OK. Not a comet, but you get the idea.

OK, so I admit…I still watch this show.  I just love music and always hold out hope that maybe they’ll discover someone I’d actually like to listen to.  Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of what they are now labeling on the show as “singer-songwriters”, so that has been an improvement.

What has not been an improvement, however is the judge’s panel.  The addition of Kara Dio-who-cares-i-o last year brought nothing to the show except more uncomfortable moments.  So with Paula gone this year and Ellen in her place, it has gotten even worse.

Like I Tweeted the other night, Randy is still Randy.  He makes his comments, talks about dawgs, and chops, and pipes, and blowing, and moves on.  Simon almost seems disinterested this year, thinking instead of his move to his new show next year, the X-Factor.  He’s recycling his lines about seeing that act a “million times” in nightclubs all over the land, and really just seems a bit fru-STRAY-ted to be there.

Ellen is funny, but in a lot of ways, she seems too “big” for the show.  She’s way more relevant than anyone else involved, besides Simon, and including Ryan Seacrest, and that makes for some trouble, especially, it seems, with Kara.

She is sitting almost in Simon’s lap this season.  Is she afraid Ellen is going to touch her leg or is that the actual visual representation of the invisible wall that exists between funny and not funny?  Because Kara…is NOT funny.  She’s a complete idiot.  She rambles on, she thinks she’s bigger than she is, and now that they labeled her “the cougar”, she’s really feeling full of herself.  I loved her advice to Haeley Wednesday night that she probably needed another year of experience.  Well, then why the hell did they put her on the show?

Well, after Thursday’s results show, Haeley has all the time she needs now to get that experience.  Despite being one of the contestants being supported by VotefortheWorst.com (Tim “Mophead” Urban being the other), she was sent packing last night, and I think it was probably for the best.  I could hear SOME potential in her voice, but it was fleeting and random at best.  I sort of wanted to hear her sing the Tracy Chapman song, “Fast Car”.  I felt like it would have fit her voice, but outside of that, I don’t know that much would have helped her.

Also on the ladies side, the person responsible for making Creed look more sissified than they already did, Michelle Delamor, was also sent home.  I thought her performance of “Arms Wide Open” was AWFUL, and I could not figure out what in the world the judges, minus Randy, were talking about when they said it was great.  Again, Kara showing just how good a judge she really is.  She came back and corrected herself last night and retracted her compliments, which also probably gave away who it was Simon was talking about having regretted praising the night before (not that I think his judgment is very sound this season, either, considering his comments on Lee Dewyze…I know I’m gonna get killed by some for that…lol).

On they guys side, I sort of figured John Park was headed home last week, but he managed to delay the inevitable until this week.  It isn’t that I think he was BAD…he just wasn’t good enough, and it seemed like maybe his nerves kept him from being able to show any real personality.

I was worried about one of my favorites getting the boot last night, the Mighty Mullet Man, Alex Lambert.  However, he was able to stick around and instead, the church singer, Jermaine Sellars, was voted off.  I guess I just didn’t really hear much in his voice.  It had moments, but overall, it just didn’t seem like he was a good fit for the show.

From here on out, it starts to get a little harder.  2 more guys and 2 more gals will go home next week, and to me, the prime candidates would be Lacey Brown/Paige Miles/Katie Stevens on the ladies side, and Tim Urban/Aaron Kelly/Todrick Hall on the guys side.  VotefortheWorst may have been keeping Tim Urban in the competition up to this point, but I don’t know if they can save him next week.  As I said earlier, I still do not understand all of the Lee Dewyze love, but I want to see more.  His voice to me is awfully pitchy and a bit shaky, but maybe that is just nerves?  If he doesn’t pull it together next week, I may move him in to the mix, as well.

Right now, I think Crystal Bowersox and Lilly Scott are head and shoulders above not only the rest of the girls, but the whole field.  I also really like Didi Benami’s voice, but I’m not sure yet if she’s found her own style.  I think that Alex Lambert can really be something special if he can overcome his shyness.  His voice is truly amazing.  Kara’s love Muppet Casey is also sounding pretty good.  He’s not GREAT, but he’s different and isn’t nearly as obnoxious and I thought he might be, so I don’t mind rooting for him.  I’m also pulling for Andrew Garcia to finally blow everybody away.  He has a great story and a nice voice…hopefully he’ll pick a great song and step up.

Next week, I’ll post a recap of each show the day after they air and we can discuss and make predictions about who is going home, so be sure and check back!

Interweb? Where is this interweb?

(And yes…I realize it is not “gooder”)

Some pretty big news was announced this week for Mountain Telephone.  They were awarded a large grant to help expand broadband in their 4 coverage counties.

“An Eastern Kentucky telephone company will receive $78 million in federal stimulus funds to provide high-speed Internet to four rural counties, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.

With the funding, the Mountain Rural Telephone Cooperative Corp. of West Liberty plans to add broadband service in Morgan, Elliott, Menifee and Wolfe counties starting this year.

The project will result in about 42 jobs, according to the company’s stimulus application.”

Read more here…

This could pave the way for running fiber to everyone’s homes, which would open up lots of exciting new features for subscribers, including IPTV (TV over your phone lines), faster service, etc.  All of this could combine to make the area more attractive to tech firms, as well.

Sounds good to me!

And no, I’m not talking about the OT game with Mississippi State last night…which probably shortened my life expectancy by a year or two.

Nope, I’m talking about the economy and the economic stimulus enacted by President Obama.  People like to see results, and a picture is worth a thousand words, so…here’s my 2,000 word report.

Nice smile

And a bit more, with a link to the NYT story…

Click this one to see a larger version

With the record snow falls that many folks in the country have seen this year, there has been a disturbing amount of people who are wondering what happened to global warming, even going so far as to suggest that all of this snow means that the idea of a warming earth is completely busted now.

Well, first of all…we ARE getting warmer…that much is a FACT, and the data supports it.  The only thing that is even remotely up for debate is whether or not WE are responsible for the warming or it is simply a natural occurrence.

But, Glen Beck decided to make some comments that were idiotic, and thankfully, some other talking head on MSNBC set him straight.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Saints win! Well, not THESE Saints...their team got moved to Hackensack and never recovered

So, the feel good story came to pass, and the New Orleans Saints brought home the Super Bowl trophy this year.  I thought it was actually a pretty good game.  I wasn’t TOO invested in it, as I don’t really care one way or the other about either of those teams.   However, I guess I was sort of pulling for the Saints…without the Steelers being involved, however, can you really call it the SUPER Bowl?  How about the Pretty Good Bowl?  I like that.

Just so the good folks of Louisiana couldn’t get TOO full of themselves, the Kentucky Wildcats visited LSU and completely dismantled them.  At the half, Demarcus Cousins had 15 points….LSU had 14.  It was a slow start for the Wildcats, but once they found their rhythm, they took care of business.

John Wall didn’t have a GREAT game, but he did what he needed to do.  My current favorite behind Big Cuz, however, is Deandre Liggins.  I really think he brings something extra to the lineup and just seems to spark the team in some way or another when he gets in.  He’s obviously been working on his 3-point shot, and when he shoots it now, I don’t cringe or cuss at the TV.

Tonight is a potential let-down game against Alabama, with the Big Orange Suckfest and ESPN Game Day coming to Rupp on Saturday.  The game is on ESPN-U, which stinks, as it is one of the only ESPN channels left that still doesn’t have a HD version on Dish.  The game tips off at 9pm.  I expect a little sloppy play by the Cats before they take over in the 2nd half and end up winning 74-67.

Well, depending on which forecast you look at, we’re either in for more cold rain tonight, an inch or 2 of snow, or possibly 4 or more…I’m not even sure which I’d prefer at this point.  I love a good snow, but since we don’t seem to GET very many GOOD snows any more, I’d just as soon it go on ahead and get warm now.

However, if it DOES snow you in this weekend, you shouldn’t have a shortage of good sporting events to check out, a couple  of which will involve the Bayou Country.

First off, the Kentucky Wildcats will battle the Tigers of LSU, who have not exactly been playing like Tigers of late.  More like tabby cats…neutered tabby cats.  Besides the fact that they have an annoying color scheme, they also have a player in Tasmin Mitchell who I am pretty sure played with Shaquille O’Neal when he was there.  LSU has lost 8 in a row, and UK should cruise pretty easily, but…it is a game, on the road, in the SEC….so…anything can happen.  It WON’T…but it could.

I listen to my gut and my gut tells me Kentucky 87 – LSU 64, but my heart says this could be close, and gut’s a damn moron. So they get to carryin’ on and then my brain chimes in saying I got to try my hand at the fast paced world of sports wagering…

Sorry…got off on a tangent there.  Let’s just say Kentucky wins, and move on to the next most relevant game this weekend…the Super Bowl.

The Saints of New Orleans will battle it out with the Colts of Indianapolis.  Since Pittsburgh isn’t involved, my interest level isn’t really that high for the game.  However, I like to use the Super Bowl as an excuse to eat snack foods for 4 hours…not that I NEED an excuse to do that.

I guess in this one, I’ll be rooting for the underdog Saints.  Partly because I think it would be a feel-good story for New Orleans, and partly because I don’t partake in the Manning Lovefest that the National Media does.  It isn’t that I hate Peyton/Eli…but I’m just not a big fan.  So…put all that together, and I guess that makes me a Saints fan this weekend.

So, make sure you’ve got your bread and milk…and chips and guacamole…and wings and beer…and crawfish pie and filet gumbo…and cozy up on the couch this weekend for some pretty good sports action.  Son-of-a-gun, we’re gonna have big fun. (sorry…but I had to do that)

Well, after talking to a few folks around the area, it seems like electric bills have taken a HUGE spike higher recently.  One obvious reason would be the extremely cold temperatures we had around here in January.  I know in our house, the heat stayed on constantly just to keep it semi-warm.  Since we primarily use natural gas, however, it didn’t have an effect on our electric bill as much.

Also, I’ve noticed that several of the complaints about higher electric bills have been coming from the folks who are on Licking Valley RECC.  I have talked to a few folks who have Kentucky Power, however, and they have seen a pretty drastic increase this winter, as well.

Could another possible reason for the price hikes be to help offset the costs that came with all of the cleanup and repairs involved in the ice storm early last year?  At least some portion of the increase is because of the recent approval by the Kentucky Public Service Commission to allow Kentucky’s Rural Electric Cooperatives to increase rates by up to 15%.  Kentucky Power has also made a request for as much as a 35% increase, but I’m not sure that it has been approved yet.

What I am curious about is a true comparison of THIS year’s bills versus LAST year’s bills.  Would anybody be able and willing to dig back through their bills from last winter so we can do some comparisons?  If so, please leave a comment on this thread and tell us about what you find.  Specifically, if you could find what your RATE was last year, as compared to this year, it might help determine if the increases are due to the electric companies or to Mother Nature.

I’ll post more on the topic as we move along, but if anyone has some numbers to throw this way, I’d LOVE to see ‘em…

Saw this on KSR and wanted to share it here.  It came up again because in a recent interview, Coach Cheney said his only regret about the incident was that he didn’t wait until the game was over and take Calipari out back and “beat his ass”.

Another game, another dominating performance by Demarcus Cousins.

At the start of the season, I figured he’d be here at least 2 years. Now, I think we should just enjoy what he gives us this year, because I’d say it will be one and done for the big fella.

About time to show the Vandy Nerds what SEC basketball is all about. I expect UK to come out SUPER focused and hand the Commodores their first SEC loss and get the Cats back on track.

The Cats will be mighty, mighty, and lettin’ it all hang out, and this win will be easy…like Sunday morning.

Sorry.

Go BLUE!!!