An Average Guy on Second Life

...get more than you expected!

A very dear friend of mine recently asked me to help her find a way to easily access a every growing list of poses she has in her inventory. She told me that she wanted to sort her poses in certain ways, and was there a simple way for her to do this.

Being the ever helpful guy and gadget junkie, I set out to see if I could find such a tool. I had in the back of my mind a way to do it myself (I am getting better and better at scripting), but wanted to see what others had done in this area first.

I was not searching long, when I came across a VERY useful tool, that fit the bill perfectly. The tool I found is not new, and if you have been around SL for any length of time, you have probably heard the name of this tool before. I had also heard it before, but never really looked at it closely. Boy am I glad did!

Care to make a guess? You sure?

Ok ok, I will tell you what it is (I know you were VERY scared I was not gonna tell you...admit it!). I am talking about the HUDDLES EZ Animator Deluxe.

As part of my search process, I was thinking about how would "I" use one of these devices. Do I need one, and if so, why? I started to think about what I do in SL, and how would such a device benefit me. Well, a couple thoughts did come to mind.

First of all, when I am at a party or an event, and there is dancing (and just about EVERY party or event has dancing in SL), I have never been fond of the dances that most places have in thier dance balls. Outside of the fact that I hate looking like everybody else, I find that most dance balls have dances that look MUCH better when women dance with them...not men. Given that, I spent an afternoon over at Sine Wave and then over at AKEYO to put together a nice little set of dances that didn't detract from my masculine mystic that I worked so hard to create.

(alright...you can stop laughing at ANY time now).

Also, I have put together some nice poses for basic photography that I have been doing, so I had a list of those poses also. Now, you can sort things by folder, as I do a LOT of, but the more I looked into the HUDDLES HUD, I realized how nice it would be to have all of these things right at my finger tips!

I really started to dig into the HUDDLES, and the more I dug, the more I found. And the more I found, the more I liked it. This gadget has some REALLY nice features that have really made my life inworld simpler, which is always a BIG plus for me!

What features did I like? I am soooo glad you asked that.

The first thing that caught my attention was that you can set up notecards that list animations that you load into the HUD, so you can sort them any way you want, and just load them up at the click of a mouse. That in itself was huge for what I was looking for, not only for my friend, but for me as well.

I started off with a dances notecard and a poses notecard, and played around a bit. I then divided up the poses into "standing" "leaning" "sitting" notecards. I was clicking around changing things left and right, all from the very well laid out HUD. I was having a blast!

After my afternoon of dance shopping, I only came away with a total of 3 actual dances that I liked, but also had a couple of fun "swaying" animations that I like to use at live music events and such. So my next task, was to create a "dances" and "listening" notecards.

I suppose I should talk about the notecards here for a moment. The notecards, especially the animation notecards, is just a list of the animation names that you want to have loaded when you pick that particular notecard. There is a button to list available notecards, and when you select the one you want, it loads up that group of animations. There is even a function to list all the animation IN the HUD, so you can copy and paste the output into a notecard, and edit away!

Once the animations are loaded, you can either just let the HUDDLES play them in order, randomly, or just pick each one yourself. This allows you to either relax and enjoy the atmosphere of where you are, or if you want to impress people, you can pick your dances to fit your mood, or the song, or both...:)

Ok, so...sounds pretty good so far right? Well, it gets better.

Another one of the very cool features of this gadget, is that it also has a built in AO. Now, if you read my article in Role Magazine (*cough, page 78), I talk about AO's quite a bit. One of the issues when going out dancing is that your AO can interfere with the dance animations you might want to use. This usually means you have to deactivate your AO before starting to dance. Not so with the HUDDLES.

As I talked about in my Role Magazine article (yes, I AM gonna keep saying that..:) ), I talked about how customizing your AO is not as difficult as it seems because most of the AO's out there are based on the ZHAO engine, and the HUDDLES is no different. What this MEANS..is that the odds are that you can copy the notecard out of your existing AO, and put it into the HUDDLES, along with the animations from your other AO, and have all your stuff in one place! ALSO...the HUDDLES will automatically turn OFF your AO, when you pick another animation to play, such as a dance! One less thing to worry about!

There are several other features of the HUDDLES that I am not gonna touch on, because I have not used all of them yet. For example, you can use it to invite others to share your dances (like a chim), you can use poofers, there is a flight assist, keep track of landmarks, hugger, build macros, emotes, object rezzing, etc etc etc.

Some might say this is a bit overkill, but I have to say it is nice to be able combine so many features in ONE HUD attachment. Talk about simplifying your screen!

OK, so lets get some details here. The HUDDLES EZ Animator Deluxe was made by Keiki Lemieux. There are several versions available, some with VERY specific functions, which might be a bit more to your liking, but most of those versions are combined into the DELUXE model.

The DELUXE version, which is what I have is available both inworld at

HUDDLES Main Store

and on XSTREETSL

HUDDLES EZ Animator Deluxe on XSTREETSL

(which was recently acquired by Linden Labs).

The HUDDLES EZ Animator Deluxe sells for $1499 at both inworld and out. I consider it money VERY well spent!

Before I go, let me give you a sampling of what the HUDDLES EZ Animator actually looks like..



and



If you want to see me dancing...you will have to wait till the next party!


Till next time!

I was playing around in a sandbox the other day (the SL kind..:) ), where I was throwing some home design ideas around. A friendly guy walked up to me, and asked me what I was doing. "Trying out some ideas" I responded. "What are those prims you are using?" he asked. So I told him.

For quite a long time now, I have been using Skidz Primz for all my building projects. I found them early on in my experience here, and just fell in love with them. What are Skidz Primz you ask? Let me tell YOU also!

Skidz Primz are enhanced prims, taking the ordinary SL prim to new heights. They are scripted, to make all your building projects fast and easy. You can read about them here.

When I first started building, I quickly realized how frustrating it can be, positioning prims to each other (cause EVERYTHING in SL is made of prims). Connecting prims to each other is the fundamental essence of building in SL. To make anything, you much connect prims together, and Skidz makes that SOO easy, its almost embarrassing.

Because Skidz makes things SOOO simple....I have found that I am able to try ideas out so quickly, and determine if it will be a feasible idea or not, without a lot of wasted time. I really hate getting bogged down in a bunch of math and manual positioning, just to try a quick idea out.

Skidz has much more than just the Skidz Primz, but that is the main tool I use. You can see all they have to offer over on their website

I did start to wonder though...given that I have been spending some time in sandboxes recently, why I had not seen anybody else using them. So I talked to a few builders I know...and the answers were interesting. Mostly it seemed that they had learned to build in a particular way, and were comfortable with that. Doing the math, manually moving prims, was just their WAY. One even said, without even trying Skidz out, that there was NO way that Skidz could do it better than his way. Not even sure how you respond to that...but...whatever floats your boat!

Building something, hopefully something that people want, is a great way to make money in SL. I guess I have just always been of the mindset that if a tool can makes something you do faster and easier, why not USE it! I guess people get set in their ways in SL as much as they do in RL.

Not only are Skidz Primz extremely easy to use, they have made some amazing tutorials that you can view on the web. I have watched them, and even though I use Skidz all the time, I still learn new things about what they are capable of doing.

Bottom line, if you are a builder, you owe it to yourself, to take a look at the Skidz line of tools. I promise you will not be sorry.

Skidz Primz are available on XStreetSL for $2650 lindens, or thier sim Snow Crash

On their website, you can find information about all the products, and even classed that are held, to demonstrate, and use this wonderful tool.

Now...Go out there and GET IT!

Till next time!

It's funny how the simplest little things, can really make your life easier, Even in SL.

I was helping a friend put up a skybox the other day and as we were flying around trying to pick out a good spot, elevation wise, she asked me a question. "How do I know where my land borders are?"

I just floated there. I really didn't have an answer for her. Fortunately, another friend of ours did. He whips out this fantastically handy little gadget, called the "Skybuild Land Border Detector V2".

This is such a handy little tool, I had to ask him bout it. He sent me the link to where he bought it on SLExchange (which btw, is now called XStreetSL? whatever! :) ). Under either name, its still my favorite way to shop in SL!

Now, placing ANYTHING in the sky, can be somewhat of a challenge. I suggest that once you find an altitude you think you like, click the build button, and drop a prim out. This way, you can rez things like skybox rezzors, or land border detectors.

So, this is REALLY simple. You rez a prim, at your desired altitude. Then rez the "Skybuild Land Border Detector V2". It comes out as a green trangle. You just click on the triangle, and a menu pops up, and you click "Find Border". THAT'S IT!

This little tool will run off, and find the corners of your lot, then come right back to you. It puts a marker on each corner, glowing, so you can see it (going to midnight will help with this). ALSO, you can click the tool again, and tell it to put a 'string' between the corners, so you can actually SEE the lot lines, at ALL altitudes. It is VERY VERY cool.

Once we had that out, putting up the skybox was a breeze. Moving it so that it fit within the lot lines, was SOO easy.

"Skybuild Land Border Detector V2" was created by Christi Whetmore. Christi not only sells this fantastically handy little tool on XStreetSL , but also has a cute little shop, located in the Telea SIM.

I want to personally THANK Christi for this little tool. I cannot believe I have put so many things in the air, WITHOUT IT!

So the next time you are even THINKING about putting something in the air over your land, go see Christi first, you will not be disappointed.

OH! and the best part? its only $99 Lindens! WHAT A DEAL!

Go get it, RIGHT NOW. And get one for a friend while you are at it!

So, as I mentioned in my last post, I have been popping around the new Showcase list, looking at what was there. Have to say I saw some amazing places, which I will go into more detail in a later posting.

For THIS post, I wanted to talk about what happened at one of these places, and what I have done since then.

So, I was just walking around this very nice sim, and some griefer walks up to me, starts swearing at me...and attacks me. I just cannot begin to tell you how pissed off I was. How some people can do that, is just so far out of my realm, that I have to admit, I am at a loss to explain it.

BUT...I started thinking. What can the Average Guy,do to protect himself in the future? And thus a journey began.

So, I started thinking about it. I have used weapons in SL, with my friends, and they can be lots of fun. But, I don't really have a need for them ALL the time. And, to be quite honest, I don't want to be walking around with some weapon hanging off me, JUST in case. Seems like the griefers would win in that case, causing me to change my SL behavior. Can't let THAT happen. :)

So, I started looking into shields. I played with alot of different ones, to see, first if they would actually work for what I wanted, and second, how easy they would work. I have to say, it was a VERY interesting experiment/test.

Now, after all my experiments and testing, I think I have found a VERY effective tool to use in these situations.

Now, just so you understand my modivation here, I was looking for something that could be easily deployed, and basically thwart these juvenile avatars, who think they are SOO funny, when disturbing other people. I was not looking for a weapon, cause that just feeds into the whole thing. Just something to keep them from causing you, as in me, to much hassle.

Most of the sheilds I found are part of an overall weapon system, which was way overkill for what I had in mind. I really had no desire for offensive weapons at this point, for many reasons (I plan on talking about weapons at a later time, for one reason..:) ).

The testing was interesting. I would go to a public sandbox, and basically stand around. Every so often, some avatar would come by and shoot me, or try and drop something on me...weird stuff like that, for no real reason. Was not like I had a sign over my head or something. (I did later, but I will get to that), but that does not seem to be that unusual.

On top of that, people leave traps, and other things around...to annoy people I guess. I started to notice...that my shields were activating....even though I could not see what was activating them. Was kinda interesting.

Now, as I said before, I use Mystitools, and there is a feature in Mystitools that tells me when something has collided with me. I have grown accustomed to that feature, and it would be a nice feature in a shield. I did find one that reported what hit it, but it was not my final pick, so, maybe for future updates...:)

Despite being that curious about what was trying to get to me, I thought about it and realized that to me, the main purpose of the shield was just to keep me where I was, not let some 12 yr old in a basement somewhere disturb me and what I was doing. Does that seem like too tall an order?

I thought about it more, and it seemed there were two scenarios that are part of this. 1) I am just out exploring, and some immature little brat who thinks its fun to be an ass comes along and tries to put a cage around me, or bump me or something, OR 2) I am in a sandbox, working on something, and these same idiots are just out to cause mischeif. Either way, I just dont want to be disturbed.

So, with that in mind, I started sorting through the different sheilds I could find, no matter if there were part of a weapons package or not. I even had a few friends, use some of thier weapons on me, to get a good feel for what the shield might really be capable of. Have to tell you...that part was kinda FUN!

Anyway, going through each one, looking at all thier options, how they worked, how easy was it to use, blah blah blah, I was getting pretty discouraged. Not at the products themselves, cause they were doing what they were designed to do, which was be a tool for battle, just that it was really more than I wanted.

Then it happened. I was looking through a weapons package, and I noticed a object called "Full Shields". Seemed odd, but I put it on. No hud to wear, I even was watching transparent prims, and nothing appeared around me. That in itself was odd, cause most of the shielding seemed to work by puting up an invisible set of prims around you, all the time. At first, I thought something was wrong, since I didn't seem to have actually done anything.

I just kept on working, and was just standing in the middle of a sandbox, sorting my recent inventory into some appropriate folders (I DO try and keep things sorted, but have to say, thank GOD for search), when I noticed something on the screen behind my inventory window. When I minimized it, I saw what looked like a shield, suddenly rezzing between me and this ball that was rolling around me.

Now, I have to admit..this shield thingy looked very cool. But I had no idea what it was. I did a quick filter on my inventory, to see what I was wearing, and quickly discovered that I was still wearing the "Full Shields". As I was doing this, some putz walks up to me...and starts shooting me! That is when the show REALLY started.

I pulled back my camera, and just watched for about 2 minutes, as this .. this ...PERSON, tried to throw everything he had at me, and this shield just kept blocking it, everything was just bouncing off, and I was not moving a centimeter (or even an inch!).

I have to admit, I was impressed. So, I started going around to different sandboxes, to see what would happend (seems there is never a griefer around, when you NEED one, SHEESH!). I also started digging a bit more into this shield I had found. My results were pretty consistant in the sandboxes, even had a few of these guys try and cage me, with very little success. Plus, I have to admit, was kinda fun to see them try!

This particular shield, was part of a bigger package called "Punisher HUD", which I will talk about in a minute. It also had some items called "Interceptors", which is kinda like a shield, but is suppose to "intercept" objects that are moving towards you. I played with those a bit also, and they were kinda interesting, and again, were very simple to use, just wear, and forget!

The "Full Shield" however, seemed to combine the "shield" and the "interceptor" parts, in a very easy to use package. So easy to use, that I would have recommended that people get the whole "Punisher HUD", just for the shielding! I had even thought of sending the creator a note, asking if he would consider selling the shields separatly. Come to find out, however, that the shields, and the interceptors, are ALREADY available separatly! WOOHOO!

Now, I might be able to make a case to go for the whole package anyway, and I will explain that in a moment, but I want to talk about the different components first.

Without getting all technical and such, there are some different options on the interceptors that I found interesting. There is an object interceptor, with different visual options (lights, bling, etc), and there is a Avatar Interceptor, with the same options, but instead of just blocking objects, it blocks Avatars from bumping you.

Most of the time, I think that would just be a nusance, but in certain situations, like working in a sandbox, I can see where that would be VERY handy. And again, VERY easy, just wear and forget!

So, after all this searching, and quite honestly, was not expecting to find anything that was helpful for my original quest, I am THRILLED to say, I think I found another tool, that will find a permanent place in my arsenal!

Ok, so here are the details. There are three actual product packages available. All three of these products are made by Flew Voom, and sold on SLX and Inworld, by B00tsy Compton. According to B00tsy's profile, that is the business account for Flew Voom. So, I guess that means they are one and the same..:)

Here are the links for SLExchange:

The Punisher HUD

The Pulsar R3 Interceptors

AND

The Pulsar R2 Shielding System

All three products are also available inworld at *$*BK*$* Weapons Store & Hangout

Prices are as follows:

Punisher HUD - $1250 Lindens

Pulsar R3 Interceptors only - $525 Lindens

Pulsar R2 Shielding System Only - $525 Lindens

Now, if you want some cool weapons along with these awesome shields, I would highly recomment the full Punisher HUD. PLUS, there is a feature that you can share the shields with a friend...which is a VERY cool feature.

NOW...for some pictures..:)



Just me, out for a nice casual stroll



A nafarious character appears



for NO apparent reason, lobs a grenade at me



and its quickly and effectively blocked by my SHIELDS!..YAY!



Then, an attempt to shoot me....



Which you can see, just bounced off, and actually almost got my attacker!



So then, figuring his weapons were ineffective, he would try and bump me..BUT NO DICE THERE EITHER!...muaahahaha



He keeps trying....obviously frustrated!



Tries one last time....and our little encounter is over...

I am always looking for good tools, so please don't hesitate to let me know what YOU like using in SL!

Till next time.

Hi there.

Ok, so I have talked about a couple of tools that I have found to be indispensible, that have been around for a LONG time. Now I have one that I really like, that is NEW! WOOHOO!

So, recently, my freebie, or maybe not a freebie (I have had it so long, I don't even remember) hugger, finally stopped working. I think it was the havok 4 upgrade that finally did it in. When I went to hug someone, I just would keep walking, and walking and walking...not really want I envisioned when I went to hug said person...:)

So, I started looking around for a new hugger, and being the SLX maniac that I am, I started there.

I happen to see on the preferred links...a couples kiss/hug animator by Meike Heston. I am always one to try something new, so I purchased it, cause it had some great reviews, and in the description, had some intriguing things to say...:)

My first reaction? WOW!

This HUD, has some VERY impressive features. In the description on SLX, it boasts a height adjustment system, but I really did not get to put that through its paces, cause the people I tend to hug, are usually of pretty normal height (so far...:) ), but it does sound impressive.

The HUD layout is very simple, not to big, but not so small that its hard to navigate. You can hide it simply enough, with just a click of a button, but the overall HUD is small enough that when I am wearing it, I don't mind having it open.



Scrolling through the animations is simple also, and the names of the different animations are very clear, which is nice. Just makes finding the appropriate animation for different people, very straight forward.

Now, for a VERY cool feature. There is a "HOLD" button...so say you are in a very involved dip kiss, and you don't want to stop...JUST yet...:) Just click "HOLD", and you will stay in that spot...till you tell it otherwise. VERY VERY cool feature! Nice work on this one Meike!

That feature addresses one of my pet peeves with several animation systems within SL, about lack of control, but that is a whole 'nother blog entry...:)

Overall, this is a fantastic system. The animations are nice, the control you have is great, the interface is simple yet functional, and it WORKS!..:)

You still have the issue about lining up properly with the person you are trying to kiss/hug/etc, which I do hope somebody comes up with a solution to that someday. I know I know, I am a dreamer, but I also know we have some VERY smart people building things in Second Life, Meike proving that with this current system.

Ok, so lets see, what else do you need to know. The "*Meike TM* Hug & Kiss 2.0 Deluxe" is available both on SL Exchange and at his Shop in the Waterton SIM, and it only costs $800 Lindens at both places.

There is a V1.2 available also, with only about 5 animations in it, but 1/2 the cost, but I tend to go with top of the line stuff, but I am sure that version is just as good as this one.

Also, Meike Heston's Shop also sells the animations IN this HUD, individually, plus some clothes, and even a poofer thingy...:)

Anyway....nice to see some NEW stuff come out, that somebody really put some thought behind!

SEE YA!

Greetings!

Ok, now, my second most used tool...is definitely one that is not as well known, but I fell in love with it many years ago, and have not found anything yet that comes close.

This little tool is called Tracker HUD V1. It is a radar (we will have to count how many radars I actually have running at some point), and it actually LOOKS like a radar, with spinning green line going around in a circle!...I think that is one reason I like it!

I have had this tool, for at least two years, and its still at V1, which actually is pretty amazing. It has continued to work through all the upgrade Second Life has thrown at it, which I think is a pretty good testament to the product.

But not only is it a radar, it shows you WHERE the avatars around you are, even indicates if they are above or below you...which can be VERY handy.

It has several other features also, like a flight assist, and a platform generator which I find myself using quite a bit actually. VERY helpful if you are trying to place something in the sky. You just fly up to the height you want, hit a button, and VOILA!, you have a building platform, that you can rez a skybox, or whatever it is you want...right there.

You can also add avatar names to a list...so if those avatars are within 96 meters of you...their dot will show up in red. Can be handy, to avoid those weird avatars that JUST WONT LEAVE YOU ALONE!...:)

It must be the latent aviator in me (more about THAT later...:) but I like seeing my little radar going around at the bottom right of my screen...*laughs

Here is a shot of how the HUD looks



Tracker HUD also has a object scanner, but I don't use that much. I just load this HUD every day, and it helps me keep track of what is going on around me. It can be VERY helpful when out at a club...or shopping with friends....to keep track of them...:)

Now, when I first found this tool, it was available on SL Exchange, but I cannot seem to find it there anymore.

The only place that it seems to be still available is at one shop inworld located at Galactic Mall, in the Shinda SIM for $1,500 lindens.

Now, I know that seems like a lot of lindens....but....for all that I use it for...it has been a great investment!

So, to recap:

Tracker HUD V1 - Available at Galactic Mall for $1500 Lindens.

Great little tool....one of my few real keepers!

LATER!

Hello again!

Ok, as I previously blogged, as I have been creating this avatar, I was thinking about what I use in my Second Life every day. What do I have on my screen all the time...

I have a couple of tools that I use everyday, and the first one I am gonna talk about is called MystiTools.

MystiTools, is a very small HUD that I have running all the time. It is basically a set of tools and options, that have been put together by Mystical Cookie.

I put my MystiTool in my upper right hand corner of my screen. MystiTool has LOTS of features, but here are the ones I use daily.

1. Radar: MystiTools radar notifies me in local IM (not in the menus, but in chat) when an avatar comes into chat range (more on radars in a later blog post..:) ). Its pretty convenient when I am walking around....watching chat..and to see who is around.

2. Idle Set: This little feature is wonderful. I can set it, and walk away from my computer for a while...and it keeps Second Life from logging me out. Its great for when you know the grid is having trouble, and if you log out, you are screwed.

3. Teleport History: This is a great way for me to find that wonderful spot I found YESTERDAY, but forgot to Landmark it. Great when shopping too!

4. Land Commands: A great way to control access to your land, banning griefers, etc, right from the menu!

5. Landmarks: I drag my most used Landmarks to this tool, and they are just a mouse click away! LOVE this feature!

and lots lots more!

I don't intend this to be a comprehensive review, just my notes on WHY this tool has become indispensable for me.

Now, you can get MystiTool both from SLExchange for $423 Lindens

OR

from Mystical's cute little shop in the Avendale Sim for $396 Lindens

(btw, if you look at the SLX link, it will show you ALOT about the tool also, many of the features are listed there)

She has some other interesting items in her shop, which I will probably talk about at some point in the future.

The Avendale SIM, by the way...is actually a very nice little sim, with several shops around it, even a fishing hole. Here are some pictures of some of the things I found:


Gotta Love some of the vehicles you find around Second Life!















AND ... whats a fire truck ... without the fire DOG!















This HUGE Teddy Bear was walking around, looking around, and even breathing ... VERY CUTE!















I have NO idea what this is ... but it looks VERY cool!















Ok, here is the info again.

MystiTool is available in the following locations:

SL Exchange for $423 Lindens

OR

Mystical's Shop for $396 Lindens

Till next time!