Merry Christmas tumblies. :-)) Wishing you some Christmas magic. Photo by Amber Maitrejean

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US IN ASPEN FOR OUR WINTER TRIP!

As voted on by you, the members, City of Dreams will be heading to none other than… Aspen, Colorado!

Aspen is a place where every day holds an opportunity for greatness. It is a collection of remarkable moments that can’t be duplicated. It is an opportunity to break free from the “norm” and find inspiration in nature or around the corner. You can find this and more in this welcoming mountain town whose culture fuels the soul. Aspen’s enriching experiences will remind you just how great life is -- and can be!

Guests will be staying at the Viceroy Snowmass Luxury Resort, one of the most luxurious resorts in Snowmass Village and is filled with top-notch amenities. Upon landing in the Apsen/Pitkin County Airport, guests will be transported with complimentary ground transfers to the resort. Once you arrive at the resort, you will be immediately checked into your rooms and your fun on the slopes can begin! 

The City of Dreams winter trip is a MANDATORY event for all celebrities taking place from February 18th to February 25th. If your muse has children, they are more than welcome to bring them along or leave them back home with a babysitter! Daycare services will be provided throughout the entire week if needed. There will be more information to come, including the roommate list and detailed posts about the events taking place during the trip, so please keep a look out for all of that!

We can’t wait for everyone to join us and embark on a week full of relaxation and adventure! Please be sure to tag all event related posts with: #CODGOESTOASPEN

OFFICIAL ITINERARY:

2/18 - Guests Arrive / Snow Bar Welcome Party

2/19 - Free Day

2/20 - Skiing Day

2/21 - Free Day

2/22 - Snowman Contest

2/23 - Free Day

2/24 - Ice Palace Ball

2/25 - Free Day/Departure of Guests

look. being 80 ft tall is hard, ok? he cant even wear men’s size 13 Nike’s.

Fall / winter ready! 

the maid does nothing but be sad and pout all day while Apsen’s at work 

luckily our services are free  now :)

the Tinker girl came over to repair things she didn’t even know were broken . thanks

Completely Harmless Appendix 8

The Golden Hills Valley

Oh, the Golden Hills that aren’t really golden. Okay, so um, this is personal pet peeve and I know there are a lot of players that actually like the Golden Hills being an area of eternal autumn while the rest of the game is eternal summer except for the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur. (Where nothing should be growing at all, so now it’s not growing anything except some super hardy magical thistles and lichen and that’s all I’m going to say about that.) And I get why they did it initially because they were using the old assets from the Seasonal games and it was a good way to recycle the Autumn Riders assets.

Completely unnecessary but I get it.

I simply don’t like that our Golden Hills are “red.”

So, I changed it. Instead of having maples, maples, everywhere. I know that birches grow fast and take over areas pretty quickly, so I decided that it didn’t make any sense for the birch forest not to continue into the part of Golden Hills that we see.

Then as you unlock more of the Golden Hills (that are only locked due to actual plot reasons) the trees change into beeches and aspens. And what birches, beeches, and aspens have in common is that they all turn yellow in the fall. I also included Golden Chain Trees. During the spring and summer they have trailing yellow flower clusters.

Apparently the Golden Chain tree turns orange and red a bit during the fall but bits of orange and red are better than all orange and red. Which is what Maple trees do. A lot of it also does have to do with soil composition, rainfall (and thus amount of sap) and light, but for the most part, maples turn red and orange. (If your maple leaves are turning yellow in the fall, there actually might be a problem with your maple tree.) While Apsens, Birches, and Beeches turn yellow.

So, thus, the Golden Hills would actually look Golden.

Then I researched for a bunch of yellow flowers and yellow-green foliage bushes to fill in the gaps during the spring and summer to make the Golden Hills yellow all year long.

The Northern Golden Hills, by the way, didn’t exist in the Star Stable Autumn and Winter games map. When you played Star Stable: Winter Rider, you could go up the mountain behind Meander Stable and look over Silverglade. It was really cool actually. However, when Star Stable Online added in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur, they created magic space and therefore pushed the Pine Hills area further north and created this area we now know nothing about.

So I made it up.

When I got to the point in the story where we needed to get past Castle Marchenghast, I asked my good friend, Becca, what she wanted to see in the Northern Golden Hills. And she pointed out that if we’re in a county, we don’t actually have anything that could be considered a County Seat. This was actually really helpful for me.

I grew up on the borders of what are two very rural counties with one huge town in them. So, I based the Northern Golden Hills on the one without a university and is slightly more rural.

So, I created a County Seat. The County Seat would have things like the Fair Grounds, a major station for the Jorvik Rangers, and the big courthouse, and even a jail. The Beeches Park is a green forested state park like area with playgrounds and a event pavilion and little pavilions you can rent for families to visit and throw little parties, let their kids play type of thing. There should also be a library, a school, a natural golf course, and so on. I decided that there should be a Baron for the Golden Hills District and the Count of the entire South New Jorvik County would also live in the Golden Hills at Castle Marchenghast.

Given Star Stable Online’s naming conventions it meant the Marchenghast Family was the highest ranking noble family in the area. I created another Baron, Baron Arthur Fairhaven, and he has his own castle, stable, and village. And lastly, I created Aspendell.

Yes, I know, a lot of A names to go with the A names already in the game, but I liked the name Arthur Fairhaven too much to let it go. It’s a fanfic. I can indulge in silliness.

The cool thing about Aspens is that they aren’t a bunch of individual genetically different trees. They aren’t siblings. Aspens send out roots under the soil laterally and from these roots grow more trunks. So, Aspens are actually one giant clone of each other. They are one complex organism communicating with each other via their roots. You know, like in James Cameron’s Avatar.

Due to drought and fires, there are several Aspen forests, one I know of in Britain, that are considered endangered. I thought it’d be neat to have an Aspen forest like that in Star Stable to bring attention or awareness to the area. Even if I wasn’t able to address directly in this “Chapter” of the story.

The other village in the North Golden Hills area is Eventide, a fishing village. Not a port, but a sea side fishing community that doesn’t have their own stable. I also added a privately owned vineyard to be competition or a new ally in the South New Jorvik County wine trail.

BEHOLD A HANDY LIST

Golden Hills Valley Past North Link/Castle Marchenghast

It’s the County Seat - Goldcroft

1.     Court House

2.     Jail

3.    Ranger Station

4.     Fire House

5.    Count Marchenghast Manor

6.    Goldcroft Stables

7.     Library

8.    Big Recreational Park (The Beeches)

9.    Camping Area/Natural Golf Course

10.  Event Concert Area/Oval Race Track/Rodeo Event Space near Fair Grounds

11.    Golden Hills School

12.   Goldcroft Riding Arena

13.   County Fair Grounds

14.   Large Town including Shopping Street Area (Goldcroft)

15.   Town Square Shopping (Goldcroft)

16.   Large Regional Post Office

17.   Castle Marchenghast Stable

18.   A Medium Sized Stable of Golden Hills Baron Fairhaven

19.   A Smaller Stable (Aspendell)

20.  Protected Quivering Aspen Forest (Shimmering Woods)

21.   Aurora Breeze Winery (Privately owned, no stable.)

22.  Farm 1 (county seat Goldcroft)

23.  Farm 2 (county seat Goldcroft)

24.   Farm 3 (village Fairhaven)

25.  Farm 4 (village Fairhaven)

26.  Farm 5 (village Fairhaven)

27.   Village Fairhaven(3 of 5 farms, Medium Stable, home of Golden Hills Baron)

28.  Village Aspendell (Small Stable)

29.  Fairhaven Riding Arena

30. Eventide Fishing Village

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/hundreds-of-thousands-without-power-in-northwest-ice-storm-national-news/

Hundreds of thousands without power in Northwest ice storm | National News

LAKE OSWEGO, Ore. (AP) — A winter storm blanketed the Pacific Northwest with ice and snow Saturday, leaving hundreds of thousands of people without power and disrupting travel across the region.

Freezing rain left roads, power lines and trees coated in ice in the Portland, Oregon, region, and by Saturday morning more than 270,000 people were without power. The extreme conditions, loss of power and transportation problems prompted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to declare a state of emergency Saturday afternoon.

“Crews are out in full force now and are coordinating with local emergency response teams on communications for emergency services, such as warming centers,” Brown said in a statement. “I’m committed to making state resources available to ensure crews have the resources they need on the ground.”

Winter storms and extreme cold affected much of the western U.S., particularly endangering homeless communities. Volunteers and shelter staffers were trying to ensure homeless residents in Casper, Wyoming, were indoors as the National Weather Service warned of wind chill reaching as much as 35 degrees below zero over the weekend. Authorities in western Washington and western Oregon opened warming shelters in an effort to protect homeless residents from the wet and cold.

The power outages in the Portland region could extend throughout the weekend for some, said Elizabeth Lattanner, a spokeswoman for PGE, one of the major electricity providers in the region.

“In storms like these, restoration takes time given all of the challenges our crews face in getting to restoration sites and repairing those outages,” Lattanner said. “We have more than 600 PGE and contract personnel responding to the storm — it’s all hands on deck.”

Many ice-laden trees snapped under the weight, falling on power lines and causing transformers to blow out in showers of blue and orange sparks. By noon Saturday, more than 1,200 PGE power lines were down, Lattanner said.

Brian Zevenbergen watched Saturday as a crew sawed up two large, ice-covered trees that had crashed across his driveway overnight, narrowly missing two cars parked there. His house in Lake Owego had also lost power overnight. Just around the corner, another massive tree blocked the street in the suburb south of Portland and had taken out a city street light.

“Last night, everything was standing, and this morning the two trees had me blocked in the driveway and were blocking at least half the street,” he said. “Friends on the lower levels have power so I have invites to go hang out there.”

The ice and lost power didn’t stop children from rejoicing at a second straight day of sledding in a place that rarely sees sustained snowfall. Residents blocked streets with cones and shooed snowplows away so kids could sled down ice-slicked hills.

The ice and snowfall caused treacherous driving conditions, forcing Oregon transportation officials to close Interstate 84 in the Columbia River Gorge, and the regional transit agency TriMet suspended all bus and train service in the region.

TriMet spokesperson Tia York asked people to avoid all travel unless it’s an emergency. “It is too dangerous out there,” York wrote in a statement.

Police in Salem, Oregon, also warned residents in Marion and Polk counties to watch for downed power lines and falling tree limbs, and the Oregon State Police said fallen trees blocked several roads across the region.

Some Washington state residents were also socked in by the weather, with snow falling throughout the Seattle region on Saturday morning and freezing rain falling along the coast in Grays Harbor County. The city of Seattle activated its Emergency Operations Center Saturday morning to coordinate the city’s winter storm response.

Heavy snowfall also led to dangerous driving conditions in parts of eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho, with Malheur County, Oregon, and Boise, Idaho, expected to get as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of snow by Saturday afternoon.

The National Weather Service said all three states should brace for another surge of winter moisture to hit the Northwest Sunday night, potentially leading to more heavy snowfall through Monday. The “unsettled winter conditions” would likely continue throughout the week, the National Weather Service said Saturday morning.

Western Washington was expected to get an additional 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm) of snow on Saturday, with another 2 inches (5 cm) possible on Sunday and Monday. Rain falling on accumulated snow raised the possibility of urban flooding happening Sunday night or Monday in some areas, according to the National Weather Service.

The heavy snow made for dangerous avalanche conditions in the many areas across the Olympics and Cascades mountain ranges, with large avalanches possible. Officials with the Payette Avalanche Center in west-central Idaho also warned of increasing avalanche risk in the days ahead.

Idaho’s neighbors to the east were blasted by brutally frigid weather, with the National Weather Service warning of dangerous wind chills in Montana and Wyoming. The wind chills were expected to reach as low as 50 degrees below zero in Billings and near Missoula, Montana, and nearly as low across parts of Wyoming.

Wind chills that low can cause frostbite on exposed skin in just a few minutes. The bitter cold was expected to last throughout the weekend.

The National Weather Service warned that the wind chill could be dangerous for pets and young livestock, at a time when calving season is beginning for many cattle ranchers.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Center also warned of dangerous avalanche conditions in zones around Apsen, Steamboat and Flat Tops, Grand Mesa and Gunnison. Frigid temperatures with lows below zero were expected to last through Monday morning in Denver and across the Colorado plains, according to the the National Weather Service.

Boone reported from Boise, Idaho.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

A Little Cabin

"You can't just tell people you hate them, that's not how society works. Besides, you don't know them." She set a plate down, steam rising in front of him. He watched her move around the kitchen. "Well go on," she insisted. "Eat," He rested an elbow on the wooden table and placed his cheek into his hand. "I'm not hungry," he sighed, shutting his eyes. The one thing he hated was speaking to people. Erin was persistent, though, and continued forcing him to go into public places. It always ended badly, but she never seemed to give up. "Aspen, eat. You haven't eaten all day." Aspen felt Erin hover over him. He sighed once more and opened his eyes, dark brown hair whipping over his face and tickling his nose. "You also need a hair cut. We'll go into town tomorrow and ask Mrs. Barkers to trim it." Erin threw a rag over her shoulder, plopping into a chair sitting on the opposite side of Aspen. "I swear, if it weren't for me, you'd be dead by now." Erin sighed, smiling gently towards Aspen. He shook his head, lifting it from his hand. He reached for the wooden spoon next to the plate and began eating. Their cabin was small but cozy, rooms connected together in a 'welcome home' fashion. During Winter, they sectioned one room off to hold firewood, bark constantly being swept out of the room and into the front of the cabin. Ever since they were little, Erin always took care of Aspen. She was 3 years older than him and watched over him after their mother had died. "You know," The smile never drifted from her face, instead, got larger and possessed him to smile at her. "Mother's birthday is in a few days." She twisted a piece of blonde hair between her fingers. "What do you say to visit her?" She tilted her chin up, shortly frowning before placing the smile on her face once again. "We can buy her something when we go to town." Aspen watched her, stone-faced at the mention of mother. "Why to get her something when she can't use it," Apsen said, placing his spoon on his plate and pushing the remaining food away. "I am not hungry." He stood and pushed his chair in, catching a glimpse of Erin's face softening, the smile placed with a sad frown. "Aspen, we don't have to go if you don't-" He turned to her, a glare shinning over his face now, anger settling into his stomach. "I don't. You can go by yourself." He stomped away from the kitchen, stepping into his room. He stripped himself of his clothes and quickly put on warm, soft pajamas. He felt despicable for snapping at his sister, who was just trying to make him feel better. 'I can't do this right,' he thought to himself, sitting on his small bed, sighing. A quiet tap came at his door, and he called for Erin to enter. "Aspen, let's go to the woods after visiting the town. We're low on food right now anyways." Erin timidly said, a small, gentle smile on her lips, dancing away at the small light coming from a candle lit in Aspen's room. He watched her momentarily, then with a heavy sigh, he nodded his head. "Better get sleep then," he said, laying down and putting his back to her and the door. "And I'm sorry for snapping. We can go see mother." The door clicked a moment after and Aspen lifted his head, seeing Erin was gone and the door shut. He sat up and blew the candle out, laying back down and closing his eyes, falling into a misfortunate dream.

Sochi winner Podladtchikov out of Pyeongchang with brain injury

Sochi winner Podladtchikov out of Pyeongchang with brain injury

PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov will not be able to defend his Olympic halfpipe title in Pyeongchang due to a brain injury suffered at the Winter X Games last month.

Podladtchikov won halfpipe gold at Sochi four years ago and, despite suffering a head injury and nasal fracture during the fall in Apsen, he had hoped to compete this time around in Pyeongchang.

The…

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Heading to Aspen for the Winter XGames

Just a quick note as I get ready to head out on another brief, but exciting adventure. Tomorrow morning I'll leave for Apsen, Colorado to attend the Winter XGames, which means there will probably be no normal update to round out the week. But, that said, don't be too surprised if I don't post a few things over the weekend about my experience. It should be an interesting one. While in Aspen, I'm... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]