File this in the "overheard at a dinner party but may actually be true" category. Nokia’s chief designer, Alastair Curtis, was at one such dinner party chomping on foie gras and sipping wine when he he was asked why Nokia’s N-series of multimedia devices have yet to receive the multi-touch treatment. Curtis responded with "We’ve not launched what we think is right for N-series in a touch product. You’ll see in the coming months, years… what we feel is right." He then proceeded to make a series of hand gestures meant to suggest a Wii-like interface for the N-series.

This could have been chalked up to some rowdy dinner guests, but a patent for a similar device was just found online. It looks like Nokia may have something up their sleeves after all. It’s a good thing Alastair Curtis hasn’t been gifted with sensitive national secrets. He gets loose lipped after a glass of Pinot or two.

Below is a speculative video of how one such device could work:

Apple has added another bizarre patent to it’s collection; a head-mounting display with head-tracking technology. The unit would be intended to reduce viewer fatigue and disorientation by simulating a theater or other viewing environment. The wearer of the VR device could pick a seat in the fake theater and be bale to manipulate an image, zoom in and out, and look around using a built-in accelerometer and gyroscope. The whole thing comes packed in to a pair of goggles you can see a patent design for above. No word on when and if they plan on bringing this thing into the real world. Shades of Wii, only nuttier.

Sony Computer Entertainment America recently filed for a patent detailing a break-apart DualShock 3 controller that recognizes 3D inputs. Rumors had been swirling since June that the company was working on something of this kind, to combat the success of the Wii and their infrared-enabled remote control. The patent dictates that the gamepad would consist of two connectable pieces that would each utilize an "ultrasonic tracking system." The controllers would link up to a game console or peripheral of some kind that has yet to be patented. The tech at play here also seems to differ significantly from the Wii so a lawsuit should not be a problem. Obviously, no word on a release date or even exactly what it is yet.

Doctors report that they are seeing more and more deafness and among younger people thanks to our headphones and earbuds.

Now Apple will be turning down the volume for you. There is a new patent application for software that will keep of the volume and time duration and will turn it down if it determines that you could be damaging your ears.

Is this playing with fire – or in this case, a killer wind?

It even has a patent number – Louis Michaud’s US 2004/0112055 A1 and is called an “Atmospheric Vortex Engine.” Basically, Michaud thinks he can control a tornado! They want to create a vortex and hold it in one spot to harness the energy that is produced when “heat is carried upward by convection in the atmosphere.”

“The unit cost of electrical energy produced with an AVE could be half the cost of the next most economical alternative.”

A commercial plant would need to be between 200 and 400 meters in diameter at a cost of $60 million.

I live in Tornado Alley, so I am not too thrilled with this one.