Open the Box with Dana

You know there has been a lot going on in Secondlife recently and you can often read here my own cynical point of view of Linden Lab, but to be honest, its cynical simply because I personally have seen promises made and not kept and also things tried that simply do not work or have had the potential to make a big difference (e.g. having a communications officer) that just haven't fulfilled that potential. Now that aside I took the risk and actually downloaded the newest viewer iteration after holding back for a long time - most release candidates simply crashed or didn't work regardless of the promises that THIS was the best one yet - now I can honestly say that I agree this latest one is the most stable iteration I can remember since way back when, I am occasionally a cloud but it rarely lasts long and we all know there have been a few days of disruption, but I am pleased to see fairly prompt notification inworld of problems allowing us to make the choice whether to stay or log off for a while. There are obviously some issues that some face and again the tools buttons disappearance is seriously annoying for us that build, but we can't have everything, right?
I have also felt slightly encouraged at Linden Lab actually starting two way communications in the forums firstly with the questions about VAT and then about the future of mainland, now I haven't covered this latest one too much as it is a huge subject. The present mainland is a huge mess and I truly believe any effort on the part of the Lindens is a step in the right direction, at least they are showing some responsibility about making an effort to DO something about it. Read the forum for yourself and take part in the discussion HERE, you will need to log in with your Secondlife details to read it.
One of the things I hear a lot about is charitable causes in Secondlife and the impact that these can have on real world issues can be immense with little and well known charities benefiting from Secondlife. Always beware that you confirm it is a real charity before you donate anything though - it is as always open to misuse - a real charity will not mind you asking questions.

RFL obviously comes to mind and managed to raise a huge L$55,230,056! total, but although the best known charity in SL it is by no means the only one.

Recently I heard about an event I think you should also know about and that is 'Great Strides' (Healing with Horses).
Great Strides is an RL innovative program that helps people to overcome their mental health issues by partnering treatment staff with equine staff. Now in SL they are holding an event this weekend an auction and a fun cross country course which I actually tried out yesterday and had a huge amount of fun with, Oldrome yer of Homes by Rome is the event organiser with her partner Sawdust Yer (contact either to register for the event), the CCC will be held on Sunday and I know I will try my best to be there and probably see if I can get the slowest time on the course possible while actually completing it :) I loved to see the little purple guys jumping out of my way, hehehehe. The auction is on Saturday with a huge array of items donated - you can go and bid on them right now HERE and maybe have a look over the course while you are there.
Of course that is not the only event going on this weekend it seems everyone has something happening and I cannot begin to hope I will make it to all of them - take a quick look through our other sections for some ideas of what you can do - EVENTS, EXPLORE, MACE and DESIGN will all give you ideas.

I guess I better stop rambling on as I could go on for a while with the things to see and do this weekend, but I think, a look through our sections will give you a better idea.

Enjoy your read and have fun this weekend.

Dana