Rufferta

Many good parcels seem to be going for a song on the SL Auctions. If you just want a place to call home, a minimum bid on a 512 is $L500, on a 1024 is $L550, and on a 2048 is $L1050. My alt had tier going to waste so I bid on a 1024 in Lota, and got it for L$590. It has the best and worst views in the Mainland. I had a structure in my inventory (Barnesworth Anubis' La Jolla house) and was able to modify it, and rotate it to fit the parcel. Here's a secret - after a week I no longer minded the neighborhood clutter. I remember my Mom telling me "After a week on the mantelpiece, a sock becomes part of the decor." Don't be afraid to try living on the Mainland. Parcel in green. Typical Mainland view from one window (Hi def view). Not shown: a low skybox and some "giant prim" architecture". On the other side, just hillside and sky. Far below, part of the Lunalis small-gauge railroad. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lunalis/206/232/103

Another 'Lazy Sunday' sale. This item only available on the Marketplace, ad does not give an expiration date. 75 Lindens at least for today. Fundati Ash Premium Ash Tree Set. No season change HUD, but items can be resized. All animated. Ash Trees viewed from 35 meters. From left to right: A is 12 LI, B is 10 LI, and C is 9 LI. The ground branches (one of a set of three) in front are 1 LI. Ash trees from 35 meters. Beautiful trees up close. I've used them close to a building on a smaller parcel.

Lazy Sunday through August 29th - On Cube Republic Marketplace for 175 Lindens - Fatpack contains three folders with Mountain Oaks, Pans Oak, and Old Oak Trees. All have foliage changing HUD for five seasons and some come with or without bases. From left to right - Mountain Oak (one of five versions) Pans Oak Redux 2022 - 34 LI - has HUD to change tree foliage and lantern color - the lanterns ( 1 LI) can be rezzed on their own. CR Old Oak Tree - 33 LI Above - Mountain Oak, Pans Oak, and Old Oak Tree - closer photo Above - Mountain Oak, Pans Oak, and Old Oak Tree from 78 meters. Above - five versions of Mountain Oak from left to right 1 -24LI, 2 - 11LI, 3- 17LI, 4 -18 LI, 5 - 14 LI 4th is the five kinds of Mountain Oaks 70 meters These are high LI items, but look beautiful. What I have done when landscaping is use a 'focus' tree near the front, and then fill in the background with low Land impact trees. Snapshots have not been gimped except to cut the images to size so they don't crash computers.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Playful Paradise/10/147/22 I saw some interesting things in the Slept on Sales ad, so I went to look at Dabble & Evergreen. I am hoarding my Lindens right now, so didn't buy anything to try out, but thought that folks who are landscaping 'desert' ranches might be interested in the cactus and other decor. The items on the far wall are all L$75 to L$99. I especially liked the planter with the scorpion.

Thank you and Sabrina Cooke for the suggestions. I'll try them!

My avatar is wearing the Senra head and body, but with different skin and accessories. BUT - I can't get rid of the toenails...I've tried different alphas. Any suggestions?

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Motru/245/121/38

I appreciate that you go to the trouble of looking for items appropriate for Bellisseria, stage them, photograph them, and post articles about them. I've found quite a few items I would otherwise have overlooked by following this thread. My complaint is with creators who copy each others' designs rather than making things that are more authentic. A proper egg basket should be easy to carry, easy to reach into, and easy to clean. Obviously, some designers have never been pecked by a broody hen....

I don't mean to be persnickety, but as a chicken farmer's daughter, I would find that egg basket impractical because the opening is too small. I think bucket-shaped baskets are more traditional. Sorry.

Who is going to decide what looks good and what doesn't look good? Here is a 'Mole Build' from 2009. I'd take it over many a modern mesh structure. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bhima/145/83/43 (Poster from my Mole Museum)

Here's one - A Linden Mug. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out how to steal it. Just found another Magellan not too far away but couldn't get good pics because of the fishies.... ooh! and there's some other neat things nearby. I wonder how many Easter eggs there are at SL20B.

What might have made me quit (If I wasn't so stubborn): - Being stuck under the floor of a building with poor mesh construction, - Choosing 'wear' rather than 'add' and ending up partly naked, - Trying to figure out how to open boxes without wearing them, - 0- second orbs - 0 - snotty forumites - 0 - cliquey resident groups In retrospect, what helped me was other residents inworld, and forumites who patiently answered all my newby questions, and a few online resources. And, I should add that, although I have explored a number of other virtual worlds, there is no place like Second Life.

Regarding Hierarchy of Needs: "Second Life does not present any challenge to users that qualify as being psychological or survival." I think that learning how to move, communicate, etc...in Second Life is harder than defeating any old Minecraft zombies, thank you very much. If new users leave before they have mastered SL's complexities, perhaps it is because they do not see a worthwhile benefit to staying. Regarding gamification: Life is a game, so is Second Life. My Bartle is 100% explorer, 53% social, so I'm not here to be social, but I stay because I love to explore, create, learn, and awe at the wonderful things/projects/ideas that come into being in Second Life. I watched the whole referenced interview, and I felt that "building friendship" and "building community" seemed to be mentioned a lot, so I'm hoping LL's vision isn't for SL to become a better version of VR Chat. Perhaps a placement exam at entrance to determine new residents' preferences? Send them to destinations that meet their needs- giant chat rooms, or orgies, or..... I hope I haven't wandered into the Room for Arguments by mistake.

But it's not an adult pun until it's full groan.

Arghh! Then in RL let's just bulldoze Stonehenge and the Pyramids and....sorry. I'm very fond of all those old SL prim and sculpt builds because they are a part of our history.

At SL20B just looking around at random I found this exhibit, The Four Seasons of Tarot by Honey Heart (with lighting by Caledonia Skytower) to be absolutely beautiful. You can ride one of the horses through the four seasons landscape, and then learn more about the Tarot.

At Shop & Hop DRD's giving out a $L475 gift certificate that can be used for any of their products. Although most of their items are appropriate to their name, "Death Row Designs", I found some items for my alt's Victorian. DRD Shop & Hop store is in Forsythia. Their inworld store is: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Death Row/133/196/1005 The Train Car Coat Rack is 2LI and the Umbrella Rack is 3LI.

Your loss. I think the Birthday celebrations get better every year, but I think it is going to be hard to top this year's event. I was considering, since I am retired, that perhaps I should not visit during the peak times to leave more room for those who still have to work.

Thank you for the clarification. I guess I had thought of the "Plus" account as being just another form of Premium.

The 'About Land' page has been updated since I last visited, and looks very good; however, I was confused by the statement "You do not have to be a Premium member to buy land." I know that non-Premium residents can buy Regions, yes, but later the article explains that you can buy land from land agencies, which sounds wrong somehow. What did I miss?

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/WelcomeHubLindenHomes/134/225/32 I visited the new WelcomeHub area to see what information they had about buying property in Mainland. There was a sign "Land and Linden Homes" with demos of Linden Homes (and perhaps spots for the new 2048's) but all I could find was Abnor Mole's Info Kiosk with links to articles about buying property. The kiosk was set so that you wouldn't see it as you entered the area. Meanwhile, on another kiosk, a copy of the Bellisseria Covenant was displayed under glass as if it were the Magna Carta. Draw your own conclusions.

The SSP thread alerted me to the fact that the new WelcomeHub areas are open. I thought it might need its own thread. Looks as if WelcomeHub Linden Homes will be connected to Bellisseria by rail.

Found at Vintage Faire at Dainty Rhino until June 19. http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dainty Rhino/6/17/31 Cerridwen Cauldron's Pitcher Plant Lamps and Sconces $L249 - many colors and options included, 2 to 3 LI each. Scale: Largest lamp is 2.04472 tall. I thought LOD was good. Eclectica Curiosities-Edwardian Black Rose Vase three colors $L100 for set 1 LI each Note: Finding your way around may be a challenge as flying is turned off, but quite a few interesting stores there.

Ways to Improve Second Life: GET THE PERVS OUT OF THE INFOHUBS AND PUT SOME INFORMATION THERE! Sorry, I'm still upset - PERVS: I thought I'd find out what information was at the Infohubs so I visited eight of them*. At the first one I ran into a large group of nude people who were apparently soliciting. I made two abuse reports - one was for ***** and one was for 'obscene' name, but I could have made dozens if my stomach had been up to it. Curiously, some of the folks I saw at the first Infohub showed up at the third place I visited, which makes me think they change locations frequently. Now, most of the info hubs I visited were perv-free, but the ones that weren't were not anywhere you would want to send a newb. INFO: The best of them had the four standard "Info" signs - 1. Gaming/Glytch/Cornfield/Horizons/Paleo Quest/Linden Realms - gave landmarks 2. Portal Park/Mole Town - landmarks 3. Sign Up for Premium - link to information 4. Social Island/Learning Island - no landmarks - Links to a good web article about "The Basics", A link to a good video by Strawberry, and a link to an outdated video about "Getting a Home in Second Life" showing all the fun you could have in your First Generation Premium Home (think Meadowbrook).. The worst of them had little signage, signage that didn't work, signs with links to the "Linden Blog", or links to Torley videos. I realize that a lot of these Infohubs are privately sponsored with the expectation that the residents who run them will keep them up to date, but I also know that some of these sponsors are no longer active in Second Life. What I would like to see added at the InfoHubs: Landmarks to places like NCI, Happy Hippo, Builder's Brewery, Ivory Tower, etc. More information about how to find a place to live. I have to say that the BelliHub is an excellent example of what other Infohubs should be. End of rant. *Violet/Castle Valeria/Bear Dream/Hyannisport/DeGrand/Braunworth/Helfell/Temple of Isis.

Just a data point. Tried to help a newb today who was using Black Dragon. I've never used it and I wasn't much help. It seems mentors will need to know more than just Firestorm and The Official Second Life Viewer. I'm assuming that mentors will have a communication band that they can use when they need experts in using different types of viewers, as well as those fluent in different languages or areas of expertise. Trying, but not being able to help was humbling - those of you who are volunteering to be mentors are brave. Thank you