w00t w00t booyah

I really had no idea the old busted joint was as busted as it was. In all honesty, I should expect the motherboard to fail at this point within the next ten bootups - it's that bad.

How do I know? I have a new machine that took my old Sims 2 game and ran it without flinching. Hacks and all? Hacks, over 5 gigs of custom content and all.

I do know now how many Sims you get in Pleasantview in a clean install, all expansion packs. 725. My game? 2,689. It's a month older than the kid, and this is the fourth machine I've ported it to, and the third OS.

The old machine takes nearly half an hour just to boot the OS. As soon as I can, I will retire it to a glorious recycling. And cry like a little kid - 2005 was really a vintage year, it turns out. Who knew?

What I have learned in the last 48 hours:

If you're having trouble with your Sims 2 game crashing due to graphic adapter issues, build your own lots.

(Proof positive I can still be suckered into the biggest time sink this side of WoW.)

The latest and greatest? I've put a hack in that allows 50 Sims (and pets) on the same lot.

Said lot now has:

1 Elder
4 Adults (and three of them are cheesecake-pregnant)
3 Teens
3 Kids
5 Toddlers (yes, FIVE)

I. Am. NUTS. Also, off the streets nights. Win-win, you ask me.

http://www.nationstates.net/nation=havenwood_estates



The Confederacy of Havenwood Estates

“Look! SHINY!”

The Confederacy of Havenwood Estates is a fledgling, safe nation, renowned for its compulsory military service. Its compassionate population of 5 million are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, socially-minded government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Education, Social Welfare, and Defence. The average income tax rate is 46%, but much higher for the wealthy. Private enterprise is illegal, but for those in the know there is a slick and highly efficient black market in Cheese Exports.

Crime -- especially youth-related -- is well under control. Havenwood Estates's national animal is the golden sloth, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the kitteh.

---

Heh.

http://www.nationstates.net/nation=havenwood_estates



The Confederacy of Havenwood Estates

“Look! SHINY!”

The Confederacy of Havenwood Estates is a fledgling, safe nation, renowned for its compulsory military service. Its compassionate population of 5 million are fiercely patriotic and enjoy great social equality; they tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt.

It is difficult to tell where the omnipresent, socially-minded government stops and the rest of society begins, but it juggles the competing demands of Education, Social Welfare, and Defence. The average income tax rate is 46%, but much higher for the wealthy. Private enterprise is illegal, but for those in the know there is a slick and highly efficient black market in Cheese Exports.

Crime -- especially youth-related -- is well under control. Havenwood Estates's national animal is the golden sloth, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its currency is the kitteh.

---

Heh.

Someone call the Maury Show! Seriously? One reason of many I believe everyone has a basic right to know their origins. Period. I mean - it shouldn't be a privilege granted only to 'normal' people, and however your family configuration shakes out can't be a consideration.

Everyone comes into the world the same way. Fer the love of mud, document it all the same way. Honestly.

---

I had three whole days to find an hour to unpack the dolls out of storage. I didn't do it. Again. Throw things.

Nah.

I didn't get any more books read, or watched any more television - or took in any concerts or conventions - but we did get a look at a karate dojo we think will be a good fit for kid, so that's something, right?

Sunday, attempted snubs were attempted at church (oh please) - and I ended up with all of the communion elements when someone else took it upon themselves to go around leadership council and bring in the elements themselves. Well, okay. Jim turned the bread into bread pudding Monday night and it was delish. So there.

(Really. Lost a parent at 6, a spouse at 37, three house fires, three burglaries and I'm supposed to get angry NOW? *checks* Nope.)

I *did* install a startup config file on my Sims 2 game that will allow me to combine households above the 8 Sims per lot limit. My first attempt? Resulted in a lot with 13 Sims on it, with more on the way. Oh dear ghads, I love a challenge. Now let's see if the game will run long enough for me to play this lot....

Ran the iPod out of power often. Slept as much as I could. Cleaned house like a mad mad thing. We reap the rewards of our work the rest of this week, such as it is.

Kid is being tasked with napping at school this week. I see a trip by me to re-teach sleeping away from home this week - stay tuned.

Nina Caliente has now followed her sister off the stage. And I do believe if I look, I will discover that this game is now five years old. I installed it right around this time in 2005, right after getting the Mac Mini that now graces my dining room next to the phone. This is a great place for a computer, mind. But the Sims 2 outgrew the Mini with Seasons, and I moved my game first to Trogdor, and then to the laptop, Balls. And there it has stayed ever since.

So my Sims game is older than my kid. Um. Well.

I thank the people who told me to keep regular backups. I thank myself for being such a cheap bastard who never bought stuff packs. These two things are responsible for the long life of my game, take notes.

It takes about an hour to load and play these days - the laptop's memory load is such that the opening cinematic for Pleasantview will crash the graphic adapter, so I don't enter the neighborhood directly anymore. I'll load a college lot or some such (there are three college neighborhoods, two Downtown neighborhoods and two Shopping neighborhoods attached to my Pleasantview, and I'm thinking of adding another neighborhood both to either Downtown or Shopping, and another neighborhood for Vacations - because all of the available space for vacation homes has been sold. No, really.) and then save and use the bars to get to Pleasantview and then open a lot there. Even so, I have to take care not to rush the graphic adapter by scrolling too fast.

When I build the next beast, I will take this game into consideration when I do. To be honest, it's a wonderful travelling companion. But I still have my apocalypse challenge game tucked away - I can reload it just fine if I need to have two setups going.

You can imagine how much time I don't get to play this game nowadays. I do cram in what time I can get, but the loading usually happens while I am doing Something Else.

Nina? She had eight children, more grandchildren than I can count in my head and at least four of the kids are still in college. She had twins by a college student late in life, and one of those came home to be the heir (really, it wasn't a contest - she's nearly a carbon copy of Nina in both appearance and aspiration - her name? Venice.) - and in this age of secondary aspirations, wouldn't you know her heir would have a Family aspiration secondary to her Romance primary.

When Nina passed away, there were eight Sims on that original condominium lot. Think about it. That lot has sleeping space for four, and crib space for two more if they're toddler or younger. "Hot cotting" is a term used very frequently when it comes to Venice Caliente and her dating habits.

Nina hit the top of her job track, which was Culinary and earned her perma-platinum status so she left a very pretty tombstone. She also lived nearly ten days longer than her twin, so I have to give Romance as an aspiration points over Fortune - Fortune may be easier to play once you have bucks (just buy buy buy shit) but with Romance, you live longer.

Her life insurance payouts hit more than 20 other Sims. Her favorite kitty ran away from home when she died. She was my absolute favorite cougar when she was an elder - she seduced more college students than any other Sim I've got.

Next up: Don Lothario kicks the bucket. So help me.

Nina Caliente has now followed her sister off the stage. And I do believe if I look, I will discover that this game is now five years old. I installed it right around this time in 2005, right after getting the Mac Mini that now graces my dining room next to the phone. This is a great place for a computer, mind. But the Sims 2 outgrew the Mini with Seasons, and I moved my game first to Trogdor, and then to the laptop, Balls. And there it has stayed ever since.

So my Sims game is older than my kid. Um. Well.

I thank the people who told me to keep regular backups. I thank myself for being such a cheap bastard who never bought stuff packs. These two things are responsible for the long life of my game, take notes.

It takes about an hour to load and play these days - the laptop's memory load is such that the opening cinematic for Pleasantview will crash the graphic adapter, so I don't enter the neighborhood directly anymore. I'll load a college lot or some such (there are three college neighborhoods, two Downtown neighborhoods and two Shopping neighborhoods attached to my Pleasantview, and I'm thinking of adding another neighborhood both to either Downtown or Shopping, and another neighborhood for Vacations - because all of the available space for vacation homes has been sold. No, really.) and then save and use the bars to get to Pleasantview and then open a lot there. Even so, I have to take care not to rush the graphic adapter by scrolling too fast.

When I build the next beast, I will take this game into consideration when I do. To be honest, it's a wonderful travelling companion. But I still have my apocalypse challenge game tucked away - I can reload it just fine if I need to have two setups going.

You can imagine how much time I don't get to play this game nowadays. I do cram in what time I can get, but the loading usually happens while I am doing Something Else.

Nina? She had eight children, more grandchildren than I can count in my head and at least four of the kids are still in college. She had twins by a college student late in life, and one of those came home to be the heir (really, it wasn't a contest - she's nearly a carbon copy of Nina in both appearance and aspiration - her name? Venice.) - and in this age of secondary aspirations, wouldn't you know her heir would have a Family aspiration secondary to her Romance primary.

When Nina passed away, there were eight Sims on that original condominium lot. Think about it. That lot has sleeping space for four, and crib space for two more if they're toddler or younger. "Hot cotting" is a term used very frequently when it comes to Venice Caliente and her dating habits.

Nina hit the top of her job track, which was Culinary and earned her perma-platinum status so she left a very pretty tombstone. She also lived nearly ten days longer than her twin, so I have to give Romance as an aspiration points over Fortune - Fortune may be easier to play once you have bucks (just buy buy buy shit) but with Romance, you live longer.

Her life insurance payouts hit more than 20 other Sims. Her favorite kitty ran away from home when she died. She was my absolute favorite cougar when she was an elder - she seduced more college students than any other Sim I've got.

Next up: Don Lothario kicks the bucket. So help me.

I finally watched Dina Caliente die from old age. Atta girl. Now, for your sister -

One of my guilty pleasures is Pokemon Ranch for the wii.

Right now doki has Magbys jumping over him. It's very cute.

(Why yes, yes I do ask everyone who comes over here to make a Mii of themselves so I can watch them in Pokemon Ranch.)

One of my guilty pleasures is Pokemon Ranch for the wii.

Right now doki has Magbys jumping over him. It's very cute.

(Why yes, yes I do ask everyone who comes over here to make a Mii of themselves so I can watch them in Pokemon Ranch.)