Day: June 4, 2017

Second Life’s AVsitter to become open-source

Posted on by Inara Pey

Code Violet, the creator of the popular AVsitter system used by many content creators in Second Life for sitting and posing avatars on furniture, vehicles, etc., has announced that she will be making the system available to the community as an open-sourced product under the GPL v2 license  from July 31st, 2017.

The announcement came via a post on the AVSitter support pages, which is also referenced in Code’s in-world profile.

By making AVsitter an open-source product, Code hopes users will be able to continue its development and extend its life without the need for her direct involvement.

“I’ve always tried to make products that I myself find useful, and to a standard that would allow others to enjoy them too,” she informed me as we discussed the forthcoming move.

“In 2010 I set out to make a sitter system for the kinds of furniture I wanted to make, which included dining sets and lounge room furniture. It’s been amazingly gratifying to see how so many other SL residents have found AVsitter useful in their creative process and/or their daily enjoyment of Second Life.”

She continued, “Seeing it used in just about every kind of furniture and vehicle imaginable is wonderful, but it places a high requirement on a single set of scripts made by one person to satisfy so many different needs. Over the years, a very talented user community has built up around AVsitter, including many of SL’s best designers, so I’m confident that the decision to release the code as open-source will allow that community to do much more with their creations than they could without the ability to change the scripts.

“A huge thanks to everyone who helped shape AVsitter over 7 years of wonderful (and weird!) creations. ♥.”

The July 31st move to open-source will be accompanied by a final release of AVsitter to all customers via the regular   update system, which will have the scripts set to full permissions. The change will not affect any AVsitter scripts currently in use, which will continue to function normally.

For the foreseeable future, Code plans to maintain the following support services:

In addition, new and existing AVsitter users can join the Unofficial AVsitter Support Group in Second Life, where community members may be able to help with specific questions and issues.

Should there be any enquires or questions about the announcement, AVsitter users should direct them to AVsitter Resident, and are asked to keep an eye on the announcement page in case there are further updates.

Tales to suit ears and hearts of any age

Posted on by Inara Pey

It’s time to kick-off another week of storytelling in Voice by the staff and volunteers at the Seanchai Library. As always, all times SLT, and events are held at the Library’s Second Life home at Bradley University, unless otherwise indicated.

Sunday, June 4th

13:30: The Thin Man

New York, 1932. Nick Charles, a retired west coast private detective, and his wealthy socialite wife, are in the Big Apple for Christmas. It’s a place where Nick is perfectly happy getting drunk in their hotel room or in speakeasies. Which is not to say the couple are unhappy; far from it. They enjoy witty repartee and banter with one another, and Nora is every inch Nick’s match in wit and intelligence.

Things change when Nick is visited by Dorothy Wynant, the daughter of a former client, businessman Clyde Wynant, who has apparently vanished ahead of his daughter’s wedding. Nick reluctantly – and to Nora’s amusement – agrees to find the missing businessman (the titular Thin Man). But what starts as a search for a missing man quickly turns into the hunt for a murderer after Wynant’s secretary is found dead, with all the evidence points to Wynant himself as her killer.

Corwyn Allen, John Morland, Kayden Oconnell, and Caledonia Skytower read Dashell Hammett’s 1933 classic, which became the first in a series of films following Nick and Nora’s adventures, as played by the inimitable William Powell and Myrna Loy.

19:00: The Wind in the Willows

Meet little Mole, wilful Ratty, Badger the perennial bachelor, and petulant Toad. Over one hundred years since their first appearance in 1908, they’ve become emblematic archetypes of eccentricity, folly, and friendship. And their misadventures – in gypsy caravans, stolen sports cars, and their Wild Wood-continue to capture readers’ imaginations and warm their hearts long after they grow up.

Begun as a series of letters from Kenneth Grahame to his son, The Wind in the Willows is a timeless tale of animal cunning and human camaraderie – although some in current times unkindly see it as a kind of allegory for the privileged ne’er-do-well upper class (in the form of Toad) with the aid of the middle class (Badger, rat and Mole) to keep the proletariat (weasels and stoats) in their place.

I suggest you join Caledonia Skytower for Magicland Storytime, and go with Mr. Grahame’s intention with the tales – as a ripping yarn for young hearts and minds.

Monday, June 5th 19:00: The Book of Skulls

Gyro Muggins reads Robert Silverberg’s novel.

Four friends, college room-mates, go on a spring break trip to Arizona: Eli, the scholar, who found and translated the book; Timothy, scion of an American dynasty, born and bred to lead; Ned, poet and cynic; and Oliver, the brilliant farm boy obsessed with death.

Somewhere in the desert lies the House of Skulls, where a mystic brotherhood guards the secret of eternal life. There, the four aspirants will present themselves–and a horrific price will be demanded.

For immortality requires sacrifice. Two victims to balance two survivors. One by suicide, one by murder.

Now, beneath the gaze of grinning skulls, the terror begins. . . .

Tuesday, June 6th 19:00: More Tales from Thorton Burgess

With Faerie Maven-Pralou.

Wednesday, June 7th 19:00: The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Caledonia Skytower reads Kelly Barnhill’s 2017 Newbery Medal winner.

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the forest, Xan, is kind and gentle. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster named Glerk and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon, Fyrian.

Xan rescues the abandoned children and deliver them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this enmagicked girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own.

To keep young Luna safe from her own unwieldy power, Xan locks her magic deep inside her. When Luna approaches her thirteenth birthday, her magic begins to emerge on schedule–but Xan is far away. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Soon, it is up to Luna to protect those who have protected her–even if it means the end of the loving, safe world she’s always known.

Thursday, June 8th 19:00: The Story of the Pony Express

With Shandon Loring (also presented in Kitely  hop://grid.kitely.com:8002/Seanchai/108/609/1528).

 

 

Please check with the Seanchai Library’s blog for updates and for additions or changes to the week’s schedule.

The featured charity for May through July is Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundationd, raising awareness of childhood cancer causes and funds for research into new treatments and cures.