MAKING THE BIG SWITCH

One of my web sites, which was built on a learn-how-to-do-it basis, is about to be expired or renewed. I have come to hate the service, as it allows very little design change without jumping through way too many SLOW SLOW hoops.

The site itself is probably ahead of many in the biz and breaks even. In fact, if you look at it while squinting, you could say it made me several thousand dollars in a year. The thousands were actually saving in purchase of gear from sources which allowed me 'industry accommodation' aka dealer pricing. Which I greatly appreciated.

So I finally decided, as the clock winds down, to move it, redo it, make it better and try to draw more traffic and figure out a way to monetize it.

Of course the old service says bad things will happen.

I say screw you - it's my site and a free country. Or sorta free. Or it was, pre-terror.

I spent the morning starting the rebuild - it's a long process, but will allow me to consolidate and make better assistance for those seeking details on the subject at hand. (Once transferred I will announce here for the 5 people who might be interested.) There's a lot of work to be done... it's about 90 pages and each must be fixed one way or another.

Actually, it has served more than 50,000 pages, and the last 4 months of growth have been gratifying. Now that our web optimization business is up and running, I can use IT to work on myself.

And now, out from under the bad operating system, I can keep the site more current without horrible bouts of impatience.

COMPOST TEA

Two weeks ago I bought some compost tea at the natural garden store. This is exactly what it sounds like... crap juice. Or whatever is in compost. You add water 50/50 and spray on your sick fevered plants and grass. You will undoubtedly 'overspray' your weeds. Your weeds will shoot up 10 feet high. Your grass and periwinkles will cough and then grow a sixteenth of an inch.

But that's just step one, so what can you expect? Step two, two weeks later, is using Super Thrive (plant hormone voodoo at a drop a gallon) and some other concoction - I forget the name, and the garage is too hot to go look. But it's a soil supplement with MICROBIAL action. It brings little things to the soil. They take a dump, and the soil then likes to grow things more than it did when it was hard as a rock and mineral free. Except for snake belly sweat.

So now I have weeded, weeded, weeded, sprayed once, sprayed twice, showered a lot, and am waiting for something to signal the start of green. I'll keep you posted.

NEWSFLASH >>> There's a Mulch and Soil Council. I saw it listed in an ad in Sunday's paper as a certifying agency of mulch. I feel good about that. Bad mulch is just plain bad.

I wonder if they have a slogan...?

Wear a Mulch Moustache!

Much More Mulch!

There's never too much mulch!

Mulch this!

There's always room for Mulch!

Mulch - the better dirt!

Mulch! 10,000 chippers can't be wrong!

From their web site: (over 10,000 visitors!) "For several years, The Mulch & Soil Council (MSC) has been working with the industry, government agencies and major retailers to create product certification standards for both mulch and soil. One of the conditions of certification is that no treated wood from construction and demolition (C&D) can be ground for use as mulch. Thus, mixed wood from the hurricane cleanup would not be allowed in any MSC Certified mulch. Only those products that meet this and other standards can use the official MSC Certification Seal (see below) on their bags. Information on the MSC Certification Program and a list of over 200 certified products is available on the MSC Web site at www.mulchandsoilcouncil.org."

Wonder what they think of the movie Fargo? That mulch just wouldn't be approved, do you think?

TODAY I AM A TEXAN

The rites of passage... you know only after you've achieved a new status. Till then it's a mirage on the horizon of passing time.

Today I bought a Texas Toothpick. It's a 6 to 7 foot long heavy iron shaft with spike on one end and a chisel on the other. As I told Terri, "we'll live here forever after. We will want to plant things." And she added: "...and the dirt is forever too." We have caliche soil which is a mix of rocks and dirt. You can't even get a shovel into it when the soil is dry. When it's wet you can't get the shovel in more than an inch for the rocks just below the surface. But swing that chisel (which must weigh 25 or 30 pounds) and you can spike an inch or two of dirt then chisel though the rock.

I imagine these would be popular in prisons.

And speaking of chain gangs, I also bought a pickaxe. You need that to start your hole. THEN you spike and chisel.

Today I am a Texan. My skin will turn to leather. I will have a bullet to chew on when hungry. I will squint into the sun and learn to spit to hit scorpions.

I always did say "Howdy."

TAYLOR HICKS ISN'T ONE

I'm glad Taylor won American Idol. He seems like a nice guy. And is a good showman. Seems off key when he's not belting it out but maybe it's his accent that seems odd to my ear. And to my way of thinking, the world can always use more soul.

The finale show was interesting to me, as I wondered how in the world they'd fill 2 hours. I also wonder how they fill it and time it exactly, while live. My only guess is they build in pads of which we are unaware. Like the cheesy awards.

And lo! Prince appears. For my money (and he has a bunch) he's completely in a league by himself. Tremendous talent! And savvy! This was a great venue for anyone seeking exposure!

Now I wonder how many people will be hired from that roster. I think Kelly should be something. She's cute and innocent, it seems. Her spots with Wolfgang Puck seemed completely real and I enjoyed them. I don't know what she could DO, but I enjoy her personality, and I'll bet many do. That's money in the bank in this day of celebs who are famous for being famous.

If Chris isn't leading a rock band soon, I'll be amazed. I hope it isn't a CLASSIC rock band, replacing a blown out old lead singer. He deserves better.

Elliott improved his presence throughout the show - he had the voice all along. Jazz singer?

Mandissa will sing backups for someone big. If she'd drop a ton of weight she'd go farther.

Paris: musicals. Lisa: musicals.

Ace: shopping center openings.

Kevin: college.

Kat: a big unknown. If she can ACT, then there's a career path. Cameras love her face.

Bucky, Melissa: real life.

My addiction has ended. I can reclaim 3 hours a week, though with TiVo it's more like 2 hours. All in all, I completely enjoyed this season. And am pleased Taylor won.

GREAT JOB OPEN

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SLIME GOVERNMENT

Seems to me that the VA should embrace veterans, not treat them with such disregard that all who served since Viet Nam would be subject to possible identity theft.

Seems to me that public service has become, for far too many, a pocket lining exercise:

Tom DeLay, the former Republican House leader and once one of the most powerful politicians in Washington, stepped down from Congress and resigned his seat after becoming embroiled in the Abramoff scandal.

Two of his former aides and a former aide to Ohio Republican Rep Bob Ney have pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate in the investigation of a conspiracy to bribe members of Congress in return for legislative favors.

David Safavian, the former chief of staff at the General Services Administration -- the agency that manages property for the federal government -- has been charged with lying and obstructing investigations into his relationship with Abramoff and their 2002 golf outing to Scotland that was funded by the lobbyist.

Seems to me that Louisianna representative William Jefferson, caught accepting a bribe, should be drummed out of his job. It's said he was filmed taking $100,000 in alleged bribe money out of an FBI informant's car. Later, the money wrapped in aluminum foil is found in his freezer -- but he then claims he did nothing wrong!

Fannie Mae, one of the financial backbones of the U.S. housing market, doctored its earnings for six years so top executives could collect hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses, the company's federal regulator said Tuesday.

An AP-Ipsos poll conducted at the beginning of this month showed a 71 percent disapproved of the way Congress is handling its job, while only 25 percent of those surveyed approved. Call me cynical. Let's throw everyone out and start over.

Term limits. Ethics. We have a war on terror, a war on drugs. Let's have a war on corruption!

24 VS ALIAS PART 2

Alias wimped out. Went soft. Didn't really tie up the loose ends. Dad dies. Mommy dies. Syd lives, has another baby, and walks off down the beach with Vaughn.

Rombaldi's hijinx (sp?) were not cleared up. Big plot device left to hang. Boooo. After so many years, that's inexcusable.

24, on the other hand, was tension filled and MOVED. A big surprise at the end, just when you were feeling good. 24 IS drama. The season ender was jam packed. We loved it. Kudos to all.

Now we get into RESCUE ME, which has to be one of the best written and acted shows in TV land, though hard edged as they come.

24 VS ALIAS

Thank god for TiVo. We say goodbye to Sydney Bristow tonight. Although the show is a pretty long stretch, we've enjoyed it, and when Mrs Afleck (Damn him!) smiles, all is right with the world. So we'll watch. I hope they end it in style. How many fs are there in Afleck anyway? If I missed one, well, f him then.

24 also does a 2 hour end of season 5. We will TiVo because the commercials really hurt the suspense. Love to skip them and get right back to the action!

There's added suspense to this end of seasoning. We will convert to digital TV soon, and this should of course be accompanied by all sorts of gremlins never before seen at chez electronica de la Wood (how's that for a mix?) We didn't want to possibly mess up the finales.

I believe digital is cheaper than analog. I also believe I will drag out some unused curses to inflict and inflect at the new set top box.

This is in anticipation of the death of our main TV, which is showing its age but hanging in there. We will immediately go for HDTV - and I just hope it can hang till fall when better sets come out. Of course, in a few years a NEW new generation of amazing sets will come out (OLED technology.) But I don't think we can wait that long.

STUMPED BY A TANK

This thing just baffles me.

We live in a gated community. Recently they took the name off the east gate sign. I figure we are now marketing to the Witness Protection Program. You can buy a home for under a million dollars, but you'd better hurry. Prices for dirt are soaring.

You meet some interesting folks in these here parts.

There are a couple pro football players, or ex players, depending... two country singers, a pro wrestler, surgeons, and a smattering of retired folks and others.

Our community, now apparently called "_______" since they took the stone entry sign down, embraces (actually LANDLOCKS) another area. On one of those properties, not regulated by our design review comittee and regs, the above structure was just built. I can't figure what it is. Looks like a missle silo, grain silo, water tank, miniature golf course hazard... mothership?

Any ideas?

In the picture you can barely see the roof of the - home? which is being totally rennovated beside it. You are looking at what I estimate to be a 25 foot tank.

Thank God we don't have to look at it.

INFO TUG OF WAR

Who'd it take so long - YEARS? For the govimint to release the Pentagon airliner crash videos? They sure don't show much. What's to hide?

Conspiracy theorists suggest it's awfully hard to pilot a plane that size at that speed at that low an altitude. The video seems to show a blur skimming the ground. The buzz is there are another many videos from other cameras which aren't released. You have to wonder why not, don't you? Curious minds want to know.

BUSH LOGIC

Bush in his speech to the country the other night said - the lure of America to Mexican workers, "creates enormous pressure that walls and patrols alone will not stop." He said the best way to reduce illegal immigration is to change the law so more people can enter legally. Huh?

Couldn't you say the same about the so called 'war on drugs?'

Legalize sanely. Control and tax. Free up prisons for more serious offenses. Free up police from pot busts so that they can concentrate on more serious offenses. Crime drops, too. The argument that Marijuana leads to the harder stuff is bogus, especially when controlled. Does speeding at 65 lead to 75, then 85, then, 100? Pot is not addictive. In fact, other than short term memory loss and the munchies, it's pretty darn benign. No, you shouldn't drive impaired. You shouldn't drink and drive. Heck, if you've ever had a cigarette ash fall into your lap while driving in shorts, you know the dangers of smoking while driving!

Imagine the tax revenue! Imagine the savings on the war on drugs! Or spend it on more serious addictive substances... crack, heroin, meth.

Yeah, just try to educate a crack user off crack, or a meth abuser off meth.

In Amsterdam you can legally buy and smoke dope in 'coffee shops.' And Amsterdam continues along without a resultant problem... or none reported. Look it up.

BUSH MATH

Let's just take Texas. 1200 miles of Mexican border. Now, let's be generous. Give 200 miles to the beartraps and pits of pit vipers already in place. That leaves 1000 miles. Take 6000 National Guard troops and split them into 3 shifts of 8 hours each. That's 2000 on 'duty' at a time, 24/7. Stretch them out to maximum, you get a guy every half mile. Yeah, W, that'll stop illegals! O'Course there's the border patrol, and they are known to be as effective keeping - what're we up to? 12,000,000? out of the USA as the peanut vendor at a college football game is at keeping the quarterback from being sacked. Can't be done.

The argument goes - they sent back 6 million this year alone. Or is it only 500,000 when you take away the repeats? Stand in the ocean, guys. Let's practice on high tide. Hold that line now!

The best way for a Mexican illegal to get into the US is to skip the coyote, buy a ticket to Canada, then walk across in the many areas where there ARE no crossings.

Luckily, terrorists, darkly silhouetted in front of the National Security Flag, go for Mexico's heat over Canada's cool, as they tend to sneak in among a crowd of service personnel for empty low paying jobs, rather than look out of place next to an Alberta moose.

Somewhere in the White House, they think they've helped George's approval rating.

Guest worker program. Check.
No amnesty. Check.
Work and earn citizenship. Check.
Short speech. Check.
Presidential look. Check.
Remind people of their relatives who came over. Check.
Mention freedom. Check.
National guard. Check.
War on Terror as justification. Check.
Short term program. Check.
Help Border Patrol. No, assist. Check.

I hope people see through this charade.

POPULARITY

Rolling Stone, as part of its 1000th issue, published high school yearbook pictures of many people who became stars, mostly rock stars. An eye opener. Most looked average (and that's kind!) I always thought, "well, if I looked like THAT, I could have been..."

Guess not.

I once met Paul Simon's brother, who looked a lot like Paul. One was a star, one not.

I still think better looking people have an easier time in life, all else being equal. But life is still a mystery to me.

I HATE TICKETMASTER

I admit I am spoiled after so many years (decades!) of getting free tickets to concerts as a perk of working in radio. It was to the artists' advantage that we programmers would see and enjoy their work - make us more likely to play their music on the air. You could argue it was payola but it isn't - payola is exchange of something for AIRPLAY and believe me, you get immune to any possible influence quickly. In fact, going to as many concerts as I have became an obligation rather than enjoyable where my staff, or worse - the competition - is hosting the show.

That leads to today's adventure with Ticketmaster.

I hate Ticketmaster. Those are Blood sucking leeches on the wallet John Q Public!!! Case in point: Steely Dan. I'm a big fan.

I can't quite handle the ticket cost - about $90 per. I realize that isn't up in the higher rankings of charges, but after all, I have a terrific stereo system where they play for FREE and probably sound better! No waiting in line. No noisy fans. No standing in front of me. You get the picture.

But we went for it.

Ticketmaster throws in another $12.55 PER TICKET - get this - and I know, I am ticket-naive - "CONVENIENCE CHARGE." WHAT CONVENIENCE? And then on top of that, charges $4.65 processing fee. PROCESS THIS!!! And then If you wanted expedited delivery, another $20 or so...

CONVENIENCE CHARGE? What the heck does that mean? Ticketmaster is to convenience what a Proctologist is to a cheek-kiss.

I did some on-line research:

Excerpt: "The company now ha(s) exclusive rights to 90% of the nation's large arenas, and over 70% of the clubs and theatres. This pretty much allows them to charge whatever markup they want - and as the example at the top of the page shows, they take full advantage of the opportunity. It's interesting to note that Ticketmaster get(s) their claws in at both ends. If they sell your band's tickets, they charge 3.5% commission on gross sales, plus a further "administrative fee" for credit/debit card fees. The latter is particular interesting, removing wholesale one potential justification for what they add to the price of a ticket.

As if gouging in this manner weren't enough, in September the company announced plans to auction off the best tickets to the highest bidder - effectively becoming nothing more than touts, driven entirely by market forces. The worst thing is, laws against scalping are ineffective, since they apply only to the resale of tickets, not the initial purchase. Again, they'll be laughing all the way to the bank. "

read more There are many more complaints and horror stories.

GOOGLE Search TICKETMASTER COMPLAINTS and you get 384,000 results.

Excerpt: "Ticketmaster is the subject of frequent complaints in the blogosphere and print media due to high ticket service charges. Notably, in the 1990s, Pearl Jam brought a lawsuit alleging that Ticketmaster is a monopoly, whose anticompetitive practices allow markup prices of more than 30%. Ticketmaster was found to be not guilty of violating antitrust law.

More recently, Ticketmaster.com customers have complained about being signed up with no consent for the Entertainment Rewards program of sister company entertainment.com. Customers complain that despite explicitly refusing offers made to them while buying tickets through Ticketmaster.com, a $9 a month charge began to appear on their monthly statements. Customers also complain that these charges continue to accrue month to month and that Ticketmaster is unresponsive in stopping or removing these charges." read more

What I resent most is the "CONVENIENCE CHARGE" term (and price). Makes me sputteringly mad. It isn't convenience if you have no choice. It's exploitation clear as a bell, and on top of that, blind arrogance!

IDOL

Must blog how stunned I am that Chris got voted out of American Idol last night. Kat should have been out.

I thought Elliott would have been pulled, based on his lack of camera-friendly charisma.

Chris is the best all around. Maybe the fact that he's a rocker hurt somehow.

As for Kat, the other "lowest voted," I figured, wrongly, I admit, that women would support one of their own right to the end - who the camera LOVES - though I don't like her singing voice.

Now it's anyone's win, because the people voting are clearly using different criteria than mine.

Notice that every star they've had on 'coaching' the hopefuls praised Chris. I am certain he'll land a contract with some record company and he'll do well.

Taylor remains the showman.

Elliott has stepped up his singing but he's got low charisma.

Kat is pretty.

Al Gore won the popular vote.

Go figure.

COURT TV sort of

We've been summoned to court. But not exactly REAL court - TV court.

We have filed some paperwork against a guy who we believe scammed us out of hundreds of dollars for work he never produced. We went to his county magistrate and filed.

Today, via courier, an invitation comes to be on the Judge Alex Show (never heard of it, but it's on in many markets - lots of small ones, apparently, and some majors too), out of Houston, - they'd fly us there, put us up in a hotel (ooooooooo) and pay the settlement if Judge Alex declares for us. Here's his honor's site

I have no desire to be on TV like that. Don't know about Terri, but I'd bet.... NO. (The invitation just arrived and she's at work.) Who knows? If she wants to, I'd do it, but only for her. What we really want are the tables we never received from the woodworker.

MARINE ONE

We've all seen that picture of Marine One lifting the President from the lawn of the White House. I read that there were 2, to foil bad guys... and they'd go in different directions.

But your tax dollars are sure at work. There aren't 2. or 4, with 2 for down times. Or 6 for extended servicing. Or 8, for foreign postings.

No, there are - or will be - TWENTY THREE!

"After decades of upgrades to a fleet of notoriously cramped Sikorsky VH-3 Sea Kings, the White House has tasked Lockheed Martin with a dramatic, $6.1-billion makeover of Marine One, the presidential helicopter, starting this summer. The goal: to fit a mobile Oval Office into the tight quarters of a chopper. The new fleet will consist of 23 VH-71 aircraft, each of which will have 200 square feet of cabin space, nearly double the Sea King’s 116. "

Read more.

A NEIGHBOR ALMOST DROPS IN

Here's a neighbor. Here's our house. He's not as close as it looks. Always something!

SCORPIONMAN

Our superhero drives a dinky white truck.

But inside is a master chemist's mix of lethal brew. Beware, oh slithery things of the creep! Beware, you arachnid nightmares of hairy legs and evil eye!

The only thing is, he's missing his appointment today. Did a jiggled canister gas him? Did the insect population grab him hostage like a reporter trapped by insurgents? I fear for Richard. He could be in for a magic carpet ride of red ants!

Just yesterday I spotted a rather large bodied spider lurking under a few leaves. Remember when James Bond had one slowly walk over his he-man chest in an early movie of the series? Look closely next time - there's a sheet of glass between Sean C and the nasty tarantula.

But there's no sheet of sissy glass in my front yard where I dare to walk. Because I clearly have lost most of my mind.

TRAFFIC

Traffic is the name of the blog game. So I think I should end my experiment with how many posts I can title with song titles. Why? Because these aren't likely to be terms people search for. To generate traffic beyond the few loyal folks (and I deeply appreciate you!) who visit, I have to use better terms which might interest those who don't know my twisted mind.

I love writing and I enjoy blogging very much. But now I am doing 4 of them, and they eat blocks of time. The only payback is my fed ego as I show off. Can't get that buzz without traffic.

By the way - I am pretty sure the server was down yesterday as phone and E mail was affected and the traffic count was dismal. We have had some serious storms in the past few days which might have somehow affected the network, though you'd think they'd have back-ups.

-----

What good are contractions? In the sentence above, "you'd" is a good one. You skip "woul" but what good is the much more common "it's"? You lose an "i" but have to put in an apostrophe. I want to propose better contractions. I will put together a list. Anybody have any ideas?

BREAKFAST IN AMERICA

(Supertramp)

Today at breakfast Terri jumped up from the table. I shot a quizzical look and hit her with it. "What?" "A scorpion was in the paper!" "Editorial section probably. Where'd it go?" "Right there." "That's not a scorpion." "Yes it is." "Yeah, it is." Squash. Squash. SQUASH!

I am the mighty white hunter. The jungle is mine.

EVERYBODY IS A STAR

(Sly and the Family Stone)

I don't ever want to see Hugh Hefner again. It's gross. He's always got a bimbo on his arm (or three) while he smirks like a camel or some odd beast. It's not an "Oh look - you get get some in your 80s with young great grandaughter-aged babes" hopeful future for men everywhere (except Vegas.) It's a bad ad for Viagra. And Hugh is always pictured in pajamas or robe. Image is everything. Hugh, get what you can, do what you can. Just do it in private and go away please.

Imagine Hugh and someone his age. Want some names? Didn't think so. What must the girls say about him behind his back? Here's a typical conversation: "Boy, Hugh's ear hair is trimmed nicely!" "I love your sandals." "I love YOUR sandals." "Are we going to Spago tonight?" "Do they have an early bird senior sitting at 4?" "Hugh grunts like he's dying." "Oh, that's mean. I think he grunts like a turtle." "Can you get a burn from satin?" "If Hugh makes me pregnant, will the baby be 42 at birth?" "Anybody see my tooth whitening stuff?"

And while I change the world today, I object to the overuse of the word STAR. And also STARRING. Reality shows don't STAR people. Nicole Ritchie, Paris Hilton are not STARS. STAR should have merit. Actually, a star is a gasseous explosion. Keep that in mind. We need a new word.

And so, this weekend breaks Mission Impossible III. Tom Cruise has become too... whatever... lately. Too bad. The public turns on its pedestal riders. I'd still like to look like him, even for a day. So would Hugh Hefner.

I expect to enjoy MI3. I remember the tv series. I always wondered who shellaced Barbara Bain's face to make it so rigid. If she STARRED she did it without any hint of life.

And lately I've noticed how the leads on Miami CSI and the regular blend (Vegas version) rarely say many scripted words. What a gig. Whatshisname says 3 or 4, rarely 5 word sentences, stands at angles, and pops his glasses on and off. WhatshisnameVegas says a little more, maybe a page an episode, and puts latex gloves on. They may be acting, but they aren't STARRING. I tell you, we need a new word.

The proper sense of STAR should be someone who illuminates by their appearance. Who inhabits a role with such force of personality that we are compelled to believe, or like, or even hate.

RAIN

(The Beatles)

There probably is a way to add audio to Blogs, but I'll bet it costs $97 or $79. MANY add on programs that claim to do amazing things are at those price points. I know, the hard way.

I thought it'd be interesting to record a few seconds of the rain on our metal roof. A few miles away they had 100mph winds and golf ball size hail. Heck. It's Texas. We have softball sized FOG.

Very little thunder so far, so the dog seems to be okay - and darn if we didn't get a boom as I was half through this sentence!

And again.

And she's got the pill... and the shakes.

I admit I enjoyed thunder storms a lot before I became a property owner. Now there are sometimes consequences.

Many of my million+ wildflower seeds are missing in action (or inaction). But I suppose this rain will help the ones that did germinate.

Boy is this boring. Sorry. Blame it on the low pressure front.

And I'm tired from solving a big problem in our internet biz tonight. Too bad I can't explain it to anyone except my partner in the biz, because nobody would understand.

Oh - V Fox, Mexico's Pres. must have had the talk from our state department. Now he won't sign the drug legalization law. Just when I thought he/they were enlightened. I mean, look, prohibition didn't work here. And the "Drug War" is a big waste of money and manpower in my opinion. Don't get me started on this political gamesmanship stunt! Talk about addiction! Washington is addicted to hypocrisy.

RIDERS ON THE STORM

(Doors)

Jessie, our dog, has become frightened of thunderstorms. She runs in agitated circles and pants. She's very clearly freaked out. I have been unable to calm her in these circumstances. So I asked the vet what to do and the vet prescribed vallium.

Amusing to me was the warning that she should not operate any heavy machinery while taking the meds. So noted!

TIME OF THE SEASON

(Zombies)

It's Scorpion Season again. We've killed 4 or 5 this past week in the house. Imagine tiny lobsters with a hooked tail w/barb. That's what they look like. I can tell you they don't die easily, either. It took 5 or 6 hits with a large floss container to crush the little bugger last night.

But what a difference a year makes. I was tip toeing around last year. This year - look - there's one - kill and flush. No big deal. Of course I haven't been stung yet either, so it's easy to be calm.

Terri found one in her bra before she put it on. Must have been a male.

AMERICAN IDOL

It came to me last night while I couldn't sleep - seemed so obvious.

Paris is out next.

Then Taylor.

Then Elliott.

Then Kat.

Chris wins.

This is unless somebody just stinks it up - but they are all pretty impressive at this level.

A day later: I might swap Elliott and Taylor. I get the sense, as a better showman (but lesser singer) Taylor might outlast Elliott.

An aside - this show is cleverly put together, including the makeup of the 'judges.'