unclevlad

Federal prosecutors are now saying, yes, Ohtani's translator stole the money.

$16 million.

And they said, there's no indication Ohtani knew anything about it.  So he's probably free and clear.

45 minutes ago, Old Man said:

Didn't realize he was that old.

His 2000 yard season was 1973.  The helicopter coverage of the Bronco chase...that was '94.  And even the last time any of us heard anything...the memorabilia break-in that landed him in jail.  Once the sensation over that faded, well...he wasn't newsworthy any more.

3 minutes ago, DShomshak said:

Fans of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga" are familiar with the uterine replicator -- an artificial womb that turns out to have all sorts of interesting implications. Well, some scientists are working on making it real.

 

https://www.npr.org/2024/04/10/1243989409/artificial-wombs-could-someday-help-save-babies-born-prematurely

 

So why am I posting it here, instead of "Extra! Extra!"? Because it ends with a discussion of a possible political consequence: It might be used as another excuse to ban abortion, because in principle a fetus could be moved into an artifical womb instead. Though my first thought is: Are the anti-choicers willing to pay for it? I mean, themselves, or through a general tax?

 

Dean Shomshak

In principle, perhaps, but it's also considerably trickier, IIRC.  It was possible...Miles proved that, even over and beyond the soltoxin issues.  But using one at all would likely run afoul of fundamentalist thought, as it's not God's way.  Artificial insemination is one thing...a machine controlling a pregnancy is something altogether different, and I can *easily* see it being anathema to them.  

And remember where the replicator was developed...Beta Colony.  Hooooo BOY, that'd make the smoke pour outta their ears!!  And it's arguably part and parcel, at least when it's maintained for general public use.  On the path we in the US are going?  I'd be worried it'd be used more like it's used in Jackson's Hole...or on Cetaganda, where I suspect LOTS more culling happens.  

(No, I'm not gonna explain the references.  Go read the books, if you don't get em.  Trust me.  You'll thank me.)

Because I feel like it tonight...late dessert.

Birch Benders Keto pancake mix...the lead ingredient is almond flour, which has very few net carbs.  TSP or so of Ghirardelli cocoa powder.  Bit of stevia.  Five spice, cinnamon, and some dried raspberry powder...good stuff, packs a punch.  Add water, mix thoroughly...add to my cast iron comal.

Almond flour, and coconut flour, tend to produce dry-ish goodies...and what's pancakes without something on top?  I frequently have a bago of frozen mixed berries...blackberry, blueberry, raspberry.  Into a microwaveable bowl, with a bit more stevia and cinnamon...zap, crush, zap again.  

Pour over top once you remove the pancake from the pan.  Eat soonest!

If you're less carb-sensitive, then Kodiak Cakes is a regular pancake/waffle mix I liked...

Q

so long as he's even an acquaintance of yours, he becomes a complication

(WHAP!!! no, NOT Bond's Q!!)

Wow.  Talk about a catcher having a TERRIBLE inning.  Orioles at Red Sox.  Connor Wong for the Sox.  2 wild pitches...passed ball...AND catcher's interference.

It's also at least the second, maybe 3rd, catcher's interference I've seen already, in...I dunno, 15-20 games.  Both were no doubters;  the bat contacting the glove was clear-cut.  I think I've heard comments that catchers have moved up in their box a bit...frame it before it drops too much, so this might be part of the price of doing that, particularly if the catcher's focused on framing.  His glove hand might just drift out that little bit too much, too soon from time to time.  

No idea, I don't have that book.  What are you getting for your 25 points?  

Different color or style.  Just segregate into pools and roll each pool separately, making sure they don't get mixed.  Roll the BODY first, that takes no time to count, then roll the STUN.  Heck, if you want to speed things up, don't even roll the STUN only...just give it 1 BODY per die.  Especially if we're talking higher damage.  Whatever works for your game and group.

This could be the breaking point, FORCING changes to the uniforms.

Dry tissue paper is more durable.

2 hours ago, Hugh Neilson said:

I would not allow a limitation for Stun Only defenses unless the character's other defenses leave BOD damage a reasonable possibility.  I don't see that very often.

 

As I see complications and limitations as the player's communication of the kind of challenges they want to face, limiting defenses against BOD means that they want BOD damage to come up as a real threat.

That's the design paradigm, particularly with STUN only DN.  Figure:  if buying just base defenses, the nonresistant defense is being bought mostly to counter STUN.  What would you rather people buy...15 Armor and 12 PD...or something with STUN only DN?  I suspect you don't see it because we're creatures of habit.  

Also note that it's not significantly cheaper.  3 dice of DN is 10 points and counters....10.5 STUN.

The combination of Armor and STUN-only DN allows very nicely tailored defenses for any configuration, without spending an arm and a leg, or being totally impervious to normal-attack BODY.  And it needs no house rules.

murder conviction

D....Death Tribble...a very complicated disadvantage

<ducks>

E...enemies, enemies everywhere!

Unfortunately, calling it a Satanic temple will be waving a red cape in front of the bull, to some.  Especially in the Age of Rising Intolerance.  Glad it didn't go off.

Bug Eyes (phys comp)

...well, it has a lesser known cousin...

The Y Wing fighter-bomber....pic from StarWars.com

39 minutes ago, Pariah said:

Yikes!

 

Donald De La Haye, viral kicker known as 'Deestroying,' fractures neck in UFL game

Got to give him props.  He owned that it was all his fault.  

Quote

On social media, De La Haye posted afterward said "don't be like me kids, learn how to tackle (with) proper form." On his Instagram story on Tuesday, he posted a picture of himself with a neck brace and said he fractured his neck.

 

"Turns out on that tackle, due to bad form, I fractured my neck in a couple places," he said. "Although this sucks, I'm grateful cause it could have been allll bad."

Ugh.  Trevor Story didn't 'just' dislocate his shoulder.  Exam showed structural damage, which needs surgical repair.  Out 6 months.  REALLY tough luck.

warp drive

Ethan Crumbley was a kid with problems...serious problems.  Unfortunately, the issues culminated in a shooting spree at his high school that killed 4 other students.  He pled guilty and was sentenced to life without chance of parole.

What's notable is that, today, his parents were sentenced on charges of involuntary manslaughter.  The prosecution painted a picture that they *should have* seen warning signs, and done more to prevent this.  The juries (separate trials for each parent) clearly agreed.  They were both sentenced to 10-15 years.  They are the first convictions of parents, on charges of this magnitude, for deaths caused by their children.

Elsewhere, Trump's latest delaying tactics look to be ineffective.  He's pushing to get the trial judge in the Manhattan coverup case removed, on flimsy grounds.  Appeals judge rejected it, and said the trial could continue.  Trump can...almost certainly will, one has to believe...appeal to the full 5 man appeals court.  

Danny Hurley empties his bench with a 15 point lead and less than 40 seconds.

UConn is just too diverse and too good.  By point differential?  Most dominant team in tournament history, by QUITE a bit...think the graphic showed it was 11 points better than the next best.  

Edey did all he could but he just didn't have the supporting cast.  Clingam played him very well overall, too.

22 hours ago, Old Man said:

 

 

Ryan Reynolds is like a billionaire and hardly needs the money, he might do it for free if you ask real nice.

Eh, the usual sites say his net worth is only $350M.  Poor child, I bet he has frequent nightmares related to his money problems.

Unfortunately for Purdue fans, if UConn didn't steamroll the opponent in the first half...they did in the 2nd.  Like the...what...23-0 run to start the second half against Illinois.  Also smoked Alabama in the second.

EDIT:  UConn hits a 3 after one switching mistake...then forces a turnover.  Boom...16 point lead now.  Purdue calls a TO.  

The cutaway as TNT goes to commercial shows Gampel Pavilion...UConn's home court.  OF COURSE they have the game playing on their big screens.  And OF COURSE!!!!! the place is PACKED!!!  Which makes me a little jealous...it would be *awesome* to be in Gampel with a big group of buddies...or even in a dorm TV room.  MIGHT be better than being in Phoenix...darn sight *cheaper*.  

It can get pretty expensive, it depends on what you want.  Thermal is IR, BTW.  I'd go probably IR, Night Vision, and Radar.  Radar's good for hard objects, but not great for organics...they're usually not that hard.  IR covers a lot of organics...anything mammalian.  Night Vision covers things the others won't...like undergrowth.

For the range, look at the range mods.  No range mod out to 8 meters;  each time that doubles, the range mod increases by 2.  Note that there isn't a hard stopping point...the range mod just gets worse and worse.  So maybe for tactical ID purposes, we might say that -2 to your PER roll is ok...but -4 is probably missing too much.  OK, so 1/2 mile is 800 meters.  8 goes to 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024.  OK, so 512 (12 levels of telescopic) means you're at -2 at that 1/2 mile.  Your PER with these senses may be a factor here;  if you have a 12-, then -2 is probably Not Good Enough;  if it's 15-, then maybe -4 would be borderline OK...maybe the radar group has better telescopic.  (Helps that it's cheaper.)

Note that this is also gonna add up.  IR or Night Vision kicks you to the full Sight Group, which is 3 points for +2.  You need 6, so that's 18.  The Radar is radio group, you can buy the telescopic for a single sense.  That's 6 more.  The Radar itself is 15.

There might be something that fits, but this is pretty much...what do you want?  Enhanced Senses is a very rich, detailed, and above all, FLEXIBLE power that they're gonna use to build anything in the equipment book.

orbital power satellites

2 hours ago, csyphrett said:

Barry Diller said it was a con from the get go.

CES

Could there ever have been even a shred of doubt about that?  When is Trump NOT grifting?

Well, I suppose, maybe in picking the most accurate label.  Con...grift...panhandle.  It has the additional advantage of giving Trump an unlimited outlet for his spewage, altho the audience isn't exactly large...well, his direct audience.  Gotta figure there's some magnification due to the Internet Echo Chamber....