Those who visit Rezzable regions regularly will have noticed: the hobo community moved in recently. Now the head-hobo Orhalla Zander has an engaged an atomic to relay his orders, notices, event invites and best wishes for 2009 to the hobos through YouTube video message. Mr Oz hopes this will save him time on writing notices and clearing out misunderstandings about what "Oz said". The payment this poor atomic gets in exchange for his 'representative duties'? Of course, a can of beans, hobo-style. But, well, the atomic seems to enjoy it:

New Year's resolutions is something 'atomics' are bound to do. We might not always write them down, but at the beginning of each year, we say "this is what I'm going to do different", or "this is what I want to achieve". No miracle that this reflects on our avatar behaviours. So what did your avatar plan for 2009? Click here to vote in our poll.

Cleaning out the inventory & keeping it organised. You're a practical person, liking everything tidy & neat. But you're always busy in-world, and 'inventory management' is something you don't always have the time for. This year, from start to end, you're going to be tidy. Every notecard will go in the correct folder, every 'object' prim that's no use will be deleted. "Keep it under 10,000!!!" is your motto. Until the 1st of March when you'll start to slack off again.

Merry Christmas (or the equivalent in your religion, or just "may thy gifts be pleasant and thou family members not to embarrasing") to all! For those who aren't on a well-deserved ski trip, there's a huge consolation: neither is your Greenies' crew. This means we've got quite some activities and contests for you to enjoy! Tonight you can join us for a big party on the Greenies kitchen table from 12 noon to 3 pm SLT (TP), hosted by Angelina Rhode with DJ Krakov Letov. Winners of the Greenies Virtual Holiday Decoration Contest will be announced and fabulous prizes handed out.

Our first 2 stress test parties were a major success, which would not have been possible without a large turn out of avatars willing to expose themselves to the uncertainties of a new grid and new looks. A big "cheer" to our unselfish, bug-reporting test crowd thus! Where our first night of stress test partying could be described as 'crashy' - but hey, you can definitely learn from this too! - the second party was, as promised, more stable and smooth. We tested Greenies load, no-script Greenies load (a huge difference!), map teleport, bouncing heads, and hunted for more bugs (not those virtual roaches, this time).

Before I share some of my person conclusions - and pictures - on this subject, I'd love to share this great machinima of the 'Greenies' part of the Stress Test filmed by Zonja Capalini:

Let me first say a huge 'Thank you!' to all avatars (and their humans) that enjoyed the virtual pleasures of crashing & woot-I'm-not-crashing last night... and then guarantee them we've learned and made a few adjustments that will ensure there will be more Party and less Stress this evening.  A quick summary of the 1st Stress Party would go something like: "Maxed Greenies to the crash, learned a lot and bounced around party-style at Rezzable 3. Oh, and physics is still a b*tch." Tonight - 1PM SLT also - we're aiming for: "Party! (and a bit of stress testing still)" The changes:

Tonight 's the night... and I'm getting pretty nervous*: The 1st Stress Test Party on Rezzable's Private Alpha Grid at 1PM SLT! If you already signed up for alpha access and got yourself an avatar, all you will have to do tonight is login, be present, have fun and create stress. (Not stressing me, but the servers, please!) If you do not have your avatar yet, hurry over to the sign up page. Some extra guidelines and information:

Although few things reached ultimate perfection yet on what is OpenSim and thus our Rezzable Private Grid Alpha - the question is, can that ever, with constantly evolving technology and knowledge - 'the view' is definitely as stunning as 'elsewhere' when the right content has arrived. Take for example this lovely scenery, with Snowy Hoobinoo's  'out of the ordinary' virtual foliage and Evad Babii's beautiful lighthouse in the back. Shot at Sandbox #3. Now you can argue that WindLight will make everything beautiful, but this was definitely a stunning sight.

Rezzable is proud to announce the opening of our 'Rezzable Alpha Grid' - based on the OpenSim system - for testing by our fellow virtual world citizens, and invite you to take part in it. Currently we are running eight sims, including a replica of Greenies Home and a bunch of empty ones with plywood in them. Our stress tests will take place at Greenies OpenSim Home and takes the form of a giant party, with host Angelina Rhode. (Yeah, we've duplicated her too! ;)) Theme: Find the 7 Differences. Dates are Wednesday December 17th and Thursday December 18th starting 1PM SLT.

Read on: How to Register, How to Log In and err... How to Party!

In the past years we haven't really celebrated Christmas at Greenies. This year, that's going to change! Miss Kaeli kicked of the 'Xmas Frenzy' by creating us a lovely tiny & normal size Greenie Christmas Avatar (certified adorable). Miss LT has already started decorating and is setting up a 'snow ball fight battle arena' in the Greenies' Fridge (the freezer department) using Miss Ordinal's Cold System (necessary snow balls available there). But, as Greenies come from a place both snow and the celebration of the holiday season is unknown, they could still use a little help. And maybe, through your decoration suggestions, you can teach our Green Friends what the holidays are about? Read on for rules & prizes.

Update from Mark Kingdon CEO of Linden Labs on modification of pricing for existing voids/openspaces here ---> http://blog.secondlife.com/2008/11/05/a-letter-to-second-life-residents/

Further information about new pricing model at their wiki here ---> https://support.secondlife.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=4417&task=...