Straight out of sci-fi (get used to hearing that over the next decade), comes the phone that you use without speaking. According to New Scientist:

‘A neckband that translates thought into speech by picking up nerve signals has been used to demonstrate a “voiceless” phone call for the first time.

With careful training a person can send nerve signals to their vocal cords without making a sound. These signals are picked up by the neckband and relayed wirelessly to a computer that converts them into words spoken by a computerised voice.’

I so want one of these!

An interesting paragraph below from a Times story on Simon Mann’s upcoming TV interview to be aired in the UK.

Mann is a mercenary in prison in Equitorial Guinea on charges of an attempted coup. He has apparently done an interview from prison where he names the high-ranking British business people (including Sir Mark Thatcher, son of former British PM Maggie Thatcher) and, perhaps, politicians, who supported the attempted coup.

Two interesting things here:

1. The below paragraph indicates that Scotland Yard dropped their investigation of the coup after the London bombings. Note to self: if the cops are ever getting too close to my illegal activities, activate some of the fundamentalist patsies I have on standby to distract the authorities’ attention until I can shred the evidence.

2. Mann’s wife has been trying to stop the interview from going to air, even though his captors have indicated that they may show him leniency on account of the interview. Why would she do that? Who is she trying to protect – and why?

Le Monde Online order confirmation

Originally uploaded by cameronreilly