Everything And Nothing

Retail Mafia Phone

Photo via Luxist.com

The Benjamin phone costs more than a Benjamin though. It's one of six limited-edition Boost Mobile phones by streetwear collective Retail Mafia. Under the hood is a Boost Mobile i835 with color screen, GPS and speaker phone.

The phones come packaged in a gunmetal "mafia-style" briefcase and each handset comes with a limited edition Retail Mafia T-shirt, external texting keyboard accessory, desktop charger, black earpiece and Retail Mafia screen cloth.

$300, www.boostmobile.com

2005 Foot-in-Mouth Awards

Tech execs say the darndest things. And so do shuffling presidents, and disgraced scientists, and Wikipedia fakers. It's time to relive 2005's biggest spoken gaffes.

Mobile Luxury

Ever thought it possible you would spend $50,000 on a mobile phone? Nokia hopes so. And has convinced Donald Trump (but come on, how hard was that) and David Beckham to snatch up recent models.

Vertu is the luxury brand of Nokia. In 1995, Frank Nuova, then Nokia's head of design, decided to create a timeless piece that exuded both superior craftsmanship and exclusivity, without losing sight of technology or good looks. Seven years later the first Vertu store opened in England - and now they are springing up around the world (even in the Middle East).

The phone is built to last, in terms of stability and upgradeability. The design is based on "evolutionary technology," which allows for upgrading the latest features while leaving the external shape intact.

Not surprisingly, the core customer is someone who already has everything else - except a $50,000 mobile phone.

The Average American and the Media

The average American spends more time using media devices - television, radio, iPods and cell phones - than any other activity while awake, says a study from Ball State University. The Middletown Media Studies 2 also found participants are adept at managing the use of two or more types of media at the same time.

Key findings:

• About 30 percent of the waking day was spent with media as the sole activity versus 20.8 percent for work activity, while an additional 39 percent of the day was spent with media while involved in some other activity.
• In any given hour, no less than 30 percent of those studied were engaged in some way with television, and in some hours that rose to 70 percent.
• While TV is still by far the dominant medium, with the average American watching 240.9 minutes daily, the computer has emerged as the second most significant media device at about 120 minutes.

For more information, click here.

Clooney on Campus

After screening Good Night, and Good Luck, George Clooney played professor at Columbia's Graduate School of Journalism Oct. 14, fielding questions about the media. Some notes from Dr. Clooney's class, courtesy of People magazine (Oct. 31, 2005)...

Advice for young journalists - "Grow up and stick your neck out and get it burned every once in a while. That's how you get things done."

On bloggers vs. mainstream media - "I think it's great to have someone stirring it up and asking tougher questions. [But] I see a lot of horse s--- on both sides."

On the golden rule of journalism - "Authority unquestioned [is] always, always corrupt."

The Great Indoors

After years of focusing on outdoor coverage, the major cell phone carriers are quietly exploring the great indoors, according to Smart Money (William Mauldin, Oct. 2005). The number of indoor antenna systems has tripled since 2001, to an estimated 15,000, according to ABI Research (while the total number of U.S. cell sites grew by just 14 percent a year.

Mauldin says wireless carriers are moving indoors to make us spend more money. The average cellular customer talks for 389 minutes per month, according to J.D. Power, so with revenue per minute falling steadily, they need us to talk more. And many of us would - if we could get a reliable signal inside.

Malls and convention centers are the low-hanging fruit. There are also airports, hotels, casinos and subway systems to work on.

The article aslo shows us how to find a building's live spots. Many popular phones, Mauldin says, can be put in "field test mode," in which the phone displays the exact signal strength in real time. Visit www.wpsantennas.com to get the code that activates your phone's test mode.

Coming for cellphones: 411

Starting next year, millions of cellphone users will be available through the same 411 service that lists standard phone numbers. And there are moves afoot to include VOIP telephone numbers in phone directories, as well.

Send a message with flowers

There's more to flowers than just roses. Here's other ways to say your feelings with flowers...

Agapanthus -- Love

Allium -- Strength and Courage (garlic is even stronger)

Ambrosia -- Love returned

Anthurium -- Let's be sweethearts

Aster -- Elegance and daintiness; jealousy; I will consider your offer

Azalea -- Moderation, temperance, your blush has won me

Baby's Breath -- Innocence; a delicate touch

Banksia -- Down under; absence makes the heart grow fonder

Bells of Ireland -- Improve with age; send money (shell out the green)

Bird of Paradise -- Magnificence, regal splendor; good fortune

Bittersweet -- Truth, platonic love

Cactus -- Bravery and endurance

Calla Lily -- Magnificent beauty

Camellia -- Perfected loveliness, without blemish

Carnation -- Red, admiration; alas for my poor heart. White, good luck; pure and ardent love. Yellow, rejection and disdain. Striped, refusal. Pink, mother's love

Daisy -- Innocence; gentleness; purity in thought; loyal love. (My favorite flower!)

Daffodil -- Deceitful, hope, unrequited love

Gardenia -- Represent feminine grace

Hydrangea -- In Victorian times, these meant you had bragging rights - give to a newly promoted co-worker.

Lily -- For a new mom (Roman mythology has it that lillies grew from drops of Juno's breast milk.)

Pansy -- Named for the French word for thought, this flower is a thought-full gift

Peony -- Give to a friend who is under the weather (it is named after Paeon, physician to the Greek gods)

Sunflower -- Devotion (Ancient Incas placed this flower's image in their temples)

Sweet Pea -- The fragrance of these flowers lasts a long time, so give to someone who has recently moved away.

Zinnia -- Thinking of you even though you're far away

If you can't find what your looking for here, here's an index to the meaning of flowers.