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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June 2008
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An Ancestor

I haven’t yet gotten to him as I gradually expand my Genealogy information, and in fact I believe I am missing one piece of information that I would need to definitively link myself… the final link confirming that the oldest Brandon ancestor I can find is actually the son of this guy… but I’ve heard family lore that indeed, #6 on this list is an ancestor of mine:

7 Famous Executioners
(Sami, ty.rannosaur.us, 22 Jun 2008)

6) Richard Brandon

The English were always very picky about who could become an executioner. It had to be someone from a family of executioners that knew how to kill someone quickly but also knew how to vamp for the crowd. Brandon was one of the most famous Common Hangmen of London and became the yardstick against which other English executioners (even Albert Pierrepoint) were measured. He was extremely proud of his ability to sever a head with a single blow, something that was very popular with the crowds – and appreciated by people getting executed – since it generally took a few chops for the average executioner to get through. He refined this skill after years of practice on cats and dogs. He is best known for executing King Charles I, but did so under heavy disguise out of fear of retaliation.

(via Neatorama)

Electoral College: Michigan Flips to Obama

Obama’s bounce continues as Michigan moves from Leaning McCain to Leaning Obama. Obama’s lead is less than 5% of course, so it is still a swing state.

Current Summary:

McCain Best Case – McCain 303, Obama 235
Obama Best Case – Obama 378, McCain 160

If everybody gets their leans (and Obama gets DC) – Obama 293, McCain 245

That “if everybody gets their leans” set of numbers is getting more unbalanced. Obama now leads in that metric by more than he ever has since March 8th when we first had polling in all 50 states. His lead is however still not as big as the lead McCain had in that metric in mid-May, and that evaporated after only a couple of weeks. The polls are very fickle things.

Where Did Everybody Go?

Torn on Firefox

OK, I was all excited about Firefox 3 when it first came out. I’ve been using it for a bit. There are a bunch of features that I really like. But I am getting frustrated by a handful of things Safari does better. And I am feeling like it is slower. Dunno. I’m wavering. I may try going back for a bit and see if I then miss Firefox…