This is the website of Abulsme Noibatno Itramne (also known as Sam Minter).
Posts here are rare these days. For current stuff, follow me on Mastodon
|
This page seems to be pretty useful. Shows where Apple Products are within the average product cyles for each line. Neat. Says not to buy a Powerbook now, cause they are overdue for an update. Which I knew. But cool. I plan to replace my powerbook at the end of January with whatever is the best powerbook available at that time. I am hoping for not just a speedbump but a major revision before then. But we shall see.
http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/
This page provides a product summary for each Apple model. The intent is to provide our best recommendations regarding current product cycles, and to provide a summary of currently available rumors for each model.
(via “Sick of Waiting” thread on AppleInsider)
If Greenspan cuts rates and mortgage rates drop again before my closing on August 11th now that I’ve locked in, I’ll be quite pissed at myself, and Ivan can say “I told you so”.
Greenspan Says Fed Could Cut Rates Again (AP on Yahoo News)
The Federal Reserve stands ready to reduce interest rates even further if necessary to boost the sluggish economy and guard against a destabilizing fall in prices, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Tuesday.
Although, the next Fed meeting, which is when these things usually happen, will be August 12th, which is the day after my closing. So it probably won’t affect me. :-)
It would not be fun to have to be a voter in this and pick between characters like this. But I don’t live in California, and watching this from the sidelines is going to be fun!
The Battle of the Accents (Don Hazen, Alternet)
Hard to believe, but this fall those two accented icons, Greek-born Arianna Huffington and Austrian-born Arnold Schwarzenegger, may well be battling to the wire to take the California governorship away from sad sack Gray Davis, who has embarrassed himself to near unanimous public contempt in the state.
(via Cursor)
I coulda been in at 13 today. Alarm rang at 11. Was concious by 11:50. Out of bed by 12:10. But I took my time again. Put away laundry. Tidyed up in case the maintenence people come again to fix the closet. Watched an episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show. See, I knew my first meeting wasn’t until 14. But it means another $4 gone. Oh well. Time to get ready for that meeting.
Day 4 of my redesigned site. Woo! I am about to do the sleep thing. But before I do… I’m all curious about just how long it will take before someone from my regular top ten actually notices this revised site and comments on it. I wonder which of them (of those who have made my top ten in the last year) will notice and comment on it first. Dunno. Could be any of them I guess.
Greg and Brandy knew I was working on adding the blog, cause they helped me test and set it up on a different URL before I made it the home page. But neither of them have commented on it since I actually activated it on the site. And certainly nobody else has.
Dunno. Perhaps I should offer a prize for the first person from the last year of top tens who notices and says something to me. Or not. :-)
Anyway, bedtime. ZZZzzz…
If they didn’t want to comply, justice should have dropped the charges themselves to avoid the need. But for outright violating the courts order, not only should the case be dropped and Moussaoui set free, but the Justice Department officals responsible should be charged with contempt of court and sent to the slammer themselves.
Story on cnn.com
The Justice Department on Monday refused a federal judge’s order to allow accused terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui access to a captured al Qaeda leader because it would damage national security.
If there is real evidence against this guy, and it certainly seems there is, then he should in fact go to trial, be convicted if the facts weigh out the case, and then he should be sentenced appropriately. But the man is entitled to a full and fair trial. Which means he should have access to *all* evidence against him that the prosecution intends to use, and he should be able to have access to any potential evidence or witnesses that might be able to provide evidence to clear him. If the government feels it is unable to prove its case in open court, with full defense (and accused) access to evidence, then it can’t make the case, and needs to let him go.
Now they are directly defying the authority of the court? Even after already losing appeals several times? Who do they think they are?
I just did this a couple weeks ago at the potential new place. I was a few minutes off on the time I looked outside, but it looked pretty clear, so I think I am good. Which makes me happy. But some guy was having the same problem, so I thought I’d try to help and answered the thread.
TivoCommunity Thread on Tools to Check Dish Placement
I pointed the guy at:
http://perso.numericable.fr/~gjullien/satellite.htm
which is the site that actually does the calculations.
Hopefully it is helpful. I love that moon check thing. It is cool. I’ve used it a bunch of times. :-)
Called both Ivan and Rebecca for advice. Ivan said don’t lock cause it might go down again before closing, and probably wouldn’t go up again. Rebecca said lock because it would give me more piece of mind and make one less thing for me to worry and stress about. Rebecca also recommended not paying any points, because it would take 6 years to break even with that, and who knows if I will stay that long, plus I will need the cash NOW for various things I’ll find I need when I move in.
I decided to go with Rebecca’s advice. Ivan’s might make more sense in raw financial terms. But Rebecca’s also takes into account soft fuzzy emotional factors. I didn’t really want to sell any more stock than I already had to finance this house thing, plus I *will* need the cash. As it is I’m thinking I will be pretty tight for the rest of the year.
Paying the points back down to where it was would cost the same as the fridge I need to buy plus the vacation I plan to take, plus the cost of moving. At least. If I paid points, I’d still have to do something to take care of the rest of that. So screw that. Long term it may make better sense. But short term it does not.
Having said all that, I’m still pissed at myself for not having paid closer attention and locked a couple weeks ago instead of now. And I’ll be pissed at myself again if rates do go back down like Ivan thinks they might. But oh well. Locked and loaded now. I don’t have to worry about it any more.
OK. Back to work stuff again. And I have to fax one last paper related to this lock back to the mortgage people. But I am locked now.
But I should have done it last week. Let me slap myself in the head a few more minutes. :-)
So this morning on the way to work I see a story on CNBC that mortgage rates are starting to go up again. Damn! I had expected them to basically stay flat, or maybe, just maybe, drop one more time before my closing. So I called Brandy to get my lock in NOW. But my rate had already gone from 5.375% to 5.75%. Which translates to an extra $50 a month or so for me. To buy it back in points at closing would cost me 3 grand or so. To do that I think I would have to sell stuff I don’t want to sell. But maybe it would be worth it. Poo. I’ll probably buy back at least half a point. Gunna run and check my finances real quick, then sign the lock in paper work. This blows. Should have locked in a week after the last fed rate once it was clear the mortgage rates were not going to drop because of that. Poo.
Stopped by at home on the way between offices for work. Just needed to pick up something here. The AC repair guy was just leaving. Cleaned the filters and recharged the AC, and supposidly now it will cool the place to 68. Of course they left it turned off. I just turned it on. We’ll see if it works. If so, it will be the first time my place has been below 77 degrees in almost four weeks! It will be nice for it to be a decent temperature for the last month I’m here!
|
|