Commonwealth of Marathon

[Eliteforce]

Happy 2009 everyone!

The region looks excellent, I wish I had the patience to work on something like this.  I might try a detailed region like yours soon, but no where as awesome.  Keep up the good work and make all your fellow mayors proud!

[thundercrack83]

Joan (Jmouse): Happy New Year, Joan! Thanks so much for your wonderful support, my friend!

Matt (threestooges): Hi, Matt! Personally, I think that the STR bridge is just splendid, my friend! As for a new avenue one, well that would certainly be welcome, too! I hope your 2009 has started off well!

David (dedgren): Wow, thanks so much, David! I don't really know what to say, my friend. I hope you're having a Happy New Year, as well!

Casper (caspervg): Thank you so much, Casper! It makes me so happy that you were looking forward to each picture, as I was looking forward to bringing them to you and everyone! This has become such a fulfilling endeavor, I wish I would have started it earlier! Your comments and your support are very much appreciated, my friend! Hope your 2009 is going well!

bat: Thanks, bat! Happy New Year to you, my good friend!

Paul (paroch): Hello there, Paul! Happy New Year to you, too! I'm glad that you liked the apartment buildings, I found them on a whim, actually, paging through the STEX one late night. As soon as I saw them, I knew I had to use them! Thanks for stopping in here so regularly with your very insightful comments and advice. I hope to hear from you at every step of the way, my friend! Take care!

Eliteforce: Welcome to Marathon! Thank you so much! Though, if you are enjoying things here, you should check out the MDs in the SC4Devotion MD Hall of Fame—they'll knock your socks right off! Hope to see you around again!

UPDATE XIV(b)
Two Months Down...A Look Back!
3 January 2009

Well, as the title suggests, we're two months down, and with a new year comes our third month! But, November and December 2008 were, by no means, ordinary here in Marathon—indeed, quite the opposite.

Thanks to all of you, my very good friends, an unprecedented pace was set that is unparalleled by any other MD in the history of SC4D. Since Marathon opened on November 5, 2008, there has been an outpouring of support from so many wonderful people here, an outpouring that would dwarf a tsunami!

So, in recognition not of the MD "Commonwealth of Marathon" itself, but in recognition of all of you who have been so supportive, I have compiled a few graphs to just show, statistically, some of the things that have transpired here since we began. Hey, I wouldn't be deserving of my CML if I didn't right?

Here we go!

First, a simple graph that charts the change in growth and the average growth (according to the SC4Devotion MD Statistics) of Marathon in November and December.

Next...

A big one! This is the amount of posts made in Marathon on each day. Thanks to all of you, there were two days—November 21 and November 25—with no replies.

Another large one, this time a catalog of every single post made in Marathon! NOTE: I "borrowed" this idea from a similar Excel spreadsheet used by David (dedgren) and Joan (Jmouse) to keep track of the posts in 3RR...Thanks, guys!

Using this spreadsheet, I was able to calculate this...

...the amount of individual comments made by each person in Marathon. We've had 55 different people post here, with 42 of them being repeaters! And look at my good friend Joan (Jmouse) at the top of the list, bested only by me! But, since it's my MD, I should probably be up there at the top, don't you think?

Finally, a chart that I simply cannot believe when I read...

Thanks to all of you, Marathon has become the fastest MD to reach 500 comments, doing so in just 55 days! We got there even faster than the ever-exponentially growing 3RR!

BIG, IMPORTANT NOTE: I did not create this last chart (or any of them, for that matter) as a way to say that Marathon is, in any way, size, shape or form, better than any other MD. In fact, I am so truly humbled by the fact that this has happened, it's quite shocking. To be included amongst such a phenomenal list of MDs—top to bottom—is just unbelievable.

So that's November and December in a statistical nutshell!

As I've said so much here, I have to thank every single one of you out there for all your support, advice, suggestions, just for everything. Without you, Marathon would not exist, and this community would not exist.

If 2009 is even one iota as wonderful as 2008 was, I will be ecstatic! Thank you so very much, friends!

In closing...

...a peek at where our journey takes us next!

Until then!

[bat]

That's a fantastic statistic update there! Excellent work on it! And congrats on so successful two month!!!

And looking forward to more in this year 2009!
BTW, this is my 40th reply here...

[threestooges]

Amazing work Dustin. You are certainly living up to your CML. Really neat to look back at the growth. I may have to borrow a similar format for Greenacre's hall of records (it's more of a floor in a building than an actual hall but...). I've used excel before, but is there a way to quickly tally them number of times a person has posted using that format? Also, are there any styles of avenue bridge you think would be particularly useful? I'm keeping an eye out for bits of inspiration. Congratulations, and I hope the coming months are just as successful for you and Marathon.
-Matt

[deathtopumpkins]

well it just wouldn't be your MD without the statistics, now would it Dustin? Congratulations on that achrvememt, and who knows, maybe you'll reach 1000 replies even faster!

Oh, and I'm guessing that you're making a map from that transit data view!

[art128]

This is simply awesome Dustin, excellent work on these stats ! 

the last update is really great my friend 

Can't wait to see more

Arthur.

[Eliteforce]

Wow, the fastest growing MD ever?  Very nice  

@ the hint-  You gonna put in roads next??

[freedo50]

Hmmm, so I haven't said anything in here yet? Well that's dumb of me beacuse this is simply one of the most captivating MDs I've read. This is the best thing for me, even better than playing the game - because it's like playing the game (for me), but without the annoyances, and with better results than my own!

Keep up the good work!
Fred

[paroch]

Dustin - I'm really not sure how you do it!!!  I mean you give us plenty of updates and many of them are just so darn original.  OK, so we know you're the stat-meister-general here at SC4D - but still, you exceed yourself and as a bit of a stat fan myself I found it thouroughly interesting.  Of course it's nice being one of your 10+ posters and it's also interesting to see West End on that list of "fast hitting 500" MDs.  Of course, CoM has re-defined "fast hitting".  So a big congrats on the stats, the update and CoM breaking new boundaries.

Anyway, enough waffle - great update and I know exactly which quad you've teased us with there - hahahaha, nice one.  Now you know I can't wait to see what happens with the mega intersection!!

Here's to the next 500 posts my friend!

All the best

Paul

[Jmouse]

I should have anticipated this one from The Stat Man himself! Some of those charts look like Wall Street lightening bolts, but after all, they're a reflection of amazing trends just the same.

I'm proud to be the top poster, and I think you know me well enough to know why I'm in that spot (Yes, I know I talk too much, too!). One thing you failed to mention, however, is the fact that these stunning accomplishments were achieved - earned - because of the author's clever ideas and innovative use of available resources.

You're just doing a whole lot of things right, Dustin...
Joan

[woodb3kmaster]

What a fascinating update, Dustin! Not only have you broken all those records for growth, you really raised the bar for what MDs do when they're OSITM. If I ever achieve that honor myself, I hope I'll be able to live up to the standards that CoM has established. Congratulations on doing a fantastic job so far!

Looking forward to what's coming up,
Zack

[alan_vzla]

First of all, let me congratulate you for taking your MD into the classics in such little time, also great works on those stats... Looking forward to more!

[Pat]

OK Dustin I am so ashamed here that I havent kept up like I had wanted to but once again I am all caught up in Marathon again... Those charts are something wow!!!! I think this now puts me at 21 lol naw anyways the 500 just blows my mind its amazing to see the comparasions!!!  Great stuff and I never know what to expect!!!!!!

pat

[kimcar]

  Excellent update once again Dustin Great stats too. A lot of work over there. But you know how to do stats right ?  Excellent grow in classic section too. At this rythm tou gonna be in the hall of fame in another month  maybe we gonna have to do a special section for the fastest growing looking city. Have fun and looking forward

[thundercrack83]

bat: Thanks so much, my friend! I couldn't have made this far without you!

Matt (threestooges): Hi, Matt! Thanks so much! To answer your question, I'm unaware of a way to tabulate how many times someone has posted using the spreadsheet format I've shown. I sat down with a piece of paper and counted them all off by hand to get the numbers! If there is a way—and I'd wager that there has to be—perhaps some here could tell us how? Either way, though, good luck with Greenacre, my friend. I'm already a big fan!

deathtopumpkins: Hi! No, I guess I wouldn't be me if there we no statistics! As for your guess on what's coming next, well, we'll just have to wait and see!

Arthur (art128): Thanks, Arthur! It's always great to see you here!

Eliteforce: Thanks! Roads are definitely coming at some point. How they'll go in, though—well, your guess is as good as mine!

Fred (freedo50): Hello and welcome, Fred, my good friend! It's so great to have you here in Marathon! And you're right, following an MD is better than playing the game. That's why it took so long for me to finally start one! Hope to see you around again, Fred!

Paul (paroch): Hey, Paul! I'll tell you exactly how I do it...with a lot of help from great friends like you, that's how! I'm glad you found the statistics interesting, as they can be sort of a "niche market" sometimes. You know me, though, I'm a sucker for a good table or graph! Thanks so much for all your support, my friend. I'll be very much looking forward to your comments and advice in the future!

Joan (Jmouse): Hi, Joan! I couldn't have asked for a better top poster here in Marathon! Each and every one of your comments has been supportive, insightful, and helpful, and I treasure them all! Thank you so very much, Joan!

Zack (woodbkmaster): Hey, it's Marathon's answer to Ken Jennings! I'm glad you enjoyed the update, my friend. As I've said, Marathon wouldn't be where it is today without friends like you!

alan_vzla: Thank you very much, my friend!

Pat: No worries, my friend! There's so much happening here at SC4D at any given time, it's impossible to keep up with everything! Thanks for coming by and checking things out, though. Hope to see you back soon!

kimcar: Thank you so much for your continued support, my friend! It's very much appreciated! I don't know if I can keep up the pace, though—December wore me out pretty good! Thanks for coming by!



Did a bit of rummaging through my folders today and found...

...a little holdover from my STR testing. Nothing extravagant or even that special, just a simple wooded shot that I've become ever so fond of making!

After 31 days of daily pictures, I find myself with this incessant urge to make sure that I'm caught up on something! That's OK, though—for me, that's part of the fun!

Still working through some things for our next update!

[Jmouse]

Another good-looking daily, Dustin. If you're not careful, you're going to inspire me to fire up the game after nearly a year and cause some serious damage!

Hope you won't mind if I answer Matt's question about XL – maybe it will save both of you some time.

XL will find any text you enter, display a link to the location of each entry and calculate the number of times the text appears.
Ctrl+f brings up the Find and Replace function box.
Enter text in the "Find what:" window.*
*If you have more than one page in your workbook (first-timers and all commenters, for example), here's what you can do: In the lower right corner of the Find and Replace box, click on "Options <<." Choose "Workbook" in the box next to the "Within:" line, and then proceed. If not, skip this step.
Click the "Find All" button.





Hope this helps...
Joan

[threestooges]

Brilliant Joan. Thanks for that. Never knew 'find and replace' counted the instances. That should be a real time-saver. Very nice pic there Dustin. The STR will be a fun little thing to play with when it's finally released, until then, the beta test files work too. Thanks for the plug by the way. Take it easy, and I'll look forward to your next update.
-Matt

[bat]

Nice picture there! And looking forward to more updates...

[Pat]

Dustin that is so very true that so much goes on here at Devo it is very hard to keep up!! But hey I am back lol!!! Love that teaser shot err or old shot but either way you wish to put Dustin its a darn great shot there!!! Joan you have a great find there as well and I think that might help me out a termenduose deal!!!! thank you so much!!!

Waiting on more of Marathon Wisconsin  ,

Pat

[rooker1]

Hello Dustin,

Great to hear that you still have the "incessant urge".
I hope your holidays went well and All the best to you, your parents and girlfriend in the year to come.
Awesome set of stats on your MD.  From the first day that I saw your first picture (and just knowing you a little) I knew this MD was going to be special.  Congrats on being the fastest MD to reach 500 replies.  Here...here to many more records I know you could breack if you set your mind to it. 

Robin