Vorlonagent

I got this image of an Old West Immortal.
"Low down horse-thieving varmint.  Resettin's too good for ye...."

Jerry was going to offer Sarah a magic mark, so I would say that the magic marks don't count as part of the Immortal's power as Jerry wouldn't want to mess up his reset(His next life wouldn't be a very useful ally to Susan if he messed it up). Though an Immortal might run into trouble if they try to give a mark in the same moment their reset finally triggers, as I imagine it take some of their power to bestow the mark, even if the mark itself isn't part of their power.
Besides, as Kazzellin points out, Immortals gather their power when doing a proper reset, which a forced reset is not.

/me takes a list of names.  
Notes "1st for the year"'
/me commands 2 packets of red pepper.
 

Skinks don't stink, but they can shrink from public view.
Actually the original body was in fact a skunk.  It's how the monument got its name as well as why it was quickly renovated.  But alas the name stuck. 
"Smell?  It sphinx!"

Oh just drop it on him and let him deal with it from there.

Give his regeneration a workout at any rate.

We know that toy hammers are very useful when wielded by Catalina.
www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=1082

The BBs migth do more damage than normal for their anti-vampire qualities as well.

Appropos of nothing, friends showed me about half the first season of "Assassination Classroom" this weekend...

Heh.  For some reason this reminds me of the Doberman Disguise Kit which was posted in response to towns passing bans on whole breeds instead of dealing with dogs as individuals.  It had four poofy fake-fur anklets, a sort of poofy fake-fur vest around the shoulders, and a hat with a poof on the top of the head and fake floppy ears with poofy fur along the bottom edges.  And of course the final picture of a Doberman in full disguise was actually a real Standard Poodle with the same haircut.  :-)

Mrs. Prof arrives home. USB 3 slot found and plug shifted into it. ASIO drivers now functional! The 2i2 Gen.2 works now.

 
Both of these earn my seal of approval...

 
ELMER SEASON!

Manatee season!

My thinking is that in the 18th and 19th centuries, magic could do similar things to the inventions made in those centuries in our world, and as such many of those inventions were never made or never became well known. As a result of this the technological growth of this alternate world was stunted, and they're still decades or more away from developing the miniturized electronics required for cell phones (and PCs for that matter) - assuming anyone has thought to research such things at all.
For instance, if they already possessed a magical means of two-way audio & video communication (something which has to be set up in specific locations and cannot easily be moved, like say a pool with runes carved into its stone walls), they might not have invented the electric telegraph or land-line telephones. And if they could light their homes with magic lanterns instead of oil or gas based lanterns, there might not be any incentive to build an electrical grid. And so on.
...It occurs to me this is a lot of speculation built on the facts that we weren't told that Magus took Ashley's phone, and we haven't seen any modern technology in the brief flashbacks we've had to Magus world. I still stand by my claim that my scenario is possible, but knowing Dan it's more likely Magus world has modern tech and either Magus and Sirleck did take Ashley's phone and we don't know it yet, or they simply forgot. (We could even wind up with a scene of "I thought you took her phone!" "No, you were supposed to do that!")

To turn an old adage on its head: "If nobody is in charge then everybody is in charge."

Did anybody besides me notice that the sword Susan used survived its encounter with the bearded snake-vampire?
I think the narration is a bit of book-learning left by Jerry to his next life now using the working title of "Zeus."

Ok, I admit it.
I've lost my marble.

You mean besides Noriko Verres?

It's a truism that most males are attracted to women that are either just like their moms or the polar opposite, which includes bodytype.

I think the shape of Fv5 has its roots in that hole Noriko left in Tedd's life.  Tedd had access to any number of graphic novels comic books etc that would have given him various bodytypes to select features from, but I think Norko provided the starting template. 

Bugger all this for a lark.
Okay. My Sith Warrior in The Old Republic FINALLY managed to get a complete Bastila Shan outfit. You have no idea how long I have wanted that.
Problem: It does not look right on her. At all.
Insult to injury: It looks awesome on her companion Vette. SHE can carry it off, blast her green Twi'lek hide.
I hate her.

Tedd's got this covered

The big question is how fast cards are used and replaced.  If a player, say, starts with a hand of 5 cards but only draws 1 each turn,  expending multiple cards in one turn could make for a card-deficit disadvantage in future turns.

Woo for surgery date!  Wooo!!
We're in the home stretch now.

Proposal:
Federal rules should form a minimum standard.  Individual states should have some freedom to make changes of their own  Access to this system is blocked to anyone who has committed a violent felony for 10 years per violation, and they stack.
Creation of an independent Federal Firearms licensing Authority, to be supported by licensing fees and government if necessary.  It is a nonprofit corporation run in the public interest, but not under the command and control of the Executive Branch.  Its exclusive function is to grant federal gun-related licenses and run federal background checks.  All other government agencies are to cooperate with this agency are not allowed to duplicate its work and must defer to its authority
keeps an encrypted database of background checks, current licenses and other information as needed to administer laws.  Police and government must have a valid warrant or congressional subpoena to look at information and must have a separate one for each individual. Disclosing database information without a warrant is a felony, , fines, jail time, blah,blah, blah Government may not surveil this agency, interfere with its normal operation or compile lists that in any way duplicate this agency's.  Felony, fines, jail time, blah,blah, blah for anybody involved. Individuals may request activity sheets which detail if government has been asking about them.  Government may have specific queries temporarily sealed by court order. Rules for semi-automatic and slower-firing weapons at or under 10Kg unloaded weight.  (Casual sport and self defense)
May be purchased with a certificate of having passed a basic gun safety class within the previous two years, plus a background check, plus a minimum waiting period, no exceptions.  The internet is everywhere people.  There's no excuse. Weapons may not be modified in any way such that a trigger pull fires more than one round. Magazines for such weapons may not be sold with a higher capacity than 10 rounds. Ammunition may not be sold that has increased body armor penetration. Rules for weapons under 10KG in weight and accessories not covered above (Enthusiast)
Illegal without a Restricted Weapons license.  Can't use someone else's license, other commonsense stuff, violators get Felony, fines, jail time, blah,blah, blah Having a Restricted weapons license enables the purchase of Restricted weapons and accessories with valid confirmation of the license.  No "yes" means no.  Restricted items include but are not limited to Automatic weapons 10Kg or under Magazines with a capacity above 10 rounds round types not listed above. modifications to semiautomatic weapons 10KG or under to make them fire faster Purchaser is responsible for any damage or loss of life related to items purchased using the license. Private sale of Restricted stuff are identical to those of a new sale.  The parties must use a 3rd party broker to run background checks, hold weapons for cooling off periods etc.  Once the selling party releases control of the Restricted stuff, they are no longer responsible. Must renew license each year or certify that all Restricted items have been sold or destroyed. Rules for weapons over 10Kg unloaded weight (military grade)
You need a damn good reason to want a working one of these.  Exceptions include museums and very SERIOUS private collectors.  Not going to go into detail here because it's really outside the scope of the current discussion.  Just note there are some special cases I'm not covering. National Concealed Carry License
Only covers carrying Self Defense grade weapons.  Wearer is licensed with one weapon.  Additional weapons are licensed individually Valid within the borders of the US, supersedes state carry laws. Issued after owner demonstrates ability to shoot well, good knowledge of state and federal laws that have jurisdiction within 50 miles of their residence, knowledge of safety and maintenance. State law may restrict concealed carry on transports such as (but not limited to) planes, busses and trains. A concealed carry does not mean the licensee can ignore reasonable "gun-free zone" rules or laws. Moratorium
For the next 10 years, no law may be introduced, regulation changed or introduced or executive order enforced that impacts the 2nd Amendment or laws pertaining to it without a 60% consenting vote from both houses of Congress, or 50% congressional vote plus president's signature After 10 years the threshold drops to 55%, or 50% congressional vote plus president's signature.  
The idea is to give something to get something.  Restrictions tighten for self defense uses but open up for enthusiasts.  Gun owners concerned about being on lists know that at the very least, the lists aren't in easy reach of the government.  

The Moderator: While it is of course permissible to present a data point to refute an opposing claim, please attempt to do so without either undertones of sarcasm or irritation.

My participation is going to be spotty this week. I am helping my mom recover from knee-replacement-replacement surgery.
I really try to keep myself grounded, reasoned and reasonable and fact-based.
I don't always succeed (and when I fail I tend to fail big), but I do try...
Newton's law of politics.  The harder you feel pushed, the harder you feel like you have to push back.   The more uncompromising the other side looks, the more uncompromising you feel you have to be.  Escalation and de-humanization can bounce back and forth between two sides of any disagreement, which I imagine is the basis of Godwin's Law, where all internet conversations eventually lead to someone calling someone else a nazi.  These conflicts can be de-escalated but its not easy especially with the internet in play.
It's really easy to perceive the extremity of the other side as being genuine, but like you posted, bell curve of behavior and outlook.  How many people just want things to be "better" in some way and how many are really committed to an absolute end-goal?
The first paragraph of Don's post is something of concern to me as well.  I can't remember any serious push to broaden gun rights anytime in the last 40 years.  The push is always toward restriction after restriction.  And it does appear that compromise only fuels the next round of restrictions.
This is why I asked "where does it end?"  This is a question that has also not been adequately answered.  Gun owners have been dealing with a "death of a thousand cuts" sort of situation for a while now.  Any meeting of minds must include a cessation of legislative hostility or at least a point where gun owners begin to pick up allies who previously were adversaries.

Don''s second paragraph, however, was less than helpful, as was the first paragraph of Critterkeeper's reply.  
People convicted of crimes are legally presumed to have signed away some constitutional protections as it is.  An individual with a history of violent crime convictions has (or should have) signed away his 2nd Amendment rights as well.  We obviously want to makcommonsense exceptions to the 2nd Amendment.
We can work out a set of reasonable circumstances for who *shouldn't* be allowed to own a gun without too much trouble, though I have personal knowledge of one case where this was abused.  A civil war historian with a collection of antique guns was having trouble with the administrators of a college he was working for.  He has a history of some non-violent psychological issues.  Admin called the police, they took all his guns and had destroyed them by the time the historian got his name cleared.
The real rub is banning guns by classification. It is really troubling is when government says "you can't own this class of gun". It can be seen as convicting the entire population of a crime without trial or representation.  As I have posted before there are wide ranges of military hardware where this is reasonable:  Combat-capable artillery, tanks and airplanes are on any reasonable no-go list.

I am willing to support class restrictions especially if there are reasonable exceptions, such as perhaps licensing.  I can't own an M-16 (full auto weapon) unless I have a license, though there should be guns I can own without one.  The terms of the license is touchy stuff.  Some gun owners would feel they are signing up for a visit from government thugs should government go full-on authoritarian.  Also licensing fees and other hoops to jump through could be used to create a de-facto ban like literacy tests and poll taxes were once used to de-facto ban black voting in the South.
Does this seem like a good starting point for discussion?