Diamondique? Diamondelle? Cubic diamondium? Dioxy-ribo-diamondoid?

My 10 year anniversay is coming up with my wife. We've actually only been married about 5 months, but we dated through college and aftewards...and had a lengthy engagement...well those are my excuses for waiting so long!

The traditional gift for the 10 year anniversary is tin or aluminum - noted for its pliability. A successful marriage should be flexible, but durable enough to not break.

Inversely, a more modern take on the tradition is to give a gift of diamonds. An odd contrast since diamonds are admired for their beauty and hardness. I think this has more to do with the desire to own diamonds, and the to not give something of seemingly lower value, than anything. To me, diamonds are a great gift, and is always one you know will be cherished, but it tends to be the "oh crap! Outta ideas and only 24 hours to go..." gift.

Seeing as I've got less than 12 hours left, I just be playing that card.

Moving on...to 2009

Well, 2008 was a tough year in general, and it ended with some pretty extreme highs and lows. The retail sector has seen its greatest decline since Q1 of 2003, despite promises of hot deals on Black Friday and day-after-Christmas sales. Even online sales are reporting a 3% decline ($25.5 billion vs. 26.3 billion) over 2007 holiday sales numbers.

A few online retailers are reporting some good news. While eBay watchers speculate/report on layoffs, Amazon is reporting record growth.

Seattle-based Amazon said last week this holiday season was its "best ever,"
with a 17 percent increase in orders on its busiest day. The company did not
provide dollar figures.

Analyst Gene Munster said in a note to investors
that his analysis of Amazon's holiday sales report and fourth-quarter revenue
figures over the past five years suggests that the company's sales will be in
line with his estimate of $6.66 billion - a 17 percent increase from the
year-ago period's sales.
On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
expect sales of $6.47 billion.
Munster rates Amazon "Neutral" with a target
price of $45.

So on that note, here's to looking forward to a much better new year!

Gift Guide

Looking for the right presents for your friends and family? Engadget can help you out, they posted their gift guide for the tech geek in your life. They're working their way down, breaking it out by price (a nice touch) and by recipient.

There are definately some interesting ideas in there - even one about gifting a phone, something to think about, but be wary off! My favorite though, has got to be the Mitsubishi LaserVue 65-inch HDTV!

The worst of the spirit of giving...

Reuters is reporting today that the family of Jdimytai Damour, the 34 year old seasonal Wal-mart employee, is suing the company for wrongful death.

Damour's death was caused by "the carelessness, reckless negligence, wanton disregard for public safety and gross negligence" in the "staging, conducting and advertising for sales events," said the lawsuit, filed in Bronx Supreme Court.

Wal-mart has no immediate comment.

So you want a new cell phone huh?

Here's a good gift idea, help your friends and family stay in touch with you by getting them a new phone. Apple's Iphone is great, everyone wants/has one. The new Blackberry Storm just arrived for those business chic, and HTC's Touch Pro is some Windows Mobile 6.1 hotness.Great ideas...until you realize how tricky it can be to actually buy someone a phone.

USA Today did a good write up recently on some options you have if, like me, you're not in a position to sign yourself up for a new 2 year contract to get someone else a phone.

"One of the easiest options: Buy a gift card."

That just about sums it up. You have your choice of either saying "I only thought about you enough to get you a gift card" or "Here's a prepaid phone. Show the world you have a crappy credit score." And really, who buys a full priced phone? $400 for a flip phone that cost $4 to make (including R&D) is just not a viable option for most.

There are great accessory options though, maybe a new bluetooth headset or a car charger? What are you thoughts - if a cell phone has been on someone's wishlist, what alternatives are there?

The Greatest Gift of All...not just for Colbert fans...

Ben & Jerry's just announced the "Great Sundae Challenge". From their press release:

When Stephen's [Colbert] sundaes reach 5,000 sold, we'll donate another 5,000 scoops to Feeding America. It's a two-for-one holiday miracle! You can track how many sundaes are sold at www.benjerry.com and at www.comedycentral.com. Hurry in because the offer ends Dec 24th.

So get out to your local Ben & Jerry's and help Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest), but just don't assume you're helping your waistline.

About Feeding America:

Feeding America is the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity

Each year, the Feeding America network provides food assistance to more than 25 million low-income people facing hunger in the United States, including more than 9 million children and nearly 3 million seniors.

Our network of more than 200 food banks serves all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.The Feeding America network secures and distributes more than 2 billion pounds of donated food and grocery products annually.

The Feeding America network supports approximately 63,000 local charitable agencies that distribute food directly to Americans in need. Those agencies operate more than 70,000 programs including food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, after-school programs, Kids Cafes, Community Kitchens and BackPack Programs.

Learn more about your local Feeding America network member food bank.

 

Can we pick a new name for Cyber Monday?

So "Cyber" Monday is upon on. After the masses sloughed off their turkey-induced haze, and braved the malls (and near death) for their trophies, its back to work - which for most of us meant, checking out online deals!

I'm not sure how, but I've managed to get myself on a number of mailing lists for companies I haven't bought from in years. The deals for today started rolling into my inbox before the clock even struck 12! I got Circuit City's blast as early as Sunday morning - is it a reaction to their recent (or prolonged depending on who you ask) financial troubles or a proactive and aggressive marketing approach?