Ballooning at the Blake Sea (Updated with SLurl)

The invention of the GPS (Global Positioning System) and its adaptation and application for civilian use have improved my quality of life with at least 5%. It has saved me countless of hours of being lost and searching for the correct direction to go and of making excuses for being late.

I actually like getting lost sometimes, because then I get to go places and meet people I wouldn't have encountered otherwise, but most of the time I simply want to get from point A to point B as fast and easily as possible. Of course I have used written directions earlier and sometimes even maps, but it is so much easier to find your way with a GPS.

My lacking of sense of direction has undoubtedly stopped me from certain activities in first life, and perhaps even in SecondLife. 

 After the party at Whim - Part Deux yesterday evening Tomais suggested that we and Guyke should go ballooning. I was a little hesitant, but allowed myself to go along with the idea. Afterall "Home" is only a teleport away in SecondLife.

First we went to buy some amazing balloons. They were sold for L$10 and parachutes for L$0 by a fabulous creator who had left SecondLife after being dejected and upset by some changes Linden Lab had made to Marketplace. You can get the balloon and parachute here Abbotts Aeronautics (SLurl).

We promptly unpacked the balloons and Tomais took us to a location at the Blake Sea to start our adventure. First we simply had to - of course -texturize our balloons, which was easy with the beautiful textures that Tomais provided and a texture-HUD. (In the middle of the trip I felt adventurous enough to change my balloons texture to the McMillan tartan and Guyke changed textures too, which is why you see our balloons with different textures in the pictures.) That being done, we were ready for take off.

Tomais was an excellent instructor and was completely calm the whole time, although he himself crashed and had to relog in the middle of it all. He found us easily and hitched a ride on my balloon for the remainder of the trip. I felt very safe with his voice in my ears telling us how to maneuver the vessels, what speed and height to set and which direction to fly. 

A cute ass I happened to see over the sea 

Ah, I knew I recognized it!

We had a fantastic time up there in the air, but at some point we would have to land and I was a little worried about that part. What if I made a total fool of myself and landed us in the middle of the sea? Tomais shared some misadventures that had occurred the first times he had tried it, no doubt to take away some of our worries of feeling like fools.

Le Petit Prince

I needn't have worried though, because I did a perfect landing on the small island that Tomais had chosen, well apart from dunking the two of us in water briefly before hitting the designated landing spot dead-center. I was jubilant and elated over my fantastic achievement, Guyke was thrilled too because he also had a safe landing, but not as wonderful as mine. (I will never confess to Guyke, but between us I believe I had some really good beginners luck going for me there.)

If You Are In A Shell...

(via J.M.G.)

I Sensed It

Although I am famous for my lack of observation skills I had sensed that something was going on with Butch and that it could have something to do with the friendly and delicious Spanki Moulliez.

The curmudgeon Butch had suddenly started wearing shoes - without me ordering him to - so something was definitely shifting. Through the gay grapevine in SecondLife (Guyke) I also learned that Butch had been at Aeros to purchase a "Magnus", the pleasant to look at male appendage on sale in that store. This accumulated knowledge combined with my observation that Butch was always a bit extra elated whenever Spanki was around during his or anyone else's sets spoke volumes to me, but I did not dare trust my senses or speak of it for fear of jinxing it.

Then I heard through the grapevine (same source as above) that Butch had spilled the beans, but I wanted to hear it from the man himself to really believe it. So when I met Butch on Christmas Day I asked outright him if he had anything to tell me, after playing coy and unknowing for awhile he finally admitted to the truth. I was overjoyed and congratulated him profusely as Spanki is one of the most wonderful, kindhearted and talented men I know.

Yesterday the two finally saw fit to go public and, as we all know, in this day and age there is no better way to do that than to announce it on Facebook.

Announcement on Facebook - December 26, 2013

I am so thrilled and happy for the two wonderful men, but I can also see that Spanki has his work cut out for him.

It will be no easy task, dearest Spanki, but remember that you can always come to me and Guyke for support, like you we wish the best for the amazing Butch and, just like you, we see the minute flaws he has that need to be remedied. Let my however in closing pass on some hopeful news to you, my personal shopper told me yesterday that Butch had contacted him to get advice on where to shop for shoes...

Boxing Day 2013

Noblesse oblige, so on boxing day it was time for the laird to go out and about on Southern Charm to - as tradition bids - meet and greet the hoi polloi, i.e the lowlier nobility inhabiting the home sim.

The journey is usually performed with me being drawn in the royal sleigh drawn by six white Ardennes stallions, but this year I wanted to show off my new studly boyfriend so I had Tomais pull me around the sim instead.

"Sleigh Ride" Photography by Tomais Ashdene

It was a great success and the cheering of the crowds seemed never to cease. My people loved the man, for his good looks and charm and because they saw he makes me happy.

---

Enough with that fantasy about my noble lineage, which I mostly keep on with because it amuses me and annoys a few others (that I do not mind teasing as often as I am able).

Tom had seen this beautiful pose and it made him think of a picture (thats the way of the artists). I think he may have played a little with the pose I am on, but I am not at all sure.

Yesterday the brutish artist made me suffer for art and had me sitting out there in the cold for hours on end while he played about with lighting and Windlight settings. Although I am the most patient man in SecondLife, which Tom repeatedly told me yesterday, I would have been freezing my beautiful derriere off sitting there and listening to the artist mumbling to himself had it not been for my sweet brother Dej joining us on Skype for a while.

You can see more of Tomais' photography either on Flickr - Tomais Ashdene and also on his Tumblr page Photomonkey SL (NSFW). Enjoy!

Science: Spread of Infection via the Internet

The illustrious scientist Dr. Field Marshal Bock McMillan at The McMillan Center for Disease Control, today published a sensational empirical study showing that viruses possibly can be transmitted through the Internet.

Asked for a comment Dr. McMillan said,

"Well, as most of you must certainly know I have been spending the last weeks kissing, slobbering and exchanging bodily fluids with that hunk of male beauty known as Tomais Ashdene.

Tomais has meanwhile had an exceptionally bad case of the common cold, which he barely survived with the help of chicken soup and some TLC from me. Now, to my own surprise and dismay, I find I have been infected by what may very possibly be the same strain of common cold-viruses that may have been transmitted transatlantically by the Internet. Further research will have to show if this is actually the case, but I thought it best to warn the general public of potential risks a.s.a.p."

Not Just A Pretty Face

Guyke Lundquist, the Prince of Paradijs, is my son and heir, my pride and joy and my longest lasting friend in SecondLife. I love him to bits!

Guyke's Christmas Card this year (Photography by Danne Guardian)

The first thing everyone notices about my Guykechen is his stunning beauty, the second is his devastating charm and the third is his astute sense for fashion. The man shines brightly even in the presence of the many other luminaries on the SecondLife sky of male beauty.

What people don't know, and rarely take the time to notice (overwhelmed as they are with his dazzling presence), is that Guyke has the full package. Besides his good looks he also has a curious and an inquisitive mind which is stacked with knowledge about just about anything one needs to know and also an emotional depth and concern for his fellow man.

Almost every time I am with Guyke he teaches me something new. Just the other day he taught me something I had never even heard about. For instance, did you know that there is an easy way for those of us using the Firestorm viewer to reach a certain height in the skies above you? Well Guyke did and it is an easy trick which is extremely useful for me as I now have a lot of my landscaping stored at 1.000 meters above Southern Charm.

You use the Firestorm feature "Go To Height" by simply typing "gth 1000" in your nearby/local chat and hey presto you are at the designated height. Going down you just do the opposite, type "gth 25 (or whatever your level you prefer)" and down on the ground you are. Nifty, isn't it?

Another thing he taught me is that I can mix the sound levels for Skype, Firestorm and whatever so I get the combination of the levels that I prefer. You do that simply by clicking the loudspeaker symbol in the bottom right and then go to "Mixer" to choose the settings you want with the sliders. Hey presto! For some of you geeky guys this is probably really basic, but for me it's news.

An Impromptu Christmas Dinner

´Twas the day before, the day before, the day before, the day before Christmas (that would be Saturday December 21, 2013, for those who have difficulty with counting) that the picture below was taken.

Butch, Guyke, Tomais, I and Dej at the table in Tom's kitchen.

My men and I had started talking about when we were going to celebrate the holiday together before we each went off to spend some time with our first life families and/or friends, but had not decided on a date yet.

I was hailed by Dej when I logged into my SecondLife earlier than usual on Saturday. My brother was in an exceptionally jolly mood and invited me to come over to hear him play some music on the grand piano he has in his conservatory. I happily accepted the invitation.

After a while of we were joined by the topic of Dej's and my conversation, my lover Tomais.

At first Tom took a seat in the window, demurely listening as Dej and I continued playing duets on the piano, but then Dej  remembered that there was a third pose on the piano so he joined us there.

Tom got bolder as we kept on chatting away on Skype and changed to more daring outfits, cheered on by Dej and me.

Somewhere at this point we were joined by first Guyke and soon afterwards Butch and decided to go somewhere where we could all sit and talk comfortably. We first tried my kitchen table, but as I could not provide sustenance we moved on to Tom's kitchen where the table could provide us with a complete traditional Christmas dinner.

We sat there and talked together for hours and hours, all of us in high spirits and enjoying each others company to the fullest. 

When Butch had to leave us to set up his set at Q Lounge, the remaining four of us continued talking away and relaxing in Tom's sitting room, where we were served coffee, before joining Butch at his set.

Some hours later I noticed that Tom was getting a tired, he had been suffering from a bad cold for a few days and had had problems sleeping properly due to congestion. I decided to send Tom to bed and tucked him in properly.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that this had been a magical and wonderful day, one of the top five marvelous days in my entire SecondLife existence.

Oh, I almost forgot, we actually also had sort of a Christmas miracle. Dej and Guyke, who in the past have had some difficulty getting along, didn't even bicker at each other once. The two have instead since then joined forces to instruct Tom and me on how to go about things, sticking their noses into matters that are none of their concerns. The only reason I accept and forgive them for this is that they are family and that is what families do - as I know well having done so on more than one occasion when it comes to both their lives.

Bock in SecondLife and I, it's editor in chief, 

wishes all of you and your families in first and SecondLife 

an equally wonderful and magical Christmas holiday 

and we hope to see you all safely back with us soon!