First impressions of the Pacha 110

I've had some time to evaluate the Pacha 110, and here are some quick thoughts about it.

Positives:

1. Extensive ability to customize the textures of pretty much everything. The creators provide targa templates which you can export, modify in photoshop, then import back.

2. Tons of poses and animations, including ones for showering, dancing, and...ahem...various delicate couple animations.

3. Working facilities, including a shower with water particles that can be turned on and off, and a TV set.

4. The ability to allow guests to take control of the sailboat.

5. Large space. This is a larger ship that the Wallaby, and the extra room is much appreciated.

6. Animations for the sails are top notch. You really feel as if wind is flowing past them.

Negatives:

1. Avatars can superimpose upon one another if they choose the same sitting or dancing pose.

2. Guests can take control of the couple poses and force even the owner into...ahem...compromising positions. This was unfortunately what happened when someone who I will not mention suddenly decided to try out the couple poses and inadvertently converted our boat into a freebie sex show.

3. Texturing the craft can be a nightmare for people who are not expert in image manipulation software. This is in contrast to the Wallaby (a Loonetta), where basic texturing is done via a dialog menu.

4. The lack of a control HUD which shows speed, engine status, etc. It is a nightmare to try to figure out your speed. They provide visual gauges which are impossible to read. They do supposedly have a HUD that you can activate but mine never did. It simply kept trying to get information. I had to script my own speedometer HUD and use that instead.

Customized Bike

Linda surprised me by creating custom tags for my JFC Anarchy bike. The bike now sports my name in an elegant font on the gas tank, and the custom license plate in back says MK in big bold lettering. Thanks baby!

Can't wait to test the bike later this week on one of the race track LMs she sent me...

I would race Linda again but the last time we raced she zoomed way in front of me - so far in front that I could not see her. But then I nearly had a heart attack when another bike with some cute broad in a Minnie Mouse helmet almost hit me head on, gunning past enthusiastically in the wrong direction.

It was Linda LOL....

Custom license plate.

Update: I tested the new bike today on the Mongoose MC Race Track and managed to get my name on the big board running on gear 6. I'll try to cut down on the time later. Some of the times on the board were outrageous (3 second lap?!!!???), and are probably people with flying machines who simply swoop back to the end line.

The Linda Lou

I decided to purchase a Pacha 110, the latest cabin cruiser from The Mesh Shop, and I named it the Linda Lou, in honor of my girl Linda.

Re-texturing and modifying the cruiser were more difficult than I thought, but after some work I added to the outer hull a beautiful image of jumping dolphins passing by a tropical island. I also embossed the name Linda Lou on the stern, surrounded by a tropical drink motif, and on the sails and jib I embossed the words 'MK' and 'Lou'. Finally, I added the Depraved Monkey Logo on the spinnaker.

The pics below show some of these modifications to the cruiser.

Tropical drink with the cruiser's name

The sails and jib bear the names 'MK' and 'Lou' in blue and pink (gag!)

Dolphins flash past a tropical island on the outer hull.

DM Logo on the spinnaker

The Beach Boys and Lorrie Morgan - Don't Worry Baby (1996)

Depraved Monkey says "Leash training..."

...my pet does the dishes...does yours?

Halloween Town 2014

Linda threw some LMs at me while we were riding yesterday (I had to juggle the darn things and almost run into a bridge overpass - but that's another story), and later that night I rezzed in and explored them.

The first was a Halloween Ride that was pretty fun and creepy, and I enjoyed trying to figure out a way to get out of the haunted area (you had to find 5 books and open them), but it was the second sim that took my breath away.

The build was superb, and the structures were beautifully rendered in warm pastel colors that made the entire place look like a high end animated movie, something from Pixar perhaps, and faintly reminiscent of the animated movie Coraline, which I liked.

Click here for the SL-URL of Halloween Town 2014.

Below are some pics and captions of my visit.

Some weird avatars like a dead zombie girl visit the sim.
The lovely Marie dropped by for a short while as well

Be careful...a huge sinkhole lies in the center of town!

Some buildings house displays.

Like old Freddy Krueger over here.

But others host SL stores.

And a giant monster paw keeps roaming the sky in search of unwary visitors!

Let's Ride!

Ok, so it was not really my first bike riding experience (I believe it was my third or fourth in 3 years in second life, and the first one was in 2011), but it certainly was one of the more productive, in terms of getting the hang of the controls of a "real" chopper in Second Life.

My Linda Lou took me to the BCR Shopping District and Riding Sim, where I rezzed a bike I had bought about a month and a half ago, a JFC Anarchy. Now, she's a real biker in both SL and RL, notwithstanding the really cute mouse ears helmet that she wore, so she was soon whizzing and zooming, and zig-zagging all over the lanes and sidewalks while I bumped into just about every solid object in the sim (apologies for all the overturned trash cans and dented fenders!).

However, by the time we finished around an hour later, I was doing quite well in the track that circled above the sim like a sleek overpass, and at the quite fast fourth gear (yes, the darn thing actually had several gears!).

I will always love the Wallaby and the sea first, but I must admit it felt exciting to zoom quickly through the dips and curves of the race track at dizzying speeds. Thanks to Linda for again being so patient as she taught me the basics of riding.

Now, where can I get a copy of the first three seasons of Sons of Anarchy?

Linda Lou

September 16, 2014 at Inspire Park

My little barbie doll belongs to me completely. A gorgeous blond biker girl from Texas who sports a glock and a sexy southern drawl that makes me smile everytime I hear her, she is witty, educated, and has the sweetest of dispositions, and yet she is also a smart businesswoman who shoots rattlesnakes (and probably yankee booties!) that get in her way.

And if you're wondering what we were thinking at the time...

Awww...I can almost feel my blood sugar levels rising (amongst other rising things). Down boy! Down!

Images through the years:

2016-11-4 at Starbucks, Austin

2016-11-1 at Overview Cottage at Austin

2016-10-5 at Home in Sailors Cove South

2016-9-2 at Austin Starbucks

2016-9-2 at Xaara (Alanis)

2016-8-15 at Austin Cafe

2016-8-4 at Quakerstone

2016-8-1 at Omega

2016-7-29 at Game Room of our Sailors Cove South home

2016-7-18 at Austin Discussion

2016-6-17 at Austin's Cafe

2016-6-6 at Dance poles in Austin 

2016-5-13 at Austin's Starbucks

2016-5-4 at Cinco de Mayo party in Austin

2016-4-18 at Speakeasy of Austin

2016-4-14 at the Cafe at Austin

2016-3-31 at Austin's Fairy Tale Dance

2016-3-7 at the Austin Speakeasy

2016-2-19 at Starbucks Austin

2016-2-3 at Home in Sailors Cove South

2016-1-21 at Omega Library

2016-1-8 at Sirens Isles

2016-1-8 at Frank's Elite Jazz Club

2015-12-16 at Austin Gallery

2015-12-7 at Heart's Cove

2015-11-15 at the Art of Submission
Morning Coffee Discussion

November 5, 2015 at the Speakeasy at Austin

October 14, 2015 at Austin Gallery Annex

October 12, 2015 at Omega D/s Library

September 18, 2015 right before Masked Ball Dance

September 2, 2015 in Submission Gallery Annex at Austin

August 17, 2015 at Cafe O in Austin

August 6, 2015 at Austin Cigar Room

July 22, 2015 at Austin Discussion

July 1, 2015 at Austin's Submission Gallery

June 19, 2015 at Cigar Room at Austin

June 10, 2015 at Austin's Submission Gallery

May 20, 2015 at The Olive Branch

May 9, 2015 at Cafe O in Austin

April 23, 2015 at our home in Sailors Cove South

April 7, 2015 at our home in Sailors Cove South

March 4, 2015 at Cafe O in Austin

March 3, 2015 at Austin StarBucks

February 16, 2015 at Alanis Gallery

February 6, 2015 at Cafe O@Austin

January 7, 2015 at Austin

Dec 9, 2014 at The Olive Branch

Dec 1, 2014  at the LindaLou Art Store, Cobra MC sim

Nov 24, 2014 at Cafe O in Austin

October 30, 2014 at the LindaLou Art Store, Cobra MC sim

October 21, 2014 at BCR Shopping District and Riding Sim

September 3, 2014 at the LindaLou Art Store, Cobra MC sim

August 6, 2014 at MK's Beach Home, Lorena Chung Estates

July 29, 2014 at Austin Noob Dance Party