BNakagawa

I am pleased to find that pretty much all of the CA propositions went the way I was hoping. Two propositions legalizing online betting were rejected, flavored tobacco ban was upheld, Lyft's end run around the lawmaking process got nixed, etc. The CA rules about revealing funding supports for propositions pretty much gives me all the information I need to see who is paying for these things, and it's good to see that most of CA is seeing it, too. 

I think that making the funding transparent would dramatically alter politics in the rest of the country, if only it was implemented.

They are blaming the Ukranians and the UK for an attack on Russian naval vessels in Sevastopol, using that as an excuse or justification for ending the grain deal. Things are going to get tricky this winter.

RWNJ. typical.

well, Israel wasn't willing to supply Iron Dome defense systems, but they were willing to do something else a little further up the supply chain...

...allegedly.

"the film alleges that Democrats conspired to stuff ballot drop boxes to engineer Mr. Trump’s defeat."

Or as we like to call it, voting.

On 10/10/2022 at 7:32 PM, Duke Bushido said:

 

Ditto.

 

It was suggested to me by a GURPS player (a year or two before I had read GURPS myself) who had joined our Atomic Rockets campaign to incorporate the idea; I had no real objection to the idea (remember I am the guy who openly mocks the mythical "perfect balancing" of points; it wasn't hard to convince me).

 

That was during the first or second edition ot GURPS, and I have yet to find it unbalancing, and quite often find it delightful.  Perhaps it is just the name "Quirks," but I find that in general, Players who will periodically forget their Character's dependence on anti-muto medications or their crippling agoraphobia will never forget to lean into their little one-point Quirks.

 

I have found it so not-unbalancing that for a while, I allowed up to ten Quirks, but the Players going overboard (playing them,up as if they were 20-point Psych Lims- while consistently forgetting their 20-pt Psych Lims!)) that I backed off of that eventually.  I find 3 or 4 works best with my group of Players, and 5 doesn't really slow things down, so that is my own cap.

 

Frankly, they are perfect for those "but if only I had two more points!" moments.

 

I recall the preface of the first GURPS book I bought (Basic-  3e, I think) where SJ specifically named Champions as one of his inspirations.  There is a lot of overlap in style of the two systems; it only seems right to borrow a little bit in return. 

 

 

Well, it's only fitting to mention that Champions share a lot of DNA with Melee/Wizard which are the earliest progenitors of what grew into GURPS.

Hex based movement, 3d6 combat resolution, roll low is good, armor makes you harder to hurt, not harder to hit, point build chargen, uses only d6s, etc.

1 hour ago, Duke Bushido said:

 

 

Was Does Knockback from 5e?  Seems we have been using it (or, if it ia from 5e, aomething _like_ it, apparently) since well before it, though admittedly, on a case-by-case basis.

 

It may have existed before 5e, but 5e explicitly gave as a power example presence attacks that do knockback, which is ludicrously broken. (presence attacks are 5 active points per die, but they are default only vs hostile opponents, area effect, never have to roll to hit, cost no END, and take no time)

4 hours ago, Hermit said:

While this is Good-ish news, "More likely than not" is more than enough wiggle room for Trump and his cronies to delay consequences.

it's an incremental thing. now that some of Eastman's emails are available to one case, that enters it into the public record, which means other people can use the information in them to see if there are other possible cimes and/or fraud that is hinted at, which could open up more of his emails to public scrutiny, which could hint at other shenanigans, which could implicate more people in more fraud and/or more crimes...

also it shows that 45 signed papers claiming falsehoods in legal documents which is going to bite him in the ass.

A judge has found that some of Eastman's emails are not subject to attorney-client privilege due to the Crime-Fraud Exception...

On another tack, there is a discussion about AI and its impact on generating artwork that can be used in RPGs. (a lot of groaning about what it does in terms of putting artists out of work)

On the other hand, if you look at AI chatbots and look at the expert systems/algorithms that look at your buying history, viewing history, engagement history and pick what ads to show you, what suggestions to show you on amazon or what ends up on your facebook feed, I think there is a distinct possibility that you could generate an AI game master that could start with a seed of your favorite media, some Q&A about themes and tone and end up spitting out a game tailor made to cater to your tastes. Obviously, more difficult when playing in a group setting because it's hard to please everyone, but still an intriguing concept.

21 hours ago, tkdguy said:

Turn your local area into a fantasy campaign!

 

 

Back in the day Mike Gray, one of the original Guardians, ran a fantasy hero game set in a fantasy version of the Bay Area.

For the second year in a row, the team that led the majors in wins loses in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Also, there are non game mechanics reasons to choose one over the other. (or, as a GM allow one but not the other)

If you had a player who was an a powergamer and/or metagamer or subject to analysis paralysis, I might just not allow a VPP. Purely for the good of the game, of course.

not enough points?

17 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

I actually think he did know, but his biggest miscalculation was the condition of his own forces versus the resolve of the Ukrainian people.  On February 23rd the conventional wisdom was that Ukraine didn't stand a chance against the Russian juggernaut of one hundred thousand troops with hundreds of tanks, APCs, and missiles under complete air superiority.  No sane Ukrainian would dare resist.

 

But they did, and in so doing they revealed that the Russian juggernaut literally had flat tires, flammable tanks, no comms, no logistics, and no morale.  Now the Russian Army is a laughingstock.  Putin is being flatly disobeyed by the other leaders in the house of cards, and near as I can tell the only reason he's still in power is the threat of his network of assassins.

and nukes. and a seat on the UN security council. and oil.

Happy Birthday, Putin!

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-10-06/biden-pardons-federal-marijuana-possession-scheduling#:~:text=President Biden on Thursday pardoned,more than 6%2C500 people nationwide.

Hopefully, it leads to a federal rescheduling of Marijuana so the persecution of simple possession goes away forever. Adding it to the spectrum of treatments available to doctors may also defuse much of the opioid crisis, too.

dropping 26 games behind their 2021 pace is a little depressing. It's just a little bit of a statistical anomaly that a team that has been playing since the 1880s had never ended a season at exactly .500 ever before. There are six other franchises that have also never ended up at .500, but half of them are expansion teams that haven't been around all that long.

For the first time in franchise history, including the New York years, the Giants finish at exactly .500

On 10/1/2022 at 8:53 AM, Pariah said:

Opinion | Edward Snowden becomes a Russian. Cosmic justice is served.

I wonder if he'll be conscripted and sent to fight in Ukraine.

Vigilantes is a manga set in the BNHA world of Japan, but it follows the activities of some powered and unpowered vigilantes who fight crime despite having no license. (Japan in the BNHA world requires strict licensing for paranormals to operate as superheroes, as they are required to be first responders and operate with the support of the government) Vigilante activity is of course, illegal, so the main characters fight not only criminals but struggle to stay one step ahead of the heroes and government as well.

NY AG is suing Trump Organization for 250M.

not really random, but what day is it?