#***technically silicosis is different from lung cancer

[dw-flagler]

There's a WoG on S-class trickster

https://www.reddit.com/r/Parahumans/comments/3j3n4j/comment/culzarq/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

You can pick whoever you want, but I'm curious if there's any parahumans you can think of that'd be particularly interesting upscaled in such a way, and what you think the result would look like.

for some reason i had an almost finished version of this, but it vanished, so you get the second, shitty version.

jjba pt 7: steel ball run spoilers below.

So, to make an S-Class character... I mean, they already did khepri as the s-class skitter/weaver, but honestly if you wanted to make khepri into a simpler s-class threat, just increase her range to like entire city size and she is one of the most dangerous parahumans on the planet. easy as pie. But that's lame and kind of a cop-out.

S-Class Tattletale is also really easy, and also really lame. Just remove her headaches and she's obscenely powerful. You know I've had s-class lisa in my back pocket my whole damn life, but yeah it's really lame!

S-Class Damsel of Distress, I have no idea for, since as far as i'm aware there's no real way to up the ante with her power, since her power is best described as an obliteration blast. I guess you could tusk act 3 it? so she can project her hand--and her obliteration blasts--from any surface in her range? if it's visual that might just be a really strong power, so just make it anywhere in a set range she wants, since that's what tusk act 3 was (technically it was anywhere a shot landed, but ashley's power is a bit more "to whom it may concern" than johnny joestar's power). Shame, I did want to do something for ashley since she's a favorite of mine, but I'm really drawing a blank, here.

A little better is S-Class Shatterbird, which is also simple, but with more intriguing stretches of her power. For one thing, you'd have to increase her range of fine control a lot, since it's normally capped at about 2 blocks, which isn't that far. She also gets a lot of diminishing returns with longer range, since she can't actually feel through glass, like skitter can with bugs. But increase her range, to allow her to gather more glass, if nothing else. But the real fun change is--shatterbird's power technically isn't to control glass, it's to control silica, which is the primary ingredient in glass, but it's also integral to sand and computer chips, which she can also control (with significantly lower fidelity) and (in the latter's case) explode with her scream. But you know what else has a lot of silica* in it?

Portland cement.

Let her explode and control concrete. boom, s-class threat**. Shatterbird screaming now turns an entire city into a bomb.

Another thing I thought of is allowing her to control silica dust, which she can form shapes out of or suffocate people to death with. Or in a bout of excruciating cruelty, let her give people silicosis and then give them horrible incurable lung cancer***.

But this still feels kind of lazy! I guess let me know what you think, especially, i'd love to hear your obviously-better-than-mine ideas.

[nigeiadigitalmarketingcompany]

The Trump White House Is Upending Decades of Policy-Making Procedures

Digital Elixir The Trump White House Is Upending Decades of Policy-Making Procedures

By Stuart Shapiro, Professor of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University. Originally published at The Conversation

Whether it’s overhauling asylum procedures, adding a question about citizenship to the 2020 Census, or rolling back fuel standards, a pattern has emerged when the Trump administration changes policies and creates new ones.

An announcement is made, media attention follows, the policy is formally proposed and finalized – generating more news coverage along the way. In many cases, judges suspend the new policy as lawsuits work their way through the system. Unusually, the Supreme Court often ends up determining whether the new policy can go into effect.

All presidents since the 1960s have embraced a process known as policy analysis that requires careful consideration and deliberation at every step of the way. In most cases, the public also gets to weigh in before a final decision is made. Based on my research about regulatory decision-making, I’ve observed a sea change in how Trump’s team is dealing with public policy compared to previous administrations.

Administrative Procedure Act

For the first 150 years of this country’s history, Congress, not presidents, decided on policies by enacting laws.

Starting around 1900, lawmakers began to delegate this task to independent agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, and to government agencies under the president’s control. The pace of this shift stepped up during the New Deal, three decades later.

But because this arrangement can empower unelected bureaucrats, questions about accountability arose. Chief among them: Could decisions made by unelected officials that affected millions of people be allowed in a democracy? Requiring public participation and systematic analysis became routine and required for most policy changes as a result.

The mandate for public participation came first.

In 1946, Congress passed the Administrative Procedure Act. It established rulemaking procedures that required agencies creating new policies to alert the public, seek comments, and then consider that input before making most policies final. Many states followed suit with their own versions of this measure.

Silent Spring

The environmental, worker safety, and other social movements that arose during the 1960s and early 1970s led Congress to create agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Lawmakers then delegated authority to make policy to those new agencies regarding the issues within their purview.

For example, the public pressure for greater automobile safety in the wake of consumer safety activist Ralph Nader’s book “Unsafe at Any Speed” prompted Congress to empower the Department of Transportation to more strictly regulate automakers. Scientist Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” a seminal book that exposed the damage caused by pesticides, expedited the passage of numerous environmental statutesin the U.S. and elsewhere and the creation of the EPA during the Nixon administration.

In the wake of these new responsibilities, starting with Gerald Ford, all presidents, Republican and Democratic alike implemented and refined the requirements for analysis and input from the public prior to the unveiling of new policies. The analysis requirement championed by pioneers like Alice Rivlin, who served as President Bill Clinton’s budget chief, has led to many successes.

One example is when the EPA decided in the 1980s to require the removal of all lead from gasoline because the analysis of costs and benefits showed how many lives would be saved or improved by its elimination. I relayed another success story in my policy analysis textbook: when the Department of Homeland Security scaled back its proposal for stringent requirements on aircraft repair stations in 2014. The Obama administration took this step after finding the costs to be too high for minimal security benefits.

These mandatory analyses forced agencies to use basic economic principles to calculate costs and benefits and to make the calculations available to the public.

But this approach can also fail, at least partly because it can make decisions seem overly technocratic. That’s often the case when values are at stake, such as deciding whether protecting an endangered species is worth increasing the cost of construction and infrastructure projects – or blocking them altogether.

What’s more, following the requisite steps can also mean the rule-making process takes not just years but decades. OSHA, for example, has taken decades to issue some rules that protect workers. Its industrial quartz regulations, for instance, reportedly took 45 years to finish. Technically known as crystalline silica, the substance, when finely ground up for manufacturing or blasted during construction, can cause workers to contract silicosis, an incurable lung disease, and lung cancer.

Shifting Gears

The Trump administration hasn’t declared that it’s doing anything different. It hasn’t, as far as I know, ever declared that “policy analysis is bad” or said, “Let’s ignore the public and ignore expertise.”

But the public record shows that Trump’s team has either ignored, manipulated or subverted the requirements for analysis and participationon numerous policy actions that range from addressing climate change to the division of waiters’tips.

Whether a federal agency analyzes its decisions or asks for public input on them may seem like the ultimate in inside baseball. But processes make a difference. I believe that its failure to follow the long-established policy analysis process is a key reason why Trump administration is losing many court battles.

The Trump White House Is Upending Decades of Policy-Making Procedures

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[siding-colors]

Fiber Cement Siding - What You Need to Know

Fiber Cement Siding is termite resistant, durable, non-flammable, easy to install and refine, moisture resistant, and typically comes with a 50 year manufacturer's warranty. Fiber cement siding looks like wood siding, but is cheaper and has lower maintenance costs than wood siding. Fiber cement siding is manufactured by many major building material manufacturers and is available in a variety of colors, styles, textures, patterns and sizes. As a rule, fiber cement siding products cost more than vinyl siding, but cost less than masonry, wood, and stucco. The concept of fiber cement siding has existed for almost a century. Initially, the fiber cement siding had an asbestos admixture. Over the past 20 years, newer technologies have begun to produce the product as we know it today in a different way. The siding consists of autoclaved Portland cement, sand, cellulose or wood fiber material, which means that it has been cured with pressurized steam to increase its strength and dimensional stability. The fiber content helps to make the cement firmer by avoiding and eliminating cracks that typically occur with aging cement.

The following is a partial list of manufacturers and suppliers of fiber cement siding: o Cork tank o Definitely o GAF materials James Hardie MaxiTile o Nichiha USA It is quite common for many to refer to this product as a "hardie board", although there are other major producers of fiber cement sidings. Fiber cement products also include soffit, trim and cover materials. ADVANTAGES There are many benefits of fiber cement sidings, with the greatest being its durability and properties that allow it to be installed for any geographic region and climate. The product is more versatile than vinyl or wood trim alternatives. The fiber cement products are thicker than vinyl sheets and therefore more resistant to peeling, cracking, chipping, shrinkage, swelling, sagging and bending. In addition, it is less susceptible to windstorm damage and wind damage caused by debris. The product works well with heat in the southwest and the brutal cold in the states of New England. It is naturally resistant to fungi, mildew and termites. No routine maintenance is required to avoid these problems, as is the case with wood paneling. The product also has the ability to easily adhere paint to its surface and resist moisture, which is very helpful in southern regions. DISADVANTAGE The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages of the product, although here are some disadvantages: o The siding is heavy and must be properly handled and maintained before installation. o One component of the products is silicon dioxide (SiO 2), which also accounts for about 75% of the earth's crust and is a very common component of most tile and masonry products. If silica is in an intact state, there is no risk of silica. Although cutting, drilling or sanding during the installation process may result in a potential health risk for smaller, silica-containing dust, inhalation over long periods of time may cause silicosis, lung cancer or other lung related diseases. To avoid health problems, both OSHA and NIOSH and the manufacturer recommend wearing properly-fitted respiratory equipment to protect against potential health hazards. o Products can be installed by homeowners, although proper installation is recommended to comply with the manufacturer's recommendations and guidelines. Non-compliance with installation specifications usually causes problems and dissatisfaction. o Improper installation techniques generally refer to improper nailing, lack of suitable flame processes, improper spacing from other surfaces - d. H. Roof and foundation surfaces, caulking, painting, no moisture-resistant barrier under the siding installation. Most manufacturers have explicit installation instructions for each product type - lap siding, plank siding, vertical panels, soffits, siding, shingle siding, etc. James Hardie, http://www.jameshardie.comHas a very good website with download instructions, charts, guessing tips and product information. The attachment of the materials to the walls can be done in two different ways. o Blind nail - this is the process of inserting a fastener through the upper edge of the lap lattice covered by the next stretch or lap. o Facial nails - this is the process of placing a fastener through the overlap of a plank. The fasteners are visible. In collaboration with ICC Evaluation Service, Inc., a comprehensive technical document on cement fiber products was published in 2004. The report is titled ICC ES Legacy Report NER-405, which includes wind speed, nailing, thermal, permeability, load and other comprehensive technical results and findings. This guide is available on the James Hardie website. Green products These products are considered to be environmentally friendly as they have no harmful effects on the environment. The use of these types of products eliminates the widespread grubbing up of our forests for construction purposes. The products are durable with a long life expectancy and do not need to be constantly replaced during the typical ownership or life cycle of the building. The raw materials used to make the products have low pulp, sand, cement and water toxicity and are recycled up to four times. In addition, Hardie produces a unique Color Plus manufacturing process in which the paint is baked in the factories. This ensures consistent quality and eliminates VOC emissions during the exterior painting process. The 15-year warranty on the finish reduces the need for re-painting. Read the full article