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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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Pour My Brain

This week on Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam and Ivan’s main topics are the Republican Civil War that is brewing, and various Trump administration mini-scandals from the last week. But they also spend some time on the solar eclipse, MacBook Pros, Powerball, the military transgender ban, if Trump will have a primary challenger in 2020, the recent Navy crashes, Trump’s Arizona speech, and more!

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Show Details:

Recorded 2017-08-24
Length this week – 2:12:05

  • (0:00:36-0:28:02) But First
    • Agenda
    • Sam and the Eclipse
    • Ode to Macbook Pro
    • Powerball
  • (0:28:46-1:01:15) Republican Civil War
    • McConnell article
    • Cracks in the wall
    • Obstruction of Congress
    • Approval ratings
    • Trump agenda
    • Congressional agenda
  • (1:02:58-1:35:57) Mini-Scandals
    • Carl Icahn
    • Ryan Zinke
    • Louise Linton
    • Steven Mnuchin
    • Secret Service
    • Ben Carson
  • (1:36:36-2:11:45) Lightning Round
    • Movie: The Jungle Book (1967)
    • Military Transgender Ban
    • 2020 primary challenge for Trump?
    • Navy Crashes
    • Trump’s Arizona speech
    • Unstable Trump

 

The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.

Our intro is “The Oh of Pleasure” (Amazon MP3 link)

Our outro is “Celestial Soda Pop” (Amazon MP3 link)

Both are from the album “Deep Breakfast” (iTunes link)

Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Proper Strategy

On this week’s Curmudgeon’s Corner, Sam and Ivan talk about… things other than Trump! Amazing! Topic include the Senate healthcare bill, Philandro Castile, Charleena Lyles, Grenfell Tower, useless press briefings, escalation in Syria, the special elections in Georgia and South Carolina, layoffs at pollster.com, Uber, Sam’s thoughts on recording candidate forums… and even some movies Ivan watched recently! A lot packed in this week… but relatively Trump light! OK, we couldn’t avoid him entirely. But closer than we have come for awhile!

Click below to listen and subscribe!

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Show Details:

Recorded 2017-06-22
Length this week – 2:29:24

  • (0:00:15-0:34:25) But First
    • Paper
    • Agenda
    • Overshadowed
    • Forum adventures
    • Ivan movie: Interstellar
    • Alex interlude
    • Ivan movie: Sully
  • (0:35:40-1:04:51) But Second
    • Leaks on the Senate healthcare bill
    • Will they get 50 votes?
    • Healthcare cost drivers
    • Repeal or tweak?
    • Cynical ploys
  • (1:06:34-1:34:04) But Third
    • Philando Castile verdict
    • Charleena Lyles shooting
    • Grenfell Tower fire
    • Dealing with emergencies
  • (1:35:24-1:56:40) But Fourth
    • Useless Spicer briefings
    • Critical press, not stenographers
    • Spicy’s future
    • Syrian drones and planes
  • (1:57:19-2:29:04) But Fifth
    • Special election spin
    • Pollster.com layoffs
    • Approval ratings
    • Polling accuracy
    • Uber

 

The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.

Our intro is “The Oh of Pleasure” (Amazon MP3 link)

Our outro is “Celestial Soda Pop” (Amazon MP3 link)

Both are from the album “Deep Breakfast” (iTunes link)

Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Not talking about that

On this week’s Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam and Ivan talk about the latest developments on Trump’s immigration policies, but after that, they do something they haven’t done in a while. Lightning rounds! And ones that include some non-political things too! They can’t avoid SOME additional political talk, but they also discuss wireless headphones, the new discovery of 7 potentially Earth-like planets, Cloudbleed, and more!

Click below to listen and subscribe!

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1-Click Subscribe in iTunes
View Podcast in iTunes
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Show Details:

Recorded 2017-02-24
Length this week – 2:03:03

  • (0:01:30-0:09:17) But First
    • Shouting at customers
    • Agenda
  • (0:10:33-0:43:27) Immigration
    • New travel ban planning
    • Prioritization changes
    • Roundups and escalations
    • Role of laws and congress
    • Scared people
    • Only some countries matter
    • Relations with Mexico
  • (0:45:27-1:17:52) Lightning Round 1
    • Cab accident
    • Movie: Nightmare before Christmas (1993)
    • Movie: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
    • Flagged for abusing Trump
    • Wireless headphones
    • New Earth-like planets
    • Republican town halls
    • Obamacare
  • (1:18:56-) Lightning Round 2
    • Cloudbleed
    • Trump infosec
    • Trump polls
    • What might move polls?
    • Choices for Democrats
    • IC trying to bring down Trump?

 

The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.

Our intro is “The Oh of Pleasure” (Amazon MP3 link)

Our outro is “Celestial Soda Pop” (Amazon MP3 link)

Both are from the album “Deep Breakfast” (iTunes link)

Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Sitting on my Porch

This week on Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam and Ivan’s main topics are the debate on Donald Trump’s “legitimacy”, the fun of the final week of the transition, and the Chelsea Manning commutation. In addition though, they discuss reviving old computers, the “wet foot, dry foot” policy, Joe Biden, an odd Presidential succession edge case, and more!

Click below to listen and subscribe!

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1-Click Subscribe in iTunes
View Podcast in iTunes
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Show Details:

Recorded 2017-01-19
Length this week – 1:57:57

  • (0:00:10-0:20:34) But First
    • 2017
    • Agenda
    • Reviving old computers
  • (0:21:13-0:45:08) Legitimacy
    • Trump “legitimate”?
    • Comey, Dirty Tricks, Fairness
    • Voters made their choice
    • Unfollowing Trump?
    • Skipping the Inauguration?
    • Anti-Trump Protests
  • (0:45:56-1:04:56) Transition
    • Cabinet not talking to Trump
    • Cabinet incompetence
    • Cabinet Hodgepodge
    • Unstaffed positions
    • Normal policy disputes vs Crazy/Unqualified
  • (1:05:41-1:25:11) Manning
    • Why this release date?
    • Manning vs Snowden
    • Consistency on leaks?
  • (1:25:50-1:56:37) Lightning Round
    • Wet Foot Dry Foot
    • Book: 2001 (1968)
    • Old Postcard from Sam
    • Movie: Rogue One (2016)
    • Biden for President
    • Succession Edge Cases

 

The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.

Our intro is “The Oh of Pleasure” (Amazon MP3 link)

Our outro is “Celestial Soda Pop” (Amazon MP3 link)

Both are from the album “Deep Breakfast” (iTunes link)

Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Closing Every Door

This week on the Curmudgeon’s Corner podcast Sam and Ivan start out trying to talk about things other than Trump. Thanksgiving, Puerto Rico, Apple, some books and movies… and that is well and good. But of course then they do talk about the latest week full of Trump developments as the transition continues. Then they wrap up with Jill Stein’s recount campaign, the electoral college, and other ways of messing with election results that either won’t happen or won’t change anything.

Click below to listen or subscribe… then let us know your own thoughts!

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1-Click Subscribe in iTunes
View Podcast in iTunes
View Raw Podcast Feed
Download MP3 File
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Show Details:

Recorded 2016-11-25
Length this week – 2:15:49

  • (0:00:41-0:43:47) Not Trump
    • Duck
    • Sam’s Thanksgiving
    • Ivan’s Thanksgiving
    • Puerto Rico
    • Apple Stuff
    • Book: Autobiography of Mark Twain Volume 2
    • Book: The Hobbit
    • Movie: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
  • (0:45:47-1:31:23) Trump!
    • Water Bottle
    • Policy reversals
    • Staffing picks
    • Conflicts of Interest
    • 25th amendment
    • Maintaining outrage
    • neo-Nazis
    • Trump as Berlusconi
    • Deals and getting things done
    • Trump and SCOTUS
    • Delegation
  • (1:31:52-2:15:35) Recounts and other craziness
    • New York Magazine Article
    • Jill Stein!
    • Why recount won’t change anything
    • Why are people donating?
    • Clinton’s position
    • Luke’s GoFundMe
    • Working the Electoral College again?
    • Congress rejecting electors
    • Get rid of electoral college?
    • Voting your own interests?

 

The Curmudgeon’s Corner theme music is generously provided by Ray Lynch.

Our intro is “The Oh of Pleasure” (Amazon MP3 link)

Our outro is “Celestial Soda Pop” (Amazon MP3 link)

Both are from the album “Deep Breakfast” (iTunes link)

Please buy his music and support his GoFundMe.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Princess of Whales

This week on Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam and Ivan’s main topics are the San Bernardino shooting, Election 2016, and Climate Change. The show gets rounded out with smaller bits about math homework, new Apple products, political correctness, and more!

Click to listen or subscribe… then let us know your own thoughts!

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Recorded 2015-12-03

Length this week – 1:46:28

1-Click Subscribe in iTunes
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Show Details:

  • (00:00:10-00:19:12) But First
    • Pi!
    • Agenda
    • Ivan’s Carbon Footprint
    • Math Homework
    • Education Reform
  • (00:20:44-00:39:05) Shootings
    • Deja Vu
    • Do motives matter?
    • What would laws do?
    • High Profile Events vs Overall Murder Rates
    • Reaction different if “terrorism”?
    • Disgruntled Employee?
    • Knee-jerk Reactions
    • Framing the Problem
    • Long Term vs Short Term
    • Prayer Shaming
  • (00:40:13-1:09:27) Election 2016
    • Establishment GOP freaking out over Trump
    • Would Clinton crush Trump?
    • Current polling
    • Candidate Odds
    • Establishment still on sidelines
    • Trump pastor event
    • Trump and truth
    • Gaming out the primaries
  • (1:10:31-1:26:29) Climate Talks
    • Odds of 3rd Party Run
    • Nice but not enough?
    • Adaptation: Poor vs Rich
    • Speed of Changes
    • Geoengineering
    • Scale of changes
    • Renewable Resources
    • Long term concerns vs freedom now
    • Solar Power and Personal Nukes
  • (1:27:08-1:46:08) Lightning Round
    • Chennai Flooding
    • Mac App Store Fail
    • iPad Pro
    • New AppleTV
    • Movie: Son of Kong (1933)
    • Movie: The Peanuts Movie (2015)
    • Political Correctness / Safe Zones / Free Speech

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Bailing Out!

On this week’s Curmudgeon’s Corner podcast Sam and Ivan talk about the situation with Turkey, Russia and Syria for awhile, then cover Election 2016, with, of course, a concentration on the Trump phenomenon and what it continues to mean for the Republican nomination race. Those are the “big topics”, but we also touch on car shopping, some movies Sam watched recently, Argentina, Baby Hitler, demographics of the folks who like the podcast on Facebook, and a lot more.

Click to listen or subscribe… then let us know your own thoughts!

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Recorded 2015-11-26

Length this week – 1:34:54

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Show Details:

  • (0:00:10-0:15:23) But First
    • Agenda
    • Sam’s Electricity
    • Ivan and Disney
    • Ivan broken phone
    • Ivan car shopping
  • (0:16:26-0:31:44) International
    • Turkey shoots down Russian plane
    • Escalation?
    • Syria Summit
    • New Threats and Attacks
  • (0:32:23-1:08:59) Election 2016
    • Polls
    • Alex Interlude
    • Carson Implosion
    • Trump not Imploding
    • Can Trump win the Nomination?
    • Can Trump win the Presidency?
    • Trump Independant Run?
    • Frontrunners 4, 8 and 12 years ago
    • Betting Odds on the Candidates
  • (1:09:44-1:34:34) Lightning Round
    • Movie: Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
    • Movie: Beyond Witch Mountain (1982)
    • Movie: Minority Report (2002)
    • Adelle Song
    • TPP
    • Airline Safety
    • Racial Tensions
    • Argentina President
    • Baby Hitler
    • Movie: Being John Malkovich (1999)
    • Likes vs Downloads
    • Curmudgeon’s Corner Facebook Demographics

Movies Sam watched in 2012

Yeah, I’m behind. Maybe someday I’ll catch up. Maybe I won’t.

In any case, 2012 was extremely slow for movies. In the whole year I only watched three. So here goes:

  • 2012-01-02 (Theater): Hugo [2011] – Great! – I really liked this movie. A cute story of an orphan boy who is good with machines and eventually gets entangled with a famous pioneer of movie making. They say the end is sort of a love story to the art of moviemaking, but I actually was more into the story of the boy, the girl, and the automaton.
  • 2012-02-19 (Theater): The Woman in Black [2012] – Eh, OK – Harry Potter actor decides to expand to grown up roles, does a horror movie. I basically had no memory of this until I skimmed the Wikipedia page. It had the requisite bits of creepy, and I remember the ending was disturbing. But nothing extraordinary. Plus, I’m just not that into hour movies usually.
  • 2012-12-15 (Theater): The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [2012] – Eh, OK – Amy and I saw this opening night, got the free t-shirts and everything. Saw it in 3d with the high frame rate and everything. I had high hopes, but like most people was wary that they were expanding a short book into three long movies, as well as trying to “adult it up” to match the tone of the Lord of the Rings rather than follow the book, which was unashamedly a kid’s book. And yup, it was overly long and dragged quite a bit. Some parts were fine, but overall it just desperately needed an editor to cut out about half of the film.

And that was it for 2012.

Curmudgeon’s Corner: Someone Sitting Up There

In the latest Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam and IvГЎn talk about:
* SNL40 / Theaters / Feedback
* Radical Islam / Obama Words
* Equation / Gemalto / Lenovo
* Apple Car / Car Play / Jonny Ive
* Lightning Round

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Recorded 2015-02-20

Length this week – 1:29:48

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Curmudgeon’s Corner: Only a Facade

In the latest Curmudgeon’s Corner Sam and IvГЎn talk about:
* Ukraine
* ISIS
* Antivaxxers
* Lightning Round

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Recorded 2015-02-06

Length this week – 1:11:55

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