Teresa Nielsen Hayden got trolled by someone who decided that because she is an editor, she isn't allowed to call out idiots who behave idiotically. The troll took the form of a series of accusations, guilt-trips and high-minded moralizing, and Teresa has, in her inimical style, pulled it apart and exposed it for the steaming pile of irredeemable bullshit that it is. I'm going to print this one out and stick it over my desk, once I have a desk again.

I hate crap like this. I’m just an editor. I work on books. Sometimes I buy them. That’s all.

When you see them cherishing this bizarre belief that you’re some hugely powerful figure who can’t be hurt (which in their minds invariably turns out to also mean that the jerk who in reality is going after your shins with steel-toed boots is actually a tiny fragile creature in danger of being horribly oppressed by you), you know the person you’re dealing with is operating in the Dream Time. This particular psychodrama is about him feeling like he doesn’t have enough power, which usually means he either thinks I’ve stolen his away, or that I simply have too much and will imminently squash him like the insect he is.

Cripes. Don’t I just wish.

Link

These guys are selling a coin-operated WiFi access point. Apparently, this isn't a joke.

He/She inserts coins to the specific amount and the unit will enable the network port of the wireless AP. He/She will be able to access the Internet for a specific time (controlled by the timer builtin the unit).

Link (via WiFiNetNews)

Now Magazine, Toronto's free entertainment weekly, has a great cover story on me this week, with a review of Eastern Standard Tribe.

A reminder: I've got two signings coming up in Toronto this week. The first is tomorrow night, at the Merril Collection, 239 College, third floor, 7 pm, 416-393-7748.

The second is on March 27, at Bakka Books, 598 Yonge at Wellesley, 3 to 5 pm. 416-963-9993.

(Some minor errata: My thesis was about fringe culture and the Internet; I got a job programming, not advertising, CDROMs; and the entertainment industry is worth $60 billion, not million; I was considered the best writer in my school workshops, not my professional ones) Link

Sensors under the chin can "hear" the silent words conveyed from the brain to the voicebox, before they're uttered.

"A person using the subvocal system thinks of phrases and talks to himself so quietly it cannot be heard, but the tongue and vocal cords do receive speech signals from the brain," said developer Chuck Jorgensen, of NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California.

Jorgensen's team found that sensors under the chin and one each side of the Adam's apple pick up the brain's commands to the speech organs, allowing the subauditory, or "silent speech" to be captured.

Link (Thanks, Rob!)

As is traditional, Bruce Sterling finished out this year's SXSW interactive festival by throwing an open-door party, with 600 in attendance. He's posted photos of the (surprisingly tidy) aftermath.

The cops showed up. There was no dancing or loud music. Those were human beings *TALKING SO LOUDLY*that they could be heard as a steady dull roar two blocks away. We've had SXSW parties here, every year, but we never set off the cop-ometer before.I had to hustle all the guests inside and shut the doors, whereupon the party immediately became MUCH LOUDER.

Link

Here's some pretty teh s3xy new vaporware rumors about upcoming Apple products: first, a fourth-gen iPod with "max capacity of 50GB of storage, 2 inch color LCDs, video out, photo display capabilities, and revised (Mini-like) navigation wheel" and an Aluminium Display "with monitor feet resembling the PowerMac G5 handles."

Every year for the past 11 years Sir Terence Conran "has sent a notable figure from the world of design on a 30,000 pound ($54,000) shopping spree." This year 33-year-old English designer, sculptor and architect Thomas Heatherwick was given US$54 thousand dollars to buy "things [he'd] like to live with." His purchases of offbeat objects are on display at London's Design Museum. I wonder if he gets to keep the stuff? (Shown here: a welders mask from Hoodlum Welding Gear)

Upstairs on a recent afternoon, people strolled past aisles of individually lighted boxes containing such items as a life-size glass "wine rifle" and a "rum sword" loaded with their namesakes. Christian chewing gum with a prayer on every wrapper. Edible peanut-shaped packing material. A urinal with a sink where the water tank usually is. A biodegradable papier mache coffin. Japanese eyelid glue. Oven mitts for Kosher Jews. A compass for pointing praying Muslims toward Mecca. Yorkshire tea made for London hard water. An organ donor T-shirt.

LinkNick Douglas sez: I found out where Heatherwick's items will go. A 2002 Independent article says this: "Every year, Sir Terence Conran chooses a guest curator to spend £30,000 on 'things you'd like to live with' to be exhibited at the Design Museum, London. These items become part of the Conran Foundation Collection, which conserves and records the cream of 20th and 21st-century design." 

Bathroom Mania offers designer bathroom utilities -- flower pot toilet complete with singing birdie, hammock bath, beach cabin shower, and more. A recent Virgin Atlantic press release says their new clubhouse at JFK airport now includes the "Kisses" urinal. Update: BoingBoing reader Eric says, "The designer of the "kiss" (urinal in shape of a mouth) might have a problem: the mouth-shaped urinal has already been patented. This link takes you directly to the patent at the USPTO."
Link (Thanks, travis! Also seen on J-Walk)

After reading about Safety Technology's combination voice-changer/background-noise gadget that connects to your phone (reviewed in Wired's must-read Gadget Lab newsletter), I looked at some of the other things that Safety Technology sells. The Stunner, a pepper spray ring, looks like a great way to accidentally blast yourself or your friend in the face with a searing dose of capsaicin (the chemical that makes peppers hot). They also sell a stun gun designed to look like a cell phone (not the false-rumor Nokia stun gun that made the blog rounds a couple of weeks ago).

Wired Magazine's anual Rave Awards took place on Monday night at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Robodominatrix and former BB guestblogger Karen Marcelo of SRL accompanied me. It was a terrific event. The Rapture played a tight set. The catering was awesome, particularly the organic greens as you can see from Karen's snapshot here (full size). USA Today has this article about who won what. Two of the awards that brought the biggest smile to my grass-grazing face: Scott Heiferman and Joe Trippi were honored for Meetup, as was Bram for Bittorrent. Here is the final list of winners. Maybe they'll give me something next year for my forthcoming adult bovine blog publishing venture, www.XXXRuminants.com (thanks, Jonno).

Toshiba Corp. landed a Guinness World Record for their new .85-inch hard drive with a four gigabyte storage capacity. (Toshiba's 1.8 inch drives are inside the iPod.) "Toshiba's innovation means that I could soon hold more information in my watch than I could on my desktop computer just a few years ago," David Hawksett, science and technology editor at Guinness World Records, told Reuters. Link

Heath Row has posted his near-verbatim transcript extensive notes on Jonathan Abrams's Friendster keynote at SXSW:

It's an illusion to think that you can manage different personas for different people's access, but we are working on more privacy so different people can see different information. I talked our director of community for some interesting stories. We've had people accidentally delete a friend from their friend's list, and their friends apply peer pressure to add them back to their list. Then they email us and ask us to undo the deletion. If they added them again, they'd get an invitation, which would highlight the deletion in the first place. In the real world, people do get snubbed. We've tried to build Friendster so it mirrors real life, so it has some of the challenges of real life.

Link

This Hello Kitty USB hub "will talk with you along with the input motion of the keyboard (moves both arms and head)" -- English and Japanese versions available. Link (via Kottke)

Last summer, Vermont driver Mark Zielinski crossed his van into oncoming traffic and killed another motorist. In a hearing to dismiss the charge against Zielinski, his defense attorney attempted to argue that there was no way of knowing whether Zielenski swerved to avoid an obstacle in the road, a moose or possibly even a bigfoot. Apparently, several sasquatch had been sighted in the vicinity. The judge wasn't having it though. Link

Allso at CeBit: Sony will announce what it describes as the world's first "personalized radio" service for mobile phones. Users can customize playlists to their own tastes, and listen via cellphone.

The Japanese electronics, film and music giant also unveiled the European version of its Internet music store Connect, aiming to beat Apple's iTunes Music Store to the European market, while relaxing restrictive usage rules of its SonicStage player which no longer limits the number of copies per song.

Link (Thanks, Hal)

Ben Charny at CNET reports that Time Warner is said to have begun complying with a federal law that requires telecom providers to help police conduct electronic surveillance:

Time Warner Cable is the first cable company to begin trying to adhere to the Communications Assistance For Law Enforcement Act, the source said. Cable companies are not yet required to comply with the 1994 wiretap law, but they see the writing on the wall.

Link to CNET story. More updates on federal wiretapping activity in a March 13 WaPo article here. (Thanks, Steve)

The next edition of the classic Swiss Army Knife will feature a built-in USB key. The wired knife is one of many novelties scheduled to debut at CeBIT in Hannover, Germany from March 18-24.
Link (Thanks, Jean-luc, also spotted on Engadget)

Fleshbot says:

Given the venerable historical associations between computer hacking and porn (er, pr0n), this seems like a natural: "HaXXXor combines computer hacking with porn for the first time on one DVD ... Armed with real girls showing all of their hardware!"

HaXXXor - Naked Chicks Teach You To Hack

Paul Lucas creates his surrealistic images using a combination of sculpture, photography, drawing and collage. Link (via Cipango)

Before Mel Gibson's Vanity Project, there was Jack Chick, the clown prince of loony religious nuttery, author of countless comic-book tracts advising on the danger of Catholicism, Freemasonry, Dungeons and Dragons and Hallowe'en. Now, Chick has released his own vanity project, an utlra-violent DVD celebrating his unique spin on matters Biblical.

Cut to present day when a narrator informs us that "the whole world is filled with liars, thieves and fornicators" with the forced-sounding awe of the voiceover for a Christmas-themed McDonald’s commercial. This section is called "This was your life" and is based on the Chick tract of the same name. It tells the story of a man who thought he lived a decent life, but finds himself condemned for eternity to hell.

But what a hell it is! It’s a feast of explosions of blood, cross-species monsters, huge dragon snakes and great, glowing orange eyes. Jack T. Chick LLC really gets off on gore, pain and blood. Later in the movie, Jesus’ face looks like a bloody stump when the Roman guard spits on him.

Link (via JWZ)

Caines sez, "Coaster Dynamix is taking pre-orders ($499.00) for a kick-ass roller coaster model kit. The coaster kit has an electric lift-hill and an inverted train. They attached a camera to the train and included this footage in the video that is on the site." Link (Thanks, Caines!)