Thank you for making 2007 such a special year! I hope you had as much fun in Second Life as I did :)
Have a wonderful, safe, and happy New Year 2008!!!
Oh...oh...I gotta wear the Miss SL 2007 sash one last time before I get de-sashed tomorrow :(
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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.
Alright, I just figured out why you like that smarty-tail mermaid. Its her tutorials, isnt it?
BTW, this is Talia, the wonderful evil Alt. And I can do tutorials too! I wont even make you sweat over all that prim stuff :)
Skiing is both inexpensive and fun to do in SL. Best of all, there are a number of places where you can go skiing :)
Natalia went skiing at Nakiska and the Weather Channel before. Since its the winter ski season again, its time to check out the ski slopes again!
Ski Equipment
First, we need to get some skis!
There are at least 2 major types of skis available in SL. Since both types of skis are Free/inexpensive, try them both out! You might like different ones under different conditions :)
Natalia's friend Esse sells skis at Nakiska, Wolf Mountain, and other ski resorts. These skis come in 2 varieties: Basic for only L$50, and advanced for L$150 (which lets you do backflips).
The Nakiska skis work like skates (they are attachments). They are very easier to control, and are perfect for ski races!
The Weather Channel offers Free skis, poles, and boots as part of their Epic Ski adventure.
These skis work best in the Weather Channel sim (enabling you to do tricks!), but they will also work in other sims as well :)
The Weather Channel skis slide like real skis. They are much harder to control, and you can occasionally get stuck in some weird positions. But they give more of a skiing feeling, so are fun for downhill trail skiing.
Ski Racing
Now that we have our skis, lets go skiing!
The Alpine Executive Center has a long downhill racing course. You can just ski for the fun of it, or pay L$50 to have your time officially recorded.
Search/Places for "alpine". The SLURL is MeetingSupport (116,54,21).
Nakiska/Snowy Mountain Park has had a long history of ski racing. That fake-blonde mermaid skiied here last year (if you call that skiing :P).
You can time your skiing for free at Nakiska. There is also a group to join for related events.
Search/Places for "nakiska". The SLURL is Nakiska (207,52,126).
Downhill Trail Skiing
The Weather Channel sim has 3 downhill ski trails as part of their Epic Ski adventure. These trails range from easy to intermediate to advanced.
Oh, and since its the Weather Channel, expect some weather :)
Remember the Weather Channel Free skis can do tricks here! However, the trails are kinda narrow, so it might take a few tries to get used to them.
Search/Places for "weather". The SLURL is Weather (113,5,26).
Wolf Mountain is a popular winter resort area. It has a cozy lodge, a nice collection of shops, even cottage rentals...
At the top of Wolf Mountain are 3 ski trails: Rollin Run, Wolfie's Den, and Adalwolf Run.
The trails are slightly wider than the ones at the Weather Channel, but it still takes a couple tries to get used to all the turns!
Search/Places for "wolf mountain". The SLURL is PeachTree Resort (57,42,29).
So if you have never skiied in SL, give it a try :)
Ooo...look that those cute guys over there!
*Ouch*
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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.
Welcome to Damania, one of the most beautiful set of buildings in SL :)
Damania is actually a sim-wide store that sells fountains, sculptures...
and all kinds of different furniture.
And I do mean different ;P
But even if you are not shopping for furniture, you have to come see the buildings and amazing textures!
There are art pieces sprinkled throughout...
And what does ever furniture/sculpture store sim need?
A bumper car track, of course ;P
Heehee you can bump and race bumper cars here while admiring the view :)
Whether you are shopping for furniture or just exporing, check out Damania's amazing buildings :) Click on Search, select Places, and enter "damania" as the keyword. The SLURL is Damania (128,118,35).
That is a really really big telescope for spying on the neighboring sim! ;P
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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.
Merry Christmas, from Blue, Natalia, and Poof :)
Poof, sweetie, dont eat the camera!
Poof, stop running around the tree!
Poof! Stop that! Bad baby dragon!
Oops, sorry Blue darling...
Poof! No breathing fire!
Watch it!
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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.
Its Christmas Eve...time for those last-minute stocking stuffers :)
So for this week, theres a gorgeous new hairstyle and a new L$1 style...
Haylie (because I like that sister more ;P) is a slightly wavy hair with lots of volume :) It has dramatic styling up front and is flexi all around, of course!
Comes with a pair of jeweled earrings...because earrings are hair accessories, remember? ;P
Zoey is a super cute bob thats in fashion right now. Its an elegant style that goes with any outfit. Comes with a color-change headband for some highlights.
Best of all, its just L$1 per color pack! So you can try it in all different colors :)
All Sirena hairstyles include built-in Face Lighting so you always look your best. Just try on a demo and see the difference!
All Sirena hairstyles come in 3 sizes, (S)mall, (M)edium, and (L)arge for easy fitting and adjustment.
There are 60 textures in 15 color packs to choose from. And all hairs can be color-tinted (with 66 colors) to give you even more color choices!
Check them out online at www.SirenaHair.com or at Sirena Hair & Fashion. Click on Search, select Places, and enter "sirena" as the keyword. 
Is Santa here yet? Is Santa here yet?
What time is it?
Is Santa here yet?
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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.
***Note: Just FYI, Ged Larsen has not been in SL since Jan, 2008. I have not been able to contact him. So please be careful when purchasing the product (it might be difficult to get a refund until he returns!)
Ged Larsen created LoopRez and LoopRez Deluxe, which made creating flexi skirts much easier!
Several months ago, Ged introduced LinkRez, a cool tool for creating necklaces and jewelry pieces. (Sorry for taking this long to write about it :P)
In SL, a flat circle necklace like this doesnt look very realistic. It either floats in the air up front or sticks into your neck in the back.
A few months ago, I wrote a tutorial on how to create a Chain Necklace with LoopRez.
However, the standard LoopRez script can only bend in the exact middle of the chain. This doesnt work for longer chains. Also, the LoopRez script cannot rotate the chainlinks, so you are limited to links that will lock to itself (like the one in the tutorial).
Wouldnt it be nice to have something that lets you adjust the bend around your neck? And create rotating chainlinks?
Thats what LinkRez does, along with a bunch of cool features that take the major pains out of creating necklaces in SL.
Also, LinkRez does what LoopRez Deluxe did for flexi skirts: it lets you design your necklace interactively :)
You stand on a special posestand, adjust the guides around your neck, and give the command to create the necklace.
Plus you can tweak and customize the necklace in ways that go way over my head (even while wearing an updo ;P).
Check out these amazing creations on Ged's blog for what other residents have done with LinkRez!
You can also stop by Script Thingies (Ged Larsen's store) and check out the real time LinkRez Demo. You can watch LinkRez create a number of different designs :) Search/Places for keyword "thingies". The SLURL is Linji (148,225,67)).
LinkRez costs L$3000. It is available at both Script Thingies and the Sirena store. BTW, I do not make any L$ from the sales of LinkRez (or LoopRez Deluxe). I write these tutorials because I use these tools myself (and because Ged promised to pose in Hot Pink hair ;P).
The Quick Demo
LinkRez can create temporary test necklaces. This is a great way to see how LinkRez works :)
Just stand on the LinkRez posestand.
Right-click on the Blue/Purple Guides and select "Edit...".
Be sure that "Stretch Both Sides" and "Edit linked parts" are both checked.
Click on the lower Blue Guide to select it. Press [Ctrl-Shift] and stretch the Blue Guide to the desired length. Then press the [Ctrl] key and rotate the Blue Guide to fit the neck.
Next, click on the upper Purple Guide to select it. Adjust it as needed around to back of your neck.
Then just say "/1 TEST" in Chat, and watch LinkRez create a necklace to fit the 2 guides :)
The necklace is temporary, and will disappear in about a minute.
You can get fancy by saying "/1 LINKTYPE ALTERNATE", and then "/1 TEST". This will create a necklace with links that rotate alternately. Perfect for tiny chain links :)
LinkRez has a whole bunch of commands you can use to adjust the shape and style of the necklace.
Remember, this is just a fitting demo. We are going to make the real thing next :)
Creating a Necklace Link
The most important part of the necklace is the individual links.
You can create an entire necklace from the same kind of link, like this necklace made from Tiny Tubes.
You can even program LinkRez to use different kinds of links and different settings with a Notecard!
This necklace was completely generated by LinkRez using 6 different kinds of links :O
And a necklace link can be a single prim or a linked set of prims. But keep in mind that SL has a limit of 255 prims in a single linked object (so we cant get too crazy ;P).
Lets create a necklace using a single Tiny Tube.
Go ahead and rez a Torus on the ground.
Edit the Torus. Select the Object tab and enter the following settings:
Size X: 0.020M
Size Y: 0.040M
Size Z: 0.040M
Hollow: 95.0
Profile Cut Begin: 0.200
Profile Cut End: 0.300
Go to the Texture tab.
Change the color to Orange (Red=255, Green=128, Blue=0).
Check the "Full Bright" checkbox (because we are making jewelry :D).
Change the "Shininess" to Medium.
Go to the General tab.
Change the Name to "Tiny Gold Tube".
Right-click on the Tiny Gold Tube and select Take to take it into your Inventory.
Sizing the Link
Next, we need to figure out how these links fit together.
Instead of fiddling with settings, LinkRez has an ingenious little tool for figuring out the exact settings: the Sizing Board. Its right above the posestand. Its tiny, so you have to zoom into it!
In the middle of the Sizing Board are 3 "toothpicks" (thats what Ged calls them ;P).
Theres a tiny blue sphere where the 3 toothpicks join together.
Rez the "Tiny Gold Tube" we created above.
Place the Tiny Gold Tube in the same direction as the Red toothpick.
Then try to center the Tiny Gold Tube at the tiny blue sphere where the toothpicks join together. As you move the Tiny Gold Tube, you will notice the Red/Green/Blue lines will start to match up with the toothpicks :)
Press and hold the [Shift] key. Click and drag the Red arrow to make a copy of the Tiny Gold Tube to the right.
Position the copy of the Tiny Gold Tube so that it is how you want the links to appear on the necklace.
Then just Touch the "Center" button on the Sizing Board. It will say something like this in Chat:
zzzLinkRezSizingBoard: CENTER alignment sizing
zzzLinkRezSizingBoard: Name ~ distance(mm) ~ rotationOffset ~ positionOffset
zzzLinkRezSizingBoard: Tiny Gold Tube~6.103516~<-0.00000, 0.00000, -0.00000>~<0.00002, 0.00002, 0.00015>
Make a note of the last thing it says ("Tiny Gold Tube~6.103516~<-0.00000, 0.00000, -0.00000>~<0.00002, 0.00002, 0.00015>"). We will need this in a minute.
Creating the Necklace
Ready? Lets make a necklace :)
First, lets put the Tiny Gold Tube into the LinkRez.
Right-click on the big transparent LinkRez ring and select "Edit...".
Go to the Contents tab. Drag-and-drop the "Tiny Gold Tube" from your Inventory to the Contents tab of LinkRez.
Go on the posestand!
Adjust the Green and Purple Guides as needed to fit your neck. Remember, you can always say "/1 TEST" in Chat to see how the necklace would fit :)
Here comes the fun part :)
Say "/1 LINK Tiny Gold Tube~6.103516~<-0.00000, 0.00000, -0.00000>~<0.00002, 0.00002, 0.00015>" in Chat(without the quotes). And watch LinkRez make your custom necklace :)
BTW, all those numbers came from the Sizing Board above (just cut-and-paste it from your Chat history). Dont ask me what they mean ;P
Finally, we need to link the Necklace into a single object. We want the metal ball in the center to be the Root object.
Stand up from the posestand.
Right-click on the metal ball in the center and select "Edit...".
Click in an area outside the necklace and draw a box around the entire necklace to select all the necklace links.
Press and hold the [Shift] key. Click on the big transparent LinkRez ring to de-select the LinkRez object.
While still holding the [Shift] key, click on the metal ball in the center to de-select it. Click on the metal ball in the center again to select it. This will make sure that the metal ball will become the Root prim.
Click on "Tools" from the top menu bar and select the "Link" option.
Right-click on the metal ball and select "Edit...".
Go to the General tab. Change the Name to "Test Necklace".
Right-click on Test Necklace and select Take to take it into your Inventory.
Look for Test Necklace in your Inventory. It should be in your Objects folder.
Right-click on Test Necklace in your Inventory and select "Attach To>", then "Chest".
When you first attach the necklace, it will be in the wrong place.
Just Right-click the Test Necklace and select "Edit...". Then use the color arrows to move it into position.
Thats it! You should now be wearing your custom fitted necklace :)
Ged Larsen has very thorough documentation at his blog, including a detailed tutorial, tips, and other great info!
If you plan on making custom jewelry (or similarly complex designs), definitely check out LinkRez.
Have fun makeing those prim-hogging necklaces ;P
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© 2007 All Rights Reserved.
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Sirena is my store in Second Life, with Animated flexi hairs, Water-sensitive Wet hairs, Removable Hat hairs, and 100+ other styles :)
