Ole Lomarre asked me a questions yesterday after I had left about the Michigan left. I wasn't around and so I figured I'd make a post about it.

The Michigan Left, sometimes called the median U-turn, or thrU-turn intersection, is simply another type of intersection. It is notable because it essentially eliminates traditional left turns. Simply put, you cannot turn left at most intersections on a road like this. These types of intersections are common in Detroit, where they are best known for, but are often found all over Michigan. Highland Rd (M-59) near where I am from also uses this style of intersection.



The beauty of this is you never have to cross significant lanes of traffic. At the intersection you either go straight or right -- that's it. If you want to go left, you make a right turn and then perform a u-turn at the next crossing, which are usually right by major intersections, as you'll see below. Smaller intersections do not have full intersections, typically, and to get on the road you will have to simply turn right and then perform the u-turn to move in the other direction.



Not everyone likes these intersections, for whatever reason. When used appropriately, they often save time at the intersection. Oddly enough, if you are lucky, you can sometimes actually make a left turn faster than you could go straight through the interesection, if you turn right on the red (something you can do sometimes) and then u-turn and move straight through the intersection. 

To me, these are just another type of intersection. Once you know how to use them, they aren't that bad. You can always tell a new person to Michigan because they think they are the weirdest thing in the world. I've only seen someone attempt a left at one of these intersections two or three times, and one of the times it caused an accident. These aren't only Michigan features, however. If you go to the wikipedia page you'll see they have been implemented in other parts of the country and world, but not with the prevalence you would find in Pure Michigan.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed your brief lesson on the Michigan Left.



source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_left

Date: 26 Tolven, 1584
Time: 6:15 AM
Location: Imperial Palace, Tokasa

Prime Minister Koji Iwata

How the Hell did I get myself into this mess?

"Remember, we have the bolstered security team at the Western entrance of the Imperial Palace to ensure that the first day goes without a hitch," Chief of Staff Yoko Asahiro tells me as we walk down the hall towards the elevators. I sigh and nod as she continues telling me the latest on today's... today's...

Why the Hell did I get myself into this mess?

"Also, Minister Abe wants an additional member of his staff on hand. Clearances need to be given though and Minister Kojima wants an additional staff member as well if Abe gets," She tells me, pushing the button in the elevator to the first floor. As the doors close I run my hand through my hair and sigh.

"Fine," I respond. "Give em both what they want. Balance and all that nonsense." As Chief Asahiro starts tapping away on her phone to give people clearances, I sigh and straighten my jacket. This was not the moment I was imagining when I decided to run for this position. As she begins to make phone calls, the elevator doors open and we step out into the lobby.

When the Hell did I- wait, what am I saying. I know that answer. It was when I said that sentence. It was when I abandoned my pragmatism and promised the unattainable. It was when I sealed my party's fate at best, and Ostara's fate at worst.

"Remember that Empress Sekai wants to meet with you before we leave." I freeze in the middle of the hallway while Chief Asahiro continues her way down. I grimace at her impeccable timing of her reminder; frankly though I hadn't forgotten. I was just hoping that I would have been able to feign ignorance and merely "forget" the ceremony due to the whirlwind of work. Unfortunately, she read me like a book; Hell, she reminded me in front of the doors to the Outer Sanctum. I sigh and spin ninety degrees to the left to face the large double doors. I march forward with all the strength I could muster in my soul. The two guards that flanked the doors saluted me and move as I push open the doors in dramatic fashion.

As I step inside, I realize now that it was good that she reminded me. As the cameras being to click and the shutters begin to flash, I take a moment to refocus my attention towards the opposite end of the Outer Sanctum. I take a deep breath and begin to march cautiously towards the thrones.

Empress Mirai Sekai and Emperor Consort Satashi Honda-Sekai await me at the other end of the Outer Sanctum. They are in full formal garb. The kimonos are adorned with the symbols of the nation. The ceremonial katanas on the right and left hips of the Empress and Emperor respectively. The cloaks of red and blue resting upon their shoulders. They are not my friends today. On all other days, we enjoy each other's company and talk straight into the night about a plethora of topics. Sometimes we would pull up one of our old consoles for nostalgic purposes as our children play on their newer systems or watch us with awe as we play our old time games.

Not today. Today, there is no breathing room for any further error. I made my mistake; I must bury myself with it.

As I reach the other end of the room, at the bottom of the steps up to the Twin Thrones, I kneel in front of them and bow my head. Everyone falls silent and awaits the next words. I breath slowly and close my eyes, struggling against all odds to recall what I was supposed to say next. Thankfully, it comes to me.

"Your Graces, Chosen by Muze. Mirai Sekai, the Second of Her Name in the Imperial Line, Empress of Kazemura. Satashi Honda-Sekai, the Third of His Name in the Honda Line and Second of His Name in the Imperial Line, Emperor Consort of Kazemura. I, Prime Minister Koji Iwata, Humble Servant of Kazemura and her Imperial Line formally request permission to greet our esteemed guests of the East on your behalf in the hopes of building a brighter future for Kazemura and East Ostara with the intent to establish closer economic and military ties."

I fall silent as I await the response. I know the answer; they're not happy either, but they're also not going to stop this. But this wasn't how it was supposed to go. This wasn't the point of my campaign. This wasn't supposed to be front and center. It was a stupid idea. A stupid sentence I uttered in that ridiculous circus of a debate.

Yet, here we are. And after that long pause of silence, the two slowly descend down the steps. I watch from the top of my eyes as I dare not raise my head. As they reach for their respective katanas and begin to unsheathe them, my eyes dart down. Maybe they would shock everyone and execute me for my insolence. Not likely, but hey... wishful thinking.

I know they probably want to at this moment anyways.

"Prime Minister Koji Iwata," Empress Sekai begins. "The Servants of Muze have heard your plea. As Her Servants, we are obliged to guide Her Kazemura towards greater peace and prosperity." I feel the blades rest upon my shoulder. They are not crossed, meaning...

"In Muze's name we grant you your request. As Servants of Muze, we offer to you Her divine strength in your quest towards this brighter future. Rise, and go forth on Her behalf with the strength of Muze and Her people burning within your soul." I rise and stand at attention. Slowly, I bow towards them as the Kazemurans clap. Likely the foreign press are confused as all Hell.

"I thank you for this. I shall not fail in my endeavor." I slowly turn towards the large window on the right hand side and bow. The rising sun in this early morning is visible to me. Just as tradition intended. A sign for good luck, it is meant to allow for Muze to giver Her greatest strength. In the modern day this sounds ridiculous and I agree; I am not very religious and a time ago would have counted such practices as pointless. However, I have learned otherwise. Even if I can not feel actual strength in physical terminology, I still feel Her presence in these ceremonies. They carry their own weight after all, that of the rising sun of Kazemura.

Now it is my responsibility to take that rising sun and negotiate a customs union and a military alliance with a number of nations in East Ostara. What could possibly go wrong?

((OOC Note: This is a prelude to the story. The conference begins at 10 AM. To the others, if you wish to start posting, you'll be arriving at Tokasa International Airport. You can ask me for any other info you need.))

It is time to actually host an Imperial Ball... this time all shall be planned first before RP begins.

If you would like to send a government leader, monarch, nobles, celebs, or what not, please post here.

Describe how the person would be arriving and what persons and equipment/vehicles they would be bringing. Indicate their rank and position within your nation. In addition, indicate what relations your nation has with the Imperium and if your nation is using this Imperial ball as a means to further increase relations or establish them with the Imperium. Most anything is welcome. If you are clearly a known enemy of the Mestran state, you would be advised to actually not attend. Obvious really.

I'll leave the thread open for a few days to get people attending before I start the thread. I'll probably post what is happening, the invitations, the arrivals and the start of hte ball. You can post flash backs about when you accepted or why, arrival, etc then start RPing at the ball.

Hello and welcome to the thread through which we will determine the tourism hot spots in Siora!

This will consist of a two-step process and will not be perfect.  Results need not be taken as the final authority on the state of tourism in all nations.  However, by the end of this process, forum members should have a better grasp on a few things regarding their own nation and their neighbor's nations when it comes to tourism, including: the public's view of various nations as travel destinations, the types of tourist destinations available in the Sioran nations, and how much of a role tourism is likely to play in your nation's economy.

A quick QnA:

Q: Why tho?
A: Because many of us boast that our nations are the hottest of hot spots while, in reality, we have never really had this discussion to set the record straight.  And being a community, who better to decide if your nation is actually all that than your neighbors?

Q: Are these answers permanent?
A: No.  Nations can develop or crumble over time, and so this survey may go out for updates periodically.  Ten in-character years is probably the increment we're looking at.

Q: Do I have to participate?
A:  No, but know that your nation isn't going to be classified very highly if you do not participate.

Q:  Why aren't you asking any questions about how much revenue my nation earns from tourism?
A:  Because revenue from tourism and numbers of tourists per year, and all that quantitative information are the types of things that may be inferred after this review is completed. It's recommended - but not required - that you use these results to adjust your statistics as necessary.

Q: This doesn't really seem objective.
A:  First, that's not a question.  Second, no, it's not.  It's not intended to be.  "Best tourism destination" is an opinion.  In the same way that it's completely subjective as to why people like to visit certain kinds of destinations, this is a completely subjective process.


Step 1: Qualitative Survey


The first of the two steps involves a qualitative look at what tourism is like in the various nations of Siora.  There is a comprehensive introduction within the survey itself, so please read that for more information.

If you have any questions or anything seems to not be working, please let me know in this thread.  If you're having the issue, chances are someone else is having it, too, and I'd rather just answer it for everyone at one time.

If you want to participate, please have all surveys completed no later than August 31.

You are more than welcome to complete this survey for as many nations as you control.

Click here to take the Sioran Tourism Survey.




Step 2: Public Ranking Survey


(This information will be posted once Step 1 has closed and information has been collected.)

Quote:Hello %NATION%!
 
Welcome to [region]Eternity[/region]! We’re glad to have you here with us! I’ll try to keep this short so you can get set up.
 
You may notice that much of our work is off-site. We utilize a number of materials including our own forums and chatrooms. You can reach these by looking at our World Factbook Entry on the region's front page. Alternatively, you can go to this URL: http://board.eternityrpc.com/index.php
 
Also, it's recommended that you join our community live chat first as we are fairly active throughout the day and a generally friendly group. We're usually around and can answer any questions you might have. Our Regional Chatroom is located at this URL: http://eternityrpc.chatango.com/
 
If you have any further questions you can reply to this email or ask any questions you may have in the community live chat. Welcome again to [region]Eternity[/region]!
 
With Love,
 
[nation=short_name]Eternity RPC[/nation]

Quote:Hello there %NATION%!

Let me be among the first to welcome you to NationStates! I know you're flooded with a lot of these messages so I will quickly make my pitch for why you should join [region]Eternity[/region] and be on my merry way.

We're a roleplaying region located in one of the far corners of the NationStates world with about 20 members. Many of us have been roleplaying in NationStates for many years now, having taken up many different nations along the way and having a wealth of knowledge and experiences to share. In fact, Eternity wasn't our first community; our history stretches back many years together in various communities and worlds. Since October 2014, we've developed this off-site community into the culmination of all these experiences: a brave new world in which to develop your nation surrounded by a rich history in game and awesome members.

We pride ourselves on balancing realism and creativity and invite you to join our close-knit group. If [region]Eternity[/region] sounds like a place to call home, come and join us! We hope to see you soon!

Best,

[nation=short_name]Eternity RPC[/nation]

This thread is meant for compiling all NS Recruitment Reports, current recruitment materials, and ongoing discussions pertaining to recruitment.

Announcements and Reports
June 17, 2017- That Time Ikar Got Suckered Into Recruitment
June 17, 2017- First Report on Recruitment
June 25, 2017- State of Recruitment #2


Current/Proposed Recruitment Materials
Current Welcome Telegram, 2017
Current New Nations Recruitment Telegram, 2017
Current Returning Nations Recruitment Telegram, 2017

Ongoing Discussions
Slogan Concept for Eternity

Archived
Previous Welcome Telegram, c. 2016
Previous Recruitment Telegram, c. 2016

Goldecia and Svarna after new governments both want to do tours to establish new ties with nations. In Goldecias case they want more economic relations and relations where countries work together in crime fighting. In Svarnas case they want to etablish good relations with socialist nations , work together on security in ostara and want to discuss help in bringing Tata to justice as well as ensure all assets of his organisation are handed over to the new co-operative in charge(in return your tariffs at least half on your imports to svarna).

So this is the list of countries both nations want visits from or to visit:
Goldecia:
Taenus
North Kolhar
Aeriland
Arrenland
Hylis
Drausuny
Florinthus
Eskkya
Lllanlania
Nyland
Drahen
Oslandburg
Carpathia
Severyenne
Mordvania

Svarna Surya:
Severyenne
Carpathia
Volta
Hoinon
Sainam
Ishnalla
Tieguo
Kortoa
Mayari
Singhan
Jandrea
Kazemura

1584 Florinthian Open

The Florinthian Open is a major tennis tournament held annually over late Septem and early Ochtyr in Lordsprot, Florinthian Federation. First held in 1489, the tournament is chronologically the third of the four Grand Slam tennis events of the year. It is played permanently on grass surfaces since 1494.

Current champions:

• Men's Singles: Yousef Madani (A'Sir)
  
• Women's Singles: Bertha Habsburg (Gehenna)