Interesting report from Japan Times on the increasing isolation of Japan, which is losing its connection to its only real ally in the world — The United States. Apparently, relatively new Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama had hoped to meet with Obama in Copehnhagen in regards to moving a controversial base.

But White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday in Washington that because the two national leaders met just last month in Tokyo to discuss the planned relocation of a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa, it was probably unnecessary to meet again on the sidelines of the global climate conference in Copenhagen.

“I think this is appropriately being handled right now with our ambassador there and others in terms of making progress,” Gibbs said. “I think this was discussed just a couple of weeks ago and I think the working group working, we would believe, is the best way to continue that progress.”

This rift (and apparent snub) comes amid rumors of Japan intending to dump $100 billion of its Treasury holdings. We’ve been skeptical of that — and still are; after all, Japan wants to weaken its yen — but the drift apart seems quite clear.

Read more at Japan Times >>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Japan Unveils New $80 Billion Stimulus
• Traders Freaking Out Over Rumors That Japan May Dump $100 Billion In Treasuries
• Japan Denies Reports About It Dumping Treasuries

Despite the unfortunate news of layoffs that occurred over at the Harmonix offices, there comes good news in the form of The Beatles: Rock Band. Reportedly, the Fab Four’s video game has already sold over one million copies worldwide.
 
 
 

Compact and rugged offering repetition rates to 15Hz and energies to 180mJ at 532nm. 3rd and 4th harmonics are optional for LIF applicatons.

The Nano T PIV lasers exhibit the same industrial robustness as the smaller Nano S & L PIV series. The Nano T PIV range has been designed incorporating stable telescopic resonators, giving very low divergence output beams that allow thinner light sheets to be formed than from conventional stable resonators.

GENERAL FEATURES
• Dedicated PIV laser head
• Dedicated controls for PIV
• Rugged for industrial installation
• 3rd or 4th harmonics available for LIF
• Electronically verified safety shutter

APPLICATIONS INCLUDE

• PIV
• LIF

Michael Scott points us to an interesting essay on piracy in the ebook space, written by Mike Shatzkin. He talks about setting up the program for the upcoming Digital Book World event, where he didn’t even think that “piracy” was a topic worth discussing — but various publishers told him that it’s a big issue to them. Unfortunately, it seems that the reason it’s a big issue is not because they’re learning to use such things to their advantage, but because they have taken the exact wrong lessons from the music industry and have decided they need technological measures to “fight” piracy. Good luck with that.

Shatzkin, however, lays out a much more reasonable approach, picking up on what O’Reilly does with its books: no DRM, but give people a real reason to buy (there’s that concept again). In this case, it’s regular updates to any book you buy. So, rather than thinking about it as buying the content of the book, you can think about it as paying for a regular update on a particular topic. It becomes an ongoing service, which provides a scarce good, rather than a single transaction for content. As such, “piracy” becomes less and less of an issue, because the content you get may be quite out of date, and give you reason to pay up for real to make sure you are regularly up-to-date.

But, of course, O’Reilly publishes (wonderful and useful) technology books, where there’s an obvious advantage to keeping current and up-to-date for readers of those books. The question is whether or not similar things can be done for other types of books, and Shatzkin has some ideas that are intriguing. First he quotes Tim O’Reilly in suggesting that piracy might really only impact large well-known authors who don’t need the “marketing” aspect of free books (as opposed to less well-known authors, for whom “obscurity is a bigger threat than piracy”). But, then he notes that perhaps those big name authors can create a “service” of sorts that competes nicely with unauthorized file sharing as well:

But those authors are also the ones who have the biggest personal followings. They are the most capable of adding material: notes about what they’re working on, correspondence with fans or critics, even observations about other people’s books, that would add some value for many of the readers of their stories. In fact, a regular “update to my readers” from a top-flight author that is available only in their ebooks, or to purchasers of their ebooks, would be an attraction to many and could serve as a constant reminder that downloading their books from illegitimate sources is cheating them.

It’s an interesting idea, and I like the proactive thinking on ways to compete by allowing something that isn’t really possible in the paper book format. Though, I’m not sure if this method works precisely. After all, we already have the example of Paulo Coehlo, one of the best-selling authors of all time, who purposely “pirated” his own book and saw his sales increase tremendously. On top of that, he is already doing many of the things that Shatzkin suggests, but for free on his own website — and it’s working wonders. It’s building up a much more loyal following for Coelho, and is allowing him to run interesting experiments like having his fans make a movie out of one of his books. All of this has only opened up more opportunities for Coelho to make money by both building his overall audience while also making his fans ever more loyal and ever more interested in supporting him.

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Stari Grad, Serbia | Museums and Collections

Lighting the frescoed walls of Ružica Church, a small chapel tucked into the side of the Serbian Kalemegdan fortress, are two chandeliers made entirely of spent bullet casing, swords, and cannon parts. It is a more fitting decoration than one might realize.

Controlled at various times by the Serbs, Turks, Hungarians, and Austrians, the small dark Ružica church has seen a lot of action. The space the church now occupies was, for over 100 years, used by the Turks as a gunpowder magazine.

The church had to be largely rebuilt after World War I. Though damaged by bombings, there was an upshot to the devastation. While fighting alongside England and the US, Serbian soldiers on the front line used their downtime to craft the incredible chandeliers from the materials available to them: the spent shells and weaponry that lay strewn around the battlefield.

The soldiers managed to carry their light giving creations to the church, where they still light the room to this day.

With roughly four months to go until the release of God of War III, the US PlayStation blog recently spoke to Sony Santa Monica Studios’ Director of Development John Hight to update us with the status of

Breast cancer survivors who consume three or four alcoholic drinks per week might be increasing their risk of a recurrence.

New research presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium has shown that drinking fewer than three alcoholic drinks per week is not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer recurrence, but three or four drinks per week does increase risk.

Researchers said the increased risk of recurrence appeared to be greater among postmenopausal and overweight or obese study participants. While any type of alcohol consumed (wine, beer or liquor) increased risk, the research revealed that the increased risk of cancer recurrence was most predominant in women who had two or more glasses of wine per day.

“Women previously diagnosed with breast cancer should consider limiting their consumption of alcohol to less than three drinks per week, especially women who are postmenopausal and overweight or obese,” said Marilyn L. Kwan, Ph.D., staff scientist in the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California.

While previous studies have shown that drinking alcohol increases the risk of breast cancer, the new study is one of few to analyze how alcohol affects breast cancer survivors. Since so few studies have been done, researchers caution that additional studies are needed to help confirm these findings. However, the research does provide valuable info to help women who have had breast cancer make more informed lifestyle decisions.

An earlier breast cancer study this year by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that obesity represents a 50% increased risk of a second breast cancer while one alcoholic drink per day raises the risk to 90% and smoking raises the risk to 120%.

(Image via stock.xchng)

Post from: Blisstree

Alcohol Tied to Breast Cancer Recurrence

Yesterday, the web was buzzing with commentary about Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s dangerous, dismissive response to concerns about search engine users’ privacy. When asked during an interview for CNBC’s recent “Inside the Mind of Google” special about whether users should be sharing information with Google as if it were a “trusted friend,” Schmidt responded, “If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

Unfortunately, Schmidt’s statement makes it seem as if Google, a company that claims to care about privacy, is not even concerned enough to understand basic lessons about privacy and why it’s important on so many levels — from protection against shallow embarrassments to the preservation of freedom and human rights. In response to Schmidt, Security researcher Bruce Schneier referenced an eloquent piece he wrote in 2006 that makes the case that “[p]rivacy is an inherent human right, and a requirement for maintaining the human condition with dignity and respect.” Schneier writes:

For if we are observed in all matters, we are constantly under threat of correction, judgment, criticism, even plagiarism of our own uniqueness. We become children, fettered under watchful eyes, constantly fearful that — either now or in the uncertain future — patterns we leave behind will be brought back to implicate us, by whatever authority has now become focused upon our once-private and innocent acts. We lose our individuality, because everything we do is observable and recordable.

Gawker was quick to point out the personal hypocrisy of Schmidt’s dismissive stance, noting that for about a year, Schmidt blacklisted CNET reporters from Google after the tech news company published an article with information about his salary, neighborhood, hobbies, and political donations — all obtained from Google searches. Techdirt noted additionally that Schmidt’s statement is painfully similar to the tired adage of pro-surveillance advocates that incorrectly presume that privacy’s only function is to obscure lawbreaking: “If you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

In a talk about privacy given to the American Library Association, EFF Fellow Cory Doctorow highlights the error in logic that leads to short-sighted conceptions of privacy like Schmidt’s:

We have an unfortunate tendency to conflate personal and private with secret and we say, “Well, given that this information isn’t a secret, given that it’s known by other people, how can you say that it’s private?” And we can in fact say that there are a lot of things that are [not] in secret that are in private. Every one of us does something private and not secret when we go to the bathroom. Every one of us has parents who did at least one private thing that’s not a secret, otherwise we wouldn’t be here.

So this decision — this determination — over when and under what circumstances your personal information is divulged tracks very closely to how free and how much power you have in a society. When you look at really stratified societies, particularly the great totalitarian empires of the last century, the further up the ladder you go, the more raw power you wield, the more raw power you have over this disclosure of your personal information. And the further down the ladder you go, the less power you have.

The understanding that privacy is a key liberty informs EFF’s many privacy efforts, including to improve search engine practices and policies, uncover details about snooping on social networking sites, tighten up laws around behavioral tracking online, argue for better reader privacy, and more. Google, governments, and technologists need to understand more broadly that ignoring privacy protections in the innovations we incorporate into our lives not only invites invasions of our personal space and comfort, but opens the door to future abuses of power.

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, Videos, Audi, Nissan, Porsche, UK

Click above to watch the video after the jump

These are our favorite kinds of car videos. Take a few super hot, fire-breathing, track-ready road cars and pit them against one another on a race track and see who wins. Autocar magazine’s Steve Sutcliffe assembled the Nissan GT-R, the Porsche 911 Turbo and the Audi R8 V10 at the UK’s Castle Combe circuit to see which of the entry level supercars could turn in the fastest lap.

The GT-R is the low-cost track star of the bunch, with the most mass, the least power and, arguably the most grip of the group. The 911 Turbo is the featherweight of the entry supercar trio, with middle-of-the-pack power and an (apparently) adventurous ride. The R8 V10 has the most power and Audi’s excellent Quattro all-wheel drive system.

Sutcliffe took all through road warriors through the paces at Castle Combe, and the dynamic trio finished within about one second of each other. One of them could have won if it weren’t for some iffy brakes, another didn’t quite have the grip to win the day while the winner was quickest in and out of turns. Who won? You’ll have to hit the jump and watch the high-res footage to find out.

[Source: Autocar via YouTube]

Continue reading VIDEO: Autocar pits Nissan GT-R vs. Porsche 911 Turbo and Audi R8 V10 on Castle Combe

VIDEO: Autocar pits Nissan GT-R vs. Porsche 911 Turbo and Audi R8 V10 on Castle Combe originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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> Amazing scenes in the negotiator’s Plenary today, with Tuvalu rep arguing and China resisting – both politely but in a very determined way – that a treaty has to limit global temperature increases to 1.5 degrees and to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere to 350ppm. No resolution yet.

> You may have seen news of “leaked Danish PM text” suggesting rich nations sort out climate change via the World Bank rather than the UN and pretty well tell developing nations what to do; quite a controversy at COP, as you can imagine. Gossip here is that a Danish Cabinet Minister colleague leaked it; seems the PM has been pushing it against lots of opposition, and the opposition hasn’t given up.

> Hot news: Indonesia announced it’s proposing a feed-in tariff for geo-thermal energy. Apparently they have 40% of the world’s hot rock resources! See http://tinyurl.com/y9pm6t6

> Russia announced it would cut emissions by 25% by 2020 (from 1990 levels) if other countries agreed to do the same; they had been saying 10-15%; the EU is saying “we convinced them”. EBRD at a seminar today explained that Russia’s energy intensity is incredibly bad; they have enormous potential to cut emissions from energy efficiency measures. Hopefully the high returns will entice energy efficiency investors despite political and crime risks. EBRD aims to help de-risk.

> Outlook for a “good” Copenhagen Agreement seems to be improving. Insiders are saying that having so many world leaders (more than 100) turning up, and Obama now coming for the end of the Conference, is forcing a better outcome.

> Also helping was the US EPA announcement this week to formally classify CO2 as a pollutant. That allows Obama to regulate CO2 without Congress – it dramatically increases his ability to deliver at least the cuts he’s promising.

> The Saudi Arabian representative was being obstructive again this week; at one point he made a speech about the implications of the East Anglia Uni email leaks and how they raised doubts about global warming science. Apparently the speech was met with silence; no other country followed up. Would’ve been different under Bush.

> The Conference is quite a buzz; 15,000 people talking non-stop in the conference centre. Thousands of laptops, lots of coffee, chanting anti-REDD demonstrators in the background. The cloak room is open 18 hours a day this week; it advertises that next week, as negotiations come to then end, it will be open 24 hours a day.

> Had a talk with a couple of big EU pension funds this week to see if they’d join Danish ATP pension fund’s new €1 billion ‘Climate Change Action Fund for Emerging Economies’, reported earlier this week. They think they tackle the issue of investing better by building in relevant criteria across all their asset classes – i.e. in the whole fund. The €1 billion, they think, puts it into a sideline rather than mainstreaming the idea.

This one came out about a month ago, and I’d been ignoring writing about it because it was too frustrating (even though we wrote about the case earlier). But people keep submitting it, so we might as well dig in. This particular case involves Bridgeport Music, a company that claims to own a bunch of composition copyrights, including (most importantly) those of many songs by funk legend George Clinton — though, Clinton himself claims that the guy behind Bridgeport forged signatures to get the copyrights, and Clinton himself doesn’t have a problem with hip hop artists sampling his music. However, Bridgeport has filed hundreds of lawsuits over these copyrights, and while it has lost or settled a bunch of cases, it has had a few stunning and confusing victories that seem to ignore the concept of fair use in music.

This particular case involved a song by the band Public Appearance, called “D.O.G. in Me” that apparently samples a part of Clinton’s track “Atomic Dog” and uses the phrase “bow wow wow yippee yo, yippee yay” near a rhythmic repetition of the word “dog.” Now, for the most part, the two songs are incredibly different, and at most you could consider the latter one to be an homage to the first — most likely creating more interest in the original song. However, a jury (with limited instructions in the matter of fair use) ruled for Bridgeport. And while we found it amusing that Universal Music suddenly is concerned about fair use and how high the penalties for copyright infringement are when they’re suddenly on the other side in Bridgeport cases, we were happy to see Universal Music appeal the ruling.

Unfortunately, however, the same 6th Circuit that gave Bridgeport its earlier ridiculous win has done so again in this case, with a rather bizarre interpretation of the four factors of fair use. To be honest, I can’t see how any of the four factors used in judging fair use would go against Universal or Public Appearance. It used a tiny part of the song, and even if it was an important part of the song, it hardly harms the market for the song. Furthermore, the claim that the use of the word “dog” is part of the infringement is absolutely ridiculous, not the least of which is because Bridgeport only owns the copyright on the composition, not the recording — and the sheet music for the song doesn’t even include the rhythmic use of the word “dog.”

Unfortunately, this is yet another dreadful ruling that basically eliminates fair use rights when it comes to music sampling.

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Coupe, Performance, Lamborghini

Edo Competition Gallardo LP600/4 – Click above for a high-res image gallery

Edo Competition is no stranger to modifying Lamborghinis. Its unique touch has graced the Gallardo Superleggera and Murcielago LP640, along with a limited edition Christian Audigier edition Murcielago, among others.

Now the German tuner has taken the Gallardo LP560-4 and given it what it likes to call a little “added spice”. The output of the Italian supercar has been bumped to an even 600 horsepower thanks to a new stainless steel exhaust system and an ECU tune, resulting in a claimed top speed of 211 mph. Other upgrades include an adjustable sport suspension system, 19-inch three-piece wheels, and a new front spoiler lip. You can read more details in the press release after the jump and check out the high-res gallery of photos below.

[Source: Edo Competition]

Continue reading Edo Competition creates the Lamborghini Gallardo LP600/4

Edo Competition creates the Lamborghini Gallardo LP600/4 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2010 Dodge Viper ACR-X ready to fill your track-rat, spec-racing needs [w/ VIDEO]

As a final farewell to the current Dodge Viper, the SRT group has created a turn-key track tool ready to tackle the SCCA and NASA Viper Racing League.

Pics Aplenty: Aston Martin revisits much derided Lagonda Concept

The Aston Martin Lagonda didn’t receive a warm reception in Geneva. But Aston has released a slew of additional pics of the oddball crossover, leading us to wonder: Is the Lagonda headed for production?

Rumormill: Next generation Nissan GT-R to go hybrid

The most recent rumors out of Japan suggest that Nissan could use a hybrid drivetrain on the next GT-R. Given the automaker’s recent push for efficiency, it’s not out of the question, but could Godzilla really go electric?

Also of interest:

• Buick-GMC general manager Michael Richards leaves after just nine days on the job
• Spyker takes the lead in the Saab bidding sweepstakes
• Fed predicts it will lose $30B on auto industry bailout
• Nissan announces pricing on 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition, Rogue S Krom Edition [w/VIDEO]
• Renault pondering return to North America

Browse our archive of Daily U-Turn posts or subscribe to the RSS feed

Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 12.10.09 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Aftermarket, Convertible, Coupe, Europe, Audi

And by “controversial,” we mean “disgusting.” Look, the R8 has those side blades because it’s a mid-engine car, but Audi felt they still need a place for a set of golf clubs, so they lengthened the cabin so the clubs can be stowed behind the seats. Meaning that the body has a whole lot of extra length in the middle. Rather than go all BMW and start torturing the hell out of the metal, they slapped on some pieces of plastic (fine, carbon fiber) and called it a day, leading to a look that some love and others loathe.

Now, the A5/S5 is a superbly beautiful car. From every angle, the seemingly minimalist design gets better and better. Especially when you run your eyes across the length of its rising and falling center line that runs from the front fenders past the doors only to terminate in the tail lamp. Just about pitch-perfect. Truly, one of the better designs this decade. German tuner Hofele Design (apparently) had but one simple mission: how to destroy it!

The results are self-evident. All those people that are moaning and complaining that their Audi A5 3.2s don’t look anything like a R8 V10 can now cease their protests. All two of them. Also, and we know this doesn’t need stating but here goes: why would you go through the trouble of mutating your car to the nth degree but then leave on the “A5” and “3.2” badges?

Most people who know Audis (i.e. the very people that might have an outside chance of being impressed by this) would agree that A5 and 3.2 stands for the automaker’s worst engine/transmission combination, the slow-revving 3.2-liter V6 that’s already been dropped from the new A4 and the numbskull six-speed Tiptronic box that likes to be in sixth gear by 39 mph. So, besides the raw, inharmonious phony aspect of the body kit (nice fake quad pipes) why on earth bother? Especially as the badge on the back says A5 and the one in the grille says S5. That’s a rhetorical question, because we all know there’s no answer/point. One more thing: the R8 Spyder doesn’t even have side blades. And hey, why not another: the camber on the rear wheel’s all messed up.

[Source: Hofele Design]

Hofele Design introduces Audi A5/R8 mashup to controversial effect originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For those of you who follow my Psychology of Technology blog posts (especially here and here), you know that I’m a bit cynical about how technology is impacting us, particularly when it comes to how we define relationships. My worries aren’t so great that I’m looking to wipe out our communications grid with an electromagnetic pulse or anything like that (Instant Quiz: Can you tell me what long-cancelled television show was based on that premise and who starred in it?), but the ways in which new media have changed our ability to establish relationships have me concerned.

But this post isn’t about all the problems that new media may cause. To the contrary, I want to honor a truly wonderful aspect of this rapidly emerging and evolving technology. I’m talking about the on-line communities that offer knowledge bases, forums, and collaboration in an area of common interest.

Having been a part of several technology-related communities, as both a user and a contributor, I am truly amazed at the generosity of spirit, expertise, and time that members devote to helping one other. I have experienced this munificence first hand many times. One such occasion occurred recently with an Italian fellow, whose real job is as a journalist, who spent hours over several days exchanging emails with me helping to solve a problem and create something new on my mobile phone. Whenever I had a question, he had an answer. He didn’t know me from Adam, yet he was willing gave his time and expertise to me. And for nothing more than a heart-felt thanks.

These corporeally disconnected communities, paradoxically enough, show people the very best that humanity has to offer – generosity, cooperation, patience, time, respect, compassion – to total strangers! I say paradoxically because I often wonder why people devote themselves to these communities. There are few obvious rewards for the experts in these communities who create knowledge bases, offer tutorials, and provide answers to “noobie” (new members of the community) questions. There are few financial incentives (developers can solicit donations for products they create, but I’m pretty sure they don’t cover the mortgage). It’s not likely to foster career advancement for most of those involved; contributors’ work lives are often entirely unrelated to the community’s focus. For example, in one mobile-technology community in which I am involved, some of the experts include an attorney, an auto-parts distributor, a chemist, and several college students).  And there is usually some price that is paid for such involvement, mostly time not devoted to work or family (I tell my wife that it’s better I’m into technology than porn!).

Yet the rewards, though less tangible, are obviously there. The experts in these communities can attain something of a god-like status to worshipping noobs and junior members who get thoughtful and detailed answers to their many questions. Now that I have attained a degree of competence (though far from expertise) in several on-line communities, I take great pride in finding answers to some of those questions. And, in return, what these communities have in abundance is the sincerest appreciation and gratitude from those who have been helped.

At a deeper level, despite these relatively small rewards, members devote time and energy to the community because of their passion for the topic, their desire to help others, and their wish to connect with those who share that passion. What pervades these communities is a deep feeling of altruism from its members. There’s just too much give and not enough take to see it any other way.

I’ve also been amazed at the kind of relationships that develop in these communities, particularly among the hard-core insiders who administer and contribute regularly to them. I’ve been fortunate be a part of the “staff” of one particular on-line community and the banter among us on the staff emails is little different than if we were a bunch of guys hanging out in one of our backyards. We know little about each other and will likely never meet, but we act like we’ve known each other for years. I think it is that distance and what I might call controlled anonymity (you only have to share what you want with others) that creates the level of comfort and openness that constantly surprises me. On-line communities like ours transcend pretty obvious geographical, cultural, and political differences (it’s often just fodder for mutual ribbing). And, to be honest, if we actually ever met, I’m not sure we would all get along because of those differences. I say that as a compliment, not a criticism, of on-line communities because it shows that if people focus on what they have in common, then it’s possible to rise above those areas in which they differ. The result is mutual respect, appreciation, as close to friendship as can develop on line, and a community in the truest sense of the word.

This post was submitted by drjim.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve written a little gift guide of the products that I like most on the market. I usually look for products that are going to make the recipient’s lives more efficient. There are some exceptions (like Blu-Ray players). I mention these products, because there’s something usually unique about them (like a big drop in price from previous years.) It gets harder and harder to find products that can truly help someone’s life, and most of my previous picks are still some of the best ones today. So I invite you to read 15 Products that Save Time, Money, and Space, and Lazy Man’s Gift Guide 2008 as well.

I won’t go into a lot of frugal gift ideas… A number of other bloggers have already written about that topic. However, I couldn’t resist posting my favorite frgual gift idea from one of my favorites on Twitter. I’m going to use the word “poop” here instead of the real name because this is a family blog:

“Everybody’s broke, so here’s the rule for Christmas this year; if you still [poop] your pants, you get a present. Otherwise tough [poop].” – [Poop] My Dad Says

Before I get started on the few products that I endorse this year, I would like to recognize that gift cards seem to be getting more and more popular each year. With that in mind, here are three gift card ideas:

• Amazon Gift Card – Ever get a gift card to some store that you’d never use? I have. While any gift is better than nothing, it’s better to give a gift that nearly anyone can use. Amazon seems to have everything under the Sun, so it’s a safe bet as a gift.
• Ebay gift cards – It’s the same theory as Amazon… if someone can’t find something they want on Ebay, well they are truly the person who has everything. The added plus with Ebay is that people can choose to exercise their frugal muscles and buy used items… effectinvely stretching their own gift dollar further.
• Store Gift Cards on Ebay – If you know someone loves Victoria Secret, you can save some money by buying a Victoria Secret gift card on Ebay. It’s usually not a huge savings, but a couple of bucks adds up and it’s easier than actually going to the store.

And finally my extremely over-hyped gift guide. (I warned you it’s getting harder and harder to find good products).

• Palm Pixi – This is the most frugal smartphone on the market. It’s one of the lowest cost smartphones on the lowest cost network. Don’t believe me? Read what Bloomberg has to say. One could even make a claim that in some ways the Palm Pixi is better than an Apple Iphone. If you have a bigger budget, it’s worth upgrading to the Palm Pre which won a slew of awards this year.
• BAGGU Reusable Shopping Tote – 6-Pack – It’s compact, sturdy, fashionable, and environmentally conscious… and it’s reviews are amazing on Amazon. What more could you want?
• Blu-ray Disc Player – I know I included a Blu-Ray player last year, but you really had to hit just the right bargain to find one for $200. Now, that bargain price point to look for is $99 and I’ve seen them as low as $80. Blu-Ray seems like product of high status, but it’s not priced like that. That’s typically when I start to look to buy a tech gadget.
• Aroma X-Press Water Kettle – I don’t know how this didn’t make the list in previous years. We love our water kettle. It’s one of the few things that get me excited to drink tea. It seems to heat up the water in seconds and keeps it hot as long as I want.
• Plano Shelving from WalMart – For the first time in my life, I’ve had access to a whole garage. It makes such a difference in storage space. I’ve bought four of these to line the back of my garage. I loved them so much, I went and got a couple more to complete the back. The key features here are: minutes to set-up, a height of 74 inches, and 5 shelves. It creates a ton of vertical space storing all sorts of stuff. If my wife doesn’t stop me soon, I might buy another set for the side of the garage.
• A Puppy – Okay, seriously don’t give someone a puppy, but I had to close out with a mention of the best new addition to my life in the last year. We do have some occasional disagreements over the nutritrional benefits of the furniture. However, at the end of night, when he’s cuddling up to you, it makes any of the stress of the day melt away.