unclevlad

Does anyone else feel like Rodgers has given up on this team/doesn't want to be there right now? It just felt that way for much of the game to me, and especially in the postgame press conference. At 4-7, they probably have to win out. Good luck with that; Bears, Rams, and Lions, OK, we can concede those for argument's sake. The other 3? Vikes at home; Eagles and Dolphins on the road.

More Twitter news. https://www.npr.org/2022/11/17/1137413251/twitter-employees-quit-elon-musk More, and uglier, details: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/17/technology/twitter-elon-musk-ftc.html

I'm glad I'm not there. The World Cup hasn't even started and there are issues developing. A Danish media team was hassled for filming; the government apologized for that one. Now, beer sales at the stadiums, which have been contentious, have been banned.

So I recently got a small bottle of good, natural orange oil…promo thing. So…orange and chocolate, hmm. Usual hot choc base…sugar free Hershey syrup, special dark powder. Heavy cream 1 part, almond milk 2 parts. Stevia, cinnamon, and some Garam masala for a change. Zap to warm. Stick blender to fully mix. Zap again til foaming. In serving mug…5-6 drops orange oil. Pour hot choc into mug, back into measuring cup zapped in, back again, gets everything mixed. Oh my, the orange touch is awesome. not exactly low fat or low calorie…but almost no carbs. Sooooo good.

A Tim Tebow jump pass by Derrick Henry....off a handoff??? Take me now, I've seen it all. Titans 21-9 at this point. Perhaps the clock struck midnight and Rodgers is back to being the scullery maid...

There's a difference between a snow game and a white-out, full-on BLIZZARD. https://www.accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/live-news/live-updates-lake-effect-snow-buffalo-new-york/1278774 The forecast is 3-4 feet between now and Monday. Lake effect snow warning includes "travel will be very difficult to impossible." Friday night, in addition to the snow, there's wind gusts to 35 mph forecast. A side point: Caesar's Sportsbook cancelled all early bets due to the relocation. DraftKings did NOT...despite the fact that the O/U shifted up substantially, because expected weather conditions obviously *completely* changed. Personally I think Caesar's is handling it properly; had I bet the old Under, figuring moving the ball in heavy snow is SERIOUSLY hard, I'd be pretty upset. Of course, on the flip side, if I had the over, well, I'd be upset when it got cancelled, but it's the more equitable rule IMO.

If you've noted the weather forecast for the Buffalo area...read: snow, snow, snow, snow, snow, and more snow...the game has been moved to Detroit. Raiders can't be eliminated this week KC wins, they go to 8-2. Raiders lose, 2-8. 6 back...but still 7 to play. Also, that'll only be elimination from the division, not from the WC. Houston's got that 1/2 game edge there, that could well be significant. Houston's 3 1/2 back of the 5-4 teams; Raiders are 3 back. The first to be eliminated from the division race is actually likely to be the Bears...that can happen this weekend, I suspect. Vikes win, they're 9-1. Bears lose, they're 3-8. At best, Bears can tie...hmm. If by some fluke of the universe, the Vikes lose out and the Bears win out (Powerball odds for this, pretty much)...they'd split head to head...have the same division record...have the same conference record. So perhaps not. After that, of course, the Lions and Packers are hot on the Bears' heels. This could be an interesting weekend for the vitally important Race to Clinch Division First!! Packers are favored tonight, at home, and Titans have 4 starters out. Vikes have the Cowboys coming in. So there's a good chance of a small swing there.

I fervently hope this turns out to be, if you will, the dying wail for her political career. Sounds like she's a one-trick pony, and hers is a loser that, hopefully, will only continue to get worse.

I don't think this adds up. This was a Senate vote. While it could include Senators who didn't run...there are only 5 Republican Senators in that boat. Lost in the primary? Another possibility. But there are several that appear to not be up for election at...Ernst in Iowa, Tilley in NC are two. It did include the anti-Trumpers like Romney, Murkowski, and Collins, but still, it does show a fracture line on an issue that's SURE to enrage the the evangelical faction.

It is that time of year. EMich vs. Kent State nearing halftime; ESPN promos another MAC game upcoming, Western vs. Central Mich. It's a big, fat-flake snowbomb going off. Elsewhere, Virginia cancelled its last home game of the season earlier today. Which is even more saddening...because that's always Senior Day. The suspect in the case was denied bail; suffice to say, he's got a very, very serious record already, so even if there's no 1st degree murder charges, he's not someone you let back onto the streets. The school has not decided about playing the last game of the season, versus Virginia Tech. I'm leaning no...I'd let the players go home to families. (I'd also DARN sure leave the athletic dorm and food service running throughout, for those who can't.)

This is amazing, but I dunno if it can clear the House in time. From NYT: The MIND BOGGLING part is 12 Republicans crossed the aisle. Apparently this was a test vote, NOT a vote to pass, but still...even going this far would've seemed impossible 10 days ago.

Some sins can only be expiated with extreme prejudice............

Bad for the villains AND the heroes in your scenario. If people die, if there's too much collateral damage? Both sides will be called out. Even villains should understand: doing TOO much damage, or causing people to die, should DARN sure put them squarely in the heroes' focus. And I don't mean the PCs, I mean that far more broadly. Go back to, say, the Boston Marathon bombings. They were horrific, brutal, inhuman...and catching the bastards was the #1 priority for the police and FBI. The house to house? From WIkipedia: That's what I'm talking about. That is a level of attention NO halfway intelligent villain group would want. Granted, neither side is apparently spoiling for a fight, and things *may* not escalate. But if the potential is there? The villains should realize the risks *to them* in a direct confrontation in a bad locale. If they can't snatch the kid cleanly? BUG OUT! The heroes need to be aware of proper force limits as well.

https://www.cbssports.com/watch/nfl/a5f80878-40da-41c0-98fe-1f3ea6e16534/ryan-harris-joins-brandon-baylor-to-break-down-what-derek-carr-was-really-saying-on-sunday my oh my oh my...accurate? Dunno. But it fits the evidence of how they're playing...

Stretching is pretty cheap, tho, and you can go all the way up to 15m for 1 END. And depending on what you want to do, there's some limitations (no non-combat stretching, no velo damage) that aren't very restrictive.

This could be an interesting case... https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/broncos-aaron-patrick-sues-nfl-rams-chargers-and-espn-after-suffering-knee-injury-on-sideline-per-report/ I'm wondering if the situation is similar to, say, temporary logos put down on a basketball court for promo purposes. Those are often slick and therefore lead to slip-related injuries. It's been known for some time, and maybe something's been done about it since last it really came up. But still, it's an example that media issues trump safety *every time*. Oh my. Flipping through a playoff 'ranking' story on CBS Sports...Ravens. Remaining schedule after a bye: Carolina, Jacksonville, Denver, Steelers (twice), Browns, Falcons, Bengals. Ya gotta basically concede 6-2 at worst. And it's possible the playoffs will be overwhelmingly Eastern. Bills, Dolphins, Eagles, and Cowboys are all rated 90% or better to get in. Giants, 76%. No surprises there. But Jets are 59%, Pats 39%, and Commanders 36%.

...so you're saying TRUMP GO HOME!!! there?

It really does depend. In the wake of last week's failures, Trump has lost quite a bit of support from several Rep politicians (who did back him) and from parts of the conservative media. He's already been bashing DeSantis, trying to crush him...but that might be his McCarthy vs. the Army moment, since DeSantis' star is rising so strongly. (That's scary enough.) Worst case for the Republicans is an extended primary battle where Trump eventually loses...because in the process, he'll alienate a LOT of people, and he'll likely divide both Republican caucuses in Congress. CAN he elucidate real policy? The election steal's a badly failed message; it plays to the hard-core base, but only the base. (Altho apparently he didn't bring it up. He offered the usual empty statements.) Others can quite probably just push election 'reform' moving forward, rather than continuing to dwell in the past. The point about division in Congress will hold if he emerges out of a nasty primary battle, and I think the Democrats will have a massive amount of fresh ammo, from the primaries, to use. Worst case for us is, if criticisms of Trump quiet down over the next year or so, and he polls decently well in the advance polling. One thing we can assume...if Trump rallies to be the consensus candidate, the Republican turnout will be ginormous. Best case for the Republican Party is probably Trump getting major pushback early and often, and pulling out, the earlier, the better. They can focus on themes, rather than the Trumpist cult of personality.

I wonder if the caller was related to Les Nessman...

Well, The Donald, as usual, ignored advice and declared his candidacy for 2024. It is quite possible that this is the best news the Democrats could get. I'm still worried that his personal charisma will be a problem, but he could well be highly disruptive to the entire Republican Party.

Somewhat lower-key...a busy-ish municipal/local airport. No large jets, but regional and private can use em. The timing isn't great for this, but...an airshow. (Dallas air show had a mid-air last weekend, so as I say, maybe not great timing, but it is a nice venue, and the stakes are not TOO high.) USED car delearship. Or perhaps even better...a car scrapyard, with the big car shredders and metal compactors. ALL KINDS of fun missile weapons, from engine-sized to several cubic feet of pressed, crushed metal. Fun for all! If the powers mix is right, a graveyard. At night. Perhaps not many bystanders, but the recruit's Special Friend might be there. (Evil mind...the recruit's 'friend' is, in fact, working with/for the villains.) With some of the locations suggested: granted that the villains aren't spoiling for a fight, and might well pick a venue like a college campus...but some of those are just places where the risk is TOO high. If the recruit's a college kid, and it's his campus? An open battle on campus is a Very Bad Thing...and honestly, neither side should want it to happen. A gun show might be even worse. That comes down to how you're running your campaign, tho.

Shopping yesterday, I was going...hmmm, I really should get a Turkey Day dessert. Pumpkin as a basis is fine, actually. Graham cracker crust...eh, not bad on the carbs. What's this? WALNUT pie crust? Fascinating! Very low carbs. I'll have to double check whether it wants advance baking; it looks like it'd be a good idea, and it'd be an opportunity to lightly season it with, probably, cinnamon. So I've got the unusual suspects...the stuff I don't routinely carry. Canned pumpkin, evap milk, the crust...and the fake sugar for baking. I don't do much baking at all; I use stevia for my smoothies, but it's not necessarily the best for baking. 9 days left. Still have yet to identify the main course.

You haven't lived until you see a missile do a HARD!!! slice and plow down into the ground maybe half a mile away from the launcher. Cut my day short, tho. Wasn't much I had to do in the aftermath; the data I had to process, wasn't significant under the circumstances. And of course, there wasn't very much *of* it anyway. Yeah, these things do happen...and I rather suspect our missiles are in rather better technical shape.

Rafa Nadal lost in the ATP Finals to Auger-Aliassime and Fritz, both in straight sets, and with some other results, has been eliminated. He's also lost 4 straight ATP matches in a row...US Open Round of 16 to Tiafoe, Paris Masters 1000 Round of 32 to Tommy Paul (he had a bye for the first round.) Been saying this for a while, but one really has to wonder if his career is all but over now. His body is simply not letting him play regularly, or train the same, and the results show it.

Broncos-Raiders may qualify for Dog of the Decade by power rankings. 28 vs. 31, 29 vs. 30, 30 vs. 31 twice...ESPN, NFL.com, SI, USA Today rankings. (Not in order.) Eagles...we'll have to see. On the one hand, Washington ran FAR too well. 40-21 time of possession is not good. On the other, at both 23-21 and 26-21, it looked like the Eagles were primed to take control, but had the ball stripped twice. For the time being? I'll put it down to the Eagles' egg game. Every team in the NFL has at least 1, where they just lay an egg. (Some teams have multiple. And a few go the other way; laying eggs is their normal state.)