Places to take a stand...

I started thinking a couple of days ago about Secondlife in general {actually I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about Secondlife}, and particularly where I stand in this wonderful world. Originally my thoughts were about my responsibilities here. I have a responsibility to my residents, to those I meet in-world, to myself, and to the Secondlife platform its self. The resident responsibilities are easy to see...pay our tier (people have paid me real money for their share of our operating costs). Provide our residents with a safe trouble free place to enjoy this world of ours. Either watch for activities that induce a lot of lag or hire people to do that...(I do both), and watch for those people that occasionally visit and become a pain. My stuff is all the above...plus keep a sense of ethics. I learned a long time ago that ethics is the stuff you do when there's a choice...............and no ones gonna know! To those I meet in world...... act polite, act ethically, act kindly, and try to remember how I felt when I was new. Acting responsible to the Secondlife platform is something that's taken awhile to figure out. It occurred to me after a few years that handing out stolen content to nooblets and justifying it as, "Well it was given to me by and oldbie"...or "What's the harm?... there's hundreds of people doing it", just won't fly. A lot of this is stuff most of us never think about. Only in these last few months have I become aware of the script problems here. We all get a little upset at the lag we so often experience. There's a post from Ann Otoole about lag http://annotoole.wordpress.com/ {search her blog for info about "resizers"}. Resizers are scripts that literally resize hair or shoes, or boots etc. Yes, creators need to just use one script in root prim instead of a script in every prim (one hundred in hair easy...or more in those classy, hot, come do me boots you just bought). They don't use one script...I don't know why...lazy? You're gonna buy 'em anyway? We all have a responsibility to minimise our rendering costs... it's not just "all about me"...it's about us. You could put 50 avies on an empty sim with almost no lag if they were dressed as texture haired nooblets! *********************************************************************** OK...'nuff philosophical "stuff".... *** Places to *stand* in world....I went out this morning looking for the edges of our world.

This is the farthest North west sim I could find. Roses of Love. What I did find rather interesting...there was one avatar on that sim...{in that house bottom right}. She had no idea she was on the edge of the world she said...and she had ban lines up! {just seemed incongruent}

Oh...interested in land? Quarter sim lower left for sale.... 4001 prims, 15L$..........

Tier? Only a measly 6,000L$ a week. (and the empty shopping mall just above...hmmm, maybe that's why the ban lines?)

*** This may be the oddest of my finds today...there are three of these sims located at the far Southwest corner of the world. All three are owned by Morgan? Linden... not certain now of first name, and all three are flat, green, and totally empty. *** The far Southeast corner....=^..^= *assisted living*. Aka Linden homes...all the 512 meter 117 prim house you can use. Lori and I were in that upper left corner...I thought the girl was gonna have a heart attack when she clicked a house..more...more..derender...and it did! (Only on her screen)

*** Beautiful estate center east side of the world... For some our first thought is, "That's what I want!". So much for a social Secondlife huh? {It was so very well done though}

*** And lastly, the Northeast corner....University of Potsdam...a scientific sim.

You kno, one can stand on the corner of any island and see nothing.... but here it felt different.

Advanced for Fun

A little fun today.... and be careful... there's a reason the advanced menu isn't visible by default! If you've never used it...Cntrl/Alt/D... *************************************************************************

This is the one that we use most often, rendering, types,.... contact patch will let you find that rug that just went under the land . =^..^= Above and below are the ones that kinda scare ya.......(Consoles). Wish sometimes I was bright enough to know why/what these are used for.

***

The following images are of our home in various renderings....

De rendered all....(you can see Caros tag center right)...she was home. Contact patch & water only....all volume, alpha, trees missing.

All three sims complete...

Cammed from what would be a couple of sims south of us if they registered....There are Western role play sims just south of us...{dreamers, they have come to me twice asking if they can place sims on our south shores...that will never happen!}

***

If you have questions about the advanced menu feel free to come ask me...I know how to use most of the ones that we commonly need... and I know who to ask for a lot more.

Here's a handy piece of info you might can use someday. You find yourself on a parcel with a music stream you just love. You can find the owner and ask them for the URL to the stream... or you can go to advanced.... near the bottom you will see "View Admin Options" {Cntrl/Alt/V} that will allow you to click the land you're on...choose about land, media...you can now see the media url playing on the land. {Btw...Admin also allows you to fly in "No Fly" areas, doing that can get you banned from a sim that has "No Fly".......so user beware}. If you do play around and really screw up your screen, all isn't lost... First remember exactly what you click, everything reverses. If all else fails you can log out...un install the viewer you used and reinstall. You may well lose your IM and chat logs...if those are important to you, you can copy all that info and back it up before you remove the viewer. I know for a fact you will lose all logged info by removing 2.0. but your inventory will not be affected. ************************************************************************ This weekend in the United States is a holiday...Memorial Day is Monday. This is the day we remember those that died in our single worst war. Our civil war...a war that cost us over 600,000 of our own...a war where sometimes brother fought brother and father fought son. Someday there will come a time when we can stop fighting and killing ourselves.... Sadly I don't see it in the few years I have left.... But someday... Secondlife could be a start... And so it goes May you all have love today, brinda Namaste नमस्ते

Secondlife...why?

This image and its text were created by Andor Diechter November 2009. Thank you again Andy...I too feel so fortunate at having found Secondlife and it's people. **************************************************************************** What does Secondlife mean to you... Is it a place of escape, a place to create, a place for friends, a place of discovery, a place to grow, a place to love or be loved, a place to learn, a place to teach? Is it all of these... or none of these? *** I spent much of today thinking about these questions. My friend Deanna came last evening, she's recently had to re evaluate her ongoing education and the stresses that go along with higher education. Deanna has shared with me how she has come to feel about Secondlife... about what it means to her... the why she comes. A day or so ago my dear friend Andor stopped in for a few minutes... I didn't get a chance to chat with Andy in world then, but we did swap Emails a day or so later. Andor and I have had a couple of meaningful conversations over the better than a year he stayed at Benares. I believe I know a lot about why Andy comes back ever so often even though he isn't active in world just now. My friend Kattie is unable to come in-world often...what with house hunting, family, job, and the everyday things we all have to handle, there just isn't time. She and I also share emails, and I know what Kattie found here. Bubbles...She was missing for a few months, we chatted today about the whys for that. I understand the need for some of us to attempt to keep members of our real life close, and how often those real life members feel that they are closed off from us in world. *** All of the above stories are reasons to come to Secondlife... I won't share the intimate details of exactly why those people come here or any of the others I know. They aren't my stories to tell. I can tell you why I come. In my case it's all of those reasons I listed above. I didn't know those were the reasons when I first came.... when I first came, it just looked like a great adventure. What I found here was a life... a life like I guess I had wanted for a very long time. I've mentioned before about the invisablity of our older generation... while the older generation often can be hidebound and rigid in our thinking we also have so much life experience. I want to believe that I'm not one of those that has a rigid mind set...and this past year particularly has proved me right. I imagine all of you have heard of my Secondlife daughter Lala, we came to Secondlife at about the same time and Lala kinda adopted me. In some ways she has become the daughter experience I missed with my own daughter. I have become Mom to a few here, and you know... I take the projected responsibility both gladly and seriously. I love Secondlife... I get to mentor so many and I know that one on one mentoring is a key to allowing new people to remain. I am occaisionally asked to share my spiritual views and to answer those questions many of us have...you know, those questions of... Who am I? Where are we? Where are we going? Why? *** I think I understand that for whatever reason this experience in Secondlife was the impetus for my recent pilgrimage to India... It just seemed like something I had to do. Today I see it predetermined that I named our home here Benares. *** I would be interested in why you are here if you choose to share that...either here in comments, in world, or via Email. I hope everyone would understand that your responses to me would be private unless you asked me to publish. Brinda.Allen.SL@Gmail.com *** And so it goes My love to you all, brinda Namaste नमस्त

Thinking about Mice =^..^=

My friend Deanna dropped in to our public area last evening and during our chat and sharing Baz Luhrmans, "Wear Sunscreen" video, I had mentioned to her that in these last few months my psychological life has undergone a dramatic change. My visit to India is certainly a part of that change...I'm not aware enough to know if the trip was cause or effect. I went out to get the mail this morning and found the latest issue of the "Shambala Sun" magazine waiting for me. So often there is such a jewel waiting just inside the back cover and today was no exception. This months jewel is a poem by Billy Collins...see footnote, and it says much about my thought processes I suppose...{maybe I think too much?!} While on the surface the poem below has absolutely nothing to do with Benares or Secondlife it spoke to me in a way that most poetry doesn't. Enjoy...life is so short.

***

(Click on image to view)

And so it goes My love to you all, brinda Namaste नमस्ते Poem copywrite by: Billy Collins (born March 21st, 1941) an American poet and a former Poet Laureate of The United States from 2001 to 2003.

News...

East sim today...Lori's place in foreground... Ravens new digs... This is her first place also, she was a renter on another place 'till she found us.

***

I don't seem to have a really current picture of Lala! (note to self, work on that).

Lala's back! For those that don't know, Lala is my Secondlife daughter... we started this journey 3 years ago when we met at the Ahern welcome area. Recently we kinda think she was falsely abuse reported as underage and *The Benovolent Monarchy* takes allegations like that seriously enough that they banned Lala's account until they did verify her age {no idea why it took a month!}. ***

It's likely a good thing I'm a little short of time this morning 'cause the thing running through my head could have me sitting here for a long time.

Secondlife relationships!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of my newer residents IM ed me last evening wanting to know about sharing a parcel with another. OK...you guys know how this works... your land, your rules {as long as covenants adhered to}.

Knowing a little of the back story my return IM just said, "Please be so very careful"... because while there are relationship success stories in Secondlife... they are few and far between.

In this case I was told that the real life partner is OK with this Secondlife relationship..............hmmm..Ok.

I hope it works out well....this world leads to incredibly intense feelings... real life perceptions change as they see our involvement...and in world....let's just say Secondlife men tend to stray.

As far as real life connections? No way, I've posted about this before...and I'll stand by that.

***

Sadly, I saw Smithy leave our island...well, really what's more sad is that I didn't "see" him leave. As so often happens many people just don't bother to say anything.

I often have new people come and see our place and instantly want to get a house and land and..and...

My advice is always to maybe just wait a bit...find out what you really wish to do in Secondlife. In Smithys case he was very new and borrowed a house from a friend and I suspect that after a couple months he found other interests...I sent a notecard thanking him for being here and wishing him well.

***

OK...I sat and thought about this for a few minutes. I want to say something...but as I've learned after many years of sayin' stuff and wishing I hadn't...it's easier to stop and think than to just blurt stuff out.

Andy, if you still read this know that you will always have a place in my heart as well as a place in our history. A day or so ago I logged in and as usual I was bombed with "stuff"... and it was a total surprise to see you log off...I hadn't taken time to look and see who was on line yet.

My hope is that you return someday...I do understand how painful it was for me to return to my place on the mainland and delete the shop Twinkle had...and I do understand your love of our home. nuff said

New Friends, New Houses...& an Old Friend

Bubbles has returned!!! I was so pleased today when I suddenly saw the incoming IM... "Hi Brinda!!!!!".... Those exclamation points said it all to me... my Bubbles is back! We went and visited Porter and a few of her friends for a few before Bubbles had to go AFK. It says so much that she was embarassed upon her return...she is always concerned about other people and their feelings, and felt that her absence was longer than was comfortable. I hope she's able to stay!

**********************************************************************

I looked around this morning and saw that quite a few of our residents have been remodeling,upgrading, or just replacing their houses.....see below! *** Ottos latest...I haven't been inside yet, but I love the look

*** Caros newest...my first thought was Cape Cod, I know it's not...but it has that windswept beach house look. ***

These next two have special meaning for me.

First is Lori's Lori spent much of her first month in Secondlife at 2000 meters over Benares 17...building. Building everything, this girl has experimented with more prim properties in thirty days than I've played with in three years.

***

Next is Adriana

Adriana spent all her first weeks in Secondlife exploring... and finding out what many just never figure out... we need a community to involve us in Secondlife. Now there are a couple of ways to find that sense of community...I have chatted with people that are "homeless" in Secondlife and yet after a number of years they still feel a sense of community...you can find them standing around at Hanja, Waterhead, Ahern, Luskwood.

For many of us though... having a home here is what gives us that community sense of "belonging" and Adriana now has joined our community. As she said, she's tired of the sandboxes and dressing rooms...

Below is the first place of her own in Secondlife.

***

More news... as always, some good, some that's not as good.

Under the not as good... there's some chatter that our friend Zarz will not return for sometime...if ever :-(( .

I'm old enough to understand that the only true constant in any life is change... some of our changes are beyond our control while other changes are choices we make. I do hope Zarz finds us again someday, while all of you are important to me...those I found in their first few minutes on the old HIs have a special place in my heart.

*** Good news! I received an Email from Barbara recently...her college project is coming to and end and she hopes to have enough free time to return to us. ***

Recently I posted a machinama about Secondlife {Breathe 2}... I've been trying to look at it often...it gives me back some of those feelings I had when I was so new... I know that's important for me.

And so it goes

I love you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Breathe 2 " It's a wonderful Second Life"

A very short post this morning...Blogger doesn't want to upload images and the only one I really wanted to use was one of Benares that Andor had taken some months ago. Perhaps later I can add that image.

As I logged on and went through my usual site routine starting with Twitter I saw a post from DusanWriter (here... http://bit.ly/amGamQ ). I sat frozen through the video...tears streaming.

I went to YouTube and found the original link and wanted to share it with all of you.
(view text below play bar...suggests viewing the Vimeo version...I suggest using full screen)

This is why I'm in Secondlife...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ISYjzwGOZw
I hope this speaks to you as it does to me...
This is what I found those first days....This is why I want never to leave.
And so it goes
My love to you all, brinda
Namaste
नमस्ते

Real Life & Secondlife today...

It's been such a whirlwind week...both in world and out...I took an hour or so this morning to sit in front of my Buddha and meditate. *** Real life has been trying to clean and organise so much of my "collection" (read junk) that I've not been good about for a couple years now. As a few of you remember I had an aborted move to southern Oregon that didn't work out, and some of that "collection" was still boxed. A lot of that stuff I tossed...working on the theory that if I haven't needed it in eighteen months.........must not need it! *** In world has been my salvation this week. I'm becoming a lot more active in the blog/forum part of Secondlife and learning so much. I hope my contributions in that area are positive ones. *** I want to publically acknowledge the help I get from Poly... Everytime I think I really know what's going on...it becomes clear that I'm full of crap! =^..^= The latest was the advertising boards...I went and bought that application 'cause I just couldn't get my brain around the thing and finally Poly spent about 30 minutes listening to my yelling and frustrations before managing to teach me very basic stuff...ie: read the instructions and follow them exactly. *** In reference to my last post, "A Love Affair"... A day later I got a gracious IM from Pituca Fairchang thanking me for the post. I love chatting with oldbies and hearing stories from Secondlifes earliest days. I sure wish I had found Secondlife earlier. *** I've had the pleasure of working with Lori this past week as well as going with her and other members of Benares to hear our Porter sing at a couple of different venues. * Lori never ceases to amaze me with her passion for Secondlife and her ability to explore the building options...flexible curtains... 'cause she said all she found in world looked like they belonged in a barn :-)). * Porter! All I can say is WOW! She had her real life band streaming with her at the "Speakeasy" music venue a couple days ago...anytime a performer in Secondlife can draw forty people to an in world location without Linden advertising says a lot about both them, the group, and the venue. Interested? Check out these links...there are a couple of music samples there. http://www.fezfatale.com/home.html http://www.myspace.com/fezfatale And so it goes I love you all, brinda Namaste नमस्ते

A Love Story...

This is a love story...as with many love stories it has many wonderful moments....and some terribly sad moments as well. I didn't know Garth and I've never met Pituca...perhaps I will get that chance someday. I do hope you get the same feelings from reading a bit of their story as those I got when I first came across these two. ******************************************************************************** Take a look at Pitucas rezz date...May 17th, 2003, that's just days short of four years before I came. No laughing at the hair...texture hair was still default when I came. You will also notice that Pituca was a charter member...when the first residents joined they had an option to become charter members and that entitled them to a 4096 parcel for as long as Secondlife was around... in 2003 that wasn't a sure thing. Three months later she met Garth Fairlight...While it wasn't love at first chat... it soon turned into that. They married here in Secondlife on November 20th, 2003...and on May 6th, 2006 they were married in real life... I know those first years here were wonderful.

The picture above explains first where my above information came from and second...the middle part of their love story.

***

I believe there is a third chapter...the love story isn't over.

I went to their home...I can feel the love. He is gone for awhile yes...but I could feel something special at this spot.

My guess is this home is just as it was last year. You can just see the shop at the upper left corner.

This is the Fairchild shop...everything that Garth created is still for sale...free. The love story goes on.

*************

For some of the best stories and pictures of early Secondlife please take time to look at this link...It's so worth it....

*** http://fairchang.blogspot.com/ Memoirs of an oldbie This is the SLurl to the Fairchang light house shop

http://slurl.com/secondlife/fairchang%20calypso%20sw/68/58/30

***

And so it goes

my love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Old Stuff... & New People

Benares.... circa April 2009 Benares.... circa January 2010 ******************************************************************************* Home to some of the finest people I've met in any world...thank you all for being in my life. ****************************************************************************** Things that make me go...hmmm. Ethics and responsibility... *** I made a serious attempt over twenty years ago to straighten out my life...both my constant on going legal situations, {those had gone on for over thirty years}, as well as my financial and social life. Being in an anonymous twelve step group, I had access to people that could mentor me and provide great input as to what was the right way to become a decent member of the social fabric of today's society as well as an ethical way to conduct my business and financial life. *** Now I realise that there are those of us that get into financial situations that just force us into seeking bankruptcy...get really ill today and you can find out that your medical bills would require you to live another 368 more years to pay off those costs... that's just one scenario...there are so many more. That wasn't my case...but I did ask my mentor about filing for bankruptcy so as to start out fresh in my new drug and alcohol free life. Her response was so warm and loving =^..^= "When you made those bills did you say you would pay them?", she said. Yes, of course...was my response. "Then PAY THEM! That's how we get here, by not doing what we said we would do". I paid them. *** The things here at Benares that never cease to cause me pause are tier related. As anyone over a few weeks or months old can figure out, land in Secondlife is cheap. Even those places that "sell" land...it's cheap. Tier costs are also cheap, no matter how much some of us complain about about Linden Lab. {Yes, there are those whose monthly tier could exceed thirty thousand USD because they own over one hundred regions} Our tier keeps the servers running...it keeps someone a phone call away twenty four hours a day...that tier and that service is how we were able to get a *rollback* a few weeks ago when a glitch/bug deleted much of the content on the Northeast corner of mainside. *** The tier related thing that gives me pause... Almost all of the residents at Benares see that their tier is often weeks, and with a couple of residents, months ahead. I think those people understand that in a worst case scenario I would return any tier that remained no matter what... Whether it was my fault or Linden Lab turning out the lights. I have watched over these nearly two and a half years and we have had a few residents that will wait until their tier is a few days overdue to pay tier. What happens is that if they wait 3 days...they end up with 10% tier reduction. I'm sorry 10% of tier on a 2048 parcel amounts to less money than a cup of Starbucks coffee....for me it's not the money...it's the ethics. *** Changing directions.... We have a couple of new people around...Lindsay, who is so deep in school just now that I don't get to see her often.... Deanna is another that's so stressed with school...she too won't be around much until the end of this year... I do hope these two remain and manage to maintain the passion. Our latest new person is Lori....you can usually find Lori up at 2000 meters above Benares 17 working on learning building. She's so bright and such a quick learner...it's a joy to be able to work with her. If any residents see these people, perhaps take a few minutes to say hello and make them a part of our community. Remember how you felt when you were new. And so it goes Love to you all, brinda Namaste नमस्ते

What If...........

I've read that images are the way to capture an audience for a blog....

This is Varanasi India today.

(And it has nothing to do with this post =^..^= ) *** In a recent Email to a very close friend here in Secondlife I spoke of how my friend Ling has recreated her Secondlife experience several times so as not to get "stale", or lose the magic, the passion, that sudden *whatever it was* that so hooked so many of us at the beginning. In many cases we come to Secondlife rather wide eyed (in my case despite my age and RL experience) and get very close to some or a few. There are upsides as well as downsides to any relationship and those get a little screwy in a virtual world, a few examples. *** She squeezes the toothpaste tube in the middle... He leaves the seat up... He splatters water all over the mirror and has never found a paper towel to wipe it clean, ever... She has a multitude of various bottles, creams, and potions covering much of the sink area... You will never experience those here... *** Now the good ones.............. We can't see that sudden eye shift when we ask him if he's single... or the missing tan around a ring finger... She covers up a drug addiction, and all the sleazy stuff we will do to continue that one (personal experience on that one! )... You won't see those here either... When the truth comes out it can be devastating emotionally... it's so easy to avoid dealing with it...just log out and never return to where you were hurt. *** Now that previous bit is if it's just a virtual world experience.... What if..... What if the virtual world experience becomes a real life experience? Never mind her drug habit...or his STD...or wife...or the possible real time physical/financial harm or harrassment... There are many reported successful real life relationships that have begun in virtual worlds. My gosh, I wish them all a long and happy life. But......what if? *** I treasure this virtual world of ours... I have been student... I've been teacher. I have had occasion to mentor people and to offer my considerable life experiences to show them another way to deal with things in their real life situations. I came to this world not knowing how to copy/paste...and I have gained so much. I have had people from literally halfway around the world teach me the basics of computers. I have met incredibly brilliant people...and yes, I've met some people that, in a past life.........well let's just leave it at something a good friend says. "At this point, nothing good is going to come of this." I can't imagine another place where all that's happened to me in these last three years could have happened this fast. I've also had news here that I wasn't ready for... so I too must recreate my Secondlife experience if I want to keep the passion.

I don't want to screw this up.

There are those of you I want to keep...but I will keep you here. ***

And so it goes

My love to you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते

Good and Bad...Nothing Indifferent

I saw a quick one or two liner on Twitter a day or so ago from Immy. I guess *some one* had told her that *some one* else had said that, etc etc etc etc. {No need for the details...that's where some of the problem started originally...people "said"} I promptly logged in world and told my friend that I personally had never heard any of the supposed stories. I believe I wasn't the only one that reported in since the purported allegations were rather serious stuff. I'm sure there would be some that might say that none of that was any of their business... I'm getting to that. The point is there will always be some that want to constantly "stir the pot" and create trouble...That is a not so subtle form of griefing. (Griefing, ie: creating grief for another solely for a twisted sense of power) I am an immersionist here in Secondlife...when I log in this typist fades into a distant pair of hands. Hands that more closely identify with the avatar on screen than the "real" body that controls them. I exist in Secondlife as surely as I exist in my first life. All social groups exist to better ensure the survival of the group....all. The human tribe formed because as a tribe we were better able to survive, not only as individuals, but as a group. We stood a much better chance to improve our standing in the world. Many animal groups today will ostracize aberrant members...and it's time to ostracize those that grief in Secondlife. *** My friend Jakob returned to Benares last evening for a visit...always a pleasure. I have to say this...even though it's, "blowing our Estates horn" . =^..^= He commented that in all of Secondlife he had never felt more at home as he does when he comes to a community that he is a part of, Benares. That was my goal so many hundreds of days ago... a community...not just pixel sand and prim houses. The house you see below was my first house at Arrazura in Secondlife. I bought a parcel there and had both a lot of fun, as well as got a start in my education here in Secondlife. Contrast that view with our Benares today... I saw the estate owner perhaps four or five times in the 8 months I stayed there. I never felt "a part of", and today I see that while much of that was my fault, Arrazura was never a community. It was pixel sand and prim houses, It was where my *stuff* was rather than my home. Idly wondering.........is that why that sim no longer exists?

Arrazura, circa July 2007 ( Obviously pre "Windlight" sky)

***

I'm normally a tough old bird real life...*been there, done that* in so many areas. Here in Secondlife it's different... I so miss the ones I get close to...certainly one cure would be to do as my former estate owner did....strictly business...I can't do that.

I've lost quite a few in these last few months and have one or two more that worry me.The worry starts when they stop coming regularly for one thing, they lose the passion.If we intend to stay we have to be involved...my friend Ling has reinvented both herself and her home here several times. Yesterday was my third rezz day and I have gone though quite a few changes over the years.

I don't ever want to leave...

And so it goes

I love you all, brinda

Namaste

नमस्ते