Gifts For Dad

As a dad, I can tell you what works for Father's Day and what doesn't. Over the years, I've received ties with flashing lights, "World's Greatest Dad" T-shirts, picture frames, electronic singing and dancing hamsters, and even a set of tires. While I've worn or used every one of those gifts even if it was just for making my kids happy. There are some things I'm hoping to find under my "Father's Day Tree" this year.Making the top of my list is the Sirius Stiletto 100 with the car kit. This thing is so cool. Not only can I listen to Sirius radio, it's got a built in MP3 player that lets me listen to my own music, as well as record whatever is playing on the radio. What's really neat about this little guy is that I can use the Stiletto 100 over any public Wi-Fi network. That means I can sit in my favorite coffee shop and listen to satellite radio without having to have a high-gain antenna of some sort. If the Sirius 100 with the car kit is out of the price range, I could live with Stiletto 10. It's a more barebones option, with no Wi-Fi connectivity, but it still gives me access to my MP3s.

I'm also hoping to get a nice set of portable speakers to go with my MP3 player on Father's day. The Altec-Lansing InMotion series is pretty slick, as is the LG MSP-100. These guys will look great sitting on the desk in my den. I can almost hear the Jazz bouncing off of the bookshelves now. Every dad should have some sort of portable music option so we can have music when working in the garage or enjoying a nice spring day on the deck out back.If I can go way out there and dream for a minute, I'd like to think that my kids have been saving their allowances for the last six years or so, and that they've been working a part-time third-shift job I don't know about. If that's the case, I'm hoping for the Hitachi P50T501. With 50 inches of pure High Def, I'll be in heaven come World Series. A high definition receiver with a DIRECTV HD subscription would add even more enjoyment to the mix. By Bob Maines