What I actually need is a hands-free computer. Due to a recent shoulder injury, I’ve been using the voice interface to Mac OS X to relieve some of the strain of typing and mousing. Being able to “page down” with a voice comand is a real pain-saver. Now if I could only get a wireless, head-mounted display with an FM transmitter, I might be able to perform a lot of non-typing tasks (such as reading email, on-line research, etc.) without being physically constrained by the location and form of the stationary, digit-driven machine.

A mathie by training, I’m not “electronically-inclined”–in other words, I’m not even a novice hardware hacker. Fortunately, I have several friends who can make circuit boards sit up and beg. One used to work for Steve Mann, the poster-boy for cyborgs. Another hacks hardware to make art. I wonder how many pitchers I’ll have to buy them both to convince them to help me with this project? “Barkeep!”