unclevlad

Full knowledge of nuclear weapons design is EXTREMELY restricted. FAR above standard Top Secret, altho that terminology isn't in use much in the US any more. If you have clearance for nuclear secrets, you're watched for life...there is no expiration date on this info. And if at all possible, everyone with nukes *really* wants to make sure this NEVER gets rolled out beyond them. So trying to conflate pure tech level with restricted nature is mixing apples and chicken nuggets. Leave the tech level alone, for what you want to do; there's an entirely separate aspect for Access. Detailed nuke tech is pretty much at the absolutely highest level there is. Weaponized biologicals, same. But this is a bad example, as no PC, ever, should probably be considering working this out. And how is this going to translate to the players? As a modifier to e.g. a gadgeteering or inventor roll? There's already a modifier based on active points; does this supplement or supplant that? In many cases, the deep secrets aren't in the realm of the tech...it's crypto. Want military-grade location? You have to crack the high-res GPS signal. Mislead a missile? Need the frequency and the command set/comms protocols. There's almost always a self-destruct, too, if you want to dig that out. For stuff like the composite tank armor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reactive_armour http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/8144/u-s-army-m1-abrams-tanks-in-europe-are-getting-explosive-reactive-armor Heck, starting from just that, a good inventor or gadgeteer can probably progress quite a ways. Unless you're intending your inventor/gadgeteer types to be relatively constrained to real-world considerations, a Hero System Inventor skill generally means they're QUITE good at this kind of stuff.

Military tech is generally NOT more advanced than civilian tech. If anything, it's quite often comparatively dated. The military does not do Bleeding Edge, not as issued to troops. They're typically built MUCH more solidly...which is part of the cost aspect...and with a much higher attention to detail. (At one point at work, I was part of a group that had some work assembling some stuff for NASA. They had very stringent requirements for the soldering on the boards, for one example.) The stuff being done at DARPA isn't production-level...and may never be. Nuclear weapons have been around for 60 years, so how can they be Tech +3? They ARE complex; IIRC, it's the focusing aspect that's hardest. Tech+3 is probably 8K displays, high-res flexible displays, full 5G (IIRC that means gigabit transfers even to a moving receiver), long-range electronic cars, gene therapy for cancers (in Europe anyway). Tech 4 might be layered graphene, high-density flexible (and SAFE) batteries, processors dropping down to 5 nm gate sizes. Smaller than that is probably Tech 5. The best prototype solar cell gives 46% efficiency, so Tech 4 might be 50%, and Tech 5 60%. I dunno that your system makes sense, but one question to ask first is, what do you want to do with it?

Oh, definitely not. That hair, that face right now???

I said unpleasant day, not sign of the Antichrist.

I think the premise...he runs it like a TV show...has considerable truth, but my takeaway from that would be, it's because he doesn't think the jobs in question are any more important...and that, of course, the first priority of the jobs is brown-nosing.

Has he ever done the job? Another round of despotism. Trump claims basically an unfettered right to limit WH press passes. On one level, that makes sense, but it's such a blatant challenge to freedom of the press that it can't be tolerated without qualifiers. Yes, the White House can ban someone for cause...overly disruptive, PROVABLE factual distortion (unlike Trumpian factual distortion), stuff like that. But never simply because they're perceived as Not On Your Side. Even the legal analyst at Fox is saying CNN is very likely to win this case quickly.

Based on the behavior of the locals, I'd say they dominate Philadelphia. On the point that he can't use 2-handed weapons...eek. If this is fantasy, and he's not a magical/psi type, then there's a problem because almost all long-range weapons require 2 hands. Melee options are only subpar in theory...he can say he's incredibly skilled with single-handed fencing, tho, so he does damage equivalent to a 2-hander. Sure, there's lots of things he can't do...but he'll be picking and choosing what his character does, so he won't pick things where only one hand would be a big drawback. Sure, he's putting a filter on *where* he can spend his points...but that doesn't necessarily mean he's any less effective, unless the GM has genre-related limitations as noted above.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/14/politics/trump-cabinet-staff-turnover/index.html So Melania gets a major policy shaper canned? Wow. And 2 more, major people...chief of staff, head of homeland security...are apparently soon to get the boot? Double wow. Combine that with the story wcw cited and I get an image of a cornered, angry, frightened rat thrashing and biting at everything. With really bad hair and worse tanning bed marks.....

...you realize your half-year car insurance AND property taxes really should be paid today...... ouch......... on the plus side, I got my cold-weather coffees on order, from a place I've used before and REALLY liked but hadn't used cuz their shipping cost was really bad. Yes, well, they made some better arrangements and it's back to sane. So perhaps my favorite espresso blend, a Sumatra, and a dry process Ethiopia on the way. That helps...but they roast/ship only once a week so it'll be a bit before it gets hiere. <sigh>

Yeah, they nailed that part of the origin story. And everything else, pretty much. The story they made was a lot more sensible than the classic comics part, with the uber-frail Ancient One as a DNPC. I suppose Hannibal Lechter would be another....

Doubtful. There was a story on Bleacher Report, IIRC, comparing Peterman to everyone else. His rating was something like 30 points below *every other* QB with a decent sample size (so discount mop-up types or thrown-into-the-breach rookies). Quick takes... Awww...no game in Mexico City. They botched the turf replacement, or maybe just didn't do it soon enough for it to take. Breaks my heart......not! How long can Marvin Lewis dodge the axe, now that he's canned coordinators in the last 2 seasons? I hope whoever signs Le'Veon Bell this offseason...someone will, altho perhaps not for the ginormous amount he thinks he should get...has to play in Pittsburgh early in the season. The booing will be EPIC.

Makes sense too. Any interpretation leads to the implication that he's unstable, at best. So scary...

I had a thought last night about Trump's comments on the California fires. It struck me...why??? Why is he blasting away so hard about fires? Doesn't feel like it's anywhere near any of his buttons. It's not personal, either; no one's blaming him at all, far as I know. But he still comes out with another Palinesque rabid-dog threat. So one has to ask...what's going on? My best thought is, he'll jump on any excuse to slash anything that interferes with his potential ability to exploit...so land use and environment are prime targets. It's not in the philosophical interest of smaller government, but that these block him from doing what he wants, and we know that IS a big button with him. And that's who runs the country.....

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/12/politics/white-supremacists-cheer-midterms-trump/index.html I'm concerned that between now and New Years, there will be a race-driven church bombing/burning.

Couldn't. Come on, Raiders are the lock of the millenium for the #1 pick. Not only do they have the inside track, but they're at Balt, then KC and Pitt, and end at KC. Other 3 games are Denver, at Cincy, and at Arizona. Those are games they might win in theory...but the locker room is *toast*. They are playing out the string, so I think that makes the gap between them and every other team Grand Canyonesque. OK, Andy Dalton can fritter a game away but that strikes me as the best chance. For the curious, but not curious enough to look themselves... Rams are generally -2.5 against the Chiefs next Monday; the over/under is only 63 1/2. Take the over.

Line of the week, from well down that BR article. Talking about the spreads and results: Falcons were -5.5. Bold mine.

If you're a card carrying member of the ANYONE But the Pats! club, or are at least (like me) sick and tired of Tommy Boy being called the GLA...GOAT is arguable, but ya gotta say he's in the discussion: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2805087-monday-morning-digest-can-the-patriots-survive-the-decline-of-tom-brady?utm_source=cnn.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=editorial#slide0

I can readily see the Rockets' playoff chances improving by ditching toxic Melo. Basketball-Reference has a stat called Box Plus/Minus, which estimates, per 100 possessions, a player's impact relative to a league-average player. He's at -5. For comparison, you can find the top 20 so far. #18 is at +5. There's clearly no requirement it'd be symmetric but it's probably a decent assumption to say that -5 is somewhere around the 20th WORST.

I daresay every one of us here owes him a debt of gratitude.

No. Not even. The accomplishment is hosing a team that was good...albeit lucky, IMO...quite recently into a pretty POOR team. ANd not a positive one. The Falcons are overall a BAD team at this point. OK, not Raiders bad, but still. Hey, SNF proved that. Eagle defense is apparently decimated, but the Zeke runs for 150, Dak !!!! throws for 270? This is the 27th ranked offense AFTER the game this evening. And the Eagles won the Super Bowl, last season. Final note, from the Attaboy department. You may be familiar with this...collect 1000 Attaboys, get a promotion. But one Aw **** wipes out ANY accumulated Attaboys. To wit today...Tampa Bay had over 500 yards total offense. FIVE hundred. And scored........3 points. Drive 56...INT. 51...punt. 73...miss FG. 63...FG. 66...miss FG. TO on first play. 56...fumble. 73...fumble. Buncha Attaboys...all mercilessly slaughtered. EDIT: 500+ yards of offense, 467 times. Not sure how far back that went. Average points per game was, IIRC, 37 and change. That from SVP.

BLM, so presumably fed.

Well, story goes that Rockets are about to boot ol' Carmelo to the curb. Denied by Rockets GM, but that's a given; it'll be denied until the papers are filed, or at least all ready to be filed. Should that happen, I wonder if anyone will try picking him up. Not like the Rockets are world-beaters this year.

And if you know something about climate, southern California's inherently fire-prone. Winter wet season; rain's almost non-existent from late spring through much of fall, IIRC. DRY, too. So there's nice growth early, and everything dries out big time by now. Santa Ana winds do NOT help; they suck moisture like a swarm of mosquitoes. The terrain is also TRICKY! VERY hilly/mountainous, tons of folds, hills, canyons.

On Trump's fire tweet.... My god, what world does he live in? And man, I could just wish this happened LAST week. This might've cost his buffoons a few seats. But it'll be forgotten by New Years, like most of the inanities he's uttered. PLEASE NOTE that I am NOT!!! advocating this......but this feels like the kind of line to incite someone to try to take Trump out. It's not hate speech but it's hateful, and if you'll pardon the pun, inflammatory.

Not much of an accomplishment.