The way we play through Diablo reflects the way we move through life.

Some folks see gaming as a personal Bardo training quest.
Monsters are simply obstacles to be overcome in one's evolution.

See "You don't have to kill everything"
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=C6ZX2dZjWbY

I think we should sequester CEO's and scientists from their higher atmosphere, condense their old-fashioned ideas, and bury that instead of CO2.

From Britannica:

"The first public demonstration of a one-way videophone occurred on April 7, 1927, between Herbert Hoover (then secretary of commerce) in Washington, D.C., and officials of the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) in New York City."

"This was followed by the first public demonstration of a two-way videophone, on April 9, 1930, between Bell Laboratories and AT&T Headquarters, both in New York City."

Obviously, AT&T must have secretly had the technology for several years before this.

"When the going gets weird, the weird go pro." Wasn't that it?

When you consider the apparent blockbuster hit of CES was an 11 inch TV that costs $2500, ya just gotta wonder who's "running the show".

And where the hell are all the Levitation Belts??

We've been bamboozled with goofy gadgets and incremental upgrades for many years, only now the well-worn threads are falling apart. It's a confusing time as we find the new paradigm and shirk the old. Conscious choice will guide us through.

And where's the damn Hovercars??

Well, after having a look at David Pogues reviews from the CES it turns out the hottest product is...a TV. An 11 inch TV. For $2500. hahahaha

To quote Dave " SONY XEL-1. This tiny, 11-inch TV is the closest thing C.E.S. had to a blockbuster. When you learn that it costs $2,500, you might wonder why. "

Sure, it's a "realistic" picture, but...hey, it's a TV. For that money you would think it would at least puke out a 3-d working replica of whatever you see on it.

Hmmm, excuse me, but isn't this called regressing? Or is de-evolution a better term?

At least they're finally letting us have Dick Tracy watches.

Bravo, Joel!

You are indeed brave to not go, and even braver to bring it up with your audience. The irony of your situation, "Gadget King Bows Out of the Big Event", may deflate some, but I think is a simple indicator of changing attitudes about the over-saturated tech world.

Faced with too many choices of essentially similar products, the weary, wary tech consumer/reporter retreats. Just how many new tech devices does one need to play a mp3, anyway? etc.

Perhaps we need a complete new dimension of products to be introduced...like cheap Levitation Belts or after-market bicycle HoverTires...

With looks like that, it's obvious that we should just be flying over the damn roads anyway.

Strap-on 3 anti-grav pods, hit the cruise control, and have a quick five-minute nap on the 100-mile trip to work. It's gotta be.

Hey Joel
Here's a link for an Engadget blog about the Belin Tesla gallery, a great best place for you to visit before it is shut down (soon.)

Quote "Do you like art? Do you like mystery? Do you like technology?"...
http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/18/berlins-tesla-gallery-hosts-ghostly-techno-art/

Nikola Tesla ascribed to the theory of aether, and tubes of force coming from the sun.
Along comes Einstein who rains on the aether parade with Relativity, which Tesla scorned as,

"...[a] magnificent mathematical garb which fascinates, dazzles and makes people blind to the underlying errors. The theory is like a beggar clothed in purple whom ignorant people take for a king..., its exponents are brilliant men but they are metaphysicists rather than scientists..."