Thursday on Today 8/16

David Gregory has been filling in for Matt Lauer all week for a refreshing change. And he actually stays around for the third hour. I'd like to see him take Matt's job, but that would probably be too much to ask. Then again, we were lucky enough to get rid of Katie Couric and have Meredith Viera take over, so anything is possible, right?

What's His Type? Different Kinds Of Husbands was about labeling men and finding out if he's the right one for you. They listed four types: The Sweetheart, The Thrill Seeker, The Rock and The Doer. There is more information--if you want it--at The Today Show website. This reminded me of one of those personality quizzes you see in magazines and online. And it was about as useful as one, too. The bottom line is you can't change anybody. So don't marry a doer and think you can change him into a rock. It just won't work. Not that you didn't know that already.

Moving on to Number five on the America The Beautiful List: The Pacific Coast Highway. They usually do a $50/day segment here, but obviously the west coast is too expensive for that. You'll have to enjoy its beauty at a steep price. NBC correspondent, Michael Okwu rented a little red corvette and cruised the coast in the convertible. The first stop was the Firestone Winery, which was featured in the movie "Sideways." From there he drove to Jalama Beach, The Apple Farm Inn and then on to The Big Sur Coast where he went to Point Sur Historic Lighthouse. Then it was on to Monterrey and the boardwalk in Santa Cruz, which is about an hour away from Monterrey. He drove to Big Basin National Park where there is a Pagoda along the way nestled under the Redwoods. The final stop was San Francisco and across The Golden Gate Bridge. And, of course, they had to play "Little Red Corvette" by Prince.

Remembering The King: The 30th Anniversary Of Elvis's Death. Here they showed Joe Mosceo, who used to be a back-up singer for Elvis back in Elvis's gospel days. He was at Graceland telling a story about Elvis when he was abruptly cut off by a commercial break in mid sentence--mid word even. Al later apologized for cutting him off but poor Joe never did get to finish the story. Oh, well. Can't keep those sponsors waiting. Got to pay the bills.

You can now get a chance to decide who gets married on The Today Show. Just go to the website and cast your vote for your favorite couple. I'm not sure how many are in the running, but it's not on my priority list to find out.

Today's Classroom: Dorm 101 featured lifestyle expert, Elizabeth Mayhew, telling you how to help prepare your new college student for their first dorm room. Most dorms come with the basics: bed, dresser, desk and desk chair. You can get a virtual tour at most college websites. A good accessory for any dorm is a microfridge--a microwave, mini-fridge combo for about $399. A good suggestion: starting in their junior or senior year of high school, make your kids do their own laundry. Apparently many get to college and don't even know how to do laundry--pathetic. I say make them do the laundry as soon as they're old enough to carry the basket to the washing machine. Why wait? It should be one of their chores--which you better make sure they're doing. She also suggested a mattress topper for comfort, bed risers to make room for under the bed storage, task lamps, book storage for valuables and bring your own desk chair. The others are really uncomfortable. Those book storage containers are a good idea, but if everyone is using them, they're not much of a secret anymore. Better to find a way to lock up valuables if you need to keep them in your dorm at all.

Today's Kitchen had chef, Scott Conant, author of "New Italian Cooking," showing pasta meals made easy. He cooked up some pasta and added it to steamed clams while the pasta was only half cooked so he could allow it to cook the rest of the way with the clams. A little tip I he passed along: if a clam stays closed, don't eat it. Then he had an asparagus and pasta meal with jalapenos and corn. For more recipes, visit the website.

And that's a wrap. Till tomorrow.