Here I am , listening to jazz radio, fooling around with my sky settings; generally kicking back in my spiffy new garden pool (hugs Tosha), floating high above my MONTE GORDO region on Craft-the Friendly Grid, and THINKING. My son was gone for an entire week, L.A.R.P.ing in the Czech Republic with his nerdy little scout troop, my husband was on midnight shift, my own work was finished, I had skyped my parents, been to the fitness studio, and my newest post was on my blog.Gads! I had a free evening!
Hello my dearest dears! How wonderful- here we all are again ready for yet another grand adventure on OpenSim- the nonprofit software platform that hosts hundreds upon hundreds of individually owned and operated grids/worlds! Many of these worlds choose to be connected by the hypergrid , an amped up teleportation system that allows you to travel from grid to grid , exploring and making new friends, and having adventures to your hearts content.(If you do not understand this terminology, or do not know how to get on OpenSim, please read my easy to understand OpenSim posts, and don´t forget my Newbie Glossary at the top of this page!) So why would some grids not be on the hypergrid ? Well, some are just flat out private. And while a great many DO want you to register an avatar and log on, they are uneasy about a percieved lack of security on the hypergrid. Many closed grids have inworld economies, which makes the possibility of theft quite threatening. And although my personal opinion is that trying to make a living doing something you love doesn´t necessarily make you Satan, closed grids are often viewed with real hostility by hypergid enabled OpenSim , which is largely populated by folks who were burned by Linden Lab. Anything that smacks of commercialism can provoke a very strong reaction. I had never heard anything either way about 3rd Rock, and had only gone on one to ask them if they could make something for me. I thought it would take 10 minutes. I was there for a week. It was like stumbling on a great vacation getaway! I swore to myself I would find the time to keep coming back, and follow this wonderful community. And now I had a free evening! Here is the link to my original 3RD ROCK GRID POST which has all the details for registration etc. and a basic geography guide!
I landed in the Welcome Area of Our Town, which is handily smack dab in the middle of the grid. And although there is a working destination guide here (Hurrah!) , I decided to just go exploring. I flew straight up, and saw this neat little diner in the distance. Okay, I am a sucker for Motown, but isn´t this place cool? 3rd Rock is one of the oldest grids on OpenSim, so the community really knows what it is doing, and being off the hypergrid has given them their own distinctive style. Not possessing the simple intelligence to take legible notes, I can only say I think the diner is in the RAN region , but if I´m wrong , it is a couple of doors down from this next very visible edifice.
Holy Guacamole! There is an honest to goodness movie playing in that wonderfully detailed drive- in! Okay, the film is from the wrong era for drive- ins, butI think the space craft in the parking lot really balances that out. Oh look; could those smokestacks behind the screen be another slice of Americana?
Yes it is! C´mon everyone! One two three- “Ol man river, that ol man river……” Hey, what are those trees I see over the bow? (that´s the front of the boat for you non- nautical types. Yeah,okay; I had to ask my husband, but I knew that mark twain means the water is two fathoms deep! Not that I have a clue how much a fathom is.) “That ol man river, he just keeeeps rooolling aaaaloooong!”
Behind the treeline is a memorial garden! There are tastefully sculpted grave markers resting amidst the lovely, peaceful scenery. Another very 3RD Rock moment.
I also wanted to point out that behind me, is something I didn´t have the simple intelligence to photograph, but you should look for in every region. Freebies! Most regions have a small to biggish freebie area with some the owners creations. If you did decide to rent a region or parcel here, you can easily fill your inventory with enough cool stuff to build your dream whatever! Now let´s check out that destination guide!
The Great Exhibition Hall in ROCKER has a freebie gift shop with dino posters, and horn rimmed glasses so you can “release your inner nerd”.
You won´t need the glasses. Dinosaurs, steampunk, and yes my dears, that is the hull of a Klingon bird of prey! When my son saw this picture he got all hissy that you have to be 18 to register on 3rd Rock; my husband just shouted “Damn right! No Star Wars!” A great big virtualchristine MajQa´ for all the folks at wejDIch nagh!
This is the landing point for SERAGLIO OF WONDERS. You have to fly around to the front…
The word seraglio actually refers to an Ottoman Sultan´s palace, which would be impressive enough on it´s own. But this is..
so much…
…more!
Software developer Thoria Milgrove´s PEAPODYNE, is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. I didn´t try to solve it- after a glass and a half of wine all I really want to do is mess with my windlight settings- but mystery aside, this place is a really neat, weird mix of stuff, below the gothic castle and steampunk ark is a japanese garden and, well, come find out for yourself!
The Destination Guide calls LYNN is a “fully immersive astronomy sim”, and they aren´t kidding. You see that control panel in front of me? It actually works.
You have got to try this. The whole idea sent my son from hissing to spitting like a cobra that had somehow become obsessed with sci fi and manga!
The telescope was built by ASTRO BALUT. Under no circumstances google the last name. You don´t want to know.
And that was mom´s night out off the hypergrid. As usual, everything was free and no one even tried to sell me anything-in fact I have yet to see a single retail shop; and of course, within ten minutes of my arrival , somebody contacted me to check if everything was okay. To my delight, that somebody was grid owner Lazuli Pooraka, one of the cooler people I have met on OpenSim. After we had caught up, he told me about the upcoming( note July 12-this link is be ing updated by 3rd rock so it may not show the program for a few hours!) 3RD ROCK GRID VIRTUAL GAMES, which have me really excited! From July 14- September 30 the biggest bash in the metaverse is on! There are going to be Orca Races!! Rob´s Rock Island, 3Rd Rock´s church of rock n´roll, will have rock trivia, rock quizes rock quests- you name it !! Auto Racing!! Prim Pictionary Challenge!! Events involving the entire 25 region core! Sci- Fi Quests! And you just know Mission Astraios, The United Federation Headquarters, is going to go completely beserk. Best avatar, best dance, best costume, best build, best terraforming competitions, not to mention new live musical artists, poetry events, educational events.. and hells bells, that is all just the first wave! You will get GEMS which you can redeem for currency, or prizes from a treasure trove that will grow and grow as the events continue.You will get gems for just showing up, more if you participate, and more if you win! Ten percent of all proceeds will go to 3rd Rock´s favorite cause, DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS , and you will always have the option to donate your winnings to this most excellent organization. My son is already planning strategies for the Star Trek Trivia, in spite of my having informed him that any money MY avatar wins is going straight to the Sudan!
And now my dears I must love you and leave you. It is very late here, but I did want to get the word out on this wonderful event before I went on holidays from July 18. I will try to cover the opening this weekend- my boy is certainly determined that is what we are doing! If you see me there, please don´t be a stranger! I always enjoy personally thanking people for reading my blog. Your company on my small adventures makes me so happy! The sweetestof dreams and the brightest of days to all my beloved readers! Until next time, Adieu!
