My write-up about this year's SXSWi is on Popular Mechanics' website now, should you care to see what I was up to last weekend between parties. (Actually, it's a testament to how much I enjoy SXSWi panels that I tend to turn in early, despite Austin's inherent propensity for all-night ridiculousness.)

I'd like to take a moment to talk about one panel in particular, since I ended up getting more involved in it that I expected. Here was how I described it in my PopMech thing:

One of the last talks I attended asked, "Where Are the Black Tech Bloggers?" Some suggested that programming and design have become more economically favorable of late—and thus more and more attractive compared to, say, the doctors and lawyers of the world. And while no quorum was reached per se, the sharp panelists, including Newsweek's brilliant games and technology writer N'Gai Croal, made it clear that despite whatever barriers may impede the black community from engaging in the world of technology, lack of ability is not one of them.

An additional point was removed in the edit process, in which I had pointed out that the first generation of black people who went to college probably had strong external pressure from their parents to go after traditionally lucrative careers instead of more creative, financially risky positions. Or at least that's what the panelists guessed. Not a big omission, just an interesting aspect that is probably endemic to all cultural groups that are sending their best and brightest to college for the first time.

My self-quote above, while safely twee, more-or-less sums up how I feel about it: there are tons of overarching cultural issues that have come into play to prevent or retard the addition of black people to our relatively cloistered world of tech punditry, but the only thing those of us who are part of the white, male majority can do in the immediate space is to just make sure that the best work rises to the top regardless of the race or gender of its creator while not discounting discussion of "black" issues as being unnecessarily or uncomfortably niche—especially if they overlap with subjects that we're all otherwise interested in, like games and gadgets.

Does that make sense? In short, I love working out my perceptions and opinions about race and our shared history, because sometimes I uncover some latent racism that I didn't know I was dealing with and sometimes I discover I've been too timid about sharing my opinions out of fear of the label of racism. Discussion is part of the way forward.

So to answer the question here is a small sampling of some of the black tech bloggers out there, pulled from panel host Lynne D. Johnson's page.

The panelists, :

Angela Benton - BlackWeb2.0
N'Gai Croal - Level Up
Darla Mack - Darla Mack: Days In The Life of a Mobile Diva
Ronald Lewis - 24/7 with Ronald Lewis
Lena West - Social Media 360 and TechForward
Craig Nulan - Subrealism: Liminal Perspectives on Consensus Reality

Another list of black tech bloggers from Lynne:Blackhacker
Bwana.org
Dare Obasanjo aka Carnage4Life
jeepbastard: Entertainment Technology
MARS Magazine
Media Mafia Think Tank
The Meshverse Journal
The Michael Hurdle Show
NerdwithSwag.com
Nigga Know Technology [Okay, I perused this one because of the URL and I can safely report that the blogger thinks it's okay to call people "faggots" and asian girls "sleepyheads, them oriental, them horizontal pussy having Gochi Gochi Yagatochi bitches." The lesson? Anyone can be an asshole! Which, you know, duh. – Joel]
Rochelle Robinson
Roney Smith
Teradome
Terry White's Tech Blog
tiffany b. brown
Wisdump
w4 network

And who could forget Gearlive's Andru Edwards?

Beyond that, black tech bloggers, what should the rest of us do, if anything? That's something we didn't really get time to talk about at SXSWi.

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at these 1929 plans for tiny cars that are only 60" long and weigh roughly 600 pounds. Designed to be small and light enough to be loaded onto airplanes of the era these cars came in a shipping crate that also served as parking garage. At some point after the publication of this 1924 Popular Mechanic piece about vocational school training for workers, someone must have realized that making craftsmen wear neckties in a shop full of machines that spin and cut is a really bad idea. We also looked at a record breaking diesel car, an "ultra-modern" office from 1932 that is crammed with all sizes of microphones and speakers, a looping carnival ride, a marketing gimmick involving a 150 foot tall pile of tires and a brief article about the death defying tricks performed by aerial stunt men. I love the ghostly image of death used to imply that the fairly mild stunts shown are really, really dangerous.

I caught Jonathan Coulton at the Popular Science party in Austin last week at SXSWi, playing far-too-few of his well-known classics. I snapped these videos which, if I must be honest—and I don't have to be but I will—sound a bit shit. But for the JoCo completist they are essential. Three more videos after the jump; I've got a few more to upload later.

Above, "Still Alive," the closing theme to Portal. After the jump, "Skullcrusher Mountain," "Shop Vac," and "IKEA." Directly below, a sponsored mobile post widget from Microsoft.

This "Lungs" ashtray from designer Chi-Ja Ling would go great with my liver shot glasses. Sadly, it does not appear to be for sale. Guess I'll just keep my ashes and butts where I normally do: in my actual lungs.

Product Page [FindingCheska.com via Curbly via Core77]

Hungarian company "Rehab, Rt." is showing off this "Kenguru" concept vehicle for the wheelchair-bound. The back flips open and the operator pulls right inside, then putters down the highway using a joystick controller.

I speak Hungarian about as well as the next American, so I have no idea how far into production this concept might be, but I really like it, combining as it does both the efficiency of small cars and mobility for those who need it.

When I was a kid my parents managed a live-in assisted-living facility for mentally retarded and ill patients, so I spent much of my childhood wheeling people around, loading them into the backs of extended vans, and helping them get into bed. It was a lot of fun. I can say with no snark and only fond recollection of genial spirits that most mentally handicapped were great playmates for a young boy. Plus the state often bought them really expensive construction toys that they'd share with me.

It's also where I first learned to get poop stains off of drywall and how to staunch the flow of blood from an arterial knife wound before I was 10, but those are stories for another time. I mention it only to say: I find products and research to assist the disabled fascinating and if you ever run across interesting or clever inventions, definitely pass them along.

Product Page [RehabRt.hu via Remikz via Jalopnik]

P.S. I know that "retarded" and "disabled" may not be the preferred nomenclature these days, but having personally seen the labels for those affected change at least half a dozen times in my childhood alone, I just sort of go with what I consider to be the most direct and universal terms. I'm amenable to change, though, if you've got a better suggestion.

I wasn't entirely sure Pontiac was still around as a car company—and there's no way the original Spy Hunter car was a Pontiac—but hey, nice commercial! I look forward to more slightly obscure videogame references in car commercials, with Frogger shilling for Hummer and R/C Pro Am pushing the Honda Fit. [via Pontiac]

• Graphics Card – PNY xlr8 8800GT DDR3 Graphics Card for $160 after $40 MIR. I hate rebates, that that's a decent deal on the card in the first place. [Slickdeals]

• Subnotebook – Fujitsu LifeBook U810 Mini-Notebook PC for $850. [Dealhack]

• Laptop – Today's Woot! is a refurbished Gateway Core Duo Widescreen Notebook for $505, shipped.

Happy Pi Day!

"Hyena" is a new toolset/language for creating "AudioGameBooks," sort of a Choose Your Own Adventure audiobook that can be played with just a single button. Branching storylines are just one possibility for Hyena. "Lone Wolf - Flight from the Dark," the first game packaged with the Hyena download, has a simple RPG system built in with hit points, skills, weapons, and inventory, all controlled by clicks from the single button.

The game text is supposed to be read through a text-to-speech convertor but on my Nintendo DS (and DS-X flash cart), only the text appeared, which made the whole thing into a slightly clunky text adventure. (There are also Sony PSP and PC versions of Hyena.)

The concept is strong, although I must admit at first glance I thought it was supposed to be a prank. I quickly realized how engaging the single-click, audio-only concept could be with the right game mechanics and story. (No offense to the writers of Lone Wolf, but its generic monk-on-the-run theme didn't really entice me.) Playing a game while running or taking a walk could be a lot of fun. Now they just need a Hyena port to the iPod and other portable media devices.

HYENA - AUDIOGAME PLAYER [CollectingSmiles.com via Waxy]

It's a shock you don't see more steampunk LEGO, really, considering all the gears and cogs available from old Technic sets. This model, by "Morgan19," is called the "Dardenbahst," a mecha with custom-painted golden touches which just gets better the more I look at it. It's far more functional and possible-looking than most. He even made a nice schematic image which you can see at the link below.

The LEGO builder community just keeps getting better. I don't know if I'm just paying more attention lately or what, but we may be entering a renaissance.

The crazy steampunk machine [Brothers-Brick]

I've been trying to get a clear answer to that one for the last couple of years, but every time I ask Panasonic or Infocus about the high cost of replacement bulbs I get some mumbo-jumbo about the high tolerances or exotic materials that go inside—or more commonly no response at all.

It's been bugging me lately because my beloved Panasonic AE-900U is getting dim. (And has a wicked fan rattle, too, but that's probably both fixable and the fault of Porter's disgusting shedding, not a failure endemic to the model.) I priced out new bulbs and they're all about $300-400, depending on the source. What is a real pisser is that I could buy a used AE-900U on eBay for around the same price, making it clear that the only thing of real value inside a projector is a fresh, new bulb.

It's got to be a racket, right? I understand that those lamps need to throw out a ton of lumens, but even if they're filled with strange metals and inert gasses, hundreds of dollars for a bulb seems nutso to me. Then again, I'd feel a lot better about paying for a new bulb if I were wrong, so if you've got some science to drop on me I'd love to hear it.

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at this crazy contraption for transporting your dog. The general consensus of our commenters seems to be that a) the dog really needs some goggles, b) opening the driver's door would decapitate poor rover and c) WTF?!?!. In 1956 not only were there still lots of little local phone companies in the US, some of them were run by one person! We also looked at how Houdini performed his tricks, a machine for communicating with deaf and blind people, a pair of young kids who run their own newspaper and a radio picture frame. And remember folks, when it comes time to remodel your house, it's all about keeping ahead of the Jonses.

This "Red Hot Laser Light Show" is the standard Spencer's Gift sort of home laser show, but shows a commendable amount of zazzle in its flame-inspired plastic molding. I should hate it but I can't.

It's $25, plus shipping, from Scientifics Online. Who knew sciences had gotten so sport?

Catalog Page [ScientificsOnline.com via Oh Gizmo]

The "Life Clock," by Bertrand Planes, slows down the typical clock mechanism so that what is normally a minute hash now represent years. I'd put a battery in it, because I'd be terrified when if the power went out.

I'm unsure if this is a real art project—or rather, I'm unsure if the clock actually is slowed down 61320 times or if it has just been repainted.

Artist's Page [OnOffArt.fr via Szymon Blaszczyk via vvork via Technobob]

This prototype "Audeo" neckband by Ambient Corporation is capable of picking up nerve impulses sent to the vocal cords, which can then be machine-translated into speech. The processing delay is awfully slow right now, the vocabulary the computer understands is limited to about 150 words, and you have to wear a severe neck band full of sensors, but it all looks pretty fantastic to me. It'll be a while before we can have completely sub-vocal telephone conversations (and who wants to talk to a machine voice if you don't have to?) but I could see these being used as an ancillary input for a wide variety of devices, especially for the military.

Nerve-tapping neckband allows 'telepathic' chat [NewScientist.com via Gizmodo]

• Earbuds – JVC Marshmallow Soft Inner Ear Headphones for $11.49, shipped. About half price. [Slickdeals]

• Woman's Watch – Adidas Women's Midsize Fitness Digital Watch for $29, shipped. [Dealnews]

• All-In-One-Printer – Today's Woot! is a Kodak EasyShare 5100 All in One Printer, Scanner and Copier for $55, shipped.

Good morning, everybody!

In Bloomfield, New Jersey, just outside of Newark, there's a place where you can three seasons all from one viewpoint. I call it "Google Maps," which obviously had to slurp in satellite data taken at three distinctly different times.

Mother Nature's Own Snow White Pubic Landing Strip, Said Chicobangs [Maps.Google.com] (Thanks, Werty!)

What happens to the Tesla electric car's rather sizable lithium-ion battery pack? Treehugger reports that they are first handed off to reused in areas where a less-than-perfect pack can still be useful, like "off-grid backup or load leveling." And if they're too far gone to be reused, Tesla has contracted a company that shreds the batteries—that's part of what you see above—then separates the reusable metals.

Here's What Happens to a Tesla Electric Car Battery at the End of its Life [Treehugger.com]

Jalopnik is at a military systems show—yes, they have those, apparently—and was handed the controls to the 12-ton BAE Unmanned Combat Vehicle, a remotely controlled tank. Weapons systems were turned off for the demo, unfortunately.

A short video of the drive at the link. You know they wanted to take a smash into those parked cars.

Jalopnik Drives Real Live Tank By Remote Control, Can Now Die Happy [Jalopnik.com]

We finally had a chance to put the Krups Heineken BeerTender through a battery of rigorous tests, such as "Will it allow beer to escape its nozzle?" and "Hey, the beer is gone." If you perused the unboxing spread I put up last week you can probably guess my eventual purchasing advice, but let's just say that $300 is a lot of money for a tiny refrigerator that can only serve Heineken.

Also, we didn't labor it in the video, but the little sensor that shows you how much beer is left in the proprietary DraftKeg? You know, one of the only things that the BeerTender adds over a regular refrigerator? Totally did not work on ours.

Last week I mentioned my plans to spend a week in the woods while still continuing my full-time blogging and writing schedule. Looks like NBC Universal/DVICE thinks it's a good idea, too, since they're looking for someone to do it later next month.

Did they swipe the concept from me? Who cares! Now I just know I have to hit the woods the week before. Or what would be cool is if they chose to do it somewhere else besides the woods so we could contrast and compare the experiences.

From: Peter Pachal Date: March 11, 2008 4:03:35 PM CDT To: NBC Universal Subject: Green Week is coming! Time for one lucky blogger to get off the grid...

Hey guys,

Believe it or not, NBC Universal is doing another Green Week (begins Mon. 4/21, lasts a week), and this time out we want to do a stunt for DVICE. The working idea is to have someone try to live off the grid for a week, but stay hooked up.

Sound contradictory? Maybe, but the plan would be for the person to not get any power from a wall outlet — it would all have to come from renewable-powered gadgets (solar, wind, etc.). So they’d still have a cellphone, laptop, iPod, etc., but they’d get all the power for them from the sun, wind, and other green sources (compost?). We’re not sure if the person would live on a rooftop or the woods or whatever, but anything is possible, and the bigger the idea expands, the bigger the coverage (video, pics, blogging) — and the bigger the fee.

So I’m putting this out there: If you know of anyone who would jump at this opportunity (maybe that’s you), then by all means, send them the message and my contact info. We’d like to finalize this in the next couple of weeks. Feel free to forward to anyone who you think might be interested. Also, let me know if you have ideas for renewable-energy gadgets.

...Oh, and ideas for Green Week itself!

Thanks all,

Pete
--
Peter Pachal
Editor, DVICE
NBC Universal
http://dvice.com

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at this 1965 Time Magazine article about the impact of computers on society called "The Cybernated Generation" as well as a stratosphere airliner, a seventy-five year old cup of soup, amazing Manhattan penthouse apartments, a tour of Uncle Sam's new gold vault fortress and an interesting use of ping pong balls in aviation.

Among a mostly bullshit press release from Apple this morning about 100,000 copies of the iPhone SDK having made their way to developers' computers, perhaps the most important announcement in mobile gaming since Dope Wars was ported to my old Treo:

"Apple's become an important mobile game platform with the iPhone SDK," said Jason Kapalka, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer, PopCap. "The new SDK gives us the tools to innovate and reinvent games like Bejeweled, Zuma and Peggle. With the new App Store we can reach every iPhone and iPod touch user on the planet." [emphasis added]

Okay, maybe the most important mobile gaming announcement to me.

I'm actually curious to see if they change the Peggle playfields to the widescreen format of the iPhone or leave it 4:3 like all the previous versions. That will actually have some gameplay repercussions.

iPhone SDK Downloads Top 100,000 [Apple.com]

Previously • Peggle Comes to iPod; I Come Apart [BBG]
• Is the iPhone the Next Wii? [BBG]

If only the Saoirse Laptop Tote had backpack straps—I'd buy the $208 purple leather bag in an instant. While I like over-the-shoulder bags just fine, when I travel I pack entirely in a single bag. While backpacks may not be the most stylish choice, they're invaluable for keeping the spine in relatively good shape when humping a full bag around. I suppose I could try to sew some mounts into the bottom and attach them by clips to the handle straps on top, but I am lazy. And frankly, my black ballistic nylon bag from Gravis probably has a couple more years of life left in it anyway. I'm just a sucker for ornate leather bags, especially with complementary wallets that attach by D-ring.

The rest of the bags offered by J'Tote are actually rather nice, too. Too bad none of them convert to backpacks.

Catalog Page [JToteBags.com via Geeksugar]

The Korg DS-10 is a cartridge for the Nintendo DS that turns the portable game device into a synthesized MS-10 synthesizer, including two synth engines, a drum machine, and a 16-step sequencer. You can punch in controls with three different interfaces, including an on-screen keyboard. And while you can't link multiple DS-10s through MIDI or USB, the DS-10 does support controlling multiple DS running the software through a wireless interface.

It's Japan-only, but since the DS doesn't use a region lock on its cartridges, importing the 4,800-yen title should be no problem. In fact, I might try to grab a couple myself after the July release—they're sure to be a collector's item.

It's worth noting that this isn't an unofficial project; Korg actually sanctioned AQ Interactive to make the software.

Product Page [AQI.co.jp via Music Thing]

• Blu-ray Discs – Several titles are on sale at Amazon including the remastered version of The Fifth Element for $15. Also half-off on many classic movie DVDs. [Slickdeals]

• Rubber Stamp – Customized rubber stamp for $4, shipped. "FAIL." [Dealnews]

• Dyson Vac – Today's Woot! is the Dyson DC07 Cyclone Upright Vacuum Cleaner (refurbished) for $225, shipped.

These "WorkTunes" hearing-protection muffs from AO Safety have a built in AM/FM radio. It's like the headphone Walkmen Sports all over again, complete with black-and-yellow design. Listen to talk radio while you jackhammer.

You can pick up a pair of WorkTunes for around $60.

Groove To WorkTunes [Toolmonger]

As the taxi from JFK pulled up in front of my apartment I felt my iPhone vibrating in my pocket, but didn't answer it since I was trying to pay the cabbie. I walked inside, reached in my pocket to see who called, and realized I didn't have it. The damn thing vibrated itself out of my front jeans pocket.

I've reported it to the taxi company, but it's probably gone for good. In the meantime, if you need to reach me email is the best option. I can call you back out on Skype as necessary.

Now the question is: do I buy a refurb 8GB from Apple or do I get a cheapo phone and wait until the probable 3G iPhone release in June?

Update: My phone is apparently waiting for me at JFK. I am a lucky bastard. Not that I got my phone back, per se, but that I found two helpful, honest people: Ophelia at the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission, who tracked down my cabbie Mike, who in turn had the foresight to capture both the name and badge number of the Port Authority officer who did not turn in my phone to the Lost & Found until this morning.

The lesson, should you lose your gear in a NYC cab, is to make sure you have the cab number. It's easy when you come from an airport because it's on that little slip of paper they hand you, but otherwise you'd have to write it down when you got inside. But if I hadn't had that, Ophelia couldn't have tracked down Mike. Without him and the receipt he got from the officer who took his sweet time turning my phone in, I might have been out of luck.

I've got to make an appointment to go pick up my phone today. As soon as I get it, I think I need to send Ophelia some flowers. (And find something good for Mike.)

Today on Modern Mechanix we look at a cutely illustrated page of wanted inventions from Mechanix Illustrated. Pictured above is a proposed vibrator attachment for a power drill. We also looked at some early UAV's from 1956, a fotomat that dispenses nice metal framed pictures, an "ultra-modern limousine" designed for the movies, how they movie makers made the invisible man invisible and bizarre two man exercises you can do with a friend to prevent getting your ass kicked by a bigger guy.

"Suicide or Siberia seemed the only ways out for the “captive brains” in the secret research camp."

Find out what happened in the thrilling conclusion of "I was a Slave Scientist in Russia"

Today on Modern Mechanix we have some weird anthropomorphic taxidermy, the origin of motels, a mechanical brain that does differential equations, plans to air condition Chicago sidewalks, a crippled dog that walks using roller skates and the rather dangerous looking sport of Auto Ball.

This weekend we looked at Russia's aborted plans for the world's tallest building, an electric fan to cool boxers, learning swimming via telephone, a retractable awning to shade headlights, using smoke to visualize the proposed route of the Golden Gate bridge, queer jobs in the arctic, a radio antenna that straps under your car, and a new rotowing aircraft. We also learned about how sugar gives you endurance, a post-WWII plan for tooth banks that just creeps me out, nudism throughout the world and how gas stations rip you off in the "Gasoline Dope Racket".

UK game designer Luc Bernard is developing "Imagination is the Only Escape," a controversial game in which the protagonist is a young Jewish boy in Nazi-occupied France. The character imagines a fantasy world that is the setting for the platforming gameplay, while facts about the Holocaust are revealed on the DS's lower screen. Nintendo has issued a statement that they have no plans to publish the game, although it appears that they have yet to actually play the game, either.

Using such a deplorable moment in our history as fodder for a cutesy videogame is rocky ground, but it appears to me that Bernard is attempting to present the story tactfully. And profits, should the game get commercial release, are to be donated to a charity for Darfur.

I have personally seen a few instances of late where discussion of the Holocaust has been discouraged, the implication being that an event so despicable should be alluded to only in the most oblique way. This is wrong-headed, if understandable. Genocide continues to plague our planet to this day. The more we internalize the reality of humanity's terrible potential while speaking frankly and openly of it, the less likely we are to repeat the mistakes of the recent past.

That said, chthonic cartoon Nazis may veer too far toward caricature, dehumanizing the all-too-human people who chose to treat their fellow man as beasts. The most important lesson to be learned from the Holocaust is that the Nazis were not monsters, but human beings who made terrible, irredeemable mistakes.

That said, I believe that all art should be free to be itself and to take risks. I don't particularly desire to conflate the pleasurable experience of platform gaming with memories of our species failures, but that discordance may end up making Imagination is the Only Escape's message all that more resonant.

No Game About Nazis for Nintendo [NYTimes.com via Kotaku (Who also has more follow up with Bernard.)]