In my Second Life Educators Digest today I ran across a message about historical sims. The author of the message mentioned that he had been disappointed by the historical sites he had visited so far in SL, but that he had visited a site that was recreating the Theatre of Pompey and was impressed by it. After reading the message, I decided to check it out. I first went to the website and was very impressed, it is a very good web site that explains the project in great detail (Theatron 3: Educational Undertakings in Second Life). It is a very well-designed webpage that explains the project and even has some links to SL tutorials. It is certainly worth a visit. I tried to visit the SL site but it was closed for construction at the moment, so I will check back periodically.
On the PKAP front, things are starting to pick up. I have started working on the logistics for the summer and my first step was the creation of a budget. Since we have been working in the same area for the last 5 years, we usually have a very good idea of what things cost (lodging, food, car rental, etc.). This year, however, we do not have as good of an idea as in past years since Cyprus moved from the Cypriot pound to the Euro back on January 1st of this year. My concern was that businesses in Cyprus might use this as an opportunity to reevaluate what they charge for their products/services and increase their prices. This combined with a slipping dollar against foreign currency could really put a crimp in our budget. I sent out emails to our car rental agent and our hotel of choice. After receiving their answers, I visited XE.com and checked out the value of the dollar, which was 1 euro = $1.47 today. Ouch! In looking at car rental prices, our cost this year will be approximately 35% higher and our lodging will be 15-20% higher. I had to stop thinking about this and go lie down.
RSM
Ancient History Ramblings 