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Well, today I was supposed to be presenting an interview with Jim Thornton, executive creative director of the prestigious Leo Burnett UK ad agency, who has been the latest in a series of high-profile real-life companies to start up virtual presences within the grid. But alas, like is happening more and more these days, the grid was down at the time we had agreed on to talk; and with there being a six-hour difference between Jim and myself in RL, rescheduling is not the easiest thing in the world.

So tomorrow, then, for the Thornton interview; and since I can't get in the grid to do any other story-related research either, I thought instead I'd share some photos of a spectacular build I randomly came across this weekend...

As regular readers know, this blog's headquarters is now officially open to the public; and that our land is located entirely underwater, making for easy and fun water-based sports on and around my place. That sent me out this weekend to Jump's Dive Shack, a store for water-based sports that even specifically caters to snorkeling furries (!), to pick up some extremely cool scripted scuba gear that will make your avatar look like it's "swimming" when you wear it. Like most other underwater-themed stores you come across in the grid, Jump's also owns a large parcel of land under the water next to the store itself, where the owners have built a complex and fascinating seascape to convince more people to become divers (and customers) in the first place.

And what a build I came across there! It's an entire private home, in fact, with multiple floors and a perfect footprint for 512-square-meter starter plots; but the entire thing sits underwater, and was designed to look like a sunken pleasure yacht. Ingenious, I'm tellin' ya! There's even a cool postmodern "decompression chamber" in the side, as a way of transitioning from the outdoor to indoor enviornment; a scripted little room with two doors, that is, which will either fill with or empty of water with the click of a mouse.

I'm not sure if the dwelling is actually for sale, although with this being a dive-based store (and it being the perfect size for beginners), I have to imagine it is. In any case, it's definitely open to the public; and what's more, Jump's even gives away their impressive dive gear for free, just as a thank-you for coming by. I'm not affiliated with Jump's in any way, and don't even know who the owner is; but I've become a big fan of what they have there, for sure. In fact, I'm thinking that this might even be the theme for next month's issue, is the subject of water-based activities; seafloor landscaping, sailing races, snorkeling, river-rafting (which I recently discovered actually does exist in SL) and more. If you're a fan of such stuff as well, and have a group, store or person you think should be featured in such a write-up, do please drop me a line and let me know.