Serenity NOW!!!

From MSNBC and The Today Show is what looks like a ridiculous phone. I've not seen it in person, so I can't say if I would even want one - aside from its $1,275 price - but it looks interesting to say the least. It's a cell phone from Bang & Olufsen in conjunction with Samsung.

Nonetheless, as a "gadget guy", this is definitely something I want to see in person. Buy? Unlikely. Touch and feel? Definitely.

Bang & Olufsen “Serene” Phone
The Danish company Bang & Olufsen has become famous for its electronics design, but not in the way many might assume — the sound of their stereos and phones is excellent, but the design of the box the tech comes in is even more distinctive. The new collaboration between B&O and the huge Korean cell phone maker Samsung is designed to go against the recent trend toward complexity. The pricey but beautiful “Serene” has clean lines which are meant to remind users of the ancient rooflines of Asian farm houses. Some truly novel features — the phone opens with a smooth, relaxing, battery assisted motor around an aluminum hinge and closes softly, too. A simple, uncomplicated trackwheel helps you navigate through the phone’s features. B&O claims “the best sound and speech recognition ever heard in a cell phone.” ($1,275 at bang-olufsen.com)

Not a care in the world!

She's a master of finding the sunlight in the house. We have three floors and she's mastered all of them!

KING TUT

Today Lori and I went to see the "King Tut" Exhibit at the Field Museum in Chicago. The older I get the more fascinated I find myself when it comes to historic artifacts, news data, etc. The older and more mysterious (or unknown), the more fascinated I am.

Lori has had the benefit of seeing the real thing when she visited Egypt with her family when she was younger - which is also when her brother tried to accept the offer posed to him to buy his sister for a camel. Obviously, one camel wasn't enough, so the offer was declined. :o) In any event, it was cool to see it with her as she offered some additional perspective to me talking about entire rooms covered floor to cieling with the artifacts we were viewing. It was cool.

I'm not doing a great job of putting it into words. That is partially due to the fact that I was actually someone let down by the exhibit. I was hoping it would be a larger exhibit, more historic data, more artifacts, more knowledge. It was still cool to see what was there, but I hoped to see more.

The exhibit is coming to an end, so if you're interested in seeing it, order tickets ASAP. I also recommend a weekday visit to minimize crowds.

Mom has son arrested for allegedly playing with present before Christmas

Okay, so while I don't agree with her actions to teach her son a lesson of responsibility, I have to at least applaud her intentions. Too many parents, in my humble opinion (IMHO), let their kids get away with too much just fluffing it off as "a phase" or "part of growing up". While there is some validity to that, too many parents, again, IMHO, fall back on that excuse because it is easier than following through on what is often harder - not always letting yours kids do what they want.

I admit, we don't have kids - one day we hope to - so it is easy for me to comment since I don't have the task/joy of raising a child or children everyday. So I do admit it is easy for me to comment looking through my rose colored glasses. Even still, I found this interesting.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - A fed-up mother had her 12-year-old son arrested for allegedly rummaging through his great-grandmother's things and playing with his Christmas present early.......

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16064380/

Way too cute and she knows it!

So the Hannukah festivities went off very well. Great time had by all. It was a blast watching the kids open their presents. Nicole, my youngest niece, was most excited by her new talking, singing and I think dancing, "Dora" doll. She wouldn't let it out of her hands the rest of the night. Way too cute!!!!

Hanukkah. Chanukah. Huh??

So Lori and I are hosting Hanukkah, Chanukah - there are various spellings, pick your favorite - for my immediate family this year. We're actually hosting it tomorrow. We're not very religious, but we do recognize the holiday's and our faith. That said, based on the calendar's of both sets of my siblings as well as Lori and me and my parents, tomorrow was the date that worked best.

This is the first holiday we're hosting. When we first moved in together, it wasn't really brought up. Once we got married a year-and-a-half ago, our living space didn't really accommodate hosting when it was brought up. But now, we've got significantly more space - more than enough to host. So I was shopping for the last minute items today and found this beer. I thought it would be an appropriate beer to have for those interested considering the occasion. Plus, I thought it was pretty funny. "The Chosen Beer". That's good. :o)

A little snow and.....

The Satellite signal went out. Fortunately, our "Dish" is easily accessible so we could follow Dish Network's instructions to gently brush excess snow off the dish itself. Literally within 60 seconds of doing so, the signal came back to its normal perfect state.

This is not a slam per se against dish - I love Dish Network. It's just amazing how such a sophisticated technology can be affected by such a simple problem - and just as easily rectified.