Bay City Post, Edition 86

Welcome to the eightysixth edition of the Bay City Post!

Keeping you updated on the best city on the grid!

Your reporters have risked life and limb to make this edition of the Bay City Post. Many others have contributed with making pictures and granting us the privilege to use them. Thank you!

This month here was one special publication,

EversNight! Be Prepared!

In this edition we have for you,

Our Chief of Police, Thomas Hooker, had a busy month and you can find out why in the

Police and Fire Blotter

It's something in the water, sometimes has a deeper meaning,

Saint Patrick's Day In BayCity

Explorer Dakota Schwade is mesmerized,

Bay City Cruis'n

A for-noob-special to answer,

Where Is Everybody?

The one that knows more then anyone, Qie Niangao, rides with the

Fair Winds

Historian Marianne McCann presents,

The Road To Bay City

(open the link)

Did you smell the charred prims? Here is why,

Bay City Impressions:Ever's Night

The explorer Dakota Schwade answers one question and poses a new one,

Where Could Dakota Be?

A repost of an emotional article to give an incomplete answer to an easy question, Who is Ever Dreamscape? (This post is made for future reference) (Skip it if you fear it will draw tears, it will)

About: Ever Dreamscape

Epilogue

Previous edition is available here. 

Last month Dakota Schwade visited Ukiyo. You can find a subway there.

The owner of that place, Joji BlueBird, has requested to give landmarks of interesting places where the subway can go to so that it can become a hub for visitors.

Give the subway a trial and give Joji your landmarks and description.

One of the places I discovered from riding the subway in Ukiyo is the BayCity Space Program. I never knew we had that. Read all about it on the community forum. JonathonSpires is the science person behind the space program. One day soon Bay City will fly to the moon and claim ownership.

Last month we reported that Torley no longer works for Linden Lab. Our investigations have revealed that our inspirational inspirer is now (again) working for Sansar that has been taken over by Wookey Projects Inc. We wish him all the very best and hope, no, expect that he remains a supporter of our Fine City. We will remain confident that Sansar will fulfill it's promise.

Due to the reported mesh leakage, that is wreaking havoc around the world, the Eurovision song contest will not go through this year. Despite that, Iceland would have had our votes! Thank you Torley for your prediction.

The Bellisseria Community (now in hibernation) has reported a new website and initiative to cater for the Bellisserian community. It's name Bellisseria Life. Give it a visit.

It has come to the attention of Emperor Michael that a lot of community efforts of Bellisseria appear to fail after a short while. He expresses his support to all community initiatives to unite Bellisserians so they can party just as wild as the residents of our Fine City. He also requests sewers and public shelters for him to (hide) reside at.

Perhaps Bellisseria is just too big to unite everyone, perhaps people should unite by region or build type. The campers, the boaters, the Edwardians, the loggers etc.

Editor Vick Forcella

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(advertising)

Got Junk?

Got Fires?

Police and Fire Blotter

March 16th

A local resident's pet dog caught a Mole hiding in the bushes near their property. After being checked out by paramedics from the Bay City Fire Department, the Mole was given a clean bill of health, a box of Mole Snax, and sent on his way. No citations were given as the Mole declined to press charges, however, the Bay City Police K9 unit was seen having words with the suspect dog.

March 17th

The Bay City Coast Guard was spotted performing operations in Daley Bay after the Bay suddenly turned green. Local authorities could not be reached for comment, though some nearby residents claimed the colour to be proof of toxic spill-off from the water treatment plant.

March 29th

Panic started to ensue over the fuel shortage caused by people stockpiling fuel for Ever's Night. Residents were lined up for blocks to fuel up. The Bay City Police eventually stationed officers at the gas stations after an altercation involving thrown poultry.

March 29th

Sconset was blockaded this evening as the Bay City Space Program launched a space flight. Bystanders attempted to line the canal to watch, but were turned away by the Bay City Coast Guard. The Bay City Fire Department was on standby, though was not needed as the craft returned to the launching pad safely.

March 30th

Route 66 was shut down for a short time as the Bay City Police Department escorted a convoy of fuel trucks into the city. One resident noted that the lead truck had a Bay City Fire Department livery and disappeared somewhere along the route near the fire station.

March 31st

As festivities began across the city for Ever's Night, Bay City Police and Bay City Firefighters were seen securing several properties in preparation. Sansaran armed forces were seen setting up in Nova Albion to ensure the local celebration did not move out into the rest of the continent.

Chief Greybeard and Captain Olrich preparing for Evers Night

Reporter Thomas Hooker

Images Thomas Hooker, Vick Forcella

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Saint Patrick's Day In Bay City

For many years now our Fine City celebrates Saint Patric's Day. It does this by throwing dye into Daley Bay on March the 17th turning it green.

The colour green is associated with Ireland, and Saint Patrick, how this came to happen is best explained in this Time article. (hint, it used to be blue)

Following our Fine City other places are also turning their water green. Most notably the city of Chicago, Illinois that is dyeing the Chicago River on Saint Patrick's Day using the same super secret mix of dye that we in Bay City use. We call it leprechaun dust, and some might suspect it's orange before it's being diluted into the bay.

From this water the Bay City Brewery makes the annual mysterious Paddy Brew, with limited availability. It also makes you glow in the dark. 

Something that is extremely odd, the Bay City Police Department, after all those years, still doesn't know how the water turns green and always begins investigating the water treatment plant, ending into investigating the Bay City Brewery.

We don't have many Irish residents in our Fine City. We like parties and Saint Patrick is as good a reason to party as any other.

Reporter Vick Forcella

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Bay City Cruis'n

Left, right, left, right, right. What am I doing? Opening a safe? Anyway, I found myself at the end of a road. OK, so I was more off the road than on a road. The point is I found something interesting to investigate. Open the car door ... I've got to oil that ...

Who: Garden Mole

What: Farpoint Park

Where: Bay City - Molesworth

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bay%20City%20-%20Molesworth/214/200/25

Follow Park Place road northeast, to where it makes the final easterly turn heading towards the Bay City Fairgrounds. At that bend in the road is a path leading off to the left. Take that path and you'll find a nicely landscaped park complete with benches, a fountain and telescopes that give you a view of the nearby water.

After being mesmerized, for who knows how long, by the glowing thingey that is part of the water feature I finally noticed a nearby structure.

Who: Tee Tulip

What: Molesworth Pointe

Where: Bay City - Molesworth

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bay%20City%20-%20Molesworth/219/243/25

This is a fine example of the citizens of Bay City seeing a need and responding. Without this beacon in the dark, the mariners of our waters would otherwise be in peril of shipwreck.

That's it for this cruise through Bay City.

I hope to see you on the road. Happy motoring!

Reporter Dakota Schwade

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Where Is Everybody?

Your second day in Second Life, you walk around, see houses, clubs, roads, waterways and you see nobody!

Even when you turn on the mini-map you find yourself in an empty area.

You discover some green dots, you search very hard to find them, in the sea, and they do not respond to anything. Not to chat, not to IM's, they appear being dead.

WHAT IS GOING ON???

At any given time there are about 50,000 avatars on-line. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

An unknown portion of those are the ocean dwellers, the semi dead green dots in the water. My guesstimate is that those pollute the numbers about 50%. So, take it from me, 25,000 avatars are hanging around somewhere, one of those is you (if you are on-line that is).

The ocean dwellers are avatars that serve no real purpose except to pollute the oceans. Forget about them. The more experienced people have opinions about them and these are not very positive.

Before I (try to) help with finding people let me explain why everything is empty.

It's no glitch, not a failure or a fault, that everything is empty.

This is Second Life, not meat life.

We are just hanging around and are having fun! 

That is the true purpose of Second Life.

Life is good to us.

The houses and clubs, parked boats and cars, are not real.

We don't sleep in a bed, eat bread and milk when we wake up, we don't travel to work, we don't have to work long hours in the prim mines to bring home some L$.

The houses don't serve a purpose at all!

Ok, it serves a few purposes. It's nice to log-in at a place that looks familiar, it's nice to have a bed that has various functions that don't include sleeping. But that's about it.

It's decoration!

It's like your Facebook page that you make look good so that you look good. Nice profile picture, interesting CD collection, interesting pictures, amazing interests. The same is with that house you see in Second Life. It reflects something about the owner, it's character, desires, loves and hates.

Most houses (visible from the ground) are free to enter because most like to show how nice they can decorate. When the owner arrives, apologize for being there and compliment about the decorations.

Same goes with the parked cars and boats. Decoration, but it does tell something about the owner.

The clubs, with flashing lights and disco floors, you can find all over the place are most often also just decoration, though sometimes the owners throws a party and invites friends over. The empty bars, same.

It all is decoration, because we like to be surrounded by things we like and love. Also a car costs less then high quality shoes. (yes ladies, good shoes are expensive. A wig cost less then a full furnished house) In this world we can own a house that is impossible to afford in the real world and call it home.

Nobody is there but it all tells a story about the owners.
It's a big profile page you can walk through.

Once you figure it all out you will understand, and you will purchase a plot of land and decorate it to your liking so that everybody can see what a nice person you are, because you are.

I have already explained where half the population is, those are the ocean dwellers (feel free to hate them). But where is the rest??

Well... Second Life is BIG! It's HUUUGE! It's gigantuously BIG!

If you zoom out the map to the max it still doesn't fit the screen.

So the 25,000 avatars are scattered around there somewhere.

To find them, use Search. One place to look is the Destination Guide, not a guarantee to meet people though but you'll find nicely decorated places and things to do.

Another place to Search is Events. Live Music is a great way to meet people.

Once you figure it out, you can always find people you will like. Trust me.

Reporter Vick Forcella

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Fair Winds

Second Life sailors will have noticed that boats move according to wind patterns that vary over time and across the continents. That's possible because the Second Life simulation includes wind. In a recent Forums thread, https://community.secondlife.com/forums/topic/451524-sl-wind-variance-between-sims , we explored a bit more about how that wind simulation behaves.

Although all regions have wind that varies over time, it seems that some have wind that also varies over the region at any instant -- and some don't. The thread shows a few scripters figuring why some regions have wind that varies across the region, and it's a good example of loose but effective teamwork investigating the phenomenon. (It turns out that isolated island regions, surrounded by void, do not get the spatially-varied wind, and the ones that do are seeing patterns that propagate across region borders, covering whole continents of connected regions.)

There are several little scripts in the thread showing approaches to quick-and-dirty data collection, interspersed with digging into dusty scrolls in the Forums archive, the jira, the wiki, and old release notes.

It's not exactly Indiana Jones or a Dan Brown novel, but it kinda makes me want to dress my avatar as Holmes -- or maybe Watson.

Besides sailboats and the beautiful particle effect that introduced the thread, SL wind also affects ambient sound in the viewer, flexiprim movement, and scripted things like windsocks and weather vanes. It used to be an option to see Linden trees moving according to wind conditions but we found that was removed in early 2012 to reduce viewer lag. I've also used wind as a sort of whimsical "switch" for a space heater that turns on when it's "windy" -- the SL "weather" simulation doesn't include temperature... or anything else except wind.

There could be an opportunity here if anybody can think of a product that could benefit from a semi-randomly fluctuating property that varies over time and space.

Reporter Qie Niangao

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Bay City Impressions: Ever's Night

It was expected, despite all the warnings, the precautions and the Bay City Fire Department, Ever's Night passed through our Fine City as a tornado of raging fires leaving a trail of destruction and breath taking smoke.

Only people that are insured can try and get a refund from their agent (be insured!). The rest have to rebuild prim by prim.

Following impressions from Ever's Night. We had to hand-pick from the many many pictures that were submitted to the editor of this Fine Newspaper. Thank you all for your contributions!

Image Solo Anatra Freelance Photographer preparing

Image Roc Plutonian. Everfool (leg) captured on film

Image Roc Plutonian. Everfool (leg) captured on film, zoomed

Image Lucien Greybeard. BCFD preparing

Image Thomas Hooker. BCPD on fire and the car!

Image Solo Anatra @Docklands

Image Vick Forcella @Daley Bay, Community Centre

Image Thomas Hooker @Moloch

Image Vick Forcella @Mashpee, The Pen

Image Vick Forcella @Villareal

Image Vick Forcella @Sandwich

Image by CC Columbo @Dennis

Image Solo Anatra @Truro. Safety Girl taking off

Image Solo Anatra @Dennis View from helicopter

Image Solo Anatra @Bay City Marina - New Port

Image Solo Anatra @Tisbury

Image Solo Anatra @Dennis

Image Solo Anatra @Brewster

Image Solo Anatra @Harwich

Image Solo Anatra @Weston

Image Thomas Hooker BCPD making sure nobody parks here

Image Lucien Greybeard, BCFD at work

Image Lucien Greybeard BSFD at work

Image Vick Forcella @Alua

Image by Dakota Schwade @Molesworth

Image Lucien Greybeard BCFD resting after work

Image Kinnaid Fiachra, Meeting of the Secret Cult of EverFools

Image Kinnaird Fiachra (half eaten) @ Ever Island

Reporter Vick Forcella

Images CC Columbo, Dakota Schwade, Kinnaird Fiachra, Lucien Greybeard, Roc Plutonian, Solo Anatra, Thomas Hooker, Vick Forcella

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