SCIENCE TIME: EMOTIV

The internet has just informed me that, in the imminent future, I will be able to put on a helmet which will read my mind and use the data it gathers to enhance my ability to interact with immersive virtual environments. We are now living in a world where direct mind-machine interface is possible without any kind of invasive surgeries or bulky scientific equipment.

This is a prospect which excites me a fair bit more than it worries me. Considering that we can now build heads-up displays that fit inside contact lenses, I was wondering when someone would come up with a good user interface device for such. It appears we have to wait no longer than March 2008 for such devices to be in the hands of game developers, which means that if the wiimote is any indication, the Mobb will be hacking them and using them to control their fresh-built lego robot arms by May at the latest. Whether these arms will be capable of doing anything more nuanced than flailing when the users are happy remains to be seen.

The (clearly-anime-inspired) look of the device may need some work, but as I never travel anywhere without a hat already (and I ask you: what gentleman does?), I suspect that a slightly redesigned version of the hardware can be integrated into my normal streetwear.

It should be noted that this is not a Gibsonian device that allows one to 'jack in to the Net'. It allows our minds to interact with machinespace, not machinespace to interact with our minds. And while the press coverage for the device does promise many things, it sounds like the state of the technology is likely only about as progressed as reading emotions and maybe (I hope) responding to certain kinds of broad, easily interpreted mental cues. The website doesn't have too much in the way of concrete details. However, I think that even the possibility of, say, an MP3 player that changes your playlist based on your moods, or a character in a game that knows when you're smiling at them is more than enough to label this an outbreak of the future.

It's important to remember, as we wrap ourselves in the clothes of old empires and study the instability of our own, that there are new things under the sun. Incredible things are being created every day. I am tempted to say, as I suspect every generation has been tempted, that there has never been a time in human history more exciting, dangerous or filled with possibility, than right now, this moment, this place.

Way to be, Planet Earth. Keep it up.

Dread Pirate Captains that No One Has Heard Of

And so, blasting past security systems with a MAC address stolen from a wii, I return to the internets. The last week has been a blur of mental activity and far too little sleep, but I promise I won't be leaving you alone with all these other classy indviduals for so long again anytime soon.

Which is perhaps the least meaningful sentence I have ever typed.

In the distant past, I promised you to discuss One Piece (the manga. NEVER THE ANIME). In the recent past, I promised to talk more about Mike Gravel.

I am beginning to suspect that they are secretly the same subject, as all things are.

Unfortunately, explaining that cryptic comment is going to have to wait for another day. I can tell you that Mike Gravel's alternative debate begins in half an hour, broadcast live on Internet by upstream.tv, and tthat unlike John Edwards, he shows no sign of being willing to step out of the race, even if it may be argued that he was never really in it.

The man has no real net worth. I think that he owns, perhaps, a car and some credit card debt, and that he would be by far the best president out of all the candidates. It doesn't matter, but if he turns to coastal raiding after he loses the election to finance his democratic efforts, I might be tempted to join his crew of sea raiders, as they journey across the world to find the lost treasure of the last King of the Pirates, and their dreams.

I promise there is a logical, semi-litaerary reason why I am conflating Mike Gravel and One Piece, and it is not just my brain imploding after a week with minimal sleep and maximal role-playing games. However, the viking mind compels me to go and devour the flesh of hundreds of innocent chickens now, as a warrior of Elbaph should.

That brain implosion theory is looking more and more likely!