356 - Stoop dee doop

Dim Sum watches the new people pop in and walk by, looking all lost and confused.


I had a surprise last week. Windows 10 offered to be upgraded and I agreed. It looked like a major upgrade because the upgrade took a while and then it had to reboot. It's not like one of those where it would upgrade when you turned off your machine anyway. This one specifically asked when you would like to restart.

After the upgrade, everything looked normal. That is, until I tried to open Firestorm.

First, the login page looked strange, like this:

The components of the page were all over the place. And there was that message that said:

We were unable to decode the file storing your saved login credentials. At this point saving or deleting credentials will erase all those that were previously stored. This may happen when you change network setup. Restarting the viewer with previous network configuration may help recovering your saved login credentials. 

Ooookay. I was seriously wondering if I had just installed malware. But I reentered my credentials and logged in. O... M... G....

That's when I realized the resolution somehow increased. The UI components shrunk so I had to change the setting for that. But the image was OMG!

Anyway, that change in resolution changed my workflow with Dim Sum's images. In the past, I did Ctrl-` to get 3840x2054. Then I used Firestorm's Snapshot feature to take pictures of the settings for the Technical Notes section below.

Now, when I do Ctrl-`, I get 7680x4110 but part of the image is cropped off the top and the right side, by about an inch. So, I now use the Snapshot feature with Current Window to get 3840x2054, and I use a Custom size of 1920x1027 for the Technical Notes. The good news is that I can now use the Filter in Snapshot! That adds interest to the windlight!

*sigh* Just as the series is ending! How cruel is that?!? Oh, well, at least I can use it in machinimas.

location: Saint Pete City by NevaCrystall

Technical notes

windlight: Annan Adored Dusty (modified)
filter: AutoContrast

355 - Wired crosses

Dim Sum feels her fur rise as she rubs against the pole.


I was playing with the windlight settings and I was struck by this monochromatic look. It made the electric pole look more realistic. I left a bit of color though. I think it's more interesting that way than pure monochrome. Yes, it's still from the Fine Day windlight.

The "oyasumi / telephone pole / concrete / cable" were created by Kenzo Gateaux (oyasumi).

location: Furillen

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)

354 - Load 'er up

Dim Sum figures that this truck is going nowhere, loaded or not.


I love the ambience of this area of the sim. There's a certain desolation and eerieness to it. Part of a train with cargo cars is also nearby but too far from here to show the context and not as interesting as this truck, which was very well made.

The "AS Abandoned Truck B-3" was created by ArmyStone (Total Destruction).

location: Furillen

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)

353 - Transportation

Dim Sum wonders where the wheelchair's occupant went and imagines the worst scenarios.


I thought this was a very interesting juxtaposition and makes me wonder:

Is a wheelchair considered transportation, like a ship? Or is it considered part of the person using it, the same way eyeglasses are considered part of the person wearing them?

The "[ zerkalo ] Wheel Chair" was created by danielestro.

location: Furillen

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)
water: Glassy

352 - Otto: Man on chair

Dim Sum smells the fish in these chairs and wonders if this is where fishermen sat while they fished. Mmmm, fish.... Someone give this man a fishing rod!


I had already taken my first image when Otto came by and said hi. He has an interesting avatar (see that red bandana around his head?) so I asked his permission to include him in the picture. Often, an avatar adds a point of interest to the image.

The "Soy+SKBIO. Chair [in town of Camaguey] ..." chairs were created by Soyoy (Soy).

model: Otto Muggins
location: Furillen

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)
water: Glassy

351 - Abstract trees

Dim Sum lies in the shade of a popsicle tree as the sun sets.


I followed a landmark that I had, but I realized that I saved it for a Halloween shoot, so it's not really applicable anymore. But this parcel was just across the street.

I've been to this place before and I loved the scene. It feels like something out of an old comic book. Richie Rich?

Anyway, I missed last weekend, because it was the Christmas weekend and I was rushing to finish my Christmas greeting machinima. So there are five images this time, and there will be five for each of the next two weekends.

The trees were created by Misty Mole.

location: Gilda - Adult Hub Zone

Technical notes

windlight: Fine Day (modified)
water: Glassy

350 - Santa's bicycle

Dim Sum wonders if Santa's reindeer went on strike so he had to give up his sleigh.


OMG, only 14 pics to go! OMG!!!

This week's set has been strange, really. Usually, I'd have pretty much the same style in a set because I use the same windlight with slight variations. This time, I have four images in four different styles. I started with two different windlight settings and modified both, of course. It's just that certain places and certain compositions seem to demand a certain ambiance. So I just go with it. :)

The "{what next} Winter Bike (decor)" was created by FrankLee Anatra ({ what next }).

location: Telrunya

Technical notes

windlight: Midnight (modified)