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1) Astroron,
With regard to supernova discoveries, the surveys can't image all the galaxies all the time. So, an amateur can still look at a galaxy that may not have been imaged by the surveys in a week or more, and hit the jackpot as supernovae rise very quickly in brightness.
2) Kearn,
Regarding LINEAR and NEAT comets, they're still being discovered but it's true that none of the recent finds show promise for the future. The next one may well be currently deep in the southern sky, below the horizons of LINEAR and NEAT, but potentially catchable by the Siding Spring Survey.
But that's not to say that there isn't anything bright coming up. Some short-period comets are of interest.
Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 split in 1995, and at least two of its fragments are expected to return next year. If those fragments behave like they did at their last return in 2000/1, the brightest one may reach 3rd or even 2nd magnitude in May as it passes very close to Earth.
Close approaches are also to explain for some other periodic comets that are expected to approach the naked-eye mark over the next decade or so - comets 8P/Tuttle at 6th magnitude in 2 years, and 103P/Hartley 2 at 4th magnitude in 5 years are two examples that come to mind.
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