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Aerodrome news: we’re number 1! … Wait… no we’re not

Lately I’ve been keeping an eye on Second Life’s “Popular Places” list (press CTRL + F) and the perilous ascent of Abbotts Aerodrome to dizzying new heights of popularity. Why just yesterday, I looked at the list and there it was in the number-one spot: “Abbotts Aerodrome”.

Wow! In my enthusiasm, I sent out the message to everyone in the Aerodrome group: “Congratulations! We’re now the most popular spot in Second Life!” This drew cheers and w00ts, until Apotheus pointed out that it was the most popular, not including the “mature” spots.

Um… I looked at the list again. “Include places in Mature sims” said the checkbox. I checked it, and we dropped to seventh place behind several strip clubs. We’re only the most popular “PG” spot in Second Life.

Doh!!

So what do we have to do to bring in more people? Nude skydiving? Aircraft made in suggestive shapes?

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Hamlet Linden becomes pizza

In a tragic accident tonight, Wagner James Au (aka “Hamlet Linden”), author of New World Notes, fell from a skydiving plane at an altitude of 1000 meters, and plummeted to his death when his parachute failed to open. His lifeless avatar was found in the shallows of the lake in Brilliant.

Shortly after his death, Hamlet vanished, then returned to take photos. Hamlet is the fourth Linden to attempt skydiving, following Char, Exposition, and Philip.

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Aerodrome news: 4th of July skydiving

On this holiday weekend, I upgraded the L-18 Lodestar with a new feature — skydiving. Using chat commands, the pilot can open the door and drop passengers. Hopefully they’ll have a parachute.

I’ve also added an altimeter (in feet) and speed indicator (in knots) to all models.

The basic model is on display on Level 1 at the Aerodrome. Contact me if you’d like the tan camouflage or “stars and stripes” paint scheme.

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Lizards re-elected — go back to whatever you were doing

No surprises in this election. As expected, the Liberal lizards have formed another government and Paul Martin is still the prime lizard of Canada. The only change is that now they have a minority government, so as soon as they reach the first important issue, it’s all over.

I heard an interview with Bob Rae, the former premier of Ontario, on CBC recently. He said (and I’m paraphrasing here) that running a minority government as if it were a majority is like jumping out of an airplane as if you had a parachute.

It’s a nice image, but is it true? Maybe someone should take Mr. Martin on a skydiving trip and see if the analogy holds up.