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

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Uncancelled

Ever since Friday, they have been predicting snow, then canceling it, then predicting snow, then canceling it. Places all around here got snow, but aside from a little bit over the weekend we didn’t get much. Until last night. We finally got the predicted snow. Only a few inches mind you, but for this area that is enough to pretty much shut everything down. So, snow day. Working from home on a few things, but also just taking it slow.

Kindle Ratio for 17 Dec 2008 – 35%

I’ve decided that while I am very tempted by the Kindle, and Brandy loves hers and swears by it now, that I do not want one quite yet. But I have determined what my threshold will be, and when I will want one (and most likely get one soon thereafter). After I finish each book, I’ll look at the last 20 books I have read and if more than 50% of them are available on Kindle, then I’ll officially start wanting one. This will be affected by two things of course, if new books I read are available on Kindle, and if the earlier books that were not available on Kindle originally have become available.

At the moment, 7 of the last 20 books I have read are available on Kindle, making for a Kindle ratio of 35%. We’re not quite there yet.

Once we are though, I’ll jump all over that. And I imagine after that point, reading an old fashioned physical book would immediately become a rarity, to be done only when there is something I either must read, or really really want to for some random reason, that is not available on Kindle. But I know now, that once I’m mostly on Kindle, I’ll be pissed off every time there is a book I want to read that is not on Kindle.

Maybe Fluffies?

Our house is JUST below the 400′ contour line. Probably at around 390′.

City of Bellevue prepares for snowy weekend
(Joshua Hicks, Bellevue Reporter, 10 Dec 2008)

Weather forecasters this week predicted snowfall in Bellevue for Friday and Saturday.

Icy roads are also likely throughout the weekend as rain and melted snow could freeze when temperatures dip into the 20s, as expected on Saturday and Sunday night.

City utilities crews say they are be prepared to work around the clock if necessary to clear roads.

Snow is most common in Bellevue south of I-90, where elevations reach as high as 1,500 feet in some parts. Most neighborhoods in the city are below 500 feet.

Forecasters projected snowfall on Friday night at 400 feet, with an 80- to 90-percent chance of precipitation.

This will be the first time this season. Woo!

Delayed Curmudgeon

We didn’t record the podcast until Monday (UTC) this week. I didn’t get a chance to edit it and put it out last night. I was going to do it this morning before work. But of course I’ve been paying attention to this Blagojevich stuff instead. So… I think it probably won’t be out until tomorrow. Apologies to anybody who is anxiously awaiting it. :-)

Office Tree

The First

I always make sure to never buy ANY Christmas presents before December. It is now December 1st. A few seconds ago I made my first gift purchase of the season. On Amazon of course. There is no way in hell you will catch me in a physical store between now and Christmas unless I have absolutely no choice and can’t find what I want online. :-)

Fourteen Weeks of SemiProductivity

I started these tallies when I took time off during the conventions to watch the conventions and to get some stuff done during that time. When I wasn’t taking time off, I of course didn’t get as much done, but I still got some done.

In the two weeks that included my time off, I did:

  • 7 hours of random things from my projects list
  • 5 hours of catching up on putting things in Quicken and/or paying bills
  • 4 hours on genealogy stuff
  • 2 hours of catching up on old email
  • 1 hour of reading

In the 12 weeks since then, I’ve done…

  • 15 hours of catching up on putting things in Quicken and/or paying bills
  • 3 hours of catching up on old email
  • 2 hours of reading

Yeah… I need to pick up my pace a bit. And I can’t use the election as an excuse any more.

Trip to Russia

Pretty much as soon as I got home from work, I fell asleep. Many many hours earlier than I would normally sleep.

Soon thereafter I was in an airport terminal waiting to board a plane to somewhere in Eastern Russia. Somewhere in Siberia. It was a random trip. I was supposed to be staying with some family at my destination, but I was getting nervous because I just realized I didn’t speak even a word of Russian and was traveling alone. They started boarding the plane. Somewhere around this point I thought, “Hey wait, maybe I need a visa to go to Russia” and I called Ivan. Ivan was whispering, because he was also on a flight, and was not supposed to be using his phone. I asked him what to do. He told me of course I needed a Visa, and I should not get on the plane. I looked for a help desk to ask what to do, but I could not find one. So I got out of line and left the airport.

And then I woke up.

Meanwhile, while I was sleeping, things continued to play out in India. While normally this is something I would have been glued to the TV for, this time it initially happened while I was at an all day meeting at work, and then I just came home and fell asleep, so I am a bit behind.

Walked Himself to the Grocery Store

I am running WAY late this morning because when Brandy got up and left for her morning class, somehow the door wasn’t fully latched or something. When I came out almost an hour later, the front door was open and the dog was not at home. So Amy and I started searching the neighborhood. I found Roscoe calmly walking (and greeting another dog that was being walked) along the way back on a route we often walk him… to the neighborhood grocery store and back. He found the door open, and just decided to do it on his own.

Anyway, that was much excitement, but everybody is fine. Although there was a half hour or so that was very worrying.

And now I need to run to work.

My Freshman and Sophomore Dorm

Ivan sends over a story about the place where he, I and several others spent some time while we were in college. I note we were a bit slow on the pickup though.

Victim, suspect in Shadyside homicide identified
(Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 30 May 2008)

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office has identified the 18-year-old woman who was stabbed to death last night in her Shadyside apartment.

The victim was identified as Lisa Maas, of Erie.

Last night, police took into Terrence Andrews, 37, into custody.

Both were tenants in the Hampshire Hall apartments at 4730 Centre Ave. where the stabbing occurred.

Fun. Our university, by the way, has not rented space in this building in many many years now.