Personal Log: Rob Versteegt

Okay, it's time to get something in here again. It's been quiet on my part ever since... well, ever since I got all that active in Second Life. Oh, there have been some SL adventures posted by me here, but it's been fairly empty ever since. I'm still posting, but not a lot.

But well, I believed it was time to do something here as well. Note please that I'm not in Second Life now, thank you very much.

So, what to talk about in a blog which hasn't been used in ages? How about Frontier Fleet? Or Second Life? Or just life itself. Or all three of those subjects?

Currently, I'm reminded of a quote by Marvin the Robot of Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy: 'Life, I loathe it'. While I do not entirelly agree with this statement, there are various aspects of life which are, indeed, loathable. This is true in my real life, my Second Life, and my third life, which is frontierfleet. (And yes, first my third life was my second life, but now my second life has become my second life, although not my first: my second has now become third. I'm afraid my third won't ever become first again, though. Confused already?)

Anyway, this is to all you out there who feel that I'm addicted to Second Life... who say that my life is now resolving around a big evil, who say that I'm no longer the monster-poster you knew me to be in the 'good old days'. To you I say... You're so right.

Huh?

Yeah, you've heard me, you're absolutely correct. I no longer see Frontier Fleet as the number one reason of my life, so I don't post 100 posts a month anymore. If that means that I'm no longer the person you knew me to be (just because I changed priorities), then you're absolutely right. Nobody seemed to feel the same way though, when I was addicted to Frontier Fleet... when I spent an entire *year*, day in day out, writing posts... often as much as 4 posts a day. (I can remember the occasional 15 posts a day... beat that!) I was only interested in Frontier Fleet. I didn't work, was annoyed when I was called away to eat, stayed up too late just to 'help out a friend' or 'finish this post'. For I *had* to be the top poster at the end of the month! And I had friends too... okay, friends in the chat, but friends nonetheless, right? And what's best about it... all those who are complaining about me being in Second Life now, all agreed with this, didn't say a *thing* to stop me. They were happy with me: I did what they wanted, I served their cause. Frontier Fleet was their life too.

And then Second Life came along. And 'worse': I fell in love there. And now I hear complaints from my Frontier Fleet 'friends'. Oh, I don't hear them from those friends personally of course. But there's a lot of gossiping around my back. Don't think I don't know...

And what are they gossiping about? Let me tell you. There's the fact that I'm totally addicted to Second Life. That I've made friends there, who cannot possibily be real friends. That I spend too much time there, while I forget my real life (don't you mean Frontier Fleet?). That I stay up too long, helping out my friends, being there for them.

Wait a sec... sound familiar?

That's right, none of the people complaining about me now have ever complained about any of this when I was doing these things in Frontier Fleet. Then I was the Top Poster... I meant something. I was a great addition to the fleet. I was 'The Bobby' who always posted at least 30 posts, every month.

And now I've fallen off of the pedestal. And people are angry about that. Why? Because I don't do what they want anymore? Because I'm chosing something *I* want, instead of doing something everyone else wants? Because I'm making a *choice* here? That's right, before, there was just one thing: Frontier Fleet. What other choice was there? And now I've met someone in Second Life, and I have a choice. Either continue like before, in Frontier Fleet, or move on... and explore this new world, with new friends and new experiences. I *chose* to do the latter. I'm *not* being forced -that's another complaint people have- into doing anything.

So there you have it. It seems to me that my addiction to Second Life resembles my addiction to Frontier Fleet. Nobody complained during that time... and they do now. To those complaining, I have to say one thing: Grow up. Accept the fact that I've made my own choice, and move on as well.

Oh, and if anyone has any complaints... you know what my mailaddress is. Tell me in person, instead of gossiping about me behind my back. Thank you.

Kindest regards,
Rob, who has been waiting to say this for a long time already...

Pfff, so much has happened to our good friend, RoBobby McMillan, that I don't really know where to begin. I think a good start would be to say that he's been promoted! No, he's still an Ensign, but now he's part of the Starfleet Linguistic Staff as well. His mouse, ever present, follows him wherever he goes.

Except on really official events, of course, when his mouse goes to sit in a pocket of his uniform. Like when RoBobby was using the transporter to get to the USS Solstice! Here you can see RoBobby roleplaying on the Bridge of the USS Solstice, under command of Captain Karas. He's playing a Romulan there...

The other day, something terrible happened! RoBobby was hit by a car, and was injured severely: surgery had to be performed. Poor RoBobby... lying on the operating table, while the doctor does his thing. And as if that wasn't painful enough, his heart stopped working! It had to be replaced by another heart (those doctors really are geniouses, aren't they?). Yet, that heart failed to 'activate'... causing a cardiac arrest! Luckily, after 8 shocks with the defibrilator, (that is used for almost everything apparently, these days) RoBobby woke up.

The next day, RoBobby decided to put his mouse on his head again. The mouse was lonely though... it wanted a friend. So, RoBobby created a turtle. Not long after that though, he got invited by Karida to go to the city of Suffugium. (see Karida's blog) There, (most likely because the turtle on his back) RoBobby got stuck in the sewers! Nevertheless, Karida helped him out, after which both of them went to walk through the 'pleasant' looking city. Sure, there were the occasional drones which asked for palm scans, and RoBobby and Karida were classified as 'sub-citisens', but at least they were free to go where they wanted to. Uhm, to an extend, of course.

Let's have a look at this... nice city, shall we? You can see RoBobby observing a statue here, and you can see Karida and RoBobby enjoying the serenity of a piece of the city here.

What bothered RoBobby though, was the hologram they encountered when they entered a hotel. Was it a hologram, or was it a ghost? And more importantly... why did this hologram/ghost looks so familiar? Could it be... the ghost of Darthbunny? (notice the parrot on the hologram/ghost's shoulder!)

More from RoBobby McMillan next time...

Ah yes, as you have already noticed, RoBobby has learned how to fly! With the help of DarthBunny, who gave him an object which might make other objects fly, RoBobby first tried to do this one his giant mouse. Alas, it wouldn't fly. Must be because of its tail and whiskers. Well, maybe RoBobby just has to turn his mouse into a motor now. (images will come later, don't worry )

But let's start from where we left RoBobby last time. Indeed, he was still a Cadet back then, in Second Life Starfleet! Or, SFCSLQ, as they call it. (StarFleet Command, Second Life Quadrant) Two weeks after he became a Cadet though, RoBobby McMillan was called out to do the Cadet-to-Ensign test. Here you can see him standing on the stage, after he completed that test. That is the last you'll see of *Cadet* RoBobby McMillan.

Ensign RoBobby McMillan proudly stepped out of SF Academy. He and Ensign DarthBunny Petrov quickly met the rest of the officers though, since the highest ranking Admiral of SFCSLQ had called for an inspection. Quite some people there!

When that was done, Ensign McMillan decided to have some fun. He had already built a cute little mouse for on top of his head, (only because Ensign Petrov had a parrot on his shoulder, and RoBobby wanted something different), so what was there to do next? Well, plenty. Only this morning, Ensign McMillan received a new uniform from the Chief of Science there!

When that was done, good old RoBobby McMillan had to drink some tea. But wait... there was no tea in sight! Well, no problem: let's build some tea then! So, he did. But what's the use of a gigantic teacup with spoon and dish if you can't fly it? There... finally, this relaxing view over the city with the smell of hot tea in the morning... what could be better than that?

Join us next time, when RoBobby McMillan will take... the Linguistics test! Will he be able to pass the stage of Linguistic Trainee, and become... a part of the Linguistic Staff? Stay tuned!

HAPPY EASTER from RoBobby McMillan and DarthBunny Petrov!
(and yes, that's a flying pot with eggs I'm piloting. )

This is Captain Klog reporting, Captaining the IKS Kor-A. This Heavy Cruiser has been named for that great DaHar master, Kor. I am honoured to Captain a ship that has his name.

Things have gone well for the Klingon Empire. The Cardassians, who have been a pain in our side for as long as I can remember, have been destroyed. Their ships are no longer roaming the galaxy. Their systems are all under our control. With our superior strenght, it was not difficult to take over Cardassia. Pretty soon, all their other systems fell. Cardassians became members of the Klingon Empire.

Not long after that, news of an other empire's downfall reached us: the Romulans now only existed as conquered people at the hands of the. . . well, details are vague at that point. We believe that the Ferengi had a great hand in this, but we cannot be certain. All we know is that relations with the Romulans went well for us... until suddenly they were defeated. Bah, P'taqs! They should have found ways to defend themselves. Still, this gives us a chance to gather our forces and create more ships. The Romulans would not have been subjecated easily. Whoever did this, must have a large fleet at hand. Not to worry though: we will be ready.

The months following the Romulan's downfall, things remained quiet. It was once again possible for us to return our attention to internal politics: our recently added systems which once belonged to the Cardassians, had to be taught to respect us. Rest assured... our warriors made sure they did. They won't give us any more trouble now.

Many Klingons citisens were now hungry for war. Myself included: I did not want to remain on patrol duty for the rest of my life! So, during those patrols, our taskforce got a bit... 'confused' on which side of the border we had to patrol. We 'encountered' a Federation outpost with a Federation and a Ferengi troop transport. Naturally, we destroyed them: we didn't want anyone to know that we 'mistakenly' crossed into Federation space.

It was then that the Chansellor got a message from the Ferengi, stating that if we wanted war with the Federation, then we should publically declare war. Otherwise, would would just have to mind our own business. So, the Chansellor declared war with the Federation.

A glorious battle followed! Our taskforce, consisting of 13 updated Heavy Cruisers and two scouts went into Federation territory, under cloak. There, in the Lambda system, we encountered a huge Federation fleet, obviously on their way to Klingon space! That fleet included 9 Vulcan ships and Miranda class destroyers, 3 Nebula class Strike Cruisers, and 8 of their Galaxy X class Heavy Cruisers. They were flanked by a Federation outpost. This would be a glorious battle indeed!

When we got the order, our taskforce decloaked. We fired everything we got at the Galaxy Class cruisers, knowing they would have the most firepower. Alas, we had miscalculated the strenght of their shields! Only two of those eight ships blew up: the rest were virtually undamaged. I remember thinking, at that time, that this would be a good day to die. For we sure would not make it out of here alive.

Yet, the Federation made a critical mistake... one which our ships quickly took advantage of. Instead of targeting the Heavy Cruisers, those Federation fools targeted our scoutships. Their tactics weren't all that foolish actually, since without our scouts, we would not be able to gather intelligence about their strenght. Had we been Federation vessels, that lack of information would have killed us.

But we were *Klingon*! We fired everything we got at the Galaxy class ships, making sure that they knew the price of destroying two of our ships. Within just a few minutes, all the Galaxy and Nebula class ships were gone, as well as the outpost.

That just left the nine destroyers and Vulcan ships. It was pathetic, really. Without the leadership of the command ships, these little ships were trying to flee in fear. We destroyed nearly all of them, but let two escape. Everyone in Federation territory will now know what happened at the Battle of Lambda!

I must go now: the Ferengi seem on the move, to help their Federation allies. Hah! They will suffer the same fate. Soon, Klingons will rule the Galaxy!

Q'apla!

Following Ben, I too put my cd of Birth of the Federation back in my computer, and with a few adjustments it worked! Ah yes, now I too would be in command of an empire! But where Ben chose the Romulans, I chose the Klingons. In the first couple of turns, I conquered some minor races such as the Antedeans and the Bynars. My empire was growing fast, with the (voluntary!) additions of both the Mizarians and the Andorians. But then... I encountered all the major races. None of them really seems to like me now, but there *is* an uneasy truce between us. Except of course, with the Cardassians. I'm at war with them.

The war was going well... I took over some minor Cardassian systems. No big deal. Until suddenly... well, let's hear about this from the Captain of the IKS Melora A: a heavy cruiser with the ability to cloak.

Captain's Log.

It was only a few days ago when everything was going alright. The Melora was assigned to a group consisting of the Kang, the Kling, and a scout ship. Along with the Melora, of course. Following orders, we entered the Cardassian border, into Cardassian territory. Our mission: to strike fast and strike hard. The Cardassian fleet -we did not even know its full strenght!- should not know what hit them.

Ah, those glorious days! Even though we did not encounter heavy resistance, our spirits were high! Whatever ship we encountered was no match for the combined strenght of one scout and *three* Klingon Heavy Cruisers. We kept going, straight for Cardassia. Nothing could go wrong!

Then the impossible happened. Those honourless Cardassians struck hard... in the only way they could win. If they would face us head-on, in battleships of their own, they would at least die *honourably*. Now however, they lost whatever honour they posessed.

The IKS Kang was taken from us. Not destroyed: no, if only these warriors died in battle! Then their souls would at least be crossing over to Sto-vo-kor right now. But no. The Kang -such a powerful ship, worthy of this name- came into Cardassian posession. How they did it, we are still not sure. Perhaps some honourless P'taks on board the Kang accepted large bribes. Perhaps the Cardassians found a way to remotely take over command of the vessel. I don't know. All I, and the rest of my group saw from the entire attempt, was the IKS Kang moving away from the group... and entering warp. They were gone.

The Chansellor was mad as Gre'thor when he heard! "You lost a ship?" He shouted when he was told. "How can you *lose* a ship?" Immediately, the Chansellor sent another Heavy Cruiser to our position to assist us. Not necessary in my opinion, but it it wasn't my decision to make.

A few days after this.. 'incident', (the crew's moral was no longer festive, and they really needed something to life their spirits) we were ordered to go to Cardassia itself. Three Heavy Cruisers and two scouts. Our mission: to find out what the Cardassians have there, and to destroy them. Or at least, do as much damage as possible.

When we got there, we found that the Cardassians did *not* have an impressive fleet waiting for us. An outpost, two destroyers, and some troop transports. Hah, this was going to be easy!

We decloaked, and struck them hard. Spirits on board were high: we would be victorious, defeating the Cardassians in orbit of their own homeword!

But we laughed too soon. Just when we thought we could relax and power down -all the enemy ships had been destroyed after all- a ship decloaked directly in front of us. It was the IKS Kang A! For a moment, we cheered: somehow the crew of the Kang had taken back control! Our happiness turned into rage though, when the Kang opened fire: firing Cardassian disruptors at us!

Because we were not prepared for this, the extra Heavy Cruiser, sent by the Chansellor himself, exploded. I ordered evasive maneauvres, but it was too little too late. The Kang had also targeted us: explosions shook the ship. Our shields, which had been raised quickly, fell.

But we would not give up this easily! Diverting all power we had left to our weapons systems, we fired everything we got at the Kang. For honour, and for the glory of the empire! With the combined forces of the Kling and the Melora, the Kang received quite some damage. But it was not enough!

It was at that moment that the scouts moved in. I owe both Captains a barrel of bloodwine, if not more, for their actions. Their disruptorfire was just enough to blow the IKS Kang A, along with every Cardassian on board, to smithereens.

It was true what they say. Revenge is a dish best served cold. And it's *very* cold in space...

Yes indeed. RoBobby has taken the virtual step into the virtual Academy, to become a virtual Star Trek Officer. How this all came to be? Well, it's easy.

It started when Totalus told Darthbunny and myself about Aeon, the region in Second Life where this Star Trek's headquarters is housed. So, I started visiting that place quite often. Not just for Star Trek related things, but because of their sandbox as well. A sandbox is a place where you can experiment with all kinds of things which you might have with you. Like here, where I'm riding Pegasus, the flying horse. And here, where I'm about to lift off.

Pretty soon, I started getting interesting in what this virtual Star Trek was all about. So, I decided to become a member there. Not long after that, I donned my Cadet Uniform. Not great for a fashion show, I know, but it'll just have to do. Yes, now I was a member of Star Fleet, Second Life Quadrant. Whatever that might mean.

Hence, I thought I took it upon myself to explore the area. And who do you think I ran into? That's right, Quark. He gave me a nice looking drink, called a Borg Sphere. A horrid drink, to be sure. But it was free, so no sense crying about it. Next, I went to see if there was more to do in this virtual Star Trek world. And sure enough, there was. Here I'm watching TV. What? Oh, Star Trek of course!

The following day, I was delighted to find Totalus, Darthbunny and Karida online again! So, I took them to see the Solar System! Of course I took another visit to Mars. Pfff, was I tired! I just *had* to sit down! And from Mars, -or actually pluto- I lost my balance! Thus, I fell down back to Earth. A word of advise: don't. It'll save you a lot of pain.

Well, it's been a little while, but RoBobby has had some more adventures in Second Life. For one thing, RoBobby (aka me) has visited the Wild Wild West. It was great, albeit a bit dangerous: bullets were flying everywhere!

To escape the stress of the Wild Wild West, RoBobby went to a very interesting museum. Although it had no connections with the real Louvre, this *was* called the Second Life Louvre. I just hope that real Louvre isn't this scary: it was around midnight, and I was in a hall with all kinds of statues... which seemed to move ever so slightly. Nope, I won't go back there again.

The next day (today) I once again logged on, and found a nice spot to relax. Ah, relaxing at the water... don't you just love it? When I also saw that there was a swing there, I couldn't resist. Ah well, I suppose me being a teacher causes such strange things to happen, right?

Nevertheless, after that I found another thing to do: windsurfing! Look at the nice trick!

Well, that's about it for now. There was one other picture I wanted to show you all though. It was made a little while ago, but I kept forgetting to post it here. Which surprises me, because it's just one small step for RoBobby...

Oh boy oh boy. Today, I've visited space. And it was nice! I saw Wolf-359, I've been exploring Mars, and once I was done I fell back to Earth.

Back on Earth, I met up with Totalus, who had a rather strange pet thingy, and I've also been taking a boat ride together with Totalus and Darthbunny. Nice and relaxing. If it were not for the fact that only a couple of moments after that, we were chased by Totalus in his fighter plane!

Luckily, Totalus then took me and Darthbunny to... you'll never guess it... the Tardis! Of course we took a look inside, where I enjoyed a nice hot cup of tea.

The rest of the time in Second Life, I flew around trying to get some free stuff. I did finally get some, but I'm not sure what I've received: Second Life didn't seem to want to co-operate. I'll try again tomorrow, for I'm kinda tired from all this exploring.

See you in another RoBobby Adventure!

Yes everyone, I too have fallen to the power of Second Life. And if it wasn't for Adrien, Bram and Martin's bragging, I probably wouldn't have joined it in the first place.

But now that I have, I feel I should thank those who bragged about it: it's quite a remarkable world. And sure, why not justify entering this hype as a means of experiment? An experiment into the virtual world. What does this do with people? What is possible in Second Life? What is better there than in First Life?

Well, let's just start by introducing my character: RoBobby. RoBobby is, as I've created him, a bit of a teacher-like figure. (no surprise there.) This is how he looks, this is how I play him. As such, he (and I) has a lot of interest in education, musea, etc. But being me who plays RoBobby, he also has a lot of interest in Star Trek and Frontier Fleet. So when I stumbled across a space museum with the Space Shuttle Atlantis, I couldn't help but take a picture

Yes, I'm able to fly in Second Life! Flying is great... but so is relaxing. Which I'm doing here. Or here. And of course here there's Darthbunny interrupting a nice screenshot of RoBobby drinking tea!

There's Star Trek in Second Life too: I've met the Guardian of Forever and I've worn a Starfleet Uniform and Tricorder. I also visited the Enterprise D, the Defiant and a Bird of Prey, although I have no screencaps about that now. Maybe later.

One thing you can also do in Second Life is just... do nothing. Watch some fish or something like that. That too is to be enjoyed. It's all the advantages of real life, in a fake world. Plus, there are things in Second Life which you can't do in reality, namely flying and transporting from one place to another. I guess I am now beginning to understand why so many people are addicted to this game... uhm, social experiment. I'd better watch out, otherwise I'll get addicted too!

See you in a next blog about RoBobby's Adventures!