Oh, For The Love Of Primkin And His Momma (and Poppa)

As a new virtual kitty uncle, I’m sure that these stats are dreadfully ordinary to most KittyCatS breeders, but it IS a milestone; the first kitten born to my Minnie. I shall name it Primkin, as it’s the first, it’s made of prims, it’s small, and it’s kin (the gender isn’t known until the box is unpacked, or “birthed”).

The very first kittenbox produced by Minnie and Dash

The proud parents are snoozing in the background.

I thought something might happen yesterday when Dash reached “100% Love,” while Minnie had reached the middle 90’s. She was having feeding issues of some kind a few days ago, fixed by taking her and her dishes back into inventory, re-rezzing the dishes first and then Minnie. I’ve been holding her a lot, and Miss Lelani was holding Dash a lot

[09:34 AM] IM: KittyCatS Box – Primkin: I’m now called Primkin!
[09:34 AM] IM: KittyCatS Box – Primkin:
▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼▼
Primkin

Fur: Genesis – Domino
Eyes: Genesis Meadow (Shape: Mysterious | Pupil: Big)
Shade: Natural
Tail: Genesis
Ears: Genesis

Version: 1.07
Owner: Dhughan Froobert

MOM: Minnie
Happy Birthday – SL8B
Fur: Genesis – Smokey
Eyes: Genesis Meadow (Shape: Curious | Pupil: Big)
Shade: Natural
Tail: Genesis
Ears: Genesis

DAD: Dash
Happy Birthday – SL8B
Fur: Genesis – Domino
Eyes: Genesis Meadow (Shape: Curious | Pupil: Big)
Shade: Natural
Tail: Genesis
Ears: Genesis
▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲

Even unpacked, there’s a couple of interesting little details there – the “ordinary” Genesis Smokey fur appears to be recessive compared to the extremely common Genesis Domino fur. And the kitten has “Mysterious” shape eyes, while both parents have “Curious” pupils, which must be recessives that didn’t happen to both occur in this offspring.

I shan’t bother to announce this in the KittyCatS group chat, as the others seem to only post birthing stats that are worth crowing about – kittens with rare or desireable traits. It’s rather sad to think of all the little kitties that get “sent to the Menagerie” for in-store credits just because they weren’t special enough, but I’m sure breeders who’re birthing something daily or more often (ye Gads, the primmage and feed they must tear through) have no such qualms.

Apparently there’s some in the community that think that second-generation kittens carry hidden traits, so that it’s not necessarily a bad thing to keep breeding them, adding other hidden traits from other lines where possible. So I shall keep this one, and perhaps later breed it to the RFL kittenbox Miss Lelani purchased, and see what happens. Apparently, the SL8B special kitties carried some of the interesting new traits, so it’s possible some interesting combinations could come with a little scientific breeding, following Mendelian genetic principles. A remark passed in chat leads me to think that recessive traits might happen on a fourth kitten from the same pairing. In the so-called “real world” recessive genes are often thought to have a 1-in-4 chance of being expressed when parents who both carry the trait reproduce. As the genes the kitties carry are, well, mathematical formulae in scripts, basically, perhaps with some sort of randomizing modifier, I wonder if the expression of a desireable recessive trait might always be seen on kittens that are fourth-borns, or perhaps with some multiple of 4 in generations, or some such arithmetical confabulation.

It’s interesting to speculate, but I very much doubt that I or Miss Lelani (or even Bug) shall carry on with any kind of systematic breeding program. It’s just so very distracting from one’s other activities, be they building, learning, conversing, listening to music, or taking care of business.

However, its’ also a great deal of fun watching their antics. Dash is very active and playful, while Minnie is a bit more sedate (yet literally pushy). Something not quite right with my funny little girl, but her little sayings are amusing.

After a recent update, both she and Dash began sleeping on their backs, so very quaint!

I have just added a batch of photos to Flickr with the kitties, which have been added to a set of their own. The best of them:

SecondLife KittyCatS

I have also uploaded photos from a “road trip” I took Friday night in the excellent Xentricity H8 Monowheel/flying contraption by Nix Sands (whose other wares are on Marketplace). I was inspired by the Adventures that Little Bug’s friends have been having to travel the roads of the Mainland (or of our continent, at least). Shall write up my “adventures” later, but you can get an idea of the goings-on if you should browse the pictures at Miss Lelani’s Flickr page (we share it).

Getting good Body Proportions in Second Life (Bug, Please Take Notes)

This seems like a good starting point for Bug, who needs to mess with the sliders a bit to make herself look more… like the little red-headed tomboy she’s supposed to be.

The bulk of what I’m posting below is my own re-phrasing of a guide posted on the official forums by Penny Patton. The forums have a habit of disappearing or getting buried, so I wanted to make a blog post with the same general advice. I know, only in SL would anyone consider a blog to have more viability of lasting than the actual official forum…Apart from the issue of proper height in Second Life, over which there is oddly no agreement… most avatars in Second Life have grossly improper proportions.Proportions are not something you can really debate – you’ve either got them right or you’ve got them wrong and its basic anatomical science over which you have.

via Getting good Body Proportions in Second Life « Pussycat Catnap’s thoughts.

She will also be looking at making some simple prim hair from a script, and if she needs to resize it will be looking to avoid the “resize script in every prim” mistake by using a good quality linkset resizer, such as this one found at the Marketplace that was placed as a community service by Pussycat Catnap.

I was at a class at Builder’s Brewery yesterday, making a nice little garden pond for the front of the new house area, and there was a call for people to not only check their ARC (avatar rendering cost) to reduce lag, but to check the number of active scripts their wearables contained. Someone rezzed a nifty signboard and gave it out that showed people BY NAME and the number of scripts they were running. One male AV, who was apparently helping to run the class by sitting on one of the “male sit” pose balls as a demonstrator of the project, had an ARC of more than 8500!! And he was shirtless, shoeless, and not wearing visible jewelry! How is that even possible unless he was wearing nano-particle scripted nose hairs and unseen weapons HUDS??

Not Possible In Real Life: Star Destroyers Over Cathedrals

It’s Sunday, let’s go to church: Constable’s “Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Garden” is massively improved by these Star Destroyers, no?

Yes. Of course.

This would be quite easy to accomplish in Second Life, as star destroyers are actually more common than cathedrals there.

As an occasional churchgoing man, it might be amusing to turn up for Morning Prayer at the Anglican Cathedral wearing the new “steam punk Zeppelin” new-player avatar.

In unrelated news: my KittyCats pet Minnie has informed me that she had her first kittenbox! Miss Lelani and I have been quite distracted with the creatures (her pet is called Dash) and hope not to become too obsessed. They are quite amusing, and now that the kitten has been born we shall move the cats into our larger parcel into temporary digs, as we prepare to tear down the original shop in Tintafel and remake it as a sort of walled garden with shopping opportunities.

She is also building a new home from scratch as the current building we’ll be sharing with the kitties is dreadfully primmy, though extremely well made. She is challenging herself to use clever texturing and prim-torture tricks to make a home combining style elements from the American Southwest, Steampunk, and a few others thrown in as a kind of low-prim pastiche.

I have been toying with a STEAM hunt gift skybox, but it’s constricted from megaprims and does odd things to the camera and not suitable as a workshop. I have another that might work better; after driving out Route 8 in my H8 mono wheel from Xentricity (O excellent craft, that both drives AND flies) I flew back to the “overhead” workspace, and realized it’s quite boring from the air.

Meanwhile there’s that young scamp Miss Bugginia slacking off and skiving off with her friends. Things are getting complicated.

Think I shall toddle off to services. As a Zeppelin.

via Cathedral with Star Destroyers – Boing Boing.


Dhughan Froobert is a Steampunk resident in Second Life who putters around with prims and takes pictures of same. He occasionally manifests as a small Victorian otter.

Weekly Tweets 2011-07-10

  • @MoodyLoner Those damn fascist house gremlins! #
  • @hbahimself I've got Picasa pretty organized, sorted everything into folders based on subject: trips taken, events, #SL groups, etc. #
  • @hbahimself However I also use a Picasa2Flickr widget to make uploading to Flickr pretty painless! #
  • Made a neko tail last night at KittyCatS in a class taught by Myrddin Janus. Evangelize the shoppers! Go forth and build! #SecondLife #
  • @hbahimself Ah, but you can organize them in Picasa, and batch upload to Flickr with a plugin: http://is.gd/T6Qxz5 #
  • @hbahimself Editing in Picasa is possible, though I use GIMP for anything more than crop and simple effects #
  • Just listed NEW item on #SLMarketplace Steampunk Flight Assist Topper. Make flying high FUN! http://t.co/Gy1f1IJ via @AddThis #
  • I feel like singing "At Last," I had almost forgotten how to do product images and list something on #SLMarketplace #
  • @jacksonstbooks That was a fun one! #
  • Rats, my blog is down. It needs a happeh pill. #
  • @SecondLife @torley Will social co-posting to self-hosted WordPress blogs be possible? My blog lives in the basement…not WordPress.org #
  • @ThriftyinWhite You'll be fine – go in through the Caledon Oxbridge University gateway via Search at the end, it's a safe friendly place. #
  • If you're going to be a disgusting perv in group chat, it's probably best NOT to put a picture of yourself on the Real Life tab. #
  • @ThriftyinWhite I dabble in business, but you should talk to one of the big names, search SL Marketplace for clothing, housewares, or pets. #
  • @ThriftyinWhite Follow some of the AVs I follow, like @blakopal or @torley or @taterunino#
  • @rodvik Sparkle pony? DO WANT although lately Im obsessed with SL8B KittyCatS #
  • @ThriftyinWhite #SecondLife weddings are big business… and there's virtual dumpster diving too. Myrddin Janus has the BEST stuff in his. #
  • RT @HolocluckHenly "RT @RelayForLife_SL: A new record! US$274,118 raised by #RelayForLife of #SecondLife http://j.mp/qfcrkE #
  • RT @malburns "The mesmerizing beauty of Second Life: Filmed entirely at the Spencer Museum of Art Sim in Second Life. http://bit.ly/pEwykJ" #
  • @SecondLie NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo! You're too young to de-rezz! xD #
  • RT @AbelUndercity #SecondLife ers do business, buy goods, and interact (with) these names @google. How is that not marketable? #googleplus #
  • Unsure if will be inworld tonight, spouse wants to go "somewhere not in the house." Whut? #
  • @isfullofcrap @LilithHeart Well, there's your problem. #
  • Guess I'd better start from scratch with Blender, have forgotten EVERYTHING and got totally frustrated in class last night. #
  • Heh. I finally discovered where the Windlight presets are in Imprudence. #SL #latetothepartyasusual #
  • Once #SecondLife #RelayforLife ends, #endswampass begins. @NathanFillion, I recommend @SecondLie as bagman. http://j.mp/oSzC9K #
  • Sometimes I'm building badly aligned, horribly textured plywood boxes all day and half the night. Help me, help #endswampass #
  • When I go for a drive on Route 8 in #SecondLife I just abandon the car at the sim crossing and rezz a new one. Help me, help #endswampass #
  • Just one more freebie. Just one more freebie. Just one more #SecondLife freebie hunt and I'll "go outside." Help me, help #endswampass #
  • If I tried on every outfit in my #SecondLife inventory, I'd be changing clothes continuously for a week. Help me, help #endswampass #
  • My AV pic says "hot urban vampire chick magnet." My RL pic says "silverback seeks furtive cybersex." help me, help #endswampass #

AT LAST: A new Steampunk flight-assist topper listed for #SecondLife

I’ve been wearing it enough – for months, actually, and my friend BookemJackson Streeter loves hers, so it’s not like I couldn’t go ahead and box it up for sale, right? Right!! At last! 

Have fun flying around your favorite Second Life locations in the Steamlands or anywhere with this Flight Assist Topper. In an antique Western medicine-show style, with flexi feathers and rotating, golden gears. Haida Indian sunburst detail on the gears; now you can visit Steelhead or one of the other Western themed Steampunk sims in style.This hat was originally a gift in the STEAM 4 hunt but this version gives 2 hats: one with a resize script, and one with the flight script. If you must resize, be sure to delete the script, and then you can add the flight script if you wish included.

via Second Life Marketplace – @LC@Chameleonic Haida Flight Assist Topper boxed c/m/nt.

Took me long enough; I had struggle to get a workflow going again after so long (took a long break from making new stuff after STEAM 4 kinda took the starch out of me).

Now that I’ve finally got a product listed, I may go ahead and list another new one: a lamppost that I was working on earlier that came out pretty well. I may add a flower basket to it first, though.

But I had a fun product, all ready to go – and I knew my friends liked it, because they would be wearing it when I happened to show up at Cafe Wellstone events (it’s always fun seeing someone enjoying something you made). All I had to do was refrain from endlessly sorting inventory, sorting textures into the ETO organizer, playing with my scripted cat, or going to yet another class whose lessons I wouldn’t necessarily retain, since I wasn’t actually DOING anything.

I feel like Tom Hanks in Swept Away: “I… HAVE MADE A HAT YOU CAN FLY HIGH WITH.”

Now that that’s done, I have a few more items I made recently for classes that are worth another look, and I just rezzed a new house that I’ve been modifying. I was going to build another pueblo house from scratch, but bigger… and then I found a good value on a nicely detailed house for only $L99.

I’ve moved the front walls forward to give it more room, but unfortunately the base was a megaprim (already textured and everything) which I messed up when I tried to resize it.

So since I’ve recently taken a class in adding “wall shadows” and then floor textures to a floor plan, I’ll try to work out where the textures will be for one big floor texture. In the meantime, I’ll make do with piecing smaller floor prims (which offers more control, anyway.

Oops, GIMP has crashed… time for lunch, anyway. I did what I set out to do today, though: I listed one frickin item on Second Life Marketplace for the first time in months. Now for something even MORE fast, fun, and easy…

 

P.S. my GIMP skillz keep degrading because I don’t use it often enough, and my photos from inworld need to be higher resolution.

Weekly Tweets 2011-07-03

  • @anniemole see this for "Not The Underground" by @isfullofcrap http://www.flickr.com/photos/isfullofcrap/5871172549/in/photostream #
  • RT @KrisKaine ""Lost Gardens if Apollo" Fades Away Today: Earlier this month, the "Crooked House" was facing the end" http://bit.ly/kZ9yCe" #
  • @MoodyLoner Ugh, sorry, that's terrible! Um, LL is hiring? #
  • @InaCentaur Great news, happy for you… hope to see a new production or reading there soon. #
  • Wanna live in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry for a month this fall? Apply! http://is.gd/GWewsQ #
  • @ordinal Once they get up to speed Canada geese are quite efficient, but you can't beat bumblebees for sheer, raw POWER. #
  • RT @JimGoodrich "In Illinois we don't have Death Row, we have Governor's Row #BlagojevichGuilty quot; #
  • @KyleIM Please God, not "Prison Break" after that. #
  • @m_ethaniel Nearly home… 😉 #
  • @m_ethaniel No worries, not long after I had to get offline to deal with something wobbly. #
  • Thinking of giving Mixoom a whirl based on this: http://is.gd/nvlUBG #SecondLife #postcards #
  • RT @TLW3 "During Bush Presidency, Current GOP Leaders Voted 19 Times To Increase Debt Limit By $4 Trillion http://bit.ly/jnEvQ5 #p2 #p21" #
  • Hmm. @SecondLie #youravataristootall when that flexi ballgown you bought becomes a sexi miniskirt. #
  • @isfullofcrap Dont forget robot treats for yourself. #
  • During #SecondLife signup, a new user got a friend request from another "n00b" while still in safe orientation. Scam lurkers? Attn @torley #
  • D-I-S-R-E-S-P-E-C-T #whatmakesablackgirlmad #
  • @isfullofcrap Can't promise but will try to be handy #
  • Fx king Outlook Web App, how does it work??!!$&@&#%+€£¥!!! #
  • @isfullofcrap if no RL commitment will be there with books on #
  • @isfullofcrap Picnic time for robolibrarians? #
  • @isfullofcrap Ah, I see now. Will be ready with whatever props and costumes required assuming no RL disasters #
  • Work LAN went BZZT! and crashed. This means no Internet, no phones, no tools, no IM, no email, NO NOTHING. #
  • Guess it's back to the OLD Internets tubes, but the pneumatics might be wheezy. Also carrier pigeons were outsourced to India. #
  • holy cow! The robot's right, there are tons of new "initial outfit" avatars in the library. #SecondLife #
  • had to make dinner as penance for spending so much time inworld lately. Now ready for whatever happens next. #secondlife #
  • Sleepy. Going to bed. #
  • Is it an urban wasteland under Windlight? No, its 6 Flags New Orleans. Need to be built in #SecondLife http://is.gd/Erijbt #
  • @isfullofcrap You get to keep 'im. 😉 #
  • Sweet jeebs. How the hell do you have an ARC above 4500 wearing only a string bikini and sunglasses? 4475 strands of hair? #secondlife #

Weekly Tweets 2011-06-26

  • Salt Lake City – This was the place you couldn't wait to leave. #hometownslogans #
  • Beautiful Eugene, the Womb with a View #hometownslogans #
  • The blue-est skies you've never seen, in Seattle #hometownslogans #
  • Grand Junction: Where the rivers meet, when the US Corps of Engineers says so. #hometownslogans #
  • @lizzwinstead Used to tune out my mom (she lived to be 90) when she said "the drug scene) in the late 70's #
  • Actually, Mom never stopped using the term "the drug scene" decades after it was considered current. #
  • WaPost Fact Checker column calls Bachmann health care views "nonsensical" and not factual. 4 Pinocchios! #crazyeyes http://is.gd/2CCdpr #
  • RT @RaglanShire "New post: TINY WORLD’S FAIR AND SLB8 – so much stuffage! (http://bit.ly/kIOG1D) http://bit.ly/kIOG1D" #SL8B #
  • @ElrikMerlin The Lost Gardens of Apollo?!? I spent most of my time there my first year. #
  • @SecondLie I'm bummed about Lost Gardens. MUST GET TAI CHI IN ASAP. #
  • @ColeMarieSoleil The Honey Swamp build is amazing, nice photos. Mine show all the other builds in background… #
  • @danielvoyager I've *never* seen a real Linden inworld, their office hours and appearances conflict with my work schedule. #
  • @InaCentaur Hoping for better news (naive Shakespeare fan talking). #
  • @m_ethaniel She is a lucky girl. When is she riding the #SL roads again? Found a mysterious tunnel between road sections… #
  • Tornado sirens going off, and we're in the basement not very prepared. #
  • First photo of Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins!!1! #w00tw00tw00t http://is.gd/X6EYkq #
  • That's probably Thorin looking over his shoulder. #LOTRmoviesquee #
  • The first time I read #TheHobbit I was in the sixth grade. Decades ago. So yes, I'm making inappropriate squee noises. #
  • @StephenAtHome Gingrich is always careful to have backup bling for his squeeze in waiting. #
  • @TLW3 That path seems to lead straight toward a cliff on the edge of the Kool-Aid Sea. #
  • @AliciaStella Was just at #SL8B where @rodvik appeared as a tiny spaceship… #
  • Last night at #SL8B had double helping of awesomesauce. FUN dancing at Bay City build party, met @rodvik & @danielvoyager at main event. #
  • @rodvik Y U NO HAVE BEAR? Great meeting you last night, very inspiring builds. #
  • Working on a blog post based on this but rambling about tier and homesteads. RT @CathyLAnderson "Careers | Linden Lab http://ht.ly/5ps2V" #
  • @isfullofcrap Not another codeshare for DL! GAH! Typist will now run around screaming and slashing about with her mad SABRE skilz. #
  • @isfullofcrap Hosted by you… or Skylar? #
  • Played with voice last night after stumbling across the live marathon Moby Dick reading. The Space Squirrel voice will be perfect. #
  • @RaglanShire Okay, maybe later I'll kitty up (or down, not sure) #
  • Upgraded to V2 viewer last night, enabled the new dynamic shadows and… Whoa… ::drool:: NVIDIA 9600 GT card still rockin mah world. #SL #
  • @CathyLAnderson What's the current max number of people? Maybe they need to create a midrange sim? #
  • Pretty sure I'm a mutant, yeah. #
  • I don't have a thing to wear if I can't get into my inventory. #SL #
  • Will be adding photos from #SL8B to my Flickr page http://bit.ly/jSVlaS #
  • As I work on a blog post based on something from @CathyLAnderson 's stream yesterday, listening to @radioriel Folk programming #
  • Quite fond of sea shantys @radioriel – reminds me of Victory Music from Seattle. #nostalgia #
  • Last night's "Autumn Dance for #RFL quot; in #SteelheadNevermoor was epic. Pictures up soon. #secondlife #
  • Meet @Rodvik Linden: he's staying on target (photo from #SL8B on 23JUN; Creative Commons) http://flic.kr/p/9WEP88 #
  • Bay City Community #SL8B Party: Dancing on the Roof with new friends. (this photo: Creative Commons) http://flic.kr/p/9WJEWY #
  • Time to explore #SL8B started at Stunning to catch a bit of Offerus Fouquet's set. #
  • Lots of French Residents here this time of day for Offerus' set #SL8B #
  • Heh. Bartleby Pegler singing "Little Boxes" at #SL8B at the Enchant mainstage. They're all made out of ticky-tacky with default textures. #
  • Junivers Stockholm up now, with a crazy caveman backdrop. #SL8B #Enchant. #
  • The Europeans always keep reminding us that Second Life is a collaborative world. #
  • Wow, choreographed dancing cavegirls backing up an electronica vibe. Junivers Stockholm is good stuff #
  • @isfullofcrap The orca was a most happy fella. #

Scaling Down: Something To Ponder

Bay City Community SL8B Party

I’m using the celebrations at #SL8B as a way to get more socially active in Second Life; have to admit that it’s been occasionally exhilarating getting IMs from old friends and new friends saying “get over here!” or “OMG famous people at this party.”

I had never actually seen a Linden with my own virtual eyes and real monitor until I went to the Thursday event, which featured an appearance but no speeches by Rodvik Linden and Lexie Linden. I now have an actual Linden bear, and yes, I know I could get a bunch more at “Bear Island” on the celebration grounds. I’ve decided that I’ll stick to real-world interactions for my bear begging.

I’ve decided that although I’ll never be a major merchant with thousands of items for sale, I will try to focus on fun, quality things and try to learn as much as I can about how things work. I’ve recently made a simple dance gadget that seems to get “DO WANT” comments every time I use it (but interestingly, only from males). However, it doesn’t seem to work under Viewer 2… hmm.

Meanwhile, I’ve been tinkering with my size and avatar features again; for some reason, I keep wanting to revert to an older skin and shape because it looks more friendly-like and “me” than what I’ve been using more recently. I’ve been playing with size sliders again in the Appearance menu, as I realize I’m probably over 7 feet tall as currently sized.

Not only that but I’ve been working on a couple of simple buildings, and dealing with the challenges of having enough headroom so that the camera position doesn’t “bump” the ceiling without having to be adjusted to a closer angle.

Tateru Nino’s main page pointed to this excellent post on the Building and Texturing Forum by Penny Patton.

This article is intended an informative post about the practical and aesthetic implications of scale for content creators in SL. It is not a judgement against large avatars, only an objective assessment of the affects of scale on SL and how both content creators and Linden Lab would benefit from encouraging the trend towards properly scaled avatars.

If you’re new to SL you may not have realized it yet, but scale is really, incredibly “off” in SL.

If you’re an experienced builder you probably realize it but aren’t aware of all the ways in which it affects you.

via A Matter of Scale – How scale affects content crea… – Second Life.

The whole thing is enlightening, especially the part about sizing attachments appropriately so that they can be worn by a wider range of differently-sized avatars. Very much worth a read and a ponder.

Careers | Linden Lab: Something Magical Happening?

Meet Rodvik Linden

Rodvik Linden: Stay On Target

There’ve been good things happening at Second Life/Linden Labs lately; Viewer 2 is improving, new-ish CEO Rod Humble/Rodvik Linden is actively engaged and sometimes actually building and making stuffs, there’s renewed emphasis on customer support and recapturing the irrepressible magic.

Yes, yes, yes, there are still lots of problems, lots of hurt feelings, lots of nay-sayers saying nay (no linky love).

But there are trends to watch at Tateru Nino’s stats page that are interesting.

And now, the Lab is hiring again, after years of layoff announcements and sad farewells to popular Lindens who had virtual “face time” with Residents inworld.  This hiring announcement reflects this emphasis, which can only be a good sign.

On the other hand (or paw or claw as you are so inclined), the continuing exodus of the greatest makers and content creators is worrisome, due to burnout, high tier cost, high sim activation fees, billing problems, and a perceived sense of benign neglect. Not only that, but educators and corporations no longer see SL as the magical solution to distance learning, collaborative learning, or remote meetings. It’s just too hard to get people to the point where they’re in the right place, looking at the right thing, able to hear the discussion and/or participate in chat.

If they all go, all us middle managers, telephone sanitizers and manicurists will have to step up this season’s leaf production by 400%.

I’m just an ordinary smallholding mainlander, but group chats and blogs lately point to some grim realities; a lot of sims are in danger of closing because simholders can’t afford tier. We all know someone who’s thinking of pulling back, or pulling out entirely. I hope that the increased emphasis on the customer experience since Rodvik took the wheel of the magic bus will lead to a reversal of these trends.

Help with tier levels, a return of the homestead pricing for people that aren’t already full simholders, and more generous deals for educators and nonprofits again would help. Or perhaps the ability to append a homestead sim to a friend or groups existing sim? This would help cement ties and keep content creation affordable. Maybe this is already possible, and I’m late to the party as usual. But as… self-serving as I find many of Hamlet Au’s posts at NWN these days (most seem to be aimed at driving traffic past his ad banners, which detracts from any actual virtual world journalism IMHO), he’s right about one thing. The land-based economy of Second Life is not sustainable if current land and estate owners can’t afford to keep it, and potential land and estate owners can’t afford to buy it in the first place, let alone participate in Second Life due to the high learning curve presented by the initial sign in process.

The struggles and objections people have had with and to Viewer 2, which was supposed to be aimed at the “new user” to make it faster, easier, and more fun to start living their own Second Life, are slowly being overcome. Even I am finally giving it a whirl, now that they finally made an advanced build mode a configurable preference. I have to admit the shadows I implemented with the latest release made me go all drooly and oogly, and I need to start taking more photos with it to compare with Imprudence.

So thanks to a mention on Twitter in Cathy L Anderson’s stream, I’m quite cheered to see that the Lab is hiring, and not only that, they’re trying to recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle from the early years: Linden Labs/Careers

At Linden Lab, creativity and innovation drive our business. After all, we’re the largest and most successful virtual world out there. We work hard and have plenty of fun along the way. At the end of the day, as Lindens, we know that it’s our job to make dreams come true for our customers. It’s all just part of our culture, the fabric of what makes us tick. Come join our team filled with talented, smart people who believe in bringing the magic of virtual worlds to life. Second Life, that is.

They’re not just for potential Labbies who live in the Bay Area, either:

Unless noted, all jobs listed are for all locations: Boston, Davis, San Francisco, Seattle and Virginia.
Position Title
Senior QA Engineer
Senior Software Engineer
QA Engineer
Software Automation Engineer
Customer Relations Representative
Fraud Specialist
Software Engineer, Payments
Front End Web Developer
Software Integration Engineer
Senior Program Manager, Operations
Senior Systems Engineer