Off to See the Sights

Gentle Readers, I shall be away for a week or so to see the sights. I look forward to visiting Paris again. Being a bit--a lot--afraid of heights, I do not know if I will ascend into that engineering marvel of a Tower. Perhaps I will have a crepe and wait at its base, but at some point I shall definitely sit at a cafe and partake of coffee and people watching...I am also spending time in another favorite city, London, which greatly reminds me of my own home city. I love the hustle and bustle there...And friends will be taking us on a side trip to visit Glastonbury. I look forward to seeing the Tor and the Abbey ruins...
I shall be back on the 9th and will resume this aethernet journal upon my return. Do try to not destroy the Grid in my absence. Think of the hopping bunnies.

Caledon Project: Day 12, Caledon Wellsian

Journal Entry, Day 12, Caledon Wellsian
I hiked up into the mountains in Wellsian. It has always had a rather rugged feel to me, with its crisscrossing of railway and mining car tracks. While the northern side is walkable and along the coast of the waters there, its southern coast has always felt a bit more inaccessible to visitors. To me, it is Wellsian's mountains that define it most and you will find paths cuts through them that lead across the Northern sims...

Caledon Project: Day 11, Caledon Morgaine

Journal Entry, Day 11, Caledon Morgaine
I remember watching Morgaine's floating cavorite-laden mountain rise into the air. It is a wonder of Caledon. Morgaine itself is mainly residential, especially within its central section, where waters from the Firth wind through. It is not really an easily "walkable" sim given its configuration, but I did find some things of interest besides the mountain...a cavorite factory (presumably to take advantage of the mountain's resources) and one resident's fortifications. If anything, Morgaine would be well-defended from any attacks coming in from the Firth...

Caledon Project: Day 10, Caledon Cape Wrath

Journal Entry, Day 10, Caledon Cape Wrath
Cape Wrath has the distinction of being the first Caledon sim to connect to another nation. With its joining to Winterfell, the "Realm of the Roses" was established. I remember watching its new land spread itself out and running across it with others, including the Guvnah, to talk to Winterfell folks on the other side. Cape Wrath seems to be a quiet port town sim, with little shops and residences. One can stand and look across at Winterfell or enjoy the view from the higher part of Cape Wrath, which allows you to see most of the sim...

Steelhead's Street Signs

As part of Lunar's ongoing civic beautification projects in Steelhead, he has placed street signs all over town...
He recruited me to make the signs themselves. Each sim has a different icon: the Steelhead flag for Capital City, Narrows Bridge for Harborside, a trout for Boomtown and the bridge arch for Port Harbor. The street that ends at my home in Harborside has one of the most unusual names in Steelhead...How did it get that name? I suggested it since Tensai set my seagull afire almost as soon as rental poles were put up in Harborside. I just never bothered to douse the flames. The gull does not seem to mind...

Steelhead Town Meeting: 7/21 & Shanghai Map is Out!

We gathered for the weekly Steelhead town meeting last night. At one point Miss Rossi Portland floated in the air and twirled for a moment. I would say that was unusual, but we all know better when it comes to our meetings. We discussed SL RFL and the Salmons raised over $229, 300L! We also ranked as the #5 team overall for offline donations, reaching a total so far of $925 USD. 93% of our goal of $1000 USD, with with Frau Lowey being #4 in terms of raising offline donations overall.

The map for Steelhead Shanghai is now available in the Town Hall foyer for viewing. By the looks of its layout, it promises to be an interesting, exciting new sim! If you would like a lot for yourself, please contact TotalLunar Eclipse.

For more meeting goings-on and Steelhead events and information, please click HERE.

Steelhead Museum of Historic Preservation Open!

I've been hard at work for the past month making the Steelhead Museum of Historic Preservation, which is located in Steelhead Harborside. It is in a re-creation I built inspired by the real-life 1897 Antelope Community Church located in Antelope, OR. Its exhibit--showing Steelhead's virtual builds and their real-life counterparts--also includes preservation information and links to national and Pacific Northwest historic preservation websites so that visitors may find out more information...Steelhead is a town with beautiful architecture. As you stroll through it, you will come across many buildings that are inspired by real life structures. Look for the site markers that allow you to click on them to find out more about its RL inspiration...
SL is a fantastic medium for builders and architects, enabling them to use it to re-create historic buildings and structures. In turn, this allows citizens from around the world to visit and appreciate them as well. I created this museum so that others can learn more about these historic structures and perhaps become inspired to look at, or even help to preserve or save, the ones in their RL communities. To visit the Museum, click HERE...http://slurl.com/secondlife/Steelhead%20Harborside/117/90/25

The Steamlands Sims at RFL

Relay weekend is now over. One thing about spending a lot of time of the track itself is not having a chance to truly enjoy the sims, so I returned later on to see the Steamlands sims in particular now that it was quiet and more lag-free. First, is the build for Steelhead, with its quiet Crescent Lake, Oregon build...
New Babbage's "Exposition" build...The Vicereine's "Metropolis" build...The Mars build...And Caledon's...

Preparing to Relay

It is that time of year, and the Steelhead Salmons team's site at the SL RFL is a spectacular build by Lunar recreating the Pacific Northwest. A place of calm with a mountain and a central lake that you can swim (or be mer) and fish in, you can explore its forests or visit its re-creations of Oregon's Vista House. In Steelhead style, we held our Friday night dance there to kick off our RFL activities...See you all tomorrow at the Relay!

Under Boomtown

Lunar has been hard at work in Boomtown, working on its tunnels and restoring its gardens. I caught up with him underground. If you explore, you will find this cozy resting place to be able to relax a bit yourself!

Town Meeting: Steelhead Shanghai Now Prebooking

At last night's town meeting, Lunar announced the prebooking for the next Steelhead sim: Steelhead Shanghai. A steampunk port town with an Asian feel and an enforced theme, it promises to be something truly unique. If that sounds interesting to you, contact TotalLunar Eclipse and book a lot for yourself!
To read more about the Steelhead Shanghai announcement and other town meeting hijinks and goings-on, please click HERE.Also, Hotspur O'Toole announced that he will be leaving SL for an indefinite amount of time. I looked over from my lighthouse roof and saw him there at Polymath. I wish you well and return to Steelhead soon sir!

A Bit of a Change

As Tensai managed to break the moon, Steelhead's resident moon elf and manager is, well...human...

New Babbage Town Meeting

I attended New Babbage's town meeting today. It is always interesting to see how another community ticks...

Caledon Project: Day 9, Caledon Brigadoon

Journal Entry, Day 9, Caledon Brigadoon
Upon my arrival in Caledon Brigadoon, I looked at the almost lavendar stones of the walkways and smiled. It'll be a while before I'm on an island, I thought. I looked out over the central valley, knowing that once a month a lovely little village appears and then disappears into the mist once more. I walked over one of the hills and landed in what I could best describe as "critter glen", as it was filled with deer, badgers and...snakes. I had best move on...

Surveying the Rubble

Yes, I am the little Ollipog pitcher plant standing next to Lunar as Mr Cato Quan puts out the fire at Lunar's home. It seems that Dr Alter, Steelhead's resident evil tiny kitty, had a bit of a fit while in werecat form the night before and a brass chicken was involved. Despite the protestations of her minion, who proclaimed her innocence, there are moments that I think I just do not want to know. Only in Steelhead.

Caledon Project: Day 8, Caledon Strathspey

Journal Entry, Day 8, Caledon Strathspey
Owned by His Grace Aberdon Enigma, the first things I thought upon arriving at Caledon Strathspey was "Please, surprise me. Have something worth my seeing here, please." It is a small island duchy, so perhaps that was an unfair thought to think at first...and then...I really was pleasantly surprised. Strathspey is barren and rocky with fields of wildflower grass. I imagined just hearing my footsteps, the waves and the wind as I came upon fantastic castle ruins. For an explorer like myself, I found Strathspey enchanting not only because of how spare it was, but because it felt like a place all could visit.

Steelhead Town Meeting: July 7

As you can see from the photo, Tensai was in her Dangerkitty form. She says it was an adverse reaction from DNA and catfood testing. For more goings-on and events in Steelhead, click HERE to read highlights from last night's meeting.

Caledon Project, Day 7: Caledon Cavendish

Journal Entry, Day 7, Caledon Cavendish
Caledon Cavendish is owned by Her Grace Eleanor Anderton. There is a very lovely manor home and stable. I believe I might start categorizing some of these duchies as truly "private estate" duchies--not much to see there and not necessarily "public-friendly" places. No different than a large estate on Caledon's "regular" sims, but with it being a duchy...what do you do? For instance, there is a beautiful quiet spot there...but is the public able to sit there? As I mentioned in my last journal entry, these are the kinds of questions I've been wrestling with so far. If anything, I believe that the AV limits on these sims have severely limited the public's ability to interact on these sims as the owners are unable to hold large-scale events as they were able to in the past. Lots to think about...

New Release: Seaside Summer Dress

Inspired by a favorite painting by Tissot, the Seaside is a beautiful flirty summer dress perfect for soirees or leisurely strolls. A slim silhouette, it comes with a sheer jacket with lace cuffs and sculpted bows, as well as a fluttery train and cascades of ruffles that flatter your every move.

It is available in Sky, Rose, Aubergine and Canary, as well as all four colors at E.Laval shops in Caledon Regency and Steelhead City.

Inspiration for the Seaside Dress

The Seaside dress was inspired by this painting--"The Galley of the HMS Calcutta (Portsmouth)" by James-Jacques Tissot, c. 1887...