#Visit Central Florida

[batemanofficial]

got randomly nostalgic for living in florida. somebody shoot me

[weddingballroom]

Our luxurious venue renovation highlights from fall 2023. Schedule your next anniversary party and reception at this stunning place.

[vylewa]

Over the last few weeks, I have been spending my time working on my save file because I'm gearing up to start a Let's Play series on Youtube. As I've been building the stories for the characters in my save file, I started thinking about the Sims universe as a whole and how I want my Sims to travel between worlds. It got me thinking that some worlds feel like they're just a short 4-hour car ride away, while others feel like you'd need a plane to get there.

So, I decided to map out my sims universe. I got a lot of inspiration from different Reddit posts as well as the EA descriptions of each world. This has been so helpful for me as I plan out the buildings I want to place in each world. It has been so helpful with finding inspiration for creating builds. I hope you can find this helpful too.

I'm really happy about my Sims universe turned out. I'd love to hear what you think about it! Are there any worlds you disagree with me on? Also, when are we getting an African world, EA?

North America

New Crest reminds me of suburban New York, mostly because you can still the city skyline from there.

Brindleton Bay reminds me so much of New England.

San Myshuno is quite obviously New York.

Willow Creek gives me a New Orleans vibe.

Magnolia Promenade is somewhere in the south because of the name (magnolias grow in the mostly in Southern United States - Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina). I placed it close to Willow Creek for story telling purposes.

Chestnut Ridge gives me a strong Texas vibe.

Del Sol Valley is undoubtedly Los Angeles.

Oasis Springs I think of as Palm Springs with the desert and all, also the Langraabs live there.

San Sequoia I think of as San Francisco mainly because of the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay area, I have all my tech gurus living up there.

Strangerville is straight up Area 51 with all the weird stuff going on there.

Granite Falls gives me a National Park vibe, so I chose my favorite, Yellowstone which is mostly in Wyoming.

Copperdale seems to be in the rocky mountains, I placed it in Montana because of the old mining town description. Butte, Montana used to be a huge mining town.

Moonwood Mill reminds so much of the thick woods in the Pacific West somewhere Washington or Oregon.

Glimmerbrook I imagine is close to Moonwood Mill and the witches and the werewolves are always beefing.

Evergreen Harbor gives me a strong Pacific West port city like Vancouver (I know Vancouver is not in the US, but you get the drift).

Sulani reminds me so much of Hawaii, the beautiful beaches, volcanoes, and mountains and the culture portrayed by Sulanians.

Ciduad Enamorada reminds me so much of Mexico City, Mexico.

South America

Selvadorara gives a strong Amazonian vibe so I placed it in Brazil.

Europe

Britchester because of Britchester uinversity reminds me of Universtiy of Oxford, or University of Cambridge so I placed it in the UK.

Henford-on-Bagley gives off a strong English country vibe so I placed it South Central England.

Windenburg gives off a German vibe because of the style of buildings placed in the world.

Forgotten Hollow I think of as somewhere in Transylvania so I placed it in Romania.

Tartosa is undoubtedly mediterranean so I placed it in Italy.

Asia

Tomarang with the tuk tuks and the tiger sanctuary reminds me of Indonesia.

Mt. Komorebi, my absolute favorte world, is Japan. I can't wait to visit someday.

P.S. Batuu is not included in my sims universe because it is in space, I don't anticipate my sims ever traveling there, but if I ever feel otherwise, I will include it in here.

[apsciencebydan]

Also while in Central Florida (specifically Lake Placid, and only Lake Placid), one must meet the endemic Sosippus placidus, the Lake Placid Funnel-web Wolf. I hope I will always get to visit your lands and find you there, you lovely secretive creatures. 🖤

[madlori]

General PSA - Michelin stars

Because this came up in a conversation I had last week.

The context was someone talking about being excited to visit a restaurant with one Michelin star in Chicago (the closest city to my city to find a starred restaurant). Someone else said "One star? So it's terrible?"

Pause, rewind.

The Michelin star system is ascending, not descending (as a five-star rating system is). You can have either zero Michelin stars (99% of of the world' restaurants), ONE star (currently about 2900 restaurants worldwide), TWO stars (about 500) or THREE stars (currently 145).

There are 6 three-star restaurants in London. Four in New York. This is the highest distinction a restaurant can achieve.

This is why you hear about chefs "earning their star," when you go from the rank and file to having a star. And once you have one, you can earn more...or you can lose it. Restaurants are re-evaluated to ensure they're maintaining their standards.

The Michelin guide does not review only fancy restaurants. Many of the starred restaurants are very high-end, but lots aren't. I ate a one-starred restaurant in San Francisco called State Bird Provisions which you'd be fine to go to in jeans and a tee. It was great. There's a food truck that has a Michelin star.

Michelin also only covers certain cities. They're continually expanding, but right now in the US they cover New York, DC, Chicago, California, central Florida (Miami/Tampa/Orlando), Colorado, Atlanta, and just recently added the five major Texas cities (Dallas/San Antonio/Austin/Houston/Fort Worth) although those results haven't been released yet. They cover a lot more in Europe and Asia (the Michelin guide is French).

And yes, it's the same company as the tire manufacturer. Early in their history they wanted people to travel more by car, and use their tires, so they started writing and printing guidebooks for travel. This evolved into restaurant ratings, and somehow along the way it became the ne plus ultra of restaurant hierarchies.

This has been your infodump post for the evening, brought to you by MadLori, Inc.

[lovexjoe]

PENPALS Part 2

You and Armando talked every single day for 2 months straight until he asked you to visit. He didn’t want to make you feel rushed and always want to reassure you that he just genuinely enjoys your company. Falling for you along the way was a bonus. You were such a smart girl, graduating nursing school soon and going on to bigger and better things. He questioned sometimes if he was worthy enough for you. He also questioned if you had twisted parts to you as well cause who would really try to message a criminal like him.

You agreed to seeing him along with bringing him a special gift. He was in Central Florida aka Tampa. You headed inside the prison going through the check ins and pat downs. You didn’t have time to change your nurse scrubs so you sucked it up. The guard lets you know where he’s sitting at waiting for you. He was in a decent prison, one that actually lets you see and touch your loved ones under surveillance of course. You were nervous. You saw him from the doorway and it’s like you two were connected because he looked up from his hands to you.

“Hey handsome,” You give him your beautiful smile and he swore he could probably melt in his seat right there. He pulls you in for a hug. His arms were strong, you felt his muscles under the orange jumpsuit and it made your stomach do a flip.

“Thank you for coming mami. Tell me how was your day” he holds your hand and was completely absorbed with hearing about your life on the outside world. You were graduating soon and you’re most likely moving to Miami since most of your family is down there. He was happy for you, but sad that these visits will come to an end.

After chatting it up for an hour, it was time to say your goodbyes. You slipped him his gift and he gives you a smirk having a bit of a inkling of what it could be.

He pulls you in for another hug.

“Please take care of yourself ….” You worry about him. You noticed the busted knuckles he had probably from getting into fights.

“I’ll do my best.” You stood there looking into each others eyes and Armando couldn’t help himself any longer. He pulls you in for a kiss and you were in fact…. in love with a criminal. The guards lead you out and you couldn’t help the smile on your face. You got it bad and so did he.

The video chats didn’t do him justice he was beyond handsome….and a killer.

The visit was definitely the highlight of your day. His hands felt so good around your waist. You knew he’d enjoy those Polaroids during night hours. The feeling of his lips still linger on yours. When you got home you sent him a message that he could wake up to in the morning.

“I can’t even explain how happy I was to see you. Armando I’m falling for you”

You press send and immediately closed your laptop and placed it as far away from you as possible. You know when you send a risky text and you chuck your phone across the room? Yea try a risky email to a prisoner who won’t see it for another 10 hours.

Armando went back to his cell a happy man. He took the Polaroids out of his pocket and immediately he smiled. You truly were everything he could dream of. These pictures were simple pics of you that you took while out and then one…..one definitely caught his attention. You were in a black lingerie set, judging the way your scrubs fit you he knew you looked amazing underneath. This Polaroid confirmed it. It was hard to rub one out in prison when you’re surrounded by men, but tonight….you were the only thing on his mind. The only thing that brought him pleasure.

*2 weeks later*

Armando didn’t answer your messages at all. Every time you called to speak with him they said he wasn’t taking any calls or visits. You were worried something happened to him, but what if he simply just didn’t want to speak to you? You were already in Miami with your family, but you would make the drive just to see him again. You prayed for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The very next day after the visit Armando was attacked in prison due to him knowing who McGrath was. He wasn’t allowed access to anything. He yearned to hear your voice. He was losing his mind. He kept your polaroids on him because he looks at them when he needs some hope. After two weeks Mike and Marcus convinced Rita to get Armando transferred to Miami and that brings them to the current time.

“Alright let’s make this quick y’all my daughter just graduated nursing school and she’s back home” Marcus said cheerfully

“You excited to see Y/N or you excited to land and get some skittles?” Mike joked

Armando stood there trying to process what the fuck he just heard.

Taglist: @yeahnohoneybye @cardi-bre91 @onlysarang @romanreignsluver1 @minwn

@armandosbabymama @dyttomori @bbyplutosblog @vergilnelosparda @believeinthefireflies95 @ebsmind @hopetookourvibe @omg-mymelaninisbeautiful @poppetbaby02 @bitchyglittersuit @marley1773

[scarland-artbook]

All proceeds generated by the art book will be donated to GKTW Village !🌸

Give Kids The World Village is an 89-acre, whimsical nonprofit in Central Florida that provides critically ill children and their families with magical week-long wish vacations at no cost.

Since 1986, Give Kids The World has welcomed nearly 200,000 families from all 50 states and 77 countries to laugh together, play together, and create priceless memories away from hospital stays and medical treatments.

When wish-granting organizations around the world receive a request from a critically ill child who wishes to visit Orlando, Give Kids The World takes over – customizing an all-inclusive dream vacation designed to engage and delight every member of the family.

For more information visit www.gktw.org/

[gemini-enthusiast]

Visited Legoland (the former Cypress Gardens) today which means I've hit a majority of the extant central Florida theme parks and they had a model of the space center including a model of the Space Shuttle which actually recreates launches! The shuttle they have on the stack is Columbia, which you can tell by the black chines on the wings - it was the only orbiter to have them.

Their version of KSC has some age on it, which you can tell by the way they've set up the attractions in front of the VAB. A lot has changed since then!

[transit-fag]

I visited Japan and China recently. In Japan, I had a lot of fun riding the 'JR' Shinkansen from Osaka to Tokyo. In China, I had lots of fun riding the 'CR' bullet trains all over the beautiful countryside. However, I'm now back here in the stateside, and I have a burning question...

How come the USA doesn't have commercial passenger bullet train service?

I thought we were to greatest country on earth, according to a certain billionaire former president of ours who is now fighting to keep himself out of prison and trying in vain to get himself back into power (he wants the one P not the other P). If all the other major global powers and some non-powers have bullet trains, and we're supposedly the greatest country on earth, why do we in the USA do not have even one bullet train???

Kudos in advance for answering this question as quickly as you can.

There are several reasons but lets look at 4, Firstly, in the early 2010s, there was a push for High-speed Rail, The Obama Administration even promised to pay for several projects, most notably High-speed Rail between Chicago and Minneapolis, but the Governor of Wisconsin told Obama that he didn't want the money to build high speed rail.

Next there's the California High-speed Rail project which is currently building High-speed Rail between LA and San Francisco, due to outdated environmental laws, and constant suing from land owners in the central valley, the project took years to begin construction and is going wildly over budget and isn't expected to finish with phase 1 till the late 2030s

Florida in the 80s through to the 2000s had plans for HSR between Miami and Tampa, but that was canceled due to Rick Scott being against the project and the Florida East Coast Railway refusing to cooperate

Finally there is the Northeastern Acela Corridor, which has some high speed sections but hasn't been able to increase speeds on much of the track due to local opposition and a lack of funding, there will be some newer trains somewhat soon though that will increase speeds

[uncleasad]

Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia) // September 2020 // greater metro Atlanta, northern Georgia, USA

These butterflies are native to peninsular Florida, southern Texas, and Central and South America, with occasional appearances along the southern Georgia coast.

I first noticed this unusual-to-me butterfly in the backyard not long after the remnants of a hurricane/tropical storm had passed through, no doubt bringing this butterfly along for a ride…whereupon I spent several weeks trying to take its portrait (super-duper skittish…as I suppose I would be if deadly winds dropped me off in an unfamiliar environment hundreds of miles away from what I’m used to…this was from the camera-camera with the lens extended to a pretty decent zoom factor). The butterfly remained nearby, visiting the garden regularly, for a couple of months, and then I assume completed its lifecycle.

On a zinnia, naturally.

[smallcollegebasketball]

Check out the 30-second promo video for the 2024 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, which will take place on November 2-3 at Florida Southern College. The most prestigious regular season event in NCAA DII basketball, this year's event features 10 of the finest teams in all of NCAA DII basketball. Here's the webpage: https://www.smallcollegebasketball.com/hall-of-fame-classic

[pandemichub]

If Tumblr prompts you to sign in use read mode/reader mode and it will display the post as text.

Please advocate for evacuation of incarcerated people, homeless people, disabled people, those in care settings, immigrants and animals (pets, wild life and farm animals). Don't leave people behind ❤️

ID: The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies @disasterstrat

Disability and Disaster Hotline 800-626-4959 linktr.ee/disasterstrat

Disability-Led Response Supporting @FightForRightUA

disasterstrategies.org

ID: New Disabled South@DisabledSouth

Working to achieve liberation and justice for disabled people in the U.S. South | 501c3 nonprofit | Check out our 501c4 arm @DisSouthRising newdisabledsouth.org

Also visit hcbssouth.org

Fight for prisoners to evacuate:

Insta caption screenshot

anthony.depice @arianajasmine__: Thank you @fighttoxicprisons for all of this information - please give them a follow.

Jails Not Evacuating-

Manatee County Central Jail- Mandatory Evac Zone A Ran by Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells-

**Twitter- @ ManateeSheriff

**Instagram - @manateecountysheriff

Phone- **General Line- (941)-747-3011

****Extension 2222 - Office of the Sheriff ****Extension 2915 - Central Jail Information ****Extension 1549 - Public Safety Communications Center

Lee County Jail- Mandatory Evac Zone A

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno-

**Twitter- @ SheriffLeeFL Llll

**Instagram- leesherif

Phone- **Main Headquarters - (239) 477-1350 **Main Jail - (239) 477-1500

Tweet elicia donze @eliciadonze. 28m

FREE SHUTTLES TO SHELTERS IN THE TAMPA EVAC ZONE.

CALL 800-729-3413 FOR ASSISTANCE. FL Division of Emergency M... • 18h

Tomorrow, 10/8, there will be free shuttles operating in Pinellas, Pasco & Hillsborough counties assisting with #Milton evacuations to shelters.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8 FREE EVACUATION SHUTTLES Free shelters and free transport assistance available

PINELLAS PASCO HILLSBOROUGH

Call 800-729-3413, 7 am - 7pm for Evacuation Assistance

Visit FloridaDisaster.org/Updates for times & locations

Tweet Art Candee @ArtCandee

It's sad how many people don't know that there are shuttles that will pick you up from your home and take you to a free shelter during Hurricane Milton. The fact that people still push the "poor people can't afford to evacuate" line is really sad.

Please help combat this and spread the phone number to request a shuttle, and let people know Uber and Lyft are also offering free or discounted rides to evacuate the storm and get to a shelter.

Also important to note that there are shelters who are specially equipped for people with special needs.

UBER AND LYFT TO PROMO CODE: miltonrelief

SHUTTLE #FOR EVERYONE EVACUATION ZONES: 1 (800) 729-3413

UBER AND LYFT TO EVACUATE CODE: miltonrelief SHUTTLE

#FOR EVERYONE EVACUATION ZONES 1 (800)729-3413

ID: Erin Regan Animal Sanctuary IF YOU ARE EVACUATING FROM FLORIDA AND HAVE NOWHERE TO GO OR CANNOT AFFORD A HOTEL...

We have 40 acres in Picayune, Mississippi where you, your horses, farm animals, and pets can ride out the storm. We are about 9 hours from Tampa.

Tents and RVs welcome.

Please email tracypaula@erinregananimalsanctuary.com for assistance.

Tweet elicia donze @eliciadonze

PET FRIENDLY SHELTERS IN HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY TELL YOUR FRIENDS Hillsborough County @HillsboroughFL.

Quoted tweet

Hillsborough County will open nine emergency storm shelters at 2:30 p.m., today, Oct. 7 for residents in evacuation Zones A and B, and those whose homes are vulnerable to storm surge, flooding, and wind damage....

Hillsborough County Florida EST. 1834 Hillsborough County to open the following emergency storm shelters at 2:30 p.m., today, Oct.7:

Hillsboro county Florida graphic.

Hillsborough county to open the following emergency storm at two therapy today, October 7

Burnett middle school 1010 N. Kingsway Rd., Seffner, FL 33584 pet friendly

Middleton high school 4801 N. 22nd St., Tampa, FL 33610 pet friendly.

Durant High school 4748 Cougar Path city, FL 33567 pet friendly.

Sickles high school 7950 Gunn Highway, Tampa, FL 33626, pet friendly

Shields middle school 15732 Shields Way, Tampa, FL 33626 pet friendly

Pizzo elementary school 11701 Bull Run Drive, Tampa, FL 33617 general population, not pet friendly

Erwin technical College 2010 Hillsborough Ave., Tampa, FL 33610 special needs only, pet friendly

Sumner high school 106050 County Rd. 672 Riverview, FL 33579 special meets only, pet friendly

Strawberry crest high school 4691 Gallagher Rd., Dover, FL 33527 special needs only, pet friendly

hcl.gov/stay safe

Dr. Serena Arnold

You don't necessarily need to leave the state or drive hundreds of miles. Sometimes 5 or 10 mile difference will make all the difference.

Deadliest part of a hurricane is the storm surge.

If you live 20 feet of elevation or lower these are the people who need to evacuate.

Find out your elevation if you don't know it at WhatIsMyElevation.com. Compare it with the storm surge forecast at NHC.NOAA.gov.

Summary

"Number 1, shelters cannot and should not ask for your ID in order to access them. You have a right to seek shelter regardless of your immigration status, regardless of your citizenship status and regardless of whether or not you have a government ID on you.

Number 2, well undocumented immigrants may not qualify for FEMA assistance, their children with citizenship do.

Number 3, ICE should not be operating at this time as it is a state of emergency.

Absolutely nobody should be deterred from being safe during a natural disaster."

[omgthatdress]

Visiting Dress

1867

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Purple means spirit.

Central Florida Emergency Trans Care Fund

Equality Florida

ACLU Florida

Tampa Bay Abortion Fund

[doueverwonder]

Ramble About The Statehouse Itself

anyway: the statehouse they're currently in is actually the second one. The first one was for Research Purposes, it was the first attempt of getting all the states in one building long term and they just needed to see how it went. It was chaos, but controlled chaos where Gov could see it so they went ahead with The Permanent Statehouse(TM)

Location wise the first one was in Florida, but the current statehouse is in Missouri, right outside St. Louis and I will die on this hill. It's pretty central in the country, somewhere between Midwest and South and is literally nicknamed "the gateway to the West", the weather is decent enough no one is freezing or melting, hell Missouri is the 24th state! Gov said "we need it to be central" saw Missouri and went "... perfect".

Gov's main observation in the original statehouse was how regions can tend to agree on things when it comes to communal rules, stuff like how to organize the kitchen, shoes in the house rules, how late is too late, and how early is too early to be up and about. That's how he decided on the floors being split by region, each floor having it's own kitchen, dining room, and living room; then came the hardest part who's on what floor?

Ground Floor

The South got this one for a few reasons, one of the main ones being a 'Southern Hospitality' joke, when non-states visit Gov needs them to walk into a supposedly normal house and the South are the best at maintaining 'normalcy' when there are guests around. They're also one of the louder regions, and it's easier to sound proof a ceiling than it is to floors. They also have to have a front porch to sit on, it's part of the their habitat :\ Lastly they're the South so of course they're on the bottom floor smh.

2nd Floor

The Northeast got this one because they're used to the South being right below them and Loud. About half of them lived in apartments before the statehouse and need to be sandwhiched between floors to feel safe. They also have the most heavy sleepers, so the South below being up until 1, and the Midwest above getting up at 4:30 won't bother them.

3rd Floor

The Midwest are right in the middle on the map and Gov thought why fix what's not broken? As the resident Early Birds they of course got the floor above the region with the most heavy sleepers. Actually the only floor unhappy with their placement (it's too far from the basement and the front porch (tornadoes)) but bc y'know passive aggressive they'll never actually tell him that. Also at least the other states aren't accidentally throwing away their tupperware anymore (used coolwhip & butter containers).

4th Floor

The West have the top floor; it's because they're used to the altitude. half of them might as well be lizards and the other half are always cold: either way heat rises. and 90% of the other regions pulled the "they're the youngest make them climb stairs >:|" (the first parts are a joke and there's an elevator). They also have the top because while there's a decent amount of night owls, unlike the South who stay up til 1 am talking, at 10 pm they all say goodnight and then sit in their rooms enjoying Quiet Alone Time(TM) until 3 am so the Midwest won't be kept up by them.

5th floor (top floor)

This one is split into two spaces, a little less than half is split into 4 bedrooms (and for the first 3 offices) for Gov, IDC, DC, and Maryland. The other half is an absolutely huge rec room. There is no kitchen on the floor as IDC is never around, Gov and DC are so busy they either eat out/order in or eat with one of the regions. and if Maryland wants to cook he just crashes the Souths kitchen.

when it comes to bedrooms each state got to decorate their own, but communal areas tend to have a theme of sorts. The Northeast is very old money, the decor screams "Well our main residence is in Connecticut, but we have the cabin in Vermont, the brownstone in Boston, the penthouse in NYC, and a sailboat stored in Delaware." The Midwest and South are similar at a glance but the Midwest is more cozy thrifted thrown together, while the South is more genuinely antique. Blankets thrown over a floral patterned couch & mismatch recliners vs matching furniture that a century ago would've belonged in some shit like a parlor or drawing room. But unless they're next to each other it all just looks Old. The West is an odd mix of boho and Spanish colonial; patterned tiles, brightly painted cabinets and doors, it's bright, and overly colorful, and there are potted plants on any available surface.

uhhhh anyway yeah.

[apsciencebydan]

One endemic creature I'm always happy to see when I visit central Florida is the lovely Florida Scrub Lizard (Sceloporus woodi). That blue deserves to be on the state flag