Blink Once For Track 2

Now that Nike has joined forces with Apple to create the most ingenious distraction device in the running world - perfect for runs up steep hills, but not so perfect for crossing busy intersections - it was inevitable that another product would open our eyes to the possibilities of combining music listening with effortless operation. Say hello to the Temple Switch, an eyelid-operated remote control for the iPod. According to a Reuters report out of Tokyo, a graduate student named Kazuhiro Taniguchi has developed a device that uses sensors clipped onto a pair of sunglasses or headphones to detect the eyelids' movement and then relay the collected signal to an iPod. Taniguchi, who is apparently still enrolled in Osaka University's Graduate School of Engineering Science, told reporters via email that the user could wink strongly for one second with one eye to rewind, use the other eyelid to skip to the next song, or close both eyes to pause and play. Purportedly, the infrared sensors would be able to differentiate between a quick blink and intentional track skipping. No word yet on how all this winking has helped or hindered the inventor's dating prospects.
--Jason Kerkmans