A Christmas tale (sorta)

This has nothing to do with SL, but it's something that happened to me in RL and it gave me such a laugh at the thought of what will happen to some dad's on Christmas Eve I just had to share it.

Part of my RL involves setting up displays in various stores. One of my tasks for this year was to build a dolls house to go on display. After I'd finished I thought about all the poor fathers who will be putting this together on Christmas Eve, after their little girl has gone to bed. This is what will happen.

Ok. We have a flatpacked dolls house in a box. First thing - get it out of the box. So that's a bit of a tight fit. After shaking the packaging you eventually end up with - another box with a dolls house in. This is extra tightly packed so after a few attempts dad gives up and rips the box off. He's now sitting with several bits of wood and lots of ripped up cardboard. We'll come back to the box later.

Dad takes a sip of vodka and start to identify the pieces. Those 2 have slates on them - they must be the roof. They're pointed - they're the side walls. Those are the doors. 2 brown bits with holes? Ah, the floors with room for the stairs. And 2 bases? Dad then looks at the plan and the 2 square bits. Panel A and Panel D. Ok so the plan will say where they go. 'Screw Side A to the base'. Oh right that helps. Which is the base! After a sip of vodka and much looking where holes are drilled, Dad eventually identifies the base. The other bit gets put to one side for now.

So side A is now screwed to the base. Next to screw the floors to the side. Well that's easy enough, they're both the same. Oh. One of the screws doesn't have anything drilled out of it to screw it with. And there's no spare one. Hmm. Dad then stops and thinks. Ok, so he leaves the bottom screw out and he'll worry about it later. Looking good already. Next, screw the other side to the base and the floors. Dad stops and looks and has a celebratory sip of vodka. Next - screw a small metal plate to the middle floor. ?? Ah - of course. That's where the doors clip to. Ok so where are the holes. Dad then looks at the plan and the floor and the metal clip. Then he looks again.

Dad then gets the screwdriver and undoes Side 2, and the 2 floor pieces, and puts them all back together again. One of the floor bits had 2 very tiny little holes for the metal clip, but the plan never said that. Right, that's the clip sorted.

Dad has a quick sip of vodka and looks what's next. Screw the hinges on the house and then to the doors. Well, that's fairly easy. Dad looks for screw P. He needs 6 of those. After working out which way round the hinges go, he sets about screwing the hinge to the wall of the house. Damn but these screws are small. He tips the house on it's side and eventually manages to get all 3 screws in. (After stopping several times to pick them up off the floor where they keep flying off). Dad then has another sip of vodka and steels himself to do the other side. Eventually the hinges are on the house. Next to attach the hinges to the door! Oh dear. Dad takes a sip of vodka and tries to work this out. With one hand he needs to hold the door against the hinge, while holding the screw with the other, and the screwdriver with another? Ok that won't work. Time to get reinforcements. Dad takes a sip of vodka and calls for mum.

Mum arrives and holds the door in place for dad to screw the hinges on. Just 3 little screws. 3 very little screws. 3 very fiddly little screws which keep flying out on the floor. After several attempts the door is now attached by 2 screws. (One of them flew off somewhere). Dad then looks at the other door and realises he's got to screw that one on now. Dad takes a big sip of vodka and steels himself. After lots of swearing and looking on the floor, they finally have the doors on the front. Mum wanders back to wrap presents and dad sits and looks at the house. Nearly there! Dad then takes a huge sip of vodka in celebration.

Next is to screw the back on. Oh - so that's what the other base was - the back! Well that makes sense. On goes the back. Just the roof left. Dad eventually realises that the 2 windows he's been looking at screw in to the holes in the roof. Well that's easy enough. Oh Phew, these are screw Q, they're bigger. Dad has another sip of vodka and finally looks forward to going to sit down.

JUst the roof to go now. Next step - oh no! Screw hinges to the roof. And Dad can't rest the roof flat because he's just screwed to windows in to it. Dad takes a sip of vodka and calls mum. Mum's now a bit fed up because she's trying to wrap last minute presents and keeps getting interrupted.

After a few minutes struggling with one screw Dad ponders whether contraception would have been a good idea! but no, he promised his little princess a dolls house and she's damn well getting one. After several more attempts to find screws under the table, the hinges are on the roof. Just 2 screws left!

Mum goes off to finish the presents and Dad takes a huge sip of vodka. Just line up the holes on the roof with the holes in the side. Erm. Line up the holes............... At which point Dad hits the roof. Mum comes rushing in to see what's happened. Yes that's right. After spending 2 hours putting together a simple little dolls house, Dad discovers that the holes in the roof don't line up with the holes they're supposed to. Not only that but they're not even close. One set overhangs by a good half an inch. In short, there is no way the roof will go on. Dad then sits back and finishes the vodka in one swig.

So as long as his daughter doesn't touch the back where the screw is missing, or touch the roof then it's fine. It's wonderful! It'll do! And soon as the shops open it's going straight back.............. Dad then looks at all the bits of cardboard where he ripped the box open.

At which point Dad just gets the bottle of vodka, fnishes it off and goes down the pub. And this is what really happened to my dolls house:)

info for triviathon

Sme info for those who want it for the Triviathon (which is already rocking!)

If  you plan to stay for the full 24 hours, please make sure you send an im to Paige Foden every hour. She won't reply but send them anyway.

To donate - simply find the big thermometer on the stage, right click it and select 'pay'.

Please also try to keep your attachments and HUD's down - we've got a lot of people here and we want to try to keep the lag down for all of you:)

And we have our first challenge!! If we hit 30K Juke will go bald for a week. Hit 40K and he dresses up as one of the J---- B-------! so come on guys!!

Triviathon is here!

Well it will be at 10am tomorrow, Saturday 7th November, at our new home in Trivy Isle. First up is Thornton with his regular trivia slot, and there follows a lot of some of the best hosts in SL. The final list has been drawn up, the sponsors are in place, prizes are ready to be given. We just need you to come along and help us reach our target. Relay for Life is a cancer charity, and although the link is for the American Cancer Org, there are teams in other parts of the World helping to raise funds too.

We hope to see trivia regulars as well as some new faces. If you haven't been to a trivia event before then please do come along and see what it's all about. All the hosts have their own unique style and format, and somewhere will be an event you can relate to.

Thanks also go to Monochrome and The Metal Shop for sponsoring some of the events, and also to DJ Angelo who's helping out with a couple of events. And the hosts - well you all rock!

Full list of times is :-
10.00am - 12.00pm - Thorny Trivia with Thornton Writer
12.00pm – 1.00pm – Lous Clues with Lou Netizen (Sponsored by MonoChrome)
1.00pm - 2.00pm Analytical trivia with AnaMaria Quintessa
2.00pm - 3.00pm - Double Standards Host Traian Khandr
3.00pm - 4.00pm - Zoo Bar trivia with Chaddington Boomhauer and Shale Nightfire (sponsored by Zoo Bar)
4.00pm - 6.00pm - Trivia with Lotus Ceriano and Nelly Swindlehurst, aided and abetted by DJ Angelo
6.00pm - 8.00pm - Circeschism trivia with Circe Falta and JoshuaStephen Schism.
8.00pm - 11.00pm – Chaos trivia with Lette Ponnier and Rach Borkotron (this one's in the cave in the games area)
11.00pm – 1.00am - Maggies Wheel Of Fortune - she's celebrating with her 50th set of questions too.
1.00am - 2.00 am - Trivia with Mako Kungfu (sponsored by MonoChrome)
2.00am - 3.00am – Double Standards trivia with Devin Velinov
4.00 am - 6.00 am – Trivia with Chaddington Boomhauer
6.00 am - 7.00 am – Trivia with Billy2Times Krams (Sponsored by The Metal Shop)
7.00 am - 8.00 am - trivia with our very own host Hummingbird Forster
8.00 am - 10.00 am – Cully’s Alphabet Smart Ass Trivia with DJ Angelo.

(Traian, Devin, Ana, Humm and Chad all sponsored by Double Standards)

Our goal is 20,000L and we're already off to a good start - so come along anytime between 10am on Saturday and 10am on Sunday and join in the fun.

24 Hour Charity Triviathon

Starting 10am on Saturday 7th November and finishing at 10am on Sunday 8th November, Double Standards will be holding a 24 hour Charity Trivia Marathon.

We will be raising money for Relay For Life and we will have live trivia hosted by real live hosts for the whole time.
We are finalising the details but here’s the line up:-
10.00am - 12.00pm - Thorny Trivia with Thornton Writer
12.00pm – 1.00pm – Lous Clues with Lou Netizen
1.00pm - 2.00pm Analytical trivia with AnaMaria Quintessa
2.00pm - 3.00pm - Double Standards Host Traian Khandr
3.00pm - 4.00pm - Zoo Bar with Chaddington Boomhauer and Shale Nightfire
4.00pm - 6.00pm - Trivia with Lotus Ceriano and Nelly Swindlehurst
6.00pm - 8.00pm - Trivia with JoshuaStephen Schism
8.00pm - 11.00pm – Chaos trivia with Lette Ponnier
11.00pm – 1.00am - Maggies Wheel Of Fortune
1.00am - 2.00 am - Trivia with Mako Kungfu
2.00am - 3.00am – Double Standards trivia with Devin Velinov
4.00 am - 6.00 am – Trivia with Chaddington Boomhauer
6.00 am - 7.00 am – Trivia with Billy2Times Krams
7.00 am - 8.00 am - trivia with our very own host Hummingbird Forster
8.00 am - 10.00 am – Cully’s Alphabet Smart Ass Trivia with DJ Angelo

Thanks go to all the hosts for offering to help and we know this is going to be a great event. Monochrome are sponsoring some of the events as well so thanks to Jez for that. We hope you'll all turn up for at least some of the time to support this worthy cause and I look forward to seeing you:)

Double Standards moves - and more!

Finally it’s here! Double Standards is now situated on a brand new sim all it’s own! The first event took place on Friday, when Devin’s trivia welcomed all the regular faces, and some new ones to the grand opening. And we have some great events lined up for it too – read on for a very exciting one coming soon!

The 7 Seas fishing area - with a brand new lake and watefall. And tucked behind the waterfall is a cosy cuddle cave.

The trivia area with the fire and rugs that make us feel at home, and a brand new stage area for future events.

Just over a bridge is the games area, with the Greedy Greedy table, SLolopoy, Frootcake, On a Roll and Selbyword. And tucked in the corner is another cosy cave for - well - getting cosy.

The mall’s a lot bigger so hopefully a lot more stores for you to choose from as well. All in all – the place is much better and more pleasant – hope everone else thinks so too.

And we’re kicking off with a major event on the 7th and 8th November – a 24 hour charity Triviathon!

This will be 24 hours of non stop hosted trivia (none of those machines) and we’ll be raising money for Relay For Life. At the time of writing we’ve got some great hosts lined up including Lou with Lou’s Clues, Chad and Shale with their Zoo Bar trivia, Thorny trivia, Chaos, Nellotus, Mags with her Wheel of Fortune (or Misfortune ) and an Alphabet Smart ass special. We’ve also got Ana, Trai, Humm and Chad. We do have a few more slots left if anyone else wants to help out and host an event. We’re also hoping to get a couple of sponsors. This should be a fun event for everyone, and we also hope it will introduce some new faces to the world of trivia. It should provide a good showcase for all hosts and we hope a lot of fun for those who take part. Humm’s also working on a prize for anyone who manages to attend the full 24 hours.

More details and a full line up will be announced nearer the time, but we hope to see new and old faces there to have some fun, and of course we’d like to raise as much as we can for Relay For Life.

Watch this space:)

Thunder and Lightning

Meet Thunder and Lightning - our horses. Why am I telling you about them? Well not only are they part of our family, but they represent everything good about Second Life. Lightning is the white horse and hardly surprising that he's Maels. Thunder is the cute little black horse, and the best present I could have had.

Lightning on the left, looking after Thunder on the right.

I never really thought about owning a horse, but it was my special surprise rez day present. And it was a surprise. A package got delivered - I opened it. Hey presto, there was a horse standing in the living room. She wouldn't fit in the lift to go outside either. Having got over that little problem I set about seeing what she could do. (Good job SL allows us to move things by editing them)

Now no disrespect to anyone else who makes horses, but Mael spent a long time looking for one, and I believe he found one of the best on SL. (And I'm very grateful that he didn't choose the one that provides something to put on your SL rhubarb). The people who made Thunder and Lightning quite obviously have an RL love for horses, and it shows in the time they've put in to creating their SL animals.

In sl terms, these are quality items. Not only do they look the part, but they act it too. When we put them in their paddock, they neigh and whinny, stamp their feet, swish their tails and move their ears. Exactly as you would expect an RL horse to be. I've spent many a time just standing watching them, and it really is as close to watching the real thing as you can get. You even get a pose ball and brush to groom them too.

When you ride you can trot, gallop and even jump. I haven't quite managed to time the jumps yet, but Thunder does very well even if I mistime it. Having never ridden a horse (except for a pony trek when I was a kid and my horse just followed the one in front), I can't comment on how realistic riding Thunder is. I do know that it's very relaxing after a stressful day, and even more relaxing standing brushing her. You can even get them to do tricks too, and each pose has been carefully designed.

In fact they are so realistic I found myself talking to Thunder once - and I mean talking. I think that's how you can tell the quality items - you really do interact as if they are the real thing.

We hear a lot about what's bad in SL - the lag, the failing tp's, the griefers and beggars - that it's nice sometimes to remember that there are still some good things to be found. To me Thunder and Lightning represent everything that's good. Yes, they cost a few lindens, but the time and effort that went in to them makes them worth it. The creator has gone to great lengths to make something as realistic as possible, and they have certainly succeeded. The poses, the moves and the sounds have all been painstakingly made and created and there are so many different styles and sizes available too. Thanks to their efforts we now have to additions to our SL family, which are every bit as real as they could be.

It's nice to be able to stand looking out of my window at something which reminds me what Second Life should be about. Creativity, design and caring people.

And let's see if this link works - they came from AKK Ranch.

137 questions!

wow - such an interesting title. I can hear everyone snoozing just at the sound of it.

That's 137 questions written and asked in one week. Phew. Just need to ask one more set and I can go back to normal. (Whatever that is)

I already host at Double Standards on a Sunday, and at EyeQ on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which usually means I write about 72 questions a week. (give or take the odd bonus and the odd question I decide I don't like on the day). So what happened this week.

Well once a month I co host at Moysies with Ana. I originally set this trivia up with Moysie with the words 'You're hosting trivia starting next Monday. I'm putting the money up and asking the questions so you just turn up.' Or something very like that. At the time it co-incided with an increase in my other hosting duties so I decided to enrol some help. One person stood out for me and was the only one I considered asking and that was Ana. Originally the plan was to take it in turns to host every other week, but it soon turned in to Ana's event, and boy has she made it her own. I always knew she'd be a great host and she is - and Analytical trivia is now well established on the trivia map, with her own inimitable style. Just don't even attempt to read her rules! Once a month we get together and ask 15 questions each. One of us will have a theme - this week Ana is asking 15 questions about numbers in films - and the other person links their questions in with these.

This month was the first month I think, were I couldn't use the answers to Ana's questions to link mine too. She was doing even numbers, so I had to try to write my questions based solely on her questions, without giving any clues to what the film or theme of the quote might be. When I eventually worked out which words to pick it was relatively easy and I only needed to alter 2 questions which Ana felt might give too much of a clue to hers. (And ok I had to alter one which I'd missed a word out of and in doing so made the answer completely, totally and utterly wrong).

I like doing these themed events with Ana, not only because it's good to host with a friend, but because it provides a small challenge to the question writing too. So for this week that added an extra 15 questions on to my total - so we're up to 87.

I'd also offered to give Lucki a break at Demented Souls. She was originally planning to be away and needed someone to cover, but in the end she didn't go. She still thought she'd like a week off, so I offered to help out.

Demented Souls do word games on a Saturday night, and are a constant source of my hyterics every weekend. (Not just mine either - there's a lot of tears rolling down cheeks as we laugh at some of the things we come up with)

The first half of the evening is called Tribonds. We're given 3 words and we have to find the word that connects them. eg Bean - Mug - Ground. The common word would be Coffee. What usually happens is we pick one word and shout out whatever comes to mind, and needless to say we get copped out with some very silly (and often naughty) answers too. The 2nd half is something called Madgabs. We're given a common saying which has been slightly altered and we have to make sense of it. Did I say 'make sense'? eg 'Prayers eye don't' would become President. (It helps it you take your glasses off, smush your face and have several drinks) These have been responsible for some amazing typos (tasyour earfpooof) and we're quite good at re smushing the words to come up with some very obscure sayings too.

Now I can't write Madgabs so I did something different - Ditloids. Those familiar with Lotus' blog will know that these are what she originally had on there. (365 DIAY - 365 days in a year). My dad's been writing these for a long time now, so it seemed logical that I should try these on the poor unsuspecting Demented lot. Just one word of warning. When writing these - make sure you don't just write down the ditloid. Make sure you put what it is - I've still got some I can't remember what they were.

I was nervous as I always am when I host a different event, but the crowd there are always very friendly and great fun, and apart from the fact that Lucki was there heckling me about my English words (I'm English! get over it!) I think they enjoyed themselves. They certainly did well with the Ditloids, which I thought were quite hard. Whether I'll host here again remains to be seen. If Lucki needs a break and they want me back then I'm sure I'll be there.

And that's the other 50 questions. Total 137 for the week. And, yeah, Ok I slightly got a couple not quite right, but is that hardly surprising?

Now - I'm off to a dark room for a lie down with no books or encyclopeadias or ..... oh wait? Tuesday's Alphabet is J! And I'm doing CBA with Lotus next week! Guess I better get going again.

Bucc Bowl

I have more to post on my first year in SL I found some great photos which bring back some great memories, but until I get my 'real' laptop back with it's lovely speed and graphics, and more importantly the photos I've downloaded, I'll have to catch up with another (temporarialy graphicless) post.

Bucc Bowl - September.

As always Trumpton were there. This time we didn't have the usual 'have we got a whole team and will we all be there' panic that we always seem to have. Ana, Mael and I are well established enough to know now that we will be there (though all thanks to Mael's isp for giving me heart failure the day before!), and Liri is the 4th member we knew she would be - reliable and smart.

The venue changed on the day to Monochrome. Apparently the sim we usually use was sold, so Jez stepped in at the last minute. I never really took much notice, but a lot of comments were made about the lack of lag, and I have to agree that lagwise, things did seem to be vastly improved.

The previous Thursday I'd asked questions about the lette Q, and partway through it was pointed out that I should have been wearing my Q Bert av, so I decided to unpack him and check his ARC. He's only 142 so I went off to BB as a big orange blob. I'll post the photo when I can - you can't miss me. Unfortunately I also felt particularly yucky, so I knew I wasn't going to be much competition.

I'd upgraded my broadband package that week to increase my speed (which apparently is still well below everyone elses, but certainly makes things quicker for me) and technologically I was ready. Mael had made the observation that I could be wrong faster, and he wasn't wrong. This was one of those events where I just stood there watching the questions and answers fly up the screen with a bemused 'huh'. I think I knew 3 or 4 answers, but such was my RL physical state that my brain just didn't respond. The only one I managed to score on was something like 'Drooppppeh thead deeadddd doonkeyy' - or some such garbled nonsense like that - the chat log is on my other laptop. I got this one in before the other Brits (Lotus and Mael) and that was my scoring for the day. But, at least I got on the board. Liri and Mael both managed to score on a couple of questions, but the star of the day was undoubtedly Ana! She was on fire, and by my calculations was the individual top scorer on the day. Thanks to her we got the the final round in2nd place behind the Triviators, and thanks to all the other team members we actually got a bonus.

If we got the bonus we'd still have been 2nd, but the gap between us would have been small. Unfortunately due to group im's flustering me at the last minute, and the fact that I still felt pretty yucky, I typed too soon, and we got it wrong. Ana did get the 2nd part of the answer but I jumped the gun. Oops - and no one mention the Daily Mail! As it didn't make any difference to our position in the game I wasn't lynched by the team.

The competition seemed a lot better this time round, and new team Zen and the Koans, came 3rd. Apparently their trick to Zen relaxation was to discuss which team member had the best butt. And we know that if we all perform well on the day we can take the Triviators! We were so close! Triviators even had a round where they didn't score - shame. (hehe) We've had that. It sucks but it's all about the questions on the day, so I guess we'll all have that at some time.

Now if I can connect my brain to my new broadband speed for the next one, and if I actually know some answers, then maybe next time I'll be part of the new team Champions. We've done it before we can do it again. And Triviators- we're getting closer.

Next time I may not be quite so orange though. All thanks as usual to Lette, Thorn and Lillian who put a lot of work in to the event.

No longer a Noob

Yes it's official! I am now 1 year old so I am no longer a noob.

Early Cully before she had a makeover

I started in SL on 31 August 2008, as a quiet little av (Yes really!) who just stood around trying to work out how to move. Well I've worked out how to move, and even managed to get colour in to SL. When I started I avoided any form of contact - I was so shy I didn't know what to say to anyone. Now, 12 months later, I host 3 times a week, and once a month with Ana, (And possibly at time of writing with Lotus too), and I manage the Mall at Double Standards. I also have 2 places to live - one by the sea and one in the country. I've got some great friends, and a great bf too! It's been quite a year. I thought I'd take the opportunity to look back over the last 12 months at some of the things that stand out in my memory.

1 - Demented Saturdays
Demented Souls have word games on a Saturday night, and more than once I've ended up crying with laughter - and I know I'm not the only one. It's just completely mad! The section called Madgabs involves trying to make sense of a garbled saying. This brings out the inner typoist in me (yes even worse than normal) and some of my answers have just left me giggling uncontrollably. Earfpooof I've been reliably informed will never be beaten as the worst typo ever though my version of the Queen of England ended up as a Japanese banker.(Someone actually googled my answer and that's what they got. Wewung - check it out lol)

Demented is our usual weekend wind down place to go simply because you're guaranteed a good laugh in good company.

2 -THAT bus ride!

Anyone who was at Sharons that fateful day will know exactly what I mean - I'm sure we all still share the emotional (and possibly physical scars). For those who werent there - very wise!

Yes Sharon - of course you can drive a bus!

Sharon decided to host her trivia while taking us on a bus ride. What she failed to tell us is she can't drive a bus! After several people fell out along the way, (including me) Sharon finally crashed the thing with us all still on it. I think this was the first time in SL that I had tears of laughter rolling down my face, and it's certainly still something which is remembered at the Diner (usually accompanied by a facial tic).
That was a fun day - thanks Shaz.

3 - The Day I fell 3000m

I've blogged this, but is was so funny it still stands out. I was wearing a swimming costume, roller skates, a snorkel and carrying a lemming gun. And I fell from the sky to land on our neighbours banlines. These acted as a trampoline. After a few minutes trying to breath I worked out that if I jumped forward I could get back on to our land. So I did - and landed on the house, then slide down the side. To make matters worse, I then continued to attack Mael with my lemming gun.

Word of advice. NEVER fire a lemming gun while wearing roller skates. The force sent me backwards, through a hedge and halfway across the next parcel. This started as a simple day sorting out inventory, and ended up as one of the funniest days I 've had.

4 - The Lemmings

Hosting at Double Standards is not without it's risks. You're guaranteed all kinds of madness and the day of the lemmings was just that. I was feeling particularly down in the dumps, and I really wasn't looking forward to putting a smile on my face to go and host, but I did. At half time I noticed Cinna and Devin moving around. Next thing I was joined on stage by 2 lifesize dancing lemmings! Needless to say I cheered up no end, and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the event. This is why Double Standards is my second home - the people are totally crazy but they all look after each other too.

I'm looking forward to the next 12 months there now I'm Mall Manager and I get to organise events.

5 - I'm gooin modellin'

This was fun the first time Humm asked me to model some of her outfits. Not only did I get free clothes, but I had my face in lights in her shop (OK so I have my face on an ad in her shop) and I was on xstreet as well. I've modelled a few other outfits as well, and I've even got a massive blow up photo of me on the outside of her shop!

Cully Andel - supermodel lol

6- My first time

Hosting that is! I was so nervous. I knew all the people at Double Standards but the thought of standing up on that stage controlling an event was terrifying! I have no idea how I did and I have little recollection but I know I thorougly enjoyed it. The smart asses always guarantee you a good laugh.

7 - My Rez Day

This was one of the nicest days I've had. Mael spent hours the day before looking at things to buy, but I wasn't prepared for what I got. Apart from the clothes and a fully furnished, drivable RV - I got a horse. She's black with big blue eyes, and she's pretty amazing. It's the kind of thing that makes you realise that there are some pretty clever people in this World. She's so realistic it's untrue. I spent the day simply being spoiled, and taking the chance to actually spend some time with the person who matters most. (I'm just grateful he didn't but the horse that makes a mess everywhere!)

Me as a Demented Indian on Thunder - my horse

Just chilling on my rez day

I have so many other good memories to look back on too - winning Bucc Bowl, Smartastermind, fishing, exploring (there are some pretty amazing sights) the first time I logged on with my new laptop and saw SL in colour, buying our new house - the list is pretty endless.

Club Melodi gave me the chance to start off Alphabet Trivia. I also made a few more good friends here too. The trivia lives on (with lots of alphabet preguessing mania) but Melodi is no more. It was fun to be part of it.

I've dressed up as all sorts of things from a tiny hamster, to an Indian - to Qbert! This av has to be the most peculiar prize I ever won.

What makes SL though is the people, and I've got some great friends on my list. I'm looking forward to getting to know some of the new additions a lot better too. There are 4 people who really matter to me (not counting my main man:). You all know who you are and SL wouldn't be the same without you. I never thought I'd meet anyone like Mael either (Yes I know) but he makes everyday here just that little bit more special.

I leave my first 12 months after quite an adventure, and with lots to look forward to. I wonder where I'll be in another 12 months:)

What I want, what I really really want.........

Following on from last weeks fun and games at Club Melodi, I decided to write an informal blog to Linden Labs. We all enjoyed that great day a few weeks ago, when half the grid was down and no one could log in for most of the day. Well, I think we may be heading for another one.

Lag is abysmal at the moment, chat lag is getting worse, group chat (which has just been fixed) is still not right – and so the list goes on.

Linden Labs seem hell bent on telling us what we want them to do – when truth is we’d rather have other things.

So – Dear Mr Linden Labs

What I’m not bothered about is sploders, or games which encourage gambling when you only pay 10L in the first place or harmless newbies sitting in camping chairs for 1L every 4 hours. These don’t spoil my enjoyment of SL in any way. I don’t even mind if I stumble across 2 people, shall we say, enjoying each other. I’ll just tp away (if the tp will let me) and leave them to it.
What is do object to is talking objects and manic gestures. I’ve even got a hyperactive Snowman on mute because he wasn’t working properly and he drove me insane! Apart from talking snowmen, we have talking tummies (argh!!!!!), talking collars, talking cages –I’ve even got a talking pose hud on my mute list! And people with spankers seem hell bent on filling the chat up with multiple spankings. All good and well, but not during a trivia event please! And gestures – these are fine in their place, but I don’t want to miss seeing a trivia question or a comment from someone because somebody somewhere has a gesture which literally fills the screen! I’ve muted more than one person simply because I can’t see any chat because of their excessive gesturising! I’m not on about responsible people using gestures – I like gestures as much as anybody, what I’m on about is peole who talk in gestures, and constantly fill your screen with their rubbish. Please people – control you’re very annoying talking objects and you’re out of control gestures, and keep a hold on those spankings too.

Now , we’ve listened to Linden labs tell us what we want. This is apparently a grid with nothing adult whatsoever, no way, uh huh. There will be no nasty, tempting sploders or games encouraging us to gamble. (Let’s be fair – when we play sploders we just want to set fire to them for giving us 1L all the time – but that’s half the fun). And we don’t want nasty, innocent, little newbies falsely inflating traffic figures by, well, just sitting really.
Now it’s my turn – these are the things which actually would make my Second Life a whole lot more enjoyable.

1. To be able to log in. Simple as that. If I want to log in - let me. If I crash, then please don’t give me a message telling me I can’t log back until 13.05 or whatever. Just let me back OK! And once in, please let me stay there until I decide to log off. I really don’t want to crash simply because I’ve opened up my inventory, which has happened a few times lately.

2 When I do log in, it would be nice to see things in full technicolour, without fuzzy edges. Grey isn’t a fun colour, and various shades of it don’t make for much fun and frivolity. In a word – let things rez! We’ve all done it. You land somewhere and stand there oblivious to everything purely and simply because you just can’t see.

3 – To be able to speak! At the moment, there are several comments from a few weeks ago which have still not arrived in chat, and things aren’t getting any better. I may speak a load of rubbish that no one listens to, but at least show it on screen after I’ve gone to the trouble of typing it. There are occasions at trivia, when I think you get a bottle neck of chat, where we all type at the same time, but when there’s only 2 of you in a room, with no one else – why do I have to wait 5 minutes before I see what anyone’s said. And where’s all the novels we’ve been writing! When that chat lag hits, we just seem to keep on typing forever.

Along the same theme – I’d like to be able to take part in group im’s whenever I feel like. At the moment I miss half of my group im’s and it’s touch or go whether they will open if you want to send a message.

4– To get to places I want to go without crashing, or ending up in the air back where I started. If you attempt to tp these days you take you SL life in your hands and say a little prayer. 9 times out of 10 you end up looking at a blank screen with the crash logger running. When this happens, you usually get the little message saying ‘we are still logging you out’, so you can’t get back in. (See point 1)

5– to be able to walk and not run on the spot looking like an idiot because the lag’s so bad! This is one that’s driving me nuts at the moment. You go to walk, don’t move and then make lots of little running movements without going anywhere. Or of course you just walk off in to the distance, before whacking back in to place. At the moment I feel like I’m wading through treacle, and I’ve started calling these treacle days. When I press the arrow keys, I want to move in that direction. When I release them – I want to stop. Easy huh?

How I feel some days:)

6 – to be able to give and receive money as I want to, and not keep being told my money is stale. It’s not stale, its’ brand new. I gave 1L to my alt the other day – it arrived the next day. No kidding. And at the time of writing, I won 500L on 2 gaming machines. My money went through OK – so where’s my winnings? Funny how laggy money transactions usually work against you – never in your favour.

7 – to be able to change my clothes without the fear of ending up stark naked because attachments aren’t working, or things aren’t found in my inventory. I went to change into a party outfit to see what it was like at the weekend, and ended up standing at home because I wasn’t sure what, if any of it , was actually showing on my body. Then I crashed! (See number 5, referenced point 1) When I logged back on I was wearing a very odd mixture of clothes indeed. If it’s in my inventory, and I’ve clicked on it, rez it or attach it – don’t tell me it’s not found. I’m looking at it. I can see it! If it didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have it in my inventory in the first place.

8 – I’d like to be able to cross a sim boundary without taking off in to the distance! Particularly in a vehicle of any description. I went to our seaside place once, and found a boat in mid air. I sent an im to the owner telling them and I got exactly the reply I was expecting – sorry – I lost control on the boundary and didn’t know where the boat went! Failing that all sim boundaries should come with a warning. Some sort of boundary rating. Some are just pure evil and some are a lot more friendly.

9 I’d like to be the one who decides what does and doesn’t stay in my inventory! A few times recently I’ve logged on to find the number of items in my inventory has mysteriously dropped by a few hundred. Thankfully when I’ve logged on and off again (See point 1) the things have all returned, but it’s really annoying calling up your land marks to go somewhere, only to find that the one you wanted has temporarily vanished of its own accord (reference point 7). Alternatively, you go to call up your inventory, and then go and cook a 3 course meal while you wait for it to load.

10 if someone leaves or SL – don’t leave them with the right to own land! If there’s a problem then it’s downright impossible to talk to someone who no longer exists! There are 2 stretches of land on our home sim, which are both owned by people who are no longer on the grid. One has a small square right in the middle of one of our larger pieces, and it’s quite simply a nuisance, and there seems nothing we can do, even though, technically, nobody owns it. If someone isn’t registered, who pays their tier? And if they're closed their account so they're not paying their tier - why is their land still there?

Now I don’t know about anyone else, but these are the things I’d like to see improve, rather than be told I can’t play with newbies in camping chairs or with sploders. (or even put newbies in sploders?)These are the 10 things which would make my SL experience a whole lot better. I’m getting ready for the Day SL Broke – part 2 – and I hope you all are too. Because unless things get better, then that’s what’s going to happen. And guess what – with everything that’s wrong with the grid, and with all the moaning, I’m just like everyone else –we all still visit everyday.

Club Melodi survives!

Right after I started as Mall Manager, I was approached, very cautiously, by someone I’d met at Demented Souls. I was about to log off one night, and Angelo asked if I might be interested in hosting at his new club. He put it slightly more politely, but basically I’ve got a big gob, and he wanted me to use it! I can do that.

My first night was a Wednesday, and I soon found out that the people there are very friendly and out to have fun. It wasn’t long (a whole week in fact) before we were organising our first trivia event. I wanted to make it a little different so I decided on alphabet trivia – each week all the answers will start with the same letter of the alphabet.

Me, (right) and Angelo (left) strutting our stuff with 2 party goers

I arrived on the Tuesday ready to spam away, only to find that group chat was well and truly and utterly borked! I don’t have rights to send notices on any group either. I wasn’t bothered for me, but I did want Angelo to have a few people down, so I was a little peeved shall we say. Thankfully Lotus is able to send notices, and she put one out over Sharons for me, and we did get a few people turning up. Lette arrived part way through, and I plucked up the courage to ask her to send one on Bucc bowl for me as well, and Josh picked this up and sent one on Trivia Fiends too. This is the kind of thing that makes you feel good about SL – the people. Thank you both for that. We ended up with a great crowd, all shouting out words beginning with A, and, I hope, having a great time. Angelo had lined up artists beginning with A, but in typical SL style, the stream kept breaking up, so he had to hand over to another DJ, who kept things going so smoothly no one really noticed the change.

For some reason the next letter was going to be S. The following Tuesday - oh what fun we had! We started off OK – the crowd arrived ready for fun, and answers were flowing. We got to half time, and Angelo did his new interval trivia – guess the artist. Then everything went grey, and off I went. I tried to log back in, and I got my favourite message – you are still being logged out so tough luck! I logged my alt in to try to get a message to anyone who was there, and quickly sent an e mail to Angelo. This was when I found out we all seem to have gone together. After a few minutes I got back but couldn’t tp. I got back to the club using the map, and then just stood there like a lemon. I couldn’t move, and everything I typed in to chat just disappeared. Now I know I talk utter nonsense, but as the one asking the questions, it’s a good idea to be heard. It felt like somebody had poured a barrel of treacle in to the Linden servers, and I was trying to wade my way (very unsuccessfully) through it. I didn’t want to log off again, but I had no choice. I managed to log back on and used the map to tp. After a slow start things rezzed, I could move, I could talk – we were off! Angelo was back – although I gather the music never stopped, and very slowly those who’d crashed with us all returned. A little shell shocked, but we all survived. Nice try Linden labs – but we’re born survivors!

Half an hour late – but we finally got the 2nd half underway – and a great big thank you to all of those who stopped and to those who came back! (Ok I understand one or 2 couldn’t tp away anyway, but thanks all the same;)

The survivors returned one by one and carried on regardless.

I’d like to think we broke the sim, but in all honesty this was good old Second Life doing what it does best – screwing us around. I’d heard people all day complaining that they quite simply couldn’t move, and things just weren’t right, and I think it was finally time for our sim to have it’s share. Be warned – this was exactly how it started the day SL broke – so we could well be headed for another day offline.

Starting next week, we will be doing Tuesdays and Thursdays. Tuesday will be alphabet trivia, and Thursdays will be general knowledge, but paying first and second. Angelo will be doing his breaktime tunes, and let’s hope SL will do it’s best to leave us alone to have fun! This is a great club, with a great atmosphere, and I’m taking no credit whatsoever for anyone enjoying themselves. Angelo is a great DJ, and he and his hosts know how to make people feel welcome, and give them a good time. Me, I just shout out questions. I’m glad Angelo asked me to host – so far this has been a lot of fun for me.

Now, here’s a test to see who reads this blog. Over the last 2 weeks you’ve all shouted out lots of words beginning with A and now S. So far, not one of them has been one of the answers to any of the questions. So – starting this Tuesday (it’s R) – if any of the preguesses are any of the answers on my card (and as long as the question hasn’t already been asked) I will pay 10L. I also suspect that if anyone does preguess, then they will then keep guessing that word until they get it right.

Club Melodi is a great club, open Monday to Friday 11am – 5pm SLT. You’re always guaranteed a friendly welcome and good music with a nice group of people.

Double Standards gets a new Manager

A couple of weeks ago I was asked by Humm to be the Mall Manager at Double Standards. I didn’t need asking twice – that place has been like my second home since I started on SL.

Basically it involves making sure the shops are rented out, and organising events – something I’ve never done in SL before.

Well I have a stack of ideas for things to do and I find things all the time as I travel round SL - so be warned Double Standards – you’ll be hearing a lot more from me yet!

Well first thing was get some new shops – and I’m happy to say that we currently have an almost full mall with some great new stores in there – I’ve even been shopping myself. I did of course try to get all my favourite stores in there but to no avail.

I also wanted something quick and simple to keep the VIP’s interested during the slower summer. Although we’re not yet in the middle of summer, things are starting to slow down. Those of us who are left still want things to do! I’ve entered a few photo contests myself, so my first suggestion was for one of those. Humm came up with the idea of ‘Skimpy in the Summer’, and I wholeheartedly agreed (Gave me a change to perv men in thongs) We got a few entries almost straightaway, and with a little gentle nagging (something along the lines of 'I want more men in thongs' posted everyday) by the time the contest started we’d filled all available slots on the board! (and not all with men in thongs either) Ok, there are a couple of things which may be not quite right, but we learn from our mistakes, and next time ( we already have a theme) people will be able to vote for more than one photo at a time.

I also had the idea of a Greedy Greedy Contest. The VIPs do love their Greedy Greedy. This was a pay to enter contest, based on points won over 3 games. I decided to get this done over a weekend (!) and again, a little 'gentle' nagging got 10 contestants. Other people may have been able to enter had it not been for that dastardly thing called RL.

First heat and one of the contestants wasn’t even online- good start, but after a quick im (which must have gone to e mail) we were joined by a skeleton with a walking stick (yes Chad). The skeleton was very greedy indeed and lost all his points on his last go, and Catherine wasn’t having any luck either, so Honey won the points. 2nd heat was just as eventful –we had a full size lemming at the table with us and a woman in a top hat with rolling dice. Cinna, Reke, Carley and Shale went head to head and Shale got the points after a very close run game. Final heat of the day, and I was seeing spots before my eyes. Whoever decided to get the heats over with in one day needs their head examined (Oh hang on - it was my idea wasn't it!). Due to a slight technical hitch I had to make up the numbers for Lette and Lance. Just as well I wasn’t playing for real – I lost all my points when I got to 9600! Everything was merging in to one big dice by this time. All thanks to Lette for this heat – she knows what I mean. And thanks for Thornton for stepping in when her opponent suddenly had to leave. We were all disappointed when he had to drop out, so it was nice to have him help out with this heat at least.

A greedy skeleton getting Greedy Greedy

By now it was 1.30 am and I was dice tired. Next day – it was on with the semi finals. Cat just didn’t have the luck again, and Lette stormed through, while Shale just got Greedy to let Honey through. (When trying to get the most points, losing your points twice in one game is not a good ides:)) For the final we had a good crowd turn up to watch, as Honey and Lette played a very close game. At one point there were just 500 points between them on the last game, but Honey just edged forward to take the title.

We even had greedy lemmings, and I just couldn't help clicking the dice in Shales
hat - more dice (twitch)

Thanks to all who supported this, and a big thank you to everyone for taking part. This was the first event I ever really organised, and I’ve certainly learned a few things to take through to the next one. First one is – don’t run it over a weekend! My sanity hangs by a thread at the best of times, and I swear I've still got dots before my eyes. Next time the heats will be run over a week, which should mean everyone gets a chance to pick a time convenient to them, and the semi finals and final will be run at the weekend, or if need be beginning of the following week. This should give more peope the opportuniy to enter, and my poor tired brain won’t start twitching at the thought of looking at dice again.

Lette and Honey go head to head, watched over by a teddy bear!

I have other ideas to keep people amused, but I’m always open to suggestions. We can’t do everything at once, but hopefully we can find a few things to give everyone even more reason to hang around at Double Standards.

We will be running more fishing events, and our first 24 hour fishing marathon went off very well indeed. Thanks to all the 7 seas fishers who took part (and the Vips’ who came along too).

So – get used to it – you all know the size of my mouth – well it’s going to be nagging – er telling you about more events over the coimng months. There is no escape;)

A lot has happened in the last few weeks.

I decided to try my hand at something new after posing for a few photos for Humm, so I thought I'd try my hand at modelling. I never intended to take it seriously, as if I could, so I when I got accepted to an agency, I was happy to stay with that rather than apply to every other agency as well. By the end of the week, I was with 2 agencies, and I'd already learned just how hard some people work at being a SL model.

The first thing I learned is that, in SL as in RL, you have to be a 10 foot beanpole to model. No tits. No bum. Just straight. My av's 5' 9", definitely has the former, and also has the latter too. In other words - I'd need a complete makeover. Well Ok, in SL that's pretty easy, and as some designers require different looks it wasn't too much of a problem. I never quite worked out why I got chosen though, if I was too short, with tits and an arse that needed to be flattened.

The next thing I learned is that walking a catwalk isn't maybe as easy as you think. The first one I had to practice on had circular walks, and when they opened up they went back on themselves. Not easy, but I didn't fall off. The second one I practiced on had invisible walls. But for the others telling me, and telling me how to see them, I'd have probably spent the entire evening simply trying to get on it.

I also attended a couple of classes, and I did pick up a few tips which may help me as I go round Second Life. And I found out about various gadgets too. I mean, who knew I needed a boot fixer! Seriously, if you don't have one - you need it! I wear it all the time now. Face lighters aren't maybe quite as useful - they tend to light up your boobs rather than your face, and mine don't need anything to help you see them thank you:)

Me trying to look intelligent in my class

Models also learn how to make their own AO's. This is something I wish I'd found out about, but I didn't stop long enough. For those who succeed in SL modelling it's a full time job, and only the dedicated and intelligent will make it. They attend classes, practices and castings, and then have the stresses and strains of the show itself. Well, I say stresses and strains.................

One of the first things I was told about was the shows themselves. These are apparently extremely laggy, and it's not uncommon to see models walking off over the audience, only to suddenly whack back in to place, right in to the model behind them. I was told about one show where invisible walls were not in place, and the models kept falling off and landing in the swimming pool. The lady who told me had the right attitude, and she said she was sittting at her computer with tears of laughter rolling down her cheeks, as I would have had if it had been me. Some, I understand, were more than a little upset.

Me showing off some of the things I learned

I have to say, that like other areas of SL, it also has it's Diva's. The ones who've done a few things and think they're better than everyone else. I'm saying nothing - but just because my arse it too close to the ground - it doesn't make anyone better than me.

The one thing that really got to me, was that I would need to make my profile more grown up and serious. No chance! I love having my funny photos on there, and I'm proud of my typo I've got on there too! I would have done all this though, but for a change in circumstances, which meant I'd be working all the time on SL, so something had to go. For me the choice was pretty easy. Humm offered me the job as Mall Manager at Double Standards, and a few days later Angelo asked me to host at his new club. Now taking incessantly is something I do well ( which is why I was asked ), and nagging people I do pretty well too. So in order to get myself some time for me, the modelling had to go.

It was interesting to see a different slice of SL, and I've certainly got a new found respect for some of those who make it as models. I wish the owners of both the agencies I was with well for the future - I'm sure they'll both do very well.


Now - who wants to see this boot fixer! Trust me - you need it!!

Who broke SL?

Saturday 20th June 2009. It started like any other day on SL. First thing I noticed was lots of blue boxes as people on my friends list were logging on and off and on and off. Then I noticed that about 600 items had mysteriously disappeared from my inventory, including a couple of gestures. So I hit the SL website and read the status.

‘Some residents may now be able to connect to Second Life however to login process may take a while. If you’re unable to connect, please wait a couple minutes before trying again. For those who are connected, some services may not be working at the moment. These include teleports, the world map, display of L$ balances, search, inventory and purchases made inworld. Some regions may also be inaccessible or showing as offline.’

Update number 2 read ‘Approximately 8,000 regions are currently inaccessible. Our technicians are working to restore service to them and other Second Life services.’

I think that roughly translates as ‘it’s screwed’. Now although things were slow, we did manage to get to the Mystic Fair which was finishing over the weekend. We did quite well too. The sim was there. Things rezzed, and then Mael just vanished while he was following me upstairs. This isn’t unusual – he quite often tps off somewhere to get a landmark, but no sign of him anywhere. I then got an msn – he’d crashed, and couldn’t get in. So he was going to do something in RL for a few minutes. I then made a basic schoolgirl error. I decided to log off for a while!

I had some RL stuff to do but I have downloaded Slim, so anyone who was in World would be able to talk to me. I got a message come through from Mael, Asking if I was in World. I said ‘no’ but I could be in a minute. Yeah. Right.

After several attempts, I read the status, and it told me to try again after a few minutes. Now usually when you can’t log on you get a polite message saying that despite their efforts, they have been unable to log you on (ie tough). This one was telling me it couldn’t find a simulator. After a while I decided that if I ever got back in World, I’d have a whip round to buy LL some new simulators, whatever they are.
Eventually I checked the status again – logins had been re-enabled – for the last half hour. So why was I still out? I linked up to online help and a polite man told me to try again in a few minutes. When I told him I’d been trying to do that for the last half hour, he suggested that my Home was probably unavailable.

I never knew you could change your log in options while off line, so he told me how to change it so I could log in to the last place, and it actually worked. Then came the peril of the tp to get to where Mael was at the fair. Joy of joys - that worked too.

Throughout the day things slowly improved, but we still received notices about sims being down and events cancelled. Now I work on the theory that any one of us will only visit a very small proportion of the grid. So if a place we visit is down, that’s just bad luck. If 8-9 places we visit are down, then that adds up to one serious problem.

Early evening things were sufficiently improved to risk logging off again. Logging on again was a matter of seconds, and the tp to Demented worked just fine. (The sim was one which had taken a little holiday earlier in the afternoon, but it had returned refreshed) Unfortunately we only had 6 of us there, which included the host and the DJ, so we decided to postpone it to the next day, when SL would hopefully be a little easier to negotiate.

So we wandered off to go through various bits and pieces from the fair, and then decided to go to Zoo Bar. We don’t usually get to go because it clashes with Demented, so it was a rare chance to catch up. I went straight there, while Mael was joining me after visiting a sim he couldn’t get to earlier. I then got an msn – he’d crashed. He logged back in and sent me a tp. I had several im’s going on so I couldn’t really concentrate on the trivia so I said my goodbyes and hit the tp button. I then got another msn – he’d crashed and couldn’t get back. I was fine I said. I then realised I was standing about 50 feet in the air above sea. No ground had rezzed. In fact, nothing had rezzed. I just stood there, suspended above sea. I then got everyone’s favourite message. ‘You have been logged out of Second Life’. And I couldn’t get back again.

It seems the problems they’d been working on all day had re-materialised, so they had to start over. And that was it. We were all locked out. After a couple of hours I tried again. I was in! Unfortunately I was in a place with 50 other av’s and it seemed none of us were going anywhere. I attempted to tp and got the best message yet. ‘We have been unable to complete your request. You may need to re-log in to Second Life.’ I’d spent the best part of the day trying to log in – so not way was I logging out again! Then a group im from Chad – trivia at Zoo Bar. He sent me a tp – it worked – I was with human beings again. There were several other trivia ‘refugees’ there too, and thanks to Chad and Shale for providing us with somewhere to go. Apparently their sim had crashed just as I was leaving earlier.

Now, what to do when we are faced with a Saturday night with no Second Life! Well here’s a few tips, so that next time it happens, you’ll be prepared.

1 – Link up with your friends on msn. They have some interesting games you can play to pass the time, including one where you smack each other in the face with a wet fish! Not exactly the most intellectual of games, but it feels good when you whack them. There are a few other more interesting games, as well as some which are run by Linden Labs (ie – they didn’t work)

2 – Go out and but the DVD that you’ve always been meaning to get, and keep it in a drawer in the cellophane. Then, next time, just grab a drink or 2 from the fridge, put your feet up, and away you go.

3 – Sleep through it. Someone had been burning the midnight oil, so they went to sleep early evening, only to wake up late at night. They were completely oblivious to everything that had gone on, and then I told them what had gone on, they were even more happy that they’d missed none of their usual events. This method relies on timing on your part too, but as a way of coping with the loss of SL, it’s probably the best, and certainly provides the least stress.

Now make sure you are prepared – there’s bound to be a next time. Group chat is bad to non existent, and getting worse all the time. Chat lag, and lag in general are getting worse and the lag monster seems to be making more friends by the day. Those little blue boxes seem to flash up even more, as we all experience more crashes. LL are so concerned, that they’re concentrating on getting rid of camping chairs and sploders! The problems aren’t getting any better, and they won’t if that’s how they prioritise things, so be prepared. We could all be faced with another day without Second Life:O

Bucc Bowl

Saturday June 13th – time for cheap hair and no shoes. Yes – Buccaneer Bowl strikes again.

After the last 2 performances, I have to admit I didn’t have high expectations for this one, but we went along nonetheless. I was a little concerned about my speed as I hadn’t been going to much trivia, and the lag monster had made itself my very special friend over the last couple of days.

The scene of the crime - er event - before I said goodbye to characters

For me though, Bucc Bowl, like most things, isn’t all about winning. It’s about taking part and having a laugh. The last Bucc Bowl event I either looked at the questions and thought ‘huh?’, or I saw the question at the same time as 10 answers, so not much opportunity for me to take part. I figured this time had to be better, and I could only hope that the lag monster would find a few other friends to play with while we were there.

Apologies to all the teams there, but as soon as I get there it’s off with those characters so all I see is odd names and bits of ship. I was greeted though by a very cute player indeed. A little chipmunk called Devin came to greet me. She surely won the prize for cutest player on the day.

Devin attempting to put the opposition off by biting their ankles

It was nice to see some new players there – both new trivia players and old faces too, and thanks to early organisation from Lette we started pretty much on time. The puns had started before the event got under way, and much as we moan about them, it’s these puns that keep us going. And I’m sorry, but as long as Mael is on my team – bad puns or not - you can’t chuck him overboard until the end!

Unlike last time, I wasn’t the only one of Trumpton Trivia online at the start, Ana and Mael were also there - sadly no sign of Stiggs. Despite several frantic im’s hoping they would go through to e mail, he never actually made it. So we were down to just 3. And all Brits at that, so any US questions were right out for us.

Trumpton - ready and raring to go

Usually at these events I get 2 right – pretty average. First question – I got 2nd place – good start, it meant I faced the prospect of a pretty boring 2 hours. This however, turned out to be my best Bucc Bowl yet, and I got in the top 3 in 5 questions. I even scored in the question about US Presidents – unheard of!


Unlike last time, I did get to see the questions. I didn’t get to read them – but I got to see them. It was a case of ‘which volcano................’ and off everyone went with volcanoes. ‘Which brand of mustard .....................’ and off everyone went with mustard. I other words, pick out the obvious word and go for it – read the question afterwards. I also knew a few more of the answers, which made it easier to join in. It was nice to be able to do something other than watch text scroll up my screen. Although we only practically score points for coming in the top 3, I personally think it’s an achievement for anyone if they get in to the top 10. The time between the answers is miniscule – so well done anyone who got any answer into chat at all.


I did some post event calculations, and I worked out where my total put me on points for the day. I won’t say where I came but I am a very happy bunny. We pulled together as usual and managed a much better performance than our previous 2 contests. We managed 6th place again, but we did make some decent money this time, and I for one certainly enjoyed the day a lot more. I’d like to thank the lag monster for leaving me alone at least for those 2 hours at the weekend. Unfortunately he more than made up for it after the event, and I ended up re-installing Second Life altogether.


The only problem we seemed to have was the usual Group Chat. This has been particularly dire recently, and a few teams couldn’t even get a group im open. I gave up and opened a conference call, but I don’t think all 3 of us stayed connected. Hopefully for next time Linden Labs will have resolved the chat thing (As I write that last comment, I am surrounded by flying pigs), and that will make things run all the more smoothly.

Lette, Thornton and Lillian did a tremendous job as always, and thanks have to go to them for their time, and also their money.

Despite Lette offering to host Chaos trivia completely naked if anyone toppled the Triviators, they won again. They were tempted to throw the game but their competitive spirit took over. They did get some stiff opposition this time, so maybe next time someone will take their crown. Trumpton have won before – so who knows – maybe we’ll do it again!

Only in SL

It's amazing the things that can happen in this funny old World of Second Life.

It started nice and simply with some inventory sorting. We've all done this - we all hate this, but true to form you usually end up with the most amazing things. As I write this, I'm sitting on a sun lounger in a room filled with assorted rubbish, which includes 2 little aliens, a skateboarding teddy bear, a talking welcome mat, some torches, lots of blue flashing lights, and something that can only be described as a very large dog's bone! I had to take the pogo stick back after it ended up stuck in the ceiling.

I first found some roller skates - which I had to try to see if they were any good. These things were massive! I tried editing them, but they wouldn't reduce, so first of all I have those. Next up I found some clothing, so on went a rather small swimming costume. Quite convenient, because I also found water bombs, and of course before you delete stuff from your inventory, you have to check it. Mael was sitting in his meditation pod, which works as a good shield against water bombs, He decided to rez K-9 - who stunned me. I then found my lemming launcher, and attempted to stun K-9. Unfortunately, I was on roller skates, so every time I fired the thing I shot backwards. Except for the final time, when the lemming bounced back, and I went straight up and through the roof. I initially thought I would land on the roof - which I did. Thanks to the shape of it however, I slid straight off it.

We were at 3500m, so I'm only grateful that we always land with a thud but we're ok. I put my jetpack on but the button to fly was blanked out, so that wasn't much help. So we now have a mad woman in a small swimming costume and over large rolling skates and holding a lemming launcher - plummeting through the sky. I could only hope there was no one underneath. Mael was a great help and commented in im 'oops'. No tp back just -'oops'. I was in stitches as it was, and when I hit my neighbours parcel it got worse. They have these womderful ban lines, and as I hit 150m I hit the ban lines and bounced back up! I then hit them again and back up - just like an invisible trampoline in the sky. Somehow I managed to stop laughing long enough to push myself forwards on the bounce, and ended up on the roof of our balloon house - which I promptly fell off and slid down as well. To make matters worse, when I hit the ground someone was driving a bike round it, and must have witnessed it for themselves.

Me feeling very grateful that a fall of 3500m doesn't do us much harm and somehow wishing I didn't look quite so stupid!

Mael then decided to come down in the tardis, so I let him have it with the Lemming gun. Did I mention I was on roller skates? Mael and the Tardis remained intact - I shot backwards with such force that I went straight through our garden wall, rolled down a bank, and ended up in the middle of a parcel for sale!

Now I'm sure many of you have had some jolly old times with those inventories - but only on SL can a chore which seems so boring, become the thing that has tears of laughter rolling down your cheeks. I've said it before, I'll say it again - SL can bring you down, but it can also put you right back up again. When I resumed my inventory cleaning I was asked ' Why are you wearing a gas mask?' Well - it was in my inventory - why else!

Last weekend was time for the long awaited Smartastermind 2! This is a trivia contest like no other on SL, based on the TV series Mastermind. Each contestant was asked 10 questions on a subject of their choice, followed by 10 general knowledge questions. Any questions which the contestants didn't get right, were thrown open to anyone in the audience for the chance to earn a few Lindens.

Last time I was just a host, this time I decided to compete too. I chose the Carry On Films as my specialist subject, as I've been watching these since I was a kid.

The contest started on Friday, with Traian, who’d chosen the film The Breakfast Club as her specialist subject. She stormed through her questions, scoring 10/10 on her specialist round, and ended up witha grand total of 19/20. We were all ready to admit defeat there and then, but of course we didn’t.

I was first up on Saturday, and as my event followed Thorntons regular Saturday trivia, there were plenty of people there to watch me. I was extremely nervous to say the least, and on the very first question my brain froze! The first question asked ‘what was Jim Dales character in Carry on Cowboy?’ Now I knew he had a diploma from Chipping Sodbury technical college as a Drainage and Sanitation Engineer (first Class). I knew he couldn’t wear his gun belt too tight because it pinched his tummy, and I knew he shot 2 Indians with one bullet on the stagecoach to Stodge City. But could I remember the name! Well, naturally I did as soon as I’d passed on it. I managed to pull myself together for a pleasing 9/10. General knowledge was always going to be my weakest round, as my knowledge is just that – general. And of course, anything vaguely geographical and I didn’t stand a chance. I was determined, however, not to google any of the questions, and see just how well I did on my own. You only get a time limit of 5 minutes for all 10 questions anyway, so googling an answer could seriously eat in to your time. I actually scored 5, but I missed another one because my brain gave me the answer too late. This gave me an overall score of 14, which was good enough for 2nd place last time, so I was extremely happy.

Mael was next with his subject of the Gerry Anderson TV Series’. He scored an impressive 9/10 and followed up with 5 on his general knowledge, putting him equal with me.

Pomegranate Sorbet came next, and impressed everyone with his knowledge of the Boy Scouts of America, and after a good general knowledge round too, he ended up tied with Traian on 19 points. 4 contestants down and a tie for 1st and a tie for 3rd!

Last up for Saturday night was Thornton with the huge subject of World War II. I think everyone’s heart went out to him when he went through his Specialist round, and it just proves it’s not necessarily what you know – it’s what happens on the day. After a rallying himself in the general knowledge round he ended up with 9 points.

Sunday we were off again with WavingMarcel, who chose UK pop music 1960-1985. After yet another impressive specialist round, he amassed a total of 15/20.

Lotus was next, with the impressive topic of the Byzantine Empire. After a good general knowledge round, she ended up with 14, putting her equal with me and Mael.

Lette was up next, with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After 2 good rounds, she ended up with 15

Then we had the best dressed duck on the trivia circuit, with Chad up with his topic of NASCAR. Again, he proved its not what you know, its what happens on the day, and ended up with a total of 13.

Last up was Sinnamon, with the subject of American Football. She needed a full house of 20/20 to win, or at least 19 to be in the tie break. After a slow start, she scored an impressive score of 9 out of 10, and ended up with a total of 18, which put her in 3rd place.

The tie break between Trai and Pom won't be held until next week, and I know we'll be there to cheer them both on.

The weekend seemed to go very fast, and I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. I can’t vouch for any others but I felt my questions were pitched just right, and this is especially hard to do if you’re not an expert on a subject and you have limited time to set them. I know Chad commented that his questions were good, and I hope others felt the same.

I did not expect to win. I wanted to prove to myself that I can compete and that I do have a brain, and to come joint with Mael and Lotus, has proved that to myself. I am even more pleased, as I did not google. For me, the challenge was about what I knew or didn’t, and not about how quickly I can google the capital of Belarus (which I now now is Minsk). With only 5 minutes for 10 questions, and a bad case of nerves, googling just wasn't an option anyway.

I would like to commend anyone who had the guts to have a go. I know I was nervous, and Chad also commented he’d eaten a few too many butterflies for breakfast, but I thoroughly enjoyed he challenge, and I’ll definitely be competing in the next one. I hope a few others will also take part, now that they’ve seen how the competition works.

As a final word - thanks also go to Humm and the hosts for organising the weekend, and for keeping it running smoothly. I know I'm biased, but the hosts did a great job over the weekend. Not only did they give their time to ask the questions, and help organise the event, but they were all there supporting the contestants as well, RL commitments permitting.

I'm thoroughly looking forward to the next one, now I have my initial nerves out of the way. I hope a few others will also join in next time too. This is the only contest I know of where we get individual questions, and we don't directly compete with others to speed type the answer. It's also a good test of what we do and don't know, as opposed to who can google the fastest.

Smartastermind 3 - can't wait!