Investigations and Experiments in the Metaverse

Easter Egg Hunting at Rendervision Isle

2009-04-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Wonderful Easter Egg hunt over at Rendervision Isle, and you can even ride a giant bee! If you haven't been to Rendervision Isle, you really must get over there and take a look. The builds are really incredible! The hunt is still going on, and the eggs are filled with some great items.

Exploring Loco Pocos Island

2009-04-09T21:46:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to get over and do a bit of exploring on Loco Pocos Island, so I finally did that recently. I discovered loads of treasure and earned an amazing flaming mohawk in the process. Definitely worth a visit, or two, or three...

Bit hot in here, and you have to cross this crazy lava field to get to the treasure!

The SNS Taos plows the waters in Port Harbor!

2009-03-05T09:06:00.000-08:00

I was ecstatic last night when Commodore O'Toole mentioned that the SNS Taos was in the water at Port Harbor, so of course I immediately proceeded over there to get a first hand look! She is a beauty of a vessel, and her armaments are glorious and loud! Truly a work of art. Here are some shots of the late evening manuevers, first image taken at Port Harbor and second image at Port Merrimac:

And we have touchdown!

2009-03-01T14:21:00.000-08:00

I finally lowered my storefront/residence into place. This is my first "real" build, so there will be some tweaks along the way. I had to make some of my own textures to get the look I was going for. Hopefully others feel that it turned out well.

Now I need to start getting some products together.

Ugh...

2009-02-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

My apologies to anyone that actually follows this blog. I have been dealing with too much RL stuff over the past couple of months, and this blog, along with SL, has had to sit on the back burner. Things seem to be mellowing out in RL now, so I hope to spend more time finishing up my build in SL and sprucing up my blog.

In the meantime take a look at the incredibly cool future/retro t-shirts over at Retropolis. Here's one I particularly like:

Ah, and for all the lovely mad genius women out there, here is a great one for you:

Cheers, Alin

Confession of a Noob...

2008-12-18T13:10:00.001-08:00

I still consider myself a bit of a noob when it comes to SL. There is so much that I am still figuring out, and today I have to share one of my recent discoveries. I have been scratching my head and sprouting more grey hairs trying to figure out how folks are able to chat without the colon showing up. I know, seems like this should be easy enough to figure out, but I have been going crazy trying to figure it out. And no...I haven't bothered to ask someone while in SL, because I am the type of person that doesn't ask for directions. Ugh, I know...I could have kept myself from sprouting all those grey hairs if I had just sucked up and asked someone.

Well, today I finally managed to find the information I have been looking for. You would think that a Google search would help me find the information, but if you put "colon" into your search...well you get the idea. I found a ton of stuff related to the bodily organ and nothing relating to text chatting without the colon. Many pages down in that search I finally found what I was looking for. I now know that I should have run a search using the term "emote."

So for all you other noobs out there, here is the scoop. If you want to say something like "laughs maniacally," and you don't want the colon to show up, just type "/me laughs maniacally" (without the quotation marks of course). Now you will see your avatar name followed by what you wrote in. In my case that would look like this:

Alin Hendrassen laughs maniacally

Ah, it is the little things that make me happy. Now to pluck those stray grey hairs.

If you want a bit more information about this, head here, and save yourself some grey hairs.

Cheers everyone, Alin

Crazy Awesome Guitars and Basses

2008-12-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

A great RL friend of mine, Danny Mangold, has been funkin' up some guitars and basses, and he finally got a site up with some great photos of his work. For those of you that hail from Minneapolis/St. Paul, you might recognize his name. Danny was the guitarist extraordinaire from a fantastic 80's band called The Metros (aka The Metro All Stars).

Here is a great shot of his work:

If you want to pick this one up for yourself, Danny has just posted it for sale on Ebay here.

To see more photos of his work, head over to Road Warrior Guitars.

Cheers, Alin

Sidenotes...

2008-12-09T12:57:00.000-08:00

Okay, I haven't been able to post any new blogs in a while, as I have been extremely busy in RL working on a couple of home remodeling projects. One being my office, which I am very much looking forward to decking out in Gaslamp Fantasy/Steampunk furnishings and artwork, much to my significant others dismay. I believe she will reconsider once she is able to actually see what I have in mind, which will be tame in comparison to what she might be thinking.

There is a wonderful blog that I recently discovered called The Steampunk Home. I have been getting so many ideas from that site. Truly fantastic! If you haven't looked at that blog, head over there and check it out. In particular, check out the great photos of the Edison Bar, taken by David Bullock, in Los Angeles. That place is my kind of cool!

I also just found the website for a very interesting artist named Jessica Joslin. Her work has a very "Steampunkish" look to it, with lots of brass, leather, bone, glass eyes, etc... I would love to have one of her pieces. I am a huge fan of bats, and her piece entitled "Lautrec" from her 2008 portfolio "Curiosa" is wonderful! Seriously, take a look at her stuff and tell me what you think.

In closing, I want to mention that I will be working on changing the look of the blog to something less noobie very soon. I have been tied up trying to put my own textures together in GIMP (for my Steelhead build), but once I get ahead on that I plan to work on de-noobing this blog. Look for some changes to come shortly. I feel so new to a lot of this (SL and Blogs) that my head hasn't stopped spinning yet.

Cheers, Alin

I am "The Fool"

2008-11-20T10:29:00.000-08:00

You are The Fool

The Fool is the card of infinite possibilities. The bag on the staff indicates that he has all he need to do or be anything he wants, he has only to stop and unpack. He is on his way to a brand new beginning. But the card carries a little bark of warning as well. Stop daydreaming and fantasising and watch your step, lest you fall and end up looking the fool.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

I am Arcanist-Major Edmund Ras of the Praxian Alliance (well not really but...), and I am also an Explorer (bwahaha)

2008-11-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

Came across these fun little tests and thought I would share the results. Now I am going to have to read this series (after I pick up a 2008 subscription to Willows Magazine)....just as soon as I finish up reading The Anubis Gates, by Tim Powers.

Your result for Test Who You Are in the Steampunk Ether City of Salmagundi...

Arcanist-Major Edmund Ras (the Sorcerer)

44% Cerys, 63% Ras, 17% Bell, 48% Wilde, 39% LeClerc, 17% Kendrick and 28% Fuzzy!

You are Arcanist-Major Edmund Ras of the Praxian Alliance, assigned as liaison to the Legion of Peace. You are a scholar, a scientist, and a sorcerer, in a city that distrusts the first two and despises the third. Though you are kind-hearted and concerned about the betterment of others, the hostility you routinely encounter has left you jaded and sardonic. You have a sharp tongue and a very dark sense of humor, and you delight in mocking those with irrational fears and prejudices. Your outlook on life teeters between the optimistic and the resigned, and you still can’t decide if humanity is worth the trouble. Still, even if humanity is doomed to self-destruction you are willing to risk your life to give it just one more generation.

Intrigued? Learn more about G. D. Falksen's Salmagundi and the Cities of Ether Take Test Who You Are in the Steampunk Ether City of Salmagundi

Your result for The Steampunk Style Test...

The Explorer

14% Elegant, 45% Technological, 30% Historical, 76% Adventurous and 37% Playful!

You are the Explorer, the embodiment of steampunk’s adventuring spirit. For you, clothing should be rugged and reliable, and just as functional as it is attractive. You probably prefer khaki or leather, and your accessories are as likely to include weapons as technological gizmos. You probably wear boots and gloves, and maybe a pith helmet. Most of what you wear is functional, and if you happen to wear goggles people had better believe that you use them. In addition to Victorian exploration gear, your outfit probably includes little knickknacks from your various travels. Above all, you are a charming blend of rugged Victorian daring and exotic curiosity.

Try our other Steampunk test here.

Take The Steampunk Style Test at HelloQuizzy

Crazy Builder

2008-10-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

I have been bitten by the building bug, and I have been madly working on my build for the lot I acquired over in Steelhead Boomtown. Part of the insanity is looking for good, high quality, textures. It seems like I am spending most of my time searching for just the right textures to make my build look just the way I want it to. I have definitely been going back frequently to Textures R Us (aka TRU Textures) over on English Rose. They have a huge, and when I say huge I mean HUGE, selection of textures. Problem is, lag lag lag lag lag. It takes forever to find stuff, even if you use the handy dandy kiosks that are located about the place. I did just discover that you can look through the textures on their website www.texturesrus.net/. Once you find what you are looking for you just hit the teleport button and it takes you to that location in the store. Pretty nifty, except that a couple of times I ended up outside of the building... Anyhow, even given that it is much nicer than dealing with the lag in the store.

Back to the building. The building will be a storefront on the ground level with my private residence on the upper floors. I will also have a basement lab (for the mad builder/scientist in me) accessible to the hidden mining tunnels that run under Boomtown. Here is what the build looks like so far:

Wolfies for Obama

2008-10-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

I have been having so much fun in SL, that my rl S.O. thinks I have gone off the deep end. She particularly thought I was nuts when I told her that I have decided that I need to expand my horizons by becoming a bit of a changling. Then I showed her little Wolfy Alin:

She just rolled her eyes at me and said "as long as you are having fun sweetie."

I had so much fun shopping for Tiny things for Wolfy Alin, and I particularly like this great shirt he is wearing! Oh, I guess he should really put some pants on, whoops!

Looks like I will have to take Wolfy Alin's tiny stature into consideration when building my residence at Steelhead. ;-) I am guessing some special Tiny furniture is in order. Looks like I will be heading back over to Raglan Shire(188,53,25) to pick up some more Tiny items.

I should add that changing back was very interesting and amusing! The transformation is difficult and a bit perplexing for a noob like me. ;-) Definitely worth it though.

Cheers, Alin

I am now a proud Citizen of Steelhead

2008-10-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, October 18th, I finally had an opportunity to meet TotalLunar Eclipse, and I became a citizen of Steelhead Boomtown! I am incredibly excited to be a part of this community, and I am very much looking forward to meeting all of the wonderful citizens in Steelhead.

If you are interested in the Gaslamp/Steampunk genre, than head on over to Steelhead and take a nice walk around. The SLurl is Steelhead (90,252,25).

Here is a shot of me hovering over the area:

While you're at it, if you like the Steampunk genre, you definitely have to head over to Caledon Victoria City (255,128) and New Babbage (58,30,22). There are definitely more places to explore if you are into the steampunk genre, including Rivet Town, but being as new as I am, I have not had an opportunity to explore everything yet. I'll report my findings later, as I have a chance to explore more.

For now, I am looking forward to building on my new property in Steelhead.

Cheers for now, Alin

...in the beginning there was a noobie avatar...

2008-10-18T11:59:00.000-07:00

I was born into the world of Second Life on September 26, 2008. It was curiousity that brought me into SL and it is the amazing amount of creativity that will keep me in there. I am constantly amazed by the incredible work that people have done in SL. Of course there are plenty of advertisements and various other annoying things, but once you travel past those aggravating bits of detritus, you find yourself in some incredibly splendid sims.

I plan to spend a great deal of time exploring the art and music scene in SL. The art scene in particular is of great interest to me. I am also very interested in the Steampunk/Gaslamp Fantasy RP and sims within SL. I am a big fan of Girl Genius, and I have read a number of books in the Steampunk genre. I am very much looking forward to getting involved in some of these communities within SL.

I will also be exploring the building and scripting side of SL. I am a die-hard DIYer in RL, and that won't be any different for me in SL. I fully intend to learn the ins and outs of building and scripting. I am learning GIMP, Blender, and LSL, and I have worked in Photoshop quite a bit. I may from time to time include ramblings of botched and successful building projects along the way.

For now, I am still collecting freebies and madly trying to organize my inventory!!!! Ugh, that is a lot of work. I am particularly nuts about finding good textures at this point, and now I have to find time to look at them all and figure out which ones to keep and which ones to archive away in a box.

I am really looking forward to meeting non-judgemental, creative and intelligent folks in SL. If you are one yourself, and you happen to run into me in SL, please say hello.

Cheers, Alin