Hair Fair Extended for Two Days

Hello, All...

I had previously stated that the 2009 Hair Fair would run until today, July 4, but due to recent severe SL problems, the closing date has been extended through the sixth of the month. This should give everyone a chance to see what's new and to PLEASE make at least one purchase! Remember that 50% of ALL proceeds will go toward Locks of Love! This is so important, so please be brave and face the lag (actually not nearly as bad now as it was earlier in the week).

I tried on all the demos I had brought home, and I went back today and bought new hair from Refuge, JE*Republic, Rosy Mood,and Fascino (no LM available at their kiosk or in the product folder).

I just wanted to remind everyone about this important cause, and to clarify the actual (extended) closing date.

Oh, and Happy Birthday America!!



Love,
Jamie

iPod Touch: Miscellaneous Ramblings

When I was shopping for a new phone a while back, I had narrowed my decision down to two choices: the Blackberry Curve 8900 and the iPhone. Without going into much detail as to why, I chose the Blackberry, and am quite happy with my choice. I was still intriqued with the iPhone though, and since I already picked and excellent phone in the 8900, I decided to get the new iPod Touch.



iPod Touch Guided Tour

The iPod Touch is basically the same thing as the iPhone, without the phone function. I absolutely love it, but I still would never trade my Blackberry for an iPhone (Apple snobs are now emphatically shaking their collective head at me, but it's MY blog, so I'll express MY opinions only! Don't like it? Start your own blog then :p).

Anyway, my purpose here is not to expound on the virtues of either device. I was leading up to a connectivity problem I was having with my iPod.

As you may already know, the iPod Touch comes with WiFi as a built in function. This means that you should be able to have access to free Internet any place that a wireless connection is available. It's awesome! Or at least, so I thought, until suddenly mine was no longer capable of picking up a signal.

I tried everything. I restarted my modem and router. I tried to release and reacquire my IP settings on the device. I restarted my iPod, and I even tried reverting back to the default settings. Nothing worked.

I looked online and there were no real fixes for this. True, many people had experienced the same problem, but no good solutions were ever offered. It seemed that all the advice given online was hit-and-miss, based more or less on the things I had already tried but to no avail.

No amount of fiddling with the settings allowed me to connect, even though my iPod showed connectivity bars. I was seriously about to toss it into my collection of unused gadgets, but I decided to try one more thing:

I went to my modem and unplugged it, then I unplugged my Linksys router. After waiting a minute, I plugged the modem back in, and while it was booting up, I reset the router by holding the tiny recessed RESET button in (it's in the back, where all the wires plug in). I held this button in for 30 seconds (find a suitable tool... paper clip, etc.). When I plugged the power back into the router, I checked my iPod, and Voilla! I was good to go!

This seems to be a common problem without a solution, so before you call the Apple store with a chip on your shoulder, please try resetting your router. It worked for me!



SO, how exactly does this relate to Second Life, I hear you ask. Well, it doesn't. BUT... I did find a neat little app called Sparkle IM. It's a way to access SL from your iPhone or iPod Touch, although it doesn't allow you to actually walk around in-world. The application (which is available through the iTunes Store) is strictly an IM interface which allows you to log in to your account and communicate with those who are already logged in to SL (for those of us who just HAVE TO connect, even while at work). It's a chat-only program at this time, but maybe someday we will be able to access the full features of Second Life from our hand held devices... as if I don't already spend enough of my time on SL. *sigh*



One more thing I wanted to mention was that now you can download the software for your iPod Touch that includes the improvements for the latest iPhone, including cut-and-paste (one thing that kept me from choosing the iPhone), and a nice wider keyboard when you tilt your iPod on its side. There are other new features, but these two were the ones that told me that I just HAD TO buy the update.





Read more about it here: http://www.apple.com/ipodtouch/softwareupdate.html

'Til next time...

Jamie <3

Hair Fair 2009

It's once again time for the wonderful Second Life Hair Fair, 2009 edition. Every year, the SL hair designers get together and display their newest offerings, and the whole affair is so huge as to take up several sims. As exciting as it all sounds, the wonderful thing about it is that all the sellers here will donate 50% of all proceeds to Locks of Love, an organization which provides wigs to young cancer patients whom have lost their real hair due to chemotherapy treatment. This is a worthy cause, and I would ask that each of you visit and make at least one purchase at this show. Cancer is a horrible disease, affecting the lives of so many people. Cancer does not discriminate; it will infect anyone, of any race or creed, and of any age, be they good or bad. Until we can come up with a cure for it, the least we can do is to show our compassion for the afflicted, lest we ourselves someday fall victim to the curse.

I'm at the fair as I write this, and I had intended to do a huge write-up on it, but considering the lag here, it would prove to be an enormous project. Instead, I have decided to list the designers here and leave it at that. I had also intended to collect landmarks, but perhaps due to lag, the few landmark givers present did not seem to be working for me.



What I WILL do, however, is I will go through the list of vendors, and over time, give coverage to those I find of interest and provide landmarks upon review. Not all of them appeal to me, and to be honest, I don't feel I can give an objective review of those which tend to cater to the kitty-ears-and-horse-tails crowd. Sorry. I'm sure they can't relate to my preferences either, so BLEAH! (*sticks tongue out*)

Despite the lag, it's all very exciting. I found that it is a bit easier to stay in one place and "cam" around the various shops (move my view using my camera controls). The only problem with this is there is a limit to the distance from which you can select objects, which, if too far away, will prevent the acquisition of demos and the purchase of any products until you actually move within range. Still, it is a way to avoid those laggy moments where you are trying to fly along and you just can't get anywhere.

Being a fan of short hairdos, I am always anxious to find something new. I am never above using styles intended for men, which brings up a point I have mentioned before: I have NEVER seen any realistic men's hairstyles in Second Life, ever. Aside from rock stars, men just do not wear their hair long any more, not like in SL. I would love to see some SHORT men's hairstyles, military cuts, even. I suspect that they would sell like crazy. I have mentioned this to designers before, but to no avail. Perhaps I will have to figure out how to make decent hair myself. I just don't want to use my time here marketing and selling! *sigh*

I grabbed a ton of demos, but I didn't dare try any of them at the fair. I figured I'd leave before the lag got the best of me; at one point I couldn't even enter one of the four quadrants because the sim was full. I managed to grab three out of four landmarks, although the northeast one didn't allow taking a LM for some reason (I was able to get one nonetheless from a demo I picked up on that sim! Yay!).

Here are the four regions, including a list of vendors on display in each sim, and a landmark to that section. If you can't TP to a given area, you might want to try landing at an adjacent location and walking in.



Hair Fair '09, Southwest Quadrant:

Magika
House of Munster
Battle Angel
Digital Eyes
Heading to Dreamville
Analog Dog
Exile
Damselfly
Snipz
Adam n Eve
LALA Moon
MADDesigns
Calys Creations
Hair Solutions
Kiss
Katat0nik
Lamora
Find Ash
Rock Candy
ChiChickie
Maitreya
DV8
Inorite
Vixen
Tukinowaguma
Tekeli-li! dark artistry
Flavor Designs
NebuchadNezzar - NDN - Industrial Cybergoth Gear



Hair Fair '09, Southeast Quadrant (courtesy of Dernier Cri):

Dernier Cri
Argrace
Zobovic
Hype
Lag Designs
Booperfunk
Dreads n Threads
Dark Mouse
Amacci
Zyrra Falcone
Blood Royal
Alice Project
Redlic
Simplee Britnee
Sky Shop Hair Resort
Onigiri
Miau Haus
Audacity
Baskin Bobbins
Tea Lane
Jolie Femme
Waka & Yuki
Hair Influence
Twisted & Spoiled
Nushru
The Good Life
Sweet Hair
Designs by Katey
a.C Store
The Stringer Mausoleum
Sparle Skye Designs
Honey
Innovations
Vignette
Shag
Draconic Kiss
Sirena hair
Curio Obscura
B Spot
Defectiva
MIU
Mirada
FOAM



Hair Fair '09, Northwest Quadrant:

Clawtooth by Clawtooth
Beauty Avatar
Spirit
DeadKitties
Tiny Bird
Goldie Locks
Mela's
Fuel
Kin
Diversity
Gwendolyn Cassini Creations
Ingenue
Wasabi Pills
Milestone Creations
Posh
Glittercake
Here Comes Trouble
Curious Kitties
TRUTH
Philotic Energy
Mia Snow
Vanity Hair
Curio
Raspberry Aristocrat
Head Mistress
Refuge
Bish Hair
Pixelated Dreams
Mau & Mej's
Fascino
BiZaRRe Hair & DeMiNaTioNs
Carlucci Designs
Rosy Mood
Decoy
Excess Androgyne
Sari's
Biedermanns Hair
Tekuteku
C'est Moi
JE Republic
House of Heart



Hair Fair '09, Northeast Quadrant:

Nodoka
Pirate Arts
Lazy Places
Aitui
George Street
Deviant Kitties
Dicord Designs
Bryce
Hairstyles by Tami McCoy
Pazazz Hair
Black Maria
Aoharu
Fashionably Dead
GroovyGirl Designs
U-Neek
DK's & Pixelthreads
Filigreemotion
Calico Ingmann Creations
SLink


Now, that's a TON of hair designers to look at, and many of them I have never heard of before. I intend to check them all out though, so stay tuned, kiddies.

BTW, the Hair Fair will run until July 4, so you should still have plenty of time to check it out, and PLEASE make a donation! If you purchase just one item, half of your money will be going to help a child in need. PLEASE! It's important.

Until next time,

Jamie :)

Free Skin at LeLutka!

Just a heads-up for my friends and loyal readers: You can pick up a FREE SKIN at LeLutka (formerly MM Skins). You can find it on the table in the main display room; it looks like a shopping bag.

I like this skin. It's hard to believe it's free (send your n00b friends/alts over there!), and I have no idea how long they will have it available, so don't delay. Here is how it looks on me:



LeLutka has also announced that they have reduced the prices on ALL of their skins, so if you have always wanted to get a set for yourself, there is no better time than NOW! Check out their London Revolution series. I already own quite a few skins from either LeLutka or MM, and I think my next set from them is going to be from the above-mentioned line. At least go and check them out, maybe pick up a few demos, and get that free skin. You owe it to yourself.

Jamie

Maitreya New Releases, June '09

If you belong to the Maitreya Update Group, you already know about the new releases which came out a couple days ago. Just knowing about them wasn't good enough for me though; I had to go and have a look.


Limo to Maitreya Isle


New items include a couple different styles of jeans, some denim shorts (NICE ones, not your garden-variety stripper-style cut-offs... ) with cuffs, a line of sarong tops which will go well with this lovely summer weather we're having, and some very nice racer-back tank tops.

Now please bear in mind that I am not given these items for free provided that I post a favorable review; quite the contrary. I buy all my stuff, and while I will not buy EVERYTHING just so I can write a review, I will buy whichever items suit my fancy, and I will give an honest report on them. It's MY blog, and I can say whatever I want, right? Well, RIGHT?? Of course I can. Who is going to stop me, the SL Police? Ha.

ANYway, I did pick out a few items. I bought one pair of the skinny jeans with prim cuffs just to see how they were. My intention was to NOT use the prim cuffs, as attaching them would have replaced the top straps on my Stiletto Moodys. Instead, I chose to wear mine sans cuffs, Jamie style. I must say, they are well done. I chose a basic blue (shade #6 if you must know), but I may have to go back and get a couple more for my ever-expanding jeans collection.



These have a nice fit, and a realistic texture, of which several variations are available. There are a few layer choices, as well as versions for use with the included prim roll-up cuffs and without. Here is a close-up of the leg detail, showing the nicely done seams and the natural looking wrinkles, precluding a stiff, painted-on appearance:



What am I standing on, you ask? Those are concrete "tide breakers," also known as tetrahedrons, commonly used to prevent shoreline erosion. The surf splashing up through these is quite spectacular, and YES, I did get a bit wet on this shoot!


I also picked up a pair of the denim shorts, in "Vintage Blue," of all things. OK, so I am a traditionalist. Too boring for you? Sorry; find another blog to read then.

As I said before, these shorts are refreshing in that they are not the ultra short items that we seem to have an over-abundance of here in SL. These are what you might wear in RL (unless you are a stripper or a Playboy model, in which case it's not likely that you need to live vicariously through Second Life anyway), and they would seem to go well with just about any warm weather top you might have handy. They are just NICE. Reasonable. SENSIBLE. I like them a lot, and will likely soon go back for a few more colors.



Oh, yes... the top. That's the new Racer Back Tank. I love this one, and I bought it in five different colors. True, they have a fat-pack for sale, but all I wanted were those five shades. All layers are included, which is so thoughtful of them. It shows that they know the needs of their clients. Don't you just hate it when you buy a nice, say, tube top, only to find that it is only supplied with a jacket layer? To me, this shows either the lack of understanding for what the consumer needs, or (hopefully not) a lazy, non-caring attitude toward the end user. Maitreya has clearly done their homework in this regard, and the quality of their products speaks for itself.

Here is a back view of the top. This is a nice change from the standard tank top or cami, adding a bit more variety to your wardrobe:



The material itself has a subdued ribbed cotton texture to it, adding to the realism. Again, I love these tops. (Hmmm... maybe I SHOULD have bought the fat pack)

One thing is for certain though: Summer has arrived. We've spent the winter dieting and working out (right?), and we're ready for it. Time to lose those sweaters and boots and get out in the Sun! Why not start off the season right with a new look, and let everyone wonder who that REAL-looking girl is!

'Til next time...

Jamie :)

Beach and Ball Runway Show

Traitor?? No, not me; sure, I posted on another blog. I admit it. I'll even give you the link if you want to check it out:

Model’s Workshop Beach and Ball event coverage

Yes, it's the blog for the Model's Workshop group. I was tasked with taking photos of the recent (last Sunday) runway show, and it turned out to be a huge success!


Shown here on the runway is Lilly25 Connolly, photo "borrowed" from the official blog. Please click on the thumbnails here to view a larger image.


We'll be doing this again, so whether you are an experienced SL model, or if you have always wanted to be a model but weren't quite sure how to begin, this group is for you. It's about models helping models, and it's a fun way to learn and to make new friends in the industry. Join in and add your input regarding the theme of the next show. The entire thing was arranged by our own group members, so it was truly a team effort.

All you have to do is to simply run a search in-world for the group Model's Workshop and join (it's free), or better yet, just drop in at one of our weekly meetings. Trust me, you'll be made to feel more than welcome, and I'd be willing to bet that by the time the meeting is over, you'll have at least a few more new friends added to your list. WHERE, you ask? I'll give you the SLURL:
Model's Workshop

Our meetings are on Thursdays at 5pm, SLT (that would be 8pm Eastern time). This week the group is going to discuss how to organize and manage a runway show in Second Life, based on the experiences of those who participated in the recent show. Feel free to join us, whether you are interested in joining, or are just curious as to what we're all about. Chances are, though, if you have the interest to check us out, you'll want to become involved! This could be YOU on the runway!


Above, model Rouge Anthony hits the catwalk during the casual/beachwear segment of the show.




Delphine Ellisson struts her stuff at the recent show.




Anairam Maynard strikes a pose.




Janina Scarmon models a lovely Seafoam-colored gown in the formal wear segment.




Here again is Janina, this time sporting a more casual look.




Model Natalia Corvale wows the crowd during the swimsuit competition.




Also shown during the swimsuit/beachwear portion of the show is the lovely Beloved Aries.




Model Ebony Chanitilly is pictured in casual attire during the beachwear phase.




Pictured in a gorgeous blue formal is model Rhian Milena.



This production, while a lot of work for all who chose to participate, was enjoyed by all and proved to be a very rewarding experience. Do you think you'd enjoy being a part of something like this? Care to get involved, and learn? Don't hesitate; please come down and be a part of the Model's Workshop. All you have to do is to take that first step.



(For more detailed coverage of the show, please be sure to check our official blog, linked at the beginning of this post)

Hope to see you soon!

Jamie

M-M-M-More Prim Toes!

Just a quick post here... a friend recently tipped me off regarding some new shoes at B&G Shoes. There are three versions which feature a full prim foot, ala Moody, but the big news here is they are WAAAY affordable! How does $350L sound? Not bad at all, I hear you answer. Here is a pic of the display:



Of the three versions, I prefer the Selena best (the other two are the Amanda, and the Melody). There is a drop-down menu for skin color adjustment and toenail color. No toe rings on these, but I am told that the skin color CAN be fine-tuned by inputting the RGB color value, much like on the Moody shoes.

The fat pack can save you another 15% (eight different colors) at an incredible $2380L, but even if you can only afford one pair, you owe yourself, girlfriend! No, I didn't have time to review them personally, but I WILL get back to you on this, I promise! I have been busy with a lot of things, including building a large ocean-front house for a couple of great friends. More to come!

Hugzzzz

If It Ain't Broke...

As you may already know, I HATE change, and this applies especially to changes with the Second Life viewer (the version of the SL program we use to access our "other" life). Such a strong word for a girl, you say... hate?? You actually HATE change? Perhaps you mean that you just don't care for it very much.

Nope. I HATE it. As they say, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Right... I suppose it's LL job justification. After all, what is a development team to do? That's right: create CHANGES. Change for the sake of change. Let's improve something that is already just fine as it is.

Well, most of you have by now seen the notice on your log-in screens. We have been advised that we MUST upgrade to the new viewer by next Thursday or else. OK, so I added that last bit, but you get the idea. We have all seen this before. The last time they said we would NOT be forced to use the new viewer if we didn't want to. A couple weeks later we were given the ultimatum. Now it's back to the same routine once again.

I figured I may as well just do it now rather than wait 'til the bitter end. It's Sunday morning, and not much else is going on here anyway. I went to the main Second Life web page and chose the latest version, v1.22.11 and let it load. After I installed it I logged on to see if there was much of a difference. Ummmm, YEAH, there's a difference.


The HORROR... the HORROR...



The first thing I noticed, to my HORROR, was that now the water looked rather cartoonish, and it was transparent enough that when looking at the sea, all the surrounding underwater landscape was ghosted on the water. I knew I would have to do some tweaking, so I set forth to conquer my preference settings and maybe even tinker with the Environment Editor if necessary (World > Environment Settings > Environment Editor). I should caution you here to go easy with these settings, because unless you really know what you're doing, you can screw things up royally.



Enough whining, you say? SHOW us what you mean...
Okay, okay. I anticipated this, so I took a few screen shots to illustrate my point, and to show the results of what I did to fix it. BTW, you can click on all of my images in this blog to see them in a larger format (Oh? You already knew that?? WhatEVERrr... )

The first one shows how things looked initially. I set the light settings on "sunset" because I thought it would add a little color to my otherwise bland-looking diatribe.

Notice the not-so-faint outline of the surrounding underwater terrain:



If you look, you can see an island and where it extends under the surface of the water. This is progress?? I thought they were fixing things. Hmmmm...

Notice, too, that you can see my legs beneath the water's surface (pic was taken behind my house. Not a bad view, eh?).


This was when I decided to open the Environment Editor. I took notice that the Water Fog slider (which controls the water transparency) default setting was at 4.0; I pushed it to the right until I hit 8.5, and the offending underwater terrain went away. So did the clean look of the water. Now the water was looking a bit yucky, thick and slimy, and possibly crawling with critters that I could only imagine nibbling at my virtual toes.



Not liking this look at all, I reset the slider at 4.0 and went to my preferences window (Edit > Preferences). I went to the Graphics tab and clicked the Custom button to bring up further options.

I suppose it might depend on your computer's configuration as to what the default settings will be, but in my case, the Quality and Performance setting was set at mid range. This was fine for my older viewer, but now things were looking a bit flat and unexciting. I felt that with these so-called "improvements" things should be looking a lot better. I tweaked my level up to High, and right away I noticed a difference. The water had much more texture to it, yet my draw distance only increased from 96 to 128. My concern here was that I did NOT want to see clear across several sims; I wanted to keep things looking fairly distant.

I actually liked the results:



You'll notice that by setting the Water Fog level back to where it belonged, I restored the transparency of the water, yet the increase in the general quality of the imaging made things look so much better than the old viewer did!

The problem is, these improvements are not without their trade-offs; for me, lag increased just a bit. Not a lot, but for those with older or slower machines, this might be an issue. I will just deal with it. It's not too laggy, and it looks awesome now.

One other thing I noticed was that at certain times, the picture could appear to look "washed out," or almost over-exposed, especially on my avatar's face. I turned my face light down to the low setting, and this seemed to help.

Another thing... I don't know if this is something new, or if I had just never noticed it before: the clouds in the sky seem to move as if there is a wind! Nice effect. I hope it works well for all of you, but I'm sure they are already hard at work "fixing" things again. Oh, well... such is our Second Life.

LeLutka Skins On Sale Now!

This just in from Minnu Palen: LeLutka Skins (formerly MM Skins) are ALL marked down to 50% off!

The sale will last from today (May 15) for two weeks, until May 28. My first choice was always MM Skins, and that goes back to before I was actually in SL (I read all the fashion blogs even then), and right now I have a huge collection of them. It looks as if I am about to acquire a few more!

Here is the LM:
LeLutka Beaute

If you see me there, please stop and say hello! I promise I won't bite (at least not hard, anyway).




While you are out shopping, why not wander over to check out the new releases at Maitreya Hair?

I found out about these new releases last night just as our Model's Workshop meeting began, so I flew over there about as fast as I could once we had finished. They have three new styles, and they are unique in that they all have an option for some lovely Zaara jewelry to be worn in the hair (jewelry sold as a separate item).

Here are the display advertisements so you can see what they have.

The first one is called Amber, and is a lovely long, straight style with the front strands pulled around and tied in back. The version set up for wearing the jewels is included, but as I mentioned before, the jewels are not included. Lovely hair just by itself:




The next one they have is called Aisha, and it is a cute updo, with the hair gathered in a bun on top. Again, this style includes the one set up for the not-included jewelry, which incidentally, is for sale right there:




The last hairstyle offered among Maitreya's newest releases is Aisha II, and it is similar to the previous one, except that instead of a bun on top, it is gathered at the back and pinned upward, giving a clean, uncluttered look perfect for displaying your favorite necklace with a formal gown. Aisha II also includes provision for the featured Zaara jewelry:




Did I buy any myself, you ask? Of course. I bought two fatpacks, Amber, and Aisha II. Maybe we will do a session on hair at a future Model's Workshop. Sound good?

Meanwhile, I'm off to LeLutka to peruse some of their wonderful skins, and possibly add to my collection. Perhaps I will see you there!

Model's Workshop

As some of you may already know, I belong to a SL group called Model's Workshop. Founded by Monica Balut, this group features open enrollment (meaning that we aren't snobbish and it's free to join). The description of this group would be best served by simply quoting from the Group Charter:

"The Model's Workshop is a group of professional SL models dedicated to helping each other be the best they can be. Its goal is to provide an atmosphere where group members are encouraged to share their knowledge, information and skills to help each other grow as models. Projects may include regular workshops, development of a resource library, holding mock shows."

Whew! I really couldn't have put it better. We have weekly seminars every Thursday at 5 pm SLT (Left Coast time), and the subject matter will vary. No one knows everything, and by sharing our knowledge with the group it serves to strengthen us all. It's also a great opportunity to make new friends and for NETWORKING, a thing of great importance in the modeling industry. Many people have commented that they got choice jobs partly because of recognition. Think about it, who would YOU hire... someone whose name and face rings a bell with you, or a virtual unknown?



Last night's meeting had to do with shoes, and who doesn't love shoes? Everyone had something to say, and several members were happy to display specific shoes from their inventories. A list is being compiled from those who responded to the request to submit a notecard detailing our favorite makers, and I will post that list here, with landmarks, as soon as I get my hands on it.

I will be leading next week's discussion, which will be on prims and their adjustment. If you would like to meet me and the members, or if you just think you have something pertinent to add, please do an in-world search for Model's Workshop. If you have room for another group, feel free to join so that you'll receive our notices. If you DON'T have room, make some! I think you'll enjoy the friendly interaction we have to offer.

Oh, before I forget... we are sponsoring an impromptu modeling competition. It will enable members to become involved in all phases of organizing and running a show, as well as being able to participate in it. This is a plus for those with little or no runway experience, and is one way to gain a bit of confidence before venturing out in the "real" world. I only wish I had announced this sooner, but we already have 15 models who are going to participate, and the auditions have now been closed. Not to worry; we will be doing this again, so please join us, and see what we're all about!

More info on this show to follow as the details unfold. Tentative date for the show is Sunday May 31 at 4pm SLT.

The show will be held at THIS location.


Our regular meetings are held HERE in case you want to stop in next Thursday. We will be happy to add you to the group.

Change is NOT better, or Please Stop Fixing Things!

From my good friend Monica Balut at the Model's Workshop:

"As some may know, SL is starting development of the next version of the viewer v 1.23. Some of you may have tried it. It has an annoying "improvement" that will make our lives more difficult unless changed.

"When you try to edit an attached object in this RC (Release Candidate) viewer, the edit option is buried in a second menu under More. This requires two steps to edit a worn object instead of one.

"If you are concerned about this go to http://jira.secondlife.com/browse/VWR-12946 and add your vote to this topic."

I thought her point was valid enough to repeat here. If it DOES concern you, please check out the link and VOTE. You'll have to log in with your Second Life name to do so; it doesn't take but a minute of your time. This is the only way we will be heard, so voice your opinion NOW, before it's too late.

To the Linden family:
PLEASE! STOP FIXING THINGS!
The constant changes to SL are just NOT needed! Change for its own sake is NOT good!

*****

This has been a public service announcement; we now return you to your regularly scheduled programming already in progress.

Feets, Don't Fail Me Now

We all know what "prims" are in SL, right? Prim is short for "primitive," a term that refers to individual basic objects created in Second Life. We have prim hair (which is way better than the old n00b hair we used to be stuck with), prim skirts (which never look right until we fiddle and adjust, and they still aren't perfect), and of course, SHOES! We all love to shop for shoes, and I'm willing to bet that a lot of you have many more than I do. It's an addiction, and an obsession even, for many of us.



Personally, I prefer to go for the BEST I can find. No longer content with the freebies that I initially thought were such a bargain, I began to buy only what I felt were shoes of the highest quality. Sure, I've been burned along the way, but I soon learned that some makers are consistently EXCELLENT, while others are there just to take your money. You live and you learn (hopefully!). All I can do here is to recommend what I think are good choices.


As nice as a lot of shoes are these days, the look of open toed sandals and heels is often hampered by the pathetic-looking Linden (non-)Toes. Sure, we all share the same look, or at least we DID, until the advent of the Prim Toe arrived in SL.

What, you've never heard of prim toes? It's an amazing concept, really. The first I ever saw was by J's and was shown to me by a close friend who made me promise not to tell anyone. Well, the cat is out of the bag, Honey!

Hers were very early ones, before the idea was at all widespread. I bought a pair myself, and remembering my oath of secrecy, rarely wore them (yes, I have principles). I did take a pic of hers though, the first time I ever saw them:



They are normal shoes with one difference: the front part has some nicely-proportioned toes, complete with (optional) toe rings and color-change nails. There is a menu-driven skin tone changer as well, and with a bit of faffing about, a fairly good match can be made. I think it's great.

The idea was too good for others not to improve upon. Soon Stiletto Moody came out with their Bare line of shoes, the difference here being they created an entire prim foot instead of just the toes. An added plus with the Moody shoes is that the skin color can be changed by inputting an RGB value into the appropriate section of the menu for a very close color match!



The way you do this is to first make sure you are wearing something leggy like a short skirt. Take a GOOD picture in-world (use daylight!) and save it to your hard drive. You will then open that pic in PhotoShop or Paintshop Pro (other photo editing programs should do; those are just the ones I use) and use the eyedropper tool to sample a representative area of skin color. Save the RGB value to your shoe menu and you're done. Follow these instructions:

Once you are wearing the shoes, click on the left shoe to bring up the menu. Select Skin > Control Freak > Direct Input. There you can type in the RGB value that you got from your photo editing program. It will be three numbers, each with three digits. For example, mine was 165-97-69, but I had to enter it with zeros: 165-097-069. Then hit SET and you're golden. Oh, be sure to exit the menu properly, or go back and change your nail color, etc. You may have to try this a few times until it looks just right, but it is a very easy and accurate way to make things match. I love it. In fact I just went and bought another pair. Expensive, but SOOO good!



Well, upon seeing these prim toes, I thought, "Hmmm... why can't they just have prim feet, without the shoes?" Someone must have read my mind, because guess what?



Yes, that's right: Prim Bare Feet! Thanks to J's once again, if you buy their new bare toe flip-flops, there is an option in the menu for shoes/no shoes! Of course, as you can see, they come with the optional toe rings and color change nails. I just LOVE this look!

The difficult part for me was making a good color match. Just be sure you do this in strong light, outdoors at mid day. Included is a pair of ankle bracelets which help hide the transition between your new feet and your Linden legs. All in all, a really fun concept, and just in time for summer!



Prim toes are the new standard by which all SL shoes will be judged.

I have a feeling that I am going to be spending a lot of time barefoot this summer. Just see to it that you don't step on my toes!

Getting Naked in Public

That's one of our first Second Life fears as a n00b, isn't it... trying to figure out how to change outfits without ending up NAKED in front of everyone? Yeah, as if no one has ever seen a naked avatar before, but it's only natural that we still have our basic RL instinct to cover up.

Ah, yes: PRIVACY. That's one commodity that is difficult to come by in SL, and it's ironic that once we THINK we have it, we soon come to the harsh realization that there is virtually no such thing as privacy in-world. How many times have YOU gone someplace remote to change clothes, checked the mini-map to be sure there are NO avatars within range, and just as soon as you are naked, some weird guy will somehow sense this and materialize and fly directly over to you? It happens all the time!



True, we can resign ourselves to finally submitting payment information, even though we SWORE we would never spend any real dollars in here, and that we just wanted to see what Second Life was like, but that we would NEVER take it seriously. Uh huh... Well, now we have decided that if we spend just a little money, and get an apartment, or a skybox, even, that NOW we will have all the privacy we need, right? Sure, until we find some creep hovering outside, that is, "camming" in (using camera controls to scan into the room) and watching our every move.

While having our own apartment is nice, and owning a full sim is even nicer, what can we REALLY do about basic privacy, aside from taking drastic security measures to protect what are, after all, PIXELS? It's really quite simple. No need to panic, just remember and understand one thing: LAYERS.

"Layers?" you ask... Yes, layers. Take a good look at your inventory items. I'll admit that at first I had no clue as to why some outfits had duplicate pieces, with symbols next to them seemingly indicating underwear, shirts, jackets, etc. Especially odd when we aren't even looking at a jacket or a coat. Why does it indicate that it's a jacket? Well, it's the jacket LAYER. The implication of this should be obvious: it goes on top! (top or outer layer)

Once this "layers" thing dawns on you, you'll no longer feel like such a n00b, and one advantage to it is that you'll be able to change clothes right in front of everyone, and you'll never have to worry about finding yourself suddenly naked (unless SL is being laggy... ). The other advantage is that you are now beginning to get a sense of style in SL, and that's a GOOD thing! Admit it though; you still do want that skybox, don't you?

Pay attention to what layer your worn items are. Open the folder of the item in question, and if you don't know where to find it (shame on you for not being ORGANIZED... more on this in a second), just type in the word "worn" in the space at the top of your inventory list, and everything you are wearing will be listed right there. Take a look at mine (yes, I learned to organize my inventory a LONG time ago):



Ok, in the above pic of a part of my inventory, notice that my top is worn as a "jacket" layer. This means it will overlap the outside of my jeans. It's the TOP layer. Now, notice that there are other layers of the same red t-shirt in that folder. If I were to wear a different layer, one that would go beneath the jacket layer, I could then safely remove my jacket layer and there would already be a "shirt" layer right there, or even an "undershirt" layer, depending on the need.
Also, notice the supplementary "pants" and "underpants" layers. These can be used to create a tucked-in look, assuming of course that the pants (or skirt) worn is in a layer that is above that. It's all about layers and their priorities, and the upper layers will obviously show above the sub layers.

In the next picture, I am wearing the same outfit as above, but I wanted to show that the jeans I am wearing are actually the "underpants" layer. It really has nothing to do with underwear or anything like that. Notice how the t-shirt is layered over the jeans. I could just as easily have had the t-shirt tucked in by changing the used layers to suit. Capiche?



Notice the other (unused) pants layer... the one used is the absolute lowest, and the blue "pants" icon represents the next upward layer. At any rate, if you pay attention to these layers, you should be able to dress confidently in public.


I mentioned ORGANIZING. Do it now, before it gets out of hand. I'll be happy to organize yours for a modest fee... but seriously, why not get all your ducks in a row now? If you wait it will just get worse.



It's really not as hard as it looks, and you don't need to create a ton of categories. Have a look at how I set mine up:



I made a few basic categories for tops, pants, dresses, and of course SHOES! and hair. Everything else can easily be categorized as needed. I numbered these folders to keep them in place, and I then dragged everything in my inventory to its allocated spot. This makes it a LOT easier to find something to wear and to put together outfits (and that in itself is yet another topic!).

Do yourself a favor and ORGANIZE!

The Pickup Artist

What girl in SL hasn't had this happen: You are out with friends, or by yourself, even. All of a sudden, out of the blue, you get a private message: "Hi"
Ummm, "Hello," I'll usually answer; I won't get rude until things begin to deteriorate. Then it begins: "How r u?" or How old r u?" Uh-huh... here we go.

First off, I don't do text chat. I'm rather adept at typing, and as for text messaging, I have a full-keyboard Blackberry 8900, so I really have no need for the dumb text shortcuts. Besides, it's all rather childish. This is always a negative in my book when things start out this way.

Many times, they aren't even within eyesight. What is with this cowardly approach? Sometimes they will just offer friendship, without even a word. Easy to do, right? Just as easy to reject. CLICK... done. I do recall having one continue to badger me, all while I was trying to shop. I would reject the offer, and he'd resend it. I finally had to come up with some sort of implied insult to make him leave me alone, and of course right away I'm the jerk. How is that... I'm here trying to shop, and he is in a LADIES' store trying to hit on everything he sees?? Nice.

Ah, but some of them are so full of themselves! What about the typical Club Dude, sans shirt, and covered with tattoos? I can usually spot them long before they saunter over, so cock-sure and into themselves.

I decided to go out and track some of them down, and display the pics here. I had fun doing it, so expect a similar entry in the near future. One place I went is a popular beach-type club, typically laggy but ripe with egotistical beach dudes. A lot of them just stand there, as if they expect to get hit on themselves. Exhibit one:



This dude was NEAR the dance floor, dancing by himself. Maybe he was happy with that, I don't know. He never bothered me, but he probably wondered why I was just standing there, as well. Check out the tribal tats. What's up with those baggy pantaloons though? Are huge baggy pants the next SL trend? I wonder if his mother lets him dress like that in RL.


LOL... OK, on to the next victim. This one was standing in nearly the same spot, apparently waiting for something to happen. Again, the tribal tattoos. Wonder what tribe this guy is from. Not TOO extreme, I'll admit, but are some girls actually attracted to this look? Hmmm... maybe the tattooed girls with the kitty ears and the horse tails and the spikey boots. When I left, he was STILL waiting:




BTW, anyone who thinks these guys are HOT should feel free to reply here, likewise if you are "offended" that I am poking fun at them. Remember, it's only a game! Let's try not to get our virtual panties in a knot!

Next up: At least this guy is wearing a shirt... or is it a jacket? Yes, a leather bikers jacket, with baggy shorts (so that his leg tats will show). Spikes, piercings, dressed in black; all dressed up with nowhere to go, and nothing to say. Is it his first try, or is this something he always does and one way or another it works for him? Who knows; I didn't ask, either.




I have a few more to show here. These next three, I have to give credit; at least they were dancing with someone. Shown here anyway for your entertainment:

Another Big Pants guy. I spoke with him briefly, and he was actually quite nice. He was having a great time spinning around and doing his thing... but those pants!




Having fun and doing his thing with his Honey on the dance floor, complete with the obligatory tribal tats:




This one I included just for the tats, but he DOES look the way someone would look at the beach. Nothing wrong with that:




Now THIS dude, bless his heart, was trying soooo hard to look cool, but his collar prim was out of wack. I thought about telling him, but nah... Hey, no tats, and he's wearing a shirt! Bonus points for him!




I saved this one for last because, well, he seemed to be the consummate shirtless tattoed club stud. "Somone" he asked me to call him, and yes, he agreed to be in my blog. Oh, and such a sweetheart! A smooooth talker, laid back... this dude knows what he's doing. Notice that his belt is already undone, and his boots are ready to be kicked off... And NO, I did not go home with him!

Somone:



Hummmm....