DFire870

ST is loading kinda slow for me, and the download speeds have been terrible since it was upgraded to 6.0. Like, it'll start out at around 15 KB/s, then over the course of the download it'll decrease until it's 0 bytes/sec, and it won't increase. I haven't been able to download anything for two weeks because of this. :/

Okay, so I've been gone awhile, and I have to say I love the new look. It'll take me some time to get used to it, but it looks great. One thing though, the bottom grey bar that has the latest blog, topic, STEX upload, etc., is really annoying. Every time a page loads it freezes momentarily, and the bottom scroll-bar appears. It's gotten hard for me to navigate because the browser freezes all the time when I load pages... and I usually have several tabs open to look at different things. Anyhow, is there any way to turn the bar off?

That is sad that she passed away, a day before election day. He did say that she probably wouldn't make it until then, but the fact that she died so close to him possibly winning the presidency is sad. On another note, my sister's having a baby tomorrow, and she wants Obama to win, so it would be weird if she had the baby when they announced Obama as the winner.

For my regions, I use a grid system based on letters and numbers and name the cities after those (ex: A1, D4). For the mayor name I just put in a period. You could just try using a period for the city and mayor names.

Yeah, they're pretty common here in the US, but there are (IMO) three different types: malls, open-air shopping centers, and outlet malls. The malls are essentially a giant box with all of the stores inside and parking lots surrounding it. The open-air shopping centers are similar to the one you posted, but they're a little smaller, and are anchored by one or two, sometimes three, big-box stores (depending on the size of the center). Then there are outlet malls which are like what you posted, but there's not usually any "main store", they're all roughly the same size and have designer brands for lower prices. Some can be arranged where you have rows of these stores with the parking in the middle, and some are like malls where you have all of the stores clustered in one space, with parking lots surrounded around. The open-air shopping centers are the smallest and are located almost everywhere in cities, with malls there's not quite as many, and outlet malls are located in the outskirts. The San Marcos Outlet Malls, like masochist pointed out, are located in the middle of nowhere (well, they WERE, but now there's quite a bit around them) because they get so many people there (they basically triple the population of San Marcos during peak season). Wow, I rambled a bit there...

For me, it's only been with the regular map files. But here's the workaround (it may work for other files too). In Firefox, right click on the "Download" link, and select "Copy Link Location." Then paste the link into the address bar. After that, you need to select the part of the URL that is similar to: "https://www.simtropolis.com/stex/download.cfm?id=5315&download=", which is at the beginning of the full URL. At the end of the URL, select the part that is similar to: "&designer=jhipolito" (these two parts will differ depending on the download). At the end, you should have something similar to: "http://www.stex-server.com/maps/jhipolito/jhipolito_eaton/Eaton%5FJhipolito%2Ejpg". Once you do, hit "Enter" and the file/map should load correctly.

I'm using Firefox 3.0.3, and I can't view the maps either. And relogging doesn't help either. But I have found a workaround. I just copy the link, paste it in the URL bar, then take out part of the address and it works.

Wow, I'm surprised someone else suggested Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Anyways, I can see your point on how it would be a bit harder to recreate it. That long runway is kinda strange for an airport that small, but that's only because it was originally an Air Force Base. And strange enough, it would be easier to recreate ABIA instead of Austin's older airport, Mueller Municipal Airport, because its runways are at odd angles. As for a future suggestion, how about Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport? It looks relatively easy to recreate except for all of the development around it.

Yeah, I saw that this morning on Google News. I didn't watch too many of his movies, but two of the ones I did watch, The Ten Commandments and Planet of the Apes, were amazing. Apparently he was suffering from Alzheimer's, which is sad because he's always been seen as a symbol of strength, and the fact that Alzheimer's pretty much eats away at your brain so you lose memories and other things (my grandpa is suffering from it now and it's very hard to go see him).

It works, but it's not a "true" HOV lane. In RL, a HOV lane allows cars with X amount of people or more as well as buses, in SC the HOV lane lots only allow buses. So it works but not like in RL.

I use names of cities and towns in Texas, since I live in Austin. I'll also use those names for natural formations like rivers and mountains, as well as parks and such.

Saying which city is better based on if you like their sports teams or not is really, really, really childish. Anyhow, while I've never been to Atlanta (aside from the airport), I've only been to Houston twice (and one of those times was fairly recently), despite the fact that I live 2 hours west of it. But between the two, I'd have to choose Houston. I like its skyline, its freeway system is pretty good, and it has quite a few tourist attractions. Heck, just driving around the city is an attraction itself. Houston doesn't have that many touristy things though. The last time I went, we went to the Space Center which was cool, and the San Jacinto Monument. The thing I hate with the monument is its location. The drive is kinda depressing or whatever, because you pass by all of this industrial area, and when you're in the park all you see is industrial stuff.

I used to live in Corpus for about 5 years, so this will be an interesting project to watch. Although to be honest, most of the buildings in Corpus are rather generic, except for a few buildings in the downtown area.

Aww, I hope this CJ doesn't end, it's one of the best out there! Since you've kinda run out of ideas, why not do some rural/farming areas, or maybe start a disaster or two? You could also take a hiatus for a few weeks, to get some inspiration.