167 - Love Donna Flora

Dim Sum watches the bright sunset and thinks, "Sunny day tomorrow."


I'm back to oranges, I know. But I have green trees!  :D

This is the sim for the "Love Donna Flora" event to support Donna Flora's Squinternet Larnia, who is dealing with cancer irl. For more details, view the event blog.

location: Love Donna Flora

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Slips through walls 5 (modified)

166 - Airship

Dim Sum sits on the cool stone window ledge and wonders if the crew of the hovering balloon ship and the crew of the docked balloon ship were abducted by the whizzing UFO.


I was tempted to do warm colors again, but I kept my promise!

location: Mythopoeia

Technical notes

windlight: Places Las Legunas (modified)

165 - Painted wheels

Dim Sum naps under an intricately painted vardo, but not too far from the nice warm fire and the deliciously smelling stew cooking on the clay pot.


I know, I know, I've been focusing on warm colors (browns and oranges and yellows) lately. I can't help it, I love orange. But I'll try to get to the cooler colors (blues and greens) soon, if not next time.

location: Mythopoeia

Technical notes

windlight: [EUPHORIA] that day (modified)

164 - Le Reve

Dim Sum watches and wonders if that's her ship coming in. And if it were, she hopes it's full of tuna.


It's called "Le Reve" (The Dream), so it's literally a dreamboat. :D ... Doux reves.

location: Mythopoeia

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] SUNSET - Brouhatta charme (modified)
water: Glassy (modified)

163 - Roman great hall

Dim Sum hears the sound of an engine reverberating in the great hall. Then she realizes its her own purring echoing against the walls.


This is actually the main store for "The Curious Prim." But I love the architecture and the textures.

location: Mythopoeia

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] DUSK - Beachin' (modified)

162 - Sighting

Dim Sum watches the cigar-shaped object silently glide across the night sky.


Mythopoeia is deliciously textured and built. I wanted to show the textures here, but this windlight caught my eye. I didn't even modify it at all. Maybe next time, I'll show the richness of the textures. It's just a bit difficult to compose pictures, because it feels crowded, so it's tricky to focus on just one thing.

All structures were built by Grey Kurka.

location: Mythopoeia

Technical notes

windlight: wastelands (unmodified)

161 - Under the shadow of a noose

Dim Sum meowed at the raven, "What's the most dangerous thing in the universe?"
The raven cawed, "What?"
Dim Sum replied, "Life... It always ends in death."


I know, I know, it's a bit morbid. The joke is from an RL friend Jan, who always thinks of morbid things, like lemmings jumping off cliffs (which is an urban myth, btw).

location: Incantre

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Slips through walls 5 (modified)

160 - Sampan sail

Dim Sum tries to calculate the probability that she would land on the boat if she jumps. If x is the horizontal distance between the dock and the boat and y is the height difference, then .... 

I love this sail. And it's nice to see Asian-style boats in SL. The sampan was created by Aley (AleyMart). Awesome freebies!


location: Incantre

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] SCIFI - Beautiful again (modified)
water: Phototools- Gallery Water 01

I can't wait until the water also reflects shadows. I should probably check if there's a bug report for that, except I'm too lazy to search bug databases. I had to adjust the sun to minimize the effect of the shadows against the side of the dock not being reflected on the water. I tried to darken the water but had a hard time doing that without losing the reflections entirely.

159 - Hovel at the edge of the forest

If a clay pot falls in the forest and there is no one (except a cat) to hear it, did it make a sound? And if the clay pot fell on the cat's head and there is no one to observe it, is the cat dead or alive?


"To say something is meaningful is to say that that is how we arrange it so; how we comprehend it to be, and what is comprehended by you or I may not be by a cat, for example. If a tree falls in a park and there is no-one to hand, it is silent and invisible and nameless. And if we were to vanish, there would be no tree at all; any meaning would vanish along with us. Other than what the cats make of it all, of course." - William Fossett (source: Wikipedia)


location: Incantre

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)

158 - Adrift

Dim Sum watches the boat drift in the middle of the river and wonders if it's trying to run away or if it's trying to find its way home.


I feel like I've plateaued with these landscape scenes. Once in a while, I'd get this excitement, this giddyness, when I create something extraordinary, and I can't wait to get it out there. Lately, those giddy moments have been rare. I think it's time to push the envelope and experiment again.

location: Incantre

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Slips through walls 5 (modified)
water: Phototools- Black Default

157 - It's always greener

Dim Sum exchanges rawrs with the cat-human while the cows moo in the background.


When I arrived at the landing point, I got purred at. *giggles* That was the start of a nice conversation with Chani. And she patiently stood there while I was looking for the right windlight. Chani is only four months old in SL, but she's a gamer and is a true nerd (what a joy!). It was her first time at Incantre too, and she's looking for a place to RP.

Anyway, that field is actually phantom. So is the fence. I landed in the water at least twice when I tried to get closer to the cows. So, ... the grass is always greener on the phantom field. :D

model: Chani (sayyadina)
location: Incantre

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] SUNSET - Garrigal moscheles 1 (modified)

I went back to using png; I'm seeing too much ghosting along edges with jpg, even at high resolution. I think I prefer nice clean pixellations. ;)  (Don't tell my sister that I'm not listening to her advice.)

156 - RFL Catfish

Dim Sum ponders a rhetorical question.... Are catfish the mermaids of cats?


Have you heard? The Relay for Life has raised more than US$2M in the nine years it has been in Second Life!

The sims are gone now, but this was somewhere near the start of the track. I took this after doing two laps. The catfish fountain was created by Anhayla Lycia, and the lotus leaves are by Aki Shichiroji of Organica.

Okay, I have two surprises for you today, my dear readers.

1. This image has a matching mini-videoclip.  There have been times when I'd think, "Oh, I love that movement," but I couldn't capture the movement in a still photograph. So, I think I'll do these mini-vidclips for the more interesting scenes. The music will be very similar though, because I don't have time to look for different public domain music each time. This music (if you could call it that ;) ) was randomly composed using an app called the "Diatonic Composer" from AntiCulture.net.



2. The "Where's Dim Sum?" game is ready for public consumption. Yes, the one in the SL10B celebration! I had to modify the script because LSL wouldn't allow you to apply a texture on a child prim if the texture is not transferrable, and I was trying to figure out the best way to allow the user to modify the settings. The blue-dialog menus are too much like phone menus (unintuitive and long-winded) and a regular HUD would be something you have to look for in your inventory (I have 64k items in my inventory; trust me, looking for a HUD whose name you can't remember is an exercise in futility). The top scorers in SL10B already got their copies. If you are one of my "frequent favers" in Flickr or "frequent plusers" in G+, let me know your SL name and I'll send you a copy.

location: RFL Fight Back (The sims are not there anymore.)

Technical notes

windlight: Phototools- Lo Light 03 (modified)
water: Pond

155 - RFL Why did the snails cross the road?

Dim Sum, the snailherd, is glad that the snails are very willing to get in line to cross the road. Now, if they would only move faster before a race car comes careening around the corner.


I posted this and another in Flicker several days ago (omg, I thought it was only two days ago!), but the days (and nights) just seemed to slip through my fingers with so much going on.


location: RFL Activities 3 (The sims are not there anymore.)

Technical notes

windlight:Phototools- Lo Light 03 (modified)

154 - RFL 'Remember' luminaria

Dim Sum sits by the bright lanterns and watches the people as they zoom past her, walking, running, biking, skating, skateboarding, from humans to creatures, from huge dragons to tiny fairies,


There's a LOT of beep-beep roadrunners on the RFL track this year! They were literally zoom-zooming! It's way faster than a run, so I figure it must be an AO or a HUD. A few of them bumped me, even though I wasn't sitting on the track, just because they couldn't turn fast enough around the corner.

This caped skateboarder was going at run speed, but she was still too fast for me to get her name. If you know who she is, or if you are she, let me know.

I might try to take one more picture from the RFL track today, if I can catch them before they close down the sims.


model: (unknown)
location: RFL Screening

Technical notes

windlight: Incongruent Truths (modified)

On the technical side, my artist sister kinda scolded me for using the png format at such a low format, so I can't use the images for print. So I've switched to jpg with four times the resolution.

153 - Death and the joker

Dim Sum thinks it had something to do with the fire circle. She's feeling woozy and seeing double.


The sim. Venexia is another sim owned and created by Baal Zobel and friends, who are also responsible for Goatswood. This shoot is right at the landing area. There are two arches on the way to the main area of the sim -- this one with the joker mask and another one at the other end of the platform with a skull.  I kinda had an epiphany when I realized the connection between the two arches. Death is the ultimate joker.

Captured again! I was getting set up when Min2y arrived at the center of the fire circle, which is the landing point. After a brief chat, she asked if she could take a picture with Dim Sum. Of course, Dim Sum is flattered! Luckily, Min was able to take a couple of photos. As soon as she said she posted them, my machine promptly shut down. I didn't notice that it was getting too hot. So I had to reboot and adjust some settings and get some ice packs... hey, they work. See Min's SL timeline for the photos she took. Here's one of them.

Seeing double. I got frustrated with windlight. Actually, the frustration has to do with being at a plateau and getting burnt out. I need to try new things for me to get excited about this project again. However, I placed a lot of restrictions on the project, specifically to save time and to squeeze creativity. For a while now, I've had this idea of doing an overlay using a HUD that covers my entire screen. So, that's what the "drunk" version is. The HUD is slightly bigger than my screen. The image on the HUD is the same, except without the signature and without windlight so it's darker without fog. The transparency of the prim is set to 75.


location: Venexia

Technical notes

windlight: Alchemy Immortalis - Foggy Morning (modified)

152 - Moonlit tryst

Dim Sum balances on the ledge as she peers down at two shadows moving around under the trees.


I seem to be using very similar colors in my pics in this sim, even if I start with a different default windlight. I modify my windlights on the spot, and it depends a lot on how the scene inspires me. Because of the realism of the builds, I feel like I have to enhance that realism with more realistic lighting. This one is a bit of an exception though; this is more exaggerated.


location: Goatswood

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] DUSK - Siennarel (seriously modified)

151 - Little wooden gate

Dim Sun passes through the gate and suddenly gets a Zen moment. Did she walk in or did she walk out? And if the gate swung aside, how could she pass through the gate? Which is the gate? Is it the wooden structure with slats nailed together? Or is it the gap in the fence that it occupies?


That cylindrical structure behind the tree is a lookout of sorts with a turret at the top. All structures are by Baal Zobel.

location: Goatswood

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] SUNSET - Garrigal moscheles 2 (modified)

150 - A river runs through it

Dim Sum thinks she saw movement in the water. She pauses, ready to pounce on anything that comes out of the water. Even if it's Nessy or her relatives.


Similar style to the last one. A bit rushed.

location: Goatswood

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Impires (modified)
water: Pond (modified)

149 - Steeple redux

Dim Sum meows at the lone drake on the water, "I think I've met your brother and sister-in-law." The drake merely quacked in response.


Mz Marville invited me to see Ewan Crumb's home, which was a nice modern build with baked shadows. After about 15 minutes or so, I said I had to go because I needed to do my pic of the day at Goatswood. They wanted to see Goatswood, so I took them there. They were impressed with the build too. After exploring a little, with Ewan doing a costume change about three times, they said goodnight and I took this pic.

location:Goatswood

And the winners are ...

Before I forget, I haven't announced the top scorers in the "Where's Dim Sum?" game at SL10B. I said I would send a copy of the game to the top three, but I'll send a copy to the other two also.

However, winners, please pardon the delay. I'm trying to find time to finish the menu system that lets you customize the game. Hopefully, it'll be done in a week.

And without further ado, the winners are ...

• Alania Darkwatch (score: 608617)
• Kristine Kristan (score: 148994)
• LibGwen Resident (score: 72047)
• Mayatuk Noarlunga (score: 30738)
• Hiram Walker (score: 4537)

I'll put up the game for sale inworld also, so if you're interested, stay tuned, and I'll post the location of the vendor and the Marketplace link. If you're one of my frequent favoriters/commenters in Flickr, please send me a FlickrMail with your SL username to get a free copy.

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] BIG SUN - Slips through walls 5 (modified)
water: Glassy

148 - Sumthin's brewin'

Dim Sum sniffs the air and wonders what's cooking. Hopefully, rat soup with that red tabasco sauce.


This room is one of the interesting places inside the mill. It looks like a sorcerer's workshop. Lots of very interesting objects here from several builders:

• Druunah Esharham (a i s l i n g) - "Kaitlin Books" in the foreground and "Herbalist Worktable" in the back
• Pandora Popstar (LISP Bazaar) - the bottles of poison and "Collector Candle holder" (gloved hand on tripod)
• Maxwell Graf (Rustica) - wooden table in the foreground
• estatica (Estatica Store) - "Captain's letter" under the bottle of red poison
• Heraklitus Bohemian (Bohemian Delights) - basket of eggs
• madmacit (Ginger Line) - "Round Plate w/ Bottle" behind the cauldron
• Aley (AleyMart) - "table top weighing scales"
• Minke Bailey (MB-CreationZ) - "Sculpty Halloween Cauldron"
• Cory Edo (Trompe Loeil) - lantern in the foreground
• Laufey Markstein (T R I D E N T) - piles of books on the floor
• Searlait Nitschke (Roawenwood) - "Fortune Teller's Rug"

location: Goatswood

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Dark Red sky (modified)

147 - Goatswood steeple

Dim Sum sits on the fence and observes the buildings across the little river. The town is eerily quiet.


Someone suggested Goatswood. I can't remember who it was. I'll have to sift through the comments in my pictures in Flickr to remember. (UPDATE: It was Danii Lyric who suggested the sim.) Anyway, Goatswood is a roleplay sim, and it is a gorgeous build.

To visit, you can pick up a 3-day pass at the train station (landing point), and you wear it. It has a hovertext title that says you're OOC.

The structures were built by Baal Zobel.

location: Goatswood

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)

After I turned shadows on, I had problems with some lights flashing on and off on the alpha textures, like the trees. I didn't have local lights turned on, so it wasn't that. It might be the new Firestorm version. Or my graphics card is ready to croak. Or maybe it's all of the above, because Mercury is retrograde. :D

The version above is when some of the lights were off. I prefer this one because the focus goes to the buildings, instead of being washed out when the trees are also lighted. And I think Dim Sum is easier to find here.

146 - Ankerplass Mooring

Dim Sum meows her song, a lullaby her mama used to sing, "Moooonnnn riverrrr, ... wherever you're teleporting, I'm teleporting your way.... Two drifters ... off to see the grid ... there's such a lot of grid to see...."


You know, I thought this looked like a Christmas card, doesn't it? I think I got my holidays all mixed up.


location: Second Norway

Technical notes

windlight: [TOR] DUSK - Beachin' (modified)
water: Glassy

No DoF in this one and the view angle emphasizes the distance.

145 - Tell me "no lye"

Dim Sum sniffs the fishing nets and smells the scent of the salty sea.... But where have all the fish gone?.... Huh?!? "Lye vat"?!? Vhat do you mean?


This sim is Second Norway, which I discovered at SL10B, so I got a landmark and here I am. It's a mix of pastoral areas and buildings by the water. I love this little traditional church on top of the hill.

My RL ex was of Norwegian descent, so, yes, I've tasted lutefisk (fish preserved with lye) and many other Norwegian delicacies. How does it taste? Let me put it this way, using a traditional Norwegian Minnesotan expression.... Uffda!  :D

location: Second Norway

Technical notes

windlight:  [TOR] SUNSET - Garrigal moscheles 1 (modified)