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Originally posted by: Maxis92 Originally posted by: fern244 No grid = RealisticPeople like realism over here.quote> How so? A huge suburban city is realistic?quote> Los Angeles?

You're an amazing designer, your City Journal is absolutely stunning, I've never seen anything like it!

No one's disagreeing that there isn't life out there. It looks like a lot of ST is very sci-fi geared (well scientifically geared),.... and I agree! That question about ETs wanting to attack or kill us. This may sound sad but the chances of intelligent life like ours evolving on another planet in the universe is quite probable. That also raises the possibility of that alien race being like ours, and perhaps things took a turn for the worse and they've simply nuked themselves to oblivion. That kinda sucks, if your neighbor burned their house down while you were sleeping, but you never got to meet him. I don't think it's a matter of if there is life out there. It's a matterof WHEN we will make contact (or they) and HOW we will react and interact with them. Hoepfully by then with our wonderful and diverse insight into ET life/interaction/galaxy-wide federations/Imperial Empires/galactic warfare/multiculturalism/you get the point by pop culture we'll know how to deal with them. I have a feeling it's going to turn into something like Star Trek. What do you guys think? what would be the most plausible depiction of ET interaction in anything from pop culture?

Congratz on the one million, can you give us a colour legend of what each line represents in the street layout map? This CJ is off to a good start!

This CJ is great! Well done and well planned there mate I like how it's lookin' and the lookin' is good Your writing style is blowing my mind! Another one like yours, I never could find Keep up the good work I can't wait for more From all the refreshing and checking I do, my fingers and wrist are getting real sore!

TTC strike prompts essential service debate Jordana Huber , Canwest News Service Published: Monday, April 28, 2008 TORONTO - While there appears to be little appetite across the country for public transit to be declared an essential service - the unexpected TTC strike that paralyzed Toronto last weekend has created momentum for such legislation in Ontario. Premier Dalton McGuinty has indicated he would consider making Canada's largest transit system an essential service but the province on Monday said Toronto city council should carefully consider the pros and cons before making such a request. Talk of possible back-to-work legislation comes as buses, streetcars and subways spent their first full day back in service Monday after 9,000 transit workers walked off the job late Friday night leaving thousands of commuters without a way home. Email to a friendPrinter friendly Font: * * * *

No amount of government subsidy can solve the problems of urban sprawl and rising gas prices/ high demand for gas prices. It all lies in planning issues, and lifestyle choices. Mass transporation cannot be effective in any sprawled city. It's pretty scary though, that an entire city came to a halt. One question: Do the people of Atlanta not own bicycles?

That's really cool! All I need is a CJ and I'll have some basis or theme for my currency. You got other bills? Maybe even coins! This is a great idea

I totally agree with you Sim shady. After reading that I look at myself and wonder what I've been doing all this time... Yes, she's aprodigy and genius and just faster in general, anyone can totally be more productive than they are... If only I could stop playing SimCity long enough...

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes I used to be against unions.However with the changing corprate world of Mega companies owning everything they can buy to be "Diverse" This tends to force the owners/board members thinking with the bottom line and thier own proffits. Unions need to be here to keep that in check. how long to you think it will take the American Airline employees get back the benifitts the gave up to "Save" thier company? which in reality was probaly not in that much trouble or was trouble of thier own making with bad financial moves. quote> I like the idea of either worker-owned companies, this way whatever you do hurts or benefits the company which ensures some level of quality of service-- or the idea of government owned (so at least they care that it benefits the people) corporations but corporate run and managed. That way you do get the best of both world's. I don't want to get into the details of other systems, but just by looking at Healthcare. In Canada we have universal healthcare, you get long lines and not always grade A service but you at least get basic services. However, in the States with a privately run health system, you get very efficient hospital operations, top of the line service-- but only if you have enough money. That's where they start not caring about you. Like belfastuniguy is saying it really has to be a mixture of the best of both world's, and you get a really great transit systrem. Theoretically, the TTC is owned by the people of Toronto. We are the stake/ shareholders, and yes we demand year-round strike-less quality serivce at a reasonable rate, is that too much to ask?

Originally posted by: Danlikebooks Well, the whole point of a strike is to get better conditions for you. Obviously, they have a right to strike. Maybe the system doesn't pay them enough money? That's a good reason to strike.quote> Apparently, the average Bus/ Subway operator makes about $20/hour. Tell me that is not enough money because I'll also add a cookie onto it so you can feed your kids..... ( I will provide a source, asap, I'm not trying to be bitter, and I honestly apprecaite the service they provide. But, a starting wage of $20 an hour is...... well you do the math and the screaming... http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/jobopps_operators.htm Our teachers aren't getting paid enough Our nurses aren't getting paid enough Our doctors aren't getting paid enough MT is very important, but the quality of service does NOT reflect that. Some employees who work overtime (sitting around on chairs and reading the newspaper, or driving the bus grabbing coffees between stops) have reported earning over $100,000. The number of employees doing so is growing too. http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2007/07/31/apparently-the-better-way-also-equals-the-better-pay.aspx I have a friend who jokingly told me it would take him longer to earn the same amount of money in the next 20 or so years from being in Med school than if he didn't do post-secondary and just started driving buses. This is ridiculous. Furthermore, the city is in a budget crisis, and the first they cut from is MT. However, the cut does not come in the form of wage cuts, noooo, that's too terrible and would anger the union. Instead the cuts come in the form of stopping service! Decreasing busses and they even considered shutting down an entire subway line they spend a billion dollars building for the past eight years. This is ALL at the expense of the average commuter and what about the people who don't own a car? *I'm sorry how do I do links? So I don't have to post one giant URL

About the private/ public run mass transit, I would like to bring up a very good example of a mostly government owned but privately run and managed mass transit system. The Hong Kong MTR. This is a small example in comparison, but just by going to the website (I think that easily accessible and understood information is vital to any mass transit system) you can see and feel the difference. MTR Corporation: http://www.mtr.com.hk/ TTC: http://www.toronto.ca/ttc/ I'm sorry, but the TTC website looks like crap, and has some tacky scrolling text bar at the top. If you took just took a few thousand dollars out of the coffers of the unions you might have a better site, but no the TTC site looks like a 13-year old learned HTML last summer! Meanwhile you have the MTR dealing with a bilingual site, with 2 different categories, one for corporate information and one for customers. I looked at the financial statements for the MTR, based on fares alone, they are making a profit. Added to that the MTR is one of the larger real estate developers in the region, With that comes even more profits, and room for expansion or improvement. I also did some calculations of the fares. The fare system is zone-based so the least you could pay as an adult, within certain single-zones or short distances would be about 39 cents Canadian. The most would be about $6.00 however that is going from one end of the city to outer lying regions. The daily commuter could well spend less than a dollar a day on the trains, whereas here in Toronto the average adult would have to spend a good 5.75 to get to work and back. About the bulk buying of fares, the Hong Kong Octopus card allows users to use the card like a debit card, you load up the card and use it as you wish. The Octopus card also doubles as a cash card, so you can spend it at any retail shops or services within the system or at any MTR commercial enterprises. The stations and service, are one more to talk about. I can only imagine what a corporate run service would be like, in terms of employees and staff. Many TTC employees seem to lack the common courtesy as human beings to not be rude when providing a service, being indifferent to customers, and lacking the ability to smile. Many of the TTC stations look like they're in a constant need of repair, often looking grimy and like there's a layer of soot on everything. Everytime I hear about Asian mass transit services or European ones I drool with envy at the efficiency, consistency, reach and quality of service their MT systems have. Now can this all just be because of the Union? I'm not sure, but I'm sure as hell there is a correlation.

Originally posted by: TV-VCR BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- A 305 pound inmate has filed suit saying officials at the Benton County Jail are not feeding him enough. Broderick Lloyd Laswell said he has lost 100 pounds over the last eight months. 40/29 News reporter Melissa Kelly sat down and talked to Laswell Monday inside the Benton County Jail. He told Kelly he is hungry all the time and feels like he is being tortured. The inmate said he weighed 418 pounds at the time of his September 2007 arraignment, even though his book-in sheet says he weighed 382-pounds. He said he wants more to eat in jail. In a complaint filed in federal court, Laswell wrote that "on average I have lost about a half pound a day. This is not healthy." Benton County Jail officials would not comment about the case because it is still pending, but did say all meals served to inmates are approved by a dietician and that they're required by law to provide 2,300 calories per day to inmates. Laswell filed this suit about the weight on his own. In his complaint, the prisoner asserts that "on several occasions I have started to do some exercising and my vision went blurry and I felt like I was going to pass out. About an hour after each meal my stomach starts to hurt and growl. I feel hungry again." But he adds he is not doing nearly enough exercise to explain the weight loss. "The only reason we lost weight in here is because we are literally being starved to death." The suit also demands prisoners be fed hot meals – the jail has for years only served cold food. Authorities say the prisoners are provided with an average of 3,000 calories per day, about average for a man eating a Western diet. Laswell is accused with a co-defendant of fatally beating and stabbing a man before setting fire to his home, weighed 29 and a half stone when he was jailed in September. A federal magistrate will look into the complaint. quote>Dude needs to wake up and realize that the jail is doing him good. Also seems to be a fairly hot topic from looking at google.quote> Put him in isolation and give him a treadmill. See what happens in a month or two. Why are tax payers paying for more BigMacs for prisoners, this guy has almost no grounds. He should do the 30 hour famine.

Originally posted by: noypi07 About the tap water, towns near manila here in the Philippines has a murky water on the river and a slightly brownish water in the sink.quote> Obviously they are not filtered to standard and the rivers are polluted, that's a pretty big issue in itself.

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes We need more priests like that. quote> Amen to that.

i'm glad there is an Earth Day. But, people are forgetting the relevance of it, as corporations simply use it to further advance advertising campaigns. That's a very pessimistic view of it but it's happening. It's a good thing to have a day a year to remember we live on a planet that is reactive to the damage we do to it, but here's my message to everyone: This is not Earth's birthday, and we should not treat it like a birthday. Everyday I celebrate the Earth, by doing my part to protect it and conserve it. On Earthday I do not use less gas, take the bus anymore than I do, eat less food (meat, 1000 mile salads) or use less electricity than I usually do for the past 364 days. Everyone can be and is an environmentalist, it's not the responsibility of the few who care to make things happen and make change, everyone has to participate, every hour, every day every week every month of the year. I guess that's what Earth day is about, to take a look back at the rest of the year that you've been taking care of the planet. Give yourself a pat on the back, or start today, Earth Day is a life long commitment.

Ha, only reason they have something that's not so great looking is cause Sauga is a SUBURB! It's okay, everyone needs to start somewhere, and I guess Absolute is their first experience with hi-rises, good luck next time. I hope this doesn't sound too much like Mississauga bashing, but if you would only look over at Toronto you would see what real hi-rises look like.

Cool! I like that one with the tall blue tower and the blurred out background, makes it seem so much taller and like you're looking down from the sky.

Originally posted by: Bumdark It's pretty clear those plans did not find themselves in the trash can by accident - that's one of the best methods of transferring information among obscure groups (with obscure intentions). I mean, how many of us bother looking into trash cans? Thankfully one did, and found them and removed them... And is it just me, or is the fact that two highly sensitive plan documents were found in trash cans, almost simultaneously, in neighboring countries, sound like too much of a coincidence?quote> I don't really like conspiracy theories, but it is very suspicious that this happens in two neighboring countries, one especially priding itself on defence and security. Perhaps this was set up as to give warning to the general public that the "terrorists" are getting ready to do something, so that means we can start tightening security around the rest of the country and limit freedoms because they're getting access to sensitive information too easily. I cannot possibly imagine why anyone would just put them in the trash can. Terrorists are not that stupid, to take a few pages and leave the rest to get "picked up"? If I wanted to transfer highly classified information I'd just mail it.... why the trash can. It makes it sound like some how if they tranfferred it though normal means their mail would get opened and checked, which is infringing on people's privacy rights, and we know how much Americans value that. Terrorists can easily work the system, walk into the planning office dressed up nicely like a good ol' American, ask politely for the plans and say it's for research and other architect purposes, brig it home package it nicely and send it to the right people. Where in there do they need to be in garbage cans? Honestly this works very well for the authorities and anit-terrorist and government to constantly feed fear and suspicion into people's minds, it keep them going on the fact that there are still terrorists so it justifies radical government changes in security, which in the end will probably turn American into a scary police state. This ploy makes terrorists seem stupid and careless, and very low-tech, and the average American swooped into save the day just in time before the trash truck came. Just a thought.

Originally posted by: your_adress_here This has got to be one of the stupidest things I've ever heard of... Solving violence with violence... sounds a lot like something else I've heard of... what's it called again... oh, right, war.quote> War is exactly what it is, but if injustice is armed well then everyone would be equal right? haha Once again some ways of thinking cease to amaze me. Here, the second you mention guns or arms, you get this feeling on the back of your neck, something just isn't right. Now, if someone at school brought a gun to school I'd wouldn't soil myself but it's not the most enjoyable thing to have floating around, especially concealed. Guns are meant for killing people, they are weapons. You can say they're for defence, but they are in nature made for offence. So what, now they're making guns a part of their education? What happens to people who are learning history, oh yeah things would've been better off if they all had guns................

Originally posted by: hummer0328 We aren't talking about giving everyone a gun. Concealed weapons permits aren't given out to anyone who wants one. Only about 2% of the US population has a concealed weapons permit. You also have to be 21 to have one so only a very small percentage of students could be carrying a weapon on them. But it's a deterrent. Just about all concealed weapons carriers are sane law abiding citizens. Besides, if someone is crazy enough to want to massacre a bunch of people they are not going to bother with applying for a concealed weapons permit. They will just break the law and carry and conceal it anyways.quote> This brings up the question of what defines "self-defence" I mean this kind of law makes it seem like it's only addressing one issue, for students to stop deranged people killing too many students. What about other threats? So if you get into a fight, the other guy grabs your gun then what? Or if someone throws a punch at you do you draw your pistol? What if there are some relationship problems and one party decides he doesn't like the third party? They don't really seem to clearly define self-defence except against other unstable individuals massacring in school. This mean they're expecting more of these rampaging killers to come. Shouldn't the problem be to accomodate these unstable individuals so they don't even start and take ONE life? Cho took 32 students lives, but if he walked in and took 10 before he got shot to death, what do you say to those 10 student's families, at least 22 others lived? The problem was that Cho had EASY access to firearms, and a lot of them. I'm sure there are checks to ensure buyers are legit and are stable and blah blah blah, but I believe one case of bad judgment and negligence to make proper background checks on Cho is unacceptable. It happened once it will happen again.

Wow it's like we actually get to play the Intro Movies of the SC3K and SC4K haha cause that's what it looks like. Goregeous, can't wait! I'm waiting for the day Maxis and RockStar make a Simcity/ GTA Hybrid game. oooooooooooooh

I love the developments along the river and the region, so realistic! I like seeing more region shots, keep up the good work

haha that picture of Future Toronto made me laugh cuase it still looks the same.