The Real Kato Online

It looks like Obama will win the North Carolina Democratic primary handily. With 5% of precincts reporting so far, Obama is taking 65% of the popular vote. This doesn't surprise me in the least, as nearly every Democrat I know here is an Obama supporter.

Hillary looks to be leading in Indiana, though there's a geographic split in the state that's skewing the early results. The final results are likely to be close. In all, today amounts to a win for Obama; with each Obama victory (or near-victory), he moves closer to eliminating Clinton's case for staying in the race.

When Amy and I went to vote today, we couldn't help but feel a little bit of awe at the prospect of voting for the first African-American president in U.S. history... and this, in the heart of the deep South, the home of Jesse Helms. Amazing.

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Posted by Ken in: politics

We might have to go through with this thing after all

Friday, 2008 May 2 - 5:28 pm

Flush the bombers, get the subs in launch mode. The on-again, off-again Microsoft-Yahoo merger might be on again.

A lot has already been written about the proposed merger, and my overall take is that most business guys seem to think it's a great idea, and most technology guys seem to think it's a terrible idea. Both arguments have some merit. I figured I'd take a little time to explore the pros and cons.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: techwatch

I Suppose That WOULD Be Annoying

Wednesday, 2008 April 30 - 10:08 am

At first I thought this was an article from The Onion.

People of Lesbos take gay group to court over term 'Lesbian'

ATHENS, Greece - A Greek court has been asked to draw the line between the natives of the Aegean Sea island of Lesbos and the world's gay women.

Full article here.

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Posted by Ken in: funnyhaha

American Idol 2008 Week 11: Top 5

Tuesday, 2008 April 29 - 8:29 pm

Carly was the surprise loser last week. This week: Neil Diamond. Way to be modern and relevant, guys. This is turning into "Senior Citizen Idol".

Also, NOTE TO ANNOYING FRONT ROWS OF AUDIENCE: STOP WITH THE RHYTHMIC HAND-WAVING, YOU LOOK LIKE IDIOTS.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: television

Proof

Thursday, 2008 April 24 - 9:30 am

Remember this post, where I noted the recurring pattern of Apple's stock plunging after announcing first quarter results, only to have the stock completely over the course of the year? Remember when I said Wall Street investors must be idiots?

The day before the announcement, on January 22nd, Apple stock closed at $159.64. The day after, on January 23rd, Apple stock plunged to $139.07. The stock eventually hit a low just under $120 per share.

As of right now, Apple's stock price is $162.55.

Apple's second quarter earnings report indicated a remarkable rise in Mac sales. Though iPod sales were essentially flat compared to last year, I think the Mac sales number is more important; Apple will pick up a much larger "halo effect" as new Mac owners purchase more software, accessories, and upgrades.

Watch for the stock to rise considerably in the run-up to the rumored introduction of the 3G iPhone. And for those who are interested, a 3G iPhone has become a stronger possibility now that one of the two major obstacles has (according to the rumor mill) been resolved: Apple may have found a low-power chipset that will allow for 3G communication. I'm still not sure how they plan to address AT&T's poor 3G coverage; perhaps they'll still market the current iPhone for areas not covered by 3G, at a reduced price.

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Posted by Ken in: techwatch

Best News of the Day

Tuesday, 2008 April 22 - 9:34 pm

Masturbation May Prevent Prostate Cancer.

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Posted by Ken in: funnyhaha, interesting

New Catch Phrase

Tuesday, 2008 April 22 - 8:16 pm

One of Amy's co-workers noted about me: "He's funny. Not too funny, but funny." Here's an example.

While watching the show "Captured", Amy made the observation that murder victims were almost always nice, friendly people. "It's always the nice ones that killed. Maybe I should be a bitch."

My response: "No, it's just that they don't put it on TV when the bitches get killed. No one cares. Ain't no milk cartons for the bitches."

Ain't No Milk Cartons for the Bitches. We laughed for, oh, several seconds about that one.

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Posted by Ken in: funnyhaha

American Idol 2008 Week 10: Top 6

Tuesday, 2008 April 22 - 8:04 pm

Observation: instead of Ryan Seacrest giving us his signature "THIS.... is American Idol" opening, I'd like to hear James Earl Jones do it.

Kristy Lee Cook went out last week, at last. This week: show tunes! Specifically, Andrew Lloyd Webber music. Expect a lot of, er, drama. I think Jesus Christ Superstar offers the best chance for the contestants not to seem overly theatrical.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: television

American Idol 2008 Week 9: Top 7

Tuesday, 2008 April 15 - 8:04 pm

Michael Johns went out last week. This week's theme: Mariah Carey, guh.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: television

Learn Something Every Day

Tuesday, 2008 April 15 - 12:33 pm

It's possible to be allergic to water. Sort of. Maybe.

Specifically, there's a very rare condition called aquagenic urticaria (water-related hives) that causes a person's skin to react to water with rashes and blisters.

Supposedly, there was a famous case of this some years ago, where a girl named Heidi Falconer was diagnosed with the problem; she had to be treated with a Swedish foam product that created a waterproof barrier for her skin, so she could do everyday things like taking a shower.

This smells a lot like an urban legend, and there's very little reliable medical information on this condition out there on teh Internets. So I'm not really sure how real this all is. "Aquagenic urticaria" is more of a symptom description than an actual disease, and some suspect that hypersensitivity to chlorine is a more likely cause of the problem than water itself. Also, it doesn't appear to be a histamine reaction, like most allergies. So "allergic to water" might be stretching the truth a little bit.

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Posted by Ken in: interesting

Deep in the Heart of Taxes

Sunday, 2008 April 13 - 4:40 pm

During tax time last year, I was shocked into a temporary state of Republicanism when I found that my various sales of Apple stock caused me to owe several thousand dollars in capital gains taxes. After squeezing every drop of [legal] deductions out of my returns, I still got socked with a combined federal and state tax bill of about $5700.

This year was somewhat better. I'm actually getting some money back on my federal return. I still owe money on my state return. I blame this on the bizarre NC-4 tax withholding worksheet, which somehow told me I was eligible for eight exemptions on my state taxes. And I believed it. D'oh!

So between my federal and state taxes, and the stimulus-package tax rebate that'll be coming, my net is somewhere around... zero. Which is good, I guess.

There was a question on Yahoo Answers recently (more of a rant than a question, actually), that went something like this: if all the damn liberals are so much in favor of higher taxes, why not make an optional line item on the tax return, so liberals can voluntarily pay more?

I answered thusly: "Sure, sounds reasonable. Also, conservatives who want lower taxes should voluntarily avoid using taxpayer-funded services, like roads, public parks, and the military. If conservatives want to continue the war in Iraq, the should go fight there themselves.

"Or maybe, just maybe, we should all get together and try to do what's in our common best interests, rather than just trying to maximize our personal gains."

My response received a couple of thumbs-ups and a couple of thumbs-downs before the question was deleted by Yahoo altogether.

It does make me wonder, though: are Republicans, because of their anti-tax stance, more likely to cheat on taxes than Democrats? And if so, shouldn't they be audited more frequently?

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Posted by Ken in: life, politics

American Idol 2008 Week 8: Top 8

Wednesday, 2008 April 9 - 8:18 am

Ramiele went out last week. This week's theme: Inspirational songs. Everyone sticks to songs they're comfortable with, and it ends up being a pretty good night.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: television

Learn Something Every Day

Friday, 2008 April 4 - 1:48 pm

I'm a few days behind with factoids, so I'll post several today.

There's little scientific evidence that drinking 64 ounces of water every day is necessary or beneficial. No one is quite sure where the "8 8-ounce glasses" standard came from, but the new thinking is more like the old thinking: drink when you're thirsty.

The word "disquisition" means "an elaborate analytical or explanatory essay or discussion". I'm not sure if there's a Spanish translation for that word, but then again, NOBODY expects a Spanish disquisition.

There are three elements that begin with the letter "D": dysprosium (Dy), Dubnium (Db) and Darmstadtium (Ds). Of the three, only dysprosium occurs in nature. Also, there are no elements that begin with the letter "W", unless you count "wolfram", which is more commonly known as tungsten (W). These facts may help you if you're trying to name all the elements from memory.

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Posted by Ken in: interesting

April Foo

Tuesday, 2008 April 1 - 8:13 pm

Yeah, I was gonna do a big April Fool's post, but I just didn't have the energy to finish it. I did find a video of the best April Fools' joke ever, though. Be sure to watch until the end.

Permalink Comments (2)
Posted by Ken in: funnyhaha

American Idol 2008 Week 7: Top 9

Tuesday, 2008 April 1 - 8:04 pm

Chikezie went out last week. This week's theme: Dolly Parton.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: television

Learn Something Every Day

Monday, 2008 March 31 - 11:17 am

Today's factoid: Fructose melts at 104°C (219°F). Dextrose and glucose melt at 146°C (295°F). Sucrose melts at 186°C (367°F).

The reason I'm interested in this is because I'm trying to figure out if the slow-cooking process I use for beef ribs will, in fact, allow me to use add barbecue sauce during the cooking phase. The sweetener in most bottled barbecue sauces is high-fructose corn syrup (a mixture of fructose and glucose). So presumably, if the cooking temperature reaches the melting point of fructose, you'll start to get carmelization in the sauce, and that will destroy the flavor.

Cooking at 200°F should be low enough to avoid that. But I think I may have to experiment with it before trying it out on my rib-loving friends.

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Posted by Ken in: food, interesting

Learn Something Every Day

Friday, 2008 March 28 - 4:24 pm

You can use the fresnel lens from a projection TV to make a solar mirror that's powerful enough to boil a quarter in 25 seconds. Kids: do not try this at home.

A completely unrelated fact: Today I discovered that teenagers are throwing around the term "sponge-worthy" without understanding what it means. Kids: do not use this phrase at home.

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Posted by Ken in: interesting

Learn Something Every Day

Thursday, 2008 March 27 - 7:12 pm

Today's factoid: In most of Northern England, the dialect doesn't have what's called the foot-strut split. This means that in that area, "cut" and "put" rhyme, as do "pudding" and "budding".

I've long had a fascination with all the varieties of English accents. Most Americans only recognize one or two different kinds of accents from the British Isles, usually Received Pronunciation (RP, or "the Queen's English") and cockney. But someone from England could probably place another British person's accent to within 25 miles.

Conversely, British people only recognize two or three American accents, like Midwestern, Southern, and sometimes Bostonian. I'd say the majority of Americans north of the Mason-Dixon line can recognize the distinctiveness of accents from Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, California, and New York (even distinguishing Manhattan, the Bronx, and Long Island); most Southerners can recognize the difference between accents from North Carolina, West Virginia, Texas, Alabama, and Georgia. (Note for non-Southerners: I have yet to meet someone who has the stereotypical "plantation" accent from "Gone With the Wind". That'd be like meeting a New Yorker who still talks like Edward G. Robinson.)

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Posted by Ken in: interesting

Learn Something Every Day

Wednesday, 2008 March 26 - 10:27 pm

In the course of surfing the Internet (and researching answers for Yahoo Answers), I do several dozen Google searches a day. (There you go, a plug for both Yahoo and Google in one sentence.) And I find that I learn a few interesting things every day. So I'm gonna try a new regular blog feature: "Learn Something Every Day". I'll try to post at least one random fact I discovered or looked up that day.

Today I looked up a bunch of stuff about the cost of the Iraq war and the cost of U.S. energy consumption, but I covered most of that in my last post. So instead of those facts, I'll tell you about potatoes.

Did you know? Potatoes are very good for you. They're loaded with Vitamin C, potassium, B vitamins, and dietary fiber. They kind of have a bad reputation as a starchy food with empty calories, but a potato has half the calories of a serving of rice, and considerably more nutrients. So, enjoy that potato! Just go easy on the butter.

Permalink Comments (2)
Posted by Ken in: food, interesting

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