unclevlad

To riff on LL...svartalfar. "Dark elves." And if you have brownies and leprechauns and sprites and the like? The flip side is lyjosalfar...which is much more of a pain as a word, but hey.... Norse myth, the terms encompass broad collections of critters. For those that more specifically have some form of exotic power, there's also seelie and unseelie...which are much less about "light" and "dark" cuz *neither* group is what one would call 'nice.'

You don't need to have it do Drain per se, since that has secondary considerations, and it's just unnecessary. The pain itself is the motivator. Heck, the *threat* of pain is very likely going to be enough. And in general, it feels like Change Env is making things FAR too complicated. Causing pain without doing any damage is not that hard. The pain is only the means. It isn't an end in itself. It doesn't have to "Drain EGO"...when it can inflict a penalty to EGO rolls. See Interrogation...skill vs. skill contest, where the victim makes an EGO roll. 6E1 78. Then, Resistance...6E1 114. One of the optional applications is dealing with the pain of wounds. 6E2 108 offers up some rules for how lost BODY might impact EGO rolls here...left to GM discretion. THAT opens the door to a different interpretation: the agonizer/pain box does "killing damage" that actually does no STUN or BODY per se...but the pain's real enough to impose penalties as if the victim had taken the damage rolled. Conceptually, this is a lot like Disabling strikes...where you do BODY, sure, but to specific areas, and the victim isn't at risk of dying from it.

Porcupines aren't cute, they're a massive annoyance. When you see a half dozen trees with completely crowned tops...porcupines eat the bark around the entire tree, near the top, which kills everything above it...and the first time your dog has to go to a vet to get quills removed...you get to LOATHE them. Heck, look at the damage here. Many states give them no protection...for good reason.

For the next 4 years, Penix's total cost is about $22M. Not per year...that's the total for all 4 years. The most likely scenario there is trading or, more likely, releasing Cousins after 2 years. Not saying it's likely, as overall...it's still moronic IMO to sign him to a contract like this, then immediately go all-in, essentially, on a kid. An OLD kid, at that, push come to shove...Penix's 24th birthday is 2 weeks away. Plus...that article was written by a Penix fanboy, cuz he's the local. When's the last time UW had a QB make it in the NFL? Say...start at least 50 games? Jake Locker had 23 starts in 4 years, and wasn't signed to his 5th year...nope. Marques Tuiasosopo only played in 13 games, with only 2 starts, in 6 years. Brock Huard had less. Damon Huard...started 27 but was bypassed several times/was a 3rd stringer. Mark Brunell...well, OK, he had a real career. 151 starts. But Brunell's last college season was 1992. So I basically tune it out. Written by someone looking for ANY excuse to make sense of it. And what's worse to me? It STILL makes no real sense, because Cousins is there, and he's basically untouchable for 2 years. Insurance? You don't draft at #8 for insurance purposes...especially when you're a bad team, as Atlanta is. They were 7-10...that doesn't look horrible, but that was in the AWFUL NFC South. They played against the AFC South, with 3 weak teams. Those 10 games gave em 5 wins. The Charmin-soft schedule is why they only ended up with the 8th pick; it easily could've been 5th or 6th. Of course I'm biased here too. That franchise has made multiple blunders since the SB run, so IMO it's MUCH!!! easier to ascribe incompetence...particularly given that they didn't even TELL Cousins in advance...than to believe they have some secret master plan.

That would explain it, but they had several hours last night after the pick. You'd think, the trade would have to be VERY close...and thus, get announced last night...before they'd risk wasting the 8th pick. Also: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/falcons-gm-explains-shocking-selection-of-michael-penix-jr-that-left-kirk-cousins-disappointed/ So, doesn't look to be the case.

First round draft picks get paid by the slot they're drafted. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-how-much-money-the-top-2024-nfl-draft-picks-will-earn-on-their-rookie-contracts-ff3edc7d This is why it's so foolish, and why the rookie contract years for a QB represent a special window of opportunity. What it means is, they basically had no first round pick in this draft. Oh, and they never told Cousins about this, so reports are, HE isn't happy either. The look is...ok, we'll groom Penix for 2 years, then boot Cousins once the guaranteed money's paid out, according to CBS Sports.

Methinks da Lakers gon be blowed up Real Soon Now. Denver spots LA the first 8 and the last 6...and still wins by 7. Neither team shoots the 3 ball worth a darn. Lakers force 6 more TOs...but Nuggets win the boards by 13 (!)...that's an area where the Lakers should win. It's reasonably fair to say that the Nuggets didn't play a great game...and still won on the road, basically dooming the Lakers. Again. The James-Davis pairing simply is not working, barring the COVID season. I'd even assert that their 2 round wins last year, were more the aberration...a short-term hot streak. It happens; look at the D'backs last year.

6 QBs, 7 WRs, 8 OTs and 1 center. 4 edge rushers, 1 DT, 1 DE, and 3 CBs. And 1 TE...guess who did this one. (Prisco gave it a C.) The strangest single move to me...Atlanta. Penix? After signing Cousins to a megadeal that basically runs the entire period of Penix' rookie deal? Yeah, it's only 1 draft, and factors exist like depth at some positions (CB in particular)...but it does suggest the broad priorities around the league. QB of course...Prisco dinged Denver because he thought Nix might be available later. WRs...never enough. Pass blocking...never enough. So I kinda get it, but yeah...it's a big shift to the offensive side of the ball. Or maybe the thinking is, other than the impact rusher...good players can be had later, and they can be fit into a decent scheme.

6 QBs, 4 OTs, 3 WRs...and a TE by the Raiders. THEN the first defensive player...listed as an edge rusher. Yeah, get your QB or get protection for the QB, or get him another target. Talk about your lack of drama, at least so far. Vikes and Jets swap picks, with Vikes sending a bit more along with it, but nothing real major. Makes you think the Jets, who also need a QB badly, were perfectly happy to pass on both McCarthy and Nix...makes ya think they're in the "McCarthy didn't show much" category, at least.

Just for grins... Who's going to actually watch the coverage, versus checking in periodically through your outlet of choice? I'll just check in. Only need the results, but I'll admit to enough morbid curiosity that I'll look round, not just wait until tomorrow.

Hey, if you want to give your QB a real shot, you DON'T improve your offensive line.......... I'll see myself out...

Talk about an amazing experience... You're Darwin Blanch. You're 16. You're a pretty good tennis player...for 16, you're REALLY good. Junior Davis Cup. The Madrid Open, an ATP 1000 event, the top level just below the Slams, gives you a wild card, most likely at the behest of USA Tennis, cuz you're not in the top 1000. (Just outside of it.) Which means you couldn't get in ANY other way, cuz you'd need a wild card to get into qualifying. Cool, right? Even losing should double his total points, and move him inside the top 1000. And your opponent? Rafa Nadal. Oh lordy....oh my gosh. Nadal had 3 Slams under his belt *before you were born*. It's Madrid...Rafa's #2 tournament. (Barcelona is his home event.) It's Rafa's 20th Madrid, an event he's won 5 times. It's likely Rafa's LAST Madrid, given his health. Storyline has been that he chose to play Barcelona (lost 2nd round) and Madrid...when he said, he wouldn't have played Roland Garros. And this is after not playing at all in '23 after the Aussie Open, and barely anything in '24. The place is utterly packed, and Rafa owns it. Still gonna be the coolest thing a 16 year old kid experiences for YEARS...possibly ever. EDIT: unfortunately the kid was rattled and never got his game together. 15 unforced errors in the first set alone. 6-1, 6-0.

Holy incineration, Batman! The Athletic has a story today on the Coyotes' failure in Arizona. They basically attribute it to Alex Meruelo, the owner, almost entirely. Gutierrez is Meruelo's right hand man. They ran construction companies. They have suppliers and employees there. Sounds like the Oakland A's owner. Lots of other bits and pieces. He basically was better at burning bridges than trying to build them.

The absolutely best black comedy ever made. Probably the best Cold War era movie ever made. And what's scary is, I think a LOT of it will sound terrifyingly familiar, albeit with slightly different spin in many cases. Dr. Strangelove. I suspect many of us have seen it, but it may have fallen through the cracks at this point. If you haven't seen it, you really, really should.

3 Republicans joined with the Democrats in the Arizona House to repeal the 1864 abortion ban. One down, one to go. This might be interesting. State Senate and House seats are all up for election. The primaries are end of July. In the Senate, there are 3 Republican incumbents with challengers. The House is trickier, as it looks like they use the same districts...but there's 2 representatives for each district. The vote on the ban here...for or against...may become material in the primaries.