unclevlad

I figure most countries will approve as many vaccines as they can, but it'd be nice to have one that doesn't need dry ice. A vaccine needing to be kept that cold will probably be best delivered from a few central locations such as hospitals, so it probably works better for cities. Which can be fine, so long as there's the refrigerated option. But the supply side is still a big problem. IIRC, in a story right when Pfizer announced, the number I saw for next year was about 1.3 billion doses. Remember that this vaccine takes 2 applications, so that's about 650 million people. World wide. For the year. And yes, one of the nasty aspects of the flu virus is it's very mutable; that's pretty rare, tho at least to the degree the flu virus is. The NBA can't be overly happy. The draft is tonight, which is a HUGE deal...the players going at the top of the first round are getting life-changing money. But....I saw a couple of the celebrations that were, let us say, Not Properly Distancing (or masking, somewhat).

Then it becomes a primary task of finding limitations you can deal with. Also, how do you gauge a martial artist, where the damage can easily be from 4 separate sources...STR, HA, martial arts DCs and maneuvers. The other issue is that it's just not really possible to balance a massively overpowered, but single-shot, attack. The one upside is, continuing your example, it'd be very tough to fit those powers into a framework; this is one of the oddball cases where it might be easier to do it in a VPP, in 6E. You could go with, say, a 30 point pool size with a 75 point control cost. MOST stuff would probably be 60 active, with Requires a Skill Roll (the obvious starting point for common modifiers) and just find another 1/2 limit based on circumstance and power. Ranged? Limited Range and either Beam or Red Pen. Another little trick is to use AVADs (or NNDs if the active point limit isn't that high, as almost any of the defense will take the attack down too much to be effective)...because the base cost is now low. 6d6 NND (mental def), 1/2 END is only 52; 7d6 is 61. The reduced END is notably cheaper here...7 points for the 6d6 rather than 11 for a 9d6 normal attack. Suddenly that matters. So I'm thinking you might just encourage abusive builds.

The Iowa governor was forced to reverse her stance and issue mask orders. How bad is it there? WorldOMeters has state-by-state new case numbers and populations, so it was trivial to get per capita rates. These are just for yesterday, so they're a lot more noisy than I'd like but they're still useful. So the numbers below show 1 case per N people, ergo lower is bad. Wyoming: 460 North Dakota, Montana: in the 700s Wisconsin, South Dakota: in the 800s Minnesota, New Mexico: in the 900s Idaho, Illinois, Utah, Iowa: between 1000 and 1050 So....yeah, it's really, really bad. I used to think a case per 3000 was bad... NYT quoted a figure that there about 76,000 people hospitalized from this. WorldOMeters says there are about 4.4 million active cases, so as a simple approximation, we can say that about 2% of cases lead to hospitalization. So every day, we're looking at something like 3000 more hospital beds that are gonna get occupied....

Is anyone even slightly surprised that Trump fired his election cybersecurity head for stating the election was secure?

Or political staffers and registered lobbyists. Got to have the minions, and politicians have to eat.... But trying to create a comprehensive list at the federal level is no better. New Mexico currently has a broad lockdown in place, where any non-essential businesses are closed. There's a list of business types deemed essential, too. So it's not an issue. But our list of "essential businesses" may not match another locale's list. If one considers a meat packing plant as a form of factory...then yes, the employees could well be considered essential.

Even cutting up citrus after a minor cut is a serious tactical error. For me, what hurts the most is..."HOW THE *@#$&(#@$ CAN YOU BE SO (*&!#@$@#$ STUPID AS TO CUT YOURSELF ON THESE!!!! YOU KNOW BETTER!!!!!" I mean, peeling a mango, or potentially working on a storage onion, with the thick paper outer layers...those are actually tricky. But anything long and flat, and not even particularly hard...that's just careless and thoughtless. And I've done it way too many times. A couple times, with VERY nice ceramic knives...can we say *sharp*? Yeah, they give the kind of cut you don't feel for about 5 seconds...then you scream softly as you run to the sink and grab a couple paper towels.......

Scroll on down about halfway, there's a great meme and nickname...Anita Recount.

Oh yes. That's not smell alone. That's capsaicin, which is potent stuff. When working with the hotter peppers, common advice is to wear gloves. When I make chili, I'm not using anything that'd rate even medium; generally long green New Mexico chiles, and dark green poblanos. Great flavor. But even with these, because I'm seeding them, I prefer to get the chili going before I grab a shower. (It takes hours to cook the beans anyway so it has to be started early.) And after finishing the chiles, I'll still wash my hands. Accidentally rubbing your eyes while even a trace remains is exceedingly unpleasant.

Or it just shows you never had any taste..... <badumDUM>

I can't remember a specific instance, but Clark's been in fires, explosions, etc. It doesn't have to be a fight; he can be in a damaging situation at any time. Heck, to keep it topical...Superman is immune to disease. Clark can catch Covid-19. Clark has also used his super-speed to vanish then reappear as Superman. Clark knows everything Superman knows, and vice versa...so Clark can investigate under the radar in ways Superman never can. So it does matter. I think the single biggest 'mistake' in 6E is Mulitform...even in its more basic forms. As Duke noted, it's just begging for a tree-like spread. Even if they're all the same base cost, altho it gets easier with higher-level characters. But, say you have 400 points. 85 points for 4, 400 point variants...but that's before limitations. How about Concentration and Extra Segment to activate? There's a half limit that shouldn't be too much of a hassle. Now it's 57 points. So my base form is on 343. I can build a nice martial artist type, with very good infiltration or intel-gathering skills as well. Then a desolid form to facilitate infiltration. Then, let's go with a blaster type with flight for the combat form. And I've got something left for whatever might appeal. I could also work on other limitations...how about time limit, 24 hours? -3/4 on 85 should be 49. Now I have 351. And that's not even getting into the worst aspect, where the main form can just drop 200 points to get a 1000 point alternate form. But, it should be a given...this is something that should never be allowed for PCs, and RARELY used with NPCs. Multiform should probably be a STOP power, but IMO the GM has an obligation to say No to obnoxiously rude stuff regardless.

You're just *trying* to get a bunch of us in trouble with Simon, aren't you......

The other thing is, I don't think it should be too hard to make relatively few tweaks, and broaden things substantially. #1, of course, is END costs. It's possible the various END and STUN stats derived from BODY would need consideration; I suspect this would be strongly related to the DC limit you're planning on. #2 might be the Strike power adding to your HTH strike; that cost might be too high for a higher-DC game. There are quite a few things I like; unified, simple defenses is a big one, as it supports "taser punches" that both smash and shock. I think the non-combat movement enhancers might take some getting used to, but it's a very good area to use dramatic license. (Altho it shouldn't be an advantage; it should be an adder, by its impact.)

Trump wouldn't implicate everyone else, because that would also implicate him. The pardon would apply only to federal crimes, and there are plenty of states going after him. Besides, does anyone think Trump would admit he did anything wrong, ever? Or at least not before recanting very soon thereafter.

IIRC it's suggested each form has to buy the wealth. The benefit tends to be applied independent of form too much of the time. The others may, or may not, be required...but the basis doesn't feel like Secret vs. Public per se. Let's assume we've got effectively a normal form and a combat form...Donald Blake and Thor. If Donald Blake has contacts that wouldn't come into play at crunch time, when he's Thor...but Thor reaps the benefit too...then they need to be paid for in both forms.

That pic is great. Made me realize the Third Wise Monkey is now Breathe No Evil....

Brings a question to mind. You're invited to be a guest at a wedding...not in the wedding party in any way. When you arrive, or at some point before the ceremony starts, you note that the crowd is getting...uncomfortably large, as per the story. You are also by yourself; you need not discuss things with a Significant Other. Or, if you prefer...if you have the SO, consider advocating to stay or go, as it's not going to be a solo decision. And if you choose to leave, assume you offer apologies to whomever you think needs one. If everyone is masking, do you stay or go? If just a few people aren't masking, do you go, or stay and just avoid those people (if practical)? If a significant percentage aren't masking, do you stay or go? I suspect here, most of us would go. I think if the numbers get that big, I'm quietly leaving even if everyone's masked. The number of people, the amount of time...I would feel extremely uncomfortable staying. Separate news I saw today...the world of watches is probably not something many here consider much. There are a few major trade shows; most were, of course, cancelled this year. The biggest event for the HIGH!!! end luxury market announced cancellation of their 2021 *live* event; it will be 100% virtual, as it was this year. That event was scheduled for April. I think it points out: a) cancelling an event even as late as 2 months before it was scheduled is a Very Bad Thing for ALL involved. (A different show cancelled late...and the hotels often did not return deposits. Not the show's fault per se, but it illustrates the logistics issues.) b) there is just no way to know when conditions will make a show untenable...and this is a fairly major show c) there's no real chance that a vaccine can make a difference in this time frame...sure, it might exist, but deployment is going to take longer.

Well, now... https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/30335808/wichita-state-men-basketball-coach-gregg-marshall-resigns-investigation Wichita State has been one of the better teams in the country, and definitely one of the top "mid-majors", with 7 straight NCAA tournament appearances and an appearance in the Finals. Looks like this is the fire; the smoke was 8 players leaving the school in the spring. But the allegations are numerous. The university hired outside investigators, and it would seem there's more than adequate substance to them.

Wow, the Bears are in free-fall. First 4 drives of the second half, 3 and out every time. Net, +3 yards. 5th drive was after the big punt return late...started at the Vikes' 45. First pass play was fine, 12 yards I think...first down. Then *thud*. And now...ball back with 45 seconds left, no time outs, on their own 20....FAT chance. First down, Foles gets grabbed by the jersey, chest high, but gets a bit torqued around and he's now on the ground. OUCH...he's being taken off on a cart. Any kidding aside, that's not something I wish on...well, almost anyone. I'm not a saint, after all. But no defense has a shot when the offense does absolutely nothing.

Indy already had the Final Four this year, for one, but nothing's even close to final. And Indy's 17th largest city in the country...3rd in the Midwest after Chicago (duh) and Columbus. Finding a venue that *can* do it...you'll need at least 4 game venues for the round of 64, hotel space for ALL the teams, practice facilities for all the teams...the logistics are a major PITA. THEN, atop that, you'll need to find a city *willing* to do it, and while the income would be wonderful, the increased risk is also significant. It could work out to use 2 venues for the first 2 rounds, plus the 4 play-in games; that reduces the initial load to something much more manageable.

Impact of no crowds? With MNF still ongoing, home teams are 76-69 to this point in the season. 52%. But I found this very interesting too. It might just be continuing a trend. https://fullpresscoverage.com/2020/10/07/homefield-advantage-in-the-nfl-is-taking-another-beating/ TL;DR -- last year, the home teams only won 52% of the time. Then this: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/10/sports/football/road-team-advantage.html Curious....

I personally haven't seen any new local rants against masks; some of that might be that El Paso is our next-door neighbor. And there have been related posts, such as passing on that the governor's reinstituted a fairly broad shutdown for the next 2 weeks. Complaints about the shutdown? Sure, but that's inevitable. Shutdowns HURT BADLY, there's no question of that.

And in line with people leaving FB for Parler... https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/15/media/fox-news-newsmax-competition/index.html So it's becoming an undliluted pole-within-a-pole, which feels well on its way to forming a positive feedback cycle.

Might I suggest a polite warning: this is completely safe for work but it's...wow. It's very powerful. At least for me, devastatingly sad.

Excellent paragraph here that describes Trump perfectly: There is, tho, much worse out there. From the NYT: Which darn sure sounds like a high government rep advocating insurrection to me.

Texas is now paying the piper. Their total case count surpassed California's...with only 3/4 of the population. It is scary to realize that now, 1 person in every 30...across the entire US...has now tested positive. And yeah Old Man...I realize that's gonna be 1 in 20 *far* too soon. You're not helping....... 👹