Real Kato Blog: 2009 May

In perhaps the least surprising SCOTUS news of the year, President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor to be replace David Souter on the Supreme Court. And while I'm not going to go all Republican and suggest that Obama chose Sotomayor merely because of her sex and her race, those factors had to play some role in the decision-making process. But still: it's a solid selection. She's clearly qualified for the position. If she doesn't breeze through the nomination process, I'll be shocked.

Also: it's fun to say "Sotomay-ORRR" with a pretend Spanish accent.

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Posted by Ken in: politics

Sailing Takes Me Away

Saturday, 2009 May 23 - 8:24 pm

So today was the Raleigh Skirt Chaser 5K race. I have not run in an actual race since, um, Christopher Cross was in the Billboard top 40. Yeah, I was like ten years old.

Also, until two days ago, I haven't even attempted to run 5 kilometers in years. I used to run two miles regularly, and four miles occasionally... but my running has suffered as of late. (By "suffered", I mean "I've run from the couch to the toilet, but not much more.") But I went ahead and signed up for the Skirt Chaser race at my friend Anna's behest, not really believing I could finish the race at all, much less do any better than a humiliating last-place.

But you know what? I finished. And while I didn't come close to catching the ridiculous Kenyan woman who finished in under 16 minutes, I managed a respectable 32:30 (approximately; the official results haven't been posted yet). So, yay me... maybe I'm not quite as hopelessly old and marshmallow-y as I'd feared.

A few photos will be up on Facebook in a day or two.

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Posted by Ken in: life

American Idol Finale: The Gokey Factor

Wednesday, 2009 May 20 - 10:16 pm

Well, I can't say I'm totally surprised by the result of Idol tonight... no doubt, Gokey fans voted in droves for Kris. It's more of an anti-Adam vote than a pro-Kris vote. Still, I have to give credit to Kris; I didn't even think he'd make the top ten, and he flew under the radar the whole way and ended up winning. Good for him.

I still think Allison has the biggest commercial potential.

Contestants aside, I was blown away by the geezer star lineup for the finale episode. Kiss, Queen, and Santana on the same stage? Lionel Ritchie and Rod Stewart, still alive? Cyndi Lauper and Queen Latifa? Wow.

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Posted by Ken in: television

American Idol 2009 Week 11: Top 2

Tuesday, 2009 May 19 - 10:37 pm

Danny went home last week. It's Kris and Adam, in perhaps the most lopsided matchup in Idol history. If Kris wins this, it'll be a huge upset.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: television

UR CAPTCHA SUCKS

Saturday, 2009 May 16 - 10:19 am

Lately we've been getting robocalls at 8:00 in the morning, from someone trying to tell us that we need to update our account information for "the Internet", because apparently the we are behind on our payments.

Also, my web site has been seeing more and more comment spam.

Here's the thing: I'm supposed to have mechanisms to stop both of these things from happening, but they're not working right.

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Posted by Ken in: site-business, techwatch

Hockey Good

Thursday, 2009 May 14 - 10:28 pm

Wings win. Canes win. Hockey good. That is all.

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Posted by Ken in: sports

American Idol 2009 Week 10: Top 3

Tuesday, 2009 May 12 - 8:23 pm

Allison went home last week, boo. Also, Simon Cowell publicly predicted that Adam would win it all. This week, with three guys left: the judges pick one song, the contestants pick one.

Read more...

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Posted by Ken in: television

Star Trek

Tuesday, 2009 May 12 - 8:57 am

Star Trek 11? Star Trek Zero? Whatever it's called, this movie is clearly the start of a new franchise, with a hot young cast and a clean slate for future story lines.

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Posted by Ken in: movies, reviews

Today's Headlines

Monday, 2009 May 11 - 9:39 am

The new "Star Trek" movie grossed $76.5 million on its opening weekend, thanks to positive early reviews. I'll have my own review posted later today.

That Georgia professor whom I thought was so smart? Turns out he had evaded police by killing himself. Perhaps not so smart after all.

Roxana Saberi, the U.S. reporter who had been jailed in Iran on charges of espionage, has reportedly been released. Most believe it was due to relentless diplomatic pressure from the U.S. and other countries. But I think that secretly, the U.S. government loved having her young pretty face be the symbol of the struggle against Iranian fascism.

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Posted by Ken in: commentary

Today's Headlines

Friday, 2009 May 8 - 8:36 am

Former Illinois police sergeant Drew Peterson has been indicted on a murder charge in the death of his third wife. Wasn't he Sloan's dad in Ferris Bueller? Also: what's the deal with guys named Peterson killing their wives? There was Scott Peterson, Michael Peterson, and now Drew Peterson. Note to women: don't marry men named Peterson.

Senate Republicans are attacking Obama's health care plan... before they even know what it is. Really? I guess the idea is "any change to our health care system would be bad". God forbid we should have the same "socialist" health care they have in Europe (i.e., affordable and convenient). Better to keep our good old American system with its spiraling costs and profit-motivated insurance providers. Note to Republicans: when you talk about reducing the size of the federal government, please keep in mind that the government spends about 750 billion dollars a year on health care. Doesn't that seem like a good reason to reform our system?

Top flu expert warns of a swine flu-bird flu mix. Note to pigs: stop having sex with chickens.

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Posted by Ken in: commentary, politics

American Idol 2009 Week 9: Top 4

Tuesday, 2009 May 5 - 8:06 pm

Matt finally went home last week. This week: rock songs... as solos and as duets... with Slash as a mentor. Ooookay.

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Posted by Ken in: television

Today's Headlines

Monday, 2009 May 4 - 9:19 am

Some U.S. senators have suggested that Obama's pick to succeed David Souter on the Supreme Court should perhaps come from somewhere other than the federal appellate courts. Mr. Obama: I agree. Pick me.

Notre Dame's decision to have Obama speak at their commencement has infuriated some Catholics. I suppose a war-mongering torture-supporting President would have been OK, though. Why are people so insistent on making abortion the single defining issue in politics?

I'm fascinated by the story of the professor who allegedly killed his wife and two other people. John Bankhead of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation states: "He's not the typical type of fugitive police have to deal with." In other words: most criminals are dumb; this guy isn't. Hollywood usually portrays criminals as idiots. In the Hollywood version of this story, the professor would be caught after attempting to sneak back into town to cut out the heart from his wife's body or something. No such luck for police this time.

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Posted by Ken in: commentary, politics

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