World Trade Center Memorial in SecondLife

I was in the middle of working on another review when sweet Melody Regent sends me an LM and says "Check this out when you get a chance." Seeing the name of the LM (WTC Memorial & Statue of Liberty, Voices Island (125, 140, 21) I dropped what I was doing and TP'ed right over. Now I never give too much real life info about myself but I will say this....... I was born and raised in New York City. So when I got to this sim I had my eyes wide open to basically be disappointed in yet another bad NYC sim. Well I was wrong and pleasantly surprised.

The designers of the sim did a great job with the look and feel of the city streets, buildings, allies and stores. They even added a quaint little park and a "Little China" style plaza. There is a very large Statue of Liberty behind The New York Public Library and the most noticeable section.... the World Trade Center "Ghost" Buildings.

I looked at these buildings and had to catch my breath. I started remembering what happened to my beloved NYC and the friends that lost their lives. I started thinking about all the families that lost loved ones and I have to tell you...... I had to walk away from the computer for a moment. When I got back I started looking at the giant slabs on the ground with all the names of the fallen victims and listened to the radio as each name was read. But I wasn't prepared for what was next......

In the distance I spotted what looked like a firehouse. I walked closer and saw a statue but couldn't quite see what it was exactly. As I approached and rounded the hedge I realized it was a statue of a fireman. I walked around the front of this statue and read the words of the Fireman's Creed engraved on the stone. I then turned around and read the words on the wall... "Dedicated to those who fell and those who carry on. May we never forget." At this point the tears streamed down my face.

After all that I decided to continue my tour on my motorcycle and parking here and there to check out various stores that caught my eye. I found myself unable to leave the sim. I guess you can say.... I was home.

I have to hand it to Melody yet again. She really knows how to capture the essence of a theme. Her team of builders consists of Talin Sands who built the Fireman and Statue of Liberty. Motor Loon and Talin Sands built the Library. Sunday Ayres who did the rest of the sim and layout. Hellfighter Solvang provided all the firehouse stuff and made the fire trucks just for the sim.

All I can say is if you want to experience a great sim then the World Trade Center Memorial & Statue of Liberty sim is the place to be. From the emotional memorials to the buzz of the city streets this place has it all. I'll be coming back...... see you there!

GraveDiggers

While hanging out at the MotorWorld sim and discussing various techniques for dispatching noob griefers my good friend Gully mentioned the GraveDiggers. Being a lover of weapons I excitedly asked for an LM and TP'ed over to buy them. And I'm glad I did!!!!

These guns are very well put together. They don't lag much at all and the bullets it comes with are absolutely sinister. Giving credit to the title in which the gun was aptly named. The HUD is also pretty easy to figure out and is placed in a position that can be clicked open and closed to enhance ones view.

The Targeting HUD is pretty interesting. Although not as fancy and hi-tech looking as the VX-7 Scorpions, it does what it was meant to do by giving an easy to understand readout of the target.

One feature that took me by surprise is the GraveDiggers Drone. The Drone is a bot that will follow you and provide extra features like shielding, nonphys, scanners, spy options, and weapons. I personally think of that as a nice little touch and rare among guns I have seen and used.

I would recommend these guns to just about anyone who needs a feature packed and powerful weapon for self defense against griefers and even for just plain old target practice. Very good stuff!

Discovering MotorWorld

Anyone who knows me knows I am a Shopaholic. I loooooove to shop! Well I decided to go to one of my favorite clothing stores Avid to see some of the new releases I heard about. As I teleported in I noticed a beautiful Chopper parked near the front entrance. I couldn't take my eyes off it! It was beautiful! I clicked the bike out of curiosity and it gave me a note card (clever monkey) and I immediately read through it. I discovered that this work of art was created by Motor Loon and the card also had a landmark. "Well hell... I'm goin!" I thought to myself. I found myself in a sim called MotorWorld and was greeted not by a hostess but by friendly bikers. I asked someone to show me where the bikes were and was promptly shown the MLCC demo vendor. "WOW! You mean I get to test ride these beauties?" I said out loud. Soon I was clicking through the various styles of bikes and after some time narrowed it down to 2 bikes. I ended up getting the one I first saw at Avid which is called.... "BOMB". Well... it is indeed THE BOMB!

I took the bike home, unpacked it, followed the directions on how to adjust the seating so it fit my avatar just right, then teleported back to MotorWorld to drive my new bike. WOW! I'm in love! I ran a few laps around MotorWorlds open road but was soon IM'ed by the same guy that helped me pick my bike... Doug Kerang told me how to cut corners sharper and how to get more air on my jumps and so on. Pretty soon I wasn't crashing as much and after a while not at all. Thanks Doug.

Here's the cool part.... you'd expect bikers to be well.... bikers. You know, like the rude slobs you see in the movies. But no not here. Even though many of the people here dress like bikers they are are SUPER NICE! This is hands down one of the friendliest sims I have been to in a long time. Constant joke cracking, bike talk and more.

To further the experience my best friend Freyakc (who also started riding) told me she joined a group called "Regent Riders" which allows you to cross the border into Death Valley. Now this group costs $250 to join for a lifetime membership and I was a little dogdy about joining a group just to cross the sim border to another track. But one night Stacia and I took a chance and joined. Now let me tell you border crossing in SL hasn't changed much. It's still risky and you want to approach it slow to reduce the risk of crashing. The owner Melody Regent and staff knew this and put warning signs. Thanks Melody!

There are 6 sims in all to explore with tons of bike shops, clothing, toys and more. Some of the bike shops I visited are VBCC, BTB, The Bikers Gear Box (where I purchased new guns), CC Custom Choppers and the MLCC headquarters. They are all wonderfully talented builders and I look forward to hopefully test riding more of their bikes soon. If you have the time TP over to MotorWorld and check out each sim in the order in which they are laid. They are MotorWorld, Death Valley, Route 66, Sunset Crater, Mojave Desert and MLCC. And remember..... slow down at the sim borders!

If you are looking for super high quality bikes and great people to hang out with then look no further then MotorWorld and great makers like Motor Loon and Creep Wolff. You'll be glad you did!

The Bomb

Neon Glow and Skin

Nidia's Dark Gift