Well, <i>I</i> knew, of course. But, in addition to all sorts of great and suite-clearing music, CES (and the renegade T.H.E. Show) will be an absolute explosion of new audio gear and gadgetry. How do I know? I know because I've got the press releases that say so. They keep coming and coming. I've got an Outlook folder dedicated to them. Why don't I share those releases with you?

Over at <I>Rifftides</I>, Doug Ramsey has a lovely recollection of the Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter and her Bentley S1.

JA sends along this 2003 <I>Blender</I> article, urging everyone to take the test at the end.

Here, wash out your ears with "The Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy."

My problem with the Swiss Army Knife has always been that it was a pretty lousy <I>knife</I>&mdash;the steel used for blades was hard to sharpen and easy to dull. Back when you could still carry a knife when you traveled, I would carry the Tourist, which had a bottle opener, corkscrew, tweezers, toothpick, Phillips and flathead screwdrivers, and two useless blades.

As CES approaches, the e-mails and phone calls pour in. Though the temperature here in New York City remains in the mid-fifties, we're snowed under by invites to dinners, demos, and other assorted press events. We mark our calendars, make reservations, create itineraries. As it continues, I wish that all the talk and preparation would come to a sudden end. I wish we were there already, in Vegas, listening to music.