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Run away! Run away!

I’ve decided to run away from Second Life for a week for some R & R someplace warm — a place where I can lie on a beach and drink things out of coconuts all day. I’ve settled on Winnipeg as my destination. That’s tropical, right?

If you need any help with your aircraft or skydiving equipment while I’m away, just leave a detailed message by IM in Second Life. Messages are forwarded to my email, so I’ll take care of them when I’m back.

Now where’s my sunscreen? I hope I don’t get all sunburned on those toasty Winnipeg beaches.

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Linden Lab(tm) drops trademark bombshell

On Easter Monday the Lindens announced radical new policies regarding the use of their trademarks, including the Second Life(tm) logo, company name, and product name. According to the official Second Life(tm) blog, any website that mentions or uses their trademarks (or even acronyms that refer to their trademarks) are subject to their new license agreement:

Read these guidelines if you’d like to use any of our trademarks on your website, in a URL, in advertising, in an article or book, in a film or television show, in a software product, or anywhere else. You likely need our permission. (link)

Those affected most by the revised rules are owners of websites that begin with the product’s acronym, “SL”(tm) or “Second Life”(tm), like SL Universe, SL Exchange, and Second Life Herald. The new rules also affect the press, who are required to comply with the license guidelines in order to show the Second Life(tm) logo in an article:

We’ve given journalists and media outlets special permission to use the Second Life Eye-in-Hand Logo in published articles, blog entries, and news programs specifically about the Second Life virtual world, subject to our Guidelines and Terms and Conditions. (link)

These guidelines include a requirement to have a business presence in-world or an “association” with the product — a requirement that would prevent the logo from appearing in casual gaming reviews or news reports about Second Life(tm) or Linden Lab(tm). From a marketing perspective, it’s strange to me that the company would seek to limit references to their product in the media, or try to enforce seemingly arbitrary rules, especially at a time where the popularity of Second Life(tm) appears to be waning.

Since 2003, the company had a relaxed attitude towards use of the SL(tm) logo (see the old guidelines), in which many third-party websites established themselves using the product name or an abbreviation thereof. One such example is the low-brow rumour-mill, Second Life Herald, which not only includes the product name in their domain name and site name, but also features the Second Life(tm) eye-in-hand logo in the banner. One can only wonder: after the 90-day amnesty, will the company take retroactive legal action against these well-established websites?

Cristiano Midnight, owner of the popular user forum, “SL Universe”, points out, “it seems completely arbitrary, and impacts sites that have been in existence for years and fully in compliance of naming rules, which have now suddenly changed.” (link)

In the case of cavers.ca, I can’t afford to tackle the Linden Lab(tm) legal department, so I’ll do my best to comply with the new rules.

DISCLAIMER: Second Life, SL, and inSL are trademarks of Linden Research, Inc. Cubeyterra.com is not affiliated with or sponsored by Linden Research. Further, cavers.ca hopes that Linden Research will not hurt cavers.ca legally, physically, or emotionally, using any means including but not limited to rabid lawyers, hit men, vicious attack penguins, or ninja assassins for any inadvertent infringement either real or perceived. Please don’t hurt me, I beg you, I didn’t mean to damage your trademark by mentioning you in my blog.

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Balloonist Michio Kanda missing

According to CNN.com, the US Coast Guard is searching for balloonist Michio Kanda after he failed to check in by satellite phone. Kanda was attempting a solo crossing of the Pacific by hot air balloon, and went missing off the coast of Alaska.

Read said two Coast Guard C130 Hercules planes conducted searches Thursday 435 miles south of Adak, Alaska, the balloonist’s last known position. The searches continued Friday and are ongoing, Read said.

(CNN.com)

He carried supplies and survival gear, but it certainly sounds bad. Hopefully, it’s just a problem with the radio.

Update (Feb. 4): On the assumption that Kanda would have ditched in the ocean, Coast Guard continues to search for his capsule.

They are using computer-aided drift simulation to estimate the current position of the capsule. Based on these computer simulations and weather observations, they are explanding tomorrow to the Northeast to encompass a larger area.

A 378 foot Coast Guard cutter is on its way – estimated arrival 7 or 8 February. They have a helicopter on board, which they will use if weather allows.

(Link: kandaupdate.wordpress.com: “Report from US Coastguard in Juneau“)

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Terra hot air balloon used to train real life balloonist… to speak English

Edmund of Social Minds sent me a fascinating link today. Apparently the real-life balloonist, Michio Kanda, will attempt a hot air balloon crossing from Japan to North America. The catch: Kanda needs a crash course in English in order to speak to North American air traffic control.

Enter Australian Aviation English specialist Mike Smith, who uses Second Life and a Terra Wind Rider hot air balloon to teach Kanda some basic English skills.

We mocked up Kanda-san’s balloon in Second Life and built a simulation, along with the instruments that he would need to control based on instructions from the control tower: A transponder to adjust the the frequency on which he would talk to the tower, and an altimeter on which he would base the his reports to the ground.

(LINK: “Social Minds: Aviation English for a trans-Pacific balloonist“).

Michio Kanda is an accomplished balloonist with a long list of impressive feats, including the world’s longest balloon flight (50 hours, 38 minutes) in January 1997, according to the Féderation Aéronautique Internationale.

Update: CNN.com: Record-holding Japanese balloonist missing

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Should I eat this?

Taking a short break from Second Life, I discovered these interesting items at a local specialty supermarket. Now… I usually avoid sketchy canned meat products — they’re often made from second rate meats from unidentified parts of the anatomy of occasionally unidentifiable animals. Canned seafood is even worse. But there’s something intriguing about these “Old Fisherman” brand canned seafoods.

First, the “Roast Eel Chili”. I’m going to hazard a guess that it’s not a hearty Tex-Mex style chili, but chili-flavoured bits of preserved eel meat. The label notes “Shelf life: 3 years”. Do I really want to risk tasting three-years-dead eel meat? The chili flavour sounds enticing, but… it’s eel.

Next up, the “Squid in Soy Sauce”. I don’t know why, but I really like that cute little squid. I sort of expect to peel open the lid and find a few of those little guys inside. But sadly, the reality is that it’s full of salty chunks of three-years-dead squid meat.

If I look closely at the “Old Fisherman” mascot, that old guy seems to be laughing and pointing. That can’t be a good sign.

So… do I open these? Do I dare put these sketchy preserved seafoods in my mouth?