Second Life Bloggers Community

SL Bloggers
Hey,
So I got an invite to Second Life Bloggers Community on my Google+ Account. I said yes and accepted the invite. Hey why not, I might even post a few more things… haha doubtful, but you never know 😉 Currently there are 82 members of this club and there are no dues. Not even a newsletter, lol, not yet anyway. If you are a blogger and are looking to get the word out about your blog posts, here is another place. Add it to the list! Don’t be a silent blogger like me, lol, keep blogging!

Blame the Vehicle?

For some odd reason I have been running into people who want to talk about the ills of SL.  I kinda don’t get it.  They have expounded, somethimes at length, about how SL has ruined their friend’s perfectly good RL relationships.  These same people then give me the third degree about may activities in SL.  Ok, that’s partially my fault, maybe I should hide some of THOSE groups, lol. 

I assume that their friends, who, let’s face it, may have maybe made some RL mistakes, are adults and take responsibility for their actions.  But that may be assuming too much.  I have concluded that these people that I’m running into don’t want to find fault with their friend’s actions, but would rather blame the vehicle of the virtual world.  It’s like saying the automobile is bad because women have gotten accidentally pregnant in the back seat.  People are human, we all make mistakes and may regret decisions that we make, but to blame the car, the vehicle, well, no I don’t think so. 

What’s even more perplexing and somewhat ironic, to a degree, is these people that I have run into, it’s only been a couple of people, but their theme was quite similar, are in the very place, Second Life, that they claim caused the problems.  

Strawberry’s Fields of Social

Strawberry’s Fields of Social

As if her blog isn’t enough… Straberry Singh puts together a nice list of where you can find her on the social media side of the Interweb.  As usual she does a great job explaning how she uses each site.  I have checked many of the sites out, and have joined several, but I don’t always have the time to keep up and post regularly.  Some on her list I’m not familiar with.  Sighs… now I have self-imposed homework, lol.

A Matter of Etiquette in the Life of Second

So this morning while exploring some changes to a sim I often frequent I stumbled upon some individuals having a conversation.  I was attempting to be unobtrusive looking around with my viewer’s “radar” “zoom” cam function.  It’s a good way to look around, right?  You can look around at people without being in the immediate neighborhood.  Ok, so maybe its a bit pervish, I’ll admit I’m somewhat voyeurish, hey it’s Second Life, right?  I kinda thought most people liked to be seen, looked at, or even ogled over.  I’ve been known to do my share of ooogling *winks.  However I was informed that this type of behavior, i.e. camming from a distance, is considered on the rude side.  I made my apologies and claimed ignorance, which is true, and went about my wandering.  I couldn’t help but wonder why this function is built into the viewer if using the function is considered unwelcomed?  So I’m making a mental note to turn off the broadcast of where I’m looking… at least when I’m on that sim.   Grumbles…”Something else for me to research….”

Dead End

Here’s my blog post at Dead End.  I’m probably gonna wander through… I’ll keep you posted.

Hey Trig. Sometimes I see that has a question not a salutation. Yes, the name’s Trig. You can call me Triago, my given name, but unless you pronounce it correctly I probably won’t respond. So just Trig… for now. It’s short, quick and easy, kinda like me in some ways.

I’m not short but not too tall either… The tall one’s have an advantage, they are imposing, the short ones, less so, unless maybe they are thick, you know, stalky, not dense. I’m in the middle, not imposing, not thick, sometimes not much of anything, especially the day after a night of having few drinks. I’m usually even-tempered, usually. I have buttons, like anyone, that can be pushed, but I prefer to keep them on my shirts.

The Short People of Dark Den

Ok, so I’ve been testing out my limited role-playing skills in a small town known as the Dark Den. There have been a host of changes around the sim lately. The most noticeable is the owners penchant for realistic height-sized avatars. Upon tp entry into he area there is a whole lesson about what are average sizes in SL.  I really can’t figure out the sim owners obsession over this, except possibly with smaller everything one can build more stuff into a smaller area. Anyway for a few days I went around bumping my head on doorways, then peeking inside and sitting on something to enter. Call me lazy, but I just didn’t want to change my avatar’s height I suppose. But lately it seems I can get through doorways without problems.  Phantom overhead beams or something.  I have to say initially it was a ‘barrier’ to making return visits not to mention those bumps on my forehead were not attractive.

The good part of the equation is there is great potential for fun as the owners have built-in role play suggestions that populate local chat as you wander about. There are some RLV things which I have little knowledge of, but they offer informational classes on RLV and also on Open Collar. Talk about irony, the open collars are always firmly locked around the wearer’s neck. But I digress, there’s also a certification process to achieve role play ‘rock star’ status. Apparently the sim owners and managers want to build up a generation of good role players for that they should be commended and I’ll forgive them for the height obsession.

Fun Things to do in the Dark Den

While I’m not usually a shoot-em-up game player, there is a special gun available to visitors.  With the special gun, if you are shot in this arena, you lose an article of clothing. If you don’t run after the first few shots you may find yourself a captive and we all know where that my lead you (insert your own adult content thought here).

So if you find yourself looking for something to do in SL, take a walk on the wild side and visit the Dark Den.  Pick up a gun, pick up your passport to greater role-playing skills and wear your RLV thing set to auto.  You may be glad you did.  *winks*

http://darkden-in-sl.blogspot.com/ 

Things Done Well. And Toss in the Charm.

When I’m in SL I often complement people on things done well.  And generally people respond positively.  In fact I can’t remember a negative response, a non-response maybe, but we all get those from time to time.    I often add that I make it an irregular habit of complementing things done well.  Adding that extra comment seems to make people more responsive and more conversational rather than a brief “ty”.  And if they are female a bit less suspicious of my underlying intention.  (ok, occasionally I have ulterior motives, but not all the time.)   Apparently not everyone gives complements because I’m often told that I’m charming.  I have never thought of myself as charming, I’m just me.

In many ways SL reflects RL.  There are only a handful, I approximate 10%, of things that are really quite exquisite.  Most everything else falls into the 80% and no comment on the last 10%.  I can hear my mother saying “If you can’t say something nice…  don’t say anything at all.”  It’s the variety though, that makes things interesting.  But even within that bottom 10% you may find a little gem of something done quite well.

The exquisite, well dressed, good-looking 10% enjoy the attention they deserve from the other 90%.  They have invested the time and effort to seek out the styles and shapes that make them appealing.  While not everyone lives their SL for fashion and looks, you have to admit that you enjoy looking at a well dressed attractive avi.   Mark Twain said something about naked people having little or no influence on society, that the clothes make the man.

Let’s face it, doing things well takes time and effort, not to mention a few Lindens.  The content creators that fall into the exquisite 10% have probably suffered through the lowest 10% category, graduated to the 80% and are now enjoying the fruits of the exquisite 10%.   Their countless invested hours have paid off.

When you see something done well, don’t forget to toss that complement, it may even reflect positively back to you and you will be seen as charming.   Even Shreck the ogre had a bit of charm.  Think of the possibilities of a world filled with civil and charming individuals.  Hey, a guy can dream.

The choice is yours. For me, it’s Mimi’s Choice

Ok, so I’m not much of a shopper.  I’m not a builder, nor a scripter.  In fact, about the only thing I can do well in SL is dance, lol.  I digress… shopping.  I dropped into Mimi’s Choice on a Menstuff hunt some time ago (btw there is a new Menstuff Hunt currently running until Dec 25th) and found the owner Mimi Juneau just waiting to answer my curious questions.  You see I don’t get a chance to talk to store owners often so sometimes I think I overwhelm them with my business questions.  But to her credit she answered them all and left me with a favorable impression.  I didn’t purchase anything, just picked up the hunt piece and was not contemplatign a blog post, until today.    

Initially, what I found most interesting about Mimi’s was the department store concept.  Mimi’s felt like a department store, uncluttered, clean design, nice lighting, and a wide variety of quality clothes and accessories.  She personally selects what she wants to display under her roof and she has just about anything a guy would need, from casual to formal, to cover his bare @ss.  She has assembled a great selection of clothes and accessories from top quality designers. 

Just the other day I was there and picked up a cool jacket by Gizza.  My first of probably many future Gizza purchases.  Then when I dropped in to Mimi’s today, she greeted me and commented on the nice looking jacket.  She obviously knows her inventory.  Anyway she suggested some shoes with the jacket and showed me a couple of options.  I tried on the demo.  I selected a small fat pack from Jeepers, nothing too expensive, I’m kinda cheap, 4 pairs for $L 500.  Bam… shoes completed!   What I liked about the shoes, which Mimi pointed out, is that they could be worn with both dressy and casual outfits.   More bang for the buck.

Mimi then notices that I wasn’t wearing an AO, I confess, something I just never got around to, remember, I’m not much of a shopper.  I couldn’t believe there was a small Vista Animation store just across the the street.  Be sure to cross the street on the green light.  She has thought of just about everything.  I especially liked the fact that she has a board to tp directly to the individual shops if you are interested in looking at a larger selection of items from a particular designer.  

So yes, clothes, shoes/boots, skin, hair and nearby some AO’s.  Just about all one needs to look great in their SL.  She has her hand selected things under four roofs, two for men and two for women.  I confess I didn’t go into the women’s stores, not yet anyway, lol.  The four stores sit one across the street from the other, each within easy walking distance.   

So if you like to look good, but like many guys, think shopping is a bit of a chore, or can’t decide what looks good, just drop into Mimi’s Choice and find Mimi or one of her helpful helpers and let them suggest an outfit for you.  I don’t believe you will be disappointed.  

Trig’s Rating: Highly Recommended

Pros: Helpful/knowledgeable owner and staff, nice store layout/design/display, everything on one level (no stairs), good default lighting, wide selection of quality goods, no need to tp to several different stores because everything is under one or two roofs i.e., not a mall, not stall-like. 

Cons:  Found new favorite designers that will cost me some serious $Lindens.  Oh well, somebody has to keep the SL economy going.

Link to Mimi’s Choice blog.