The Owensboro Curmudgeon

Owensboro Lands NBA Basketball team

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 15:00:00 +0000

Basketball in Kentucky is huge, and its about to get even huger.

The Curmudgeon has learned through his inside sources that a press conference will be held at 6:00 p.m. today to announce the relocation of a current NBA team to Owensboro.

Details are very sketchy and apparently this deal is moving through very quickly but the Curmudgeon has interviewed a person very close to the situation (that person's identity will not be revealed in order to protect him/her).

As part of the downtown devlopment, a new stadium will be built to house the team and the team will begin play in Owensboro at the start of the 2012 season.

"The team has been struggling financially in the market they are currently in and were looking to relocate," states the source "the team looked at the success the Oklahoma group has had and decided to give a smaller market with less competition a shot".

Kentucky is known for having a very rabid basketball fanbase. The team looked at the bigger cities, Louisville and Lexington, but did not want to compete with the local college teams (the Cardinals and Wildcats).

"Marketing this team in a town such as Owensboro is a completely new way of thinking for the NBA. With the current recession, competition for what little entertainment dollars there are floating around is cut-throat. We believe we are going to tap into an untouched market with strong demand. The current redevelopment of Owensboro's downtown area and plans already in place for a new arena really was perfect timing for this deal."

While Owensboro seems like an extremely small population to support such a major-league team, my source believes the team will draw fans from surrounding cities like Evansville and Bowling Green. "When you look at the actual market size that the team will be drawing their fans from, it is comparable to cities like Sacramento, CA and Oklahoma."

The Curmudgeon pressed to learn which team was involved with the move but that piece of information is being kept tightly controlled. "The current owner, who is moving the team and not selling, wants to be able to personally address staff and players before they hear from other sources."

It looks like Owensboro may be taking its first steps towards the big time and oh yeah. . .APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Them Wacky Tobacky boys are at it again

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:33:00 +0000

From the Louisville Courier-Journal (boy I sure would like to link to the local story in Messenger-Inquirer but their sites requires a subscription)

HIV inhibitor grown in tobacco plants

But yesterday, Louisville's James Graham Brown Cancer Center announced that one of its scientists had used Kentucky tobacco plants to cheaply grow a potent, protein-based drug that inhibits HIV.

If clinical studies prove successful, the product, likely a preventive gel, could be on shelves around the world as early as 2015, providing a crucial method of reducing new HIV infections in places such as sub-Saharan Africa, according to Kenneth Palmer, who conducted the study.

"There's a big need for an effective, female-controlled intervention to protect from HIV," said Palmer, a senior University of Louisville scientist.

This is by far the biggest results to come from the Owensboro Cancer Research Program. The research behind this story was published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (article here) and the research has picked up a good amount of attention from the science community and has been commented on in Nature (article here). For those of you not playing along at home the Proceedings of the National Academy and Nature are two of the top five journals to publish research in. This is the type of attention that top-notch research from the big institutions get and the little ole' labs up at the hospital are doing it. Maybe there is something to this plant-made pharmaceutical stuff.

Bonus points go to the authors for making the research open access, meaning you don't need a subscription to see the article.

Three Strikes and this weekend is over!

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:16:00 +0000

Yeah, the curmudgeon is in a horrible mood. In the rollercoaster of life, I am mid-loop. Unfortunately, its those little details that really get on my nerves right now and this weekend's adventures didn't help too much. I kind of changed up my weekend routine a little and visited some places that I haven't been to in a while and I realized why.

First off - Red Lobster - you didn't bring me my baked potato with my meal. You said they were behind and that it would come. I finished my meal, my plate was taken away, and I didn't get my baked potato or offered an alternate. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BEG FOR FOOD THAT I ORDERED. Your saving grace - those buttered biscuits.

Maloney's Rocca Bar - decent service, thats after you wait 20 minutes for the waitress to notice you have joined a table that already has drinks. Sorry, but there are too many other bars out there like you. I will not put forth the effort to make it to your establishment if your wait service can't put for a little extra effort themselves.

The Blind Parrot - Wow! Talk about a nosedive! When the Parrot first opened, it used to be a decent little place to go for a few drinks, maybe to enjoy the outside patio, maybe throw some cornhole. The crowd was a decent lot, not to old, not to young, mainly the young professional friday-after-five type. The dance floor was usually occupied with only one or two cougars (that a lady 40 and above looking for a younger male), can't say that I joined them in dancing but there was always the opportunity.

Fast forward to this weekend. I was met at the door by "Big Daddy" the bouncer demanding three dollars for a cover charge. When I got into the bar, I immediately could tell this wasn't the old blind parrot. The best way to describe the place and its clientele was like a strip joint without the nakedness. I really felt out of place having a college degree and my hat on straight. The old DJ with his computer full of mp3's pumping out the cougar enticing tunes had been replaced by a real (wannabe) DJ with his two turntables and thankfully no microphone. In addition, I guess the Fire Marshal had already gone to bed for the night because there was no way that place should have had that many people in it. Needless to say, I won't be going back anytime soon.

One shining point to the weekend was the performance of those HILLTOPPERS. Sure, they lost in the second round to Gonzaga, but they put forth one hell of an effort in both games and proved they could play with the best of them. If things had gone just a little differently, they could have been in the sweet sixteen two years in a row. We'll see you next year in the final four!

Now That's Bluegrass - Iron Horse!

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I warned you earlier, my taste in bluegrass music is a bit eccentric. I think this selection may ease you into my world with a little less shock. Don't worry, the real good stuff.

I actually ran across this band on iTunes and have since dug around a little on youtube and their website.

Iron Horse Bluegrass is a group that was formed back in 2000 out of the Muscle Shoals area and specialize in covering heavy metal and rock tunes, bluegrass style. They have released several CDs covering groups such as Metallica, Guns & Roses, and Ozzy Osbourne. It appears that they do a little touring mainly in the Alabama and North Carolina area. So, sit on down and have you a listen to this:

The farmers are getting itchy

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 02:13:00 +0000

Does the person you are talking to seem to shift around in his seat alot lately? Does the sound of a diesel engine make them look quickly out the window? Does your conversation about the NCAA tournament suddenly shift to fertilizer prices? Chances are, you are talking to a farmer.

Just a week or so from now, a significant chunk of the population here in Daviess county will disappear, unreachable by phone or text, not seen in the local restaurants or wal-marts. No, aliens haven't performed a mass abduction, the farmers are going to the fields.

Yep, it's looking more and more like spring around here and the locals farmers are going stir crazy just waiting to get into the fields. The ground is still a little spungy but the fertilizer spreaders have been running continuously and the spra-coupes have come out of winter hibernation. Tobacco plants are being seeded in greenhouses (they start their lives in greenhouses to get started before being transplanted to the fields). It won't be long, maybe a week or so, until the first corn crops are planted around here.

Its always fun this time of year to poke a little fun at the local farmers. Just tell one that a neighbor down the road has already started planting on the back forty. The farmer will inevitably spout off something about it being to early or too wet or something, but you can see the steam coming from their ears because they aren't the first and you can see the wheels turning as they try to figure out if they have some ground dry enough to get started on. Of course, you hear every year of that one farmer who pulls his planter up and down the road with no real intentions of doing anything just to get his neighbors riled up.

Just being around these guys even makes me a little anxious this time of year. I am not a farmer nor in any way connected with traditional agriculture, but I do get that urge to just do something. Usually, I put in a few weeks of extra-long hours at work (thats partially why the blog posts haven't been so forthcoming). Its also when I seem to get itchy to move on to greener pastures job-wise, for example, see exhibit A.

Anyways, its always refreshing for me to see the tractors moving up and down the road, it means winter is over. It also means being stuck behind a vehicle doing 10mph on a 55mph stretch of highway.

Now for the curmudgeon to put on his straw hat and give the farm report:

Talk amongst the farmers seems to be that this year will be a struggle to make a profit. Inputs, seed, fertilizer, etc. . .are still priced high while grain prices are sinking due to the economy. Of course, anytime you talk to a farmer they are having a hard time making any money, but they all seem to live pretty comfortably.

The downtown development master plan is having an effect on farmers too. All those tractors and equipment have to be insured, and if you'll remember correctly, the city and county just doubled the tax they put on this insurance in order to fund bonds for the downtown project.

A 92.5 acre tract of good-dirt, non-flooding, farmland just outside the city limits (between Keller Road and Fisher Road for those playing along at home) sold at auction for $9400 an acre just last week. Apparently, the new owners plan on planting an orchard full of trees growing money.

And thats the curmudgeon farm report for today, tune in next time. . .

How 'bout them Hilltoppers - part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 03:07:00 +0000

Hey all you wildkitten fans, it's okay, there's plenty of room on the bandwagon, you can join in.

For those of you who don't follow Hilltopper basketball, yes, those beloved Hilltoppers made it to the big dance and will face Illinois in the first round.

In honor of this event, I present to you a couple of clips (that I didn't make) of Big Red, the Hilltopper mascot hanging around campus.

Spring shows it's face (finally)

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

We've (finally) had some good weather. The past week or so has seen highs in the 60's and 70's. Of course, we've had a few thunderstorms to go along with it. It looks like spring will go back into hiding later in the week but the warm days we've had have been much appreciated. The farmers around here, of course, are about to crawl out of their skin waiting to get into their fields but thats another story.

The nice weather has put the Curmudgeon in a thankful mood. I've got to be thankful that my job is pretty secure. With the economy going into the tank, I don't think I could be in a more secure setting work-wise. Thankfully, this depression (yes I'm calling it a depression) has not caught up yet with my workplace. As a matter of fact, while the world has been going to hell-in-a-handbasket, the past three years has been the most productive time of my life. This past year, I've had more work than I knew what to do with and to be honest, I was fast approaching burn-out, but with the vacation and forcing myself to slow down, the burn-out has been averted for now. The next few months look to be just as busy if not busier (there is even a slight possibility of the project I'm working on going into warp speed, meaning I get crazy busy). Thats not a bad place to be.

Of course, with all this going on, I have put together a pretty impressive little package of experience and there are some other pastures out there that are looking pretty green. Yes, there are actually still some green pastures out there, at least in the industry I work in. If I wasn't afraid that we were on the fast track to revisit the stone age, I wouldn't be so concerned about trying to jump the fence. So, here I stand with a secure job but one I think I am quickly outgrowing. Do I stay put and ride this depression out, or do I try and make the jump?

More Burgoo

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

The art of making Burgoo goes hi-tech???

What to do with all that stimulus money

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Now that our congresscritters have decided to spend $800 billion of my (well most of it ain't mine personally) money. City leaders across the state have dollar signs in their eyes making plans to get some of that government cheese. Local leaders are not exempt and have started dreaming.

The funding of the bypass extension mentioned in the story is a reputable use of the money I guess. Let's face it, if the bypass extension isn't built, we'll end up with a new hospital in the middle of a cornfield.

So the 'ole Curmudgeon got to thinking, what other projects could we use that money for? Re-defining the term "shovel-ready project" I present to you my list:

1) $80 million for downtown development - build a big fire pit downtown and burn the $80 million, matching the results for the $80 million we are already going to spend.

2) $125 million for tourism - Fund a research project to clone Bill Monroe and bring a revival to Bluegrass music (double points because the project involves high tech industries).

3) $5 million for the agriculture industry - Renovate the Riverpark center into a big tobacco barn - maybe then it would get some use.

4) $10 million for local charities - Fund gold plated burgoo kettles for all the local church cooking teams. Yeah, lets add some bling to our burgoo.

5) $10 million for a new marketing/branding strategy for the city - we know $50,000 won't do it.

6) $1 or so million for road improvement - change the signs on the Natcher and Audobon parkway so that the rest of the country will think Interstates run to Owensboro - wait, check that, project already in progress.

7) $6 million for traffic flow improvement - fund a 3 acre expansion of the Big Dipper parking lot.

8) $4 million for local agricultural initiatives - tap into local expertise in plant biotechnology to cross a tobacco plant with a tomato to make a tomato that's addictive (credit The Simpsons for this idea).

9) $50 million for tourism - build two new hotels and a convention center to set empty, the old empty ones are getting pretty run down.

10) $12 million for airport expansion - extend and strengthen runways so they can accommodate a 747 in anticipation of the wild success Allegiant Airways will have with their new service.

11) $9.2 million for an automotive industry bailout - build a factory to make UHaul trucks to accommodate the demand of people moving out of the city.

12) $100 million for new job creation - build 50 new fast food restuarants with jobs that pay minimum wage. Why fix what ain't broke?

13) $20 million for technology infrastructure - Vastly increase the population's access to the internet by providing free dial-up access.

14) $750,000 for a local history project - Hire a detective to figure out just who was behind the "Merger Stinks" skunk (you are truly old school if you remember that one.

15) $20 million for a new entertainment district - District to be anchored by a 3,000 seat "Vegas-style" showroom. John Brennan signed to a multi-year contract for two shows a night, five nights a week. Velvet Bombers to perform on dark nights.

16) $48 million for public health - Install moving walkways the entire length of the Green-belt to encourage its use. Remaining money to be used to make streets and sidewalks more "Rascal" friendly.

17) $60 utility infrastructure upgrades - Kenergy to research wireless power transmission technology, won't have to deal with all those pesky downed power lines when the next disaster hits.

18) $250 stimulation of the automobile industry - Release copious amounts of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere causing an increase in global warming, allowing Don Moore to run his "It's Hot Don" commercials year round.

19) $2 billion for improvement in government relations - The entire city of Owensboro will be moved between Louisville and Lexington so we can be inside the golden triangle.

That's all I got, the peanut gallery is open if you have any "shovel-ready" projects to suggest.

A Curmudgeonly Restaurant Review - PizzaRoma South

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

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The Curmudgeon is going to start his restaurant reviews with one of my top, if not THE top pick for good eats in Owensboro.

PizzaRoma South, 3011 Fredrica Street, just closed in on their first year at their new location.

The food itself is something to write about. They have a good selection of Pizza, Subs, a Salad Bar, a small selection of Beer, and Wine. I haven't made it there for lunch in a while, but the place has a great and reasonably priced all-you-can-eat pizza lunch buffet. Yes what better setup can you have for your afternoon nap at work than a belly full of pizza. They have also recently recruited a former chef from the Big-E, Chef Gil, to put together a Sunday Brunch deal. The brunch deal features omelets made to order and I believe is available from 11:00 or so in the morning through lunch. Like any pizza place, they offer delivery, call 'em up at (270) 684-0611‎.

What puts this place over the top is the service. If you visit the place a couple of times, they are going to know your name and probably what you eat. This place is a tight-run ship. Management pays attention to the details and your food will be right. The waiters and waitresses there are extremely friendly, the best-trained in town, and are the hardest working. When you eat there, bring along a couple of extra dollars for the tip, the workers there will deserve it.

Pay attention to the outdoor sign when you come in. The owner has some strong opinions and is not afraid to voice them.

In addition, this is a small, locally owned business, that alone should be reason to support the place. Over the years, the PizzaRoma franchise has built a well-deserved tradition in Owensboro.

The next time you are trying to think of somewhere to eat, well heck, the next time you eat period, try PizzaRoma South. They are located right across from KWC and tell them the Curmudgeon sent you.

Yeah, this review may sound more like an advertisement but I received not monetary gain for my writings (I should probably be paying them). A great place like this deserves all the promotion it can get.

A Curmudgeon blog pick - Western Kentucky Weather

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:33:00 +0000

Just stumbled across this neat little blog.

This site is managed by a community college student in Hopkinsville interested in, of all things, Western Kentucky Weather.

The site is called, of all things, Western Kentucky Weather

Now the Curmudgeon has someone else to blame for all this %$#!#$#@! weather we've been having.

ROMP '09 lineup

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

The International Bluegrass Music Museum just (a few days ago) released their lineup for this years ROMP and it goes as follows:

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver
Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-press
Mike Snider~Dan Tyminski Band
J. D. Crowe & The New South~Steep Canyon Rangers
Bill Clifton~ Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers Grasstowne~Paul Williams & Victory Trio
Melvin Goins & Windy Mountain
Eddie & Martha Adcock~Tom Gray
Roger Sprung~LeRoy Mack McNees
Gloria Bell & Mike Long~Bill Grant~Al Hawkes
Pioneers Jam~Fragment~ Josh Williams Band
Special Consensus~Valerie Smith & Liberty Pike
Ronnie Reno & The Reno Tradition
Williams & Clark Expedition~The Harringtons
Dixie Bee-Liners~Bill Evans & Megan Lynch
The Ozaki Brothers~The Reunion Band
Kentucky BlueGrass AllStars

This lineup is in line with other lineups for ROMP. Dan Tyminski should put on a good show. Doyle Lawson, Bobby Osbourne, and J.D. Crowe are living legends and should probably be put in that category of see them before they retire. The rest of the schedule, well, isn't too impressive to me.

Disclaimer: The Curmudgeon isn't too "up" on the current Bluegrass scene so I may be making a few statements that will come back to bite me but I've been bitten before and still don't have rabies.

I would love to see more acts on this lineup that are pushing the envelope, some more acts that are young and upcoming. Let's face it, if you were to play a drinking game where you took a drink every time a G-run on a guitar was laid out, you would be passed out before the first set was over. The acts are all the same, let's not veer from how Big Mon played it or the big sumbitch is gonna come out of the grave and knock us out.

This lineup is squarely marketed for the older generation, I hope the local drugstores stock up on their geritol and metamucil. Lord help us all if there is a run on oxygen at the local medical supply store. Now sure these old geezers are going to make their trips to Moonlite and drop some coin for the local economy, but I'd watch to make sure they're not stealing the silverware.

Ok, ok, maybe I'm being a little too harsh. But let's comprimise, how about a day that features some younger acts, or maybe some acts that are a little out there. How about some Old Crow Medicine Show, or maybe Hayseed-Dixie, or Iron Horse. Rollin' in the Hay anyone? I wonder what the local authorities would do when all those hippies started blazing it up when Yonder Mountain String Band took the stage? At least bring Hog Operation down from Louisville. I stumbled across a group called No Speed Limit on Youtube the other day, I've only seen grainy web clips and I am hooked.

ROMP is a traditional bluegrass festival and that's fine, but the IBMM should be helping to foster the growth and progression of the music. We've already lost the IBMA to Nashville, who knows what that town will do to the music. It's time for the IBMM to grab that flag, take our music back, and push it into the future!

Picking up sticks on Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 12:00:00 +0000

I was awakened Sunday morning from my peaceful slumber by quite a racket outside. Looking out the window, I noticed there was a state highway truck and what looked to be a crew of private contractors collecting limbs and storm debris from the side of the road. Now I'm greatly appreciative of the fact that the state is taking care of getting rid of all the storm debris, but do they have to do this on a Sunday?

The last I heard, the State and the Country are in pretty dire straits economically and budget money is perpetually coming up short. Does it make sense now, to be paying that crew to work on Sunday? I don't know what the going rate for a state worker or government contractor is paid for work on Sunday, but I'm willing to bet it is at least time-and-a-half, if not double time.

I know, I know, disaster and all. . .lots of stuff to clean up. . .everyone wants it done quickly. . .but hey, I'm perfectly alright with those limbs setting there until Monday if it means it would save a few bucks. I imagine some of that money for the cleanup is coming from federal funds. Now wasn't it just a week or so ago that our congress-critters decided to spend $800 billion that they didn't have? In times like this, do we need to be spending money on overtime for state workers to pick up sticks?

Meh!

The Rest of the Story - Paul Harvey dead

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 04:01:00 +0000

I can remember listening to Paul Harvey at noon with my babysitter even when I was barely able to talk. There will never be another like him.

How bout them Hilltoppers!

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 03:48:00 +0000

While all those Wildkitten fans sit around and wait to see if their season of mediocrity is enough to get them into The Big Dance, there is another team in Kentucky that is laying a strong claim for a ticket. No, I'm not talking about the U of L, I'm talking about the team that beat the Cards earlier in the season, the Sun Belt Conference regular season champions, THE HILLTOPPERS.

The Hilltoppers have had some impressive wins this season, beating UofL is one of them. They've also had some embarrassing defeats, those being against the University of Evansville and ~~Murray State~~ Wannabe State.

The TOPS future is in their hands, they will probably need to win their conference tournament to assure a spot, but they are looking pretty good.

How bout them HILLTOPPERS!

The Curmudgeon Lasts a Month

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Who knew I could come up with enough material to last a month blogging, especially with an emphasis on life in Owensboro. With no real promotion, I think I've gotten quite a few eyeballs to my site and I think those numbers are going to grow. I'm a bit of an internet geek and I think it is interesting to watch a site grow organically as this one has. Heck, I guess you could call this site eco-friendly, I've used no artificial fertilizers to grow its popularity, just a ton of bull*$%!. The blog is a bit wormy though!

Bear with me now, I know this blogging about blogging can be a little inane. I must say I have been not-wanting for material to write about, I was a little concerned that I wouldn't have enough good subjects to write about but I am happy with the quality of crap I've put out (this post being the exception).

I think I'll add a little bit more bluegrass to the mixture, I'm quite a fan of the stuff, but I warn you, my tastes can be a bit eccentric.

It has been quite a month for me, almost half of it I wasn't with real power and the town was torn all to pieces from the big ice storm. Maybe it was a sign from above of disapproval of this blog. If it was, it was a pretty big sign. I hope I haven't made the Big Guy upstairs that mad. I paid a visit to another country (the Bahamas), thats something that I don't do often. All-in-all, it was quite a unique month. I'll take the trip outside the country, that was quite refreshing, but I can do without another one of those friggin' ice storms, heck, I think now I could stand a couple feet of snow as long as that ice stays way far away from here.

Alright, enough with the self-promotion, back to being a crusty old curmudgeon. Shout out your thoughts or ideas from the peanut gallery (comments section), I'm a bit deaf but maybe I'll hear them, I won't guarantee I'll listen to them though.

Some quick rants

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 02:56:00 +0000

GM's balance sheet now stands at -60 billion and they want another 16 billion from the Government. At what point do you throw in the towel? I love a good GMC pickup truck but when do you quit? And how the heck does the CEO still have his job?

The local Toyotetsu factory laid off a quarter of their workforce. 175 workers were laid off. So far I think Owensboro has been pretty recession proof, but the loss of jobs are starting to mount. Our dependence on low-paying manufacturing jobs are going to start biting us in the you-know-what.

The Owensboro Airport board has hired a new director, the old one hasn't resigned yet though. . .huh. . .

eh. . .thats all I got. . .I've had a few other things preoccupying my thoughts. . .maybe some more on that later. . .lets just say that sometimes living in Owensboro can sometimes be personally frustrating for me. . .

I rant and rave on this blog about the shortcomings (and sometimes good things) about this fair city and have a little fun with it. I think everyone likes to put down their hometown. Sometimes though, the shortcomings of opportunities in this city can be really frustrating and I don't know if I have the patience or willingness to personally sacrifice certain things just to live in my hometown with friends and family. I've lived in other parts of this country and have seen what opportunities there are out in this here big ole' world of ours. Sometimes, wants for those opportunties put up a big fight against my satisfaction of living back home. We will see who wins this fight.

Chinese bluegrass

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:59:00 +0000

I don't care where the IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) calls their home, right now it is ~~the home of country music, Nashville~~ trashville, the heart of bluegrass music is still located in Rosine Kentucky, the home of Bill Monroe. Now Rosine is right down the road from Owensboro and therefore, this region is the TRUE HOME OF BLUEGRASS MUSIC.

I won't go into the fact that I think the bluegrass community must embrace the newer bluegrass bands such as the Yonder Mountain String Band, I may save that for a later post. All I want to say here is that you've got to like what these guys are doing and give a BIG YEE-HAW out to Mei Han's Red Chamber.

Now that's Owensboro

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:40:00 +0000

After putting together tomorrow's post, I kind of came across a neat little epiphany.

Here's the backstory:

With the recent news that Owensboro can't come up with a new "Brand", I've been trying to help them out with a few suggestions.

1) Visit Owensboro, Future Ghost Town!
2) Owensboro! You Can't Get Here from There

Now here's one that dag-nabbit, actually makes a little sense:
(once again, feel free to use at no cost to the taxpayer)

Bluegrass, Burgoo, and Biotech - Now that's Owensboro!

We all know that the true home of Bluegrass is the 'boro. It's also the only place to get real Burgoo. And hey, we want to be a biotech hub so there you have it. We don't need no big-city marketers to tell us who we are.

Update - why this is on my brain at midnight I don't know but I came up with a whole slew of ideas on the theme of "Now that's Owensboro!"

So
1) Great schools, Great living, Great times - Now that's Owensboro!
I've lost the alliteration on the following but they work
How about tailoring it for some Nascar notables
2) Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Green, Jeremy Mayfield - Now that's Owensboro!
Maybe a little local flair
3) "It's Hot Don!" - Now that's Owensboro
An economic push - a little gangly but it may work
4) Emerging Ventures, Life Science Partnership, Greater Owensboro Venture Club - Now that's Owensboro!
A barbecue flair
5) Moonlite, Old Hickory, Bar-B-Que Festival - Now that's Owensboro!
Local trivia
6) World's Largest Sassafras Tree - Now that's Owensboro!

Of course the curmudgeon's take
7) Empty hotels, low-paying jobs, aging population - Now that's Owensboro!

I think you can get where I'm going with this. Ideas, comments, concerns or complaints are all welcome in the peanut gallery (comments section)

A Failed Business Model: The Messenger-Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:59:00 +0000

A warning - this is going to be a pretty blunt post, sorry if I step on some toes but that is just how it is going to be, and a disclaimer - I have no professional experience with journalism or advertising (as is probably already evident), therefore, you should not pay attention to anything I say below, I am just a regular joe with an opinion and an outlet.

Way back when. . .I spent some time living outside of Owensboro. . .way outside. Feeling a little homesick, I could always go to the Messenger-Inquirer's website and catch up on the local news. Heck, I could even get tomorrow's news if you visited the site the evening before. When it was time to move home, the first place I looked for apartments was the online classified section (this was way back when craigslist.com was just a California thing).

Then, the Paxton Media group bought the paper from the Dallas Morning News. After this, a paper subscription or online subscription was required to view stories on the paper's website - on this I call B.S. Now to be fair to the paper, the classifieds and the obituaries section is still available without a subscription.

Let's be frank, the traditional newspaper industry is dead. In our region, the traditional paper has a little more life because of the number of computer illiterate and older population that is unfamiliar with the new information age. In order for a newspapers to survive, they must transform themselves into a media outlet who's main reach to the population is through the internet. It seems that almost all the other newspapers in this region and Kentucky have grasped that concept and have moved to free-access over the web. If not free, then all that is needed is to hand over an e-mail address (which can then be unscrupulously sold off and I'm cool with that). For a list of those papers, just check the sidebar on this blog.

From my understanding, a paper makes its money from advertising. Don't you think that driving more eyeballs to your website by offering free QUALITY content would drive more people to your advertisers? If you guys can't learn how to make money off of online ads, then I suggest you find someone that can.

During the ice storm, complaints for news from outside the area was heard and the M&I opened their site for a couple of weeks, but now that the storm is over, apparently once again, no one outside this area is interested in our little community. If I was still living outside this area, I would not pay for access, I'm sorry, but your product is not worth the price.

And talking about price. . .WHY THE HECK DOES IT COST $1.00 A DAY FOR ACCESS TO THE INTERNET VERSION WHEN IT COSTS $0.75 FOR THE PAPER VERSION. Really, everyone else thinks it is cheaper to transfer the news via all those little electrons streaming through the tubes, does the M&I know something everyone else doesn't? I guess discouraging access via the internet is a way to boost paper buy rates, but as a matter of principle, I for one, will not buy a paper if you the internet version is not free.

Owensboro wants to be a hub for high-technology businesses and wants to recruit young, talented people to the area. What do you think their first impression of this area is when the local two-bit newspaper demands payment for online access when the New York Times or the San Jose Mercury News doesn't? If one of the most visible businesses in Owensboro is clinging to a failing business model, what does this mean for the rest of the businesses in the area. I wonder if someone at the M&I has even heard of a Kindle?

I think the calls for the M&I to open up during the ice storm shows that there is a demand for local news from people outside this area, however, these people, like me, aren't going to pay a subscription fee for this information. If the M&I won't open up, I think there is an opportunity for someone else to move in and be the source of Owensboro News. For my money (or lack of use thereof), I think the best free-access Owensboro news comes from Stuart Peck and the Owensboro newsdesk at WFIE.com (a local TV station).

Don't worry though, the Curmudgeon will always be free (I'm not fooling myself, I know you wouldn't pay for this crap). Lord help us all if this site becomes a leader for online Owensboro news!

Update even before post is published - just saw that the M&I is maybe putting some fresh efforts into their website development. Mr. Shafa's health reporting has been respectable, let's see if he can make a difference in their web department.

"How are you today?"

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 01:08:00 +0000

So I drove up to my local Taco Bell drive-through the other day and was greeted with:

"How are you today?"
Now being the sociable southerner I am, I answered back with,
"Fine, thanks," and wait, and wait, and wait. . .
Two minutes later "you can go ahead with your order anytime you want."
Well, why didn't you tell me that earlier, were you just busy or was I supposed to start blurting out my order.
This isn't the first time I've encountered this phenomenon and most of the time when I get the "How are you today" I just start in with my order and usually get a "your order comes to $x.xx, please drive-through"

This totally goes against my southern morals. When someone greets me with a "How are you" I switch into friendly smalltalk mode. I think it is rude to just start in with my order, but it appears to me that is what I am supposed to do. So now, I'm thinking I'm the rude customer with no cares about you or your family or that your cousin Ed caught a 10-pound bass the other day.

If my boss came up to me and I greeted him with "How are you today", I wouldn't expect a reply of "I need these 2 TPS reports by noon", I would expect an "i'm fine thanks and how about you" and at least a little smalltalk before getting to the meat of the discussion.

When I go into a drive-through, just ask me what I want to order, don't try this friendly greeting crap, it really doesn't work. The person behind the register doesn't give a hoot about how my day has been and all I want is a burrito and a coke and to get on with the artery clogging.

Burgoo!

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Ah. . .Burgoo. . .great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert!

OWB EDC offers up a challege

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 17:59:00 +0000

Two pro-Owensboro posts in a row, no I'm not running a fever or on the take.

The Owensboro Economic Development Council recently offered a $15,000 grant to the best business plan offered up in a challenge.

Entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs-to-be must submit an overview of their proposal for a their business by mid-march. Businesses must have the potential for $1 million in revenue and hiring at least five people. The top four proposals must then come up with a more detailed business plan to be judged in April. The winning proposal gets lots of love and consulting from the EDC, $15,000 in seed money and free rent for six months in their new business incubator. The catch - well, your business must be willing to set up shop in Owensboro.

Wow, I have to say this is a great idea. The $15,000 is just enough seed capital to support a business getting their legs under them. The space in the incubator is of no cost to the EDC, it is sitting empty right now anyway, and Madison Silvert and the crew running this show seems to have a good head about them so you'll probably get some top-notch advice. My only suggestion - this challenge should be repeated, perhaps quarterly.

This type of project is the type of small step needed to get some momentum going for the small business/entreprenual spirit in the city. Now, we just need to keep making those small steps, many, many, many more small steps. Let's face it, the winner of this challenge at best has a 33% chance of succeeding (I just came up with that number) so we need at least three of these challenges to have one successful business with at least 5 new jobs and revenues of $1 million.

To continue with the EDC love, I've got to say the blog is a great idea. Yeah I know, blogs are so 2005, but Owensboro still has a newspaper that requires payment to read online! (more on that later, heh) so to see an organization in Owensboro embracing technology is somewhat refreshing.

Lets keep making those small steps.

Bye-Bye Big E

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:07:00 +0000

Seems like the ole Owensboro Powers had a card they weren't showing when they decided to increase taxes on insurance premiums. Instead of using some of that cash for a new parking garage downtown, they are going to purchase the shuttered Executive Inn and tear it down.

So now I guess you are expecting a rant about how this is a bad idea, well maybe my vacation has softened me a bit but this may not be a bad idea.

In the last decade or so, the "Big E" has gone through a series of owners ranging from fronts for ponzi schemes to car-dealers turned Donald Trump wannabe. After the last foreclosure on the property this spring, it appears that the property's prospects had deteriorated to the point that another less-than-reputable owner couldn't be found. Even the bank that owned the property had given up trying to maintain the property (well, I don't think they tried to begin with). The city and county had put together an offer of (I think) around $6 million for the property this summer that was turned down so it looks like the city's wait-and-see approach has knocked a million or so off the pricetag.

Owensboro was faced with the reality of having a deteriorating chunk of bricks and concrete overlooking all that new development that's coming. My understanding is that the hotel was in such bad shape that it would have to come down. It does to show the sad state of the city's economic environment that what should be a prime piece of riverfront real-estate would not be enticing enough for some developer to come in and redevelop themselves. The property will honestly be worth more once the hotel is gone. I think the city is showing a little forethought that this property could be an eyesore for years to come and is being proactive about the situation. What I don't want to see is the city razing the hotel and then turning around and selling the land for less than purchase price a year from now - then you will see a real crazed curmudgeon rant.

The fact that the money for this purchase was somewhat underhandedly obtained makes me think the city leaders have more cards up their sleeves than they are showing on this downtown redevelopment project. Since I agree with this move, I won't say much about their underhanded actions, but lets try to keep all the cards on top of the table from now on.

You can't get there from here - first Allegiant flight out of Owensboro canceled

noreply@blogger.com (Owensboro Curmudgeon) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 02:15:00 +0000

Ah. . .you just can't make this stuff up.

First let me give a little backstory:

The Owensboro airport is guaranteed commercial air service thanks to the Essential Air Services act.
In November of 2007, thanks to some extra cheese from our U.S. government, ~~Fly- By-Night-Airlines~~ I mean ~~Big Lie~~ Big Sky airlines re-initiated flights out of the Owensboro Airport after about a year of no service. A mere two months later and Big Sky was pulling out. Thankfully, our government expedited the search for another carrier and extended a contract to ~~Fly-By-Night Airlines 2~~ Great Lakes Aviation. Great! Service is slated to start in ~~June~~ ~~July~~ ~~August~~ ~~September~~ ~~October~~ ~~November~~ ~~December~~ ~~Febtober 3~~ March 2009!!!! Meanwhile, the x-ray machines and baggage carousels gathered dust.

Image credit: Dennis Sylvester Hurd
Obviously, these are not the first passengers of Allegiant Airlines from Owensboro

Enter Allegiant. While this service was not part of the government EAS contract, Allegiant decided to offer two JET flights a week out of OWB (take note, this was announced in November - four months ago). Heck, this is great news, Owensboro has never really had any REAL jet service, all those EAS flights used those 1930's era turbo-props - you know - the planes that even an Armenian airline would consider not fit for service. And the airport fit Allegiant's plan, flying into smaller airports willing to let them come in for next to nothing in service fees.

The fanfare on the local TV news was whipped to a frenzied pace. Why they even had to reorganize the inside of the terminal to fit all the people that were going to use the service.

Fast-forward (or just stay put) to today, February 18, the day that would rejuvenate air service to Owensboro: The flight was canceled at 2:30a.m. by the TSA. Yep, after four months of preparation, it seems the airport board and the TSA couldn't muster a team to knock the dust off those x-ray machines. Details are sketchy but it appears the TSA is pulling a fast one for additional money. Wait. . .we've had four months to iron this out! I'm really at a loss of words for this one. How. . .why. . .WTF. . .really. . .

Which brings up the point, when you are flying out of an airport with only two flights a week, your travel plans can really get screwed. Passengers today either had to re-book through Evansville, drive to Lexington for another Allegiant flight, or try to book a last minute seat on the Owensboro-Orlando stagecoach route from what I understand. I think alot of those people lining up for flights are going to have a reality check when they realize that an overzealous bureaucrat or a haywire warning light on a single plane can ruin their vacation. After this, I sure as heck ain't going to go near the OWB airport.

Yep, February 18 will be an historic day for our little airport - the day that commercial service officially ended. Yeah, the TSA may get things straightened out for Saturday's flight and we may have a few months of service, but the damage is done. The airport power's-that-be may as well start working on their next marketing strategy - targeting training flights from Fort Cambell for Moonlight Bar-B-Que take-out. Actually a few of them may need to brush up on the phrase "You want fries with that?"

Of course, this brings up a great new slogan/marketing strategy for Owensboro: Owensboro! You Can't Get Here From There

By the way, I hope you'll note that most of the story links for this post was from wfie.com, the local NBC TV Station. In my opinion, they've got the best accessible reporting for Owensboro, but more on that later. . .

UPDATE 2/20/09-Allegiant's first flight out of Owensboro was rescheduled for Thursday morning and went off without a hitch. The curmudgeon still stands by its opinion that this screw-up still cost the airport a large amount of its what little reputation it had.

UPDATE 2 -2/20/09 - Seems like the airport's manager is no longer employed. I also heard that the airport is now charging $5 a day for parking (it used to be free). Any confirmation? If so, I would chalk that up under major blunder also.