The months-long inquiry into Apple's handling of stock option irregularities could come to a head this week, as the company will be required to issue a report to the SEC on its findings by Friday, December 29th. In an insightful piece on Law.com, it is said that federal prosecutors are especially interested in "documents that were apparently falsified by company officials to maximize the profitability of option grants to executives."

The article says that the alleged falsification of records indicates the executives knew their activities were wrong, and that such behavior shows intent to defraud the public. While no individuals have yet been named as wrong-doers, most of the speculation has surrounded the company's former general counsel, Nancy Heinen, and former CFO Fred Anderson, who resigned from Apple's board in October.

The central issue around the stock option scandal is that Apple knowingly inaccurately dated option grants to make the stock issuances more favorable. While CEO Steve Jobs has so far remained above the fray, saying he was aware of some of the grants, but did not benefit from them, or understand their accounting impact, he has also retained the services of independent counsel.

AppleInsider also writes on the topic. Apple is not alone in this crisis, as the stock option backdating scandal has hit companies across Silicon Valley, including notables such as Brocade Communications and Computer Associates. Most believe that Apple will not be required to delist from the Nasdaq, given the company's prominence, though that remains a possibility.

It's hard to believe that just after 5 tonight, it's already dark here in Las Vegas. That's not to say the strip itself is dark. All the neon signs are still up, so much so that you can't see stars in the night sky - made doubly difficult by the arrival of an overcast layer of clouds that settled in this morning. Yet, although dusk has fallen early, there's still much more to do tonight in a city that never sleeps.

After catching "Menopause" last night and teaching Kristine's family the card game "Diminishing Bridge", we set off this morning to hit The Strip and see Las Vegas proper. We stopped off at the sportsbook, where I learned just how simple it would be to put my hard-earned cash to work to make a mega-bet on the Oakland A's winning the 2007 World Series, or a simple one that would take the side of Cal beating Texas A&M in the Holiday Bowl this Thursday. Now that I've seen how easy it is, I better stay out of that place, or I'll be betting my heart over my head, and that's never good in Vegas.

After hitting Harrah's, we walked up the strip, going to The Mirage, ostensibly to see if the Cirque de Soleil piece "Love", featuring Beatles tunes, was having a matinee. No such luck. Only comedian Danny Gains was playing, tonight at 8. So, we walked on, and I took Kristine to the Venetian, where amusingly to me, I half expected to bump into colleagues, and didn't. After a fair share of trade shows in the Venetian the last two years, it was equally as tempting to show her the convention floors and say "that's where our booth was!" as it was to even less productively plunk down in front of the quarter slots.

Leaving the Venetian, we went on to The Wynn, the newest Vegas resort hotel, which rises magnificently above the skyline. I'll have to make sure to stay there at some point. It's a great addition to the area. We had a late lunch, looked around, and then headed back. Now, we're a few hours away from catching one of Vegas's most storied franchises, Penn & Teller, which plays at 9. Should be a lot of fun.

Somehow, I managed to smack the Internet around enough this morning to get enough pages to load consecutively to buy tickets And now, I've taken Kristine's iBook into a far corner of the condo, where we've been lucky enough to maintain two bars of access for the better part of an hour. Of course, my Powerbook is sitting, dumbly, in awe of the iBook's power, and does nothing. Stupid Internet.

The on-again, off-again status of wireless Internet this week, coming on the heels of Thanksgiving's near Web outage at San Simeon, has marred what would otherwise be a great holiday experience. For the second consecutive trip, my wife and I were misled by hotel owners that we would be provided consistent high-speed wireless Internet access, only to find the reality to be much different - a constant struggle to gain speeds similar to that of dialup modems from yesteryear, if anything at all.

As I've said many times here, high-speed Internet access in today's world is as essential as any other metric. If you expect lodging to have TV or phone access, Internet is just as necessary - whether you are visiting for work or for pleasure. And when I'm asked to pay anything from $6.95 to $14.95 a day for the potential of access, only to see a complete lack of success, it doubles down on my frustration.

Some might say the goal of a trip is to "get away", and by my being unconnected, this helps. But it doesn't. The Internet is more than a way to get real-time sports scores and trade e-mail. It's also the most convenient way to get weather updates, to order event tickets, and check flight status. Everything is made easier with Web access. I'm frankly tired of the bait and switch. Either get me a place that has reliable access, or I'll put myself in charge of the reservations and make that a requirement. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I won't get fooled again.

Listening to ''Walking In My Shoes (Random Carpet Mix)'', by Depeche Mode (Play Count: 9)

This Christmas, we didn't fall prey to the 3 millionth showing of It's a Wonderful Life, or sit through another mind-numbing edition of the Nutcracker. Instead, my wife and I, with her family in tow, caught the hilarious musical, "Menopause", at the Las Vegas Hilton, and enjoyed it a great deal. The comedic show covered all aspects of this womanly change, from night sweats to hot flashes, forgetfulness and weight gain - and the four performers, who carried the show on their own, were very good.

The play centered around four women, one, an African-American businesswoman, two ladies from the country, one being a nature-loving hippie, the other an Iowan farmer's wife, and the last, a soap opera actress on the backside of her career. The foursome found one another while bickering over ladies lingerie in a New York Bloomingdales, and through the show, commiserated with one another around their shared experiences - on how family didn't understand their mood swings, how their husbands often slept on the couch, or were disinterested in sex. Making the show even better, each scene featured one or more song parodies, stretching from the Bee Gees' Staying Alive and Night Fever to Sonny and Cher's I've Got You Babe.

In our small group of five, we featured two women who had already undergone menopause, one who may in the next decade or two, and two men - who will only have seen the change from the sidelines, thank goodness for us. Yet, despite our differences, we all found it very funny, and applauded. While some families circled around tables to carve up traditional turkey or ham, or toyed with the latest gifts, we were laughing at the hysterics.

That's not to say we didn't have a traditional Christmas. We exchanged some gifts this morning, we had an early dinner with beef wellington, and plenty of Christmas treats - from cookies to ice cream pie. It's been a treat here in Vegas, even after yesterday's airport ordeal. If you're heading to Vegas, or have already made it and are looking for entertainment, the show Menopause is a must-see. Don't miss it.