unclevlad

As noted, it would only increase the separation and hostility. Very simply, IMO...if that can't be reduced, this country will fail. The inability to take coordinated action, or to maintain needed, long-term policies as we whipsaw between factions will be extremely wasteful and ruin any chance of success. Factional tension will rise. Just consider 2020, and the anger you felt over and over again at Trump...and conversely, how much anger was felt by mask refusers and the like. I feared larger-scale violence; nothing progressed beyond individual confrontations this time, that I can recall. That isn't a stable situation, though. Especially when financial pressure rises. One serious concern for me is that factionalism increases isolation, when unification is needed. Isolation amplifies tendencies to selfishness and focusing only on self-interests. And that's the path to failure.

Yeah, I've done the Add Modifiers to Base with a limitation and gotten that. "Add Modifier to Base Characteristic" is often not what you want. Let's just use HFO as the limitation. Normal form has 20 STR; HFO has 30, and 1/2 END on the full STR. First thought for the power might be STR +10, 1/2 END, OIAID, with Add Modifier You want that on the 1/2 END, yes, but NOT on the OIAID. They both get applied. The solution for me is Power 1: STR +10, OIAID. Do not add modifiers to the base. Power 2: Naked modifier, 1/2 END, applied to 30 points of STR, with the normal modifier of OIAID. It's a little awkward and doesn't get reflected neatly in the END costs, but it gets the information captured and the costs are correct.

Steps: 1. Create new character, 6E Superheroic. 2. Go to Powers, and add Leaping, 4m, with No Gravity Penalty and Add Modifiers to Base Characteristic, and Add to Primary. Power shows 8m forward, 6m upward. 3. Go back to Characteristics, increase Leaping to 8m. Go back to Powers. Characteristic tab shows 12m forward, 8m upward. So does the Powers tag. So the No Gravity Penalty isn't being incorporated. HD 20210301 version. Similarly: In Powers, add Running 10m. Reduced END. Add to Primary, and Add Modifiers to Base Characteristic. On Powers, the Running shows END 1. But on the Characeteristics tab, it shows END 2. But you're being charged the full 5 points for Reduced END on a 22 point power.

It looked a bit higher for Cali even accounting for that, but I was just eyeballing. But the bigger point is the NPR story is misleading. Sure, call out Florida; that's totally deserved. But if you're gonna call out Texas, you have to call out Cali as well.

With the threat of moving used as the stick. Like I said, far as I'm concerned...extortion.

I wouldn't be surprised that a major chunk of the *profit*...not the revenue per se, but the sheer profit...is the *&#$! luxury boxes. The stadium owner gets a large cut of the normal seating revenue...or it goes to pay the stadium financing, for Jerry's or Stan's Palaces, probably...the TV revenue substantially goes to the players, coaches, and general expenses. This is what the suite map looks like for Jerry's Palace. That is a LOT of suites. The site I found this on, also lists suites available. Field level: $15K+. Ring of honor, in the corner: $19K. Silver level, about $20K. Hall of Fame end zone, $28K. I'm looking at the Eagles game; the site shows 12 suites available. ONLY 12.

Effective if likely unintentional pun, to be sure. A quick glance at Florida battery law...it looks like it's misdemeanor charges, but I wouldn't be surprised if prosecutors try to elevate. But there will likely be other moves...he won't be flying Frontier any time soon, for example. EDIT: Cygnia, they're on paid leave while the incident is investigated. This is pretty much standard. I don't expect they'll be disciplined; certainly they shouldn't be, from what the stories describe. Duct-taping his mouth shut *might* be considered excessive, but if the moron was being as disruptive (even bound) as described, I think it's a prudent move. Forcibly restraining him was completely justified; his actions endanger the flight.

That's the remote past, other than the Rams. Kroenke pulled out of St. Louis and left them high and dry, losing their most important tenant and leaving the city with still a sizable tab after they built the facility for them. He ripped the stadium to shreds in justifying the departure. Doesn't help the city that...well, yeah, common opinion was that it was one of the worst stadiums in the NFL. That strongly suggests no team will move to St. Louis without a new stadium. OTOH, the city has to think twice about repeating the same mistake.

According to WorldOMeters, the 7 day rate in Florida reached a level quite close to the January peak. It's increased by a factor of 6 in the last month. Texas isn't as bad. And for the record...California has more than Texas. Their new case count is far, far below the winter peak...but it's also about 6x higher than a month ago. Looks like California's per capita rate is slightly higher than Texas. A broader data view is here: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html?action=click&module=Top Stories&pgtype=Homepage Opinion piece by Alex Azar here: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/opinion/covid-vaccine-safety.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage And it's interesting that Sean Hannity is pushing vaccination. Mind, it's still Fox News and there's still the counterweight of de facto deniers like Laura Ingraham. But as Mr. P points out, the anti-vaxers have made themselves into an excellent control population...and the data is undeniable that their choice is very risky. I have to believe this is what's causing the movement. We're also seeing an uptick in new vaccinations.

Must be the altitude. A clue about developing a QB has eluded Elway for about as long...

I haven't watched any sailing in ages...ESPN showed the America's Cup a few times. The event itself is kinda dull as a spectator sport, but the open water was gorgeous. What I do like to watch from time to time, are the whitewater sports. What's going on is interesting and easy to follow. And clearly challenging. Kind of appropriate here to note that the Winter Olympics are 6 months away...almost to the day, as I write this. Feb. 4th. But there'll be the same time-shifting issues, because they're being held in China.

Oh man, you are not kidding there... Perhaps more, tho, is scientific info. What's a good density to allow fusion to start? What's the basic fusion chain, and just how much energy is released? Ohhh that much...so fusing a gram of hydrogen and going through the whole cycle is massive overkill. OK, so a fuser isn't consuming himself. Huh...graphene could be used. And what's this boron nitride...oohhh how complementary. My, my....yes, a carbon manipulator can readily be extended for this, since boron is 5, carbon 6, and nitrogen 7....and boron nitride's structure matches carbon's, for electron sharing. And even more geeky...yes, you can make a graphene/boron nitride quantum computer. It is being worked on now. I prefer not going TOO far into la-la land if I can help it. Or at least cut down the dimensions of how I'm out there.

It is, unfortunately, deeply entrenched in modern culture. Fine, it might be a movie line, but "second place is first loser" resonated because it only said what so many already believe. I've certainly heard horror stories about similar situations...gymnastics was a big one. But not the only one. They're predominant in Eastern Europe and China...but that's merely the more blatant. Consider the best NFL runs...Pats of course, Steelers, Cowboys. Where do you put the Bills? 4 straight Super Bowls is insanely good. 4 straight losses and you're buried. Second place is first loser. Plenty of other examples. Athletes making political statements at victory ceremonies isn't something I particularly like...but it's also the only place anyone tends to pay attention to many of them, that aren't in the limelight at any other time. But silence is how oppression thrives. EDIT: scrolled down to some of the comments after the Morgan story. You want even more ugly...the Biles bashing was even nastier. "Chicken out" and "tantrum" were tossed out. That's a little different; I think that's closer to toxic masculinity. But the two notions are connected to a degree, IMO.

And of course, get a coupe doing it, and they'll start echoing each other...and get cited elsewhere...and create their own positive feedback loop. I hadn't seen that, but it is seriously ugly.

There is a difference between "rich" and "more money than the entire state budget of Texas." By a LOT. "Ultra high net worth" is defined as $30M in assets, less liabilities, not counting certain things. It gets a little complicated. That seems a plausible notion of "rich" these days. The Gates fortune was 4000x this......

Jerry strikes me as the principal obstacle on the league side. I agree that San Antonio would be a better fit than Austin. Another factor is, Austin has a pro football team already. What...just because the players aren't well paid, that program is a for-profit, professional one by any sane measure.

No. It's extortion, as it almost always is, unless a facility is seriously below par. Or how about just squeezing the other NFL owners? That is definitely crowding both existing franchises. Found this one on a site called sportleaguemaps.com. Not that many viable holes there. The bloc of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas...no base city. I don't see Utah clamoring for one. New Mexico/West Texas...no way. Portland might be possible, but you'd want to realign; Portland in the AFC East would lead to horrible travel. In the AFC West...that works, but it means shifting KC, most likely, and breaking up the classic rivalries. And then what...KC in the East? Probably the South, and shift the Colts. The other hole might be St. Louis, but I don't see the NFL going back there...or St. Louis wanting them back.

Oh, the preseason's a very big deal for the players on the fringe, no question. There's probably 30-35 players who don't have to worry much; they have to blow it to get cut. The last 10-15 game-day slots are huge. Even the practice squad slots mean your dream's very much alive; the pay's not bad, and you're there, still able to impress the coaches. Just read the new roster rules. 90 man roster...cut to 85 on the 17th, 80 on the 24th, then the major cut to 53 on the 31st. Each of those is a couple days after the 3 preseason games. But this also means, there's gonna be a LOT of players to get on film in all 3 games. Which means the front-line players are very likely to see very limited action...nothing overly new there, of course. Wouldn't surprise me, tho, that it's less than it has been. But that's a big reason why I can't get vested in it...many of those guys won't make the team. Selfish attitude, perhaps, but couple that with the fact that the score's totally irrelevant...and I just have zero interest. I also suspect...if the coaches are focusing on the end of the bench, then the first few weeks will be even more chaotic. For the last few years, I felt the first 4 regular season games were effectively "preseason" in terms of execution. It might be longer this year.

Ohh...argh, there it is. I'm going blind. Or just brain fried all day. Probably both.

So...the notion is, the guy has bioelectric aspects. HTH based on ED (electrical SFX), powered from an END reserve. Also has defensive Absorption for electrical attacks. He takes it in and stores it for re-use...so, it goes to the END reserve. If it was going straight to END...no problem. The halving rule applies. But END Reserve is only listed as a Special Power. It feels like it should be classed as a Defense power for this purpose to me, but I figured I'd raise the point.

The first preseason game of the year is.... Thursday. That is blowing my mind a little. It's baaaaaaaackkkk.............................. Kinda, anyway. They're very useful for the coaches, but I cannot fathom why some people live and die on what goes on in them. The most important news is the post-game injury report.

What examination? The Democrats, IMO, wouldn't need to. I felt in 2015 and 2016 that Hillary was the worst possible Democratic candidate because she, more than any other, would galvanize the Republicans. Trump's 1000 times worse in this regard. If he somehow got the nomination, you'll have *every* Democrat making sure to vote, restrictions be damned. Get it done SOMEHOW. A second term is the absolute, worst-case scenario....in part because if it *could* happen, Trump would very likely have both the Senate and House. And the Supreme Court. Yes indeed, the apocalypse has arrived. Go through it. If Trump showed momentum in early primaries, odds are that more Congressional Republican nominees would be vocal Trumpists. If he could win the election, they're very likely to ride in on his coattails. It is IMO a VERY real concern that a second-term Trump would have a rubber-stamp Congress. He wouldn't have a rubber-stamp Court, but there's too much of a chance that they'd let him get away with FAR too much. Potentially more interesting would be the degree to which other Republicans try to use these against Trump.

Yeah, the author notes that it'd be almost impossible to pull off, and probably not viable...there isn't national appeal, there's national anti-appeal. Texas is rather disliked by many. But it's not the worst idea I've ever heard. I wonder if a new Southwest Conference might be feasible. But the problem to me is, there's the significant Texas schools like Baylor and Houston and a few others, but in the neighboring states...who else could you get? Oklahoma State, sure. New Mexico has no schools worth pursuing. Arkansas and Louisiana...the biggest names are positioned quite nicely now. The Ragin' Cajuns in Lafayette? They actually did break into the top 25 last year...but for the first time. I think you'd have a hard time calling any such conference a second-tier conference.

The problem is.... No one cares any more. And it does absolutely nothing to move anyone's needle. Yeah, we're seeing the tell-all books I expected, but whose opinion will be moved even slightly? Those on the anti-Trump side can't hate him any more. The Trumpists will ignore it along with everything else.

Oh my.... The NHL is going to investigate veteran Evander Kane for betting on his own team's games. And throwing them. The accusations' source? His wife. From AP: So it's one very, very angry woman. The story also notes: So ohhh boy do her allegations seem well-founded. Ouch. This would be the worst gambling violation since Tim Donaghy.