I’m running a bit behind on my Geek Gift Guide and Reviews due to an unforeseen database problem.

Look for a new look too!

I went. I voted. I did my American civil duty.

And for the very first time in my life, I actually feel special about having some little sticker announce to the world that I cared enough to fulfill my civil duty as an American. This moment, I’ll share with my son who will grow up now knowing there are no artificial ceilings for him… he can achieve the absolute highest position in the US. It’s been done before. No excuses for anybody… race. Now gender needs to fall next. As well as religion.

America. I salute you.

A quick collected list of gadget rumors going on over the weekend and morning:

• iTunes 8.0 and iPhone 2.1 on September 9th?
• Nokia to release the 5800 “Tube” on October 8th?
• New Zune features leaked
• GM Volt EPA rating could be cut by new standards
• Joost to go from the desktop to browser only? Screenshots!
• Adobe CS4 is nearing the door?

More news, reviews - I have my reviews of the Mint 220 and my first year with MagicJack - and gadget stuff upcoming.

By Luke Anderson

Sometimes you see a new product and think, “why didn’t I think of that?” The Bikeboard is definitely not one of those products, namely because I know exactly why I haven’t thought of it. Riding a bike is fun, and people that can actually skateboard seem to think riding one is fun. However, there is nothing about either one of those activities that makes me think that doing both at the same time would be fun.

Essentially what you have here is a really lame scooter. For some reason I picture Marty McFly seeing one of these, trying to confiscate it, and then looking very confused. I can’t say I blame him, I’m still really confused as to why someone would even make this. Even more, I want to know who they think will pay 0 for one.

Link to the original article…

I exercised my God given American right to justify using this weekend to get as close to as many explosives fireworks as I possibly could without triggering Homeland Security alarms.

Hope that you guys had as much mayhem fun as I had… gadget previews and updates will resume shortly; including a review on the Dymo DiscPainter.

yee-haaaw!

Something I’ve been honestly holding off on… updating the look and feel of the blog, updating the method that stories appeared on the site, and above all, update the underpinnings to the site.

With that said, updates have been a bit weird the last couple of days - thanks to all for the e-mails telling me that my site wasn’t showing stories properly - and those will be solved shortly. Promise.

There’s will be no shortage of updates… and in fact I have a few upcoming reviews coming up that will all be posted after the aforementioned updates happen. But for now, pardon the dust… thanks in advance.

Remember how I was trying to raise awareness in this post about “Disaster Fatigue”? Enter Rebtel…

People are in desperate need of help in China and Myanmar (Burma). Rebtel wants to help. We make this offer with no strings attached. Until May 28 you may use Rebtel completely free of charge to contact your friends, family and colleagues in China and Myanmar to make sure they’re okay and offer your help

What:
Free calls to China and Myanmar

When:
Through May 28, 2008

How:
1. Sign up at http://www.rebtel.com/callforhelp
2. Enter your mobile number and your friend’s mobile number in China or Myanmar
3. Rebtel will give you a local number where you live to reach your friend
4. Dial the local phone number to speak with your friend in China or Myanmar

Who:
Available to anyone in 47 countries
http://www.rebtel.com/en/Rates/Rebtel-countries/

I’ve actually used Rebtel in the past when I was looking for a suitable VoIP complement to whenever I was traveling and wanted to call back to the US or allow others in the US to call me. The directions on how to do so aren’t hard at all, and I kept a balance with them for almost a year or so. To me, they had provided a good service… and now they’ve proven themselves to be good people as well.

If your company and/or service is also offering ways to allow others to contact friends, families and colleagues in those countries, feel free to contact me directly: removethelabels [at] gmail [dot] com.

This article from The Associated Press came across and sorta hit home. Per each disaster from Hurricane Katrina, to the Tsunami in Indonesia, to the Cyclone in Myanmar and now the Earthquake in Chengdu, China… we’ve experienced a series of tragic events that have perhaps contributed to what some people call “Disaster Fatigue” mainly because each disaster has been met with less and less funding with the Myanmar disaster being at risk of receiving too little funding.

The numbers are almost too large to fathom, so many Americans stop trying. As bodies pile up in disaster after global disaster, even the most sympathetic souls can turn away.

Charities know this as “donor fatigue,” but it might be more accurately described as disaster fatigue — the sense that these events are never-ending, uncontrollable and overwhelming. Experts say it is one reason Americans have contributed relatively little so far to victims of the Myanmar cyclone and China’s earthquake.

Ironically, the more bad news there is, the less likely people may be to give.

“Hearing about too many disasters makes some people not give at all, when they would have if it had been just one disaster,” says Michal Ann Strahilevitz, who teaches marketing at Golden Gate University and specializes in the factors at play in charitable giving.

Compared with disasters like the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, those in China and Myanmar have generated just a trickle of aid. As of Friday, Americans had given about $12.1 million to charities for Myanmar, according to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University. The group said on Monday that it was too soon to count contributions to China.

A number of factors may be at play in the slow American response, including a lack of sympathy for the repressive governments involved, doubts about whether aid will get through, and an inclination to save pennies because of shaky economic times at home.

But Americans may have also been influenced by the quick succession of monumental catastrophes in two distant lands. At least 130,000 people are dead or missing in the Myanmar cyclone, and more than 34,000 in China’s earthquake.

“For the vast number of Americans, if they just gave to some disaster far away and then another disaster happens, in their mind that’s clumped as `faraway disaster,’” Strahilevitz says. “So they will feel, ‘I just gave to a faraway disaster.’”

This problem came up after the 2004 Asian tsunami, an event that brought an avalanche of $1.92 billion in charity from the United States, according to the Giving USA Foundation. Hurricane Katrina eight months later generated even more, $5.3 billion.

But then fatigue seemed to set in. The earthquake in Pakistan that killed nearly 80,000 people generated just $150 million from Americans. And the Guatemala mudslide shortly thereafter that killed at least 800 was virtually forgotten.

If one disaster can be galvanizing, several in a row can be paralyzing.

Just raising some awareness. Give where you can give. Give to the lesser fortunate.

What’s Fido Uno, you ask? Besides probably having one of the coolest entrance pages in internet history - seriously, where else do you see a dog with an afro? I dare you to find a corporate site an afro sporting dog as part of their corporate identity… I might move up to Canada just for the dog mascot alone… c’mon. It’s too cool…

Oh yeah. Fido UNO. Back to the business at hand…

Fido recently launched a Canadian first for the wireless industry with its new service, Fido UNO. Fido UNO works by connecting calls from a specially-enabled handset to a high-speed Internet connection when at home and through the Fido network when on the go. Customers now have the freedom to talk as much as they want on their Fido phone while at home without using up their wireless plan minutes and all the benefits of a mobile when they’re not.

Fido UNO offers plans for $15 / month (unlimited local calling) or $20 / month (unlimited local and Canadian long distance) for wireless calling at home, in addition to the regular wireless voice plan. Existing customers can add the service to a current voice plan with the purchase of a UNO-enabled handset and receive the voice-optimizing wireless router free of charge.

Ok, if you’re in the US, this probably sounds a lot like T-Mobile’s Hotspot@Home, doesn’t it? Well, it is invariably powered by the UMA powered phones that seamlessly switch between cellphone to wireless (VoIP) in order to save on those package minutes. The cool thing, the people on the phone will not know when it happens.

Did I forget to mention that this is the first it was done in Canada? Yep… the company named after a dog, with the coolest afro dog mascot ever (for now) brings this new offering to you… in Canada.

Find out more about Fido UNO right here or if you’re looking for a visual way to learn about it, hit up the YouTube video here.

Ok… besides looking like a cross between a Cylon and Kool Moe Dee, these shades are pretty much part of the poker player outfit and trickery that I truly hope isn’t the norm. Regardless, with that said, there’s a ton of gadgets, gizmos and other odd knick-knacks that other serious poker players just might turn to possibly increase their chances at winning.

Read and see more here. Thanks to Patrick A. for sending this one in.

I’m a horrible person. I truly am. I have about 10 (if not more) stories that I have yet to publish on stuff ranging from SMC at Interop in Las Vegas to upcoming releases by Sonance, Sennheiser, Via, Dell, Asus, among others.

But for the last two weeks, I’ve been traveling for business without a laptop and posting via the iPhone is definitely not fun.

Updates and more regular gadget news is upcoming. I promise

Tax time. I hate it, usually each and every year I file for an extension. Not because I have a ton of money to figure out, it’s mainly because I’m a horrific procrastinator.

Seems like I’m not alone.

TurboTax Releases Its Seventh Annual List Of Top 10 Tax Procrastinating Cities; Chicago Takes The Top Spot For The First Time Ever

With the tax deadline of April 15 right around the corner, Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU), the maker of TurboTax products, again tallied last-minute online tax filings to find out which American cities are the biggest procrastinators when it comes to filing federal income tax returns.

The following list includes the TOP 10 TAX PROCRASTINATING CITIES IN AMERICA determined by the number of tax returns electronically filed online via the TurboTax Online service from April 14-April 17, 2007 (previous year ranking in parenthesis):

-Chicago, Ill. – (#2) - Chicago is the “Second City” no more as it takes the top spot for the first time in the seven years the list has been compiled.
-New York, N.Y. – (#5) – After procrastinating less last year, the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple takes its toll on taxpayers as NYC climbs back up the list to rank at Number 2. The Giants may be number one in pro football, but New York is second on our list of late filers.
-Houston, Texas – (#1) - Houstonians have topped our list more than any other city (three times) but must have tired of being the top procrastinators. Progress is progress and Houstonians drop two spots this year.
-Austin, Texas – (#4) Austin continues to procrastinate as they lock up the fourth spot for the second straight year. One of the fastest growing cities in America, Austin may be too busy to worry about taxes until the deadline forces them to.
-San Francisco, Calif. – (#5) –The City by the Bay held steady in the fifth slot for the second straight year. In a year that saw the home run record fall to Barry Bonds, taxpayers in San Francisco waited until they had a full count to take a swing at doing their taxes.
-San Diego, Calif. – (#6) – The home of the 2008 U.S. Open, and home to TurboTax, San Diego dropped to sixth last year and is there yet again. After topping the list two years ago, San Diegans are relaxed in the sixth place.
-Seattle, Wash. – (#8) Grunge may have gone the way of disco, but Seattle residents continue to live a laid back lifestyle and are still late with filing their tax returns. The Emerald City jumps one spot this year.
-Las Vegas, Nev. – (#11) – Making its return to the list after a two-year absence is the jewel of southern Nevada, Las Vegas.
-San Antonio, Texas – (#7) – Settled first in 1731, San Antonio ranks as one of America’s oldest cities. Despite its age, the home of the Alamo is steeped in today as its residents use the power of online tax prep to file at the last minute.
-Los Angeles, Calif. – (#12) – Apparently Los Angelinos were busy chasing Britney Spears all over town and waited until the deadline to file their taxes. At least they didn’t let the forlorn Britney file their taxes for them.

Dropped Out: San Jose, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz.

Surprised that my city isn’t on the list; I thought my procrastination was at least state-wide affecting. Anyway, read more about tax procrastination here.

As much as I love my shiny piano black Sony Playstation 3, it’s a dust magnet like no other. Also… I’m a huge Domokun fan… so out of boredom, I started looking for some brown cloth, red and white felt material and decided to create a domokun dust cover for my PS3.

And here’s the results:

Wasn’t that hard to do… not even that expensive. A few snips, some recollection of home economics/crafts classes I had taken waaaaaaaaay back in middle school and a lot of advice on how to template the thing around the PS3’s odd cigar shape from people that could sew better than I could while asleep.

If anything, on the next one, I’ll remember to measure better for the HDMI port in the back though. It’s a full inch higher than I had previously measured. And yes… it does what it’s meant for. Keeps the dust off my prized PS3 when I’m not using it and looks menacing cool enough.

Working the bugs out… so if you see no pictures or the updates seem to be a bit “off”, blame it on my bad coding the interweb gremlins.

Yeah, gremlins.

Ok… won’t lie. I typically don’t even care about movies, the hype around them… but viral campaigns really get my attention.

Enter Cloverfield. Below is an ad from one of the viral sites, slusho.jp:

Now… who can figure it all out? Don’t forget 1-18-08.com as well.