In Hanoi, Bui Vu Thi has a new apartment in a good neighborhood with two bedrooms, one bath and a great view of the lake.

NPR: Real Estate Booms in Communist Vietnam

"If you're having a bath and you really want to enjoy that great movie ... and (the tablet) accidentally falls into the bath, it's OK, " said Xperia Z product manager Sharath Muddaiah.

CNN: Waterproof phones and tablets make a splash

Financially, Bed Bath and Beyond is in great shape.

FORBES: Buy BBBY While Shares Are Below Recent Highs

If you are over the Great Pulteney Street side of the Weir and you look across towards the centre of Bath, you'll see the historic columns just above water level stretching from Pulteney Bridge to the Parade Gardens.

BBC: Bath's disused Colonnades at centre of redevelopment plan

"Housing first" was comparatively cheap, for one thing: a homeless shelter might look squalid, but it cost a great deal to operate -- more, oftentimes, than a proper apartment with kitchen and bath.

CNN: Fewer homeless, a Bush legacy