unclevlad

Is Gregg Williams accentuating the tank, or is he just a moron? Send *8* on a 3rd and 10 at the 40? With 2 rookie corners???? And the rushers looked tired; they were getting nowhere close. A move like that means Williams should get fired tonight, IMO. Icing on the ongoing cake: 353 points allowed through 12 games. Then this. Let the head roll. Now. Fine, axe Gase at the end of the season, but either way you care to answer my question above, Williams needs to go NOW to at least offer a fig leaf to the players that the organization cares about winning. The Jets have played competitive ball; they SHOULD have won this game. Not firing Williams at this point...well, the Jets' organization is, I suspect, regarded as one of the worst in US major pro sports, but you have to start reversing this *somewhere*. Is Carson Wentz done in Philly? Saints get the first playoff berth, but that was just the vagaries of scheduling. Steelers can also clinch with a win. Chiefs may clinch; at the least they'd be dormie for the division, but the obvious tiebreakers (head to head, division) with the Raiders aren't clear.

The color intensity is what kills me with Boise State or Eastern Washington. That teal wasn't overly saturated. Central Arkansas'...I think you owe everyone an apology. Those of us who've seen it have tried to forget it. Those who haven't, will feel the need to look it up. Don't, folks. Trust me on this. You risk permanent vision damage. I suspect they'll give BYU a fairly good bowl, for being good soldiers. Coastal should get a very good bowl; they actually have a good case for best Group of Five team. It still remains to be seen whether even the big bowl games will get played; a serious lockdown is in effect in the LA area through Christmas, triggered by the severe shortage of ICU beds. I believe this puts the Rose Bowl on shaky grounds; what's called "Los Angeles" is actually a kind of confusing morass of jurisdictions.

Proof positive that the coronavirus has upended the proper order of the universe. The Coastal Carolina stop was replayed quite a bit. HECK of a play by the defense. Nothing personal, Mr. P, but ya gotta love CCU's team name. Chanticleers forever!

To start with: yes, it does lower the dice you'll roll for damage. But only if you apply an advantage. You can tweak the SFX to target PD or ED, and potentially exploit a limitation or complication. But, yes. If you have 12 DCs of damage elsewhere, then adding Double KB through this HA would mean you drop it to 8 dice. But remember, 8d6 with double KB *is* a 12 DC attack. As Duke pointed out, sometimes this can be advantageous. If it won't be? Pick something else. And remember that you can take AVAD versus Power Def, Mental Def, or Flash Def for +1...and NND against those for +1/2....by the rules. (The GM may well make them MORE expensive here.) So that's 8 dice...28 STUN on average. You can do NND vs. life support like vacuum, extreme heat, or extreme cold for +1. And you can switch it up from round to round. The abusive part is more complex. Yes, quite a bit is that there's greater flexibility in the VPP because you don't have to apply anything if you don't want to, and you are getting the advantage of Variable SFX without the liability. However, you can also take limitations if you like...specifically, Reduced Penetration. If you're running hero-types and killing is frowned upon, Red Pen can be your best friend. It makes more sense if you narrow the benefits; I have a fondness for electromagnetic SFX, so the limits defined by the power set might be: --versus PD or ED (electrical) --AP and KA are vs. PD, using something akin to a magnetic force field focused down --double KB is a big ol' fist...magnetics, most likely --Red Pen is magnetic So I'm not including any AVADs. I can also drop the active cost to 5, which means the control cost drops to 2. Saves a bit.

I was gonna say, that Summon is going to make Robin more than a bit more than 350... But I realized...the more accurate way to do that summon is to slap No Conscious Control on it. Cuz *that* is how it worked ALL the time.

Since this comes from the land of Vegemite, I trust you will accept my skepticism.... And I can clearly beat it with my stick blender. Whether there's any *point* to it or not is not the issue.

Well we knew the coronavirus is turning the world upside down...and today we have proof. The Rice Owls beat a *ranked team* today...decisively, even. 20-0. Marshall threw 5 picks. From ESPN Stats: - First win vs ranked opponent since 1997 (BYU) - First road win vs ranked opponent since 1991 (Baylor) - First shutout of ranked opponent since 1960 (Texas) Meanwhile, the Pac 12 continues to swirl down the bowl...and not a good type of bowl.... 3 teams ranked; USC plays tomorrow. Oregon and Washington both lost; Washington lost at home.

Since when does that slow any of us down?

Well, yeah but it's not like anyone is that invested in the existing character canon, is it? So if they want to change that, I don't really care. There's the secondary question, of what's the point of making this a female character, and how is it going to be used, of course. I have to say the initial guess is, "well, no one's gonna give a darn about this character so let's throw in some bimbo vixen type and draw in the young guys that way." I mean, honestly, Plastic Man? Well, I suppose it is long winter nap season...

Nasty, evil, technically legal but highly abusive trick... VPP: 5 Real, 6 active; No skill roll (+1), No time (+1), HAs and HKAs only (call it -1/2). Cost: 13 points. Why? HA, 1 pip, is 2 points. 6 active means you can put advantages up to +2...but can put *anything* you can convince the GM to allow within your power set. This includes special effects, so it can target PD or ED...or AVAD and NND. Including AVAD, Does Body. Can include limitations like Reduced Penetration for when you *don't* want to rip them a new one...or make it a 1 pip HKA (against PD or ED again) when you do. You've got Autofire and Damage Over Time if you can convince your GM...but even if not, being able to adjust special effects and other advantages and limitations, is really nice. Yes, you can consider Variable Special Effects, but that doesn't get you the AVADs, and it *does* lower your damage, according to HD. For just adjusting special effects, this does not. The DCs don't change on the HA; the damage dice will, of course. The HKA adds 1 DC. For the martial artist type, the cost may well go to next to nothing...you don't have to buy Nerve Strike or Killing Strike, and in fact, it's probably inefficient to buy Nerve Strike because STR does not apply. It does apply, here. (Obviously this depends on how much you bought your STR.) The abuse is that you're using a plausible, but very exploitable rule: all the STR, and all the DCs, inherit the qualities of the HA. This is just doing it in a dirt-cheap way that, beyond the points, has no downside that I can see. Well, other than perhaps getting a nasty evil Rules Lawyer reputation...........

I agree with the tactical aspect...BUT if that's what your target is, then you don't want to dampen it by using martial strikes. Your mean damage on 10d6 is 10 BODY; it's 50-50 to roll 11+ on 3d6. Similarly, fine, you knock the flying guy...but will it be enough to get any range mod? And it is 20 points here....I think that's my bigger issue. Consider...not even a naked advantage, but a 2d6 HA with double KB. Cost...12. END, 1. Net damage in this build, even keeping the 3 DCs from martial strikes is 11 DCs (STR and martial) --> 7d6, +2d6 for the HA is 9d6. Or smoothing things...half advantages like 3 DCs...add another martial DC for 12 DCs, and you have a 10d6, double KB attack. There's a few sides to consider...some separately, some in the combination. There's a famous line from Eddington I've been known to misquote, but this is the real one: “We used to think that if we knew one, we knew two, because one and one are two. We are finding that we must learn a great deal more about ‘and.” Here, we actually need to consider each "one" (effective use of double KB, effective HTH damage construction) as well as what the "and" does. (OK, it's a line mathematicians learn to love intimately, because "and" can get...really weird. But sometimes lesser scholars can find its core truth.) <ducks and runs to make dinner...........>

When you add damage to another attack that includes an advantage, you have to recompute the added damage. So, it'd be 10d6. Determine the BODY normally, then double it; then roll 3d6 and subtract. Under most circumstances; there's other factors that can change KB, like hitting a flier. I'll also note that in damage terms, this is a 15 DC attack, if your campaign has DC limits. Second: it's probably not a great idea to combine martial strikes with increased KB on your STR; why diminish the impact? Increased KB is *bloody* expensive; not only is it 20 points but it's taking your END from 4 to 6. It's expensive because it's a form of secondary attack at times...when you can wallop someone into a wall. Realize: you'll rarely get any benefit from those 20 points. 10d6 means 10 BODY; -3d6 means you subtract 10 on average. The AP computation is correct. If I'm planning an advantaged HTH attack, I build the STR, the HTH, and the martial maneuvers and DCs to preferably a consistent number (say, Fast Strike and Counterstrike, with a block to get to 10 points), then I want to get all the damage that doesn't have the advantage, to make for whole dice. IOW: STR 30: 6 DCs HA: 2D6 AP then with martial maneuvers that can use the HA, I would prefer a total of 4 DCs, or 9 DCs in a game with high damage caps. That's a total of 10 DCs from STR and martial maneuvers, or 8d6 AP...so it's a 10d6 AP attack. If I have maneuvers doing different damage (Fast Strike and Offensive Strike) I'll set things up for the one I expect to use most. So....secondary thoughts. 1. Double KB is useful but QUITE expensive. 2. If you want it, I'd *strongly* recommend buying it as a Naked Advantage, NOT as a modifier on your basic STR. Bought as a modifier, it *always* applies, by the rules. It isn't optional...and it does, as noted, increase your END. If it's a Naked Advantege, it's listed as a separate power you can use or not. The limitation is that a Naked Advantage is considered a Special Power, and therefore it can't be included in a multipower or VPP. 3. If you really like the double KB, then you probably don't want to buy the martial arts. Instead, buy a 3d6 HA. You can then buy CSLs; at this point you've only got 1 attack, so 2, 2 point CSLs with your strikes gives you the Fast Strike +2 OCV. I'm not arguing against the martial maneuvers; I use a ton of em. It's the cancelling effect on the double KB that becomes the problem, and it's a lot of points.

One thing to note is that the rapid vaccine rollout isn't a factor until *March*. I also fear that the expected projection doesn't take into account that there may be quite a few cases from Christmas gatherings and travel.

Hey, now, don't threaten my low-carb foldable wraps!!!! Seasoned, baked, shredded chicken, grated cheese, Hatch red sauce, maybe some diced tomato.........yummmmmmmmmmm. One of my *favorite* lunches.

A stick blender?

How many services do you care to subscribe to? The services bind you to their closed catalogs; no one outside is allowed in. Theaters are open markets; they allow product from a wide variety of creators, and aren't limited. What you're saying is true from the content provider perspective; it doesn't address the issue, as Michael noted, from the content consumer side.

It's not what Trump can do; it's what the federal agencies can do. Some things can be rolled back, sure, but it's usually more difficult and slower than the pure executive order. Some may NOT be fixable, like removing wilderness or refuge designations and selling off development rights. I think he's still got a few nominees in the pipeline, for positions that normally aren't considered political and whom Biden couldn't readily dismiss. But, yes, by and large, it doesn't look like there are many areas where he can do more enduring harm. But don't think he won't try hard. And, heck, if nothing else, it'll force the Biden administration to waste time and resources when we can't afford the distraction.

Anything that literally anyone can have for just a small amount of cash, characters can have. With, as has been noted, all the real-world issues. You don't need to give a phone 3d6 unluck; if you get slammed into a brick wall for 6d6 from knockback, and your phone was in your back pocket.......... What becomes a little trickier is, how much should a player pay, for something with similar functionality but NOT the drawbacks? A lot of the time, these are just game convenience, nothing more. If Absolute Time, Range, or Direction are 3 points, then GPS shouldn't be a lot more...I put it at 5 but could be argued down. A durable, secure high-end smartphone would tend to be fairly expensive...but it's also kinda silly, because so much of it facilitates smooth play. 5 points kinda feels like an "invisible power effects" advantage, if you will.

That's the definition of sidekick. Useful, sure, but also total Trouble Magnet for the main hero.

Another tantrum. https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/04/politics/trump-pentagon-board-lewandowski-bossie/index.html The good news: they won't have much time to cause harm. The bad news: complete turnover is just stupid and will do nothing but reduce effectiveness and quality of service.

Yeah, basically the studios are effectively going back to a monopoly through their streaming. I think that's inevitable; what scares me is, it's likely very long-lasting. You won't see Phase 4 MCU etc. on anything *but* Disney's streaming, for 2-3 years, I think, instead of the 6-9 months. I'm not sure what's going to be left, a year from now. Or maybe even that's too soon to say. It seems certain that non-sports entertainment is going through a complete restructuring, and who knows how things will shake out.....

Ouch. Italy is seeing the early-mid November case peak turn into a terrible death rate. Between 2 days ago and yesterday, almost 1700 deaths; the population is only about 60 million. Per capita, that's about 50% higher than our rate over the same 2 days.

You have an implicit contradiction here, sir.

At what point has Trump's behavior while in office been anything else? Oh, and you forgot bullying because he still has the bigger stick. It would be interesting, if too little too late, if Congress passes the authorization bills, Trump veto-pouts, and they override.

I'm afraid that will be a very, very big "if." I doubt theaters will be able to reopen in most areas before, say, July. The mall evicting the cineplex...what else can they do? But it's a foreshadow, too; how many malls and shopping centers are going to collapse because they're going to lose so many tenants, especially in combination with their general downward trajectory anyway?