Bing 'em, Danno

Not Your Father's
Steve McGarrett

Written 28 November, 2010

Bing 'Em, Danno

ZenRascal wrote, in a recent comment to this recent post:

"... stand back as she reels off ridiculous ideas."

"... I imagine they'll involve slingshots, robots, and exploding lipsticks."

Chey, you (and sweetie) are a riot! Seems like just yesterday you were searching high & low for a mysterious dunking bird. And now this!!! LOLOLOL How do you do it? How do you keep cranking out all this wacky stuff?? LOL Whimsy indeed!!!!

Zen, Sweetie and I were ridiculously flattered by your comment. Thanks for having a sense of humor that appreciates our sense of humor.

You must understand-- we can't HELP making up this stuff. We try to stop. We need an intervention!

Take, for instance, tonight. We had returned home after visiting friends. We were eating soup made from leftover turkey and a margherita pizza while we watched the new Hawaii Five-0 on my laptop.

At some point I stopped the stream.

"I can't help myself," I said.

The 5-0 team had just egregiously mishandled evidence in a murder case-- picking it up without gloves and dumping trash from a vacuum cleaner on it to get a print.

So I sang (to the tune of the theme song, of course, and as best I can remember   the words):

We're Five-0 policemen
One girl and three guys
We do our own lab work
Don't need no CSI
We make it all up
As we stumble along
It's TV so it's
Okay if it's wrong
We're just actors
Messing up our liiiiiines

Which caused Sweetie to sing about Dano's relationship with his ex-wife:

She lived in New Jersey
Married to a cop
Now she's in Hawaii
And she loves to shop
She's got a fancy house with a gate
When Danno visits
She likes making him wait
She is British
She had a bad divoooorce

Before I could start again, Sweetie sang another verse:

There is product placement
In nearly every scene
I drive a brand new Chevy
And wear Levi jeans
My cell phone
Is in every scene
My searches
Are done always in Bing
Because Google
Was a dollar shoooort



Every few minutes one of us would have to pause the show to add another verse:

My name is McGarrett
I am a macho man
I like to pick on Danno
Just because I can
I take my shirt off
My tattoo to reveal
He's haole
And I am a Seal
Dad was murdered
I'm an angry maaaan

And so it went until the show was over. We were hemorrhaging verse, and laughing our asses off, and we absolutely couldn't stop. The damn song is STILL stuck in my head.

Now, the new Five-0 is so ridiculous it lends itself to parody, but anything, really, can set us off.

So it's not that we have trouble coming up with absurdities. It's more about not being able to help ourselves.

Whimsical Wonderland

28 November, 2010

Whimsical Wonderland

Well, the snowstorm had the predictable effect-- so Sweetie and I just went ahead and decorated for Christmas.

Whimsy's Paths are Snow-Covered and Treacherous

Ash From the Volcano Pele Has Already
Discolored the Snow

Polar Bears Appeared From Out of the Blue

So, Too, Did Mysterious Giant Christmas Ornaments

The Snow is Starting to Stick...

Written 25 November, 2010

The snow is starting to stick...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Written 25 November, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving Day in the United States. All across the country, turkeys are browing in ovens, stuffed with sage or corn bread or chestnut dressing. Green beans casseroles are baking, potatoes are being mashed, and yams are being candied. Giblet gravy is simmering on the stove, and cranberry sauce sits in dishes. It's almost time to pop in the dinner rolls!

Our own dinner is about an hour away. Soon the kitchen will be bustling as Sweetie and I make last-minute preparation in anticipation of good eating.

I'm thankful today for the many bounties and blessings in my life, and in yours. I hope you all, wherever you are in the world, have a wonderful day.

On the dark side, there's heavy rain in Whimsy as a cold front rolls through.

Every Airship Dock Needs a Dirigible

Written 22 November, 2010

Every Airship Dock Needs a Dirigible

It only makes sense that since we have a dock for lighter-than-air craft, at least one airship should be moored to it.

I would have loved to have rezzed Carrah Rossini's wonderful Selene craft, but at 166 prims I thought it best to save it for special occasions. Carrah's Nereide flying submarine weighs in at 104 prims, but I thought that was a bit heavy, too, for basic decor.

For thirty-five Lindens, I bought a dirigible on SL Exchange. Made by ikaros Kappler, it's a physical vehicle that seats six avatars. It had no gondola, however, so I put it aside with an idea of perhaps modifying it later.

Then I thought of Cubey Terra's airship. I've had it forever, since 2006 or possibly very early 2007. It seats four, can be flown, and is modifiable. Unfortunately, out of the box it looks like this:

Technically speaking, Cubey's airship is a blimp instead of a dirigible because it has no hard frame, but I ran with the title because dirigible sounds so much more sophisticated than blimp. Don't you think?

Cubey's ship allows for a custom side panel and tail decals via script, but fortunately the vehicle is modifiable. I tried several textures on the surface, and finally selected a circus tent fabric I bought somewhere.I applied it to the applicable prims, added a side panel Sweetie made when we first got Whimsy, and spent some time adjusting everything. Here's the result. I'm happy with it.

It looks good above the store, and uses only 27 prims.

Every Store Needs an Airship Dock

Written 22 November, 2010

Every Airship Dock Needs an Airship Dock

Sweetie installed an airship dock up at the new store area because, you understand, one never knows when a dirigible will come by and want to tie up. Loaded with grey-haired virtual shoppers on a senior outing, no doubt.

She tweaked the textures and added, of all things, an orrery. It was a nice touch.

We've not yet figured out how to get folks to the top, as there's no entry to the center and climbing up the outside would be difficult due to the encircling rings.

I've three ideas for moving folks to the top.

1. Teleport them. I could install long-distance teleporters which would whisk folks to the top in a flash.

2. Raise the build about three meters and install a bottom section with a door. Let folks enter and climb to the top on one of Gypsy Paz' great ladders.

3. Cut the prims that circle the main shaft and put a ladder on the outside.

All of these are practical, but lack that certain je ne sais quois-- that bit of essential Whimsy that characterizes our sims.

I think tonight I'll poke the muse. I'll oh so casually mention to Sweetie I've been thinking of an absurd and impractical way to get folks to the top of the tower and then stand back as she reels off ridiculous ideas.

I can't of course tell what her ideas will be, but I imagine they'll involve slingshots, robots, and exploding lipsticks.

New Construction on Whimsy

The New Home of Chey's Flights of Fancy Store

Written 22 November, 2010

New Construction on Whimsy

A year or so ago Sweetie and I began talking about a new space for Whimsy. It was to be high in the sky and would serve as an orientation center for the sim and a home for my Flights of Fancy store. And, of course, since Sweetie was involved, it had to be BIG.

Sweetie had grand visions which she tried to articulate, and which I couldn't quite visualize. I tried several things with floating platforms, but she didn't like them. She tried several things, and I didn't like them. Then one day I did some obscene things to a 100x100x100 m sphere and made a shape she could live with.

Sweetie added a roof and walls, and, extending the walls below the floor, she created a huge cavern below. She threw out some planter thingies and told me her job was done. Now it was my turn.

It took me several months to persuade her to unlock the wall and roof prims so I could tweak the textures on the sides of the prims just the TEENSIEST bit. Sweetie seldom concerns herself with details.

Even when she had unlocked them, though, I never got to work. Until yesterday.

First, I put some finishing touches on the strange little thingie I had made while Sweetie was manipulating megaprim roofs. I meant it to represent our sim: some science, some magic, and a touch of whimsy.

Then I turned my attention to the planters. I placed four of them and filled them with (at Sweetie's suggestion) trees from Botanical Straylight. Then I added grasses, flowers, and Japanese lights.

Now it was time to work on the landing area. I wanted the Flights of Fancy store to predominate here. I pulled out a box packed with signage from my old store and set to work.

I placed a store sign on the ground, turning it 100% transparent, and then set the top to 43% transparent. I added signs for my blog, and for the until now dormant Flights of Fancy blog, and hung two animated signs on  a big tiki post. Continuing the tiki motif, I made a billboard and stuck on all the small print stuff: join the group, store policies, and a sign explaining permissions of my jewelry.

A word on the design: for the building, Sweetie selected simple stone, glass, and metal textures. They're not exciting, but their drabness accentuates everything else. And so I filled the plain stone containers with bright trees and flowers. I think the signs-- when I make them-- will pop, too.

Wanting something to tie the build in with the theme of the sim below, I decided to use posts in a tiki design. As I add content, the boards will fill up with bright signs.

I thought it a good day's work.

The Space is HUGE!

Sweetie Tweaks the Whimsy Teleporter

Written 21 November, 2010

Sweetie Tweaks the Whimsy Teleporter

When Sweetie saw the new teleport sign, she knew exactly what to do with it.

She had me move it between the columns at the foot of the entryway and hang it from chains. She put brass collars on the posts on either side (that took some GIMP work, as the texture we wanted had an aluminum finish.

Now visitors come to the sign as soon as they start to walk. By framing it between the posts, it's much more attention-grabbing.

Sweetie's eye is like that.

Chey's Hair Base

Written 21 November, 2010

Chey's Hair Base

I have a long head which is not attractive when I'm not wearing prim hair.

Of course, I almost always AM wearing prim hair...

... But it's not pretty when I'm not.

I was happy to get a freebie at the Hair Fair, a primless hair appliance that covered my bald head. It came from Made by Waka Flow, it covered my balditude with short, brushed back hair, like so:

Unfortunately, the freebie was the wrong color, and non-modifiable. I IMed Waka, who speaks no English. Eventually she led me to the display in her store and I picked up a fat pack in sll sorts of colors, including the off-black version shown.

Now when I accientally lose my hair or can't stand a hideous demo in a store and take it off and throw it on the floor and stomp on it, my temporary baldness is covered.

You can find the hair here.

It's a big store and the product is lost among a myriad of styles. Alas, I don't have the coordinates. So good luck.