Patricius Maximus

Apologies for the delay in the plans. The DOT's plan for the VS-1/VS-2 interchange is exactly as originally planned out -- conversion from a trumpet into a cloverstack as described in the original proposal. I also have a major announcement to make concerning my department. I have served Virgin Shores for two full terms - I am now in my third. However, I have been busy, chronically nowadays, and I feel that I am a drag on the progress of Virgin Shores due to my extended leaves of absence from responding to the thread. Hopefully with fond memories of my tenure as DOT head, I announce my resignation from the post of the Head of the Virgin Shores Department of Transportation. I request that either a special election be held for my post, or a person appointed to fill out my term. I will not rule out a future run for this or any other post, but I am resigning now. Patricius Maximus, Former Head of the Virgin Shores Department of Transportation

THE NOVEMBER GDP REPORT REPLIES: deathtopumpkins: I'm hoping as well (even though I'm in control of them ). un1: So do we all. flyinbird93: Good question. I imagine it will end when capitulation comes. standart242: Not exactly a new city, but thanks anyway. De Ja Vu: Thanks. I like them, too. The GDP Report for November is out, and the Franklinite economy shrunk by 0.5 percent this month: Here's a chart of the gross GDP per capita -- still relatively high at over 40 000 AFD: However gloomy, the report was better than expected by traders -- the FCSE Composite Index is going up: Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

A TEASER OF NEW ECONOMIC NEWS REPLIES: un1: I agree. Ntq$310: 1) The Franklinite currency is actually equal to 1.40 dollars. However, the AFDES currency, which we are converting into, is currently exchanging in Franklin 1 to 1 with other currencies. 2) Good plan. deathtopumpkins: Yes, I did sound kind of like Hank there.... Franklinite GDP data will be released on December 1, and the market is obviously pricing in a bad report: Many analysts say now is a buying opportunity, as the GDP data is probably not going to be that bad. The GDP report will include a graph of year-to-date GPD. Feel free to post any of your comments, suggestions, or questions.

A RIVALRY BEGINS REPLIES: deathtopumpkins: I hope Virgin Oil can. Hahayoudied: Another way to look at it is whatever goes down, must come up. un1: Thanks. Jawzz: Thank you for your comments. That entrepreneur's name would be Pat Dalton, a Franklin native. He saw the deficiencies in Franklin Energy, and thought that he would create his own company to take over the market of solar power, biodiesel, and natural gas. His company is now incorporated as Dalton Enterprises (DEN). DEN has obtained a permit from East Valley to build a solar array in Franklin Plateau. Here is where the road to it turns off: And here is the array itself, pending hooking up to the underground power grid: Meanwhile, the transaction for Virgin Oil (VO) to buy out the oil field from Franklin Energy (FE) has been completed: Dalton Enterprises is also interested in exploring the outer parts of the oil field not owned by Virgin Oil for natural gas. Back in East Franklin, Franklin Energy has built 2 wind turbines near the Franklin River bank to distribute power to the Franklin citizens: Lastly, the Franklin Assembly has voted in a secret plan to develop the housing and infrastructure of this area of East Franklin: This is in a bid to reinvigorate the economy, and to keep it growing. The idea that the economy needs to be invigorated is making the markets nervous. The FCSE is down for the day. Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

I think you've captured "the small-town spirit". A small town doesn't have to be rural.

ACQUISITIONS AND A NEW POTENITAL COMPETITOR REPLIES: deathtopumpkins: Franklin Energy will take your offer. The purchase price for the oil field is 5 million AFD (the losses sustained). suplado!: I like it myself. un1: Thanks for your comments. Ntq$310: Thank you for the information. IRH would take a full buyout by IHG. For more information, see below. As you may have noticed in the last update, Franklin Energy and International Real Estate Holdings have abbreviations of FE and IRH, respectively. These also happen to be their ticker symbols at the FCSE, pictured below: From this point on, all listed companies on the FCSE, when referred to by name, will have their ticker symbol in parentheses. Example: Franklin Energy (FE). International Real Estate Holdings (IRH) will take an offer by International Holding Group (IHG) to buy the company in a full acquisition. IRH is currently trading at 21.89 AFD per share, and has a market cap of 2.63 billion AFD. Meanwhile, in East Valley, the Citizens' Assembly finally has a permanent meeting place, taking the place of ruins of foreign companies. Here is the area before: And after: The Assembly has since changed their policy -- from allowing no foreign companies (those that aren't based in East Valley), to allowing them to operate with permission from the Assembly. In Forest Basin, assuming Virgin Oil takes the offer, the oil field is now under the control of Virgin Oil. This takes a loss off the books of Franklin Energy (FE), and also makes them an exclusively non-oil energy company, the first of it's kind in Franklin County. However, an entrepreneur coming out of the shadows intends to set up a rival company to Franklin Energy, investing in natural gas, biodiesel, and solar power -- areas that FE has neglected. Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

People, please, there is a huge difference between evolution and creationism. Creationism explains (incorrectly) how animals came into being. The scientific study of the origins of life is Abiognesis. Evolution simply observes the changes in life over the passage of time.quote> True -- I've seen some people wrapping in their idea of "evolutionism" to include abiogenesis, eugenics, abortion, and euthanasia. That is not what Evolution is, and all those theories and hypotheses in "evolutionism" are seperate things. To clarify... Evolution: theory that states that first life-forms evolved into higher life forms by mutation and natural selection, eventually reaching the present state. The forces of mutation and natural selection are still acting today on species. Abiogenesis: concept which states that the first life-forms originated from non-living matter. There are many theories which extend on this concept, but so far no one of them has shown its validity over the other. Both theories above are supported by facts, and the theories do fit them. Creationism and Intelligent Design hypotheses do not. Furthurmore, Creation hypotheses inevitably bring up a lot of philosophical questions that cannot be validated or invalidated by Science. Simply put, the hypothesis of Intelligent Design has no facts supporting it, and it cannot be validated by the scientific method. Therefore, it is not Science. However, I would believe in Creationism if a person could find a way to validate the hypothesis, show me experimental data that validates it, and if it fit the observable facts better than Evolution. So far, no Intelligent Design proponent has shown me that proof or is interested in obtaining it. Whereas Evolution has been tested, validated, and fits the observable facts. Now, back to the original topic. Eugenics is not part of Evolution, as I stated above. To clarify... Eugenics: a concept which states that it is desirable to improve the human species through various means of intervention. The intervention could be government-based (such as genocide, forced sterilization, forced abortion), or voluntary (birth control, selective in-vitro fertilization, reprogenetics). Essentially, Eugenics is artificial selection, instead of natural selection.

I am speechless. If GTR is similar to Franklin, it will have many more after 100. Great work. - Patricius Maximus

GOOD NEWS AS THE ECONOMIC CRISIS DEEPENS REPLIES: un1: Thanks for your comments. Ntq$310: Thank you. crazyarchitect: I also think it is great to have a common currency, at least between FC, Virgin Shores, and AFDES. deathtopumpkins: Nice houses? Probably why they took ARMs to get them. flyinbird93: Hopefully we are. kj3400: Thanks. blue sinjid: I got it here. First, for reference, the AFDES currency will be referred as 'AFD', at least in Franklin County. A piece of bad news in the past 2 days -- the FCSE Composite has dropped below it's recent low: The economic crisis has deepened in Forest Bluff, with all the circled homes in this area alone in foreclosure due to ARMs: The bank forclosing is the bank founded by the former real estate developer, International Real Estate Holdings (IRH), a bank with massive subprime holdings worth 350 billion AFD. So far, the foreclosures have made the values in Forest Bluff plummet even more, feeding a vicious circle of falling values, foreclosures, and more falling values. Meanwhile, there is good news. It appears Resolution 3 has passed, and Franklin is holding a design competition for the AFDES Central Bank branch. Also, the Franklin Assembly has voted 2 to 1 in favor of adoption of the AFDES Currency, and the East Valley Citizen's Assembly has placed a vote on it on the order of business. The old Franklinite currency will remain legal tender for 30 days in conjunction with the AFD, at the end of which time the AFDES currency will be the sole legal tender in Franklin. A currency conversion center has been set up in the AFDES Summit Building to aid in the process: Lastly, there is trouble in the Forest Basin Oil Field, due to deflating oil prices. Falling prices have erased already thin profit margins, and now Franklin Energy (FE) is taking a loss on the oil: The Board of Franklin Energy is considering what to do with the oil field. The options include spinning off the oil field into a new company, selling the oil field to another company, liquidating the oil field, or try to expand operations there to try to make a profit. There is trouble on all economic fronts. Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

This thread, as in the title, is a showcasing to the public of the releases and works-in-progress of the NNM Team. Currently, the team is composed of five members: Un1 Hamish Patricius Maximus Archean Deathtopumpkins We do have a private topic where we share our work between ourselves. However, we agreed that a public showcase should be created, so people can see what we are working on. As new information comes to me, I will update this post. Current Mapping Projects of Patricius Maximus: The Kane Islands (Now Uploaded): The No Name Maps Team also has a section at UDProductions. Click here for it. Team members are encouraged to show their creations here, so the public may see what we are making. - Patricius Maximus

A NEW GARBAGE DISPOSAL FACILITY REPLIES: un1: I can't think, either. deathtopumpkins: Thanks for your comments. haljackey: 1) I'm glad you're curious about my plans -- to be honest, I'm curious too . 2) Always allow a margin of error in plans -- a law of unreleased material planning. kj3400: Thanks. I can't wait for 3.0, either. rewright: Thank you. A garbage disposal facility may seem menial and downbeat for Patian County, but Patians have garbage, too. Meanwhile, the northern diamond interchange on the expressway has been beautified with retaining walls: On the diagonal stretch of the highway (which may be modified when v3.0 comes out), wind turbines have been built to meet the city's power needs: On the northern fringe of East Lutland, the expressway's northern stretch has been completed, along with a few overpasses: And, as promised, the garbage disposal facility: Nothing in Patian County is run-of-the-mill, and neither is this landfill. 2 recycling centers help reduce garbage, and the surrounding trees negate any NIMBY effects from the landfill -- the area is even more desirable now than it was before. A definite first -- a landfill that people actually want to live next to. Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

Pretty nice concept and execution you have going here. I'd suggest, in your plan, having 1 or 2 freeways to start with, connecting the CBD with the suburbs. With some interchanges, I think it would beautify the lake area.

AFDES SUMMIT UPDATE REPLIES: astronelson: Yes, we're advancing pretty quickly in technology -- of course they will have radiation shielding. flyinbird93: Yep, it is too bad. Artur_001: Thanks. In the Third AFDES Summit, our longest Summit yet, held in Halifax, we have proposed sweeping resolutions, which will affect Franklin County locally. Resolution 3, which is currently being voted on, would entail the creation of an AFDES Central Bank, headed by a Board of Trustees, considting of represenatives from member states. The Bank would manage an AFDES currency (yet to be named), whose adoption by member states will be voluntary. The Bank would also manage an AFDES Fund, which would be funded by donations from member states, the minimum amount being a certain percentage of GDP annually. The Fund will be avaliable for all members to tap, provided the Board consents. Current voting suggests the Resolution will pass, and I have a sweeping agenda for Franklin County: 1. Franklin will adopt the AFDES currency as the sole currency. 2. Franklin will donate 50 million to the AFDES Fund. 3. We will immediately begin construction of our AFDES Central Bank branch, where currencies can be swapped between member states. 4. GDP data will be made avaliable to the public every month. Also under discussion in seperate threads is an AFDES Airline and an AFDES Oil Company. However, these discussions have taken a back seat to Resolution 3. An update will come tomorrow. Feel free to post comments, suggestions, and questions.

The DOT approves DTP's proposal for a Road overpass over the C&W Line. Patricius Maximus, Head of the Department of Transportation

TROUBLES WITH ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGES REPLIES: un1: Thanks for your comments. crazyarchitect: Yep, toxic loans . deathtopumpkins: I'd like to see that World HQ. You'll hear more about those loans... very soon... Ntq$310: IHG? No, it was an independent company. sedimenjerry: Thanks. flyinbird93: Thank you. The FCSE Composite did tell. The Agonite rally has fizzled, and now the index is poised to retest the lows: In addition, due to dark clouds gathering in the economies of other AFDES states, 30-year mortgage rates have gone up to 6.3 percent from 6.1 percent. The people in Forest Bluff bought their houses at 5.6 percent. The Franklin Assembly voted unanimously yesterday to create a commission to investigate underwater mortgages, and to keep track of them. The results were startling -- so far, every underwater mortgage given by the real estate developer have been adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). Now that the rates have gone up, added to the people being underwater, they may not be able to make their monthly payment. Below is a picture of Forest Bluff -- every single house in the picture is an underwater ARM: Real estate and homebuilder stocks are plunging, dragging the FCSE Composite down. The crisis may have escalated. Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

It really does look like a paradise . I liked the continuous flow intersection.

hummer0328, you do not sound like a nutcase. I do think that there is something happening, and it is extrinsic to your mind. Add to that another person has had similar experiences. However, it may be actual aliens, it might not. But something not good is going on there. tepodon, you sound like the usual skeptic on the History Channel who explains everything away with false memories and hallucinations. Sleep deprivation does not produce phonomena quite like that. He does state that he did go to sleep because of some kind of voice, and people don't go into delta-wave deep sleep like the touch of a button. The hours that he was initially not aware of are the ones where he was with the aliens. In sleep deprivation, do people have hallucinations and not remember them? After going to sleep? No. There is something else at work here. Now, if you wish to prove or disprove Tepodon's hypothesis -- the next time you feel that sensation, take the medication, and see if you have the same experience. anywho aliens do really exist. viruses are living and they are aliens so somewhere there has to be "cool" aliens (like ones you can actually see) but i ddoubt theyre anyplace close to earth.quote> huh?quote> I believe that duack was referring to the Panspermia hypothesis, in which viruses from another planet get hit by a meteor impact, and leave their own planet's gravity. Then the viruses impact another planet, "seeding" the atmosphere with alien germs. In fact, I believe that the Bubonic Plague may have been one of those alien viruses -- it just suddenly appeared in China in the 13th and 14th centuries.

That's a great service to people who are curious about their DNA. I have no problem with genome testing at all if: 1. The service is voluntary 2. The data is kept strictly private (by doctors, etc.) 3. Discrimination of any kind based on it (already accomplished in the US)

NEW FREEWAYS IN EAST LUTLAND REPLIES: blue sinjid: Glad you think so. haljackey: Well, I suppose it doesn't . deathtopumpkins: Thanks. No, there are no streets. sedimenjerry: Agreed. SirUnger: Thank you. My interest in Simcity reached a trough some weeks ago, but now it is roaring back, and it shows in East Lutland: Here is an overview of the city, which is dominated by the southern district and the cloverstack: And, at the cloverstack, I have drawn up my first plans for the RHW 3.0, an elevated MIS section: An interesting setup is being agglomerated now with this avenue-turned-expressway: Due to the conversion of it to an expressway, and it's proximity to the freeway, it will hook up with the freeway via 2 partial-Y interchanges to the north and south. This plan will be interesting, because local connections would be made on the expressway, and freeway-to-freeway connections would be made on the main highway: Here's a view to the north: And futhur onward is a visualization of the freeway-expressway convergence: Lastly, here is another sunken area, this time with a one way road and a street in it. Traffic has flowed nicely through here: More of this area will be seen in the next update. Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

Escape through a cardboard box? He's an original thinker. Yep, that is a reason why boxes leaving prisons should be checked -- also, in the US, that's why those containers from China have to be checked. You never know what may be in them.

It's started! Nipigon Island looks like it's getting off to a good start, like a certain region of Patian County I've been working on .

The DOT approves the extension of roads to the new villiage. The DOT would also like to see pictures of the road network there (when it is finished), so we can plan interchanges. Patricius Maximus, Head of the Department of Transportation

A NEW LIH BUILDING REPLIES: un1: Thanks. If it is anything like the RL rally, it won't last long. Ntq$310: Possibly. deathtopumpkins: That is the question. At the very least it buys some time. Archean: Yes, a research station to unlock the power of Agonite fusion is a very enticing prospect... driftmaster07: 1) First, I'm glad you took the time to view FC. I also think that it is interesting showing both space and the ground -- very few CJ's have done it (among them Nexis of Genesis). 2) Trusses are here. Lunchbox International Holdings has managed to secure a deal for a new hi-rise hotel in Central Franklin, the St. Regis: And a farther view: Unlike all it's LIH predecessors, the St. Regis is located near the Franklin Airport, for maximum publicity. Below is a night view: It appears I have some nightlighting issues to investigate . Meanwhile, the Franklin Metropolitan Assembly has delegated an entire floor of the Franklin AFDES Summit Complex for the use of the AFDES Space Programme: The Assembly made clear in a statement that they "do not wish to monopolize the AFDES Space Programme", and that they hope that a similar office will be established in New Gelderland. On the economic front, for reasons now unknown, real estate values appear to have peaked from an all-time high, and are now down 10 percent. Many people in Forest Bluff, who were given exotic loans by the former real estate developer, are now underwater on their mortgages. Is this a deepening of the crisis? Perhaps the FCSE Composite will tell. Find out in the next update. Please post comments, suggestions, and questions.

I'm pacified (for now) .

If only it were true.... By the way, the dating of that newspaper is probably not going to be accurate. If Obama's plan for a 16-month withdrawl is followed to the day, and enacted the day after his inauguration, then the Iraq War will end on May 20, 2010.