Katie Couric Goes to GMA as Guest Host

People are bound to do a double take when they wake up and see Katie Couric staring back at them from their early morning talk show. It might take them a minute to realize they’re not watching the Today show. Even though that’s where they had been used to seeing her for years, this time she will be on Good Morning America instead as a guest host.

For 15 years, Couric was a host on the Today show on NBC, finally leaving in 2006. She hosted the CBS Evening News for a little while, and now she has moved over to ABC. It seems every major network wants Couric on their team.

Although previously the Today show had always been the early morning ratings winner, recently Good Morning America has been giving them a run for their money. Perhaps bringing Couric in as a guest host will be just what it takes to close the gap.

Katie Couric will co-host Good Morning America while Robin Roberts, one of the regular hosts, is on vacation. Couric will spend the week-long stint co-hosting with GMA regular George Stephanopoulos. Surely the return of Couric to daytime and the pairing with Stephanopoulos will make a lot of people curious enough to tune in for at least that week. Perhaps they will like what they see so much that they decide to stick with GMA for their daily morning fare.

At any rate, it will be fun to see Katie Couric back at her early morning hosting duties again after so long away. She had become a staple in many of our lives, and this will surely be a pleasant walk down memory lane for a lot of us.

Earl Scruggs, Bluegrass Pioneer, Dies

I was riding in a car with my mom and my friend today and asked if they knew who Earl Scruggs was. Mom didn’t, but my friend enthusiastically said that she did. She grew up listening to his music, and he was responsible for her lifelong love of bluegrass music. Sadly, she had not heard of his passing and was very sad when I told her about it.

Scruggs was a banjo player extraordinaire and a legend in the music industry. He has a signature sound that influenced many popular artists, including Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. My friend mentioned listening to Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt and referred to them as “the blue grass boys.”

Scruggs is one of the most revered American musicians in history. Porter Wagoner once said of him, “Earl was to the five-string banjo what Babe Ruth was to baseball. He is the best there ever was and the best there ever will be.” His sound was so recognizable that it came to be known as “the Scruggs picking style.”

In 2001, Steve Martin performed on Earl Scruggs and Friends. Martin, who became famous as an actor and comedian but is also an accomplished banjo player, said that Scruggs was “the most important banjo player who ever lived.”

Scruggs was 88 years old when he died of natural causes yesterday. His unique style has influenced the way the majority of banjo players use their instruments today. He played the banjo in such a unique and interesting way that he changed the way almost all other banjo players who came after him play. Quite a legacy, indeed.

$540 Mega Millions Lottery Makes World History

The Mega Millions Lottery has reached $540 million, making it the largest lottery ever in world history. All across the U.S., state lotteries are reporting record numbers of sales in advance of this drawing. This is in spite of the fact that the odds of winning are 1 in 176 million.

Although each ticket holder has very little chance of winning, the states that participate in the lottery are making out big time. The Mega Millions tickets go for one dollar, and the state lottery agency gets 50 cents of that. This means the states are going to rake in megabucks due to the record number of ticket sales. The timing couldn’t be better for most states since they have been struggling just like the rest of us through the recent hard economic times.

The news gets even better for the state where the lottery winner is located. If the winner takes a lump sum payout (which seems highly likely) that could mean tens of millions of dollars in tax revenue for that state. That would go a long way toward helping that state move toward an economic recovery.

The Ohio state tax commissioner said, “We’re not holding our breath waiting for a tax windfall for the state, but we always root for Ohio and Ohioans and hope lottery luck comes to a Buckeye.” The former budget director for Montana who is now a state senator took a more practical view. “I just bought a ticket, and I hope it’s me.”

It will be interesting to see who, if anyone, wins that jackpot and how states benefit from the extra funds.

Capybara Love

So, what do you think of those critters in the picture there? Do they look lovable to you? Would you want to invite them into your home to live as pets/family members? 

Well, that’s just what Melanie Typaldos has done. She has a 100-pound capybara for a pet, and she was just featured on the TLC show My Crazy Obsession. Let me tell you, she is smitten with the capybara love!

Gary (that’s the name of her pet capybara) is an important and prominent part of Melanie’s life. She claims to spend almost all of her time with the pet. She even tried to communicate with him through a “capybara whisperer” of sorts so that they could become even closer. (Yeah, you read that right!)

The ultimate expression of her obsession was her decision to let Gary share her bed. She felt it was the best way to bring the two of them even closer than they had already become. (Ooooo-Kay.) In fact, the episode ended with a shot of the two of them sitting on the bed together watching TV.

Actually, capybaras are pretty cool animals…when kept at a distance…and are even a little cute in their own way. They are, in fact, rodents and the largest rodents of all. Could they have been the inspiration for the “rodents of unusual size” in the book and movie The Princess Bride? Who knows.

It appears Melanie is not about to get over her obsession any time soon. To each his own, I suppose. I’m just happy that’s an obsession I don’t share!

Bells Palsy Not Stopping Kim Mulkey

Kim Mulkey, the coach of the Baylor “Lady Bears,” has been diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. She let her team know before practice today. Of course, it’s not that she could have hidden it from them if she wanted to. When you have Bell’s Palsy, it is very noticeable to those around you.

About a decade ago, a good friend of mine developed Bell’s Palsy. It was alarming at first, because it looked as if she may have had a stroke. One whole side of her face started to droop, from her eyelids all the way down to the corner of her mouth. There was no missing it or covering it up, that’s for sure.

Fortunately for my friend and for Mulkey, Bell’s Palsy is not life-threatening and is treatable. The symptoms are caused by a nerve in the face that has become inflamed. There are medications that can reduce that inflammation, and then only time can do the rest. Typically, it takes several weeks or sometimes months to see your facial features return to normal. In the meantime, life goes on.

And that’s exactly what Mulkey told her team. “When I smile it’s crooked and when I talk, and talk loud, the hollowness in my hearing is weird, but it’s not going to keep me from hollering.” She is determined to keep on with her coaching duties and lead her team to the NCAA Final Four. Surely, that will be an inspiration to her team that just might put them over the top in attaining another championship.

Got Any Shares in BBY (Best Buy)?

Best Buy today posted a $1.7 billion loss for the fourth quarter! Upon that announcement, shares of BBY (Best Buy) dropped to $24.66, about a 7% decrease. However, Best Buy has plans in place to turn things around, and they announced those today also.

First on the agenda is trimming the fat. They plan to get rid of 400 corporate positions saving $800 million in the process. Also, they are going to close 50 of their retail stores in the U.S. However, that doesn’t really mean there will be fewer places to shop for Best Buy merchandise. They also plan to open up 100 Best Buy Mobile locations, which are smaller stores that turn a better profit. As the CEO put it, “We’re clearly going to have more doors and less square footage.”

Best Buy is taking a lesson from their failed former competitor Circuit City. They failed to keep up with the rapid changes in the electronics market and finally went under in 2009. People are buying more of the smaller, handheld electronics nowadays that don’t have a very big profit margin. Also, there is so much more competition lately from online retailers and discount department stores.

Therefore, Best Buy has decided to change with the market. They will focus more on smaller, mobile device based stores instead of their usual “big box” stores. In addition, they will make having a highly-trained technical staff a priority. This way people will have a reason to buy from them rather than online. There will be someone there to show them how to use and get the most out of their new purchase.

Is Autism on the Rise, or Are Cases Just Being Reported Better?

They used to estimate that 1 in 110 children in the U.S. had autism. Now the rate has increased to 1 in 88. However, reports seem to indicate that the rise is due to better screening and reporting of the condition. It is entirely possible there were always 1 in 88 children affected, but we never knew it until we got the systems in place to test and diagnose kids more efficiently.

Those who advocate for autism research claim this revised number means there is now an epidemic of the condition in the country and therefore more funds should be directed toward research and more services should be provided for those diagnosed. Certainly, the revised estimates are bringing more attention to autism.

The numbers are pretty astonishing. Over the last few years, each new set of studies has resulted in an increase in the estimated number of children with autism. This new estimate means that autism is almost twice as common as they previously thought only five years ago. That means that about one million children in the U.S. are likely affected.

So while it is true that more widespread screening and better methods of diagnosis are contributing to the increase in the numbers, this only reveals a situation that was already there. The fact that there are so many more children than first thought who are affected by autism means that many more people will benefit from increased research and services. Let’s hope these children and their families all get the help they need.