And it’s for charity.:)      At least four  Idol alumni have been added to the lineup:   They include Fantasia, Elliott Yamin, Carrie Underwood, and Chris Daughtry.   Several KOIT “regulars” will also perform:  Celine Dion, Mariah Carey-who will also be a mentor this year-Fergie, Annie Lennox, Maroon 5, Heart, and Gloria Estefan.   And that’s not all.   Superstars added to the show include Robin Williams,  Forest Whitaker, Billy Crystal, Jennifer Connolly, Bono, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, John Legend,  and Miley Cyrus.
                                                          “Idol Gives Back” will raise money for a number of children’s and health charities.  Look for it April 9 on Fox.

                                                            CELEBRITIES IN THE AUDIENCE

                ‘Dancing with the Stars” host Tom Bergeron mentioned on his blog  to look for celebrities seated in the audience during the performances.  He said that they are either “stars” the producers are considering for future shows, or  celebrities who want to be on a future program.         I checked out this weeks show.  In the audience was Henry “The Fonz” Winkler, and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzales. Hmmmmm

          THE Talk around the infamous KOIT water cooler this morning was all about American Idol, and who’s goin’ home?  The general feeling was that the usual “bottom feeder,” the oft-criticized Kristy Lee Cook-saved herself with a rousing redition of Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA.”  Even Simon said it was the best song choice in years.  I mean-how can you vote somebody out after they sng that song?  So???
                                 Our water cooler group thinks it will be Chikezie, with Ramiele Malubay given another chance because she was sick last night.   But, who’s hot and who’s not.?
                                                                                  HOT
David Cook–Has the best “pipes” in the competition, and has really impressed everyone the last couple weeks.  The guy has “hit record” written all over him.
Michael Johns-After a couple “off weeks, lthe Aussie was great last night.  But it’s time to sing something other than a Queen song.
Syesha Mercado-Wow.  She demonstrated power and a great vocal range.  She should be safe for another couple weeks.

                                                                                      NOT
Carly Smithson- She obviously has the talent, but the tattooed Irish lass has disappointed the last couple weeks.  Time to pick the right song, and knock the judges socks off.

Brooke White-After garnering raves for Carly Simon’s  “You’re So Vain.” hasn’t really “stepped it up.”  But Simon likes her, and that should give her another 2 or 3 weeks.
Chikezi- After being in the bottom 2 a couple of times, he resusitated himself a couple of weeks ago with a great performance.  But after last night?  It may be “good-bye Chikezie.        
              So, what do you think?  Who’s going home, and who’s in the finals?

   Unbelieveable……I’m referring to the prices at the gas pump.  Some stations are selling premium for $399.  Here are some tips to help you save money at the pump.
1. Only buy or fill up your car in the early morning  when the the ground temperature is still cold.  All service stations  have their storage tanks buried below ground.  The colder the ground ,the more dense the gasoline-better for us.  When it gets warmer, gasoline expands, so when buying in the afternoon or evening, your gallon in not exactly a gallon.

2. When you’re filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle to a fast mode  The “trigger” has three stages: low, middle, and high.  In slow mode,  you will be minimiIzng the vapors that are created while you are pumping.  If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor.  Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank.

3.IMPORTANT:  Only fill up when your gas tank is half full or half empty.  The more gas you have in your tank-the less air is occupying its’ empty space.
4.  If there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks when you stop to buy gas, DO NOT fill up.  The gasoline is being stirred up  as the petrol is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.  
              My thinks to listener Deb Garneau “for sharing.”

You know…that guy sitting next to you .. .the perfect husband or significant other…no matter what designation….I think most of us need help with our relationships.  So, Guys you need to read this…it was written by one of your own!  (at the very least, it can’t hurt, right?)

Ladies, I’d like your feedback on this…Does the author of this article speak the truth or are their any other secrets that men can keep us happy?

       Are you ready to annoint the winner of the latest “Dancing with the Stars”?    Let’s give the crown to Kristi Yamaguchi and get a new batch of “stars.”    This has to be the most one-sided group since the inception of the show.
           At least past  shows had a semblance of intrigue, with at least 3 or 4 possible winners.  But now it’s our own Bay Area dancer-Kristi-and Mario,  the R and B singer-a good bet for second, and then their’s the rest of a sad group.  Jason Taylor of the Miami Dolphins and hearing impaired Marlee Matlin deserve creidt for giving it a good shot; but when all is said and done, it has to be Kristi going home with the crystal ball.                                                               Check the Audience
             Host Tom Bergeron revealed that if you look closely at the audience, you’ll see several celebrities scattered about.  He says these are people that are being wooed by the show’s producers to be future contestants, or grade B show biz types that want to be on the show.  
            Yamaguchi has had two children since we last saw her dance.  Go Kristi.

Today’s trivia:

             I have been facinated with the game of blackjack ever since I read the book “Beat The Dealer” by Dr. Edwin Thorpe.  In it, the good doc carefully explained how it is possible to get the best of  the dealer by carefully counting the cards as they were played.  Back in those days, most  casinos dealt almost to the last card.:)   He also explained when to split, double down, and all the other intricacies that make up the game.
           A good friend from my Chico State College days  and I spent several weekends practicing.
  Armed with this knowledge, we thought we were ready to hit the casinos.  We went to Reno to try our luck.  We decided to bet the minimum of  3 dollars when the odds were in the favor of the house, and up the bet to ten or 15 dollars when we thought the high cards were coming out. (very favorable to the player)    After a couple hours we had both won over a hundred dollars, but we were careless.  We were talking about what a great system this was, and were not disguising our bets.  In short, we were being careless.  A pit boss came over, and whispered something in the dealers’ ear.   She immediately cut the cards.  “What was that all about?” I asked.  “He thinks you were counting the cards,” she said. “He told me to shuffle after every hand so you can”t count the cards.  Hmmmmmmmmmm.
                         My friend and I made a quick trip to the mens’ room to discuss what to do.  We decided to leave and go to another casino.  We went across the street,  and settled in to a table.  He sat at the 1st base position, and I manned Third base.  We decided to be more careful.
                    After an hour, we had won less than 50 dollars.  AND THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN.   The pit boss came over and told the dealer to shuffle.  I decided to bring it all out in the open.  “Why did you tell the dealer to shuffle.”      “C’mon kid.  We’ve been watching you.  Why do you raise your bets every time the high cards are due out?”     “Just lucky hunches,” I lied.  He continued:  “Look, as long as you guys sit at the table, we’re going to shuffle every time you raise your  bet.”   He pulled out a pad and began writing.  “Here is a chit for a free dinner on the house. Go have a nice meal.”  “But I’ve only   won about 50 bucks, I countered.  “Yeah, that’s a pretty good hourly  wage isn’t it kid?
          We went to the restaurant and enjoyed a steak.   Apparently, the pit bosses had read the book too.                       
                                                         THE MOVIE ‘21′

      There is a movie due out soon about a team of blackjack players from MIT that were formed into teams and hit the casinos of Vegas, Tahoe, and Reno, and literally won millions until they were caught.  The big differance was-when they were caught, the cainos didn’t buy them dinner, they threated their lives.  Kevin Spacey is the leader and guru of the group.  I can’t wait for it.

   I think 99 percent of American Idol viewers figured Kristy Lee Cook would be going home last night.  And  I  was one of them.  I think we were all surprised when Carly Smithson and Amanda Overmeyer were in the “bottom 3,” but no problem, for sure-Kristy would be going home.
                And, just as we thought, Smithson took a seat.   She had survived.  And then, the name for the person voted out:  “Amanda Overmeyer.”    I really liked the hard rockin’ biker chick.  She would have been a huge hit on the Idol “Top Ten” tour.  Instead, we have the cute but boring Kristy Lee.  I hope the fact that Carly was in the “bottom 3″ does not portend bad things for her.  She is, indeed, a hit record waiting to happen.                                                          
                                                                              LARRY’S LINERS
                      Would somebody on the Idol staff get a good hair stylist to help out  David Cook?                   
                      My girl friend has a crush on Jason Castro..  I told her she can have  Castro, and I’ll take  cute little Ramiele Malubay.  So far, no comment. 
                     “Mentors”on  this years show will be Dolly Parton, Neil Diamond and Mariah Carey.   ????                              
                     My choice to win it all is still Michael Johns.  Could his age (a ripe old 29) hurt him against all the youngsters?        
                     Just asking:  Should Carly Smithson cover up her tattoos?
                     Now that we”re into the top ten, who is your choice to win it all?
                    Chikezie has made a nice comeback.  It looked like he’d be the first one voted off,  but his last couple of weeks showed marked improvement.
                     Too much padding.  The show where someone is voted off would make a nice half hour program.  But no.  The newwork suits want to fill up an hour.  So now we have those rediculous phone calls.  Enough already.
                     Just asking:  Would you like to see three new judges next season?  Would it hurt, or improve the show?  Personally, I think a lot of their comments are trite, and redundant.

                                                                         GO  K-STATE
My co-worker Julie Shannon (Saturdays-6am till noon)  is a HUGE Kansas-State fan.  The Wildcats are in the NCAA’s  this year.  Julie was so excited  and infectious in her enthusiasm for her school,  she made me a fan.  So much so, I bought a number 30 Michael Beasley shirt, and wore it proudly (as did Julie with her “number 30″) on “casual Friday” here at KOIT.    Why didn”t  I wear  the colors of my own school? Because I attended Chico State.     (Also called The Wildcats.)

                                                                        A MOVIE TO WATCH FOR  (TOMORROW)

Today’s Trivia:

Q: Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer character was named after a San Francisco……

A:…..firefighter
Taylor Escamilla came up with the correct answer for us this morning. She’s in San Leandro, and wins a family four pack of Exploratorium ducats and FoodMaxx  gift cards.

More SF lore: Did you know that the law offices of the late Melvin Belli on Montgomery near Washington in The City, you could actually see the tide rise and fall at the bottom of the elevator shaft?  And old Mel, during a dispute with some ex law partners, trained his dog to do his, um, business at at their front door.

Mary Hererra called me this morning a little after five, so she became our KOIT Early Riser. She lives in Vallejo, and picks up tickets to our premier of “Flawless”.  That’s the new Demi Moore/Michael Caine flick coming out soon. You could be our early riser tomorrow. We’ll tell you when to call at 5AM.

American Idol? Amanda’s out. I was never a huge fan of her style, but one thing’s for sure. I could be anywhere in the house while Idol was on, and she would always draw me back to the tube.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. And as long as we’re on the subject, here’s today’s trivia question:

Q: According to legend, what effect does kissing the Blarney Stone have on people?

A: It makes people less shy.

Congrats to this morning’s early riser Lee Anderson of SF. She gets tix to the KOIT premier of “Flawless” starring Demi Moore and Michael Cane. We’ll be looking for tomorrow’s Early Riser, as always, at 5 AM.

No good deed goes unpunished.  Remember that 15-year-old seaside girl we talked about last week? Amanda Rouse stopped a loaded school bus by taking over the controls after the driver fell out of her seat and hit her head. Well, Amanda ended up getting detention because, as it turned out, she wasn’t supposed to be on that bus to begin with. She got ill on the way to school, and asked the bus driver for a ride back to the bus yard before the accident. School administrators claim she should have first called in sick to the school office, so it’s Saturday detention for her. Amanda’s grandmother said that Amanda was where God wanted her to be (on the bus) that day.  Who could argue with that?

Excited about the NCAA college basketball tourney coming up? I’m not, but many people are. It’s estimated that employers will see about 1.7 billion dollars in lost productivity due to time spent on March Madness office pools, and worker wagers. The NCAA has stepped up it’s anti-gambling efforts (insert laugh track here). The FBI guestimates that 2.5 billion will be wagered.  Good thing betting’s illegal.