Sandra O’Loughlin

Mention the Consumer Electronics Show, that annual tech fest held in Las Vegas each year, and visions of paper-thin TV screens, tiny handheld gadgets and other innovations dance in our heads. This year there were light-up cereal boxes, self-cooking soup and floor-cleaning robots getting funky to the Black Eyed Peas. But a Trojan twisting vibrator and Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups? Not your typical techy fare for sure, but uh, stimulating, to say the least. Ahem.

Bailouts, schmailouts. With consumer confidence up and Obama repaid, a recharged auto industry is on a roll.

The Honda National Dealer Meeting, which took place last June at the Denver Convention Center, lifted the lid off Pandora’s box, but instead of unleashing the evils of mankind, it portrayed Honda’s view of the world, its technology and approach to the future. This Pandora’s Box is a 3D media server that had Honda engines and power trains, motorcycles and people movers flying through the air and landing on stage.

Ask anyone who’s ever waited endlessly to get into an event and they’ll agree—a long check-in line is a short distance to frustration, second only to forgetting your ticket. It’s a feeling often shared by the event organizers themselves as they flip through pages of printouts, checking off names, and inevitably missing a few. But now, thanks to mobile ticketing services that take advantage of smartphones, bar codes and other technologies, the hassles of paper tickets are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Even airlines and public transportation systems are jumping on board.

In the ramp up to Election Day, there’s nothing more American than stepping on a soapbox, saying what’s on your mind—and eating apple pie.