I'm Ready

I wandered through the massive room. 

Taking in the sights, listening to the sounds of this impressive machine.
 

It's been too long...
 

Far too long...

I'm ready!
 

Amber filtered light

Some portrait shots using amber filtered light

I highly recommend the photo props and tools from Wendi Nitely's Luna Fatale brand.

And now, here's the obligatory SL Fashion and avatar enhancement list which I should get into the habit of listing for y'all.

Hair:  Catwa TNT Summer blondes
Eyes by IKON: Horizon Eye series "Deep Caramel" (L) (brown tone)
Mesh Head: Lelutka Stella
Mesh Body: Maitreya Lara
Skin by Glam Affair: Jamaica tone
Necklace: MANDALA Ryujin Black
Dress: Maitreya Vixen black
Bracelet:  Gizza - Asia Watch and Bracelet (black and silver tone)

More silhouettes of Zabrina and Zoe

Connolly Studios at Port Caledon

Photographs from my new studio at Port Caledon

Does this Silhouette make me look Fat?

More photography fun with filters... 

(actually it was photography fun with depth, but that doesn't make for a good alliteration)

Some light outside makes a much better contrast than an indoor scene that turns the scene a black silhouette on a gray background.

Now more contrast. But the palm trees at the next location turn out palm-less...
 

I tried a mix of hairstyles and some are great looking in silhouette. Others not so much.
 

You can see my glasses here...

That's when I remembered to take my glasses off for the rest. 

Also... I took off my dress... naked Zoe pics!

Samantha

It's about time I posted something, so here is a sequence of photos I took of Samantha. Similar pose with different Firestorm in-Viewer, in-Camera filters... 

New horizons and new adventures

New Life, New Sailboat

The new IF sailboat from Bandit is available for 3000L$ at the following SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dutch%20Harbor/92/37/21

Here are some notes from the Manual Notecard:

The Bandit IF is based on the real world Folkboat, a one design racing class that thanks to its unsurpassed sea going capabilities for its size acquired fame as a low budget passage maker for blue water cruising. The design may be over 70 years old, Folkboats are still being built and raced today, where the traditional wood has now been replaced by the more modern glass reinforced plastic or "GRP". The Second Life version is made in the same tradition, The focus is clearly placed on the sailing and racing aspects, but it can equally be your "home away from home" when exploring all corners of the grid.

The Bandit IF is powered by the 3rd generation BOSS Dynamic Sailing Engine. Everything about the boat is aimed at giving you a fun and realistic experience, while being both cruise friendly and accessible for beginners, yet when its manual control is fully utilized so challenging it will even inspire the most seasoned sailors to give it all they have in exciting close quarters racing!

More information on the building of the Bandit IF can be found here:
http://www.virtualworldsailing.com/index.php?/topic/561-building-the-if/

The online version of this manual can be found here:
http://www.virtualworldsailing.com/index.php?/topic/707-bandit-if-manual/

Thanks SL Go. You were fantastic!

Many thanks to OnLive and the kind folks at SL Go who were very generous with their time. You set a great standard in exceptional customer service.

I'm still reeling from the news about the near end of SL Go. The service lasts until April 30, 2015 and then it ends. 

When the last of my high-graphic SLGo photos are posted here, my blog will end activity. It will remain dormant until I can afford an upgrade. 

In the meantime, I'll be here and there in SL and on Twitter.

Machinima Test

This is little test machinima I created at Cornelius Fanshaw's Tarington Aerodrome. He redecorated his WW2 style RAF Tarington Field to resemble a Royal Flying Corp World War 1 era aerodrome complete with trenches between his parcel and Niki Wilder's place at Rundlelawn.

 I would have planned the shot much better, but I was just winging it as an experiment - just to see if it was possible. It's been a very long time since I last created a machinima and to be honest I forgot a lot of basics. Yay Google!

This is a single shot using 3D Space Navigator.

I used music from a YouTube approved download-able list (avoiding copyright trouble this time). The track is called "Vespers" by Topher Mohr and Alex Elena.

YouTube detected a little bumpiness on the video, so I approved some smoothing, which accounts for the dreamy wave images you see here and there.

Lara Croft, Moore's Law, and Zoe Connolly

Moore's Law and examples of the ever changing improvement in graphics...

 Moore's law from Wikipedia and from http://www.mooreslaw.org - 

Moore’s Law is a computing term which originated around 1970; the simplified version of this law states that processor speeds, or overall processing power for computers will double every two years.  A quick check among technicians in different computer companies shows that the term is not very popular but the rule is still accepted.

 To break down the law even further, it specifically stated that the number of transistors on an affordable CPU would double every two years (which is essentially the same thing that was stated before) but ‘more transistors’ is more accurate.

Lara Croft's Evolution



Note how many of the promotional models look much like the next game's in-game model.

Examples from Second Life...

I started in SL in January 2007 and I've seen my own form of Moore's law, as SL, my computers, and my avatar have changed over the course of 8 years.

 February 2007

 (The Catgirl days)

April 2007

July 2007 (Antiquity)

October 2007

 

(New Babbage)

 

  December 2008 (Connolly Aerodrome)

June 2011 (TimeForce 10 RP)

 

(notice the room details)

January 2015 (The Days of SLGo)

How has your own avatar evolved over the years?

This post based on "How Lara Croft's changing face illustrates Moore's law" and run through the SLogrificator.

SLogrificator = a device that takes ideas, concepts and objects from Real Life and transforms and modifies for usage about, or within, Second Life. No doubt a product of some mad steampunk science genius!