2009 marks Bug Labs’ second year at the Consumer Electronics Show (Jan 8-11, 2009), and while we’re still trying to find a way to top our debut at CES 2008, we can guarantee it’s going to be a fun time in Vegas next week.  This year, we’re bringing more than double the BUG staffers, more than double the BUGmodules (stay tuned for that announcement next week!), and more than double the excitement of last year.

We’re located in the Innovations Pavilion, at booth #IP204 in the Sands Expo Center inside the Venetian Hotel (here’s a map).  Just walk toward the tower of black smoke look for the BUG folks in the white lab coats, and we’ll show you what’s cooking in our Test Kitchen.

For members of the media attending ShowStoppers, finding us is a snap.  Just look to your immediate left upon entering the ballroom and we’re there.

For those who won’t be attending, you can follow us via Twitter, watch us live on UStream, or even chat with us (AOL IM: bugplus) while we’re building BUGs on the show floor.

And again, sign up for our newsletter or stay tuned to Bug Blogger next Wednesday as we announce some exciting news.

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It’s been a long time coming but we’re thrilled to announce the arrival of the BUGvonHippel module. Named after MIT professor Eric von Hippel (because he thought of it!) and author of “Democratizing Innovation”, one of our favorite books, the module allows you to connect just about anything electronic to the BUG. In essence, it’s a way to create your own module. It was Eric’s belief that you can’t really call yourself an open platform for innovation unless you truly let people innovate on their own. We hope this module helps us continue to fulfill that promise.

Check out the video above with Alicia Gibb, Bug’s head Gadget Wrangler, and Eric talking in his office at MIT.

The BUGvonHippel module is available right now in the Bug Labs store for $79. If you’ve been waiting for a good way to hook up your car, microwave oven, personal area radar or left-handed wingnut to your BUG now’s your chance! And if you do, please visit us at our community site and let us know!

2008 was a year of many firsts for us.  We started with a bang at CES, started shipping our first products, got to know many of you and what you’re doing with your BUGs and learned a ton in the process.  Now it’s time for another first – our inaugural Holiday Sale.  We want to make it easier for everyone to buy a BUG so we’re offering some good discounts on our gear.  We’re taking 30% off the normal $349 price of the BUGbase, which means you can buy one now for $249.  If you buy the BUGbundle you save an additional 4% off the combined price.  You can check it all out in our store.

Stay tuned for some announcements on new BUGmodules too!

Bug Labs took a long lunch yesterday to help a local organization deliver Holiday gifts to seniors in the area.  Here is our new development intern, Irvin, with one of the Holiday gift bags.

Visiting Neighbors is a non-profit organization with the mission of providing older adults mental stimulation, encouraging physical independence, and helping to alleviate loneliness.   Beyond our obvious goal of delivering gifts and chatting, Visiting Neighbors uses our visits to gather information about the state of their members – health, living conditions, etc…  I think this is great, a truly creative and resourceful community collaboration!

We were a bit surprised that half of us weren’t invited inside – the seniors we were paired with just opened the door and took the bag.  Peter and Kevin were stopped at the door, but each were given a banana .   Those of us that did sit and visit awhile came back with neat stories from some great personalities.  Brian and Al met with a feisty lady that lit her cigarette from a candle on her 100th year old birthday cake, Riba and Amie met with a senior determined to get her first computer, and Irvin and I talked with a Holocaust survivor that described for us, among other amazing stories, how the people in her building and neighborhood have changed over the last 60 years.

It’s amazing to talk with someone that has seen and experienced things I’ve only read about in history books, a living witness to the progress we make as humans.  I also enjoyed how all the members we met with were brutally honest – “oh, a crossword book…take this back.  I’ve never done these puzzles and I’m not going to start now”.  If only we all could be so honest.

For those of us invited beyond the threshold, they said they really enjoyed our visit – but I think our days were brightened even more.   Volunteering is such a synergistic activity.  I admit, the concept of interrupting my workday and sitting with an old stranger was not enticing.  I was even nervous.  But it felt great listening to stories that wanted to be told, and I learned lessons about how to appreciate life and the most basic things around me.  I feel like we made the coming days, maybe even weeks, better for some folks in our neighborhood.  I know we’ll be back.