unclevlad

Oh man.... https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/22/europe/crocus-moscow-shooting/index.html NYT indicated EDIT: the embassy further explained that "extremists" did NOT refer to Ukraine...that it was something totally separate. They note the owner of the facility is Aras Agaralov, an Azerbaijani billionaire sometimes described as one of Putin's oligarchs, so that could certainly be the motive. We'll likely never know for sure.

That could be taken as damnation by faint praise.

They're still separate notions. I have no issue with rolling a hit location to help figure out the loss the automaton will suffer, but that's in a totally different stage, as determining the effect of the damage. Hit locations affect the amount of the damage. Even the full Takes No Stun does not mean the automaton can't be decapitated or crippled (take out the knee so it can't move). "Desolid" isn't the word you want, but there's several variations so terminology is tricky. Mud men...you have to blow them apart. Cut off a leg? It re-flows. D&D's oozes are quite similar. Gaseous forms are also the same. A key point is...there's nothing special to hit. Then it's got restitution...the ability to return to its preferred state. So it covers gaseous, sure, but also fluid, or colloidal solids, or even some plastics, would make a decent basis.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/22/uk/kate-princess-of-wales-cancer-diagnosis-intl-gbr/index.html

Mike Johnson's days as Speaker could be coming to a close. House passes the spending bills, but The Usual Suspects have smoke coming out their ears, and are starting to talk about ousting him. I'm NOT a fan of the damage the MAGA Clown Show does...but the potential upside is, the longer they continue their posturing, and the closer it gets to election day, one has to believe, the more this will negatively impact them in the elections. OK, most of the clowns are pretty much immune to election-time pressure; their individual districts are too safe for them to be voted out. It remains to be seen how it'll play out in the broader electorate. The deadline to avert a partial shutdown is midnight, with a big question remaining...whether someone like Tuberville will block it. If it passes, especially before the shutdown? I wouldn't be surprised if Johnson's ousted next week. The vote to pass the spending bill was 286-134; all the Democrats voted to pass, so we're talking about 2 out of 3 Republicans voted No.

Another point. And from the "demons are real" post from Wolfe: The oath of office is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. Yet, there's this: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof Huh. Can we really feel that people with beliefs like the above, will honor their oaths?

They also both make tonic waters and club sodas. Yeah, it's bizarre. Oh, and to make it even MORE confusing? The Schweppes brand name is owned by...COKE!!!....in much of the world, outside North America. Corporate games.... My personal favorite soft drink was Hires...it was quite popular, but it was killed off. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hires_Root_Beer Which also points out why keeping both Canada Dry and Schweppes in the corporate stable is odd...unless it's a denying move, to keep Schweppes OUT of Coke's hands. I vaguely remember thinking Schweppes was sharper...Canada Dry sweeter...but it's been years.

It was, but in fairness, at live speed I was wondering if they're review it for a flagrant. The driver lost control, so the optics are...hey, he had to be hit. But...no. The defender got all ball...and the is what led to the driver going off-balance. A drive like that OFTEN leads to the driver catching himself on the rim for control anyway. And it's too bad, because Samford clearly had the ball, and were gonna be able to bring it up for, at worst, a 4 on 4, down 1, against a defense that would've been rattled...their breakaway broke. And this was the post-game discussion...Clark and Kenny mostly. PS: The Athletic wondered if Calipari might be in trouble at Kentucky...perhaps the highest-expectations basketball program in the country. The last 4 years...no tourney, then very early exits...first, second, first round. 3rd, 3rd, and T-2nd in the conference they feel they should OWN. The model of mostly one-and-done type players is tricky inherently, but with the transfer portal and NIL, it's even harder.

I think a big marketing problem for 7up is, they're part of Keurig Dr. Pepper, which is a serious hodgepodge...in soft drinks, they also have Squirt, Crush, Sunkist, Canada Dry, and Schweppes. None of them have any connection to any of the others. They also have, I think, *extremely* limited exposure in fast-food soda machines...Dr. Pepper gets in decently often, but let's face it, most dispensers are dedicated to either Coke or Pepsi...never the twain shall meet. That issue carries over to store shelves...where the Coke distributors can leverage/compel stores to carry a wide array. Dr. Pepper? Canada Dry and Schweppes aren't considered soft drinks, so much as *mixers.*

CRASH!!!! Hope you had your ear plugs handy. Big Blue Nation is in shock. Oakland beats Kentucky, 80-76. It's a 14 over a 3...but as far as bracket busting goes, well, Kentucky fans are...mmm...single-minded, shall we say. So, first stunner to this point. LIKELY not the last. EDIT: 6 seeds have clearly been cursed. 0 for 3 today. So, take solace, Mr. P; once they got slotted into the 6 spot, your team never had a chance. EDIT the last for the night...Samford gets hosed. Down 1, 15 seconds left, Kansas gets a leak out and a long pass...player's driving for a slam, but he gets run down from behind, and the Samford defender executes a BEAUTIFUL block. All ball. No lower body contact...but it's called a foul. Kansas makes both, and harasses and defends Samford into a tough 3 that doesn't go. Kansas gets the ball, gets fouled (altho they almost turned it over)...hit the first FT to ice the game.

Huh....Texas needs to be concerned; first half offensive ineptitude could be contagious. Virginia only manages 14 against CSU Tuesday. Today? CSU only manages *11*. They were up 8-2, 5 minutes into the half...then got dipped in liquid nitrogen. 3 points over 15 minutes. Texas was pretty bad too...like CSU against Virginia. It was only 27-11 at the half, and the final was only 56-44.

Arsenal has banned 3 fans who pled guilty to tragedy chanting...a crime in England. The BBC describes it as The applicable law: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1986/64/section/4A The ban is for 3 years.

And you're not alone now. 11 Oregon takes out 6 South Carolina...easily. Of course, the line was actually Oregon -1.5, so how much of an upset could it really be? Barkley was going "oh, I really like the SEC this year" during the lead-in...they're now 0-2.

Well, between former Broncos, former Rockies, and former Cougars, I'd say the funeral director would have an abundance of riches there....... Dan Monson's run after being fired ends abruptly, as Arizona takes care of business. And Morehead State might pull off the first stunner...up 1 against #3 Illinois, very early in the 2nd half...

Y'know, you really need to find teams not named Broncos to root for.... Kind of a ragged game...both teams seemed tight.

Story seems a bit unclear, but it doesn't look like it. From the general indications, Ohtani's a victim here. On a few levels, if he's been backstabbed by a friend...

Oh my. From the Athletic just now:

Heh...beat you to it. But I was posting when it showed on-screen. Looking at the longer track record, I do wonder about Bennett's future. His first trip to the dance, with Virginia, was '11-12. NIT quarters twice. NCAA first round loss 4 times...including the upset of all time, becoming the first #1 seed to lose to a 16. 2 losses in the 2nd round, including as a #2 seed. Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, and the title. So, ok, there've been good years, but...so many major disappointments, especially in the last 3 years, which largely correspond to the New Normal due to the transfer portal. BTW: hey, Mr. P! UC Irvine vs. Utah, first round of the NIT. ESPN2 right now. ESPN's getting the first round done tonight and tomorrow...and the women's first four tomorrow and Thursday. Huh, talk about Ratings Sacrificial Lambs games, on Thursday anyway....but they are showing em.

I wish to point out that I called out Virginia's offensive ineptitude BEFORE the game. 55-35 now, approaching 5 minutes left...and CSU's been somewhat impatient much of the game, no less. But Virginia's been HORRIBLE on offense...which was a big problem late in the ACC season, where they couldn't reach 50 points in 4 of their last 6 games. I don't think Tony Bennett's seat is particularly hot, but since the title in 19? No tournament in 20, of course. First round loss (#4 seed), NIT quarters loss, first round loss (4 seed again), now a first four loss. Oh my, snarky sweatshirt on a CSU fan, judging by the color...."Virginia basketball is Iowa football."

Holy cow...Celtics are *romping* to the top seed in the East. 14 games left...their magic number is *5*. And 9, to have the best record in the league. 4 teams eliminated; 2 more are on the doorstep, 2 games away from it. The East is more stratified...Celtics, then Bucks and Cavs, then Knicks and Magic. Sixers, Pacers, and Heat would be the next level, but Sixers without Embeed are fading fast. Then it's big gaps to the 9, 10, and 11 teams. The West? T'wolves, Nuggets, and Thunder are neck and neck. Then it's Clippers with 25 losses, Pelicans 26, Kings 28, Mavs and Suns 29, Lakers and Warriors 32. Rockets are 11th with 35 losses...which actually means the Wolves, Thunder, and Nuggets, with 47 wins, are dormie for a playoff berth.

ARGH. Supreme Court does NOT suspend Texas' law to allow purported immigrants to be arrested. Despite the fact that this has been held to be a federal power for YEARS. And they did it by just kicking it back to let the appellate courts rule. The gutless approach.

Throw shouldn't cost there, because it's something you can do immediately after a grab. HSMA page 98. With this move, you don't have the option to hold on. Note that it's +20 STR to throw because that impacts how far you can throw the git that dared insult your mother...and the damage if you throw him into a rock wall.

Early bracketology...UConn is the favorite; 25% so far. Houston, about 13%; UNC, 10%, Purdue 9, Iowa State and Arizona just under 5. That's still leaving 1/3 of the brackets picking someone lower...which is quite a bit. There's always the blind-devotion brackets picking, say, Virginia to go all the way, despite their *severe* offensive woes. (Not only did they get tied on a buzzer beater, losing in OT to NC State...they missed the front end of a 1 and 1 with 6 seconds left. They're only 64% from the line for the season...344th (out of 351!!!!) in DI. They're also 255th in effective FG%. Numbers like that say a deep run is VERY unlikely, but hey, there's no rational basis to pick the winner, so...why not?

BUT doing so would extend the timeline. Trump's lawyers would get time to prepare a defense against the new charges. In that sense, it's at least a partial win for Trump; delay's his first line of counterattack. And poor Donny. https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/18/politics/trump-464-million-dollar-bond/index.html For *some* bizarre reason, bond underwriters are nervous about backing this one...can't imagine why.

The hero in Drew's story did too...but solo. It's a very one-sided interaction; the rest of the game pretty much can't interact with him. Drew's story focused on the downside, of the *lack* of true interaction. And I think it's definitely something that works better in stories than it plays out in a game. Yes. The root is a story by H.G. Wells, and only the character's body was visible. That said...I might still allow Always On, because being naked has physical problems. It's snowing and 25 degrees. It's raining. It's 110 in the shade, and there's no shade...and you want to cross a blacktop road? Sidewalk and/or road debris. There's also the disconnect...if you're not fully covered, then anything that should be showing, but isn't...huh? If you are...this is from the Wikipedia article: That's excerpted from the character intro...which happens in a snowstorm. Well...completely hidden by bandages, yet walking upright...that's a disconnect in itself. But, what about summer? That much clothing is a big disconnect. Always On does mean the character can't turn it off under any circumstances, but that doesn't necessarily imply he can't mitigate the problems per se. It does mean that mitigating it, creates *other* issues.