Back from Vegas after two days of sex and tech conferences. As others have noted, the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show and Adult Entertainment Expo were more revolutionary than evolutionary. No mind-blowing products, just improvements on the previous year’s stuff. (The AEE is continuing through the weekend, so there is still time for surprises.)

My CES/AEE-related stories are coming later via some newspapers and magazines, but in the meantime check out the blogs of my buddy Regina Lynn, head honcho of WIRED’s Sex Drive, and of the wonderful author/director Audacia Ray (both cover sex and neither are safe for work). They both are giving a perspective you wouldn’t get in the mainstream press - and wouldn’t necessarily get even if you were there.

Now it’s time to pass out after 36 hours in Vegas. To any new friends or associates visiting the site: Please feel free to leave a note!

The past month has been spent writing and editing the Porn & Pong manuscript, catching up on holiday partying, doing short (print-only) stories for Playboy Magazine and the like, and wrapping up new projects I can’t quite talk about yet. Blogging? Not so much. I plan to have more frequent updates here and on the Porn & Pong website, especially now that the main manuscript has been put to bed.

This week I hit Vegas for two great tech-centric conferences: the Consumer Electronics Show and the Adult Entertainment Expo. Wednesday and Thursday. Back to back. Sometimes I love my job.

Stay tuned here for post-show stories, either through major publications or exclusively on this website.

*Last Sunday’s CES show preview article is available here at the New York Post.

Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal has posted a must-read essay on the politics behind video game reviews. Seven or so years into the video game journalism business, I can identify with both N’Gai and GameSpot’s Jeff G., who was controversially let go last week. It’s all very real.

Tonight I spoke on the Society of Professional Journalist panel “Freelancing for the 21st Century” with Westways editor Elizabeth Harryman, Los Angeles magazine editor Mary Melton and fellow freelancer T.J. Sullivan. It was fun discussing how freelancing has changed over the years. Most of us spend our days in the solitary office or knee-deep in research. It’s always nice to connect with people face to face.

SPJ LA has had some of the best events I’ve attended since coming to California. The national organization is worth checking out, too.

Photographer Terry Osterhaut and I attended the Nerdcore calendar launch party and got a chance to hang out with co-creator Jon Gibson (above), the models and about a hundred likeminded geeks.

Post continued…

This week I had the opportunity to interview music mogul Jay-Z. I can’t front - it was a great experience. He also seemed to be a nice guy. We talked about the business of iTunes, since Jay-Z decided to remove his new album “American Gangster” from the service. The article is in today’s New York Post business section.

Related: My favorite interviewer sitting down with Jay-Z.

Today’s New York Post has my recent talk with Nintendo and gaming experts about Wii shortages (oh no!). I suggest people start their holiday shopping as soon as possible.

Also catch my Sunday New York Post report on how a sampling snafu almost sunk arguably the best Saturday Night Live short yet.

Related: The original “I Ran So Far” video.

This Sunday’s New York Post has my business piece on Kanye West’s great “Graduation” album and how his stellar sales will benefit many people - most prominently Steely Dan. Go figure.

We finally have the website up for “Porn and Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Lara Croft and Other Sexy Games Changed Modern Pop Culture”. Here you can learn more about the upcoming book, read related articles and get the latest news.

“Porn and Pong” will be out in Fall 2008.

You can catch me on National Public Radio tomorrow (Tuesday) morning! I’ll be on the daily news show “Day to Day - Midday Magazine“.

NPR contributor Alex Cohen asks me why Apple didn’t include instructions with its $600 iPhone, if customers have been supremely baffled and what motivated me to write The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to the iPhone. It was a fun, honest interview.

Broadcast times vary based on your outlet (most seem to run the hour-long program between 9 am and noon), but don’t worry if you miss the radio show. On Tuesday you can listen online at NPR.org. After Tuesday, go to NPR’s “Day to Day” archive, click “August 14th” on the calendar to listen online. Finally, iTunes listeners can go to the iTunes Store, search for “NPR Day To Day Midday Magazine” and download the August 14th episode.

You can grab the iPhone book through the link on the right-hand column.

Update: A direct link is here.