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unclevlad

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Posts posted by unclevlad

  1. 2 hours ago, csyphrett said:

    It was just six out of 41, and the judge said that Willis can narrow the field on those six charges and refile if she wants

    CES 

     

    BUT doing so would extend the timeline.  Trump's lawyers would get time to prepare a defense against the new charges.  In that sense, it's at least a partial win for Trump;  delay's his first line of counterattack.

     

    And poor Donny.  

    https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/politics/trump-464-million-dollar-bond/index.html

     

    For *some* bizarre reason, bond underwriters are nervous about backing this one...can't imagine why.

  2. 16 minutes ago, Christopher R Taylor said:

     

    There's an X-Men character called Forget-Me-Not who has that power.  People just don't remember him, but he's in lots of their adventures helping out and doing stuff that later seems like luck or some amazing coincidence.  Its a great concept well handled in the comics.  He does heroic things but gets no praise or notice.

     

    The hero in Drew's story did too...but solo.  It's a very one-sided interaction;  the rest of the game pretty much can't interact with him.  Drew's story focused on the downside, of the *lack* of true interaction.  

     

    And I think it's definitely something that works better in stories than it plays out in a game.

     

    1 hour ago, LoneWolf said:

     In the show the character was permanently invisible, but had a mask and gloves that along with clothes allowed him to seen normally.  I think the character had to strip down naked to be invisible.  

     

    Yes.  The root is a story by H.G. Wells, and only the character's body was visible.  That said...I might still allow Always On, because being naked has physical problems.  It's snowing and 25 degrees.  It's raining.  It's 110 in the shade, and there's no shade...and you want to cross a blacktop road?  Sidewalk and/or road debris.  There's also the disconnect...if you're not fully covered, then anything that should be showing, but isn't...huh?  If you are...this is from the Wikipedia article:

     

    Quote

     He wears a wide-brimmed hat, a long-sleeved, thick coat and gloves; his face is hidden entirely by bandages except for a prosthetic nose.

     

    That's excerpted from the character intro...which happens in a snowstorm.  Well...completely hidden by bandages, yet walking upright...that's a disconnect in itself.  But, what about summer?  That much clothing is a big disconnect.

     

    Always On does mean the character can't turn it off under any circumstances, but that doesn't necessarily imply he can't mitigate the problems per se.  It does mean that mitigating it, creates *other* issues.

  3. CON comes into play in some other ways.  Takes No Stun involves the obvious one, but 6E1 44 points out...at 0 CON, you have to make a CON roll (which is 9-) to spend END.  

     

    If you buy everything to 0 END?  The cost savings they'd get would almost certainly be FAR less than buying everything to 0 END.  You only save 18 points.  Buying base Running to 0 END is 6, and that's just a bare start.  Also note that Takes No Stun triples the cost of defenses...and it's very expensive in the first place.  This is increasing the base cost, too...HD says, 4/4 Armor with Hardened is 45, when Takes No Stun has been selected.  36 + 9.  And you probably need to focus on resistant defenses.

     

    On the flip side, I'd ask...why?  Explain the concept to me.  Some disembodied energy cloud?  Are there *any* biological processes in play?

  4. It's also much more difficult to interact socially with anyone...including the other PCs.  How is the character supposed to be involved in the game?  I'm always leery about things like this, that might force the entire group to accommodate the situation.

     

    Drew Hayes wrote a short story about a hero whose power was that everyone forgot about him...not invisible in the normal sense, but very similar.  It was always on, too.  He had a difficult life...because he was 100% alone.  It was rather melancholy.

  5. Interesting.  The First 4 takes the bottom 4 auto qualifiers, they're always 16 seeds by implication.  The other 4 are the last 4 at-large teams.  They're usually 11 seeds;  I've also seen them split between the 11 and 12 lines.

     

    This year, they're 10 seeds...which means there's 26 conference champs lower.  4 bid stealers crashed the party late.

     

    Mr. P's Mountain West got teams in, but...not great seeds.  

  6. Houston falls in the Big 10 finals.  Not that surprising, they had injury issues, and nothing to play for, really.  They might lose the #1 overall seed, but I'd be just as happy NOT to.  They're not dropping to a 2 seed.

     

    OTOH...NC State beats UNC, and UNC *did* want the game.  

     

    So, 3 of the 4 likely #1s fall today.

     

    It also means UConn finishes as the only 3-loss team.  Houston and Purdue, 4 losses.  Then I think we blow up all the way to *7* losses...until #18 (in last week's poll) Utah State with 6.  

     

    The #1 seeds failed to win their conference tournaments at an amazing rate.  EDIT:  from this morning's first game, the Ivy League championship game.  17 conference #1 seeds failed to advance to their conference championship game...most in 25 years.  That's a wrap because the 5 games today are all championship games, obviously enough.  Bracket release is less than 6 hours away.

  7. Steelers pick up Justin Fields, and only send back a 6th round pick...in other words, basically nothing.

     

    NFL.com counts this as a win for Fields, but I'm not so sure.  It's complex;  if Wilson plays decently, then Fields spends his 4th year...his pre-option year...on the bench.  And it's a clear statement that no one wants Fields as a clear starter. OTOH, it also suggests that Wilson had better not take his starting role as a given.  Both Wilson and Fields are essentially playing on 1 year contracts, and it's wildly unlikely they'll both get big money in '25.

     

    The losers for sure are the Bears, and all 3 of the current Steeler QBs.  NFL.com also notes the Jets are losers, as...if Fields can only deliver a 6th round pick, then Zach Wilson's value as a backup is.............a 6th round pick in 2027?

     

    Steelers fans still have to be really nervous, as it's not at all hard to imagine BOTH of their new QBs failing miserably.

  8. You can increase the font size on startup.  

     

    Create a text file in your folder where the HD jar lives;  I use RunHeroJar.bat.  Then paste this line:

    javaw -Xmx1024m -cp .\HD6.jar com.hero.HeroDesigner 14

     

    -Xmx1024m gives the Java machine more memory...a gig.  I've got 16 gig, so I go big.  If you've got less system memory, you can do less, like 128m.  The last number there is the font size;  you can make it what you want, but going too big may cause problems with labels and fields overwriting each other.  I think 16 is fine, tho.

     

    If you're using a desktop shortcut, edit the shortcut;  its execution line should look quite similar.

  9. ESPN is going to add a live Win Probability to their baseball graphics.  One story here:

    https://awfulannouncing.com/gambling/espn-mlb-win-probability-sports-betting.html

     

    I agree.  WP is meaningless most of the time, especially as a static number.  Its transitions can be interesting...runner on 2nd, down a run, tries to steal third, gets thrown out.  But generally, it's not needed or useful.  And I also agree, it's pandering to the gamblers...if not with WP, then with follow-ons like live money line.  Remember:  ESPN has a branded sports book now.

  10. OH MY...MAJOR upset in the Big 10.  Wisconsin trips up Purdue...#3, and an absolute lock to get a #1 seed...in OT.

     

    Something like 15 or 16 conference title games are today;  saw a graphic showing there were still 18 AQs left earlier.  Not sure how many games are tomorrow, tho.

  11. And now Virginia has probably played themselves out.  Coming into tonight's game with NC State, they were the 3rd of the Last 4 In...the Dayton-bound teams.  So...extremely tenuous position to start with.  NC State finished 10th in the ACC, 69th in the NET rankings.  Virginia was 50th...and sinking badly late.  Game tied at half, 29-29.  Virginia had a 3 point lead with 6 seconds left...but NC State nailed the buzzer-beater 3 to tie, then scrapped to a small lead and watched Virginia miss multiple shots.  NC State scores the last 9 points in the OT, to go from 1 down to an 8 point win.

     

    NC State has a shot at the automatic berth, but UNC stands in their way...and they've been solid for the last several weeks.

     

    And Kentucky's *very* erratic season continued, as they lost to Texas A&M.  Kentucky was #9;  A&M's NET ranking was 46.

     

    Wall to wall hoops still going on at this hour.  Big Wes, Mountain West, Pac 12, and WAC.  

  12. And NYT had a story that only about 30% of Americans want TikTok restricted.  They also mentioned, it's become an alternative to reach people...including by several in Congress.  The TL;DR was, yes indeed, Republicans trying to do things Americans DON'T want, rather than what they do.

     

    Every day, in every way, I'm getting more and more confirmed...I will not vote Republican.  Period.  Not all Republican candidates are bad, but it doesn't matter to me now.

     

    And...yeah, VPNs are trivial.  I've used BitDefender for anti-virus for...good lord, 10 years now?  How time flies.  Got it because it was a top-tier AV at that time, by the 3 big AV review sites.  A VPN's built in.  And it's not exactly expensive;  just looking at NordVPN?  Less than $5/month would throw in a password manager.  So, not exactly expensive.  And *Forbes*...that radical liberal institution!!!!...has a review of VPN packages!

     

    But hey, we know the farther-right Reps don't care about achieving anything substantive, they just want a crowing point.

     

     

  13. 2 hours ago, Pariah said:

    In my mind, the beginning of the end for Cam Newton was that second strip sack in Super Bowl 50, a/k/a/ the "business decision". 

     

    The Minnesota game was only 3 games into the next season, so...not a big difference.  IIRC, I've heard both.  MVP season then a very poor SB after 3 dominating halves in the playoffs...then 18/41.  And it's probably worth noting, talking about the strip sack...Newton was sacked 185 times in those first 5 years, plus however many hits he had to absorb while running the ball...600 rushes in those 5 years.  Then the 6 sacks in SB 50, and 8 in week 3?  You can't dismiss the notion that he took permanent damage.

     

    If he hadn't flaked out as much as he did, tho...even after those last 3, bad seasons, I suspect he might've gotten backup jobs...if he'd accept them.  The comment you highlighted suggests he wouldn't, tho, and put the two together?  Bet his agent heard numerous variants of "don't call us, we'll call you."

  14. I can actually see his points.  He's certainly not the only one thinking it's too much.  Not making waves is *not* a bad thing...being reliable to do your job is a very good thing.  But yeah, he's definitely in denial about where he fits in.  Hey, dude, you were on top of the football universe...but you lost your mojo in that game 3 against the Vikes in '16...and were never the same afterward.  The flake act usually wears thin fairly quickly when the performance isn't there...unless you're Aaron Rodgers.

  15. 6 hours ago, Pariah said:

    Having said that, BYU has a notorious history of one-and-done in the Big Dance, so a first round upset is in no way out of the question. 

     

    That's true across the field.  The CBS studio folks like to go with upset alerts?  This year...that applies to everyone.

     

    And if they drop to #6, well, 11 beats 6 about 3 times in 8.  The 5-12, 6-11, and 7-10 matchups are all fairly close to the same...12 wins 33%, 11 wins 37%, 10 wins 39%.  By comparison?  13 beats 4 only 21% of the time.

     

    EDIT:  yet another datum?  Mississippi State's listed on the Last 4 Byes by Lunardi...so, 11 seed.  In the SEC quarters, they're playing potential #1 Tennessee.

    MSU 38-19 at halftime.  They've wrapped around Tennessee's offense like an anaconda for the entire half.  Sure, there's an entire 2nd half. but wow.

     

    EDIT 2:  separately, after turmoil that led to a suspension, more turmoil and issues as reported in The Athletic this morning, and a season to forget, Michigan has fired Juwan Howard.  

     

    EDIT 3:  Mississippi State never lets Tennessee get close;  the second half lead was never less than 12.  They win by 17.  So they're in...and if UNC can win their ACC semi, that likely locks Tennessee out of a #1.

  16. 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.

  17. 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/

    Quote

    Multiple sources briefed on the revenue model confirmed the new breakdown to be roughly 29 percent annually for both the Big Ten and SEC (more than $21 million per school), 17 percent for the ACC (around $13 million each), 15 percent for the Big 12 ($12 million each) and 9 percent for the Group of 5 conferences collectively (around $1.8 million per school). The remainder goes to independents, including more than $12 million for Notre Dame, and the Football Championship Subdivision. There is an additional performance bonus available only to independents for making the CFP field.

     

    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.

  18. 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....................

     

     

  19. 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>
     

     

     

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