life - it'll take me more time than available to see it all. I didn't make to all of the installations on the Code sim but I can report on 5 of them. The first one is Camp Amok Time - and let me just say I'm grateful there are signs on these installations. I'd never figure out what they were otherwise. An interesting collection of items (and lots of freebie gifts) - you'd have to look for yourself to appreciate it.

You all know that I love Steampunk - so you know I appreciated the Conservatory of the Aether - a free necklace is available here.

Right next door was Uninspired - a scathing and/or political message is imprinted on each letter. This artist is not very optimistic!

I loved this guy - the Junkamaton.

The most interactive of the installations I saw this morning was The Illuminati Abduction. I had some trouble with the teleport - I think. I'm not sure I was supposed to wind up here.

I finally solved the problem by standing on the ground underneath the main area and flying straight up. I found this room which is fascinating - but you'd have to be braver than I am to test the various tables set up for medical experiments. :)

As always, lots of good stuff to see. The amount of talent, art, planning and building that went into the installations is inspiring.

Burning Life 08 - Dizzy Banjo

My RL avatar allowed me some time in SL this morning while she did morning chores - so I took the opportunity to go visit Dizzy Banjo's installation at Burning Life. I took a lot of pics but without the movement and the music I'm afraid they just can't convey the actual experience. Here are a few to give you just an inkling of what happens when you click on the ground level site and choose teleport.

Arriving approx. 300 m in the air you find yourself surrounded by pods - they look inviting, so sit in one. :)

There's a countdown and then you are instructed to turn on your music stream. And the ride begins!

You and your pod are set in motion for what will be a 1000 m journey - with full musical accompaniment (well it is Dizzy Banjo after all). The motion, shapes and colours are in harmony (pun intended).

When you reach the final destination there is a brief pause and then you and the pod descend once more. A wonderful experience. Well worth trying!

This is a thoughtful piece and it engenders thought. I'll allow you to undertake that part of the journey without my interference. :)

Second Life and Germs

You see the thing about Second Life and germs is that there aren't any - germs in SL that is. Unfortunately the same thing isn't true about RL. And the woman who does my typing has managed to acquire a humungous load of the suckers.

Head colds make her stupid. When they move down into her chest her synapses start synapting again - but she sounds like a seal doing a bad mating call.

As long as she's more concerned with her pitiful health issues she is not concerned about my welfare. So my ability to operate normally in Sl is severely hampered. I'll be back to normal when she is. :(

Gypsy Gadgets and Canoes

My friend Jon told me I should go check out this place called Gypsy Gadgets - so I did. :) Gypsy Paz has created this great region called Gypsy Falls you should all go visit - wonderful swaying foot bridges and an underground tunnel system. Made me really jealous since we all know I can't do script for sh*t.

There is a store of course - full of gadgets (not surprisingly). The swaying bridges are there, and shoelace tyers (sp?) and lots of other things. One of which is a canoe dock and rezzing system - which I had to buy for Aintree Common.

It makes it possible for anybody to get in a canoe and paddle around (free at Aintree but you could charge if you wanted).

I tested it - and as long as you stay close to the shore you can paddle around both islands. Cool! :)

New Concurrency High?

Sunday, September 21, 2008.

Giant Snail Racing

Some of the wonderful and colourful sights at the Giant Snail Races today.

Bath Tub Racing - Finally!

I finally made it to the monthly Bath Tub Races today. I've been trying since I first posted about them but something always happened to prevent me from attending. Not today!

It's terrific fun - a build contest first, then the races. And lots of prizes (I even won one). :)

I'm going to start working on my tub for the next one right away. If you want to join us (you'll have a blast) go to the BathTub Race Headquarters to get the info and your free bathtub.

Thanks to Forsythe Whitfield, Chase Marellan, Amanda Steadham and anybody I've forgotten - for setting this up and running it so well!

Hurricane Wishes!

Crap's way of thumbing his nose at a hurricane is to wear an "I like Ike" button. In his honour I'll wear mine.

But seriously, best wishes to my SL friends in Texas. Stay safe!

Templum Ex Obscurum

It's a gamble .......

I'm doing another tree texture which means I have time to think again. Sorry :)

Recently a nice woman blogged about Aintree Gardens - it was flattering and for the most part accurate. One thing she did get wrong was that she said my trees were all high prim and that's why they're so detailed. In fact, except for the sculpty trees, they're 3 or 4 prims. The detail comes from the textures.

I think I've mentioned that I spend a lot of time on textures. The foliage for the willow tree I finished recently took about 10 hours. The fir tree I'm working on now will probably take longer than I've ever spent - it looks like I'll spend about 20 hours on the foliage (those needles are small).

I know people like my stuff because of the detail. What I've not been able to figure out is how much of the time I spend is really not necessary. The fact that I redid that one leaf a few times is probably only important to me. Anybody else looking at it won't even notice the darn thing. I've concluded that the aggregate of all my fussy little details is what makes the whole and what people respond to. Even if they don't get out a magnifying glass and look at the individual parts.

Doing these textures is a gamble for me. When I do a flower I can tell in advance what is going to work and what won't. But that's because I've done so many of them. Doing the foliage for the sculptys is new territory for me. The oak, chestnut and willow worked really well and I'm glad. I think I'm right that the fir tree will work - but I won't actually know until I finish it, upload both the foliage and bark textures and start building the tree. Finding out then that 20 hours of work was wasted will be a pain. I guess I'm a gambler. :)

Landscaping Commission

It was intense and exhausting. I donated a willow tree and free landscaping to that benefit auction a while ago and I finally had a chance to work on the winner's parcel this weekend. 3 full days of work and we're both happy. This is a pic of a very small part of it- it turned out well. :)