Ever want a quick and simple pose for you and a friend? Enter .::Y&R::.Design standing hug couple pose, which you can grab on the Marketplace for only $L30.
It consists of a pair of poseballs which vanish once you sit on them.
It’s a quick and easy way to pose with a friend.
Is exactly that: It’s your original profile picture. Huh? WHAT? Let me explain.
This was my original profile picture:
And here we have my current picture:
See the difference? New hair, new skin, new lipstick, different eyes. If I didn’t know better, I’d say they’re both different people—and yet they’re both ME!
Look, I know we all like profile pictures. After all, we all want attention. But as you change, evolve, make sure your profile picture is current.
If you haven’t noticed by now, Linden Labs (LL) has filled Second Life with of TLAs: Three Letter Acronyms. I swear, they’re worse than the government. Then again, at least when we’re inside SL, they are the government.
One you’ll run into is “ALT,” “Alt,” or “alt.” This stands for “Alternate.” Sometimes members wish to create an alternate identity, perhaps to explore things their main character wouldn’t do. Think of it as a pen name for a writer. Authors sometimes wish to write outside of a genre they’ve been known for. Take Nora Charles, for a famous example. Ms. Charles also writes under the name J. D. Robb.
Maybe you’ve been in SL long enough to get bored. And maybe you have a lot of friends you care about. So keep your original account and continue to use it. But add a new account, so your new self can start an entirely new story. Use it when you get bored with your first account again.
And now you know all about Alts.
One of the benefits of having a premium account in Second Life is that you can get a free house. The downside is that you have a limited selection from which to choose.
The upside to owning your own land is that you don’t have to have a premium account to do so.
Today I returned my premium house of 3 or 4 years and bought a piece of land. I then bought and built a log cabin on that land, and moved in. It took a bit of doing as I had to terraform the land, leveling it so the cabin would fit on it properly.
Which brings me to today’s lesson—things to watch for when buying land. It can be tricky, and there are some pitfalls that can snare you if you’re not careful.
First, are you really buying the land? I’ve seen lots (no pun intended) of properties advertised as for sale for $3,000 for 1024 square meters that in reality turn out to be deals where you pay the $3,000 for the “privilege” of paying an additional $850 a week to keep it. So be sure that you’re buying the land free and clear so that you will actually own it. Also be sure to read any covenants that come with the land, as they may also reduce what you can do with it. My property has no covenants, which means I can subdivide it if I wish. I can also sell it if I decide to.
Also check the number of prims you’re allowed to place on the land. My parcel allows 351 prims, and that meant there were a lot of houses I couldn’t consider because they would have exceeded that limit.
Does your house come furnished or unfurnished? Some houses weigh in at, say, 250 prims, but come completely furnished. Others of the same model take up only 50 prims, but you have to provide your own furnishings.
There are several vendors who specialize in low-prim furnishings; look for and patronize them. And don’t ignore your own SL library! Trees, plants, rocks—they’re all there at your fingertips.
Terraforming is modifying your land to suit your needs. I would advise against it unless you’ve had a lot of experience. If you’re going to do it, remember that there is a “revert” function in case you mess up too badly.
I’ve tried to cover the basics of buying property. If you have any specific questions, drop me a note or leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer it.
After all, I am a woman, with needs and desires of her own. And this is where I sometimes go to fulfill them.
The Lesbian Teahouse is one such place. It’s always crowded, so it can take a long time for avi’s to fully rez, but it’s worth the wait. In fact, I once enjoyed a lovely relationship I had with someone I once met there. But that’s a story for another day.
The Lesbian Loft is another spot I like to visit. Besides being a great place to meet other women, I’ve often had some very nice existential conversations there. See? It isn’t always about sex…just mostly.
And that brings us to the New Resident Help Area.
While this is primarily a place to learn about Second Life in general, it’s also another place to meet people. It’s in a G-rated sim, so you don’t have to worry about sex or drugs or rock ‘n roll. Well, maybe not the rock ‘n roll part. No swearing, either. It’s also where you can get many of your questions about the Firestorm Viewer answered.
Oh—not to mention the freebies! Be sure to grab the Garlic Necklace to ward off vampires! No, seriously! It will keep you from being approached by anyone playing the Bloodlines vampire simulation. Which I definitely do not play.
So that’s today’s update. I’ll be following up with more places to visit in my next post. Until then,
Dressing Second Life since 2012
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