I'm still in Austin due to unforeseen circumstances, but I managed to find a computer to share some of my stories with you, starting with my favorite. As previously mentioned, qDot Bunnyhug (Kyle Machulis) was at SXSW on a panel dealing with teledildonics. In preparation for his panel, he brought along some exciting new sex toys, some of which vibrated and others that were single use.

At BarCamp Austin, he gave me one of these single-use sex toys, which amused me to no end. I was so thrilled with it that, after a few drinks, I probably walked a good mile to Ze Frank's party at Malatov on Saturday night. I ran into Tony Walsh, of Clickable Culture, and asked him to film for me. I got in line and asked Ze Frank to finger the sex toy. You'll just have to see it to believe it! Stay tuned for more stories about the sights and sounds of SXSW.

Tony Walsh has a post over on his ever interesting blog, Clickable Culture, about some comics available exclusively through SLBoutique. The comics are from the "He Is Just a Rat" series, both written and drawn by Tony Walsh himself. Along with your purchase of 5 RL comics you will also receive an in world T-shirt. The SLBoutique is run by the Electric Sheep Company and while setting up an account takes a few minutes it makes purchasing in world items from a website a snap.

I'd like it if I could actually read the comic in world as well. I have not had the best experiences with in world books at this point. They tend to have all the bad points of reading from a screen with added hindrances of having to manage your viewpoint. However, comics could be the perfect medium for this, considering that they require less reading.

[UPDATE: Corrected 'Synthtravels' to 'Synthravels']

I like the name; evocative, sibilant ... promising. Synthravels deals in guided tours of the Internet's most popular MMOs, with SL featured prominently at the top of the home page. There's a huge list of destinations available, including famous realms like City of Heroes, Eve Online, World of Warcraft, and some of the perhaps not-as-well-known worlds, such as Neocron 2, and Saga of Ryzom.

Their Mission Statement reads a little like Edgar Rice Burroughs, which is to say it's a little purple, but I enjoyed it. There's no mention of rates, though they offer hour and half-hour tours. One must have an avatar ready in the world into which one travels, and at the appointed time, one logs in to find a Synthravels representative waiting to start the tour.

This sounds promising. I might take advantage of this service at some point, but if any of you beat me to it, take notes and contact me; let's tell the world about your experience!

(Via Clickable Culture)

Tony Walsh, blogger for Clickable Culture, has posted about his reactions to an article that recently ran in the Hamilton Spectator, in which he has a feature. The article itself isn't terribly original, except where it mentions McMaster University professor Robert Hamilton.

Hamilton mentions some issues he has with SL, and Mr. Walsh provides his input in a point-by-point comparison, making it clear that, just like so many who feel the need to comment on SL, Hamilton doesn't seem to be very well-versed in his subject.

(Via Clickable Culture)