Some might say that a new calendar year is nothing to celebrate. We commemorate no victories, no fallen heroes, or historic events. We simply celebrate the coming and going of another year—an event as unremarkable as it is inevitable. And yet, there is something in us that yearns to have clear dividing lines in our lives, clear milestones within our individual and collective journeys. Since the beginning of recorded time, the beginning of a new year has offered a milestone on which to gaze back at the year before and reflect on what is truly important. Perhaps more importantly, it has always signaled a chance for a new beginning, a chance to make right what went wrong, and a chance to cherish what went right. 

As I reflect on what went right in 2011 and what I wish to cherish in 2012, the relationships in my life come immediately to mind. If you are reading this right now, it’s because you are, at least in some small way, and perhaps in very big and meaningful ways, a part of my life. As we celebrate the new year, I would like to thank you for your business, your friendship, and your love. Best wishes for a year full of love and laughter. Happy New Year!

These are the eleven books that had reviewers buzzing, authors signing copies and accepting awards, and readers reading in 2011:

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Some books by celebrities can be a little lacking, but this book by comedic writer and actor Tina Fey is not lacking at all. Tina Fey made the rounds to promote the book on TV shows, including her visit with former SNL co-star Jimmy Fallon on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King

Jake Epping time travels to the past to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy, save the family of one of his students, and along the way he may even find love. If you are a true Stephen King fan, you will notice previous character (and even new character) “Easter eggs.” 

The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach

Baseball fans and fans of fiction alike will love this book. The book tells the story of what happens to five characters after a meaningless play in a baseball game. Chad Harbach discusses the book further with Baseball Nation.

Yes! Consumers and manufacturers agree wholeheartedly that our remote control devices are due for a makeover. The TV remote control is one of the few devices we regularly use that has not changed much during the past few decades. While there are options now like Airplay, Xbox Kinect, and voice control, in the next few years we could be seeing some similar changes made to our TV remote controls. The remote is not really a deciding factor for most people, but as long as manufacturers are going for a new gold standard, they may really start shooting for the stars. Let’s start by bravely acknowledging that we’ll be ‘guinea pigs’ for a few years until new design concepts take fruition. Above all, consumers want to see a user friendly device that is a genuine improvement over the current one. So, what features would help consumers?

Fewer and Bigger Buttons

Wouldn’t it be exciting to find and feel the buttons without the need of a magnifying glass? Take for instance the mute button. This button is used a lot. But currently, on most standard remotes, it is half the size of a typical pencil eraser. Of course, if the buttons get bigger, they will have to be fewer in number. For most people, this is actually okay. Manufacturers have long thought that people love more and more buttons, and have tried to squish as many as possible onto tiny remotes. However, consumers may actually be looking for fewer buttons to figure out. Prioritizing usefulness will be the key for manufacturers. 

Holidays are a time to thank the people who have helped you all year long. One way to do that is to add a holiday tip. It can be difficult to know how much you should tip. Here is a quick guide to help you.

Create a Budget

Decide how much you want to spend on tips this year. Stay within your budget regardless of how much others tip. Once you know your budget, you need to decide whom you will tip. A general rule of thumb is to tip anyone who provides a service to you. If you are at a loss knowing who that might be, here is a list:

-Housekeepers or the cleaning company

-Beauticians

-Mail carriers

-Newspaper delivery person

-Babysitters 

-Garbage collectors

If you are looking towards a new start in 2012, forgiveness can help give you peace. Forgiveness can be tough, but it can have benefits, too. So, is forgiveness a ‘mission impossible’? Nope. Our forgiveness and our lives are a work in progress, and we need to compassionately and bravely forge ahead to accomplish the peace we need to live joyfully. Here are the answers to the tough questions about forgiveness.

What is forgiveness?

The Mayo Clinic defines forgiveness as, “a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge.” Forgiveness will allow you to think and act out of kindness and compassion rather than anger and hurt. Forgiveness does not mean that you forget what has happened. You also do not need to reconcile with the person who hurt you. You don’t need to justify nor excuse what happened.

Why should I forgive?

When you choose to forgive, you will be the one to reap the benefits. You will ensure better relationships, a lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse, lower blood pressure, a healthy psychological well-being, greater spiritual well-being, as well as less anxiety, stress, and depression.

Two events coming up in early 2012 may change the way you use your mobile phone. The 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show will be January 10 through January 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the 2012 Mobile World Congress will be in Barcelona from February 27 through March 1. As we look forward to the two events, here are some space-aged concept phones that are garnering attention.

DrawBraille Phone

The design of this phone is long overdue and very much needed. The phone features touch-input and Braille dots that allow blind users to read the phone menu, access the phonebook, read emails and text messages, read ebooks, and check battery status. The display is simple and offers basic cell phone capabilities, but the Braille makes this phone truly special and unique. This phone was designed as part of a school project by Shikun Sun when he was studying industrial design at Sheffield Hallam University in the UK. 

Turntable Dial Phone

Mukund K P, a designer from India, has created a cell phone that seamlessly blends nostalgia with technology. The cell phone features a turntable (or rotary), just like phones from years past. For those who like modern functions there is a QWERTY keypad that slides out, as well as a touchscreen. Using the rotary has advantages though. Every time a caller dials the number using the rotary, the cell phone is charged by the energy generated.

If you aren’t quite in the holiday spirit yet, here are the top ten Christmas movies of all time that will put you in a great mood.  

1. It’s a Wonderful Life

This one is at the very top of the list for being the most loved and most watched movie according to the national media. If you’ve watched it, you know why it’s such a winner; if you haven’t, prepare to be enchanted from the beginning to the heart-warming end. Fans of Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed count on this Christmas classic as a treasured and integral part of their holiday experience.

2. Miracle on 34^th Street

This movie is a time honored treasure on Thanksgiving Day; it opens with the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and follows the journey to Christmas. It stars Maureen O’Hara as a divorced mom with a young daughter, Natalie Wood, the mysteriously wonderful Kris Kringle, and a supporting cast of helpful co-workers and friends.

The holidays can be a stressful time for everyone, including for those who deal with holiday shoppers. Cashiers and attendants take the brunt of the frustration and stress from unhappy customers. You cannot prevent having to deal with unhappy customers, but you can learn how to handle it.

Stay Calm

This is easier said than done, but it is one of the most important things you can do. If you raise your voice, you increase the agitation of the customer. They are put on the defensive, which makes them even more upset. If you can speak in a calm, quiet voice, it can make them reciprocate with the same kind of tone.

Listen

Even if you know they are in the wrong, and there is nothing you can do to help them, you should listen to what they have to say. They will feel better if they know that they’ve been heard. Give them your undivided attention as much as possible, and maintain eye contact.

One of the biggest holiday highlights is to do something special for someone else. There are some great opportunities for us to help and give back to our communities this holiday season. You could choose your favorite way in which to give, or read along and try a new way to delight someone in need this year.

1. Volunteer at a homeless shelter, hospital, or retirement facility.

Give the gift of your time, brighten someone’s day, and help out in whatever capacity you can.

2. Give a toy through the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree or the Marine’s Toys for Tots.

A child will love receiving a toy you pick out and donate through the Toys for Tots program. There are drop off locations in retailers and even schools. If you want to pick out a gift for a specific child, you can visit your local retailer and see if they have a giving tree. Alternatively, you can shop online through The Salvation Army’s Angel Giving Tree presented by JCPenney. You can also take new unwrapped toys to hospitals and firehouses where they will be given to children who will love them. 

It’s amazing the kind of information we put on our computers.  Sometimes our entire lives seem like they are on our hard drives.  This is private information that we don’t want everyone else to see.  

So what do you do when your computer dies and you have to replace it?  You can store the old one in a closet, hoping that no one ever finds it.  The better option is to erase all of your private information and donate the computer to charity.

Format Your Hard Drive

It is not enough to hit the delete button on your computer.  While you may remove some information from view, everything is still hidden somewhere on your hard drive.  Anyone who can sort through the directories will be able to find it.  You will want a more secure method to clean your computer drive.

Reformatting your hard drive is not a hundred percent secure, but it will protect much of your information.  This process doesn’t erase your information, but it does erase the address tables or the links to the information.  An average person would not be able to retrieve your data.  However, a computer specialist would be able to gain access.  

Leonardo da Vinci is credited with coming up with the concept of contact lenses in 1508. Now, there are bifocal contact lenses, lenses people can sleep in, lenses in fancy materials like silicone-hydrogel, and ones that can help fix astigmatism. Soon, there will even be an even newer form of contact lenses in the future. A new study is underway that would allow users to basically have a computer screen on their eyeball. The study is being conducted by researchers from the University of Washington and Aalto University in Finland. It was published in the November issue of the Journal of Micromechanics and Microengineering. 

The lenses contain an antenna which uses power from an outside source to show information on the contact lens. On just one tiny contact lens, there is also a silicon power-harvesting and radio-integrated circuit, metal interconnects, insulation layers, and a transparent sapphire chip which has a custom designed micro-LED. Right now, the lens just looks like it has one little pixel of light on it, but in the future, scientists are hoping that the lenses could display more information and have more applications for humans.

So far, the contact lenses have just been tested on rabbits, but there have not been any problems, so testing on humans could come next. However, there are some things that would have to be worked out before it can be used. The power source which the antenna picks up would have to be 2cm away from the eye. The curved contact lenses that people have come to know would also need to be modified to work. They would need to become thinner and flatter than what is used now for regular contact lenses. 

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that anyone who had their property foreclosed between 2009 and 2010 will be able to request an independent review of their foreclosure. This could affect 4.5 million mortgage borrowers whose properties were foreclosed during this time. If it is found that the homeowner received “financial injury” because of an error or other deficiencies, they may receive monetary compensation. The exact amount has not been determined yet, but this is a beacon of hope for people who feel that their mortgage was mishandled. 

The announcement is in light of the “robo-signing” scandal that rocked the mortgage industry. When foreclosures became a normal part of the mortgage business, mortgage industry employees started relying on this practice to get through all the paperwork. It included lower level employees signing their own name with a fancy title, another person signing for an executive, an attorney hired to manage the process that may not have had the proper oversight, requirements being ignored, or the absence of notary policies. In all of these cases the mortgage documents are considered tainted because proper procedures were not taken to look over the documents. A signature is a sign that something is accurate. However, if someone qualified did not review the document, it could mean that something is inaccurate. That could cause a big problem for families. With so many different signatures it will be difficult to know who really handled a foreclosure case. For instance, “Linda Green” signed 1,300 documents, using 22 different signatures in Essex County, Massachusetts. 

You could spend $18,000, or trek to the Amazon, to spend a night in one of the world’s craziest hotels. Or, you can use these design ideas to create a similar look right in your own home.

Mardan Palace Hotel in Turkey

At $18,000 a night per person, and a cost of $1.4 billion to build, it is labeled Europe’s ‘Most expensive hotel’. The spa has a room with real snow, and the pool is so huge, it takes half an hour to cross it in a gondola. This hotel shouts luxury from its very expensive rooftops. Create a luxurious look for your own home by including anything that says “luxury” to you—a chaise lounge chair with a velvet throw, a chandelier, or an expensive collection of art. Include anything that makes you happy, and gives you the feel of treating yourself.

Jumbo Stay Hotel in Sweden

You may have slept in a plane before, but probably not on an actual mattress. At this hotel you can even sleep in the cockpit. The aviator in you will love to come home to a décor that incorporates elements of aviation. Look for airplane instruments that have been repurposed, a map that has been framed, or small airplanes that can be used as decorations.