Tales at TeaTime

[TheTeaCat]

Got your cuppa? Sitting comfortably?

Replies

More than a cuppa... this great update deserves...
A GIANT CUPPA! 

Why thank you my good Sir. It is just the perfect size for me

Great pictures Derry.  The only thing I'm not wild about is the bright dirt texture under some of the roads(the ones next to ag zones).  I think that this comes from one of the sidewalk mods, but I'm not sure.

The stables themselves are my favorite here, but the transitions from terrain to the farm fields is very well done as well.

Thanks a lot Chris. I replied to you qeustion above so wont go through it again.
Thats one whole evenings work in that update, but was well worth it as you can see.As I've said before - wouldn't have been possible without your fantastic creations:)

Wonderful new update there, TTC!
And that area looks really beautiful! Great details on it! Fantastic pictures - also the HoF ones!

Looking forward to more...

Bat thank you so much. Its all in the details, takes a long time but its worth it

that are some awesome rural shots!!

I like the use of Jer. plop water surrounded by fences

got some ideas.. thank you 

E

E

Coming from you that is praise indeed and I thank you sincerely.
Glad I could give you some ideas - looking forward to seeing those come to fruition.

Derry, your talent for creating picturesque rural scenes filled with fascinating details really shines in this update. The close-up shots are a pleasure to look at - each has an aura of multi-level detail work that brings it to life. A gate open here, a well-placed log there - it all works very well together.

The last photo caught my eye, too - I like the way you've arranged the fields. The ones I see near my home are terribly boring by comparison. Other than a point already addressed, I think you've done a wonderful job of creating beauty from bare ground!

Later...
Joan

Joan,
Thank you very much for some wonderfully supportive comments. It gives me the greatest pleasure when the little details are noticed. I'll let you into a secret, even now I still see things to improve. A bush here, a rock there, some more of Chris's flora over there, gee that grass under that tree could do with a trim etc

More , lots more to come from this tile yet so stay tuned.

Hello, my good friend!

I have to apologize for not stopping in here earlier. Things have been a bit hectic for me lately and I find myself becoming a bit forgetful...

I can say with certainty though, that no matter when I stop in here, the quality of work is going to be exemplary! Your farmlands are always so pleasing to the eye, and now with the incorporation of the SAM dirt roads and the RRP fence lines, you've taken things to a whole new level!

I'll be looking forward to seeing more, my friend!

Take care,

Dustin

Dustin,
There is no need to apologise, I find it hard to keep up with everything and comment too so I understand you situation.(How does Bat do it? )
Just every now and then take the time to brew a cuppa and stop by:)

When one has such marvelous creations to work with, it helps and looking back on some of my older stuff I cringe when I see what I did. I am slowly working my way round the region fixing stuff. Lots more rural to come yet. You know I'm still waiting for a stage 7 rural to appear. So lets hope that this new level will help one of those elusive farms to appear;)

Hi Derry,

I also must apologize for missing the past month or so.  I really enjoyed your most recent update.     I'm so impressed with all those little touches that make your farms so great.  I wish I had the patience to detail things that much, but I guess I'll just stick with region shots for now.    The "Green Acres" closeup was especially good and I have no trouble seeing why it went to the HOF.

Til next time...
Jon

Jon
Once again no need for apologies. I have been neglecting many favourite threads here also as RL takes its demands. I find that getting the details right becoming more important as time goes on. I don't know why but once I satrt I can't seem to stop till it looks better.
Green Acres is one of my faves too and took about 4-5 hours all in so was really chuffed it entered the HoF.

Woow really good update TTC
I love the fields who are really realistic
The nature is incredible great job with the RRP
Continue 

Daniel
Merci Beaucoup mon ami,

I am pleased you like the pictures.
There is more to come soon.

Derry,

Your farms are right up there.  I've just put together my next update which is rural.  And whilst I'm pleased with it, I know that I should do better.  And just seeing your update tells me I MUST do better.  You have given me many ideas  here that I will try to emulate and use (I know you won't mind, after all imitation is the greatest form of flattery).

One question....... With the SAM road the ziggy zaggy diagonals look bad, so you covered them and took away the zigs and zags - but I did not understand how you did that?  I'm guessing it must be "obvious" but not to me    Any pointers are appreciated.

As for the update - yes, it's top notch.  I said that first one was a Hoffer if ever I saw one.  The second one must have been during my "no internet access" period or else I'd have been voting it along as well.

And make sure you keep that house developer under control, I'd hate to see all those farms converted into semis!

All the best,

Paul

Paul

Thanks for such wonderful comments. I look forward to seeing your rural shots as they will no doubt be great.

As for the zig zag roads and covering them up, I use a mixture of SFBT diagonal filler lots, RRP, TPW JRJ plop flora and blank lots. lots of plop flora, used sparingly 1 CLICK AT A TIME and repeated use of the 'dozer and many cuppa's

hope that helps

That Housing Development Corporation has had the strictest controls placed on that zone with the emphasis on maintaing as much land for agricultural means.
I am hoping to be able to develop my first stage 7 there hence those regulation that have been imposed so lets see what happens eh?

This is really great work, so full of detail! It must take hours to detail these areas.

Astonishing work. 

And I also found out: Chris' plopable flora is really great. It makes painting the whole landscape possible. Sometimes I even forget to push the "run" button of the game for a complete evening.

Frank

Such humbling comments, I thank you.
Welcome to world of detailing and I see you found my weakness too. Pause the game and get lost in the creating of art ( I suppose you could say) I actually find it almost therapeutic and then when others enjoy my creations and take the time to say so, it makes my fur go all funny in a nice way;)

Tales at TeaTime - raising the bar.

Zane

Thank you.

Welcome to TatTT. Hope you got your cuppa on the way in?
If not here you go
Hope to see you again soon.






Ginger Cat "Whats That?"

Black Cat "I dunno"

GC"You don't know Jack Schitt!"

BC"Yes I do!"

GC"What?"

BC"Haven't you ever wondered just who is Jack Schitt?"

GC"Huh?"

BC"Don't you find yourself at a loss when someone says "You don't know Jack Schitt?"

GC".......em"

BC"Well, thanks to my friends generous genealogy efforts, you can now respond in an intellectual way.

Jack Schitt is the only son of Awe Schitt. Awe Schitt, the fertilizer magnate, married O. Schitt, the owner of Needeep N. Schitt, Inc. They had one son, Jack.

In turn, Jack Schitt married Noe Schitt. The deeply religious couple produced six children: Holie Schitt, Giva Schitt, Fulla Schitt, BullSchitt, and the twins Deep Schitt and Dip Schitt..

Against her parents' objections, Deep Schitt married Dumb Schitt, a high school dropout.


After being married 15 years, Jack and Noe Schitt divorced. Noe Schitt
later married Ted Sherlock, and because her kids were living with them, she wanted to keep her previous name. She was then known as Noe Schitt Sherlock.

Meanwhile, Dip Schitt married Loda Schitt, and they produced a son with a rather nervous disposition named Chicken Schitt.

Two of the other six children, Fulla Schitt and Giva Schitt, were
inseparable throughout childhood and subsequently married the Happens
brothers in a dual ceremony. The wedding announcement in the newspaper announced the Schitt-Happens nuptials.
The Schitt-Happens children were Dawg, Byrd, and Horse.

Bull Schitt, the prodigal son, left home to tour the world. He recently returned from Italy with his new Italian bride, Pisa Schitt.

Now when someone says, 'You don't know Jack Schitt,' you can correct them."

GC"...........

Anyway, whats that thing?"

BC"I dunno"



Stay tuned what are those kittens on about?


TTC

[rooker1]

[EDGE4194]

    

great story!

[threestooges]

Fabulous rural areas, small little towns, and a genealogy lesson too boot. Sorry I missed the last update there, but it is certainly good stuff. The riding path around the stables is excellently done. It looks like a great place to spend the day. As far as the story goes, when they have a family reunion I can only imagine seeing them all descend on the same place must be a Schitt storm of sorts (yes... bad pun, but what can I say...). At any rate I'm interested to see what maintained those little guy's interest even after such an exchange. Until then, take it easy.
-Matt

[JoeST]

That was fantastic, /me bookmarks it

[bat]

That story is very nice, TTC! Looking forward to more...

[Jmouse]

Very clever, Derry, but that doesn't surprise me one bit!

Later...
Joan

[dedgren]

Hummmpf!

...chuckles behind hand...

...checks rules...

Gee whiz, Derry.  Enough to make me start drinking.




David

[Simpson]

Lol great little history my friend 
Just one thing my name is David no Daniel lol 

[Schulmanator]

A classic! Love it! 

[Nardo69]

RL haven't been nice to me last weeks so it's a great thing enjoying such a wonderful update here!

Wonderful work next to the streets. Just the logs look like as if recently a hurricane crossed the country there.

I really enjoyed my cuppa here!

Take care and don't forget to make backups!

Bernhard 

[Pat]

LoL Derry I dunno about you mate but that is a well timed laugh I needed thank you Mr Schitt family!!! Can't wait to the full update and see what then darn cats are up to next!!!!

[TheTeaCat]

Got your cuppa? Sitting comfortably?

Every two years, people around the world wait in anticipation as a torch-bearing runner enters the Olympic arena and lights the cauldron. The symbolic lighting of the Olympic flame marks the beginning of another historic Olympic Games.

The opening ceremony is the end of a long journey for the Olympic torch. By the time it arrives in the stadium, it has traveled thousands of miles. It may have crossed oceans and deserts and traversed mountains. It may have been carried on planes, trains, bicycles, boats, and even dog sleds. And it will have passed through the hands of thousands of different people around the globe.


Fire has always held great power for humans. It cooks our food, keeps us warm, and lights our way through the dark.

Beautiful decorative fresco painting depicting the moment the Olympic flame is lit by the priests (Hellanodikae) to commence the ancient Olympic games.

The ancient Greeks revered the power and fire. In Greek mythology, the god Prometheus stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humans. To celebrate the passing of fire from Prometheus to man, the Greeks would hold relay races. Athletes would pass a lit torch to one another until the winner reached the finish line.

The Greeks held their first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. The Games, held every four years at Olympia, honored Zeus and other Greek gods. The Olympics also marked the beginning of a period of peace for the often warring Greeks. At the start of the Games, runners called "heralds of peace" would travel throughout Greece, declaring a "sacred truce" to all wars between rival city-states. The truce would remain in place for the duration of the games, so that spectators could safely travel to the Olympics.


In Olympia, there was an altar dedicated to Hera, goddess of birth and marriage.



The Olympic torch is lit several months before the start of the actual games. The flame begins its journey at the site of the original Olympic Games -- Olympia, Greece. It is lit, just as it was in ancient times, at the Temple of Hera.
An actress dressed as a ceremonial priestess, in the robes of the ancient Greeks, lights the torch via the same technique used in the original Games. She uses a parabolic mirror to focus light rays from the sun. The parabolic mirror has a curved shape. When it is held toward the sun, the curvature focuses the rays to a single point. The energy from the sun creates a great deal of heat. The priestess holds a torch in the center of the parabolic mirror, and the heat ignites the fuel in the torch, sparking a flame.

If the sun is not shining on the day of the lighting ceremony, the priestess can light the torch with a flame that was lit on a sunny day before the ceremony.





The flame is carried in a fire pot to an altar in the ancient Olympic stadium, where it is used to light the first runner's torch.


The flame would burn throughout the Games as a sign of purity, reason, and peace.
The Greeks stopped holding their Olympic Games after about a thousand years, and the torch relays and lighting of the flame also stopped. The Olympic Games did not reemerge until 1896, when the first modern Games were held in Athens. The torch relay took a bit longer to reemerge.


The Birth of the Modern Torch Relay
The flame was reintroduced to the Olympics at the 1928 Amsterdam Games. A cauldron was lit, but there was no torch relay.

The first Olympic torch relay was at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games. Carl Diem, a German history professor and Secretary General of the Organizing Committee of the Games introduced the relay as a way of reconnecting the modern Olympics with the Games' historical roots. The flame was lit in Olympia, Greece, just as it had been centuries before. Then it was carried to Berlin, Germany, for the start of the Olympics.

The torch relay was not introduced to the Winter Olympics until the 1952 Games. It was lit that year not in Olympia, Greece, but in Norway, which was chosen because it was the birthplace of skiing. But since the 1964 Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria, every Olympic Games -- Winter and Summer -- has begun with a torch-lighting ceremony in Olympia, Greece, followed by a torch relay to the Olympic stadium.


The Torch Relay
The Olympic Torch Relay begins with the torch lighting in Olympia, Greece. From there, the journey to the host city varies from year to year. The Olympic Games Organizing Committee (OCOG) determines the route, as well as the theme, modes of transportation for the torch, and the stops that it will take along its way to the Opening Ceremony.



The torch is generally carried from one country to another on a plane. Once it arrives in a city, it usually spends one day being carried from torchbearer to torchbearer on foot. It may also be ferried from place to place by car, boat, bicycle, motorcycle, dog sled, horse, or virtually any other type of conveyance.

On certain legs of the relay, the torch must be housed in a special container. For a trip across the Great Barrier Reef before the 2000 Olympic Games, a special torch was designed to burn underwater. On airplanes, where open flames are not allowed, the flame is typically stored in an enclosed lamp, much like a Miner's lamp. At night, it is kept in a special cauldron until the relay begins once again the following day.


As in any relay race, each runner carries the torch for only one short leg of its trip As a runner completes a leg, he lights the torch of the next person in the relay.

It is considered a great privilege to be chosen as a torchbearer. Athletes, actors, musicians, sports figures, and politicians have all carried the flame. In 1996, boxing legend Muhammed Ali lit the Olympic cauldron to mark the start of the Games in Atlanta. But the brunt of the running is done by average citizens all around the world.

Almost anyone can carry a torch, provided that he is at least 14 years old and is able to carry it for at least 400 meters (437 yards). Handicapped people can be (and have been) torchbearers -- they can carry the torch while riding in a wheelchair. The torchbearers are chosen by the Olympic sponsors and organizers, usually because they have made a significant contribution to their community and because they personify the theme of that particular Olympics. The Olympic sponsors (for example, Coca-Cola) also get to choose several torchbearers from within their organizations.

Each torchbearer is accompanied by a caravan with security personnel, a medical team, the media, and extra torches in case the torch the runner is carrying goes out.

At the end of the relay, the last torchbearer enters the Olympic stadium in the host city. The identity of that torchbearer is usually kept secret until the last moment. The final torchbearer is usually an Olympic athlete, sports figure, or an individual who has made a very special contribution to society. That individual runs around the stadium track once, then lights the Olympic cauldron, signaling the official start of the Olympic games.

When the competition ends about two weeks later, the flame is extinguished at the Closing Ceremony, marking the end of the Games.

Now we come to some pics of the crowds lining the streets in readiness for the approaching Torch Relay






Some of the areas the Torch will pass through



When the relay reaches the base of the Arch they will touch the flame to it where it will then travel over it
to the other side where the next torch will be lit so the relay may continue.


An impromptu street party being thrown


Old drive in cinema before redevelopment as Fanzone for the Torch Relay


The completed Fanzone area full of supporters enjoying live pics from the Relay itself.



The Olympic Motto

"Citius, Altius, Fortius."

"Swifter, Higher, Stronger."

Thank you for the Honour of Hosting the Torch Relay
and Hope you all enjoyed your stay.

TTC

[threestooges]

Excellent history of the torch relay. I've watched the actual event once when it went through Santa Barbara some years ago (I think it was Winter '02), our teacher took us out of class as the route went right by our school. There was a good crowd, though not nearly as many as are lining your streets there. Good work turning that drive-in into a fan zone. I'd be interested to see if anyone managed to get a shot of the flame crossing the arch. That looks like an interesting way to continue a relay. Good work as always.
-Matt

[Pat]

Derry Fantastic update here and loved the torch relay!!!

[catty]

Always worth stopping in for a cup of tea 

[Jmouse]

Derry, that's a wonderfully interesting Tea Time Tale you've given us! As always, you've shown off your fine city-building skills and subtle PS touches, too. I especially like the second photo, but the softness in some of the others is very appealing as well. And the last one is somehow filled with anticipation - maybe it's the fan zone or the color of the evening.

Thank you, I enjoyed my stay very much...
Joan

[Simpson]

Hi TTC
Your new update is magnifical I love your city

I love the place near the avenue it's very réalistic^^
The little lake is wow so beautiful

[Arriba]

Wow!   

[paroch]

What a great update.  I always enjoy the Olympics, so your history lesson there was much appreciated.

And it's great to see your city's more urban areas as well.  The torch over the arch is a nice idea and I'm guessing you spent some time in LE to create those crowds along the route.

And it's great to see that FanZone put to great use.  I'm intrigued toknow whether it's a PS effect or whether you created your own props for new screen shots.