Kitty Lalonde asked me to take part in The Rummage Box blog, so you can find me over here too sometimes.

http://therummagebox.wordpress.com/

~QQ~ 

I’m playing over here for the time being:  http://queeniesl.blogspot.com

Come join me

~QQ~

Theft of Second Life content creation has been a growing illegal industry and creators have long been frustrated with the difficulty of protecting their products. In many cases Linden Lab has been contacted, DMCA’s (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) have been filed, and in some instances content creator’s have stopped creating altogether or felt so disheartened that they’ve left SL entirely out of frustration.

Things are about to change as a group of well-known designers and creators have taken real life legal action, straight to the US District Court, seeking to set a precedent and to send a message to those residents who are acting illegally by copying original designs by means such as taking advantage of what some have claimed as longtime, well-known exploits.

Utilized as a last resort, filing suit should prove to be the most effective means to settle matters of this sort, however it can be quite an undertaking. But what options are SL’s creators left with to protect their items, creativity, and in some cases, their livelihood? Linden Lab has stood by their claim that SL is not a game. For those that disagree, content thieves especially, game’s over.

In this instance there is not only copyright infringement, but trademark violation as well. It is up to each individual how far they want to go to protect their business and designs, but it can be done via incorporation, as well as by filing the appropriate trademark and copyright claims.

In SL’s few short years of existence the population has exploded, especially in the past two years, and just like the real world bad seeds do inevitably exist within the confines of this virtual community. While the lawsuit in question may not be particularly about seeking monetary compensation, more importantly it should serve as a wakeup call. Exploits do not give you a right to steal or an excuse for doing it. Just because you own a gun, that doesn’t give you the right to shoot anyone; just because you own a sports car does not mean you can drive over the limit.

It is my understanding that the defendant was given ample opportunity and reasonable time to settle this matter privately. He continued his non-compliant stance and claims of innocence even after being presented with what many will view as unquestionable evidence, much of which is available to the public via this Flickr collection. Does this appear to be activity of someone who is harmlessly cleaning out their inventory, or someone legitimately holding a yard sale? It is also important to note that several of these images show large quantities of copies from creator’s who have never given wholesale/resale rights.

For more info and details visit Virtually Blind, as well as this Google Document that went public this morning outlining the actions over the past 6-plus weeks that ultimiteley led to the suit being filed just a few days ago.

~QQ~

Just some messin’ around:

Yes, I’ve started using my blog here again and if ya don’t know by now my SL fashion stuff can be found at http://fashionangels.wordpress.com now.

Tonight’s post is more of me talking out loud to help myself make a big decision.  I have been working two part time jobs since moving out of state in April.  I like the morning one, hate the afternoon one.  The morning one is the friendly, downhome, sorta old fashioned country one, while the afternoon one is full of rich non-natives and full of corporate bull.  I have needed to do both to get enough hours and pay for my monthly bills as an independent woman living on her own.

The morning one has approached me on about 3 separate occasions in the past 4 months asking me to go full-time.  This last time they finally asked me to come up with a pay rate and amount of hours that would make me say yes.  So I did, and I presented it to them and expressed that I knew it might not be doable but that it is what it is and I understand fully if they can’t offer me what I needed. 

Today I was called in and my offer was accepted!  They want me based on my work ethic, good attitude and strong character.  Wow.  I must really truly like it there to be pursued based on my good attitude LOL.  I do love all the people there, get along with all very well and finally feel like I fit in.  My last job, up north, while I got along with almost all, I still always felt like an outsider.  Here I don’t.

The pros:

• Full time status which means vacation, sick time, and medical benefits.  Right now I get NO paid time off being a part time employee at both jobs.  And I haven’t had medical insurance since I quit college 10 years ago and let’s face it, I’m not getting any younger.
• Being able to eradicate Job #2 which I hate due to it’s mega-corporate nature, shitty attitudes, stupidly ridiculous PC software and because I just don’t fit in and is way too stressful for a place I am at only about 15 hours a week.
• Having every other weekend off completely where as of right now I work every single Saturday between both jobs and only have Sundays off.
• A substantial pay increase.
• Leave the dog there at work one night during the week and enjoy the 800’s (don’t ask) with my guy an extra night each week and being able to wake up and enjoy “cawfee” and some morning tme before heading off to work.

The cons:

• The shift is 11AM to close.  Closing time is on a day to day basis.  On a good day it could be 6:30, on an average day it could be 7-7:30, on a bad day it could be 8-8:30 or later.  Makes it hard to plan things and plus I’d have my dog sitting at home a half hour drive away in limbo.
• Errands will mostly have to be done in the mornings…ugh.  That’s a habit I will have to try hard to get motivated for.

My last job I worked 2-10PM, which pretty much sucked and I swore I wasn’t going to get back into such a hateful shift.  I have finally gotten myself used to waking up at 6:30AM, and even 8AM on Sundays when I am off as opposed to 10 or 11AM like I have done most of my life.  I do NOT want to resume my habits of staying up all hours and sleeping late.  I am on the same “shift” as my guy and want to keep it that way, and he is a consideration in my decision–am I going to be all wired til midnight (or later) or will I still be able to easily fall asleep at 10 or 11PM like we do now?  He says we’ll work it out just fine. The job offer says this shift is not set in stone forever and I may eventually be able to go back to mornings.  And I’ve heard THAT before lol.

Considering all, it really is too good to pass up and I’d have to be a fool to turn it down.  I just don’t want to regret it based on the shift hours after they have been so kind, wonderful and persistant.  There always has to be a catch, I guess.  It’s going to take willpower to set that alarm for 8-8:30 rather than pushing th limits and sleeping til 10.  It’s gonna take willpower to quit bloggin’ and bullshittin’ and hit the hay by midnight or so.  I want to keep the normalcy I have become accustomed to these past few months. 

Job #2 is going nowhere and I just abhor every aspect of it and haven’t learned a damn thing other than how to be a salesperson–NOT my bag.  Job #1 I have learned more in 4 months than in a whole year at my previous job in the same field.  I was given two weeks to come up with a decision…I told them I’d have answer by week’s end.  I know what I’m leaning towards and just had to put it down on “paper” so to speak.

~Q~

Edited to add: As far as blahhggg drahma goes, ignorance is bliss.  I read for my own entertainment. I make popcorn and sit back and watch.  But RL is much more important to me.  I’m too old for the shit stirring LOL.  Carry on…I need a snack.

Just last night I wrote about my love for the country lifestyle.  Then this morning at work I got a hefty dose of the bad side. 

Office call #1: Two Pit Bulls, thin, disgustingly dirty, and full of fleas that were visibly hopping around on them.  The good part…they both came across as happy, sociable dogs who enjoy daily walks with their owner.  Some just do the best they can, I understand that.

Office call #2: A 150 pound sweetheart Mastiff full of seed ticks (until today I had no idea what the hell seed ticks were…yet am very familiar with the Lyme carriers known as deer ticks being from Connecticut and all).  These things were just falling off this dog, covering the floor, blood spots all over the floor from us squishing the dern things with every step.  The good…owner loves the dog and vice versa.  The bad…owner adding another dog to the household. Hmmm…how about being able to afford Frontline for the existing dog first?

Office calls #3 and 4: Easy…simple…booster vaccines.  Happy, healthy dogs.

Then, local animal control walks in and asks us to take a look at a hound.  Up north hunting dogs consisted of fat and happy Labs who lived indoors and lounged on plush doggie beds when not hunting.  Down here hunting dogs consist of packs of hound varieties that live outdoors in pens and kennels and other than being provided with food and water and a Rabies vaccine to comply with law, they are “just” possessions, assets, sport…not pets.  This has been the hardest thing for me to swallow I think. 

I have a Pointer, have had her for 10 years now.  Talking to Pointer enthusiasts over the years they think she probably came from “field lines”…meaning from bloodlines that were bred for their hunting abilities.  She’s a nut, plain and simple.  I watch her and know she would have loved to do what she was bred for.  However she is a spoiled couch potato who sleeps under the covers with me every night.  I can’t imagine she would have survived the true hunting way of life. 

Anyway, back to the hound.  This dog was emaciated…backbone, ribs and even hip bones clearly visible; no fur on his nose and muzzle, bumps and blisters instead due to what we can only guess is sunburn.  His paw pads had oozing holes in them, to the point where he was sticking to the metal exam table.  The skin on his entire body was crusty and the stench of mange and yeast infection eminated from every part of him.  Throughout everything we did to him he just stood there like a champ, and as I held onto him while we waited for his skin scraping and intestinal parasite results I saw the sweet soul that was hiding behind his lifeless eyes. 

I remembered I had treats in my pocket.  That perked his interest but he would not take them from my hand, I had to put them on the table and then he would gobble.  After a few pieces he decided it was ok to ever so gently take from my fingers.  Petting him on the head could not illicit any tail wags, although something in his soft eyes let me know he was enjoying it and just wasn’t sure how to show it.  As we stood there waiting, and I prayed to be done so I could go home and scrub before heading to Job #2, I was fighting an internal battle of not wanting to let him go.

Then one of our techs came back and announced that he tested positive for sarcoptic mange…more commonly known as scabies…unlike the more common demodetic mange, scabies is contagious to other animals as well as humans.  Great.  I need to be sandblasted now LOL.  In addition, he was full of hookworms, roundworms, whipworms and God knows what else.  Heart murmur, swollen lymph nodes too.  This poor soul is only about 3 years old…he wasn’t meant to be out there, fending for himself, and very probably the bottom of the pack. 

It’s 12 hours since I had to walk away from Hound Dawg and he is still clearly on my mind and in my heart.  Maybe he is the norm, or at least not an uncommon sight.  Even being in this line of work for 10 years now, most of it spent doing shelter and rescue work, I have never considered myself a bleeding heart.  I am not one to coo over puppies and kittens and cute little designer MUTTS (read: Yorkie-Poos, PeekAPoos, GoldenDoodles, etc).  Give me a hard ass, smart and bitchy Rottie.  But it’s the ones like Hound Dawg (my name for him since his owners couldn’t be bothered to tell animal control what his name actually is, IF he even has one) that sit with me for a long, long time.  And as I look at my Pointer curled in a ball on the couch I know she got lucky and wouldn’t trade this life to do what she was meant to do.  And Hound Dawg wouldn’t either I surmise, if given the chance.

~Q~

I spent my first 20 years of life in one town, one house.  I abhorred it.  I hated the people, hated the town, hated the focus on f*cking football as opposed to academics.  School spirit?!  Kiss mah grits.  But I didn’t even know what the heck grits were back then.

As I’ve entered my third decade as a mortal being here on planet earth, I not only know what grits are but I now know what they taste like too.  Walking through a parking lot and having random people genuinely smile and say “Hello!” was foreign to me. 

I hated driving.  Thirty minutes worth of driving was an aggravation.  Now I look forward to it.  Thirty minutes of lush country, the sights and smells of nature, cruisin’ along at 50+ mph taking in the wildflowers, the farms, the forests, the small town ambience.  Thirty minutes to be alone with my thoughts and thankful for what I have and where I am, yet fully aware of my own mortality that could end any moment.  Not because of carelessness or recklessness, but because of fate and destiny.

If there’s something that haunts me most it’s the fact that people are dying every second…young or old, poor or wealthy, careful or not.  Ever since I can recall, there are days when all of a sudden I get weird about driving or even leaving the house in general; premonitions (so far false) of car accidents, fires, disasters.  It’s why I don’t make a habit of watching the news or reading the papers.  Call it ignorance, but it’s a feeble attempt at keeping my fears at bay.

But this was going to be a happy post, so forget all that.  We only have one life to live.  I finally feel “at home.”  I will continue to beam at the strangers who smile and say hello, continue to try new foods not native to us Yankees, continue to love every second while cruising the country roads. 

While I may be in the same country, it’s many miles away.  As a teenager and young adult I had an affinity towards the southern way of life (one exception being country music LOL) and I knew I was meant to be there someday.  I am now proud to say that though I may not have been born in the south, I am finally Southern by the grace of God

~Q~

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070716/ap_on_re_us/neglect_internet_addiction;_ylt=Aj7I_e5KIOal6lCn.jQ8f0XMWM0F

Always gotta blame something, forgetting the fact that some people just aren’t fit to breed.

~Q~ 

Ok not really…BUT as of Tuesday I was 3, yes T-H-R-E-E-EEEE in Second Life.  In RL, at press time, I have 6 days left to be only 30. LOL 

I got spoiled this week (actually, let’s say lucky instead), with having off from both jobs on for the 4th of July.  A little tip for the folks in Richmond on the Fourth of July: either go watch them shoot off a sparkler in Ashland, or be prepared to wait through the longest baseball game evaaaa downtown.  I think they finally started at 10:50PM or so.  Couldn’t stop the ballgame to do the fireworks so working class folks could go home to wake up in the morning..ohh noo!  In the end though, it was worth the wait

To count myself even more lucky, I only had to work my morning job today.  And being SPOILED I got one of my birthday gifts early and directly went shopping!  Everytime I go RL clothes shopping, which isn’t often, I always get to thinking about how SL fashion reflects on my RL choices, and vice versa. 

I’m Boho.  Not to the extreme, but boho style tops with jeans.  And I tried on a trendy friggin’ Polo shirt today.  In 30 years..ok, 31 almost…pffftt…I have never willingly put anything remotely like a polo shirt on.  But they were cute   I didn’t buy it though, so don’t denounce me YET!  I’ll wait for it to be on clearance LOL

And I’ve been listening to classical, which I have secretly loved since college so long ago, for the past 5 days straight. 

Considering all of the above I would normally ask someone to put me out of my misery, but holy moly I am completely happy

~Q~

Growing up in the New Haven area of Connecticut, espcially as a fan of rock music and concerts, I spent quite a bit of time in Toad’s Place.  It was the place for intimate, club-style shows.  I watched virtually unknown phenoms such as Dream Theater become an (almost) household name.  I have been in every section of the building from the manager’s office, to the control area, to “backstage.”  I have been beat up, bruised and carried out of a crowd.  I’ve been ON stage to film.  I’ve been on tour buses there, had autographs signed, shared a slice of pizza with a musician.  Needless to say, there’s a lot of memories.

Four months ago I left the only state I had ever called home and moved down to Virginia.  Boy, was I surprised and excited to hear that Toad’s Place was opening up about 20 minutes down the road from me!  Last weekend, as my Mom was here to visit, I got to see Richmond’s Toad’s Place for the first time.  Well, the outside at least.  The location is incredible, overlooking the canal, and the building style is perfect.  As the CT Toad’s was kind of turning into a hole IMO (but I hear they were renovating?), this may be just the revitilization they need, in a perfect atmosphere.

Here’s some pics for my friends back home:

~QQ~