August 15, 2008 – 12:13 pm
The University of Houston is buying an island on Second Life! It’ll be used for the school’s Department of Health and Human Performance and the Texas Obesity Research Center.
Plans call for an interactive campus where students and professors adopt avatars to walk (or fly) around campus or teleport to any number of thousands of other islands.
Virtual doesn’t come cheap. UH paid $1,700 for the island and pays Linden Research another $300 a month in rent.
Not cheap?? You try renting an entire campus for $300 a month. You could hardly get a dorm room for that. But the best thing about UH’s new space is clearly its high quality design.
A virtual architect designed and built the campus as a very, very loose replica of the real thing “with better architecture,” says Associate Professor Brian McFarlin.
After the jump: More views of the beautiful UH-Virtual!
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Read more about: Buying and Selling, Commercial Real Estate, Online Resources, Second Life, University of Houston
November 16, 2007 – 3:30 pm
UH students: Beware of “secluded spots” on campus!
Just a few days ago, University of Houston officials called in Pearland beekeeper Mike Knuckey to remove a giant colony of 100,000 bees from behind a 40-foot-high section of wall in the engineering college’s Building 1. The wall had been dripping with honey.
But now the bees are coming back . . . to an undisclosed location on campus! From a UH press release:
UH plans to build a new nest for the bees in a wooden, isolated area of campus. The bees should be in their new home on Friday, Nov. 16.
A report from the Houston Chronicle is a little more ominous:
While moving the hive was a bit of a headache, university officials ended up with a sweet surprise: five gallons of fresh honey.
“We’re gonna think of something clever to do with it here on campus,” Alexander said.
Uh . . . with the honey? Or with the hive?
Photo: Diego Almazan/The Daily Cougar
Read more about: 77004, Hazards, University of Houston
