Trending This Mornin'

Wait, wait.  69 yesterday.  Flooding will continue into early morning.  Watch those streams.  A cold wind today.  Hi 43.  Sunshine with a few flurries Friday. Hi 32. 20% chance of a shower on Saturday.  Hi 40. Partly sunny Sunday.  Hi 42.  Mostly cloudy Monday.  Hi 48.  Rain/snow chance on Tuesday. Hi 47.  Mostly sunny. Hi 46 on Wednesday.

Lots of rain.  In the last 36 hours

Roanoke 2.65 inches

Lynchburg .84

Blacksburg 3.15 inches

Danville 1.02 inches

Wind Advisory
Until Thu 4:00 PM

Alleghany,  Amherst.  Appomattox.  Bath. Bedford.  Botetourt.  Campbell.  Carroll.  Craig,  Floyd,  Franklin,  Giles,  Halifax,  Henry,  Montgomery,  Patrick,  Pittsylvania,  Pulaski,  Roanoke,  Rockbridge......Greenbrier

College Hoops

#14 Miami 73, Virginia Tech 64

#5 Duke 75, Wake Forest 70 

Florida State 73, Maryland 71

VMI 70, Radford 69 - VMI Rallies from 8 Down with 1:18 Left to Win

High Point 88, Longwood 60

Hampden-Sydney 81, Lynchburg 70

Randolph 71, Emory & Henry 44 

Guilford 76, Roanoke 48

Bridgewater 67, Washington & Lee 66 (2OT)

Lookin' Back

This is the 31st day of the year.  There are 334 days left in 2013.   Today is National Popcorn Day and Child Labor Day

1893, "Coca-Cola" was trademarked for the first time.

1919, Jackie Robinson, who made history in 1947 by becoming the first black baseball player in the major leagues , was born

1928, Scotch Tape was invented

1940, The first Social Security check was issued by the U.S. Government.

1949, the first TV daytime soap opera, These Are My Children, aired

Cuttin' Cake Today

Justin Timberlake (32)   Portia deRossi (40)   Minnie Driver (43)   KC (Harry Wayne Casey) of the Sunshine Band (62)   Nolan Ryan (66)   Carol Channing (92)

Joke of the Day

What is a tiger with red spots?  ans - a tiger with measles

Weird News This Mornin'

Two men in suburban Atlanta were busted for allegedly stealing $65,000 worth of chicken wings from a warehouse.

The wings, weighing 26,000 pounds, would have needed a tanker of hot sauce.  You know, they could have been planning the BEST Super Bowl party ever.

Here's the definition of "poor planning".  Two thieves in Orlando forced a Corvette owner out of his pricey ride at gunpoint . . . but didn’t know how to put the manual transmission into drive.

With the weapon trained on him, “I had to tell [the driver] four different times to push the clutch,” the ’Vette owner recounted. The robbers fled on foot.

Smarter Than Question

The average person spends nine hours a day doing this. What is it?   No winner. The answer is "tapping away on various keyboards".

Entertainment Buzz

On American Idol last night, it was auditions from San Antonio and Long Beach, California.  Sunday's the day to visit San Antonio.  Both standouts - Vincent Powell and Cristabel Clack - are worship ministers.  Victoria Acosti brought a little mariachi flavor to the auditions.   Sanni M'mairura, a Swahili-speaking 16-year-old whose parents are from Kenya and Tanzania, wowed the judges along with Adam Sanders, an emotional 19-year-old whose gospel-packed performance of I'd Rather Go Blind blew the judges away.

As for the Long Beach visit - standouts included: Matt Farmer, Matheus Fernandes Kimberly Rachel Hale, Shubha Vedula, Briana Oakley and Micah Johnson.  Micah suffered nerve damage during a botched tonsillectomy but still nailed a version of the Zac Brown Band's Chicken Fried that had judge Keith Urban singing along with him.

Micah Johnson, Auditions Long Beach ~ American... by HumanSlinky 

The final round of auditions will be tonight from Oklahoma City. Then, it's off to Hollywood next week.

CBS’ Emmy-winning How I Met Your Mother will close up shop next year, ending nine seasons of laughs for fans.

We're hearing Jon Bon Jovi turned down the chance to be a judge on shows like The X Factor and American Idol last year because he was too busy.

Eric Clapton's next album is a collection of his favorite songs by other artists and he's calling it "Old Sock." Paul McCartney joins him for "All Of Me." Steve Winwood plays on "Still Got The Blues." Chaka Khan sings backup on "Get On Over."   Clapton does two new songs as well. "Old Sock" is out March 12.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Salma Hayek and Ice-T guest star in tonight's (8p ET, NBC) 30 Rock series finale.

 

News from Nashville

Randy Travis is scheduled to appear in a North Texas court, where prosecutors say he is expected to plead guilty to driving while intoxicated.   Details of the plea agreement will be released today following Travis' court appearance. The misdemeanor is punishable by up to two years in jail and a $4,000 fine.  Chances are he'll get probabtion. 

Look who is on the cover of People this week.   His new album drops Tuesday.

Someone has the right idea.  Luke Bryan will bypass the winter blues by releasing his 'Spring Break... Here to Party' EP, which will hit store shelves and digital retailers on March 5.

Congrats to Florida Georgia Line.  "Cruise" has hit #1.

Johnny Cash is going postal! The United States Postal Service has announced that the Man in Black will be a part of this year's Music Icons stamp series.  No word when it will be available.

Kacey Musgraves' much-anticipated debut album finally has a release date. 'Same Trailer Different Park' will hit shelves on March 19.

Newcomer Sarah Darling will serenade the contestants of 'The Bachelor' on an upcoming episode in early February.

No red Solo cups for these two. Miranda Lambert recently gave tourmate Dierks Bentley a tour present.  It's a tall black plastic cup with Bentley's logo on it. Lambert says she got him this particular cup because it won't sweat like lesser cups.  When you're "Locked and Reloaded" you've got to be serious about your drinking.  Go ahead Dierks, tip it on back.

Taylor Swift has gone quadruple platinum, selling over 4 million albums of Red since its release in October.

Congratulations to Gary Allan on scoring his first #1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with Set You Free.

Emmylou Harris could be headed to the big house. According to TMZ, the Country Music Hall of Fame member has been charged with a hit-and-run after allegedly hitting another car with her rental car on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles last October. 

Steven Tyler was in the audience for Lady Antebellum's CMT Crossroads performance with Stevie Nicks Tuesday night in Los Angeles. He said,  "The whole night was a magic moment."  It will air in the coming months.

OBIT: Patty Andrews of the Andrews Sisters has died at the age of 94. She was the last surviving member of the trio who sang "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy".

Lar's This & That

Lunchtime Matters When Trying To Lose Weight 

A new study shows dieters who ate early lunches tended to lose more  weight than those who had their midday meal on the later side. The  finding doesn't prove bumping up your lunch hour will help you shed those extra  pounds. But researchers say it's possible eating times play a role in how the  body regulates its weight. 

Attention Smartphone Junkies

The journal Personal and Ubiquitous Computing has found most smartphone users have developed something called "checking habits.”  That’s the term for repetitive, mindless checks of email and social media apps, like Facebook.

The average smartphone owner does a 30-second check at least twice an hour and some are as often as every 10 minutes. Is it necessary?  Nope. It's simply a habit, a compulsion, or even an addiction.

Experts feel those checks can be annoying to others.

How can you tell you're a smartphone addict:

• You check your email much more often than necessary. Even when you repeatedly find nothing new in your inbox.
• You're annoying people. If you hear “put the phone away” more than once a day, you’ve probably got a problem.
• The thought of not checking your phone drives you nuts. Try putting your phone away for an hour. If you get all itchy and anxious, you might be a habitual checker.

The fix?

• Admit you have a problem.  Psychologist and technology expert at MIT, Dr. Sherry Turkle, says admitting there's a problem is important because once you’re aware of a habit, you can unlearn it.
• Create smartphone-free zones. Pick places like your bedroom, and the dining room table. If you have to walk down the hall to grab your phone, you’re less likely to check your apps.
• Pile your silenced phones on the table. This is a great trick at mealtime with family or friends.  Wover checks their phone first, pays the bill. 

Is It Time To Stop Eating Healthy 

The CDC just released the results of a study on the foods that caused the most  illnesses between 1998 and 2008 . . . and leafy greens like lettuce, spinach,  and kale were first.  Dairy and poultry are also right up there. 

Should you STOP eating them?  Nope. The  CDC  says, "the vast majority" of vegetables are safe. 

USA Today story

Top Dog 

The Labrador retriever keeps its 22-year reign as America's top dog. The American Kennel Club's annual ranking of most popular dog breeds shows Labradors in the lead, followed by the German Shepherd and the Golden Retriever. 

more

Are The Courtin' Days Over

According to a new survey, most men want their wife or girlfriend to tell them  "I love you" every day.  Only half as many women . . . about 30% . .  . want to hear it that often.  And two thirds of men said they'd consider  wearing an engagement ring if their fiancée proposed to them.  (PR  Newswire) 

Now's The Time To Start Using A To-Do List

According to a new study, the average person would save about 90 WASTED MINUTES  every day if they organized themselves better with a to-do list. 

Do the math.  That adds  up to an extra 23 days a year, which is enough time to watch 328 movies, eat 547  extra meals, or have relations at least 1,095 times.  But that's not how  you'd spend the time. 

Most people say they'd use it on housework or chores

Killin' time

I leave you with this:

A GROUNDHOG DAY POEM 
We're getting ready  for Groundhog Day
Because spring is way overdue
And if the groundhog  says more winter
He'll be heading for groundhog stew.

Good News Story 

Today, Deborah Ford will retire from the U.S. Postal Service in Detroit after  44 years without using any of her sick days. Though her colleagues  applaud her level of commitment, the 64-year-old Ford doesn't see what the big  deal is. Ford says, "I was trying to do the best I could, and that just evolved  into working all my scheduled days."

Ford said when she was sick, she would  simply "shake it off." For appointments, say, with the doctor, she would use  vacation days. 

... Ford says her father, who is 86 years old and never  took a sick days in 30 years, also doesn't see what the fuss is about.

Lar's Thought of the Day 

"The test of character is not 'hanging in' when you expect light at the end of the tunnel, but performance of duty and persistence of example when you know no light is coming...."    Medal of Honor Recipient Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale.