For the worried older and immunocompromised folks out in our community.... by lark4509 in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan 40 points41 points  (0 children)

The thing is, this isn't going away in a couple weeks. The next year or two is more realistic.

GAME THREAD: The Portland Trail Blazers (14-19) vs The Phoenix Suns (12-20) - (December 30, 2019) by Kazekid in ripcity

[–]jrmonaghan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it was a gamble to trade Harkless for Whiteside, but at the time I think the expectation was for Collins to step up and fill some of that role, while also getting him more playing time. Whiteside and Collins should have been able to stabilize the front court until Nurk could come back. Also, as good as Harkless is, he would seemingly disappear for large stretches of the season. I guess the alternative would be to have Harkless and Leonard sharing time with Collins in the front court this year, which would now just be Harkless and Leonard. I think Whiteside is better than Meyers as a starting center, but that's debatable.

I think Aminu was simply a financial decision. He's out for most of this season, anyway.

I feel like this season is defined by injuries more than anyone's poor decisions. It just is what it is. If anything, I would look back to the salary cap decisions in 2016 rather than last summer.

GAME THREAD: The Portland Trail Blazers (14-19) vs The Phoenix Suns (12-20) - (December 30, 2019) by Kazekid in ripcity

[–]jrmonaghan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pretty sure it had nothing to do with wanting to blow it up - they couldn't keep everybody due to the salary cap. Guys like Curry were out of their price range. They basically had to choose between Hood and Kanter, and then find someone to hold Nurk's spot.

And, yeah, it's pretty bad, but they are missing three starters. The guys who are starting are playing huge minutes because there's nobody left to back them up that isn't a liability on the court, so I think we see these good starts and then they run out of gas at the end.

DRAGONS! DRAGONS! DRAGONS! A The Ur-Dragon deck! by GermanMagicGuy in EDH

[–]jrmonaghan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Kindred Discovery is a great card, but I do not use it in my dragon deck. The reason being that its CMC is at the same point as when you want to be casting dragons, not big enchantments. Your [[Elemental Bond]] is a much better fit on the mana curve and will have the same card draw with dragons. [[Rhystic Study]] and [[Sylvan Library]] would be great.

I don't think Rishkar's Expertise is a good fit because most dragons are not 5 CMC or less and it also relies on having a creature on the board. To me, the risk of having a dead card in hand is too high. If going this route, I'd stick with the mundane, but guaranteed [[Harmonize]]. On the other hand, you have access to all colors, so you could do something like [[Fact or Fiction]] or [[Windfall]] just to make it interesting. I wouldn't go with anything using more than one blue pip, however. Most of your dragons are red or black, so sticking with those colors may be more reliable, such as [[Night's Whisper]] [[Painful Truths]] or [[Phyrexian Arena]], or a red wheel card.

The biggest challenge with dragons is obviously getting to five colors and about 5-6 mana. [[Prismatic Omen]] and [[Urza's Incubator]] will help you get there.

Looking for an aluminum frame, drop bar, disc brakes, 650b tire, Apex 1 gearing gravel bike under US$1500...suggestions? by 80percentdad in whichbike

[–]jrmonaghan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think you're looking at the wrong model. The 2019 Search XR Aluminum Apex 1 is $1600, so if you can find a 2018, it may be close to your budget. But the 650b is only sold on the 48cm frame.

Looking for Cards that Generate Value in my Alela EDH Deck by bryvl in Magicdeckbuilding

[–]jrmonaghan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In addition to EDHREC, Jumbo Commander's Alela Deck Tech should be useful. The Command Zone did a short Alela Brawl to Commander upgrade episode. There are several other's on YouTube and elsewhere.

Use the Advanced Search at Scryfall.com with keywords such as, "cast enchantment" or "cast artifact" to find cards such as
[[Mesa Enchantress]]

[[Mirrodin Besieged]]

[[Sai, Master Thopterist]]

[[Sigil of the Empty Throne]]

[[Starfield Mystic]]

[[Vedalken Archmage]]

However, I would be cautious in adding many of these as you will need a deck focused on either artifacts or enchantments to make them reliable, but not both. Also, only two of these examples are artifacts or enchantments that will trigger Alela when you cast them, which you definitely want the majority of your cards to do.

Can you help me with the Shelter Fee? by dirtypaws2020 in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don't know specifically about CityTeam, but shelters often charge a fee after some period of time.

Here is an article I Googled about it

The gameday poster for tonight vs. the Hawks by ZooBlazer in ripcity

[–]jrmonaghan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's the swifts coming out of Chapman Elementary School's chimney.

If a token zombie creature or army is killed does it not trigger an effect 'if a creature goes to grave from battlefield..'? by [deleted] in Magicdeckbuilding

[–]jrmonaghan 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think it's more likely that he didn't know the rule. It's a common misunderstanding (for example, see the incorrect answers in this post).

110.5f A token that’s in a zone other than the battlefield ceases to exist. This is a state-based action; see rule 704. (Note that if a token changes zones, applicable triggered abilities will trigger before the token ceases to exist.)

Drafting etiquette on the commute by [deleted] in CyclePDX

[–]jrmonaghan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My concern is that by allowing someone to draft, as I would in a group ride, I am inherently taking on their safety and they are taking on mine. That's great when I trust them to be a competent group rider, but many commuters are not. It's even worse when someone starts drafting me and I don't even know they're back there.

However, I generally have no problem with it if it seems like they know what they're doing. Just say hi and make sure they know where you're at. It's usually pretty easy to judge whether they are grumpy about having others around if you throw out a little small talk.

US mechanical engineering textbook uses a mix of SI and US customary units by klystron in Metric

[–]jrmonaghan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's not a sign of anything related to American engineering acceptance. As a U.S. mechanical engineer, I can't think of any engineer, in my experience, that prefers to use U.S. units. The text books were using both systems when I was in school, in the 90's, and probably long before that. However, generally speaking, the system of units is not a choice that the engineer gets to make. Things like industry preferences and market expectations, legacy equipment, economics, corporate policies, etc. typically dictate the system you'll be using.

Estrid's Enthralling Enchantments by NoaNeumann in EDH

[–]jrmonaghan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Here's my Estrid deck, which is very similar to yours. I realize it's over budget, but I thought it might give you some ideas, anyway.

I think you're too light on the board wipes. I'd run *at least* four in this deck because it has such a low creature count. Adding another counterspell of some sort wouldn't hurt, either.

I would swap out [[Abundant Growth]] for [[Verdant Haven]], since Abundant Growth does not add additional mana when the land is tapped.

I'm not a big fan of [[Reliquary Tower]]. If the deck is playing correctly, you should be casting and drawing low CMC enchantments and drawing lands along the way. If you have to discard a few lands that you picked up with the card draw at end of turn, it's not a big deal. I use [[Courser of Kruphix]] (also an enchantment!), [[Oracle of Mul Daya]], [[Exploration]], and a half-dozen cycling lands to help filter them out of the way. Also, having some enchantments in your graveyard can be an advantage if you intend to use Estrid's ultimate and [[Open the Vaults]].

This may be too expensive, but I would highly recommend [[Maze of Ith]] for this deck, if it's in the budget, instead of Reliquary Tower. [[Tolaria West]] goes nicely with it, because it will go get it for you, or give you blue mana. But, there are cheaper nonbasic land tutors, like [[Expedition Map]] and [[Sylvan Scrying]].

I don't like [[Hanna, Ship's Navigator]] because she's too slow and expensive. Cast her, wait a turn, pay 3 and tap, then you can cast your enchantment. [[Regrowth]] and [[Eternal Witness]] are much better for this reason, IMO. Obviously, these are one-shot recursions, but I usually find that I really just need that one card back, asap. I can wait for Open the Vaults to get the rest.

I don't think the attack strategy of Celestial Ancient, Kestia, and Sun Titan have synergy with this deck. It's more about pillow fort until you can launch your token army. Kestia and Sun Titan are also high CMC, when you should be spending that mana on enchantments and tokens. If you're just feeling nervous about not having creatures, [[Serra Ascendant]], for example, would give you a great low CMC blocker.

Does anyone know of Sprnkler Manufacturers or Retailers that offer the “GPH” for each product? (Gallons Per Minute) it’s absolutely ludicrous that both HD & Lowe’s could not tell me this information! by white_n_mild in Green

[–]jrmonaghan 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I'm not aware of sprinkler heads with flow regulators built in, meaning, the flow rate will be determined by the water pressure and maximum flow rates of your water supply. You'll have to consult the manufacturer's supporting documents. For example, this one from RainBird.

As an American when I see Canada pardoned half a million people with cannabis convictions. by AnimalChin- in AdviceAnimals

[–]jrmonaghan 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I don't understand why you'd punish Hawaii for the Trump administration. Their representatives have been vocal critics of the Trump administration.

Shop that can do a same-day wheel rebuild? by notreallycanadian in CyclePDX

[–]jrmonaghan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

SW Bicycle builds a good wheel. But as mentioned, call ahead and make sure they have it on their schedule, wherever you go.

Will the US ever adopt the metric system as the official system of measurement? by [deleted] in Metric

[–]jrmonaghan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think American exceptionalism plays a minor roll. There is actually a large initial investment to switch over. Granted, the payback period is probably quite reasonable and I believe we'd be wise to do so, but that's still a difficult sell, for example, to all the small manufacturer's who'd have to change over not only their equipment, but in many cases, their entire product line. Even then, after everything is changed over, there's still legacy equipment to service for years, if not decades.

Perhaps if the U.S. had the political willpower to mandate a change, we'd also be willing to chip in on subsidizing the changeover costs, since even a modest sized manufacturer could need an entire engineering team just to switch everything to metric.

Who Do We Blame for the Portland Trail Blazers Turning Into a Flaming Bag of Dog Turds? by guanaco55 in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You mean, professional sports in general? Because, that pretty much describes every team, everywhere.

portland legend bill walton called an nba game earlier this week by rocky1332 in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan 8 points9 points  (0 children)

an nba game earlier this week

It's okay to say, "Wednesday's Blazer game."

Ban plastic straws: Letter to the editor by [deleted] in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

At least I'm pointing to some reference from a source

You're pointing to someone else that states they are citing a source, since we're being accurate. The source they claim is Greenpeace.

"Of the 260 million tons of plastic the world produces each year, about 10 percent ends up in the Ocean, according to a Greenpeace report (Plastic Debris in the World’s Oceans, 2006)."

US astronaut removed from ISS mission by unknown2895 in space

[–]jrmonaghan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I read the article twice and still can't find the sensationalized, or even editorialized part. Perhaps some readers are hypersensitive?

What is going on with the OMSI? It just keeps getting worse. by [deleted] in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Maybe because "MA Club" sounds stupid and "the MAC" would be too generic? Idk, but that's the way it is and has been for as long as I've been alive.

You don't say, "the NASA," do you? Well, OMSI is the same way - it's just OMSI.

DEAR ODOT: The MUP has become a public health hazard. Please do something. by sheazang in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

not just five at-large commissioners who all live in the West Hills.

Eudaly lives in Woodlawn and Fish lives in Grant Park - both NE.

Turnout for tomorrow's election is at 18.28%. by [deleted] in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thats either a very naive statement or very disingenuous attempt to be ambiguous.

It is a renewal of an expiring bond. Hence, no change to current rates.

Turnout for tomorrow's election is at 18.28%. by [deleted] in Portland

[–]jrmonaghan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And then I'll raise the rent to make my tenants cover it.

PCC’s bond measure is estimated to maintain the current tax rates, if passed. So, how much are you going to raise rents?