unclevlad

That comes and goes for me, so I can relate. What I can't do is offer any notions about how to get out of it, other than latch onto those things that you like. Sorry to hear that. It's never easy.

Ernie Johnson's postgame lead-in after Utah was...less than excellent. 71% of NBA GMs predicted the Nets to win the title. 17% picked the Lakers. he hehe HAAAHHAAAA BWAAAAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA <passes out from lack of breath>

Break Out The Brooms! Break Out The Brooms! Nets go 1-2-3-CANCUN, BABY. Tatum fouls out on a very marginal call with Celtics up 6 and almost 3 minutes left...Nets close to 1 but never take the lead. Durant hits a 3 to cut it to 3 with 3 seconds left, but the Celts get the ball in, they hit one of the 2 FTs, and it's over. 116-112. 4-0 Celtics. So what's next for the Nets? Significant changes would seem to be necessary. SI's got a story totally ripping Nash, calling the series' biggest mismatch is the coaching mismatch. They lay out a good case, but one can also ask how much is Irving, too.

Well, if it was about Marjorie Taylor Greene, what else is there to say? And "why are you so stupid" is never gonna get anyone anywhere, even if it's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Hard to turn down 38% over market valuation. Who knows? This might be the opening Microsoft has been hoping for, to get an alternate outlet going. That's presuming, as we fear, that the lies and disinformation and complete BS return to past levels. Another possibility is, this'll push more aggressive limits on data sharing/data use for targeted advertising. I say that because he's gonna have to make a great deal more money to satisfy his creditors and investors. Also: this year in particular, ads have gotten MUCH more intrusive on YouTube. Go back 18 months...watch 3-4 of Beau's videos, maybe a few music-related videos...ads were quite minimal. Now...every 8-10 minutes, something seems to interrupt. It's been a tendency; CNN had relatively few, and they were short. But now...they're like 30 seconds long and there was no Skip Ad.

Penguin's an example of a villain that can absolutely play that card, too, with the trick umbrella. He looks like he shouldn't be taken seriously. Joker probably should be a combo...most of his stuff is Mostly Harmless...but then, there's the occasional VERY nasty surprise. Joker's utterly bugnuts; you don't have to work to make that terrifying.

I wouldn't call it horrible. A ball, yes, but that K-Zone spot isn't *that* far off. It's also moving across and away from the strike zone; the track was inside the zone for quite a while. That said, Hernandez is, and has been for a LONG time, rated as one of the worst umps in MLB. He's a prime example of the argument *for* trying out an automated ball-strike system. So it wasn't that pitch, perhaps, but the straw breaking the camel's back. Now that Joe West has retired, thankfully, Hernandez probably has no challenger for status as the last ump you ever want to see behind the plate.

But 'straight' is equally an expression of sexual orientation. Now, OK, the bill's language is classroom instruction, and 3rd grade and under. That said, how long would it be before a) "classroom instruction" is expanded...maybe at first to books or TV shows, and later to advertising, so any mention of something about orientation/identity which a young kid *might* see, is covered b) the age group just grows higher and higher. I'd worry somewhat less about this, but pushing it up to...say...10 or 11? 4th, 5th grade? I could see that being attempted, easily. Up to 13 might be straightforward enough, using the PG-13 rating as a baseline.

Trumpism is very much like a cult, so...makes sense to me. Many of us have encountered similar issues; getting advice from people experienced here? Can only be a Good Thing. (Cuz what's going on counts as a Stranger Thing.)

Ohhh my, that is a HUGE relief.

Delicious. Delightful. Delectable. Celtics 109, Nets 103. In Brooklyn. Celtics are now up 3-0. Brooms will be out...if the Celts can, I wouldn't be surprised if they throw a watch party in their arena. Mr. P, you were mentioning the Jazz potentially completing a purge. The Nets were supposed to WALK through the East...the most dynamic offensive lineup ever!!!! If you bought the hype. (Especially when they added Harden. AND after the trade for Simmons, who still hasn't played a second.) I don't necessarily agree with the aphorism that defense wins championships, but no defense means no chance. THAT, I do believe. The Nets' defensive rating with Kyrie in the lineup...worst in the league during the regular season. OK, some of that was probably Harden, but still, they didn't have much time on court together.

Saw that segment too. Of course...they did end up winning today, so...who knows. Utah might be in a similar position as Portland, or Denver. Decent success in the regular season but just can't make the jump up. Barkley and Shaq were pointing out that Gobert had to change style defensively...and had to become an offensive threat. From what I noted during the game today, he did do the latter. Getting to be hard to pick who'll get through the conferences...several key injuries, some more nicks that can't help.

Yeah, Beau's elucidating why I think this is a fundamental, existential crisis for Disney. If they lose in court, there is no path forward. The second big point is huge, and yeah, I'd not thought about it per se. Florida has just cut its own throat. This move has made Florida...and potentially, Texas, which feels like they'd try to do something similar...toxic to long-term investment and development. In many ways, it feels much like Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the Paris accords. It's quite similar: US politicians will refuse to honor existing commitments based strictly on personal whim. Tom: interesting take there. Trump's only loyalty was to Trump; he made that clear. Even bare your teeth at Trump...you didn't have to bite the hand...and he'd toss you under the bus. DeSantis is probably closer to a classic petty tyrant here, but it's along the same lines: opposition will not be tolerated, and damn the consequences. A part of me wishes that this does go through. The catastrophe has to be total...as we all think it would be. It feels that's the level of negative consequence needed to stop Trumpism. If Disney wins in court, that'll just be more fodder for Fox News to rail about liberal courts blocking necessary progress. They'll just use it as fuel to stoke their base. OTOH...first, the precedent would TRULY be a disaster. It might be worse than the Texas abortion lawsuit permission. I'd have to think about it. It's at that level, tho, pretty clearly. Second, this would destroy so, so, so many lives. All the locals, of course...but Disney stock *tanks* and guess what? Pension plans most likely own a LOT!!! of Disney stock. There may be plans that collapse based on the degree of loss. The entire surrounding area becomes an economic black hole.

How can a team be 4 1/2 games out of the expanded playoffs so quickly???? Oh, well, it might get a bit better. They've played 13 games so far...11 on the road. Oh, wait, they're also 0-2 at home. They're a small market, they don't get that much TV that I can recall, so I think we mostly forget about em. That might be just as well; they've been one of the worst teams in the game over the last 8 years. BEFORE the fire sale, and a moronic exec who should be muzzled. Fewer than 70 wins for 4 consecutive years in that stretch.

Well, I don't think anyone's accused DeSantis of thinking things through. I just had a thought. I wonder if this would constitute an improper form of eminent domain. From the story: This feels like eminent domain without compensation, and that is, I'm pretty sure, quite illegal. Besides: the entire Florida 2022 budget totals a touch over $100B. What's the total value of MULTIPLE billions. The entire *state* probably couldn't pull this off...and 2 counties are gonna? Last inanity. We can draw a very recent comparison: it's called Brexit. How well did THOSE talks over the details and logistics go, hmmm???? When DeSantis signs this, I expect a lawsuit to be filed by Disney within a week. This looks to be an existential challenge to Disney. They have to have a small army of their best lawyers building a case against this.

So what if they did? The Republicans control the state houses...and they're aiming for a total stranglehold. A Democratic governor won't be able to change much. Same with Texas; even if a Democratic governor gets elected, they won't be able to overturn, say, the abortion bill...unless the courts do so first.

Never heard of pectin before, for ice cream, but I can believe it. I remember the original Good Eats episode. Managed to do his chocolate ice cream...a French style with egg yolk...ohhh my gosh..... Egg yolk ice creams are a little trickier, because the yolk can curdle somewhat before it gets blended in. Vanilla bean paste is awesome stuff. Expensive as heck, but incredibly good, and far more convenient than vanilla beans. Easier to measure accurately, too. It's a BLOODY GOOD THING I just don't do ice cream any more. THAT LOOKS TOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!!!!! Richer than Bezos, mind, but YUMMM...... And that orange liqueur recipe...oh my. The major reason why I started to understand how to cook was AB. Emeril was inspirational...but getting half the stuff he did on Emeril Live was implausible. Those were the days; it's been ages since I watched Food Network at all. Too many STUPID "reality-competition" shows.

You're assigning reactions to those events. Who says he paid any attention? Why can't he be nothing more than a selfish fratboy jock type? And the Black Plague...that wasn't HIS failures. So why should they have that deep emotional impact? The plague didn't even challenge his self-image, much less *shatter* it.

Because that's what the writers wrote. Your interpretation requires rejection of the only evidence...the movie dialogue.

The Republican politicians have no fear of electoral reprisal. ESPECIALLY in Florida, where the electoral map is being structured to make the state government assuredly Republican. One would hope their district map will be overturned by the courts, but this can't be considered a given now.

On the face of it, yeah...but we can go back to Chris Rock and Will Smith. POSTULATE!!!! that the runner is a white guy and is saying "yeah nigga got your sorry black ass good." Granted, it doesn't look like it; if the runner's doing something like that, he's most likely going to keep an eye on the pitcher, and clearly, the runner was caught completely by surprise. And a full-speed jumping like that...not off the team, expelled from the school and charged with some level of battery. I can maybe see plea bargaining; jail time might not be the best answer. Cancer: it's not necessarily that the teaching is bad. Define bad. Identify a pitch you can drive. Groove a swing, so it's repeatable to get solid contact. That sounds pretty good, right? I also think, this is not new. Go back...good gosh, 30 years to those Tom Emanski hitting videos. Remember those? They got massive promotion, which means they almost certainly *sold* very well. Another aspect: the routine advice to pick a sport and stick with it...it's the only way to get good enough. There's been pushback in the last few years, but that was the party line for years. And the system's geared that way. How do you get a good scholarship offer? Get a 4 or 5 star rating. How do you get that rating? Attend the camps run by the big shoe/gear companies. What are they gonna be looking at? What you've got. So if you have that consistent swing...you look better, so you rate better, so you're more likely to make it into a power program, so you're MUCH!!! more likely to make the pros. Young players are taught the narrow approach because it's known to work...and work well. UNTIL you get to the point where it doesn't.

On the "pressure"...I *hated* the push to eliminate the shift...which apparently is going to happen next year because to me, it's nothing but surrendering to incompetence on the part of the hitters. Damn, guys, you're major leaguers. Learn to hit the other way! It's totally the wrong approach...kinda like banning the change-up. Or telling a football offensive coordinator they can't call a screen pass on 3rd and 8....it has to be a 7 step drop. BUT then Keith Hernandez mentioned how young hitters are being taught....they *don't have a clue* how to adjust. From the coaching. Ewww. That makes things a whole lot messier. The stalling games that pitchers and hitters aren't baseball, IMO. Oh...another, more egregious example. Used to watch a fair bit of poker. When there was no action clock, it was OBVIOUS that some players abused it...and generated a GREAT deal of animosity. Major tanks on trivial actions. Now, in poker, there were reasons why this was actually very abusive. The action clock got rid of QUITE a bit of BS. Players got used to it...and preferred it, even. Same with the serve clock in tennis. (More recently, they've tightened up between-sets bathroom breaks...there were numerous accusations of players abusing those.) In all cases I know: adding the clock has HELPED the game.

YES! ABSOLUTELY! First: IMO, it's often nothing more than the pitcher or batter jerking around the other. There's no pressure involved, per se. Second: catchers don't call the games anyway, quite often. Plus, MLB is working on sign-stealing tech; it's strictly optional. It should reduce the time the catcher needs. Third: it's less about the overall elapsed time, and more about pace of play. Some pitchers are HORRIBLY slow; same with some hitters. Jeter would step out, tug the gloves, knock on the spikes...make the pitcher wait and wait and wait. It was CLEARLY a head game. Some pitchers are notorious for doing the same...25 seconds on an 0-2 count, 1 out, no one on, in a 5 run game. Get real. And last: everyone will get used to it. They may need to clarify when the clock should start; that's sometimes an issue in tennis, which has had a serve clock for a few years. (And some players abuse it; Djokovic is often at the line WELL in advance, and IMO deliberately stalls as long as he can.) I've got NO sympathy towards the argument that the pitchers and catchers would feel "pressure" because of this.

Interesting piece of news, watching Giants-Mets (Mets broadcasters). They've implemented a pitch clock in AAA. 14 seconds with no one on base; 18 seconds with runners on. The batter must be ready to hit by 9 seconds. Average time of game went from 2:56 to 2:36.

Nice typo there, Mr. P.... I normally roll my eyes at "it was an accident!"....but here? Trillionths of a gram? Unless the stuff metabolizes out really fast, that darn sure feels like it could be contamination only.