unclevlad

In the long run, I think locking up fringe events is going to basically make the vast majority *completely* lose interest in things like cycling and most Olympic sports. Out of sight, out of mind. It isn't like a lot of these have massive followings in the first place.

And Florida's elected CFO is posturing about it. No surprise. But this is the counterpoint, from a story in USA Today:

An idle thought...... How much of the Arizona entrenchment on the stolen election story, is based on individuals like Lake, using it to further their own ambitions? Versus...how much of it was sown election night, when Fox's commentators were so vehement about the (correct) call of the race? I'm not saying the whole election stealing line is their fault; Trump was going down that path regardless. But specifically in Arizona, Fox's handling might've been more of a catalyst. If we can get through the next 20 or so years, I think this period is going to be intensely studied by historians.

Nope, that's true, but people have brought up various rules points, and much of this thread's been...a bit disjointed anyway. In RAW? Time Stop IMO simply cannot be done; it's in direct opposition to the combat structure. Your only real approach, that I can see, is Multiple Attack...with the massive penalty involved. Oh...take that back. Want to attack in a "Time Stop"? Buy SPD 36, Instant, going off on the segment AFTER activation. You get 3 fresh actions. Something like that, I might buy as something like a classic time stop.

Those divisions look fairly reasonable. The odd man out there is Memphis. If it's 2 divisions of 8...you might get a better grouping. Your SE, plus Memphis...that's 5. Indiana, Washington, and Philly. Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, and Toronto are all Great Lakes. One might have to look at schedule construction. 2 interconference games per team, that's 32. Leaves 50. Baseline...let's say 3 games against every other conference team, that's 45. (And it's sensible if the playoff formula is, let's say, top 2 in each division get in, then the next 6 are based on conference record.) Leaves 5 games. 3 might be divisional by division placement the season before...the top 4 teams play an additional game against each other, the bottom 4 do as well. The other 2 could be doing that between divisions in the same conference. 1 and 2 in one division plays 1 and 2 in the other; 3 and 4 vs. 3 and 4, and so on. Eh, we'll see. Another question, if they do expand...do they use the NHL's model for their last expansion? Vegas Golden Knights shocked the sports world, developing a winning club *immediately*. In part because the NHL didn't let teams protect a whole lot of players, IIRC. One thing is that they're gonna adopt a no-flop ruling...get caught flopping? Technical foul. Might be good in principle, but...disastrously BAD in practice. The NBA already has, IMO, the worst-regarded replay system in US pro sports. FAR too many, they take FAR too long, and flagrant foul reviews leave fans totally confused too often. I agree that flopping is bad for the game, so...well, I'll give it a shot, but I'm not all that hopeful.

I think one player tried to use it in the game I was in...long, long time ago. My admittedly VERY vague memory was that it didn't work out that well. But yeah, as Grail noted...it might've been that the player spent the points...and IIRC didn't have that many left. With a GM that loved twisting what you did and one-upping you...while likely flat-out ignoring the rules.

Several issues aren't limited to Warner Discovery. Cost cutting and IMO really questionable decision-making seem pervasive. Disney's firing a bunch of ESPN people recently. One I just realized: NBC Universal showed the first week of the Tour de France on cable, through USA Network...but all the rest is only on Peacock. Really? I don't think cycling is popular enough to draw new subscribers in any great numbers. It's just the bean counter mentality running amok, it seems to me. I think the days of cable/satellite services are numbered; cable subscriber numbers have been shrinking for a long time, and that's still happening. But the problem with streaming is its fragmentation.

Well.... So much for watching the Tour. None of the actual race coverage now is being shown on cable, it's all locked into their streaming service. They showed the first week on USA Network, but...nope, no more. Not even the final stage.

Oh boy. The situation at Northwestern just got worse. https://www.nbcsportschicago.com/ncaa/big-ten/northwestern-wildcats/northwestern-baseball-coach-engaged-in-bullying-and-abusive-behavior-reports-say/494513/?partner=yahoo&cid=yahoo This report is arguably even more disturbing. SB Nation has an op-ed on the entire disaster: https://www.sbnation.com/2023/7/11/23790992/northwesterns-multiple-scandals-are-an-abysmal-institutional-failure Points in that piece...Northwestern may not be able to fire Fitzgerald for cause, IF the 2 week suspension was the agreed punishment. Ergo? They owe him his 10 year, $42M salary from a recent extension. Ouch. The situation in the baseball program is also set out in more detail. It is VERY ugly. It's a total disaster for the school. I don't see any route forward short of a complete reset...both coaches, the AD, and the institutional failures (the ridiculous initial suspension, the failure to talk to players in the baseball program) will force the president out.

It doesn't help that comics have forgotten what makes comic books work.

Not if the AoE is bought with Selective. Then the attacker gets to pick the targets inside the AoE, and there's a separate roll to hit each one.

MPs are AP-driven because they generally are expected to be more narrowly defined, and the distinction between "AP with common limitations" and "Real Points" isn't considered. You don't need a new variant for the "a few big powers" case. You simply need a limitation specific to the control cost alone...which is analogous to VPP's Limited Powers anyway. Pool size: 40 Control size: 80 Cost AND FREE SLOTS: 40. Limitation: all powers must take at least -1 in limitations. -1 applies to the control cost, and therefore to the slot pool size. 20 points for slots before paying for them. Your 4 slots would total 16...but if you want, hey, one could be an ultra slot. Now it's 20. Or mix and match, 2 ultra slots with 1 fixed. 20. You don't get free slots equal to the control size, you get free slots equal to the control COST. And, note that in a RAW MP, the cost of the MP can only be reduced by the amount of the *common* limitations. Say everything has -1/2 in common limitations, and another -1/2 that vary from slot to slot. Now your 80 point MP --> 53 character points, plus 16 for the slots. (Example? Heals and Drains. Let's say that for concept, the Drain also has to be touch-driven, so No Range. The Heals might have Full Phase and 1/2 DCV. The common mods might be Unified and OIAID.) In a VPP? If you're talking a cosmic pool, forget it. That 80 point control size is now 120, given it's a +2 on all 40 points. To get that down to 20 points is a -5 limitation. It's the diminishing returns aspect of limitations; the control size in my alternate MP doesn't go OVER 40, whereas in the VPP, it's gonna be much, much larger. A -2 limitation gets you back to 40, sure...but to get to, say, 32? From alternate MP's 40, it's a simple -1/4. From a VPP's 120? You're already dividing by 3, so to knock off the points, you go from -1/4 to -3/4 needed. That's a big jump. Plus, doing it like that, is ad hoc; it won't be uniform. If I want somehow to drop the alternate MP's control cost to 20, it'd be -1. For the VPP, gotta triple that to add it atop the -2, so it's now a -5. And if we can live with stuff like 1/2 phase to switch slots along with the No Skill Roll, we're at +1 1/2, so the numbers change all over again.

Many of the senior Republican Senators have a long track record of supporting the military; strong defense has been a cornerstone policy plank for ages. Tuberville is seriously undermining it by his insistence that his social policy is more important. I agree that it's a headache for Mitch, but the entire Republican party is flashing intolerant, ungoverning attitudes...my way or the highway. DeSantis has pulled numerous stunts that are clearly out of line. Tuberville. The entire Freedom Caucus. Heck, the Senate's stunts in denying Obama, then rushing through Barrett. Texas's attempts to slam its anti-abortion policies to other places. Moderates...the few there still are...have to look at this and wonder if voting for ANY Republican is simply too dangerous.

Tuberville is turning into one of the bigger embarrassments for the Republicans. And that's saying something, but his stunt in blocking ALL senior military promotions to try to coerce them to change their abortion policy is wrongheaded and damaging. I seriously doubt he's got much support in the Senate.

My, my. These things never end cleanly, do they? Last week, Bob Huggins claimed he never formally agreed to his termination, and is threatening to sue to get reinstated. Well, now, Pat Fitzgerald is screaming. Yeah, of course YOU thought it was appropriate. Sorry, dude, but the head coach is accountable for actions as heinous as what appeared to be happening. What MAY happen is that you drag the president out the door with you...which can pretty readily be justified because he showed egregious judgment in ever agreeing to a two week, OUT OF SEASON, suspension. This is a feather brushed over the back of the hand...far less than a slap on the wrist. It also GROSSLY smacks of institutionalized protectionism...the kind that gets the NCAA *storming* down the gates. (Not like that's all that credible a threat, because the NCAA's punishment wouldn't come down till around 2026.) If Fitzgerald is asserting he had an enforceable agreement...dubious, I suspect, but perhaps plausible...and the president reneged on it? I think they're both gone. If it feels likely Fitzgerald would sue for wrongful termination on the basis that he didn't know about it, well, the president has a better chance to survive. EDIT: beyond the hazing, the Northwestern student newspaper reported allegations of racism by Fitzgerald. From The Hill:

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-primary-r/2024/national/ And perhaps more significant, DeSantis is losing badly *in Florida*. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4088873-florida-poll-finds-trump-well-ahead-of-desantis-in-state/

https://nypost.com/2023/07/09/what-elly-de-la-cruz-absence-from-all-star-game-reveals-aboutmlb/

Because high-end athletes often simply skate on their bad behaviors. Not always, but often. Even those who might not approve, may be culturally averse to ratting out their teammates...what happens in the locker room, stays in the locker room. Fitzgerald was fired today. With what's reported in the story Starlord linked, I think that was inevitable. This is also likely to destroy the team, IMO. There would seem to be two No-Win options: attempt to dismiss everyone against whom credible participation could be shown, fracturing team dynamic...or keep every player on the team under a microscope of suspicion. This is going to seriously damage many lives, and there's no chance it'll be restricted to those who deserve punishment. EDIT: the hazing accusations are disturbingly similar to what happened with NMSU basketball in the spring, which led to the school cancelling the last part of the season altogether...a huge blow. And I believe 7 players left the team...that's half your roster. There was the additional element of the bizarre incident in Albuquerque last November; the school said that wasn't a factor, but I'm not sure I buy that. Firing the coach for cause might've been more appropriate without that incident...not a complete and utter implosion. Still, Northwestern is going to take a massive hit to its reputation and image from this.

That's for this one. Note that you could have an 87 point control size and a 58 point pool size, for example...each slot will have -1/2 in limitations, and in this construction, they don't have to be the same. That's an issue with RAW Multipower. If everything can take a common limitation, all well and good, but you can't mix and match the limitations. You can also build something like a 120 point pool size, 60 control size "MP." Where the cap on active points is clear and explicit, as opposed to a 120 point RAW MP, where it's not. EDIT: Limited powers isn't going to make up for 1/2 phase to change slots, which'd be the minimum...and you need to buy a skill roll on top of the control cost. VPPs are for when you want significant flexibility within the powers allowed. Building a healer-drainer type; he can heal or drain any characteristic, or 2 at once (END and STUN was the example built). (I think draining 3 cuts too much into the dice.) So there's a nice notion of limited powers, plus flexibility within them. So that's a VPP. But when the powers don't necessarily need a LOT of flexibility, a combat VPP is very expensive. This framework tends to be overly expensive when you have a small number of fairly high-power slots...like a blaster MP with perhaps 3 Blasts (PD, ED, Flash) and a Flash. All the same points. Well, a "limited powers" equivalent here might be to simply allow a limitation on the control cost. It ONLY affects the control cost, but the principle here: the real points in the control cost == the number of free points you get in slots. At that point, I think this could be a full replacement for RAW MP. Both frameworks have the notions of pool size and control cost; the "MP" has all slots pre-defined, the VPP is "make it up as you go along."

I wonder just how much taxpayer money DeSantis has burned, defending challenges to his actions. Similarly, how much loss of business. The big, glaring one is the Disney HQ relocation that now isn't happening, but he's antagonizing MANY groups. The bill also suggests that if you look like you MIGHT be an immigrant? You're more likely to be hassled by the police. Granted, this might already exist, but if nothing else, it's reinforcement that Florida is likely to be uncomfortable for many people of color. I wonder what other Republican politicos think of him...in private. Cuz he feels like a serious embarrassment...especially if the stunts he's been trying, fall apart.

To explain a bit, perhaps clarify... One of the nice improvements in 6E was separating a VPP's pool size and control size/cost. Very nice, very flexible. So that's what this suggestion is based on. Pool size is pool size. When you say control size is separate, the ability to have large powers needs to be expressed as its own cost function. My first cut is to just put it at 1/2. These are still MP-style slots, tho...the slot list is fixed, the powers are fixed. So, let the control cost give that many points to be used on the slots. It's not for a powers list with extensive flexibility, like, say, Blasts that can use 2-3 different SFX, where you want to cover normal blasts, AoEs, and even Autofires for *each*. And maybe a Flash and an NND targeting Flash Def. That's a whole lotta slots. VPPs also have a notable issue with pricing limited powers available...in this framework, it's simply not an issue.

In *2 pitches* no less. On June 4th, the Reds were 26-33; they've gone 24-7 since (!!!!). They've gone from afterthought to one of the hottest watches in the game. Detroit Tigers used 3 pitchers...starter went 6 2/3, bridge guy got 4 outs, closer for the 9th...for a 2-0 no-hitter. And this was vs. Toronto, not Oakland. So which one wins Feat of the Day? CLOSE call in my book. Complete game no hitter, I'd have to give priority, simply given the rarity of complete games these days. But 3 steals in 2 pitches is pure insanity. It also brings up: I've seen QUITE a few steals of home this year. I have baseball on the TV quite often, as a distraction. I think there were entire seasons I didn't see any attempted steals of home, but this year? I think I can remember...4? In the last month or so? Some of this has to be the limited disengagement/throw over rules, but I think another factor is, this has brought up just how BAD many pitchers are at holding runners on. Playing Launch Angle Long Ball was likely a *serious* factor in making teams HIGHLY risk-averse, in stealing bases at all, much less home. There are still teams that do that, but several teams have adjusted and are willing to play Small Ball.

Jumping back to this, there's a possibly less known but more significant cover by Bad Wolves...look at the intro, at least...it's most poignant.... Yeah, I'd forgotten this song. VERY powerful song. This is the Cranberries original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts

This combines aspects of both the VPP and MP. 1. It's primarily defined by pool size and control size. Pool size is in real points; control size is in active points. This part is identical to a VPP. 2. The control cost is 1/2 the pool size. 3. Framework powers are organized by slots like an MP. They can be fixed or variable, like an MP. 4. The slot costs are FREE, up to the amount of the control cost. After that, they're paid for just like MP slots. 5. Common limitations that apply to the entire pool reduces the control cost and the "slot costs"...but also reduce the amount of free slot points. It's still a net savings, tho. 5. There's no skill roll and no time, because these are fixed slots. Why suggest this? Mostly it's for more complex MPs...but ones where Limited Powers in a VPP won't make up for the VPP's penalties. The issue is that the size of an MP is ambiguous. Is it active or real points? If the MP has a common limitation, while some slots have limitations and others don't...what's the math to determine which powers can be used together? Separating pool size and control size is the VPP solution, and it's a good one. Every slot now has a clean active cost AND real cost, so determining which slots can be used together is easy. This is the framework that got me thinking this way, using the hybrid form: "Multipower", 80 base + 87 control cost, (124 Active Points); all slots Unified Power (-1/4) -- Clairsentience (Sight Group And Normal Hearing), Mobile Perception Point (can move up to 12m per Phase), Costs Endurance Only To Activate (+1/4), NRM (+1/2), MegaScale (1m = 1 km; +1) (82 Active Points, 66 Real) -- TK (40 STR), Fine Manipulation, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (87 Active Points, 70 real) -- TK (36 STR), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (67 Active Points); Limited Range (-1/4) (45 real) -- TK Blast: (Total: 85 Active Cost, 57 Real Cost) Blast 4d6 (vs. PD), PLUS Blast 8d6 (vs. PD), Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4); Half Range Modifier (+1/4), Limited Range (-1/4) (25 + 60 Active Points per part) -- Flight 18m, x4 Noncombat, Reduced Endurance (1/2 END; +1/4) (29 Active Points, 23 Real) While flying, he can't use the Fine Manip TK or clairsentience; he can use the coarser TK, or the blast. Working out the pool size is trivial to get things to fit in. This framework would allow 35 points in "slots" for free (44, reduced by the -1/4 limitation); it's got 26 right now. This wouldn't replace the RAW MP in all cases...like when you have a few 10d6 Blasts and Flashes, where the total slot costs are quite low. Or it might just need some limitations specifically on the control size to reduce it...and thus, the "free slots" you'd get in this framework.

Story says it's not a rare edition of that work but...published 2 years after Maxwell's death? And in good condition??? I wouldn't be terribly surprised if the book's not worth more than the total fine. Understand: James Clerk Maxwell is probably the most important physicist of the 19th century. His work is the foundation of electromagnetics. https://www.rootenbergbooks.com/pages/books/15414/j-c-maxwell/a-treatise-on-electricity-and-magnetism This is only 1 of the 2 volumes, so I think it'd be worth less than half...but still.... Abe Books has 2 listings for the 1873, first edition...at $17K and $25K for both volumes.