unclevlad

The Utah State women's coach appears to have company. Stanford fired their men's coach this evening, right after losing in the Pac-12 tourney. No tourney trips in 8 years; best record in the conference was 11-7, and the Pac-12's been a weak conference throughout that period, IIRC. 8-12 this year...10th out of 12 teams. The Pac-12 had 6 teams at 9-11 or 8-12...sounds like the NFC last season. Saw several other coaches got fired today.

Just finished my simple dinner. Somehow it's staying down, which is a bit surprising considering this. https://theathletic.com/5343141/2024/03/14/college-football-playoff-contract-revenue-split/ They're talking about the distribution of CFP money from ESPN. Article's probably paywalled for most, but there's numerous stories about this now. Fine. Just kick the Big 12 and ACC to the dirt, ignore the rest, and split off the SEC and Big Ten into the NFL minor leagues they think they are. (I *do not* think the Big Ten as a whole is anywhere near that level.) And Notre Dame gets $12M? FOR WHAT? And note, this doesn't count the relative value of the regular season contracts, which already pay the Big Ten and SEC far more than anyone else. The Group of 5 knows they're getting hosed...but reportedly, also know there's not squat they can do about it. They have about as much leverage as an overcooked spaghetti noodle. EDIT: took longer than it should have...but I'm watching the last Pac-12 basketball game of the night, and they're talking about the death of the conference. That slapped me in the face: the revenue distribution report doesn't mention the Pac-12. So, what does this mean for OSU and WSU, once this conference year is finished this summer? It feels like they have no assets to offer up, to reconstitute the league. The conference will nominally exist for the 24-25 season, as will the Pac-12 network, altho what they'll show is unspecified. It feels like this slams the coffin shut, and seals the lid onto any chance of it coming back.

52 games today. The most important... Texas Tech 81, BYU 67. If they were a 4? This might knock them down into the dreaded 5 seed...12's beat 5's MUCH more often than 13's beat 4's. This is one of my favorite sites to seek out...ODD little factoids. https://mcubed.net/ncaab/seeds.shtml For example, the 8-9 game is pretty much a tossup, as you'd expect. But in the second round? The 8 seed beats the 1 seed more than twice as often. Elsewhere...one of the bigger surprises, in the ACC. #2 Duke, looking at a #2 or #3 in the tournament...falls to NC State, the conference 10 seed, and nowhere close to making it, even with this result. NC State tried to give the game back...Duke scores to cut the lead to 5 with about 40 seconds left. They press. NC State breaks it...relayed up court, then to the bucket where their center has a gimme dunk. He misses it. AND hangs on the rim...which gets a goaltending call...and continues to do so with one hand, which gets a *technical foul*. Not quite as bad as it could've been...it's only 1 shot, and given that there was no possession (debatable if there's a goaltending call, but it's what they ruled and no one seemed to complain)...so it stayed a 2 possession game. NC State also missed 6 of 7 free throws in a stretch. But Duke only gets it to 2, NC State does hit a couple FTs when needed, and win by 5. Anyone can lose at any time....................

In Main6E, Martial Flash does not add STR to the flash damage. Built to have 4 DCs, and it'll add your HTH DCs. <MANEUVER DISPLAY="Martial Flash" DEFENSE="SPECIAL" DOESDAMAGE="Yes" DOESKNOCKBACK="No" DOESBODY="No" DURATION="INSTANT" TARGET="DCV" USESEND="Yes" KILLING="No" ADDSTR="N" ACTIVECOST="10" CATEGORY="Hand To Hand" OCV="-1" DCV="-1" BASECOST="4" PHASE="1/2" DC="4" INPUTLABEL="Sense Group" OTHERINPUT="No" EFFECT="[FLASHDC]" WEAPONEFFECT="[FLASHDC]"> <EXAMPLE>Hearing</EXAMPLE> <EXAMPLE>Mental</EXAMPLE> <EXAMPLE>Radio</EXAMPLE> <EXAMPLE>Sight</EXAMPLE> <EXAMPLE>Smell/Taste</EXAMPLE> <EXAMPLE>Touch</EXAMPLE> <EXAMPLE>Unusual</EXAMPLE> </MANEUVER>

And...here we go again... The #1 attention queen is at it again. Aaron Rodgers (and Jesse Ventura) sits atop RFK Jr's choice for VP, as an independent. Rodgers is going...hmm, yeah, I'd be interested. So much for focusing on the Jets, should he do it....even considering no independent has a snowball's chance of winning. Elsewhere...Raiders make it official, Jimmy G. is gone. And the Chargers have to cut Mike Williams, a good big-play wideout, to fit under the cap. All teams have to be under the cap at this point, so today's moves are likely the last subtractions.

There is just something intrinsically WRONG with Cleveland winning a title................shocking, even.................

Today sees the big conferences' tournaments move into high gear. Several had their early round games; Big 12 has 14 teams this year, so 11-14 played to eliminate 2 to get to 12. 4 games today, top 4 seeds get byes to the quarters. A-10, ACC, American, Pac 12, Big East...it's wall to wall basketball, with multiple games on FS1, ESPN, ESPN2, CBS SN, and USA Network, plus BTN, Pac 12, and ESPN+, and a couple on Peacock. I count 43 games today...starting right about now (9:30 Mountain) and running all day...last tip is the 4th Pac 12 game, scheduled for 9:30 PM. Utah State coach...her record was awful. 24-90 over 4 years, 5-25 this year. So it's understandable, and suggests the decision was made some time ago. Can argue the AD basically let her have the season with the players.

Methinks the future of most secondary-market team broadcasts may have arrived. Last year, the D'backs games were shown on...I think it was Bally Sportsnet's channel, but who knows the branding. Even after the production was taken over by MLB. Now, tho...it's not listed in my Xfinity channel listings, and Bally says it's not available in my area. If I want to watch the D'backs? DBacks.TV. $100 for the season. Or a full MLB.TV pass, if I wanna spend more. The good news? I'm no longer in their blackout area. So, it's a mixed bag. And to be fair...$100 for the season really isn't bad, for a fan of the team. And it helps clean up the ridiculous broadcast-area issues...I'm still in the Padres' broadcast area. Who are you kidding? But I've beaten that horse many times....

I'm thinking the DEX roll, which is being made by the attacker, is to keep the attack on line, so that the weapon doesn't deflect on impact. But, yeah, that mechanic is rather easier to envision when it's a melee attack, and rather harder to justify against a ranged attack. It really would be MUCH simpler to do it as Negation on an activation roll, and blow off the less-than-clear original text. Chris's works OK *for melee*...but is this applicable to a gunshot? A DEX roll by the attacker makes no sense. Side point about the limitation, from Chris's suggestion. An 18 DEX means a 13-...which means the equivalent activation is a 7-. That's not -1/2, it's -1 1/2, and it doesn't get worse.

Finding out about the Dhan'iell sounds like classic conspiracy theory or Area 51 type foo. Hacking, breaking into secret sites (which might include government sites), chasing down vague bread crumbs. ANY description is believable, because they're total aliens, who knows what they look like, or how their biology/physiology works? It's pure fantasy time. I'm hearing a being where the initial reaction will be TERROR...which means NPC to me. EVERYTHING is horrifying; it's absolute, pure nightmare material, FAR past what people can learn to accept, IMO.

That's a given. Team made a bad move with Wilson, then it blows up more spectacularly than an explosion at a fireworks factory. They're basically trying to compete with one arm tied behind their back. Reports are, they restructured 2 more contracts, so technically they're $43M *under* the cap...but that doesn't include whatever the dead money cap charge for Wilson will be. Story in Mile High Report discusses the latest restructure, and posits that perhaps they're setting up to take the big Wilson cap hit *this* year, and a much smaller one next year. The contract restructuring involves converting salary to signing bonuses...which get prorated. But that means they become cap charges down the line, but then, the Wilson cap hit will be off the books. Actually found some early win total bets...Broncos are at 8.5, somehow. Well, we'll see how this changes.

But how many really competitive distracts are there? To be sure, if they can pick up 5, that would flip the House as it stands now, and that's not a high bar, so it is plausible. The scary aspect is...we just don't know. We're all looking through this through lenses of our biases...and the voters have whamboozled us quite a bit over the last few election cycles. Is there a more nightmarish scenario than a complete MAGA sweep? But the partial wins are just as ugly. 1 of the 3 only...Trump in the WH with Dem House/Senate? It's Trump, and his executive authority to withdraw from NATO, to shift money back to the border wall, to quash the prosecutions. Congress would be a check but not a severe one. Biden in WH, but Reps get 1 chamber? Similar dysfunction as now...possibly worse. Biden in WH, but Reps get both chambers? Governmental civil war. Near-certain shutdowns, as Biden will *have* to veto so many bills. So I do take a measure of hope from the story, yeah, but................

Drain lingers. Plus, it's 10 points per, so you're starting at 250 points...with many advantages still to come. Also, Drain lingers...the return rate is 5 points per turn. This is a form of attack deflection; the damage is reduced tor this attack, but not for any follow-ons. Heck, for that matter, I might argue it'd be *completely* transient...that is, if Smasher the rock troll wants to multiple attack and hits twice...BOTH strikes start at full damage. That's how I read the SFX...it's like swinging an axe against a log. If your axe goes off vertical enough? It'll slide off the side. And *possibly* into your foot or leg. That might be rolling an 18 on your attack roll, mind, but...it can happen. The whole saucer is bought as a vehicle, and the power is being bought for the vehicle; Focus would mean there's a device that's producing this field. Not impossible, but it doesn't automatically get Focus.

First, felicitations on your health. Duke: How is it an activation roll? The attacker is the one making the DEX roll, so it's his skill that's being challenged. Plus, 15 points off the attack's active points doesn't translate to 15 DEF. Nor does it scale with how bad the DEX roll went. I'm thinking a very large Dispel. It's normally all or nothing, so, ok, need a pretty hefty advantage to allow partial success, like Transform. (Transform is another option but its rules are so wonky, I'd MUCH rather not. Suppress is another choice, and fits in most ways, but it'll be VERY!!!! expensive.) I'm going with 12d6...basically 4d6 per point the roll's missed, is my goal, to a max of missing by 3. Then...All or Nothing is -1/2 for Transform. I'd start with +1/2 for Suppress Power, but it might need to be higher. It's gonna need Variable Effect, another +1/2, and if this is on the hull, I'm thinking AoE Surface Damage Shield. How big's the hull? Ewww. Plus 0 END, Persistent, from the sound of things. Now we get to the Limitation. It's sizable...at least -1. This is where you can make it dependent on the attacker...it's 4d6 per point the DEX check is missed, to the maximum of 12d6. For simplicity, and if points are just not a concern, raise it to 15d6, so it's 5d6 per point missed...and Standard Effect makes that 15. Happy joy!

Unfortunately, FTL has a custom implementation to get it to look that way. Bring up the FTL, and click through the levels. Note how that string changes. That requires specialized conversion logic, it's tweaking both the number of LY per, and the time increment. You'd need to download the source code (which is not free), create a new power, and get it linked in properly. It's not what I'd call hard...for this example anyway...but I did Java professionally for 10 or so years, on more complex projects than HD.

Wow. BIG day on the free agent front. Barkley bails the Giants to.....the Eagles. Which might well be just what they need. In Dallas, Tony Pollard is gone, to Tennessee. He's only 26, and doesn't have that much mileage. So clearly they expect Prescott to carry the load. I'm sorry. Here, take your time to get control back and get up off the floor. Accept my apologies for making you laugh that hard, with no warning....... And I'm sure His Fuzziness is all-over tangles now. Kirk Cousins heads south to Atlanta...on another pretty darn ridiculous contract, IMO. 4 years, $180M; $50M signing bonus, $90M guaranteed for the '24 and '25 seasons. This smacks of desperation and another case of grossly overpaying...Cousins turns 36 in August, not 30. And coming off a torn ACL? Conversely, the NFC South has been a weak division for a couple years. If your intent is just to make the playoffs, well, this might work...but a deep run? Atlanta? Cousins? I don't see either part of this equation being anywhere close. Several other RBs apparently got paid pretty good too, but Barkley and Pollard were the standouts for me.

Given the economics of comics, I find that entirely plausible....

Been there, done that. More times than I want to count. That's why, with the staples that I use daily (if not more often), I overstock. Like...olive oil. Open up a new bottle? Go buy a spare, or at least, put it onto the mental list. Even if I forget for a trip or two, it won't matter. Or my green coffee...I've probably got 7 pounds right now, which is...mmm...roughly 70 days. Start in on the last 3 pound bag...time to order! Coffee filters...i've got Hario #1 and #2 drippers. Just got 600 of each size from Amazon...that's 18+ months. (But I got em WAY cheaper than MSRP.)

From an NYT newsletter that just dropped into my inbox. The potentially lasting impact of the Roe overturn: It remains to be seen how this will play out, of course. It probably isn't enough to divert the primary process. Primaries tend to support the more polarized candidates. It might change the occasional result in competitive races, tho.

On the characteristics...Template.java creates an instance of all the characteristics, then checks to see if they're in the template. 6E doesn't have Comeliness; 5E doesn't have OCV, DCV, OMCV, or DMCV as standalones, just the derived values. It does allow using Custom1, Custom2, etc. for custom characteristics. For the supersonic flight, it should work. Loading powers from Main.hdt, which is the basis, is a 2-stage process. First, all the powers in the template are loaded, using the basic implementation in the Power.java class. Then, for all the classes with a custom implementation...quite a few...they're checked, one by one. If they're in the template being loaded, then the custom implementation replaces the bare-bones implementation. But if you're good with your SS flight using a bare-bones? It should load. Two things I'd try. #1: put a SOURCE tag (5th edition) into your SSF XML...that's a trivial copy/paste. #2: check the file trace.log, to see if it's telling you there's a problem trying to build something.

Gambling authorities are investigating several games involving Temple basketball, where there were significant bets quite late, that dramatically shifted betting lines that had no clear justification, like an injury. One example of several reported in The Athletic: No allegations yet, as it's too early in the process. And unfortunately, it's not surprising if it's, say, some student manager getting paid to give out insider info. Sportsbooks are huge now.

I had a Roku TV...for a very short time. Didn't like it; the app was, IIRC, very poor. Then I think the power supply failed. Not worth replacing. Then this? Yeah, this is getting reported by many tech media outlets. It's all but blackmail...changing the fundamental terms after the fact, and making my device unusable unless I accept them? Feh! Forget it. Roku, you're out.

How scary is the Texas legal system? VERY. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/us/supreme-court-texas-death-penalty.html?unlocked_article_code=1.b00.KEpk.Hg_D2D83vTev&smid=url-share

On this night in 2020, the NBA paused its season for 30 days. This was, for me and I suspect many others, the "ohmigod, it's real" moment...the coronavirus was something Really, Really Serious. It wasn't the first indication; the WHO called it a pandemic several hours before, and the Warriors had already announced their game on the 12th would be played without fans. But the entire NBA going on hiatus? Wow. Just......wow. That blew my mind. It became the straw that broke the camel's back, in the US; on the 12th, the next day, the NCAA cancelled the conference basketball tournaments, and thus, the men's basketball tournament...arguably the single largest event on the spring calendar. MLB shut down spring training. MLS and NHL announced pauses. But it was 4 years ago tonight when reality hit.

You're assuming he'll actually play. Well, OK, I guess given the alternatives in Pittsburgh.......... EDIT: headline from The Athletic... Kaboly: Russell Wilson could set the Steelers back years, so they better win now The point being, it sure sounds like it's a rejection of their existing QBs...and if so, then if Wilson doesn't work, OR if he walks in '25...it's only a 1 year deal...you've burned the bridges to Rudolph and Pickett, most likely. So...back to drafting another QB. A potential counter is, after Williams, Maye, and Daniels, many draft opinionators don't think there's another true first-round caliber option, and we know, QBs get snapped up in the desperate search for one. Steelers' first pick is 20. Signing Wilson says, we're not going QB...but a 1 year deal *might* be saying, we'll wait for next year. The (admittedly massively premature) opinion is the '25 draft will have more at QB. Still...the Steelers aren't the type to trade up. They're probably not going to get a much better draft position next year, so "the next Elway" is gonna be long gone, so I'm not sure this is viable. Tossing Pickett to the side...'24 is the 3rd year of his rookie contract, but they have to decide on the 5th year option next May. But given that Pickett was capable of playing late in the year...and the Steelers still used Rudolph and Tomlin...it's quite likely they've given up on him anyway. So, it's back to square one...and the consideration that they can't get a franchise QB in the draft makes a bridge season with a QB that costs basically nothing, not a terrible idea.