I made a short movie from Aimee and I's exhibit at SL7B - Campfire Kernow - I hope you like it!

Did you ever keep a diary? You know a place where you can write your inner most thoughts, fears and worries? A place where you can spill everything out as the ink touches the paper. When the world gets to you, you can ramble on page after page about how you feel, how you are lost, how you don’t know which way is up. Then, the next day, you feel a little more awake, a little more alive and embraced with an ability to make sense of it all; of all those things you complained about the day before, all those things that have gotten you down for weeks now amassing and weighting heavily on your mind.

It’s probably fair to say we’ve all done this at one point or another. We sit at a junction in our mind, sometimes for weeks, with absolutely no idea of which way to point the steering wheel and then suddenly as if by magic the direction seems so clear and painfully obvious.

A few days ago I created a draft blog post with worries and fears. An open and honest piece about how I felt. I didn’t publish the post at the time, it was simply something I wanted to say, I had to type, the keyboard became my ink well. I’ve decided to post it now because it’s a personally important part of my online diary.

Ever been in a room full of people and felt completely alone? It’s not an unusual experience for many people at one point or another. What about a virtual world with 80,000 people logged in at once, can the same feeling of loneliness still feel so real?

I’ve hardly been online in SL recent months. I feel as though I am driving through fog constantly and unable to see where I am going. Where do I want to go, what do I want to do? Frankly having spent weeks/ months wondering about this I can safely say I have no bloody idea. I feel like I’ve done it all, seen it all, experienced it all and what’s left?

Sitting having a drink at that party full of people you wonder what you’re doing there. What your purpose is. Watching your friends having a good time, enjoying themselves and doing ‘something’ you sit there maudlin and confused; a true rabbit in the headlights on that foggy night.

What to do, where to go. I’m sure I’m not the first second life resident to ask this, to wonder this, and I know for sure I won’t be the last either. When you feel so alone and wonder if anyone actually misses you at all where do you go from there? I really wish I knew.

I could blog about Viewer 2.0, I could fill a post with a series of complaints about the viewer, I could give reasoned arguments for those of us who are not fans to stick with it and watch its forthcoming improvements. I could blog about the latest cool sim. I could take pictures of here, there, wherever. I could if I had the drive and passion to do so. I simply don’t right now. How do I get that drive back? Someone please tell me, I need it.

It's been a while since I did my last set of images with guns, a subject of course most of you will know I adore. I decided it was time to do a new set, with a different theme.

My latest set is based around the idea of being undressed. The set begins with my latest acquisition from *Breach*, namely an M14 rifle and a frankly stunning backless dress from Azul. Following on we tone things down a little into a beautiful corset from Blacklace and neat little handgun. Finally comes a nude image which simply features me, a pair of leather Bax Coen boots and *Breach* 92F handguns with stunning dragon detailing on the grip.

The State of Undress set features at least one image which viewers should find evoke a chilling fear, or an arousing thought. I do so hope you enjoy it as much as I have putting it together.


Style Notes:

The State of Undress - Concealed

Pose: *Luth* Male Gun 24 - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Lalique/128/169/28
Dress: -AZUL- Linda -Onyx - http://slurl.com/secondlife/joia%20azul/129/128/25
Skin: -Belleza- Belle sk Smokey Mocha - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Belleza/128/201/24
Eyes: <<<>>> Lunar EYES - Lettuce - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seed/240/88/790
Eyelashes: Calla Lashes (Diva) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Calla/129/112/36
Necklace: ~Muse~ Celestine Diamond Frost Necklace - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Muse/148/148/24
Braclet: ~Muse~ Claris Pearl and Diamond Bracelet in Silver - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Muse/148/148/24
Hair: Uw.St Dan-Hair type-A size-S Angel shine - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Yamashita/60/86/21
Glasses: Solar Eyewear ~ Arae - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gandvik/34/29/25
Gun: *BREACH* M14 1.2.1 - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Overdrive%20Island/155/114/105


The State of Undress - Covered

Pose: [LAP] - O&E - Whatcha Want PR4 - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Retrology/141/234/40
Corset & Suspenders: ~Blacklace~ Miguelina: Silver Satin & Sheer Stockings - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Alphamale/162/7/366
Tattoo: [ addiXion - Half Tribal ] - HIGH TAN - http://slurl.com/secondlife/addiXion/135/153/29
Skin: -Belleza- Belle sk Smokey Mocha - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Belleza/128/201/24
Eyes: <<<>>> Lunar EYES - Lettuce - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seed/240/88/790
Eyelashes: Calla Lashes (Diva) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Calla/129/112/36
Hair: Uw.St Dan-Hair type-A size-S Angel shine - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Yamashita/60/86/21
Glasses: Solar Eyewear ~ Arae - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gandvik/34/29/25
Necklace: EarthStones Knotted Elegance III - Classic White Pearl - http://slurl.com/secondlife/EarthBound/124/139/25
Gun: *BREACH* Eightball - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Overdrive%20Island/155/114/105


The State of Undress - Uncovered

Pose: *SLC*MODEL107LPP(P4) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Bon%20Voyage/50/14/877
Boots: BAX Prestige Boots Black - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Jiminy/216/161/108
Skin: -Belleza- Belle sk Smokey Mocha - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Belleza/128/201/24
Tattoo: [ addiXion - Half Tribal ] - High Tan - http://slurl.com/secondlife/addiXion/135/153/29
Eyes: <<<>>> Lunar EYES - Lettuce - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seed/240/88/790
Eyelashes: Calla Lashes (Diva) - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Calla/129/112/36
Hair: Uw.St Dan-Hair type-A size-S Angel shine - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Yamashita/60/86/21
Glasses: Solar Eyewear ~ Arae - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Gandvik/34/29/25
Gun: *BREACH* 92F - http://slurl.com/secondlife/Overdrive%20Island/155/114/105

Originally laid down by Sophia Harlow, I picked up a very interesting new blogger challenge on Gabby Panacek's Couture Conundrum. The challenge asked us to take a look back to our past and compare to how we look now. The concept amused me because it gave me a nice chance to take a trip down this virtual memory lane and show Trin off in her old, mowhawk glad glory. Oh how times change you, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did re-creating it =)

Will you take on the challenge?!

It's often been said that Second Life is not a game. There is no end goal here, no achievements to unlock, no tasks to complete. If we all crave a goal, and need something to drive us forward, then what keeps us from coming here with nothing 'to do'?

As a regular Playstation 3 player I am used to watching trophies pop up, I've unlocked such and such, I've discovered so and so and I've opened the gates to whatchamacallit. I have a percentage completed of a game and I strive to head towards 100%. A constant interaction with the network to tell me how well I'm doing, how far I've come and how far I have left to go. Second Life doesn't have that... or does it?

In this gigantuan utopia we call Second Life, we all have our paths and we unlock our achievements along the way, we just don't necessarily realise it because it doesn't pop up with a little notification. You don't get trophies when you meet your first friend, or for that matter, your 50th one. I thought about it for a while, pondered how you measure success, how achievements are accumulated. An achievement is said to be doing something noteworthy. For each of us the way we measure what noteworthy actually is, is something very personal.

It would be amiss of me not to mention the achievement of lindens, the precious currency of our virtual Shangri-La. Yes as business people we residents struggle to make ends meet, to pay the bills and some rare few even bring in a real world salary. Yes indeed a positive bank balance does display you have a successful product/ service and therefore it must be counted as an achievement. It would be wise however and will help prove you're not altogether conceited to say it is not the only way achievements can be realised.

A designer would possibly say their first design was noteworthy, then their best selling design would be the next worthy act. Measured as a progression, but again one you don't see a notification for and certainly no one awards you a trophy for it either. A blogger would appreciate that first great piece of writing which helped to place them on people's radars as well as that first time they see an external link to something they've written. A builder would remember with a keen fondness their first merging together of prims to craft that home on mainland, all from the comfort of their seat in their newly constructed home on a private sim.

As for the rest of us... I'm sure we'll remember our first friend, our first dance, our first virtual kiss or cuddle. The discovery of a place which makes you 'feel' at home, helping a new resident as well as old friends. Also notably, skills learned because of Second Life which can be applied in the atomic world.

It's so very easy to forget how well you've done, what you've achieved. The dreams you have realised, the people you have helped along the way to open the doors to their dreams, their fantasies. Second Life isn't a game, it's a promised land filled with real emotions, real feelings and real people however if you like to measure progression it does have some game like qualities IF you take the time to look back and realise them.

There has been an awful lot of discussion in recent weeks/ months about Linden Labs driving force, the seemingly over balanced desire for new users at the cost to improving experience for actual residents.

Some residents and writers have expressed the notion that Linden Lab are wasting time, and resources focusing on us their actual recurring user base of residents. This is an opinion I don’t agree with, and I have a feeling the suits at Linden Lab wouldn’t agree with either. Any business in the real world, similar to Linden Lab, i.e. dependant on investment, development and growth will understand the company needs - to be put simply, two revenue streams. One of these incomes will be from the new user, this new money will be attributed to investment and development, financially speaking it should be. The other revenue stream provides their cashflow, the mechanism to keep servers running, pay employees, cover overheads, and we the residents pay for that with our continued investment in Second Life, with our premium memberships and in-world spending.

However, I would agree that at this stage the balance of focus is off. Striking this balance is a major headache for any Corporation and Linden Lab are no exception. One has to wonder why the balance is off, and I’d suggest that it’s off because the balance in management is off. Linden Lab, founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale was the start of a new era. A freedom fighting world, where people could be free, to do what they wanted, when they wanted. A revolutionary world where ‘average’ people could be what they wanted to be, and create what they wanted to create. Linden Lab in 2009 has changed focus to being a business. A business grounded by the original ideals, but one which has to pay the bills, develop, grow and more importantly, battle off the rising competition. Let’s not forget that in the real world, 2009 has been exceptionally hard. Financial institutions have been crippled, businesses left, right and centre have faced cut backs and many have gone into receivership or liquidation. It is sometimes hard as residents of this free world to remember that we are using the services of a real world company, with very real debts and bills. The Linden Lab of 1999, with it’s free world couldn’t continue, however I believe the balance in management has gone a little too much into the business world. Our world is no longer managed by freedom fighters; it is managed by economists and accountants. The management team face an issue of balance, which is off at the moment, which in-turn makes the balance of future focus also be off. The two are connected in my opinion.

Offering residents a Linden Lab home to become premium is of course an olive branch to new users, who will with retention become their cashflow stream of the future. Charging residents fees for XstreetSL, for instance, boosts the cashflow from current residents now. We have seen an end of ‘free’ banking in the atomic world, in my opinion it was only a matter of time before we witnessed it in our Second Life as well.

So, Linden Lab have produced a new youtube video. A video dedicated to show the community aspect of Second Life.



There are a lot of negative comments on this video, from residents and non residents alike. My two cents worth… I like it. Actually in-fact I love it. Why do I love it? Well it’s simple; this video isn’t aimed at us, the converted, residents of Second Life, it’s aimed at a market of people, who most of us agree are crucial to Second Life, and therefore it does its job exceedingly well in my opinion. A market of potential new users who have not used Second Life, who have read the real world media and believe we’re all a bunch of sex crazed lunatics who are waiting to pounce on our next victim akin to some sort of cult.

Have a think before you pass judgement on it, especially if you’re going to comment on the actual video itself. As a community we need to join together, form a united front against a real world hell bent on proving we’re all weird.

As some of you will know I've had rather a forced break from the world of Second Life, and the networks which go with it. This silence on Plurk and in-world was the result of an exceptionally busy 6 weeks in the atomic world.

I could say that the break did me good, I could say we should all have a break, come back refreshed and with a rejuvenated enthusiasm for the digital world. I won't say such. Don't mistake me it's true, but the majority of older residents all know this to be fact and most people at some point or another will have a break, or even blog about having a break. It does do us good, me harping on about it won't make you have a break however.

So instead, I chose to simply say I'm back. I return to this world which offers escapism from the real world when it becomes a little too real.

Aimee and I have changed our house on Kernow, and I feel the desire to share this with you all. It's from Barnesworth Anibus of course and while this won't be a long lasting home for us, however, it's a step in the styled direction we both want to take our digital home.

Of course I extend the welcome to come and explore Kernow, and hopefully enjoy it. Just one rule however, no humping in my house. :P

It's nice to be back, I've missed you all.

As I sit here I find it almost impossible to believe that a year has passed since I wrote coming of age. I still remember feeling those words, typing them and posting them, all as if it was yesterday.

Yes unbelievably I am three years old in Second Life today. As I look back on the past three years I feel that I miss something, and frankly it's a fairly shocking revelation…. sometimes, I miss being a noob. Don't mistake me I don't regret what I've done with these past three years, or regret a single part of this Second Life journey, but I do miss it being 'new'.


I remember logging in those first few times and thinking 'ooh what this, what to do'. Going to The Shelter and chatting to helpful people trying to work out what the deal with this Second Life thing was. Being given a 'LM' or 'TP' to Free Dove to get some nice clothes and wondering what the hell a TP was and where that LM just went in this odd looking inventory thingy. I remember receiving my first IM and replying to it in local chat, because I didn't realise it was a private message.

'Congratulations you've won 1$L in the give-away gizmo' - ohhh how do I spend this, where to go, what to do, oh good god the possibilities. Ok too much choice how do I get more of these linden things? Camping, oh I get money for sitting on my arse, smashing! Of course in those days camping rates were a little better than they are now, didn't make it any better however!

I remember the day I decided I must have a house because it seemed the thing to do. I spoke to Lord Leafblower, a friend and Lava Pit owner who had some rental land. He sorted me out with a plot on Solchan and asked if I needed a hand with a home. Of course I said that I'd manage and went and bought some beautiful freebie or dollarabie houses that would make my toes curl now.

Having never found the 'right' home I approached Mr Leafblower with my plans for a house. Looking back I must have described it better but now I describe it to you as a shoebox in the air with a spiral staircase going from the ground right to the roof. One room had a living space, the other side (provided you didn't fall down the stupid stairs) had a bedroom. It had this really cool feature where I could see out and those outside couldn't see in! Noobs are naive and it's brilliant =)


Having fallen face first to the floor many times on those death stairs, I decided I want to know how to build. Lord Leafblower and Eximus Hin taught me what a prim was and how to make it do 'stuff'. I built a club, because lets face it at some point most of us will have tried. It was an interesting experiment but with Lord having an established place I didn't see the point of having one too. So I set about changing the house because those stairs were ebil >.<


It was wonderful, it was filled with moments of 'wtf' and 'where did my prim go?' as I sent prims across the sim twatting people on the way past no doubt. I miss them. I miss learning. In those days everything was new and everything still pointed up. Now I'm not as easily impressed and sometimes that's a hard thing to accept.

Wednesday updates were regular and it never came back online when Linden said it would but we used MSN in the meantime and refreshed the status page a million times a second.

Of course I am still learning, I'm learning new skills. I'm more acquaint with the build tools and with photoshop which I'd hardly touched before SL. It's a different learning curve and it's brilliant don't mistake me, but it's not as new and exciting as it once was.

I've met some wonderful people along the way, each one which has helped to shape my Second Life, and in many aspects my real life too.

I want to thank Voodoo Buwan, for always being there. For being a very strong rock and never giving in when I pushed hard. For being there now as a creative junkie and working as hard as I do to bring Rez Magazine to the world. Rez was our dream and I think we've created it, together. We should both be very proud.


I want to thank Tangletwigs Fairymeadow for being there. To help talk through anything I needed too, or to distract me anytime, by dressing up, playing music and talking incoherent rubbish however, never ever judging me for anything I said.


I want to thank Augais Warf for giving me the chance to be an estate manager, something I wanted to do for a long time and provided a great distraction when I needed it most. For being there to offer a hand but also listen when I have ideas.


I want to thank dana Vanmoer and JamesT Juno for being an immense support at a time it was needed, I want to thank them for welcoming me to sl-newspaper and giving me a chance to explore writing skills when I desperately needed a distraction from real life going ons.


I want to thank Lord Leafblower and Aava Jeegoo for being helpful and giving me a chance in Second Life. For teaching me the tools needed and being a support at a difficult time and in a difficult situation. For sitting up until silly times of the morning and simply being there.


In more recent times I want to thank Peter Stindberg for contacting me through rezzed. net. In a chance meeting we hit it off and now talk daily on a range of subjects. A true business spirit we agree on a majority of things and yet have enough respect for each other to know that when we do clash we accept that different people have different feelings on many things.


I want to thank Allanah Tomsen, Voodoo's wonderful girlfriend for putting up with us. For listening to hours of us drivel on about work. For not being put off by a close-knit group of friends and for being wonderfully fun and insightful at the same time. I look forward to the four of us spending more time together, in SL and in RL.


Of course many, many. many people over the years have been wonderful and I'll never forget what each of these people have done for me and I do consider them very real friends.

Lastly of course I want to thank Aimee. Aimee became a resting place for me. Someone I knew little about but who wandered into my life at a time where I occasionally wanted the ability to talk to someone I didn't know well. it's sometimes easier to talk to people who you don't know 'well'. In this instance it wasn't long before that changed. I thank her with every piece of my soul for never judging me, for being there and listening. I thank her with every piece of my heart for allowing me to love her, and her loving me in return. I'm constantly amazed by Aimee and I'm exceptionally proud of her, I am very proud to have her as my partner in SL and rl.

Here's to another year, or three!

I’ve had a desire to do some fashion photography for a while and often toyed with the idea of using my avatar as a puppet after all I’ve heard avatars referred to as dolls and puppets on many occasions.

Since I changed the look of my site a fair bit in the last few days I thought I’d grab the bull by the horns to actually turn these ideas into an actual post! The question that was in my mind was what to wear, what should I feature in this mental illusion turned into reality. All of the outfits are from Last Call. Of course Last Call is no more, but oh how I miss it and oh how much I still adore these outfits and continue to wear them as often as I can! Many of these outfits define Trin as they were firstly worn at the defining point that made Trinity Dechou look the way she does.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did while making it up!

“Master of puppets I’m pulling your strings

Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams

Blinded by me, you cant see a thing

Just call my name, `cause Ill hear you scream”

The question on the tip of my tongue is…. will I, Trinity Dechou at the near tender age of 3 have to go camping?

You see, back in January I made a bet with my SL Brother, Peter Stindberg and it seems that unless there are some monumental changes in Second Life in the next 12 hours I will owe him 100$L.

What am I on about, I do hear you ask. Well it’s simple really. Peter and I made 2 bets with each other in January of this year just after Linden Lab bought XstreetSL.

Peter: I bet 100 L$ that by August 1st LL has bought Subscribe-O-Matic. And I bet 100 L$ that by August 1st we still have commission for sales on what used to be SLX.
Trinity: I bet 100$L that by August 1st LL won't have bought Subscribe-O-Matic and instead will have introduced their own two tier group system. And I also bet 100$L that by August 1st commissions on what was SLX will be gone.

On the count of commissions on Xstreet I fail and I now owe him 100$L. On the SoM front neither of us were right so that bet is nullified. However, if I had been just a little wiser I wouldn’t in fact owe Mr Stindberg 100$L. If I’d been wise enough to leave my counter SoM bet as a simple ‘LL won’t have bought SoM” then he would have owed me 100$L and we would have both been debt free.

So, unless LL cease commissions on Xstreet in the next 12 hours, or implement a new group system I have a Second Life debt.

The good thing about Second Life is however that this debt is merely a few pence and unlike Real Life I do have the option of sitting on my ass and doing nothing to clear this debt. Luckily I think I can just about stretch to this expense without humiliating myself camping.