Wherever people gather there is the chance for humanity to impart itself upon those gathered.

We should expect no less from Second Life.

In a garden pavilion on an island, I sat with an assortment of human beings - one clad as a teddy bear wearing a Santa hat, another as a brazen vixen, a blue man, a tuxedoed prom king - and poured out my heart from a place of loneliness and grief. Click click went the computer keys, like the staccato beat of my heart. Clack clack went their replies, their empathy and their own tales of triumph and woe. Via my avatar - the persona I’d created to engage here - I was participating in an “anxiety support group” in the free, virtual world of Second Life.

As I write those words, I can hear the scoffing. Pathetic! Escapist! Are you addicted to computer games? Do you have no friends? Second Life? That place is just about weird sex fantasies!

I saw my first instance of online group therapy in the form of an email list in the mid-90s. Second Life is no different really, it is just a more immersive experience than email. And that immersion could be the key to better connections and a more expressive group therapy experience. Gone are the vulnerabilities of speaking to strangers in person. Expressing issues is more important I believe than rubbing elbows at the local church.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

All good things must come to an end and so has my ownership of the Spider. It was sold last week to an AVID collector near South Beach, Miami. The new owner sent an 18 wheeler car carrier just to fetch the Spider. I watched it depart for the Interstate and she was gone.

The Spider will be long mis… hey, now I have room for a Porsche 911… or a E type Jaguar! Hmmm…. E-Type…

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Tags: triumph, tr7, spider

I appeared in Second Life last week for a taping of The Late Show with Angelico Babii.

My avatar name is StormBear Hitchcock and he was the last guest of the night. We discussed the the creation of Books For Soldiers and the technology used to bring Books For Soldiers to Second Life.

Angelico’s show is part of the MBC’ (Metaverse Broadcasting Company) 1600 in-world screens and the show is seen throughout Second Life and is also available on the web. If the below player doesn’t work for you, you can also see the show HERE.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Tags: second+life, books+for+soldiers

Last summer, Robert Freedman interviewed me about Second Life and how I develop projects in Second Life for Fortune 500 companies.

I promptly forgot about the interview until Robert emailed me over the holidays and told me it was out. I have to admit I cringed a bit, not knowing how I would be quoted. Would it be accurate? One can only hope. I snagged a copy this week and read it. How To Make Real Money In Second Life is a good read and Robert NAILED all my comments and quoted them in context. It turns out Robert used my interview as the foundation for the book and quotes from me are spread out all through the book.

I ordered a copy for all my clients and so should you. Amazon Link

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Tags: second+life, robert+freedman, how+to+make+real+money+in+second+life

Well, I was shocked but the Chronicle called and sent me a freelance contract to run one of my strips. It was as simple as that. Well, actually it wasn’t so simple. It took three years of cartooning and getting good at it. But let me tell ya, having “freelance editorial cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle” on ye olde resume is way past cool.

Yeah, it was ONLY one strip and it ran on a Saturday, but it was in the Chronicle and they put on the editorial page. THE Editorial page. Maybe I should frame the contract?

But, you never know. The idea is to see how it was received and go from there. I sent them another half dozen strips today for them to review.

This is how Gary Larson of The Far Side fame started out. He sent a few strips to the Chronicle, they ran them, then the Chronicle syndicated his strip and the rest is history.

I am hoping history will repeat itself.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Tags: editorial+cartoon, comics, webcomics, san+francisco+chronicle

CNBC ran a story on Second Life and how SL is creating a new economy much in the way eBay has. One woman profiled is on track to make over $80,000 in US dollars this year from the sales of her clothing line in Second Life. Her initial investment was a tad over $500.

The video is worth watching.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

Tags: second+life, cnbc, ebay, economics

Me and a friend of mine was standing in front of her store and while we were shooting the breeze a Google Street View car drove by - just like the one shown below.

What is a Street View car? Google is taking 3D images of all the streets in cities across the nation to show what the locations of a precise point on a Google Map will look like. To capture these images, they drive a fleet of cars around the nation with a 3D camera on top and a GPS computer to plot what photo goes with which coordinate. Today, one whipped by us in downtown Winston-Salem. Here is an example of Google Maps with Street View enabled - (Bay Bridge, San Francisco). From there you can navigate around the map with the real 3D imaging on the screen.

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

The folks over at Bilerico are relaunching their site today with a new design and a focus on issues outside of Indiana.

Now branded as The Bilerico Project, the site is moving toward being the HuffPo of the LGBTQ world.

Please check them out!

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites

I am planning a Second Life presence for TCD during Yearly Kos, the convention for Daily Kos users and fans. This year at Yearly Kos, they will be streaming video of the panels and speeches into a special area set up in Second Life for those of us who can’t get to the in-person meeting in Chicago.

Inside the TCD booth will be all sorts of TCD branded Second Life goodies like avatars, clothing and other crazy nonsense like your very own inflatable sheep!

Bookmark to:

Hide Sites