Important confirmation from the NKF.

Because of how cashout rules have changed in the past year, the charity is required to have their own inworld account in order to cash out directly to their paypal account.  However, it’s important to make sure that those accounts are legit, for obvious reasons.

The NKF does have an inworld account – NationalKidneyFoundation Resident.  However, because the profile is mostly empty and it didn’t have PIOF, Lokii got in touch with the NKF directly to ask if that account was in fact theirs before we planned to send it any money.

This is the response we received(click on it to embiggen.):

 

In other words, the NKF has confirmed this account belongs to their charity.  It’s legit.

 

Time to dust off the blimp.

Hi.

We’re back, and dusting things off.

Applications for this year’s ride on the G.A.S Blimpy (I heard that, Lokii.) open on August 1.

 

 

 

 

Cargo Received, Captain

Well gang, we did it.

After LL’s ever-confusing guessing game of when processing payments will happen the donations rolled in early (let’s assume that they know we’re awesome and clearly it had to come first or someone (probably me if not Axi) would have been heard yelling a mile away.)

Which then lead to the next adventure of to the site…

 

Again I cannot thank everyone enough for this and the amazing turnout for this, the blogging team, the merchants, and the SL community’s generosity and support. By default when you donate to NKF it selects your local chapter but we made this as a donation to the main branch so it can trickle down into all the service areas and main division of research and assistance. Just to give a better perspective of how much this has helped:

40 people. It doesn’t seem like an amazing number to shake a stick at, but that’s 40 more getting often necessary and preventative medical help, moral support and a tireless fight to save and lead more fulfilling and healthy lives.

 

Thank you again everyone. Let’s double the race next year.

 

– ❤ Loks

 

The last gear grinds to a halt (and the event total!)

As the Gears Turn, by Mildread Gloom

The gears have stopped turning for this year at A Clockwork Spiral, but before they did, Mildread Gloom got this great photo on the promenade.  I love the lighting in this.  Thanks Millie! ❤

Well, we finally closed. I actually had to restart the sim to get people to go home!  It’s been an incredible run, and more than we ever expected.  Thank you so much to all the people who came out, shopped, took pictures, dragged their friends out, out AMAZING blogging team (omg they work so hard) and the incredible group of merchants who helped bring ACS together. We don’t really have other words to use, or we’d use them, but thank you.

Of course no one wants to hear me ramble on (I don’t either) so let me get to what you all WANT to know- the total.

I’d set our initial goal at 150KL,  That was based on the first year of WGF, which did a 2 week run (a full 14 days) and had made 220KL in its first year.  (this year, it made over a million linden.) But we only had 5 days for this so 150K seemed reasonable.  I then said if we surpassed it, I’d extend the run to a week next year.  I THEN said, if we hit 258KL (1000USD) I’d make it a full 2 week run, just like World Goth Fair.

The actual total raised in 5 days at A Clockwork Spiral 2013:

L$278,444. or $1082.04USD for the National Kidney Foundation.

We are coming back for a full two weeks next year, folks.  Count on it.

The money is already in motion.  I sent the full amount to my main (because it has an increased cashout limit) and set it at a limit sell of 248 (on larger amounts the limit sell is a much better deal even if it takes a few hours to complete.)

 

 

 

As soon as I get confirmation that the sale has gone through completely, and I send the money off to paypal, I’ll post the screencap.  Right now Im just waiting on the sale to complete. I will post the screencaps of every part of this transaction (as I always do.)

ETA: The sell order has filled, and for slightly higher than expected:

 

 

The money is now in motion to Paypal.  (the transaction costs 1USD.) It will take about a week (four business days for me, usually, but there’s a weekend in the way.) As soon as it hits, I will transfer it to the AKF and post the transaction and receipt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re now going to start gearing up for the holidays, which means Gothmas by Gaslight.  Applications will open on November 1.  Again, thank you all- we just provide the playground- you make it happen.

I’ll leave this with one of Sonya’s photos. I couldn’t ask for a better blogger coordinator (and wouldn’t know where to find one anyway…)

It Has Tesla Beams In Its Eye Sockets, by Sonya Marmurek

❤

AK

Time keeps on slipping…into the future…(and the day 4 total.)

What the Night Brings, by Misty Harley

What. At some point I was going to post a steamgoth image.  I didn’t get a personality transplant…  But this one comes from Misty Harley <3.  Steamy, gothy goodness for all. Thank you. Misty – some of us still don’t wear brown.

I can’t post it here because downloads are disabled but I do want to point out this other photo by Zivaah.  Since I can’t post it, you call go look at it- it’s really great! Thank you Zivaah – this is a terrific image.

ETA:  ZIvaah was kind enough to adjust things so I could show you all this photo – isn’t it great?

CLOCKS ARE TICKIN’ YOUR TIME,THEY’RE TICKIN’ YOUR TIME.. , by Zivaah

As I mentioned yesterday, we’ll be extending ACS to noon Monday in order to get a full five days in (since we opened at noon.)  Also, everyone should know that ACS has brought in more money for charity than WGF did its first year out (which was a full two weeks, just as it is now) in three and a half days.  The org team couldn’t be more delighted and grateful for the support.  Thank you all so much for helping us raise money for the National Kidney Foundation.  This is a very personal charity for Lokii and many others who have needed support for kidney disease and related problems and seeing it get support like this is really heartening.

But we only have 24 hours left.  So I have a challenge. We’re trying to hit L$258K.  I know it seems like a strange number, but it’s basically $1000USD at a limit sell of 248. (really it’s 1002, but there’s a dollar fee on the cashout, and it’s the closest round number.)  If we can do that by tomorrow at noon PST, we will bring ACS back next year as a full two week event, just like World Goth Fair.  We’ve all been brainstorming ideas for next year, and the merchant crew is more than up for doing a full run – but we need your help.

Time is ticking and we only have a bit less than 24 hours left, so come on up and get your last minute shopping done before the mainspring runs down until next year. We’d love to make it back for a full two week run.

The day four total (at noon PST, it’s higher now) is L$241,176 .  It’s certainly possible to reach that 258k goal. 🙂

Sometimes doing these big events feels very surreal, and Duchess Flux got into that same vibe with this wonderful photo:

Surreal Steam, by Duchess Flux

Such a creative image, thank you so much Duchess, and everyone who is posting their ACS photos to our flickr pool.

We really hope everyone is having fun at the fair- and we’ll have a final total tomorrow after noon.  See you then!

O! Flamingia! (and the day three total.)

AClockworkSpiral_01 by DevinVaughn

Today’s header photo is by DevinVaughn.  He blogs for BishieStyle, and he has always been an incredible supporter of every event we’ve ever put on.  He takes beautiful photos and is just an all around super sweet person.  I love this photo so much, and it reminds me that next year we need miniature airships floating around for people to ride. Thanks Devin ❤

Sorry for the late post – to be entirely honest i was asleep at noon PST, which if you were around for WGF you’d know is fairly common.  Oops. Sorry about that.

And now, for some housekeeping – Because we opened at noon, Im extending ACS through noon on Monday the 23rd, just to get the full five days in.  We did this for WGF too, for the same reason.  (I should have thought about it earlier, but frankly didn’t, so here we are.)

Last night was the big party.  It’s the thing from which ACS spawned four years ago.

Four years ago, in mid-September, Lokii did her first steampunk set for Gothika, on a giant airship that was hanging over the harbor (wait why don’t we have a harbor anymore? Remind me to put it back in…  I don’t even remember why we pulled it out…) In order to get off the ship, you literally had to walk the plank.   The sim was PACKED. I don’t think anyone expected the response that first Clockwork Spiral event got.  I also remember the airship being like 450 prims or something stupid like that. Lokii spent weeks trying to cut the prim count down.

We’ve changed ships several times, but the event is always held in mid September, and once we started doing it for charity, the charity has always been the National Kidney Foundation, which was Lokii’s choice since they helped her out with support when she was having some kidney trouble a couple years ago.  Every year, the set is packed, and this year was no exception.  The sim topped out at 64 people last night (I screencapped it at 61, but it definitely went to 64.)

The ship was so crowded not many people got photos. It was just hit or miss as to whether or not you were going to be able to get a shot in.

Sonya (our head blogbunny for all things ever) got in a couple of good ones, though. She managed to nab one of Lokii (of course mutiny occurred within five minutes…)

Mutiny? Throw them overboard! by Sonya Marmurek

she also got a shot of our (well deserved) contest winner. The prize box had 9 stores worth of gift cards.

Steam Horse, by Sonya Marmurek

And I managed to get a single decent shot of our host, Eden Malik (Eden has been on the Gothika staff since her rezday.  She’s the only person I ever broke the 30 day rule for. She’s now some hotshot over at Oceania Breedables, but she still manages to fill in a set or two every so often.)

She looks far more angelic than she is.

All money collected last night went to the charity.   I can’t recall how long Lokii was actually on the deck, but my guess is about 3.5 hours in total.

For years we’ve argued over the name of the ship (I say it’s Blimpy, she says it’s Ophelia) but I think the matter was finally settled by our own mascot, Orvan Taurus.  On my Thursday set, he suggested Oflamingia (owing to Lokii’s love/hate relationship with flamingos.  Don’t ask. Really.) I think that sounds like some horrible steampunk disease, and Lokii couldn’t stop laughing at it when I told her, so I’m pretty sure we’ve renamed the ship the GAS Oflamingia.  It’s still funny.  Im wanting a steam flamingo airship next year.

Thank you so much to everyone who came down, partied with us, donated, and to all the stores who were kind enough to submit gift cards as prizes. Thank you – we are so grateful for your support.  🙂

So after that hugely busy day (and a lot of sleep on everyone’s part…) At noon today PST the charity total was:  L$197,903   (it’s well past 200K as I write this, though.)

So you’ve a bit less than 48 hours to get steamed before we pack up again for another year (though don’t worry, Gothmas by Gaslight is coming in December.)

I’ll leave you with this fantastic photo from our flickr pool by Cindy Gedenspire.  What a great shot!

LPM+Discord Clockwork Spiral, by Cindy Gedenspire

eventually, the gears began to turn on their own… (also, the day two total.)

A Clockwork Spiral, by Achariya

(this photo makes me so happy, first because it’s just terrific and second because Acha is back :D)

One of the things about organizing big events is there gets to be a point where they just sort of power along under their own steam (no pun intended, actually.) You spend weeks and weeks frantically working, and then once they get going it pretty much runs itself, with minor steering corrections.  This always feels strange, after so much work, though I must admit the ability to sleep for more than 2 hours at a time (cat willing) is most welcome.

That said, if you’re a true perfectionist, event organization isn’t your game – really.  You’ll find yourself obsessing over things and not being able to just say “run with it. We’re out of time.”  I think the ability to just make the call to go ahead even though it’s not *exactly* as planned is a crucial event management skill.  Because it’s genuinely never going to be “perfect”.    That has to be something you accept as being okay. All you can do is try to plan better for those eventualities next time out. Each time is a learning experience in “stuff you never expected to happen”

But enough philosophizing about stuff no one cares about.  Tonight is the big event party on the GAS Blimpy (that’s Gothka Air Ship.  Lokii keeps saying it’s named Ophelia but really, it’s Blimpy. Honest.) You can’t miss it. It’s the big blimp holding the event up in the middle of the build.   It starts at 8pm, and Lokii is the DJ (this is the one time I get to sit it out.  I won’t say Im not grateful!).  Gothika’s own Eden Malik is hosting (she also owns that cute Ampersand Photography gacha that’s sitting outside the Oceania Breedables booth too – it’s good stuff, check it out!), and I’m sure everyone at this point knows Lokii owns .{MV}.

The contest is Best in Steampunk, and the prize (winner take all- there’s only ONE box) is a box full of gift cards to a whole bunch of different stores.  Stuff! Things!  You know the drill.  The contest itself will go from 8-10PM PST though Im sure Loks will play longer than that. So come and get your best steam gear together and  raid the blimp!  All money collected tonight goes to the National Kidney Foundation. 

As I said yesterday, my goal for this event was modest and sensible, given its short duration (and when it happens to occur.)  We’re closing in on it, though!  The day 2 total (which is higher now, I grabbed this total right at noon PST) is 135,158L.  (the truth is it looks like we’ll shatter the event goal by tonight at some point.)

Return of Clockwork Angel, by Aarya Phantomhive

One more thing – I really want to thank our blogging team.  The posts we’ve seen and the photos they’ve shared have been nothing short of spectacular. Blogging an event is hard work (trust me, I wouldn’t do it if you paid me.) and the blogging teams (and our own bunnyherder, Sonya Marmurek, who is my blogging manager for all things, ever) always go above and beyond to get us great coverage. Thank you all so much – really, we could not do what we do without you.

As always you can check out our flickr group for more great images – or add your own!

See everyone at the event tonight – hopefully the airship stays up!  More total coverage tomorrow.

❤

AK

..and it began with a scream (also, the day 1 total.)

Clockwork Spiral by MattKR Sassower

(isn’t that photo cool?  It’s from the A Clockwork Spiral Flickr Pool and you can put your ACS photos there too!  Thanks, Matt- this is great!)

So, this is a story…

About a half hour before we opened, as I had already planned, I turned build off on Cursed, and rebooted the sim.  It was in serious need of a reboot, as it was – a lot of activity had taken place in the previous week and it was really crunchy.

The sim took a little long to come back but nothing really unusual.  We opened exactly on time (woo.), and had about 30 people on Cursed within 10 minutes.

And then…

Suddenly my IMs blew up with merchants telling me their vendors didn’t work.  That was weird, as we’d not only tested the vendors but I personally had gone shopping on Cursed hours before, and had not had any delivery failures or problems.  First it was one merchant, than 3, than 5… Then I ran to one of my own booths and learned my vendors were broken too.  Several merchants tried different pay scripts THEY had.

The bottom line was not a SINGLE cash transaction (of any kind – you couldn’t even send money avatar to avatar) was working on Cursed.  To say I flipped out is a huge understatement.  I’d really like those 10 minutes of my life back.

What seems to have happened was when the sim rebooted. it never really came back all the way, and some functions never came back online.  When you’d pay a vendor you’d get a popup saying you did it, but no money ever got debited (this is important – no money ever left anyone’s hands- your total never changed) and the scripts didn’t respond in order to deliver product.

The sim needed to be rebooted a second time in order to get it all working properly again (which I did, with much apology on my part) 10 minutes later.

I mention it, in case you were a) on the sim at the time and/or b) this ever happens to you.  Apparently the solution is to reboot the sim.  Now you know.  I panicked so you don’t have to.  Since the second reboot everything’s been fine, though.

So after that bit of opening panic… There we were.  No really, I would like that ten minutes of my life back.  Again a HUGE shoutout to the Firestorm team for helping get the word out, and to Linden Lab as well for doing the same.

Throughout the day the spots with slow gears began to catch up and as of now there’s I think only one spot not filled(working on it.) .  So far, things have gone really smoothly and we have great merchants, bloggers and shoppers doing their thing, and helping to raise some money for the National Kidney Foundation (or as I like to think of it – they what helps you pee.)

Before we began ACS, I needed to figure out how much money I was hoping for.  Several people have asked me why it’s only 5 days.  I should explain.

September is a notoriously demanding month for SL merchants. The end of summer brings with it a veritable deluge of events, many of them long-standing and complicated.  Though this is actually our…fourth? (Lokii, is it third or fourth?) Clockwork Spiral event, we’d previously done it as a club party for one night only – this was to be the first time we’d expanded it into anything larger than that.  I didn’t want to ask merchants and bloggers to commit to a larger, potentially more demanding event during a busy season without it being tested first.

That said, because it was new, and short (only 5 days rather than 2 weeks or more), I needed to keep goals reasonable.  The first year we did WGF, we pulled in 221,641L for charity – but the event ran a full two weeks, from the outset.   SInce we were going to be doing less than half that, I set the goal at 150KL for the charity account (a bit more than half what we pulled in at year 1 for WGF, obviously.)  I told everyone if we made it past that, I’d expand it next year.

Which brings us to the day 1 total:  101,867L

So far, so good.  🙂

Thank you again to all the wonderful merchants, shoppers and bloggers who are supporting this effort.  It’s not really about us – we just provide the space for good things to happen.  You guys are the ones doing the work.

Speaking of work, check out this terrific picture, also from the A Clockwork Spiral Flickr Pool.  This one is from Duchess Flux, and I think the composition is just great.

Thank you so much, Duchess! You look great!

Hopefully nothing else explodes tonight (she said, struggling to make her computer reboot after it crashed in the middle of this post…), and I’ll have a day two total tomorrow!  Also, don’t forget, tomorrow at 8pm PST is the big party DJed by Gothika’s own Spiral Kitteh, Lokii Violet.

The Spiral Turns. (aka, we’re open!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Clockwork Spiral 2013 is now open!  Come on up and get steamy.

 

 

 

 

Proceeds benefit the National Kidney Foundation.

Event SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cursed/61/141/613 

(*bear in mind this is an adult sim, though this is not particularly an adult event.)

Sponsor List

Merchant List

We also have a music event on September 20:

Best in Steampunk at the Gothika Mobile Unit (can’t miss it, we’re dead center of the event) at 8pm. PST.  Lokii Violet is the DJ and Eden Malik is hosting. Prize is a box full of gift cards from participating stores.

 

We also have a flickr group, where you can find terrific photos like this one from Caitlin Tobias, a member of our ACS blogging team!

Boogieman_001, by Caitlin Tobias

 

A big, big thank you to the Firestorm team for helping us get the word out as well.  ❤

Our build was done by Lokii Violet, and our blogger coordinator is Sonya Marmurek.

The engines shut off after the 22d, so you’ve got til then to come up and join us!  🙂

2 days to go!

It’s 2 days until ACS 2013 opens.

 

Frankly, everyone is exhausted(but we expect that.)  The merchants are loading in to their shops, the bloggers are wandering around snapping photos and everyone is anxiously trying to get everything done before we open.

We’re going to be opening the event to the public at NOON PST on the 18th.  Though I prefer a midnight opening, the fact that the 18th is a Wednesday means that Linden Lab will have rolled the main channel sims the day before.  This is the same scenario we faced the day WGF opened, when the Lab broke the grid (badly) the day before and had to roll it back and re-roll it again.  As Tuesdays can be really unpredictable, we’re going to just open at noon on Wednesday, allowing for problems in the Tuesday rolling restarts.

We also have a Flickr group here, if you want to post your ACS photos to it.

Also don’t forget, the music event is on Friday the 20th at 8. (and as soon as one of us has the time to make a poster for that, we’ll have one.)  The theme is best in Steampunk and the prize is a box of gift cards from whichever stores throw them into the box (when we did this for WGF it was a LOT of stuff.)

There is ONE box, and ONE winner. So if you want all the goodies, 8pm on the 20th at the Gothika Mobile Unit  (the airship Blimpy) is the place to be.  Lokii Violet is DJing.

See you in two days!

back to work!

AK