RSS SL

1. How do I remove floating text

   I would like to know what the possibility is of recovering stolen lindens if it is possible to track the destination, if it is LL's position to return victims to their linden properties

2. A Section For Writing?

   I'll have to re-upload a picture for reference... Kind of a long read. May be triggering (mention of SA, narcotics, death) so please protect yourself... That's me a few years ago. I was on top of the world; best job in the world; incredible co-workers; lots of travel; buried in obscurity. For the sake of the story I was born under very unremarkable circumstances. My name was Sarah-Anne Takahashi. Let's go back in time and find out why I'm sneaking around with an M4 and full TAC gear under the name LT Blackwood. On 23JAN73, as I fought my way into the world in a small hospital in Ophir, Utah, my mother suffered a massive stroke. She never got to see me. I never knew what a mother's love felt like. Life was an endless uphill battle from day one. My father completely vanished long before I was born. From a few letters that I was left I knew Mom loved him deeply. I knew he had travelled back to Japan and was never seen again. Even law enforcement and general civil services couldn't locate him. Time kept going. The foster system welcomed me with jaws wide open. 14 years went by, uneventful, school wasn't working out but I didn't get to decide. By the time I entered high school I had been removed from probably 10 or 12 foster homes. Yeah, Uncle ***** couldn't keep his hands off me. The brother unit thought it was fun to throw me against the wall, then tell everyone it was self defense. Being really small for my age was all curse. Foster parents liked the grape a little too much. I ran away once too often. Found friends who taught me to fight for myself. And stealing cars for joyrides. For the first time I felt accepted and had something fun to do. That is until 19OCT90. Another day in court. The judge knew me on sight. I got the "You have so much potential and it's a shame you're throwing your future away with all this car theft..." speech again. Only this time he was ten times more disgusted at me than I imagined. I got an ultimatum. Next time I'd be tried as an adult and he would levy the harshest sentence the law would allow for. He also reminded me that with my small size, prison would eat me alive. Meanwhile, 30 days in juvy. Seeing the kinds of kids I was in with was a wake up call. I saw 15 year old girls who were just waiting for their sentence to end so they could get out and die. I saw 13 year olds in detox. I saw 16 year olds who were running a gang empire from inside. Who the hell is *****ing all these kids up? I did 26 days with good behavior. The judge wanted to see me before I was released to yet another set of fosters. See, in spite of being kind of a dick, he genuinely cared about the futures of the minors that came through his court. He set me up in a program that would send me to college after graduating high school. He believed in my sorry ass enough to take that big of a chance on me. I was shocked. For the first time I felt kindness that came without strings. I was ugly crying by the time he was done. He had also hand picked the fosters. No booze. No touching. No sleeping with one eye open. He wanted me to understand that I could achieve this level of safety and security. I graduated high school without incident, and managed to get my GPA above 2.5. A few days after I graduated I got a letter from Utah State University. It was a scholarship offer. As long as it took for me to get AA or BA in a chosen topic. I was determined to do better. On 15JUN96 I had worked my ass off and into a Masters' degree. Not just one but two. Applied Physics and Mathematics. I'm half Japanese, I gotta live up to it, right? On weekends I discovered a little hole in the wall dojo that taught Bujinkan Taijutsu. I spent as much time there as I dared. This is the hand to hand system employed by the ninja to take down samurai who were all experts in ju-jitsu. I loved the simplicity and the tactical focus. One evening, while walking back to the dorm, some kinda male ape popped out of the alley and demanded whatever he could take by force. I was still bashing his ribs into toothpicks when the campus police arrived. He never got a hand on me. He was a known predator around campus and had been a terror for 9 months prior to that. It felt good. Things were about to turn interesting. On 04NOV97 I decided to put my brains to work and reap some benefit. I joined the US Navy as an Ensign due to the college credits. First chance I had I sent that judge a photo and one hell of a thank you letter. He was the closest thing I had to a proper father. He was proud of me, and it felt amazing! Now the interesting part. I joined the navy hoping to work my way onto a boat or a sub. Learn how to command sailors. They looked at my records and decided they really needed a hand to hand combat instructor. Well I had to start somewhere. It wasn't really hard work and I enjoyed teaching something useful to people who needed to know. On 19MAY01 my world turned completely sideways. A letter came, apparently from a pretty lofty desk. I had been selected for 113X education. Holy *****, they want me in the Navy Seals?? No family, virtually nonexistent already, possessing workable skills. Challenge accepted. Mostly. It was kind of a good old boys club. Lots of "girls don't belong here" and "I'll get you in the hand to hand pit". Most of that was nullified when the hand to hand section came. If we were playing "Last Man Standing" it was now "Only Woman Standing". I got hit once. He received 4 dislocated ribs for his effort. Last I heard he was finally able to breathe on his own. Hell week went on until 26JUN02. I graduated. One of 18 to complete the training. My fellow graduates were all over 6 foot and 245 Lbs of muscle and determination. I'm 5 foot 1 and 125 Lbs. People weren't happy. They started calling me Blackwood. Even with the training, little could prepare me for my first deployment. On 18SEP02 the team I was on were sent way down south. Some syndicate was moving ungodly amounts of liquid opium. The government of that country had struck a deal with the US Government. Just make it stop. Make it known they shouldn't restart. The captain of my team had a list of ten people who were known to be there when we got there. We got there. Ten of the most evil humans alive were there also. 75 of their best security thugs, too. CPT Smith (I'll call him that) was like a surgeon. The team were placed in strategic location in the compound with very specific instruction as to whom to shoot, what to shoot him with, and when to advance. It went like clockwork. The team looked out for each other. I felt safer with them in the hot zone that I had at SEAL training. I did a lot of climbing that night because I could fit through more openings than anyone else. Go figure. One climb put me on a third floor hall by way of an open window. An unchecked sentry was on patrol. My orders were to locate the main electrical room and eliminate all resistance. My first confirmed kills were by knife rather than firearm. I had never taken a human life before and it left me shaking. By the time I had found the room there were 4 dead stuffed into a ladies' restroom that no one seemed to use. I don't know when it happened but I pissed myself. Within 5 hours the mission was completed and we were riding home in Blackhawk helos. Operation: Clean Water was a success. I'll spare the details of the missions that followed. Here's the list: Operation: Candlesticks 28NOV02 Operation: Rising Tide 16MAR03 Operation: Red Rover 29JUN03 Operation: Serenity 22AUG03 as OIC Operation: Dugout 09JAN04 as OIC These were smaller missions that didn't carry a high body count. All I know is that people are alive today because we did what we did. During Operation: Serenity one of the team members was in absolute shock that this little Japanese girl was no only on the team but leading the team. He thought he was gonna get my sushi and leave me bleeding in the dark somewhere. The fact that he lived was due largely to the mission parameters and a body count was not expected. I certainly didn't want to have to write reports as to his whereabouts. But pity he ran full speed face first into the side of the HWMVEE and broke his jaw. In 5 places. When we got to base I immediately reported his conduct. I was given a slap on the wrist. He got a firm talking to and a general under honorable conditions discharge. That was my breaking point. On 06FEB04 I was promoted to Lieutenant. On 13APR04 we were deployed on Operation: Catharsis. Yeah this is the one that changed my existence forever. A Colombian cartel had 67 girls between 16 and 19 years of age locked up for distribution to various trafficking groups. Intel told us they were a little lax on security and there should be little if any resistance. Upon elimination of hostiles a team of helos would get everyone home safely. According to the report there were ten known hostiles of no consequence moderately armed. There were 6 on my team, including me. Walk in the park, right? When we got boots on the ground and eyes on the zone we all collectively ***** ourselves. I had the horribly distasteful task of requesting reinforcements and possible air support. Ten hostiles were thirty hostiles. Everyone last one of them had an AK. And pistols. And several grenades. The response I got: "Who is this? Do your job and come home". Static. We were in the grinder. We tried stealth to find somewhere to sneak in. These guys were not *****ing around. The place was booby trapped with some Indiana Jones *****. Silent and so effective that no one would even check the sprung traps. I watched my entire team die some really horrible deaths and I was powerless to help them. Again, I called for support. "Principal Smith this is Varsity Captain. Game lost. All players benched for the season. Need the water boy on the field" That was how we were told to request immediate extraction protocols. Only there wasn't going to be an extraction for just me. They wanted hostages. All of them. I spent the next 4 hours picking off sentries, guards, goons, and lousy human beings. To this day I have no idea how I eliminated that many hostiles with little more than bumps, bruises, and moderate lacerations. I called out "Principal Smith, this is Varsity Captain. Homecoming, homecoming, homecoming!" They were an hour away. I moved the girls to the LZ and went back. My team deserved proper burials with honors and I wasn't going to leave them rotting in this hellhole. I moved the 5 bodies to the LZ and went back. That's the last time anyone involved saw me. Apparently I was up for some medal of honor but ***** them. The rescue team picked up the girls and my team. They went looking for me because the girls kept telling them I had gone back to the compound. They found my wrath. All the hostiles body parts were in a big burning pile. I didn't leave enough for my former CO to determine how many were actually there. They found my gear, minus the M9A2 pistol. I rather like that pistol. One thing they didn't consider is how well I can vanish. I had friends in places nobody wants to look. I was safe. I was able to obtain a copy of the official report (when you're good buddies with a telecommunications god, very little is hidden). I am officially MIA. I am officially part of a rather large investigation. In secret meetings the Department Of The Navy has disavowed my actions and would very much like to speak to me. To this day my file remains open. They're quite nervous and I'm not. My new friends and I continue putting major crime rings out of business and using their own money to fund the activities. I have someone training me in "low impact kinetic operation" and "remote target neutralization" Sounds fun, and it certainly has been. Maybe I'll pay the Navy a visit and just take my folder. This has been LT Blackwood USN and SEAL team leader. I now lead Cathartic Ghost Team 666...

3. Freebies for your Avi

   The Nova group is free to join, and there is a wall of group gifts (hair). There are also lucky chairs for anyone to use http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nova/117/155/468

4. salt & pepper's "project mesh revolution"

   I just hope there will be updates and new releases for this. When can we expect phat pussies and waifu boobs for our revolution avis?

5. Now that HiViD is gone... Can anyone recommend a good replacement?

   I can't believe so many people spent thousands of lindens on those dumb TVs when this was literally possible for free xD... Of course it requires some effort of searching the free video websites and streaming them yourself , in places like discord. But nope . SL-ers don't believe in using anything outside of SL and would prefer to open themselves up to security risks within SL by viewing media.