unclevlad

I didn't think it would be zero, but yeah...no rights deal, what's the conference value? The person coming out of this in the worst shape is the clown holding down the position of Pac 12 commissioner. Commit to an asylum for hiring him. NON commit, as in unable to score a media deal. The guy has 3 years left on his current deal. Were I him, I'd take whatever halfway reasonable buyout I might get. There's *no chance* in my mind he'll stay in the position...heavily influenced by the fact that the conference is so unlikely to be in existence in a year. (Or in existence as a shell only, as other teams have to wait to switch to other conferences.) To be sure: the big issue with getting a media deal is...who wants a noSoCal Pac 10? What would they be willing to pay? Could be very much like the Ohtani situation...the price to match Ohtani's *singular* value is simply more than almost every team would be willing to pay. (The Dodgers were mentioned as someone who possibly could...but yeah...Ohtani to the Dodgers would have Moreno dolls being burned in effigy.) Media rights are becoming a HARDER sell. No East Coast/Midwest attraction to a West Coast night game. That damages marketability to both national networks and streamers. Pac 12 Network packages? So, so, SO far behind the curve...I believe they only started offering HD on basketball games *last season*. Come on, once you get used to HD, sports in TV standard def are all but unwatchable. Woody's closing point...Colorado's #13. No one wants 13 teams. Ergo, VERY safe bet the Big X will get 1 more. Woody says Arizona's likely and there've been comments that make that believable. OTOH, *perhaps* it'll be even bigger. Would Washington and Oregon, one or both, ALSO follow? Possibly with some teams leaving, like Rutgers? This isn't a game of musical chairs any more, it's a dance-til-you-drop dance marathon...with 15 minute breaks built in.

Oh yeah. If you cook? You will, at times, cut yourself or burn yourself. It's simply gonna happen. My only point was how EASY it can happen, and we don't have to be talking serious heat. Heck, 150-160 degree water... From CPSC PDF:

It was really, really STUPID and careless but... I was cooking something on the stove, I don't recall what it was. I almost never cook above medium heat, it's plenty hot enough. OTOH, I use steel or cast iron. So there I was...and leaned over, preparing to turn or maybe pull whatever it was. Bare gut made firm contact with the tip of the handle...furthest away from the heat, right? OWWWW!!! No, it didn't last more than a second. 2nd degree burn. And vociferous expletives. Heck, if you cook much at all? I don't even wanna count the number of times I've totally brain farted and started to grab a handle I BLOODY WELL KNOW!!! is hot. USUALLY my hand's halfway coming off as it touches, as my lizard brain kicks in...but anywhere the fingers just BRUSH? Minor burns. But still painful.

Beau noted that asphalt in 120 degree heat might hit 200. I'd think this might melt a LOT of rubber or similar soles. That is freaking HOT.

Several of the big pet lovers have warned about walking dogs in the heat we have, as it can readily burn pads. Story from CNN a few days ago: https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/24/health/arizona-heat-burns-er/index.html I got a small burn from my seat belt latch once, myself, and several times, the steering wheel was too hot to grip. And hopefully a story that doesn't need repeating...sealing your pet...or worse, your KID...in a car, in the sun, even for only a few minutes...IS NOT SAFE. The temps will rise FAST!!!! The extreme heat maps I saw showed much of central Texas about as bad as Phoenix, and much of the Souteast was about as bad as we are, here in southern New Mexico.

That wasn't the issue, or the message. The core issue is what happens when adjacent jurisdictions have radically different rules? It's not like it's new; dry counties adjacent to wet counties, a smart liquor store owner will try to locate on a corridor road near the border with the dry county. California has a deposit on cans and bottles; Arizona doesn't. The notion of fraud is that the state received funds to redistribute IF you recycle...but those funds are connected to paying those deposits in the first place. The situation is analogous to Powerball and Mega Millions tickets. They're trackable; it's in the QR code on the ticket, I assume. (They have to be because the store that sold a big ticket, is entitled to a cut.) The rules state: a ticket can only be redeemed in the state of issuance. Obviously, marking empty beverage containers is less than practical.

A lot of it is, as CRT noted, critical reception. I'm not as adamant on things like the cost of reshoot, but...if Black Widow cost $200M to produce, then it likely basically broke even. You have to take out the theaters' cut and the promo costs.

Mmm...Mitch McConnell froze up and had to be helped off the stage while delivering remarks Wednesday. This comes after, apparently, multiple falls. I'm hearing mini-strokes, and if there are several in a relatively short period, that is Not Good. While I'm no fan...his departure opens up the potential for a mess in the Senate much like the House...especially if the Republicans retake the Senate.

And a broken clock is right twice a day. I'll grant that the MCU is...let us say, underwhelming right now, tho. I take the low road here, tho...and blame Disney interference.

DC knocking one out of the park would show Marvel how it's done...like a broken clock shows the right time.

So active disinformation campaigns aren't just a US-only problem. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66314338 Related: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66272154 There's one weather site I like to use...because it has real-time rain rates and accumulations, and quite a few nice summaries (like month by month total precip.) The site also gives NOAA-style daily summaries. From June 21st to July 22nd, the high was never below 99.5...round up, 100, in other words. Some other sites report it was 100+ for the entire period; the location of one's reporting station can account for that easily. It was only 96 on the 23rd, breaking the streak...but 101, 103, 106, 106, and 105 forecast for today. 105+ is very unusual down here; we're not as bad as Phoenix. That said...we've been 105+ 14 different days so far, between June 26th and yesterday, and today's expected to be #15. The particular reporting station they use has only been in place since 2007, so not that long...but this year saw a new record high. In that period, tho...2020 had the most number of days with highs over 100, at 37. We're at 33. Forecast highs are close to 100 next week; some days may go over, if expected cloud cover doesn't materialize, or materializes later than expected. But that's 33 and we haven't touched August yet. The other aspect...in 2020, those 37 days of 100+ came between June 4th and August 29th...87 ordinal days. This year it's happened in less than 40. That's sustained, INTENSE heat for this area. Far as I'm concerned, people making the baseless assertions that everyone's lying about the severity of the heat are committing a crime against humanity.

Oh, cool. Learn something new. Thanks.

Someone has a gun. They're shooting. Would you drive TOWARDS them...or AWAY from them? I do have to concede that there are numerous states where someone might well decide to shoot back.

Which is why almost the entire discussion is completely off base. Microscope and arthroscope don't use mirrors, AFAIK. Optical microscope has a lens. Endoscopes generally use fiber optics, I believe. A plane mirror reflects incident light. Using one to see around corners doesn't change this, and doesn't change the power definition. It shouldn't require a power stunt...why? A skill roll of SOME type, to get a good view w/o being noticed, ok...but it has nothing to do with the power in question. A parabolic reflector...light coming in parallel to the axis of the parabaloid gets concentrated at the focal point of the paraboloid. On its own, that doesn't give you a weapon. It's not working like the classic magnifying glass igniting paper trick. (We'll use the nicer form...not the one the Bad Kids did....) A reflecting telescope includes a small mirror at the focal point, which reflects the light from the mirror to the eyepiece. For a weapons system? The parabolic mirror is generally used to improve collimation, thereby improving concentration...same energy level, smaller beam diameter...which means more power applied at the spot. Yeah, you could use a parabolic mirror like a lens...concentrate sunlight and use that to do damage...but this is VERY tricky. Both have fixed focal lengths...the point at which all the beams intercept. Too short, they haven't converged. Further, they diverge. It isn't exactly practical.

I thought you might have a point; July '24 is pretty fast. That said, a cornerstone here is that USC and UCLA are gone. The media rights deal expires at that time, and without them, what are any such rights worth? Especially with the fact that the Pac 12 Network has BOMBED...worse than a DCEU movie. They are giving notice. Their date is when the conference's existing structure collapses anyway. The Pac 12 might try to scream, but it's also plausible their new state simply means they have no basis to scream. Also found this tidbit: https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/lists/colorado-athletic-director-abruptly-leaves-pac-12-media-day-after-george-kliavkoff-presser/?taid=64bef481e6315400010b8cdd&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=trueanthem&utm_source=twitter

How utterly 50's..............

You should be ashamed you can be ashamed....

Hey, Stratego was a cool game. Maybe because the guy I played that, and some other strategy games against, thought he was really good...but was VERY predictable. In Stratego, his moves gave away his positioning strategy. In some others, he never recognized the key tactics.

Prosecutors have added new charges in the Trump documents case...altering/destroying evidence, and basically a conspiracy charge to do so. It's about getting video recordings deleted. They also charge a worker who allegedly took part in this. There's also a new Espionage Act count related to a presentation of a classified war plan to a group in New Jersey.

Where there is money, there will be cheating.

From the story: Not that this makes anyone anywhere near the scene feel any better...

It makes me angry, and depressed...because I'm totally not surprised by it. That is very depressing.

Only if you think Whitlock has 2 functioning brain cells. From his time on ESPN, I'd say that's questionable. Hey, I'm seeing a honkin' big class action lawsuit...altho proving individual claims might be tricky due to lack of evidence. Unless people kept the emails cancelling their service calls, who's to say it happened? This might get very messy with the Feds too.

Rephrase that to "how seriously the NCAA can really be taken" and I'll agree wholeheartedly. SC breaking news: the Big 12 conference presidents voted tonight to accept Colorado as a new member. Unless the terms are onerous...either joining, or leaving the Pac 12...I think we can safely assume it's a completely done deal. Colorado saying No, at this point, would blow everyone's mind. The detail is when it happens. I assume they can't bail this year...the football schedule, for sure, is locked up. The Pac 12 football title...bet on anyone but SC or UCLA. I'd include Colorado in there, but after 1-11, who would bet on them anyway? Unless the conference finishes imploding in the next month or so...which could happen. But if not? The remaining teams will have a LOVELY motivation. PAYBACK.

Had their first album on CD, not sure when it disappeared. MIGHT have digitized it first...I know I did that with several CDs before cleaning house a bit.... Northwestern's administration announces steps in response to the hazing crisis. Every team will have mandatory anti-hazing training every year, there'll be a zero tolerance policy, and they're reviewing reporting procedures.