History: Looking for Linden Bears - Updated February 9, 2022


Concierge Linden Bear at 1-World Village in Meiji West on the Old 'Teen Grid'. 

"NOW this is the next tale, and it tells how the residents of Second Life used to get Linden Bears.
In the beginning of Second Life, when the world was so new and all, and the residents and the Lindens were just beginning to build the world that became Second Life, the Lindens used to come down to Second Life and walk the land in avatar form. There were not that many residents, and what Lindens there were were eager to make this new world a success, so the Lindens set up office hours, and resident/Linden committees and work groups, and even set up houses in Linden Village so that they could foster good resident/Linden communications.
And some of the Lindens started to hand out bears that were unique to each Linden, and it became a thing to ask any Linden you saw for a bear, and there were also Linden Bears given out on special occasions, and residents started to collect them. And, Oh Best Beloved, I am told there were eventually over 169 different bears. "

I came to Second Life after it was already settled and in some ways it was like coming into a theater after the movie had started. Second Life had already existed for ten years when I arrived, and the population had grown. Generations of Lindens have come and gone, and Linden* sightings are rare, and Lindens-who-give-out-bears are even rarer.  I figure the odds of running into a live Linden in Second Life are about the same as running into the President when you are on a public tour of the White House, but hey, the Lindens and the President have more important things to do....


Still...I'm interested in history and I was intrigued by Ferd /Frederix's article on "How to Find and Get Linden Bears in Second Life" on www.outworldz.comI followed his clues and found a few of my own Linden Bears.


White bear, bottom shelf right. 

I got Nichol Linden's prototype bear at the corner office in Linden Estate Services.



I found the Elle, Sejong Koala and Concierge Linden Bears in the 1-World Village in Meiji West. I also found a gift bag containing a free hippo avatar.

'ware hippos - but that's another story...

I found the Scottie Bear by Lynx Linden in Pooley.


I followed the clues from the white bear on the railing of Simon Linden's house in Denby and got a Simon Linden Bear (eventually).
Where's the bear from Soft Linden? I know he's around here somewhere.

Having run out of Ferd's clues I kept looking. I found bears from Kelly, Kyle, Dakota, Alexa and Skylar Linden on the Marketplace. 

In Rizal I played a "Claw" game and got a stuffed Mole toy and a shoulder teddy,
Shoulder bear - not really a Linden Bear, but still cute

and then at Pyri I clicked on some of the game booths and got a Pyri Mole/Mermaid
but after that I ran out of places to look. I asked in the forums if anyone had any clues on finding more Linden Bears, but I was told that "that ship has pretty much sailed." 


Winterfest 2009 Bear


Added:  Thank you to MangroveJane for pointing out the Winterfest 2009 Bear on the Alpine Trail in  Zermatt. I've also added that information to the notecard at the Tourist Information Center. 

Added 5-15-2019: I revisited this hunt and found another collectable Linden Bear by camming around the I-World Village. I also followed additional clues from the Footnotes at http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Linden_Bear and didn't find any more. Still, it was fun to look, and I learned a bit more about Second Life History. Happy hunting!
Added 6-24-2021: "Bear Island" at the Second Life Birthday Party shows up every five years. The last time was at SL15B. Right now we are celebrating SL18B, so (if my math is correct) the next Bear Island should appear at SL20B.


-------------
*Identifying Lindens:
  1. Their name should be _______Linden
  2. On their profile it should say "Linden Lab Employee"
  3. If they chat with you, their text chat should be in blue.
  4. If you meet a Linden one day and if the next time you see them they don't remember you, it could be because several Lindens were sharing a "Meta Linden"avatar  -that is - one avatar run by a team of different Lindens. Sort of like "Ronald McDonald".
  5. Their title text, like their chat text, may be blue. I suspect there may be ways to game the system.


Because Linden sightings can cause sim crashes, it is more likely that Lindens who do come inworld these days come as alts, so they could be anywhere.

Addendum 7-8-2019: Well, it seems that as soon as I write about something in Second Life, everything changes. Both the Moles and the Lindens have been showing up inworld in greater number these days, and I have been fortunate enough to have seen quite a few of them. They are being generous of their time. I'm glad to be wrong. Thank you, Moles and Lindens!

Addendum 2-9-22.  Visited http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dechene/139/110/101 Claire Atheria's "Bear Castle" in Dechene.  She has put together a fabulous display of all kinds of bears, and she has a freebie dispenser offering over 50 more free bears!

Her notecard also directed me to find MORE free bears - including one you find by walking into a trash can in London City.  She also provided the clue so I could get the bear out of the safe at Melanthea Station!  

Private Railways in Second Life

But wait, there's more...

When I started researching railroads in Second Life I was surprised by how many different ones there were. Here are some of my favorites.
2nd Norway
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Takosund/144/216/7 - this sleek shuttle connects all three of the airport sims.

Jimbo's Railway 
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hwang/221/87/86 - This little engine covers a lot of territory. Look out for tunnels!

Vintage on the surface, but try a bullet train to the stars!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Shikoku/168/241/51 - This sim has traditional trains on the surface, but The Nakamori Galaxy Express leaves the surface and visit other planets and space stations.  Although there are some glitches along the way, I found that taking the train to the Andromeda Galaxy was a very interesting experience. This creator has tremndous imagination.


Train in Neverland
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/NeverLand/252/254/25 - A Michael Jackson fan has made a faithful reproduction of Neverland as it was in its heyday. Besides the train there are amusement rides, a zoo, and a skating rink. The grounds are beautiful.


New York Train 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/SouthernTier%20New%20York/168/107/23 - This is actually an island/continent with faithful reproductions of buildings and transportation systems including some very nicely detailed trains.


Train in Grateful Dead Sim 
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/DarkStar/74/219/25 - Terrapin Station is the place to catch a train to see this Grateful Dead fan's sim.  There is a flea market near Mars Hotel (also a museum) and teleports to many interesting areas. (On my last visit the train was out of service, but you can use the teleports.)

Train in Whimsy Kaboom

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Whimsy/3/108/35 Whimsy and Whimsy Kaboom has dozens of great attractions besides the Whimsy train. One of my favorite places here is the Robot Sanitorium. 


You can go anywhere on a train

If you like trains, why not make your own railroad? Here in Yeodeol is a place that will sell you some supplies.Yeodeoltrains.jpg


Art In Second Life: Patrick Moya




ART IN SECOND LIFE; PATRICK MOYA'S MOYA LAND


Patrick Moya is an artist in Real Life and in Second Life. He is one of the first physical world artists to investigate the possibilities of digital art, and I think that Second Life is a perfect showcase for his work.

Moya Land is hard to describe. It is huge, covering four sims, and crowded with an exhuberant display of his work in many media.  I find it to be as wonderful as a brand new box of crayons.

 Information Center. 

Patrick Moya's early career included working as a nude model, and it has been suggested that this helped him overcome any false modesty so that he could use a self-representation of himself - a 'moya' (the 'little Moya') as a central theme in his art. Moya is the creator, the audience, and the show itself

In addition to the many 'moyas', his last name, MOYA,  is everywhere, from simple sculptures made of the letters "M", "O", "Y", and "A" to immense structures that house galleries of his work, art within art.

Another common motif is a sheep named "Dolly", often found dancing. The artist himself is usually depicted as a short balding cartoonish character, but also as the winged male avatar he sometimes wears in Second Life.
.

His website shows many of his projects and some of his real life exhibitions have been reproduced in Moya Land.  

Besides the replicas of real life artwork, there is other art that could only exist in Second Life.

There is very little for sale here, although there is a boutique with a nice selection of free t-shirts.

Everywhere in Moya Land there are places to explore, and things you can ride on. Sometimes, for a change of pace, you will find pieces of non-Moya art exhibited, but they seem rather dull compared to Moya's work. All in all, I find Moya Land amazing, and even though parts of it still confuse me, it always makes me think.

Look for the giant statue of Moya. There is an elevator outside one leg, and a teleport inside the other.





(This is the third update to the original blogpost, since Moya Land changes every time I visit.)








Sailing and Boating in Second Life




















"Nice? It's the only thing," said the Water Rat solemnly as he leant forward for his stroke. 
"Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing—absolute nothing—half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. "

Kenneth Grahame in Wind in the Willows





Sailing and Boating in Second Life


In Second Life you can mess around in rowboats, or yachts, or pirate ships, or yellow submarines or....well, you get the picture.


The best part is that you don't have to spend any money to start. Several places offer free sailboats, and there are many places to sail.

Pick up a free sailboat:

The one in the top picture was from the Barbarossa Info Hub, but you can get other models at Public Rezz sites like the Bay City Marina in New Port, and from places like Tradewinds Yacht Club and Starboards Yacht Club.

Buying a sailing vessel:

If you want something fancier, you might try Trudeau Classic Sailing Yachts, among others. Since I have never bought anything bigger than a rowboat*, I can't make any recommendations, but I have seen some magnificent yachts and cruise ships that made my mouth water...

Where to sail: 

Here is a short list.  The Blake Sea area is probably the most popular, but anywhere you can rezz a boat is fine. Try to avoid areas where they are having boat races or naval battles

Learning More:

I searched for "Boating" and "Yacht Clubs" and here are some other places to visit

Tradewinds Yacht Club:  I visited a lot of "Yacht Clubs" but I liked this one the best. Nothing fancy, but they have several free sailboats and a small store.   /https://sites.google.com/site/tradewindsyc/  The website has calendars of sailing events, links to video tutorials, and even directions on how to build your own boat.

Starboards Yacht Club: In Hollywood, has a large freebie section and a museum. There was a written self-paced course on one wall, as well as a navigation chart.  http://starboardsyachtclub.blogspot.com
Something about this logo looks familiar...
If you want something a little less traditional, you can take a free cruise on a yellow submarine in Stonehenge, although I have to warn you that this is in an adult sim, and even reading the landmark description might offend some people.

The $L99 Yellow Submarine

If you are interested in older sailing ships, be sure to visit the the Arcadia Aley Asylum area in Mieville Pond, where you can get free copies of many kinds of sailing ships.
One of the many free sailing ships. 
I like the little Aley battle boat (below). It has an option to explode and leave you in the water surrounded by floating debris.

Hippo, newbs, & chicken not included...

Other ships to visit:

You can find a recreation of the USS Reprisal in the water not far from the Zebrasil Infohub.
A recreation of one of the old flat-decked aircraft carriers. 

There is a recreation of the Titanic in SecondLife now - I think it may be a temporary exhibit, but perhaps they will make it more permanent.  One problem - they want you to visit wearing a human, non-pregnant avatar and they want you to wear formal dress.  An avatar/dress code is unusual in Second Life. Fortunately I had a ball gown.


If you have a magifying glass, you might see the little figures at the bow
 who were having a great time recreating scenes from the movie "Titanic".


Miscellaneous: In addition to other websites listed, there is a Second Life Sailing Forum at http://forum.slsailing.coand a virtual world sailing website at http://virtualworldsailing.com

Wind: There is wind in Second Life, but many sailors argue that it is unreliable, so it is possible to set your own wind, or just ignore it.


























Rowboats:

For now, you can try out a rowboat at the Tourist Information Center in Cecropia. Click on the bright red rectangle on the pier and a rowboat should rezz.  Left click on the center seat and select "Row" then click again to get oars (you will have to go into Recent Inventory and select 'wear'). After you've got the oars another passenger can board and take the stern seat.  Navigate by using your directional keys or game controller. You can go north for a short trip to the interesting sim of Calleta, or go south and left around the edge of the sim and then head south to take the ANWR channel to Sansar. 

Rowboat in waters near Cecropia. (I used atmosphere settings).

When you stand up, the boat will disappear, so you might want to detach the oars before you stand up.

Note that this version of the rowboat has fewer animations than the original item on the Marketplace.

*I am making a boat now, using several different resources.













Learning to Build In Second Life - Part 1: Places to Learn

When I was a kid my brother and I used to make competing block structures and then shoot at them with a toy cannon. I learned to build solid.

Later we used to make little houses out of hay bales, and when I was a teen I built (with a little help) a horse corral and shed.

Now as an adult my RL building is limited. If I want a new house I will have to buy it from someone else, or work with architects and contractors and follow the building codes -- but in Second Life I can make my own home. "It's not much, but it's home."  It's one of the things I enjoy most in Second Life.

Trying to learn building on your own in SL can be frustrating.

Here is some information to get you started:


THE BASICS: BUILDING WITH PRIMS:

Ivory Tower Library of Primitives:


Ivory Tower of Prims - Natoma

Resident Lumiere Noir built the first Ivory Tower Library of Primitives (ITLP) in Noyo in 2004 - but added an annex in Natoma in 2007.  The Tower in Noya no longer exists, but there is a third Tower on Tutorial Island*.  Both existing Towers offer numerous stations which give short notecard tutorials and show examples of dealing with primitives. You can collect the notecards and then experiment on your own in the adjacent sandboxes. See this site for more detailed information. Torley also has a video on UTube.

The first station - hard to miss!





















Both of the Towers have several floors of self-paced tutorial modules, but there is some difference in layout and content between the Natoma and the Tutorial Island ITLP like the fact that Natoma has stairs between floors, while the Tutorial Island Tower uses teleports between floors.  Also, I was able to do some of the building exercises inside the Tower at Natoma, but not inside the Tower at Tutorial Island. I would suggest visiting them both.

Note: I found a "Vehicle Laboratory" between two floors, but couldn't find any way to get there except to camming in to the silver rocket there and clicking on it.

TWO MAJOR BUILDING SCHOOLS


Happy Hippo:

This is my favorite building school. I have spent many happy hours sitting in front of their free tutorial boards,  playing with prims. **  They offer many free tutorials, and even provide the textures. 

Starting page of one class 
Step one to building a Roman chair. 
After you've learned the basics from the free tutorials, you can buy advanced classes in their store, as well as pick up some excellent freebies.  If you join the Happy Hippo class you will be able to join group chat and get announcements about classes and events.


Builder's Brewery:

Builder's Brewery offers frequent classes on different aspects of building. You can access their schedule online and add reminders about the classes you want to take to Google Calendar. They also have a store and a Creator's Village.

Class schedule and announcement at Builder's Brewery.

OTHER PLACES TO LEARN:

Most of these are places that offer many different kinds of resources, but if you join the groups you will be alerted when they have a building class.

Helping Haven:

Sandbox at Helping Haven




















Helping Haven has a wide range of resources for newcomers, and they also offer building classes.

Caledon Oxbridge: 

In addition to their excellent newcomer orientation area, Caldeon also offers many different classes. Classes and events are also posted online.


Class schedule at Caledon Oxbridge 

The Lilliputian Isles

This is an updated version of what I posted on my blog Warty Bliggens back in July 2015. I first found out about this chain of islands, and many other places in Second Life, in a 2014 forum post by Resident Curious Hazelnut. She wrote:

Quote:

yet anther series of islands with a mini quest: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Danu/190/57/40

Unquote....

but that got me started.

The Second Life Wiki had a little more information.

Quote:

Lilliputian Isles

This is a chain of islands themed for unusually small avatars. While anyone can visit, if you're bipedal and under a meter tall you'll find the furnishings scaled to fit you.

Formidable

Formidable.png
Explore this small-scale old stone fortress. Fire off the zap cannons, sunbathe on the rooftop garden, loot some treasure, or sit around and fish.





Unquote....

The Lilliputian Isles off the Northeast Coast of Satori




















Although the Lilliputian Isles are off the coast of Satori, they appear to have been completed some time afterwards, so I am putting them in a separate entry.

The best way to visit is to teleport or fly between islands. Be aware that the islands are at the edge of the universe, so you will have to detour around some empty spots rather than fly in a direct line all the time. You can also take one of the frequent Yavapod tours connecting the islands, or you can sail between the islands if you are careful.

Start at Danu. The first clue that these islands were made for tinies is the gate you can see in the wall across the island.  If you are too tall, you won't be able to get through the gate. I couldn't find the Inworld place I got a free tiny avatar last year, so you may have to go to the Marketplace. If you don't mind paying a few Lindens, I like my cat avatar from Kowloon, and my hedgehog from Wynxworks.

The gate in Danu. (In my house, the cat always thinks he is on the wrong side of the door.)
Next stop is the lighthouse in Redoubtable.  If you go inside, you will see that it is called the Tiny Isles Quest Hub.  I do not know why it is called that. A search for "Tiny Isles Quest" leads me to this, and that is the only clue I have so far.

The cat looks in a drawer.
Stop at the small island between the lighthouse and the next large island in Intrepid. You will find a ruined tower, and nearby,  a coracle just the right size for tinies.

As you approach the larger island, the Tiny Isle of Mist, you will get a message that this is a place best explored by night.
Approaching the Tiny Isle of Mist. Environment set to "Midnight".

There is a mini-quest on the Tiny Isle of Mist, but I am not going to give you many clues here - just explore everything and read the messages you get when you touch things. I love the whole island, and wish I had the skills to make a place like this.

There is a Fairy Grove on Brillant, but I have never been able to catch a fairy there.

Genereux has a deserted village. The houses look like vases, or giant pods.  Yet another mystery.

My cat finds the most comfortable pod on the island.

Glorieux is a base for construction vehicles used by the Linden Department of Public Works. One of these days I'm going to find one of the vehicles unlocked....

An LDPW Construction Site 

Next stop, Meauxle Bureaux. This "Mole Village" was originally built by Kayle Matzerath for the 2012 Fantasy Faire (an event to raise money for the American Cancer Society). Instead of being demolished at the end of the event,  Linden Lab acquired the whole build and moved it to this site. The places that used to hold Faire merchants are now furnished to represent homes of the Linden Moles.


Each home is unique, and it would take many days to explore everything. This time I explored a room with a lot of books, a nice fire, and a cozy rug. Oops - when I went outside I saw the sign says that this room was for Michael Linden. I'm sure glad it was not his real home.

Taking a catnap on a soft rug. 
Formidable is a fort placed on an island that has seen recent volcanic activity. Investigate the rooms, try out the guns, but watch out for boobytraps!

I don't know why a cat can't be king!

The last island is Impetueux - there is nothing there especially to suggest it was made for tinies, except that it has a French name, like most of the others.

I hope you enjoy visiting the Lilliputian Isles.




















Know the Mainland: Satori (Updated February 1, 2021)





In a world where most people travel by teleport, it is easy to forget what sim or continent you are on in Second Life . This is a brief guide to Satori, the fourth continent.

Yavapod Map showing Satori as it was in 2016. The light blue lines indicate the routes of the Yavapod tours. 



Satori was the fourth continent created in Second Life, after Sansar, Heterocera, and Jeogeot, and the first of the 'eastern' continents. It was started in February 2007 and the land portion was finished on June 18th of the same year. I have read that it was originally called Maebaleia (In Portuguese "Mae" is 'Mother' and "baleia"  is 'whale', so Maebaleia apparently means "Mother Whale") and you will see it listed as both "Satori" and "Maebaleia". If you look at the map, it is easy to imagine a whale with a calf.

Some people thought that "Maebaleia" was too hard to spell, and after a vote on the old SL forums the name was changed to "Satori". One meaning of "Satori" is "enlightenment". It has also been called the "Asian" or the "Japanese" continent, and the frequent signboards echo an eastern style theme.


In March 2007 Second Life resident Dimitrio Lewis flew over the new continent as it was under construction:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9tpUP65d54BasenShishapangaSRowan

To get an historical perspective: In 2007, when this continent was constructed,  the media was full of articles about Second Life. It was less than a year since Ansche Chung's picture had been on the cover of Business Week, and there were many residents wanting land. According to the old forums, the Lindens were auctioning off multiple sims at a time, and some went for very high sums.

One of the map stations throughout the Satori network. 







































It was not until late in the next year that the roads in Satori (Route 8, 8A, 8B, 8C, and the Old Wagon Road) were completed.  Because some of the sims that were in the right-of-ways had been sold, many roads have dead ends and are connected by false tunnels with teleports, or billboards with teleports. The map kiosks along the road are a big help.

See the Second Life Wiki for more information on the Satori Network. I have to hand it to the moles that built the roads, considering the difficulties they had to overcome. Without the constant map posters, it would be easy to get lost. 


A teleport billboard at a dead end. You click on it to be teleported to the other end of the road.

The Dead End Diner 
The terrain consists of higher and lower plains and some plateaus. There don't seem to be any rivers - the lakes are endorheic (closed drianage with no outflow) and shallow. The highest 'mountain' in Gatchina Region is only 129m high.

Many of the 709 sims in Satori have no road or water access. Because Linden Labs sold a lot of water land all along the shore there are places where you cannot sail because resident's builds block what would have been a nice sailing route. There are still many places with nice sailing, but I believe it is impossible to circumnavigate Satori by sea. Sailing is more popular along the northern shore, because you can sail to Nautilus and some further parts. I found that you could sail from Tuulikki Castaway Beach Rez Zone in South Satori north to Nautilus, with some twists and turns. Flying is popular and there are several busy airports.


Where two roads meet. 

There are several mole-built coastal islands that were built later, which I will discuss in a separate article. Meauxte Bureaux is the most famous.

Map of the Mainland Continents - the left is a close-up of the first Mainland, on the right is a map showing all eight Mainland 'continents'. Privately-owned islands are not shown. 


The next Linden Project was Nautilus, then Corsica, Gaeta V, and Gaeta 1. As each of these new regions opened up they attracted new residents, and by the time Gaeta 1 came online the demand for new land had levelled out.

Satori contains many pleasant areas and some of my favorite places, and while there are some very popular areas there is also a lot of empty space.

If you visit:

Start at the Southern end of Route 8 at Bagheera. There is a large map kiosk there. If you follow Route 8 north and then around the curve to start South again, you will come to a teleport tunnel at Bietschhorn. From there you can use the Second Life Map if you want to travel all the routes. I will be making a separate notecard just for the Satori network.

The easiest way to get around would be to take a Yavapod tour - there are three pod stations in Satori - check the Yavapod notecard for exact coordinates.
..........................................................................................................................................................

I am indebted to the following sources:



Ana Imfinity's SLGI Wikia http://slgi.wikia.com/wiki/SLGI_Wiki and her contributions to the Second Life Wiki http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Satori  

I also got information from Virtual Christine’s “Guide to Second Life Geography”, http://virtualchristine.com/2011/07/02/the-fourth-virtualchristine-newbie-guide-to-second-life-geography/  (As of 5-3-2021 this blog is no longer there, and I can find no trace of Virtual Christine anywhere.)

Most recently I found the most excellent blog, Second Highways, which gives detailed driving instructions for driving the Satori Routes. 

About naming the continent: apparently there was a resident vote http://forums-archive.secondlife.com/327/c5/213526/1.   and the name Satori – the Japanese Continent was chosen. Satori is the goal of Zen.

Old forum guides;    http://forums-archive.secondlife.com/327/c5/213526/1.html  (September 2007)

and from the SL Aviation Wikia http://sl-aviation.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Airports

One of the best resources is Dahlia Jayaram’s The Great Balloon Adventure: Satori 

https://issuu.com/dahliasweet/docs/thegreatballoonadventuresatori on issu

- I was fortunate to chat with Dahlia Jayaram when I was wrapping up my final exploration of Satori and she was kind enough to give me a lot of information for my Tourist Information Center and a link to another explorer's adventures in Satori: 



Also see Virtual World Sailing http://www.virtualworldsailing.com/index.php?/topic/153-exploration-of-satori-continent/  September 2014

You will not be able to recreate any of these travels - things on the Mainland change constantly - but whatever you do, it will be your own adventure. 


A notecard with landmarks is available at my Unofficial Tourist Information Office in Maryport, Second Life. 

Nostalgia by Cica Ghost in Second Life

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mysterious%20Isle/112/113/27 At the exhibit you can get a free ventilator hat almost like Cica's B...