unclevlad

Speaking of climate, from the NYT climate newsletter: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/climate/iceland-is-living-in-our-future.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UE0.bNhQ.Y9-y9IxKD9Cj&smid=url-share

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/media/2024/02/07/sports-streaming-app-espn-fox-warner-bros-viewers-know/72501606007/ The devil's in the details, of which there are very little, but this may be the critical juncture. I see 3 paths: 1. The deal is too complex overall...and may well run afoul of antitrust concerns. If it can move forward? 2. Success probably is the death knell for satellite TV first, then non-basic cable. 3. If it doesn't succeed, I have very serious questions about whether streaming is viable *at all* in the US.

Name almost the last thing you want to deal with, a week before the Super Bowl. Having your father busted for DWI would make the list...but....... Having your father busted for *felony* DWI...3rd offense. That makes it a 3rd degree felony in Texas. 10 years max, altho I rather suspect that will be deferred. Gotta figure Patrick will pay for serious alcoholism treatments, and whatever else is necessary.

Stone Imperial Russian Stout, preferably with about 10 years of proper aging

I know I'd say "good, thank you jury" here...but...yeah, I think actually being on such a jury would be extremely stressful. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/06/us/jennifer-crumbley-michigan-shooting-verdict.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Tk0.CWLm.Z348lEAcbIzt&bgrp=a&smid=url-share

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/06/1229528737/ntsb-boeing-737-max-9-alaska-airlines-door-plug-missing-bolts

Monterey Jack cheese

Oh my. House does NOT vote to impeach Mayorkas. The whole thing is yet another act in the center ring of the circus that is this House...because they brought it to the floor, AND because they couldn't pass it. And from NYT: I am soooo hoping the 'pubs lose about 30 seats in the House...not expecting, mind...

I dunno, I think the A's probably belong in Vegas at this point, with their sister (in dysfunctionality) franchise, the Raiders. Her comment does make sense, in that the Strip's already a traffic nightmare. There's an article on the closing of the Trop, in the SF Chronicle...at one time, one of the jewels in the Sin City crown. They note, the ballpark is only gonna be on 9 acres. That's roughly 600' x 600'...SMALL, by the time you consider the stands. It honestly doesn't sound like an optimal location...unless there's backroom deals and other things going on. EDIT: side point about the Trop...their top show is...Rich Little. (And apparently, even that is mostly a retrospective.) Anyone under the age of 40 know who that is? Us crusty old farts likely do, but we don't count for this.

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/06/1223904739/trump-immunity-ruling This is at the Court of Appeals level, so there's still the Supreme Court before anything decisive. And the BBC headline makes the big point: Donald Trump's immunity appeal failed, but delaying may be the goal

Well, we knew you weren't gonna say furballs... G...the Glens...Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Glenfarclas, Glenmorangie...............

Dire Straits music

Thing is, those criteria will apply very broadly...state or private, FBS or FCS...probably even Div II, where IIRC there's still some scholarships. Title IX only forces schools to cut both mens' and womens' non-revenue sports. For example, at UNM, there's both men's and women's golf, cross country, tennis, and track and field; there's baseball and softball as well, that are effectively equivalent for this purpose. It's not a Pandora moment yet, as there are still appeals to be made. That said, if the appeals fail as I think they will...I go back to the criteria cited. They're fundamental, basic definitions of "what is employment?" On those grounds, it's totally a Pandora moment. Side thought? I wouldn't be surprised that the Big 10 and SEC expected this, and this is part of the whole "WE are gonna start making rules because the NCAA is inept" announcement.

Major decision for US college sports... https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/39466589/nlrb-regional-official-clears-way-dartmouth-hoops-union The gist: I presume Dartmouth will appeal, but...wow. On those criteria? It'll be blanket for every scholarship athlete...including partial scholarship athletes, which are fairly frequent in the secondary sports...even baseball. Non-scholarship, the walk-ons? Maybe not, but it might depend. Team meals, team trainers, that sort of thing...for free? That could be considered compensation, and often would be. If so, then probably virtually all athletes on a university's teams. And even if it's just scholarship athletes, it'd be hard to NOT give the non-scholarship athletes union status. The attempt to do so would be extremely divisive. Downside...there are gonna be many, many schools that drop numerous minor sports, I suspect. Not the big boys, perhaps, but the NMSUs that have a hard time supporting things now? I think it won't be pretty.

From an NYT Politics email just arrived:

whining argh, Mr. P just beat me x...ok. Xylophones. The tone just annoys me.

red light stretchers

https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/05/new-quality-glitch-to-delay-some-boeing-737-max-deliveries.html 50 planes have mis-drilled holes? 50???? And QC found the problem on a HORRIFYINGLY large percentage. Boeing claims it's not a safety issue...but that's also a self-serving statement. Worse, even if true, THAT OFTEN that the construction does not meet standards? Toss the board. The whole bleeping board. This is far too many serious QC issues in too short a period.

And Hero is SFX-agnostic...so there are all kinds of ways to buy the X Wing. IIRC, tho, it's NOT 4x individual turbo lasers, because they all fire at once, all the time. It's easier to call that Autofire...not Multiple Attack. Another option is to call it a single, simple attack, with an OCV bonus. Either of these would be appropriate for, say, X Wing vs. Tie combats. Firing against a larger ship where all the beams are gonna hit or miss most of the time, then call it additional damage. The Millenium Falcon's guns run differently. Those were, IIRC, paired batteries that alternated fire. And I could easily be wrong about the X Wing's fire modes, it's been a LONG time.....

I don't think you can get HD to use 5th Ed figured characteristics with everything else 6E, at least not without tweaking the code. How involved that would be...I'm not sure. It might be a simple change to one routine...but the routine is used a LOT, so...it's hard to say whether there'd be ripple effects. You would also want to edit the Main6E.hdt template to modify the costs for DEX, CON, BODY, and EGO at least. REC, END, and STUN are more expensive in 5E than 6E, but IMO that's a 5E flaw. What's the motivation behind wanting to use figured characteristics? Personally, I *hate* them...specifically, DEX and STR, because they give WAY too much for their cost. With STR, the bonuses to PD, REC, and STUN are free. With DEX, it's OCV/DCV...which is a major savings. More generally, I dislike complex constructs for simple concepts. Figured characteristics makes things more complex than they should be.

That's actually old news. It goes back to the '22 elections. The Republicans ran a candidate for the state house, Solomon Pena, that was...problematic at best. It was in a district they figured they had not shot to win...and the Democratic, long-term incumbent won 3/4 of the votes. Pena claimed fraud...and he and some helpers tried to shoot several Democratic officials. Pena was arrested and charged in both state and federal court, but his trial hasn't started. The man here now makes the 2nd to plead guilty. The first was his son. I'll just leave that one alone....

THE HOTTEST TICKET in Nebraska for ANY event will be Super Bowl Sunday... Because the Nebraska women's basketball team will host the Iowa women's team...and specifically Caitlin Clark. After 38 tonight, she's now 66 points away from setting a new NCAA scoring record. There's a game Thursday night against Penn State. Then it's the Nebraska game. For an all time, significant record? Yeah it's a super-hot ticket. StubHub shows the cheapest general admission tickets are asking over $100...for comparison? For the Minnesota-Nebraska game a couple weeks later, lower level, front row seats near center court are going for $44. (For the Iowa game, row 12 seats in the same section...$656.)

Continuing the surprise struggles of Gonzaga...Saint Mary's goes into the Kennel and beats them. Saint Mary's now has a 2 game lead in the conference, and Gonzaga still lacks a Quad 1 win. That resume point alone strongly suggests they'll need to win the conference tourney to get a bid, at least right now...they've got some more Quad 1 games to come. Zag fans are seriously ragged off and throw trash on the floor a couple of times in the last minute. Commentators are saying from the amount...it SHOULD be a T, but it was a 3 point game, and a dead ball tech would be shots and the ball, I think. That would be a killer. But man, this game got *wrecked* because of replay reviews. Over...and over...and over. FAR, far too many, and they take too long. It totally seems refs are using the replay in college as a crutch.

We had an extended discussion on this. In 6E, there really isn't a large mechanical advantage to the x2 mechanism, on attack powers. Other powers? Oh, sure. But with attack powers...multiple attack can be done with 1 weapon. OK, it can effectively mean you double your clip size, by shooting from 2 separate clips, but that's about it. There's Two Weapons Fighting and Off Hand Defense is another example. If the powers are foci, you get a backup weapon, should one get disarmed.

grease