Just to comment on Maywood Glen, I was unable to have a party there once when I intended to. 

I just wish they'd stay off the damn computers, or at least if there was a way for living Sims to shoo them away. 

No they can make grape pancakes too.  I just buy a bunch of the fruit of choice, put it in the pregnant Sims's inventory, and allow her to eat nothing else but that fruit from her inventory through her entire pregnancy.  Except if I'm going for a boy, I will allow her apple pancakes - but that's about when she'll make GRAPE pancakes instead.  I just do the watermelon or apples in the inventory method and it hasn't failed me yet.

Maybe turning free will down to low is more effective than story progression off? 

I basically proved that my crashing was caused by advanced rendering being on.  I turned it on yesterday as a test - my ponds and fountains look really stupid without it - and then after I shut down the game and started it up it crashed immediately when I tried to start it.  I turned adv rend off via the options.txt file, and was able to start it up.  Then I reset all my settings to default, which includes rendering on, turned that off, left everything else (a mix of high and medium), restarted, and played for a couple of hours and no crashing.  So, for me at least, it's the advanced rendering that causes the BSOD.

Heat problem was pretty well solved by the Razor version.  My CPU temp can hit 80+ after a long time of playing, my computer will shut down at 90.  I make myself minimize frequently which will instantly drop it a few degrees.  GPU and system temp are staying out of the danger zone altogether, whereas with Reloaded they were in it.

I read in the paper that somebody died of starvation.  I also have had kids who I thought were doing their homework (because I saw them do it) grow up and deny me the option to choose a trait for them because of their "indifferent study habits." 

So this makes me think that when you're not looking Sims can do things like NOT do their homework and not EAT. 

I installed the Razor version and had MORE crashing than with Reloaded.  BUT - I finally lowered all my graphics settings, everything to medium or whatever is next to highest (there's one tht has a very high so that's on high), and I unchecked all the checkable options except reflections.  What I suspect might have been most important was turning of advanced rendering.  Anyway, I did that, shut down the game, loaded it up again and... played for HOURS without a crash.  Tonight was the first night since Sunday that I closed the game down voluntarily and not because it it crashed.

In fairness, I never tried turning of advanced rendering in Reloaded, but I did notice right off that the Razor version doesn't spike my temps like Reloaded did.  Plus at least one glitch I was experiencing was fixed, with Reloaded some Sims didn't have the "change appearances" option on mirrors, but that's working in Razor.  Oh I also installed the razor patch (but still crashed after that - it was ultimately the lowering of graphics settings that fixed that problem if indeed it is fixed.)  And I'm playing with my saves from Reloaded. 

And by the way, I LOVE THIS GAME!  I see a lot of complaints - am I the only who thinks, outside of the glitchiness, it's freakin' awesome?!