unclevlad
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Posts posted by unclevlad
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Tidbit from tonight's Rays-Yankees broadcast...
As you may have heard, the Mets are paying large chunks of the salaries for both Scherzer and Verlander. Noted just now...with these, with some other similar...the Mets are paying $210M in salary and luxury taxes for players playing with other teams. That alone would be the 14th largest payroll in MLB.
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Just be careful that you don't give the character TOO great of a defense hole. Heat and electricity tend to be pretty common attack FX.
On that point...would people accept AoE (heat) as the damaging effect? A heat beam perhaps doesn't intercept enough of the diffuse body to be an issue...?
Also, if you have APG, consider Alternate Desolid. It's "density reduction." They even present a full-scope Density Manipulation power, which combines DI and alt desolid.
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Diamond energy defense...it's an electrical insulator, so good there. It transfers heat efficiently, tho, so not so good there.
As Duke noted...yeah, avoid reality, at least unqualified. "Seems like" or some other hedge is a useful escape clause. One thing that SERIOUSLY annoys me as a reader is when a writer...let's say, says a weapon's made of gold...but then says it's feather light. The material properties of diamonds...the meaning of things like hardness vs. toughness...those are a tad esoteric. Forgivable to not get them right. But the fact that gold is HEAVY, is pretty darn central.
Similarly...the biggest common mistake in sci fi is trying to explain too much.
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Quick notes...
FanGraphs only gives the Angels about a 1 in 8 chance of making the playoffs, even after the moves.
Yankees got smacked by several pundits for failing to move yesterday. I wonder if the news today didn't come as a surprise to them: Domingo German has voluntarily entered inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, and was placed on the restricted list. He is gone for the rest of the season. One could argue, no, they didn't, or they would've tried harder...but the available pitching was already largely picked over, except possibly Verlander...and the Mets weren't trading with the Yankees.
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Yeah, I've seen stories that Barbie stuff is going to be EVERYWHERE for Christmas, so...it's a pretty safe bet we'll be inundated with pink for the rest of the year.
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Different take on the number...saying it's much lower.
And suggesting a LOT less traditional TV. So even weaker than what you cited.
The Big 10 report...look, when we combine that with the 'report' about FSU and Clemson and the other 2, well, my read is it's all wishful thinking/I heard from a guy who knows a guy/there's a tweet about.... Random noise at this point, IOW. Plus, all the arguments against an 18 team conference still apply.
I do suspect that Arizona's decision will be announced before the week's out.
Huh, now this is something I didn't know, and supports the all-or-none angle:
QuoteThe UofA/ASU connection is problematic if they disagree about their futures. The Wildcats and Sun Devils (and Northern Arizona) share a board of regents. The same people make decisions for both schools, which is crazy to Oklahomans, but whatever boats your float.
And the Big 12 will want an even number of teams, so Utah is the most likely 3rd leg. But I still say, they have no leverage, as UConn is reportedly an interesting add...for basketball, if not football.
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Reports are that the media deal is with Apple+. I agree with Finebaum: this is not, not, not, NOT going to draw many people to sign on to Apple+. Sure, the immediate fan bases, some of them will, but this is a death knell in terms of national recognition.
If Arizona thinks that staying will save the conference, tho, they're deluded. At least as a Power 5. And on Apple+, honestly, they might not rate the Group of 5, because what's this going to do to recruiting? We'll have to see, but even if the 9 teams stay...how many of their freshmen and sophs, in particular, jump ship? The most I think can be said is, even if they keep everyone they have right now, they've already taken a musket ball to the gut. Take your pick...bleed out or die from massive infection.
San Diego State dragging their feet is looking smarter and smarter.
The part I find absurd is thinking that Arizona has any leverage here, to 'force' an all 3 or nothing deal.
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2 hours ago, Pariah said:
Personally, I would be terrified of a defensive lineman named Demon Clowney.
Oh, yeah, that does deserve highlighting. Memories of the PLANT his (I assume) brother did in the bowl game come to mind...still the most intense hit I've ever seen.
Be a great name for a supervillain too.
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People conflate hardness and toughness, when they're quite different.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardness
Mostly, scratch hardness...and diamond is still about as hard as they get. (IIRC there are some exotic materials that might beat it, and some I know come REAL close.)
BUT, a diamond's structure makes it very easy to cleave...separate it along a crystal face. Diamonds in rings often take damage at the facets due to this. Not much, not all that fast, but rings don't get knocked around all that much.
Toughness is something else. From the article:
QuoteThe toughness of a material is the maximum amount of energy it can absorb before fracturing, which is different from the amount of force that can be applied. Toughness tends to be small for brittle materials, because elastic and plastic deformations allow materials to absorb large amounts of energy.
The very, very rigid structure of a diamond does not allow deformation, ergo it's brittle. Toughness and brittleness are generally the 2 sides of the same spectrum; the opposite of hardness is softness.
As noted, tho...we're not doing physics here, we're playing a game. It doesn't have to be "diamond" in the full sense; in fact, much like a stone creature...taking it literally? How would such a critter move? Well, his power is such that it lets him move!!
Well, fine, in that case, it also gives him more toughness than would be expected.
BTW, the density of diamond is about 3.5, IIRC, so there's justification for some DI there.
Quick digression: Shrinking with Normal Mass. Oh dear. 2 levels of Shrinking with Normal Mass means your density is basically 2-3x that of any metal, including the refractory metals that you can beat on all day, and won't show a ding. So what's the theoretical PD for someone with this ridiculous density? Similarly, the melting points of all refractory metals are *extremely* high; the loose definition is a melting point over 2100 C; the tighter one is even a little higher than that. So the ED from these is also crazy high. And 3 levels of Normal Mass shrinking???? Density exceeding 500???? You're not getting into the range of degenerate matter, but you're far beyond anything we know. From Phys.org:
QuoteBeing a star, the sun's density varies considerably between its outer layers and its core. On average, it has a density of 1.408 g/cm3, which is roughly one-quarter that of Earth. However, models of the sun estimate that it has a density of 162.2 g/cm3 closer to the core, which is 12.4 times that of Earth.
So density of 500 is 3x higher. Nothing is gonna penetrate.
But we can't exactly define this in game terms, now, can we?
So if ya wanna do this, ya wing it.
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It isn't that they're doing it for free. It's the core function, the reason why you buy it. Some are stronger than others...I've never been a fan of PRE attacks, for example. I realize I may be an exception there. But, that's ok. Every characteristic has utility. They don't all have to have equal versatility, even at the same cost. The system granularity doesn't support it.
I have no problem removing Leap from STR. They're not correlated at all. How far do you think a power lifter can leap? Heck, I've played with some 5E builds that are heavy on characteristics...and often sold back some of the leap, if the character was gonna be a flyer or use teleport. I did have fun with a build that bought Leap...and even Megascale for the leap...for what'd work as a light-hearted villain.
As for BODY adding to STUN...you put it in yourself, man.
Big tends to be more durable. NOT being stunned is also part of staying alive. And, the two are on notably different scales anyway. BODY is one of the awkward characteristics, tho. Yes, it helps keep you alive, but if we consider Hero to be the root, then the point is NOT to kill. This makes that function of BODY important, sure...but not gonna be invoked that often. By the way people want to use Transform, arguably, the core function of BODY is to resist being Transformed. Which...like being stunned...can largely be equated with staying alive. Nothing says the core function has to be simple.
Can also argue that BODY adds to STUN because STUN is critical. The STUN from attacks scales up so fast, compared to, say the BODY. How much of our purchased defenses are needed for not taking BODY...versus, reducing the STUN to something manageable? It's why I'm a huge fan of both Damage Negation and Damage Reduction in principle, if not necessarily in practice.
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How did Deion miss Buck COORS?
Oh...true...that's Golden, not Boulder. Beneath notice. -
Hmm...reacting to CRT's stats rework, with figured stats.
STR...interesting, potentially. Not sure it's sensible that there's no damage per se attached to the ability to throw a truck. Also, what are the limits here? Can I buy a 50 STR and 1d6 with STR adds to damage, and get an 11d6 punch?
DEX: I like it but I'd split it, as I noted, into AGI and QUICK. AGI is 1 point per, QUICK is 2 points per. QUICK adds to SPD.
CON: this is good in concept. The details will matter, more on this later.
EGO: why does EGO add to ECV, when DEX doesn't add to standard CV? EGO can't be 1 point per if it does this.
BODY: if BODY becomes the baseline for REC, then everyone's getting a big boost there. BODY is a weird stat to me, because there's such a push to make Transform do so much. Also note that BODY did not add to REC in 5E...and it was 2 points per, just adding to STUN.
Now, the details...specifically, the costs of REC, END, and STUN. These have to be considered.
5E: REC is 2, END is 1/2, STUN is 1
6E: REC is 1, END is 1/5, STUN is 1/2
Granted, these relate to the difference between figured and not figured...the 6E costs had to be reduced to reflect the points losses. I don't see a reason why 6E's costs for raising REC, END, or STUN over the baseline, couldn't be used with figured characteristics (FC). FC gives the elevated baseline, just because you're doing that...doesn't mean these should be super expensive.
With what you've got...DEX is straightforward. I'd say split as I suggested, and it's very clean. It's CON and BODY.
CON...let's start with 5E's calculations. REC gains CON/5, END is 2x CON, STUN is CON/2. With 6E's costs for additional REC/END/STUN, 10 CON gives 2 REC (2 points), 20 END (4 points), 5 STUN (2.5 points). That's 8.5 points of benefit, for 10 points...not a good deal. Simplest option? STUN gets CON. So 10 CON gives 10 STUN, which'd be 5 points. You get 11 points of benefits for 10 points. I also like this because of how STUN scales. An alternate notion would be to have CON cost 3 points for +2 CON. 10 points of CON now costs 7.5 points for 8.5 points of benefits. I'd rather NOT do 3 for 2 with primary characteristics, tho.
If BODY costs 1 per, then adding to STUN only, where STUN still costs 1 point per 5 STUN, means you get 6 points of benefit for 5 CP. Huh, OK...that' works simply.
If BODY adds to REC...to what degree? What's the formula? In 5E, it's CON/5, so 5 BODY would give another +1 benefit. Total's 7. That's feeling like too much. Also, just because you're big, doesn't mean you can recover...so I'd leave BODY at 1 and have it add to STUN only.
So...to consolidate...my suggestions..
STR: has no figured stats. (The issue about damage is separate.)
DEX: split into AGILITY (1 point) for skill checks, and QUICKNESS (2 points) for initiative. QUICKNESS adds to SPD.
CON: 2 points. REC gains CON/5, END is 2x CON,, STUN gains CON.
BODY: 1 point. STUN gains BODY.
EGO: the simpler approach is to leave it at 1 point, but it doesn't buy MCV at all. This feels like it just gives too many points...if nothing else, buying back OMCV, which'd be totally painless for every non-psychic type. That alone suggests having EGO add to ECV is not a great approach. The non-egoist gets back the cost increase on his EGO while getting a useful boost to his mental defenses...he's a lot better off with a 6 DMCV than if he has a 3. Against an 8 OMCV, we're talking 13- vs. 16-.
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For anyone interested...the core rules book is now out. Hardcopy and Kindle versions.
The Kindle version says 320 pages...and a file size of about 180 megabytes. Pretty clearly, it's HEAVY on graphics. Makes me worried how much rules content there'll be, but it sounds like they're doing full-page full-color illustrations to start each chapter, and those alone will be substantial.
I still find Kindle format somewhat odd; the print version is only slightly larger than 8.5x11, but that's still too large to comfortably manage a full page on a Kindle. I suppose it's not all that different from graphic novels on a Kindle...but those don't work very well either. But they work in the Kindle app on my PC.
Looks like the print version is selling fairly well.
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An 18 (!!!??!!) team conference?
That's insane. And totally unworkable, IMO. In all sports. OK, perhaps Rutgers and someone else bail out, they're at 16.
IF!!! it happens...just rumors right now...it largely guts the ACC in football. Clemson and FSU are the only schools with any kind of top-level track record over the last decade, altho after the national title, FSU started slipping.
One story I saw pointed out that leaving the ACC is, apparently, NOT easy or cheap, so this is another reason why it might not be a done deal all the way, altho Oregon and Washington...that's easier to see, and at that point we could lower the Pac 12 coffin into the ground and start filling up its grave.
My wild thought...probably premature, certainly speculative....
If the Big 10 goes to 18 teams, it's a move to challenge the NCAA and start the formation of a football-only organization with the SEC, and possibly the Big 12...but a football-only super-conference with the SEC and Big 10 alone would be a force. Yeah...IF FSU and Clemson bail on the ACC and join the Big 10...this is as big as OU and Texas bailing on the Big 12.
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Why, thank you for that segue, LL…
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/31/1191055173/twitter-x-sign-san-francisco-investigation-musk
The man thinks he can ignore any law whatsoever…
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8 hours ago, Doc Democracy said:
Hugh, you never considered no characteristics at all? To me, a lot of the tensions in the system are to accommodate characteristics, even in you analysis there.
Doc
Not trying to be flippant, but...what do you mean? MOST of the game uses characteristics in some form or another, so I really have no clue what you envision.
On figured vs. not...as noted, figured characteristics, principally STR and DEX, gave much too much in 5E. In addition to the core aspects, 10 STR gave +2 PD, +2 REC, and +5 STUN. In 5E, that's another 11 points. DEX...seriously ugly. 3 DEX gives 3 points for SPD, and the big one...+1 OCV and +1 DCV. That's 13 points. Yeah, OK, DEX cost 3 in 5E, but still, it's 2 now. The killer here is the boost to OCV and DCV. Having the DEX cost 3 covers the SPD perfectly...but the OCV and DCV together are even more points overall, in many cases. Note that by the rounding rules...going to an 11 DEX takes you to a 4 OCV and DCV. 1 point over the 6E cost for another 10 points of crucial benefits. It's something that can easily get overlooked, since it's typically obscured.
Beyond OCV and DCV...STR is complicated. It's 1 point in 5E and 6E...even if we use 6E costs for REC and STUN, it's 6.5. (The 5E costs to increase the figured characteristics are high.) That...might be livable. Or, drop the STUN boost, so +5 STR just gives +1 PD and +1 REC. Yeah, it's a little something for nothing but it's not bad. The alternative...increase the cost of STR...is a MESS. It increases the END issues for many character types. It clashes with TK, HA, HKA, the martial talents, and martial maneuvers. I think in terms of supers, but it has an impact in fantasy, where weapons have STR mins.
Recosting...for no figured stats, I think Hugh's suggestions largely work. It definitely works for DEX, IMO; an alternate approach would split DEX into AGILITY (for skill rolls) and QUICKNESS (for initiative), where each are 1 point. INT...Hugh, are you saying that the base PER would now be 11-, regardless of INT? Not sure about that...but I'll grant that's my personal biases (I loathe playing stupid characters, and I do it terribly) snarling..... PRE/EGO...I wouldn't mind combining these, at 2 points per, or maybe 3 points for +2.
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Lots...and I do mean lots...of pop musicians prove CRT's point.
By the 90's/00's, I was giving up altogether on the medium. Mostly because the artwork was kindergarten grade too often.
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Oh, to be sure. There's no way anything about Trump can go anywhere else.
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3 minutes ago, Cygnia said:
It is.
From the story:
QuoteWhite was riding on the shoulder of Highway 119, known as the Diagonal, in Boulder on Saturday afternoon when he was hit by a 23-year-old woman driving a Toyota Matrix. The driver crossed from the right-hand lane onto the shoulder, striking White from behind before she crashed into a fence, according to an incident report from the Colorado State Patrol. White was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead. The car's driver was uninjured.
That's a busy road connecting Boulder, Niwot, and Longmont.
https://nfrmpo.org/wp-content/uploads/us287-inventory-chapter-8.pdf
Traffic volumes and speeds are high.
It's also commuter driving, so the risk there'll be drivers not paying attention/on their phone/paying more attention to oncoming traffic/navigating...is probably higher than many other situations.
Perhaps it's because they get more reported, but this is by no means the first non-competition cyclist death I've seen.
Related story:
https://www.npr.org/2022/05/25/1099566472/more-cyclists-are-being-killed-by-cars-advocates-say-u-s-streets-are-the-problemVery sad, to be sure.
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4 minutes ago, assault said:
There's no need to qualify this sentence. Comics reflect the culture they're in.
I don't claim to be a comics historian, so I'm not competent to ditch the qualification.
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4 minutes ago, Pariah said:
And just like that, the Broncos have lost two of their wide receivers.
- K.J. Hamler has been waived after a diagnosis of pericarditis, a mild heart irritation. (The team expects to bring him back in "weeks, not months".)
- Tim Patrick is apparently gone for the season for the second consecutive year, this time with a torn Achilles tendon.
Snakebit.
Nope.
Karma.
From the sound of it, waiving Hamler was the cleanest procedural approach. Non-football injury list is gone for the year. On the surface? Cutting a kid in need of significant medical treatment might look harsh, but this might not be the case here.
So if ya wanna do this, ya wing it.
Big tends to be more durable. NOT being stunned is also part of staying alive. And, the two are on notably different scales anyway. BODY is one of the awkward characteristics, tho. Yes, it helps keep you alive, but if we consider Hero to be the root, then the point is NOT to kill. This makes that function of BODY important, sure...but not gonna be invoked that often. By the way people want to use Transform, arguably, the core function of BODY is to resist being Transformed. Which...like being stunned...can largely be equated with staying alive. Nothing says the core function has to be simple. 
Stan Lee's Genesys Kickstarter
in Champions
Posted
Also...
https://stanleesgenesis.com/nft/
This raises red flags allll over the place for me.