I was born in Canada, as were my parents. My deepest apologies. Anyways, that meant that I was raised to be super polite. I remember very specifically going to Toys R Us one day, and walking inside the store while my mother waited at the door. I got about 15 feet past the entrance before I noticed my mom was nowhere to be found, so I walked back to her. “Kevin, you open the door for a lady,” my mother said. I argued – something totally convincing from a 7 year old, I’m sure – and she said, “Well I’m not going in until you open the door for me, and that means you’re not getting anything.” She had a point there, so I opened the door for her. To this day, I open the door for my wife, I walk on the outside of the street from her, and I chew with my mouth closed. Just kinda stuck.

So I was at lunch the other day with my old boss, and we both sat down at the table with our phones on the tables. I turned mine on vibrate so that it wouldn’t interrupt the conversation, and then he did the same. Not 5 minutes later, his phone starts blinking. Mid sentence, he stops, looks through the phone for a second, then starts right back up like nothing ever happened. He did this easily 10 times during our hour-long lunch, which pissed me off pretty good. His focus was obviously split between me and that mystery person on the other end. How could someone be so rude while we’re trying to have a conversation?

Well, I’ve been guilty of it before, and it gets me thinking back to that time in front of Toys R Us. Fact is, we’re now in an “always connected” society. Between mobile e-mail, Twitter, Facebook, texting and cell phones in general, it’s almost difficult to get away from communication. You almost have to make a conscious effort to put away your devices to stay out of the loop, and that in itself can be difficult. Ever left the house without your cell phone? I don’t know about you, but I always feel like I’m lost without it.

It can get dangerous, too. There’s been a lot of talk about texting while driving – which in some states is becoming illegal – but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen. I’ve been guilty of checking my Facebook status at a street light or pulling up my e-mail while going down the road. The problem is that it’s addicting – you feel like you’re missing something if you don’t get that text right now or check an e-mail right away. Further compounding that are the people on the other end who expect responses right away. I once lost a job opportunity because I didn’t respond to a Twitter mention within 24 hours.

So what’s the fix? How do we stay in constant contact yet still be polite to the real people in front of you? I’m not really sure, honestly. In my personal life, I try as best as possible to focus on the person I’m with in that moment, but I’ve been known to tear away if I’m expecting an important e-mail or call. I think that eventually this will be figured out by someone like Martha Stewart or another etiquette expert, but until that happens, the only thing I can suggest is this: Keep the phone in your pocket while driving or with a friend, and try to value those in-face interactions. E-mails can be deleted, but those face-to face interactions turn into memories which can last forever.

I’m an iPhone guy, and have been since the release of the iPhone 3G a few years back. But recently, when I first heard about Windows Phone 7 and saw a demo, I got very excited. That was a cool looking piece of software right there, and maybe something worth switching over. Then I heard about the drawbacks, clutched my iPhone in my arms and said, “Don’t worry baby, I’ll never get rid of you.”

OK, I didn’t do that. We just spooned for a bit.

Anyways, looks like Microsoft is making another spectacular blunder. Gadgetsteria is reporting that Windows Phone 7 won’t come with copy and past anymore. Why? Well, let them answer that for me.

By now everyone and their mother has heard of Microsoft’s extremely Apple-esque stance with the upcoming Windows Phone 7. On several fronts, that’s a very, very good thing. On the other hand, comments such as “People don’t use copy/paste anymore” clearly show they [Microsoft] are F*cking stupid (with a capital F no less). Getting everything to be more simplistic and user friendly. Good. Great. Awesome. That’s exactly what they need to do. But overly water down a platform that has traditionally been a power users platform…?

He’s right. Windows Phone 7 has a lot of potential to take away market share from BlackBerry, Android and Apple, but it’s got to be spectacular out of the gate and at least have the same features as every other smartphone out there.

But here’s the kicker for me: When I got my iPhone 3G, all my Windows/BlackBerry buddies would tease me for lack of copy/paste, like it was some big deal. “Microsoft would never do anything that dumb,” they’d say. Turns out, they did. And not only did they, they’re backing it up with poor logic.

Oh well. Let’s hope they change things before it gets released.

Yes, you read that right.

It’s not the handheld variety, either. This Blackberry is over five feet tall, and incorporates a flatscreen TV, because the client who commissioned the giant Blackberry wanted it to have a working screen. It’s so huge that it requires its own stand for mounting. (Can you imagine how hard it would be to safely mount a flatscreen TV inside thousands of LEGO bricks?)

You may not recognize the name Nathan Sawaya, but you’ve probably seen his work. Sawaya is a former lawyer who now works as a professional LEGO artist (and yes there is such a thing you doubter, you), building artistic sculptures entirely out of the iconic plastic bricks. Most of his pieces are done by commission, allowing him to make his living by crafting these incredible works of art.

Sawaya takes on projects of all shapes and sizes, and is perhaps best recognized for his life-size LEGO expressionist sculptures of the human body. Take a look around his website to see his mind-boggling portfolio — he’s done an amazing assortment of projects, including everything from a life-size “Han Solo frozen in Carbonite” to a giant Monopoly game to a working cello.

Sawaya has even been featured on Mythbusters.

If there’s something you’ve always wanted to see built out of LEGO bricks, Sawaya is available for hire for any project, large or small. Don’t expect it to be cheap — after all, LEGO bricks aren’t cheap, either.

Everyone’s favorite Sith Lord (like you were going to vote for someone else?) is now available in cuddly, cute, Hello-Kitty fashion with these new skins by Infectious. Dubbed the “pink.invader,” this skin is available in several different sticky flavors, for your lappy, iPod, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Trapper-Keeper notebook. Alright, we made that last one up, but only because our Trapper Keeper had Optimus Prime on it, and it doesn’t get much more badass than that. Designer Michael Sison worked this bad boy up for Infectious, and he’s got another cool design too,  with retro Gameboy skins for the handhelds.

Now I get it; This particular skin may not be for everybody. That’s why you can check out the site and pick out anything else you’d rather have from their hundreds of designs, or create your own. There’s even some love for the Apple fanboys and girls out there, with special skins with the trademark glowing Apple logo cut out of the design. I’ve had dibs on this one for the past few months now, and someday I’m gonna get that thing. Alternatively, you can also just design your own, and have it look like whatever you want.

I can personally attest to the wear quality of these things, too. My wife picked up one over a year ago for her iPhone 3G, and it’s been holding strong ever since with no sign of wear and tear anywhere.

myGrid is a dock which can charge various gadgets at the same time. Think about it, if you have a mobile phone (or two), an mp3 player (or two), and other gadgets, you would probably have lots of wires lying around in a corner near the wall socket. This could get really irritating, not to mention dangerous!

With myGrid, you have just one dock and one wire – from the dock to the socket. One really cool feature of this device is that it has the capability to charge gadgets wirelessly! Of course, the gadgets have to be myGrid-enabled. Currently, myGrid-enabled gadgets are Blackberry, Motorola, and the iPhone. You just need to place these gadgets on the grid and you’re good to go. Even better, you can charge up to four gadgets at a time!

For gadgets which are not enabled, you can purchase add-ons such as the Duracell Power Clip. This will allow you to charge your devices which can connect through the USB port. You can purchase the myGrid Starter Kit from Amazon for a discounted price of $76.79. Add-ons are also available.

This is a great deal, and maybe something that will not stay for a long time. Just yesterday my brother-in-law was bragging about a “great find” on Ebay.com, he’s got a Blackberry Curve. I can’t wait to tell him I’ve seen the $99 Blackberry Storm on Amazon. And to add more envy, no mail in rebates to worry about. The discount is INSTANT, as long as you sign up for the standard Verizon service plan.

There is a little agreement to consider though, check it out after the jump:

Conditional $250 Discount

The purchase price listed above reflects a $250 instant discount based on your agreement to maintain service with the selected carrier. Please note that if you deactivate this device, cancel your line of service, or reduce the value of your service plan within 181 days of the activation of your service, you will be subject to a charge of up to $250, plus tax. Read more details here. Third-party resellers are prohibited from purchasing cell phones or data cards/modems on behalf of customers. **Purchase limit of five (5) devices per household.**

If you need to fill a crave, grab this chance to upgrade. Even if you’ve got a cellphone service, you can easily transfer your number to Verizon. Check here for more information.

This is very creative work by Toronto artist Barb Feldman. What’s not to admire? It’s unique and would certainly require a notice when you strut and flash it around. Be prepared to be asked though, the Blackberry and the iPhone have cult following and wouldn’t feel shy to come up to ask where you got those nice earings. :)

Barb is running a website that displays a lot of her earing designs. Affordable as it is just a tad over or under US$20 too.

The material is made of polymer clay (great base material for hand-shaped items like “miniatures”), and while it does look like a little “warpy”, the designer made every effort to come close to the visual design of the real deals.

From Barb’s page you may attempt a request for specific designs, who knows she just may take the challenge.