Automated Archives for July, 26th 2024
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Chess For the Day
Record: 1-0-3
Net Elo Change: -13
Games Played
Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (1 post)
July 25th, 2024
Automated Archives for July, 25th 2024
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Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (9 posts)
Threads API is now public
Saving this here so I can come back to it and integrate posting to Threads into this blog.
July 24th, 2024
Automated Archives for July, 24th 2024
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Chess For the Day
Record: 1-0-4
Net Elo Change: -17
Games Played
Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (7 posts)
Last Night's D&D
For last night's D&D session, it was only 2 of the players and me. They are just beginning a bit of a dungeon crawl so having them do it with that few people didn't seem great. So I came up with a new idea. #wotcstaff 1/
— Trick (@TrickJarrett) July 24, 2024
[Disclosure: I work for Wizards of the Coast, but I have loved D&D long before I started there.]
For last night's D&D session, it was only 2 of the players and me. They are just beginning a bit of a dungeon crawl so having them do it with that few people didn't seem great. So I came up with a new idea.
For those who don't know, my current campaign is a homebrew Magic school set in "modern day" Seattle. The school is called Syelbed, and it positions the Seattle Underground as the hub for the "multiversian" activity in the city.
When we don't have a full crew, we've done a worldbuilding session or two as a group. We hang out and usually I just lob out ideas or questions to see what we come up with. One session we delved into the supernatural Las Vegas in this campaign world.
During that session, we came up with the Luxor hotel had been created by a sect of mothmen seeking to summon their deity.
Also, the Hoover dam is actually a massive concrete pour to seal in a magical evil TBD.
So my idea for last night was a little different. I mentally compared it to Sim City 4's 'My Sim' mode, where you could walk on the streets in your city. I'd put them somewhere in the world and they'd build characters and do a quasi playthrough as we built the locale.
So I put them in Rio de Janeiro. For their characters I said, you can be whatever you want but your characters have to have a connection. And between your characters you have 15 levels to divide. They could do 8/7 or 9/6 or 10/5 etc. They ended up doing 11 & 4.
I made up a magical gang that strives to control all magic in South America, the 'galera,' and the plot hook for this would be that they were on the run from them. As we went we decided that while the galera had a long reach, but Chile would be largely out of their reach.
So the duo are on the run, trying to get from Rio to somewhere in Chile. With that premise we came up with some NPCs & other world building ephemera. It was fun and it's a setup which is primed for us to pull in other people in the future. We'll see where it goes!
July 23rd, 2024
Automated Archives for July, 23rd 2024
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Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (8 posts)
"July 21, 2024"
Heather Cox-Richardson is a modern day historian and this is her entry regarding Joe Biden stepping down.
My Fellow Americans,
Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation.
Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We've made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We've provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years.
Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.
I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We've protected and preserved our Democracy. And we've revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.
It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.
I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.
For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.
I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can't do—when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.
With this letter, posted on X this afternoon, President Joe Biden announced he would not accept the Democratic nomination for president. So ended the storyline begun after the event on June 27, when Biden appeared unable to respond effectively to Trump's verbal assaults. Since then, there has been a drumbeat of media stories and some demands from Democratic lawmakers and donors calling for Biden to step aside and refuse to run for a second term. Increasingly, that drumbeat imperiled his reelection, opening the way for Trump's election to install a dictatorship of Christian nationalism.
In another post shortly after the first, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidential nomination, writing: "My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it's been the best decision I've made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats—it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this."
Harris smoothly took the baton. "On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country," she wrote. "His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office.
2024 has had a lot of news, but it isn't unprecedented
Many people feel like 2024 is unprecedented for the events and news, but it is good to keep perspective that while there is a lot going on this year - it isn't entirely unprecedented. This entry looks at 1973, 1968 and 1940.
The swelling of support around Harris feels historic. The mobilization and general mentality feels monumental. Hearing that Harris' campaign raised $250 million dollars in its first few days is incredible.
From this article:
ActBlue, which acts as the fundraising platform for Harris for President, and many other Democrats, on Sunday alone took in almost $67 million, according to a third-party ActBlue tracking program. President Biden’s announcement was made around 2:00 PM ET that day.
On Monday, as of 3:30 PM ET, ActBlue has taken in another $35 million – for a 25-hour total of over $100 million.
...
In addition to the $100 million infusion Democrats just received, Politico reports, “Future Forward, the flagship super PAC blessed by President Joe Biden, received $150 million in new commitments from major Democratic donors in the 24 hours since the president announced he would step aside from the race.”
“Future Forward already had $122 million on hand as of the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission filings.”
That means approximately $250 million – about a quarter of a billion dollars – was just added to the coffers of Democratic campaigns, including Kamala Harris’s, and PACs
My TikTok feed has also been awash with videos supporting Harris. I was introduced to the "Divine Nine" which is a term for the National Pan-Hellenic Council, nine historically African American fraternities and sororities. They have fully thrown their support behind Harris and are working to mobilize their groups to help her campaign.
This definitely feels like a moment.
July 22nd, 2024
Automated Archives for July, 22nd 2024
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Chess For the Day
Record: 3-0-4
Net Elo Change: +14
Games Played
- Oldyella96 - LOSS
- piupiumonstro - LOSS
- DemetriusRTF - LOSS
- bankoff - LOSS
- DZ89 - WIN
- GILMAC22 - WIN
- jimskie - WIN
Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (9 posts)
July 21st, 2024
Automated Archives for July, 21st 2024
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Chess For the Day
Record: 3-0-2
Net Elo Change: +7
Games Played
Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (1 post)
Historic
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
After weeks of discourse, Biden has officially announced he will not run for re-election. Ultimately I support this move, while I believe he could have done it, there was a sizable percentage chance that he would need to resign in the middle of his second term and that would potentially harm Kamala.
I do think there is a definite risk that Kamala (or whomever gets the nomination) does lose some of the people who would support Biden, but overall I think that loss will be minimal as most people will reasonably acknowledge that the candidate is unquestionably better than Donald Trump.
I personally expect we will see Kamala / Shapiro as the ticket in November, but who knows. Things are about to get very interesting.
A Birthday Taskmaster
So yesterday my family departed for the next leg of their journey, then after a nap Katie and I went to a friend's birthday party. They put together a Taskmaster event and had attendees compete in various tasks. I placed third overall, but Katie did manage to win a task which sent us home with a massive vase filled with M&Ms and Skittles.
We had a great time and definitely something I'll be considering for future birthdays of my own. So, happy birthday Sarah, thanks for the amazing evening.
July 20th, 2024
Automated Archives for July, 20th 2024
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Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (1 post)
July 19th, 2024
Automated Archives for July, 19th 2024
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Chess For the Day
Record: 2-0-1
Net Elo Change: +8
Games Played
Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (10 posts)
July 18th, 2024
Automated Archives for July, 18th 2024
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Chess For the Day
Record: 1-0-1
Net Elo Change: -1
Games Played
Blog Posts On This Day
- 1 year ago (15 posts)
Best. Uncle. Ever.
Just so y'all know, between working on Magic, teaching him D&D yesterday, and showing him my Minecraft stuff today - My nephew believes I'm basically the coolest uncle which has ever existed.
July 15th, 2024
July 14, 2024 by Heather Cox Richardson
Yesterday will be a date in the history books, perhaps not the specific date, but the events will be notable in the same way we learn about Reagan's attempted assassination.
Here is how Heather Cox Richardson began her entry for yesterday:
Shortly after 6:00 yesterday evening at a Trump rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, a shooter on the roof of a building about 400 feet from the stage appears to have shot eight bullets at the former president and into the crowd. Trump appeared to flinch and reach for his right ear as Secret Service agents crouched over the former president. When the agents got word the shooter was "down," they lifted Trump to move him out. He asked to get his shoes and then to put them on.
With that apparently accomplished, Trump stood up with blood on his face, exposed to the crowd, and told the agents to wait. He raised his fist in the air in front of an American flag in what instantly became an iconic image. He appeared to yell, "Fight, fight, fight!" to the crowd before being ushered offstage.
Pennsylvania firefighter Corey Comperatore, 50, was killed. David Dutch, 57, was injured and is hospitalized in stable condition. James Copenhaver, 74, was also injured and is in stable condition.