HealthInfo Island

 

By Gemma Cleanslate

 

Occasionally I like to remind everyone that there is an excellent source of Health information in SL.Healthinfo Island is a wonderful region to visit whatever your needs. This is the Mission statement:

“The mission of Healthinfo Island is to provide timely, accurate, and accessible information on topics of physical, emotional, and mental health. This is done through interactive displays, links to outside resources, group events, and personalized assistance.

The Consumer Health Library at HealthInfo Island is here to help SL residents with health information needs. “

If you look at the ground you will see a blue arrow . It is a TP hud. Click to see where you want to go.

It is fun to just walk around to discover everything but if you want a certain place use it.

The island is sponsored and maintained by The Virtual Ability group and there are various sites on the island that remain open all the time to visitors. There are sites that change monthly with new information on various illnesses and what is going on in the research and cure information.

This month in the Healthy Living Display area there is an excellent display on Pneumonia. Follow the arrows to learn all about pneumonia , its types, diagnosis, and many resources for more information. Click each poster to read about it.

Check out the exhibit on swine flu and its effects and relationship with humans. That exhibit is down the hill from the Pneumonia exhibit.

The nearby exhibit is so interesting to me. It is a topic I don’t really know that much about so I spent time reading all about tropical diseases. January 29 is World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day so it is very relevant. Since many don’t live in a tropic area we often ignore such diseases but we really should check some of them out for travel purposes, not to mention climate change. I know I have had vaccines before I visited certain countries. Actually I met people who have had a few of these diseases myself.

Not comfortable !!

The Research Pavilion is amazing! It is filled with information about clinical trials from defining them to information about ongoing trials one might be interested in joining. There are some dealing with cancer and heart. It tells one how to contact persons who can talk about enrollment in a study also.

There is a Consumer Health Library nearby with more information about ongoing diseases like Covid.

At the Health Exhibit there are posters with a myriad of questions about certain possible assists for dealing with winter illnesses. Are they real or myths? Click the poster and find out what research says.

Next to that site at the left is one of my favorite places. I have taken many avatars there. It is called the Path of Support. It has posters for the plethora of amazing support groups that exist in sl to help those who need help with so many chronic diseases, addiction, mental health, disabilities and more. Each poster gives a description of the group’s mission and by clicking one can join the group they choose.

This wonderful island gives so much aid to people who need assistance. If you have a question you can contact Eme Capalini or Gentle Heron . I suggest you visit and roam around to see all it has to offer .

This is the center Pavilion. Remember there will be a change of information for February.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Healthinfo%20Island/128/126/24

 

Gemma Cleanslate

Blue Lagoon

By Bixyl Shuftan

A friend recently told me about a place in Second Life she thought was worth mentioning, Blue Lagoon. "It is a gorgeous sim." she told me. The place was at the Isle of Blessings sim, so I headed over.

Arriving and looking around, I was under a thatch roof with a few signs of the sim owner, Bolera Rau, and moderators, some pictures of activities and a parachute giver. Looking around, I saw a number of small tropical islands. Going about, I saw a boat dock with a rezzer for a hang glider which could be flown about. There was another craft there that I would later hear was a kind of hovercopter that was available for anyone to fly (I never asked about the red and white helicopter).

One small island had a teepee and some drums. Another had a lighthouse with a small building and a dock with a sailboat. In the distance from that was what looked like castle ruins. In the middle of the sim was a small island with two hot-tubs, the smaller on a structure over the larger one with some stairs leading to it. There I would find the sim owner Bolera. She and I had a few words. I asked her where she got the idea for the place, and she answered, "Overnight in my mind. ... ideas come in my head."

Bolera offered to show me around. She took me to a small boathouse in a place far above the sim that looked like it was for a couple to relax for a while. Next was her "Winterland" area, also far above the sim, "For ice skating. Also, club here." This area had five islands, one circlular central one, one with an ice club on it with laser lights, a third with a cabin with a cozy bed and fireplace. She would remind me one could ice skate across the surface, and say she would hold private parties at the club. A third skybox had a small cave. A fourth had a beachhouse and a smaller building, also for couples to relax for a while, the house having a sauna.

Back on the surface, she showed me a submarine under the water, one with a bedroom. She would also show me the castle ruins. She pointed out the sim next door, Blue Marine (Awesome Land), saying it was hers as well. There were a number of boats and docks, and boat races were held there. Bolera would say the white building on ground level at Blue Lagoon was off limits as people were residing there, "Private villa." The rest of the place was open to the public, including the smaller heli-craft and glider.

She would say that the sim took a "very long" time to build, "I rebuilt (a) couple times. Now I like it, and leave it as is. ... I did build all alone, had no help. ... I never leave to go in other sims. Not wanna build my sim like others, so I not look, just from my own mind. ... I stay only here in lagoon. I only leave it when I must, or check things out." Bolero would also say she has her own Flickr account where she has a few pictures: https://www.flickr.com/photos/182007743@N05/?

A picturesque sim with plenty to see, and some fun things to do.


http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Isle%20of%20Blessings/128/128/14

Bixyl Shuftan

Frolicking Deer Cay

By Bixyl Shuftan

Second Life is full of many action-packed places, such as combat areas and clubs with the latest rock and pop music. But sometimes one is looking for someplace more peaceful, such as a tropical island. One reader mentioned one such island to me: Frolicking Deer Cay.

Enjoy a peaceful Caribbean beach vacation at Frolicking Deer Cay, a quiet, rural, resort island in the Bahamas. Family roleplay, LGBT & furry friendly, wheelchair accessible. Boats, marina, swimming, sailing, DFS, family beach. By Lupinia Studios

"I wanted to build a relaxing paradise," explained Natasha Petrichor, the builder and owner of the island, "I was doing a lot of in-world building and administrative work at the time, and I wanted a quiet place where my team and I could just chill and not be 'on the clock.'  And I really wanted to be at the beach, so I built a beach (smile)."

Natasha had been Second Life for some time, "I first heard about it from some forum posts (I forget where exactly), while it was in beta; I had a beta account. But I couldn't find much engaging at the time, so I canceled the account and figured it would never amount to anything.  An incredibly stupid decision, in hindsight. I then created another account in 2004, when a podcaster I listened to at the time started talking about all the cool things furries were doing in SL.  I had recently discovered the furry fandom in real life, and eagerly wanted to find more ways to be part of the community, and in the process, I finally found something in Second Life that was engaging and fun (smile).

"I also quickly learned how to build things, a skill I used for numerous passion projects, and I also built a couple of businesses in-world, mainly making cars, and designing custom buildings for people/ And then I made this account in 2006 as a personal account, since I was all-business on my other account, and the other one gradually became less expressive of who I am, so this one took over as my primary account, and now here I am (grin)."

As it turns out, the island has only come to Second Life this year. "The vague desire for this sort of spot started percolating in March," Natasha informed, "and the specific inspiration - a private island with a Caribbean beach vibe - started to form in April, during some unusually dreary and cold real-life weather during what was supposed to be a pleasant spring.  We broke ground on the project at the end of May, over Memorial Day weekend, and had it mostly finished and officially 'open' in mid-June (smile).

"This was one of my fastest sim-building projects, partly because I spent a considerable amount of time planning it in advance; by the time I was ready to get started, I had already nailed down all of the details. This was also one of the only projects I've ever done entirely using prefab assets.  I usually prefer to build things myself, but I was overloaded with other building projects at the time, and I wanted to just make this exist as fast as possible, without spending months designing custom structures."

Since the place was opened, a few buildings have been worked on, "I've done some customization, yeah, and there are some ideas for custom buildings that I'd love to build here. But it'll take some time before I have the free time and energy for new custom designs. I've also been rather busy with real-life work for the last couple of months, but I'm catching up on that and spending more time here now (smile)."

I brought up the description of the place, "a quiet, rural, resort island in the Bahamas." Natasha admitted, "To be honest, I've never been to the Bahamas, or any other island in the Caribbean, but one of my closest friends regularly visits Barbados with his family, so that was a big influence in the idea. ... The biggest reason why I chose the Bahamas as the setting, instead of any other Caribbean nation or leaving it vague/undefined, is because I wanted to create a venue that felt like a real place, without appropriating the culture and/or identity of a location I have no real connection to.  The Bahamas has the largest number of privately-owned islands, and many of them are owned and managed by outside resorts, so presenting this as one of those seemed like the safest way to walk that line."

The entrance to the island is the "Harbour Office," which informs visitors who the three people who run the island are, Natasha, CandiceBabi Resident whom is an estate manager, and Mike 1945 Resident whom is the Security Director, and gives some basic information. Vehicles drive on the left side of the road, and no one is permitted to drive fire department equipment without the Security Director's okay. Talking to Natasha about other points of interest, she answered, "This welcome center has kinda become the island's main anchor point, but the marina next to it is a fantastic place for boating. Plus we have a mostly-water sim to the north, Fawn Bay, so that boats have somewhere to go.  The other key feature of the island is the public beach along the southwestern edge, which has plenty of space for parties and events, as well as swimming, without everyone being bunched up on top of each other.  And the main road between here and there, Ocean Avenue, is where you can find all of the shops, restaurants, and public services, with a mix of roleplay businesses/services and actual in-world stores."

Looking around later, the areas along the road have a mix of shopping areas, both those for show and actual inworld stores. There are also souvenir Bahamas flags one can get for a a few Lindens as well as a box of free beach supplies. One can also grab a segway (and maybe a bike) to go around. Fawn Bay has a bridge going over much of it. There are also a few small islands, one with a small home. East of the main sim is a residential area, Amethyst Moon. "Amethyst Moon is separately owned and managed by one of my closest friends and business partners, because she wanted an entire Homestead sim for her SL family," Natasha explained, "But Linden Lab doesn't sell Homestead sims to anyone who doesn't already own a full sim. So I bought it for her. ... We worked out a lease agreement for it, but yeah, I'm not interested in being a for-profit landlord, I just want to make cool things and help others do the same (smile).

"And that was an influencing factor on this whole project as well. There are a few rental properties on the island, in case new people show up and want to stay for a while, because rentals make residency easier and more transparent for everyone.  But the public areas of the island are truly public. The auto-return time is 4 hours, and no one is under any obligation or expectation to spend money here.  If they want to, then cool, but if they just want to hang out on a beach for a while, that's cool too (smile).

Natasha had active the title "Lupinia Artist." Asking about that, she answered me, "Lupinia Studios is the 'brand name' I've been using for my creative work since the early 2000s, both in Second Life and real life.  So, outside of Second Life, Lupinia Studios represents my photography and occasional writing. And in SL, it represents my architectural design work and other building projects.  So it's a handy default title when I don't need to wear a different hat (smile). And I have a website that puts all of my creative and professional work under one roof (when I remember to update it):  http://www.lupinia.net/ I actually wanted to be a journalist in high school, and briefly made a name for myself writing columns for publications that wanted to spotlight youth voices, but I couldn't really get a foothold beyond that.  I also wrote a lot of fiction for a while, but I haven't finished much of that in a long time.  So most of my writing nowadays is basically just whatever I feel the need to write an essay about."

By coincidence, the real Bahamas had just been battered by Hurricane Dorian, wrecking the place. "I've been keeping a close eye on the situation," Natasha told me, "and the devastation there is horrifying.  It's the worst storm in the nation's history." She had set up a couple donation jars around the sim, one at the welcome center. I'm still working on signs to go with them.  Those donation jars have always been there, and they usually go toward the island's operating costs.  But for the month of September, all proceeds will go toward Hurricane Dorian relief efforts.  I also put out an announcement to all members of the island's group yesterday, urging everyone to directly contribute if they're able to.  The Bahamas is not a fantasy setting or an exotic vacation spot, it's a real nation with real people, and they need help right now to recover from this tragedy."

While we were talking, a few people did stop by the sim. Natasha greeted them, and after a short chat they headed to the beach. "Indeed, these are some of our wonderful residents," she told me.

Eventually we told each other goodbye and went our separate ways.

Frolicking Cay Deer is at the following location:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Frolicking%20Deer%20Cay/88/254/23


Bixyl Shuftan

Furry Tiki Island

By Bixyl Shuftan

I was asked by a couple friends to check out "Furry Tiki Island," a sim made like a Pacific resort island. Getting there at the landmark I was handed, I was in a welcome area made like an open-air wood structure with a few tribal carvings, and a sign greeting me "Aloha" in front of me. The music stream played Hawaiian tunes. Behind me was a pool area with floats, and a thatched roof hangout people could relax in. Next to me was a map showing the various locations on the island. Seven were named, The Mall, Waterfall, Pirate Sanctuary, Shark Bites and Bar, Sex Beach, Main Beach, Club Erotica, and Club Bounce. Besides the welcome area, there was an above-water villiage in the northeast that was unnamed.

Going around clockwise, I saw the mall only had a few stores in it, all small thatched roof to match the decor of the location. But perhaps this was from the place being relatively new. The Pirate Sanctuary was an old wooden frigate on the rocks that had been converted into a hangout with couches and chairs to sit in and drinks to sample. Going to the "Sex Beach," there was a guy and a girl there, but they weren't being intimate but just playing around on the sand in a "clean" way, save that the guy was nude, "I'm not usually naked, she forced me to." "You listened, that's worse." Almost as if on cue, the music stream started playing "Friendly Pressure." Talking to them, they told me only recently had this particular part of the island been made a place where intimacy was allowed. Besides the beach towels, there were surfboard racks and what looked like a small bar.

Club Erotic was just a simple place, an octagonal wooden floor weathered a bit by the tropical air with a DJ booth in the back and a canopy overhead. The unnamed village had more detail, with a central seating area for meeting up and relaxing, a 7Seas fishing spot, and a canoe for anyone who wanted to sail around. Nearby were a couple of caught trophy fish one could pose next to for a screenshot. The Shark Bites and Bar had a number of fruits and sweet foods one could sample, or just admire and imagine tasting them. The place had a set of shark jaws over the entrance, and a trophy with the tail end of a shark.

On my way to the Waterfall, over a stick bridge, I saw a few butterflies flying around. The place was detailed and picturesque, once everything rezzed, a smaller waterfall near the larger one flowing down from a presumably dead volcano. Some steps to the left led to a cave behind the waterfall with a pillow for a couple. The Main Beach was more detailed than the Sex Beach, with waves lapping at the shore, a bar, a grill, a hot tub, tubes in the water one could float on, and of course the beach towels.

Just west of the Main Beach, and east of the entrance, was Club Bounce, which was where the most people were on the island. Getting there, I saw several people, including Vatra (Shadowulf Umia), a black anthro lion with a crown whom later put it down and slipped on a grass tribal outfit. When I asked him what gave him the idea to make the place, he answered, "Always wanted a tiki bar of my own as I love those type of places. Over time, the love for tiki expanded and so did this place. (It) started as a small parcel just for friends, then expanding to a larger parcel over time. Now I see this place as something different, (a) different theme than most furry sims and hangouts, but with opportunities available." I asked him what opportunities, and Vatra answered, "we encourage and help those new to djing, security, management roles and so on. We also promote new merchants and help them get their foot in on selling their stuff. So both new and experienced can enjoy Second Life and the opportunity they have. We are also very active and all staff are approachable as they have been selected personally by me for their friendly nature."

Of the helping DJs and merchants, Vatra told me the place does "by promoting for the stores and will also be offering discounts along the way to encourage buyers/ (It's) not set up yet, but I am hoping to set up a DJ school here too. ... (The) DJ school will help you by suggesting DJ software and how to bring it to stream through SL. (We) will also teach you key skills on DJing. ... We teach DJs, then they are offered to work here as their stepping stone to professional SL DJing. ... We have a few DJs interested in working here." When someone else asked who would teach them, Vatra explained it would be the managers.

Vatra also stated the place was also offering housing, and would soon have more stores at the mall, including furry avatar makers (with more coming each weekend." He went on to say, "We also have a lot of playable board games and so on for those wanting to enjoy those on their own or as a group like Greedy greedy, Battleships, Cards against Humanity and pool."

The black lion concluded, "We welcome everyone within Second Life's legal age and so on. We encourage those interested in being a part of the Island as staff to drop us a application.  There are many areas for loved ones to embrace around the island, but hope everyone enjoys their time and share with us their best moments."

Others nearby were also happy with the island, one saying, "it's a nice place to hang out, relax, meet new people, explore new wonders."

Havoc (29/35/27)

Seduction Estates

By Becky "Sha" Shamen

While scanning the World Map for interesting, unusual sim groups, we came across this cluster of 30 sims. The individual sims were laid out in such a way as to allow one to travel to all points in the cluster, while being spread out over a larger area of the grid than a compact grouping would cover. It was also clear that every sim also contained water areas that made it obvious that the preferred mode of transportation is by boat. We have a collection of boats, but thought it best to make a quick visit to determine what the rules are and what kind of craft would fit best in the area. Zooming in on the map, we notice that the sim which is fourth from the top and second from the right is the only one without any water of it's own and has a darker texture at the center. This seemed like a good clue that this sim might be an administration and gathering area, so it was selected as a starting point for our adventure.

 Arriving on a beach, on the West side of the sim, we open "About Land" and read up on what the area is about. The entire cluster is known as "Seduction Estates" and is dedicated to selling or renting residential properties. There are no shops or dance clubs or other public gathering spots. This region is for rich, hedonistic, clothing optional adults to have their mansions in a "Tropical Paradise", kind of like a "Beverly Hills on the sea." The rules say no child avatars are allowed, but there is no mention, for or against, of furries being permitted. We played it safe, by going as a 4' tall adult human female. To keep up with the Jones's, we decided to get an inexpensive motor yacht and found one at the Marketplace, for only $75.

We rezzed our yacht at Sunny Beach, to get a feel for how it handles. Satisfied that it would be a good craft for the adventure, we dressed in a yellow polka-dot bikini and a modesty top, to give us the rich girl, playing with "Daddy's Money" look.

We plotted a course that would begin at the Northeast sim and would take us through all thirty sims, using the public waterways. Since most of the properties have security orbs, we wanted to avoid getting sent home, so most of our exploring would be done by zooming and panning our camera.  

To aid navigation, we made good use of both the World Map and the Mini Map. Unlike most of the places that we have visited, the world map, at this location, showed all the properties that are for sale or rent in yellow. This would help us locate and price the available properties.

Although we never found any offices for administration and land sales, we did discover the only gathering spot on a hill in the center of the sim we did our first research on, Seduction Isle. This "club" has a stage, with piano, and three dance floors, we assumed for couples dances, but there was nobody there during our adventure.

 Each of the many individual properties is a small island, surrounded by rocks, waterfalls and trees, for privacy. Most have a large mansion in the center. I was impressed by several that even had the nautical equivalent of a drive way, to moor boats off the main water ways. Few of the mansions had a lived in look, so we began to think, if you've seen one cookie cutter mansion, you've seen them all.

That is, until we spotted an old, derelict sailing ship. The ship and nearby building are probably not a residence. It seemed more like a local park, the sort of place that young adults might gather, to be away from the eyes of elders, while enjoying forbidden fruits.

Speaking of being unseen, we noticed that the number of people, on all of the sims, was highest after 9p.m., but even then was only a few individuals and couples and they were mostly up in skyboxes. We had hoped to find some residents that could be zoomed in on, to check out what the natives were wearing, but they seemed to vanish, each time we were near.

 

Following the World Map, we tracked down the three property sizes that are offered at Seduction. All of the properties require a one time payment of L$500 plus a weekly tier payment, based on size. They each come with a house, which can be replaced with your own. Houses provided count against the prims allowed for each property. A 1/16th sim is $1550 per week, with 460 prims. 1/8th sim is $2500, 900 prims. 1/4 sims are $2900, 930 prims.

 

Personally, as an efficient shopper, I enjoy a higher quality home and community, for half the price, so I'm not planning on moving. In SL, we can become anything we desire. If you feel seduced by Seduction Estates, I wish you all the pleasure desired. Live there or not, we found it to be a fun adventure. We navigated through 30 sims, in a shiny new mega motor yacht and it was like a Hollywood bus tour of the homes of movie stars. Come, enjoy a tropical vacation and let your inner, petite, cuter than dimples on a bunny, rich white girl come out to play, Queen For A Day.

 

We already know what all the guys want,

 

"Sha"