The Surplus Motors UTV, And More Home and Garden Items

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By Bixyl Shuftan

While residents in Second Life can walk, teleport, and (usually) fly around, many of us desire vehicles. We're used to using them in real life, and they look cool. At the Home and Garden, Surplus Motors has one car with 100% of the money going to the Relay: the Surplus Motors UTV (Utility Task Vehicle).

To begin with, the price is 996 Linden dollars. But you don't actually get one vehicle, but you get a package deal with two sets of three. One set is for human, furry, and other avatars around 5-6 feet in height. The second is a smaller set of vehicles for dinkie tiny avatars. So instead of one vehicle for a thousand linden, it's three for 333 Lindens each (or 166 each if you spend some time in both regular-sized and dinkie avatars). 

Of the three varieties, one is the standard UTV, orange in color. Another, painted John Deere green, is made to look like it's for farming with it's wheelbarrow and other equipment in the back. There is also a white UTV made to look like it's for parking lots, or perhaps roads. Each is well detailed on the inside, with steering wheel, gearshift, dashboard, seat belts, etc.

In the notecard, Surplus Motors boasted a number of features for the UTV

-License plate change
-9 preset colors, possibility to add your own
-Projectors lights (advanced light settings only)
-Shadow on/off
-RL sounds
-Re-size
-Smoother driving
-Multiple driver and passenger animations
-Multiple shift styles
-Exhaust smoke
-Adjustable seating
-Automatic/Manual Transmission
-Unlock/Lock
-Alarm
-Eject
-Working lights
-Opening doors

....And more features to boot!

Driving the car is simple enough. Just click on it, and sit. Move by pressing the forward arrow, and steer with the left and right arrows. To shift gears, press the PageUp and PageDown buttons. But the notecard says you can by pressing SHIFT and then either the up or down arrows. To go in reverse, shift gears down to reverse, then press the up arrow. To go up an inclined surface, such as that of some of the bridges on Bellisseria, you'll probably need to shift to second or third gear.

I found the car simple enough to drive, in both regular and dinkie sizes. The dinkie UTV seems to go a little faster, but it's the same speed. It just seems faster as the car is smaller.

Talking to Jules Catlyn, the woman behind Surplus Motors, she plans on doing more dinkie-sized cars in the future, "I gave an affiliate vendor for Dinkies cars to aminata Potez. To support her sim and I like Dinkies." She added she's been getting some positive responses from Raglan Shire about them as well.

To get the Surplus Motors UTV, head to Hope 2 (184/216/23).

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Besides the UTV, there are many other idems up for sale. For those with horses, I found a "Caution: Stallion" sign. It's at EitshEks [HX] Stables by Hera Silverfall (Herasdejavou), located at Hope 2 (60/112/23).

At Ari-Pari, the 10L hunt item is the Shamrock Top Hat Planter by Ariana Petrova, located at Hope 2 (16/92/23). Just add and unpack.

Checking Sigma, among the items they have is a hallway shelf. It costs 200L. Their 10L hunt item is a candle. Both are made by Soft Tenkins. Get them at Hope 2 (66/16/23).

That's it for now from the Expo. Enjoy the shopping.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Interview With Sabina Valeska, An SL Video Award Winner About Her Passion as A Videographer

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by Marcel Mosswood

Being someone who wins a world-class competition will make you feel proud and increase your self-confidence. Especially if that field is your passion, where you can express your abilities and there is healing in it’s process.

A few days ago I had the privilege of speaking with Sabina Valeska, winner of the February SL Video Award in the Music Video category (https://slvideogroup.wixsite.com/slvideocreators/sl-video-awards). Our conversation is very interesting and reveals Sabina's passion for her profession as a videographer.

Marcel: Congratulation! I’m so proud that you are the winner! Can you tell me about your experience on SL Video Awards?

Sabina: Being eligible to participate in the Second Life video award itself is definitely a humbling experience, not to mention winning the competition. I have been making SL videos since 2018 and I have just made a return in 2021 after taking a long break. My sole motivation for making the video has been for self-amusement; I consider it as a part of therapy, really. It, therefore, took me by surprise when Jordan Rizzo informed me that two of my videos had been nominated for the award.

Marcel: What inspired you to create this winning video?

Sabina: My SL partner, Dylan Sinatra (YKZ4 resident), has always been my inspiration. He has been a professional videographer himself since 2017.

It was my birthday when I made this video. I reminisced the uneasy years I had been through and I felt so grateful for his company and support which helped me rise from fall. I then decided to express this gratitude through this video. It was all spontaneous.

I found “Return to Innocence” as a perfect song to convey all this message for its deep-meaning lyrics, precisely depicting what Dylan had contributed to my life in these two years. He taught me how to ignore the negativity and instead, focus on achieving our goals and being who we are. Many people are lost along their journey in life and I want to inspire them through this video to find themselves and regain peacefulness. I believe self-peacefulness is the predecessor of spreading positivity, healing people, and lifting them up.

Marcel: Very interesting! Is this your first experience of an Second Life video competition?

Sabina: Yes, it is. Being nominated together with professional renowned videographers was truly a humbling yet exciting experience. I want to learn a lot from them, especially on the execution technics.

Marcel: What makes you enjoy making videos on Second Life?

Sabina: I find it difficult to convey what I feel through words. Through video, on the contrary, I find liberty. Therefore, creating a video is an effective way to pipeline the emotion and ideas; it is a therapy. Definitely, it would be wonderful if my videos can reach people in need, inspire them to be a better version of themselves. Pipelining the emotion while inspiring people, what would be better therapy than that?

Marcel: Wow, that was very inspirational. I think this will be great if you share this inspiring moment with SL Newser readers.

Sabina: Sure! I will be glad.

And this has closed our conversation. Hope this inspires you.

Marcel Mosswood

360° Snapshot At Firestorm Viewer

 
By Marcel Mosswood

I was very excited when I got the chance to try out Firestorm preview 65562 (future release) which one of the advantages is the 360° Snapshot. This Firestorm feature can make 360° snapshots like a 360° camera in real life. The result is really good!

People often compare 360° photos with videos, they think that 360° photos are nothing special because it is better to watch videos than 360° photos. In fact, 360° photos have many advantages over ordinary videos, especially if they are used for content marketing because of their immersive nature. With 360° photos, you can watch in any direction and point the screen in any direction you like.

Prior to this version, the 360° snapshot version can be enjoyed in the Firestorm VR Mod version 6.5.3, while this version 65562 is not a VR Mod version and is still a preview, at the time I’m writing this article, it is not yet available on the official Firestorm website, maybe it will be available soon.

This is the result of a 360° Snapshot I made in Imagiland, my region on OSGrid 

 

Making a 360° snapshot in Firestorm 65562 is very easy. First, make sure the graphic settings on your Firestorm are ultra so that the results will be satisfactory.

Click on the snapshot icon, then click the “Take 360° Snapshot” button at the bottom right

 

Then select the desired quality. My advice is don't hesitate to choose the Maximum one so that the resulting image is good. You can also check “Hide all avatars” so that the avatars don't appear in the photo. But if you want to show the avatar(s), don't check this box. Then click on “Create 360° Image”, and then click on “Save as” to save the snapshot on your hard disk.

After that, you can upload it on Flickr, Google Photos, or Facebook to share your snapshot with friends. Hopefully, in the near future, this Firestorm will be available for Second Life.

Marcel Mosswood

The Winter Burn 2022

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By Bixyl Shuftan

From Friday January 28 to Sunday January 30, the Winter Burn took place in Second Life. While the main Burn, or the "Octoburn" as it's sometimes called is held in October, there are a few spinoff events at other times in the year. They are based on the real-life "Burning Man" festival held every summer in Black Rock Nevada.

The theme this year was a new and unusual one: Gingerbread Houses. 

Mia Wallace messaged me some days before the event. She was in a gingerbread man avatar.

She showed me around the Winter Burn grounds around Deep Hole.

 This mutant vehicle had a nice large seat.

On Sunday January 30, I dropped in. There was a music concert going on at the event area.

BGSinger Hermit was the performer for this particular hour. 

The audience had a variety of avatars.

Also in the audience were builder Nance Clowes, and artist Moya Patrick.

 Golan Eddie, noted for leading the team of volunteers during the resident-run Second Life Birthday events.

At one point, fireworks went off.

Someone was taking one of the mutant vehicles, a sleigh pulled by a gingerbread man on fig newton feet, out for a stroll. 

Changing my viewer to show a night sky, "The Man" was showing icicles. 

I spent a little time exploring some of the grounds.

Moya's gingerbread house exhibit.

With the theme and the snow, some of the exhibits would have fit right in with a Christmas event.

"Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Gemma Cleanslate was there, and submitted a couple pictures of exhibits as well.

From tires, to dough, to haunted marshmallow to robot.

There was plenty of fun. But we won't have to wait until October for more Burn2 fun. With Spring comes the Burnal Equinox, and another spinoff. Stay tuned for details.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Macy's Christmas Parade and The Christmas Expo

 
By Gemma  Cleanslate

So the shopping goes on. There are still many places to visit if you are looking for more trees, wreaths , scenery, or outfits. I will never get to all of them and I am pretty sure you won’t either. I still have a few recommendations though. Here are some reminders first.

Frannie DJ has put away all her Thanksgiving day parade floats and now has her Christmas Parade out. It will stay open until Christmas Day . Santa is still there at Macy’s store and there is still ice skating going on. I stopped over to see some of the floats which are as beautiful as ever. Don’t miss it! There is snow on the ground and the trees are glistening with ice formations on the limbs.

https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Steamy%20Shores/72/206/700

Remember to visit The Christmas Expo. This event is raising money for research for the American Cancer Society and has so much going on!

There are parties and raffles and Breedables, sales and auctions, and so many shops with goodies to continue your search for décor and outfits.

If you get there before the ninth, you can enter the snowman (and snowwoman) making contest. The regions are beautifully decorated just for exploring.  

The Expo website at https://slchristmasexpo.com/  will tell you everything you need to know. This SURL will get you there : https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Christmas%20Expo/55/128/23

Also, the Shop and Hop event opens Wednesday at 9am . Get ready for so many shops in one place on 12 regions with 240 merchants. Extreme lag in the early days, but it will be open until January 2 of the new year. I am sure there will be gifts at most shops.

Gemma Cleanslate
 

Christmas Shopping: Snuggles Holidays and Stormwind's North Pole

 
By Gemma Cleanslate

Shopping at Snuggles Holidays is always easy. The grounds are massive but so well organized it is easy to find the theme you are looking for. 

Huge signs indicate the sections where you will find it fast. Here you see animal scenes next to the snowmen areas. Many themes, floral, Santas, Elves, mice, ”cute,” and more are available .

The indoor decor building is also huge and filled with goodies for the house. From trees to wall decor and globes grace the shelves. I am so impressed by the card section here. The cards are also well organized to make the shopping easy. The humour section is fun just to look at and read. Across the way is a great selection of gift boxes. There is so much to look at here save some time for perusing. There is a huge selection of teddy bears with music that are so cute .

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Snuggles%20Holidays/21/168/28

There are several North Pole venues in Second Life that appear during the Christmas season. One that has all things Christmas for sale is set in Stormwind and looks like a shopping area of a European town. When you land the first thing you see is the large Fire Department. A stop there will let you furnish your fire department with great scenes for your winter department. Opposite that is the quaint Post Office with it’s mounds of mail piling up for Santa. Animated elves were mailing some as I watched.

Inside the massive town gate I found a sled rezzer to travel around the streets. I gave up quickly when I almost took out Santa riding around on his bike causing him to knock over a snowman on the corner.Each shop holds its own treasures for sale. I stopped in to the outlet which must hold older scenes but has bargains for those who love them. Elves are everywhere as you wander .

I was charmed at the wreath shop that holds so many wreaths with animated Santas and other season’s figures  in the center with various gestures. 

I had to fight the urge to buy one but I know I am out of prims at my houseboat after decorating. Don’t miss this shop! You might like to stop at the large skating pond in the center and take a spin with  free skates .  

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/StormWind/211/7/1728

Gemma Cleanslate