Category: Uncategorized

Dhughan here… very puzzled. I have just this moment discovered a knack for transfiguring myself into a very small (yet winsome) otter. I must be a late bloomer, I left Hogwarts ages ago as one of those unfortunates of society that cannot perform magic. Not to put too fine a point on it, I was a Squib and a disgrace to Pater and a source of embarrassment to Mater. This is one reason I left home in Britain and headed West, where I knew no one… and no one used to know me at school as “that Squibby chap Froobie in Hufflepuff, haw haw haw).

Well, well. There must be something magical in the air in Steelhead; perhaps it’s the near-mythical, quite mystical properties of the ore that is mined there. It must quite permeate the environs.

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I’m
a Hufflepuff!

My magical “powers” had barely manifested by the time my admittance letter arrived from Hogwarts, but off I went on the brand-new and very modern rail service that had just been installed by the Ministry for Magic. Once I arrived, I had the poor taste and lack of character to be Sorted into Hufflepuff, a House that was most assuredly not Slytherin (which would have pleased Pater) or Ravenclaw (which would have given Mater something to gloat over at breakfast).

I did all right in school, apart from my appalling failure to produce Potions, wave Wands, or search out Secret Knowledge. I had some talent with plants, even the magical ones – and I managed to Transfigure a few things, after much patient tutoring and extra work after class. May Hogwarts ever have such teachers as mine! They did their best for me, and now I am proud to say that I was their hardest working (if not most accomplished) student.

Somehow, I shall have to procure an Owl and send off a note that at long last, I have mastered the art of Transfiguring something at last: myself.

I do quite like otters and so it’s a great relief that I didn’t turn out to be something less likely to cause a stampede, such as a Double-Ended Skrewt or an exploding cup of Oolong Tea. And fortunately, I seem to be able to change back (thank goodness) more or less at will.

It’s a pleasure to finally display my House colors in my home, as I didn’t feel quite deserving of them up to now.

I may even get something to wear to the next reunion, where I shall enjoy the shocked stares of my old schoolmates when they see me in all my Ottery glory.

Tiny Inc. hogwarts hufflepuff boy kitty outfit by Etheria Parrott – Second Life XStreet SL Marketplace

Which house would you be? Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Try the sorting hat ceremony online here to see which suits your personality. Submit the test and your house crest will be displayed.

Want to meet lots more tinies in an all tiny sim? Why not also visit our main store, Tiny Inc at Raglan Shire
Click here

Dhughan here, making myself useful about the place. I’ve made a few changes, made a few knicknacks. For those sitting in the dark, there is now a 1-prim lamp available with that is both scientific (fractal texture) and manly (Steampunk metal detailing).

Now I must create a nice club chair to sit in so that I might read the Primgraph in comfort.

@DF@ Touch Fractal Lamp (1 prim c/m/nt) by Dhughan Froobert – Second Life XStreet SL Marketplace

One-touch, one-prim lighting! This object emits a gentle glow when touched.

Works in a Victorian or Steampunk-themed setting, suitable for a study or library.

Permissions are mod/c/nt so that you may copy as needed, or make a backup and have a go at re-texturing as you wish.

It’s Prad Pravithi’s totally awesome Second Life keyboard. Look at the big version, then read all the notes. Laugh, plotz, snort the beverage of your choice out your nose.

My top choice: “Mute Talking Unborn Babies.”

Second choice: “Purge/Lose/Sort Inventory.”

And in fact, I would totally buy this keyboard if only it were available, because a one-button “rebake” or “log in as Alt 1/Alt 2” or “Random Outfit” action would be awesome.

The Second Life Keyboard, originally uploaded by ::Prad Prathivi @ Amodica::.

… just uploaded a virtual wall fountain to XStreetSL, it’s about time I made something, rather than just sorting inventory and textures! Soothing water sounds, nice textures. And now, back to the Big Sort!

@LC@ Rainbow Stained Glass Wall Fountain by Lelani Carver – Second Life XStreet SL Marketplace

Rainbow Stained Glass Wall Fountain
with scripted sounds on/off and also volume controls.

You can reduce the sounds to 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 volume as well as mute by touching the fountain. Make a copy, take it apart, and learn how it works! Edit selected textures to make all full bright, or none full bright… or turn it into a nice window by hollowing a wall to the right size and stretching the fountain to fit.

Textures, sound and script courtesy of the great folks at K.I.E. Dragonwings University, who provide a great learning environment.

KeithThomson SecretSpy will be reading from the book in Second Life!
Be inworld March 22, 6pmSLT at Lacamas Reading Hall, Pini

BookemJackson Streeter is hosting this event through Jackson Street Books at the Lacamas Reading Hall, and I helped set up Keith’s avatar as “KeithThomson SecretSpy.” I’ve followed Keith since 2004 from before the publication of his first book, “Gus Openshaw’s Whale-Killing Journal.”

Come hear him read, and we’re hoping for an after-party event TBA.

Author and blogger Keith Thompson will be appearing in Second Life to do a reading from his new spy thriller, “Once A Spy.”

“Huffington Post blogger Keith Thomson’s wildly original debut, a darkly satirical thriller, features an unlikely, if endearing, father-son spy duo: retired appliance salesman Drummond Clark, who at age 64 suffers from Alzheimer’s disease, and Charlie Clark, a down-on-his-luck gambler who owes $23,000 to Russian loan sharks.”

Keith Thomson’s "Once A Spy", originally uploaded by Lelani Carver.

Steampunk Hunt

“Steam – The Hunt” A Steampunk hunt starting tonight at midnight from March 1st to March 31st. Its 129 stores involved so 129 free gifts to gather! Anything from steampunk hats, dresses, suits, hot air baloons, flying contraptions, furniture…the list goes on and on. Steampunk/Victorian themed, just go to the starting LM shop, and look for the hidden gear in their shop (Sample gears will contain hints) Once found it will contain a gift and a LM to the next store etc..etc. Feel free to share the LM Smiley

Starting Landmark:
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Mieville%20Doyle/186/49/24/

Right, well.

Dhughan here, finally ready to splash out a bit and do my bit for King and Country… er, for Steely-Eyed Elf Lord and Region, as I’m currently residing in Steelhead Shanghai.

As I’m making my own way here, per Miss Carver’s instructions and expectations, it’s time to plunge in to the latest diversions of the new STEAMHunt, the very hunt that inspired Miss Carver to transform from shopping, dancing, chatting dilettante to… something a bit more creative and builder-ish.

To that end, it’s now time for me to “gear up” and go on the hunt for amazing and remarkable creations of the Steamy variety for this Spring’s version of that most excellent hunt. And I shall be offering my personal observations as I go, from the gents’ perspective as I understand there may be a bit more on offer with this hunt of interest to persons of that gender.

I shan’t have much use for dresses, frocks, or fripperies, but I am hoping there might be unisex items, at least, and shall be pleasantly surprised if there are such things as male outfits, skins and (dare one hope) hair.

My current appearance is subject to change without notice. Here is how I shall set out, but there’s no telling how I shall return tonight, as I am determined to wear my prizes as I find them whenever possible. And of course, cleaning up after oneself is only to be expected.

Here I am, standing in front of my shop in Shanghai Steelhead, which is woefully understocked at the moment, a situation I hope to rectify in the coming weeks. I have not been able to work, having been on holiday, but before beginning I shall take just a few days to reacquaint myself with all things STEAMHunt in Second Life.

As soon as I finish with some minor tasks here, I shall set off to hunt… STEAM things.

… and were horrified to find out what the main, original slang meaning of the term was (it involves dipping one’s “nads” in their partner’s mouth, or slapping them against someone else’s face to prove a point about dominance). Here’s the best (and longest) definition at Urban Dictionary; this link was making the rounds at an event Cafe Wellstone was running tonight to raise funds for charity:

Urban Dictionary: teabagger

Interestingly, teabaggers uphold an immoral, morbidly obese, twice divorced, draft-dodging, college dropout and known drug addict as their de facto leader, and are even known to advocate burning books. Of course, teabaggers fail to recognize the blatant hypocrisy within the GOP and tend to oversimplify all political debate and social issues, much like their pseudo-intellectual, fat-ass leader.

Finally, incredibly, teabaggers fail to recognize the hysterical double entendre associated with their proudly adopted teabag moniker.

Every village has its idiots, of course, but it’s sad when citizens of any nation allow themselves to be whipped into a frenzy en masse by a state-run propaganda machine masquerading as a legitimate, fair, balanced and independent news organization. Teabaggers are right to believe the future of the U.S.A. is in jeopardy, but sadly they have not yet correctly identified the real enemy. Perhaps when teabaggers finally grow up and mature into thinking adults, they will see the right-leaning power establishment for the oppressive and cunning beast that it is.

Just enjoyed a pleasant half hour listening to Flivelwitz Alsop’s first Musical Sculptures show at his undersea lair in Alsop.

I’d been missing the Sundays at his old show, but I received a group message last night that he was beginning again at a gallery location full of beautiful things to look at.

This happens to be in the undersea area, which is why everything is so dim, but there are several other levels to explore via teleports.
Lovely area, definitely worth a visit.

Side note: finally got around to playing withe freebie version of Mysti-Tool and discovered the very handy features it has, like pasting a Second Life URL (“SLURL”) into text.

Otherwise, not a very productive day so far; I was trying to teach myself how to use the free version of Ged Larsen’s LoopRez but wasn’t having much success this time, as I was trying for an ellipse rather than a mostly round choker.

Clearly, I need to spend more time learning how to make stuffs. Meantime, my alt Dhugan rented a cheap shop in Steelhead Shanghai, but really doesn’t have anything out yet. It’s just a place to call “home” for now. On the other hand, due to my own stupidity, I had left a large USD amount on the Secondlife.com website, thinking I would be using it for tier payments for the next 6 or 8 months. The funds are from a reloadable incentive gift card that I’ve blogged about before, because using it involves jumping through about 5 hoops as SL does not directly take American Express, but the shopping site XStreetSL does.

But my yearly payment went through the other day, and completely washed out my big credit, paid this month’s tier, and then took a few dollars more from my normal credit card.

Rather than be pissed off and demand Linden Labs change the form of payment on my yearly subscription to the normal card, and credit back the USD onto my account, I decided… well, the incentive paid for 2010, plus this month’s tier of $8.00USD, but as it was a planned expense, I’d go ahead and upgrade the alt account to Premium for the year, with the benefit of the weekly stipend. And I believe there’s still a $L1000 signing bonus, so that’s Dhughan financed for the year, although I expect him to make his own way in the world peddling pictures, frames, and silver trade bracelets.

Speaking of which, I really need to get cracking, making some. I also had an idea to have him make graniteware metal plates, bowls, and mugs – the sort of thing that people on the frontier used in mining and logging camps. Which would mean, of course, that I have to learn to make such stuffs.

My friend Mist had an idea the other day for stuffs, too, so will have to get geared up for that as well.