2025: The Year of Wearable Tech

I made a vow back in January that 2025 would be the year of wearable tech. In between outstays and awaiting the Great Escape, I would strive to order, purchase and then wear a number of hightech items, and incorporate them into my daily life. On top of that, I would also need to get a few food deliveries too, from the Canned Company or Snack Affair, and somehow find time to run an advertising campaign for First Contact.

As the year comes to a close, I can report that I have not only met my goals, but exceeded them. I managed to cook spicy memraku ramen from Japan, some of the even spicier instant noodles from Nongshim, and savour exquisite tins of trout pâté enriched with port wine from Portugal. I also bought three items which could be considered wearable tech, which is to say, they are prostheses in various degrees of technicality. At least one of them was electronic!

As usual, I will unbox all the items that I received here, in the order that I acquired them.

Wearing the Muse headband, in the Halfway House Squared (Australia, 2025)

First cab off the rank were some Flare Audio ear plugs, which I ordered during my Toronto stay, and arrived at Robin's Nest in February or so (at a total cost of around AUS$95). These were not your typical disposable memory foam ear plugs mind you, but durable stuff indeed, capable of lasting for eternity, due to their titanium stems. I figure that I could use them staying in noisy hotels or at the Halfway House Squared when the lorikeets get too raucus, or the plumber is repairing the water tank. The only problem is that they are rather small, you could easily lose them as I almost did in the flash flood of May, when my flat was inundated (again). However, I can request replacement tips in the future if necessary, when they inevitably wear out.

Unboxing my new ear plugs with spare tips and a carry case, from Flare (Australia, 2025)

While the ear plugs could be called dampeners, Flare also sell amplifiers, which supposedly channel sounds more efficiently, in effect sending them directly into your inner ear. Products like Immerse could dramatically increase appreciation of music, either while worn under headphones or in an immersive environment like a concert or club. Imagine pairing them with a smart drug of some kind to make it even more magical! As with their other items, you can get free shipping for orders over US$65.

Happy for now with my ear plugs, my next goal was to procure spectacles, which might not be thought of as being hightech (although they are definitely polished works of technology). Since my eyesight started to falter a year or two ago, I have been forced to make do with generic reading glasses from the discount store, but they are not a viable longterm solution as they often don't fit properly, and break after a few months. As I was to discover, the pathway to obtaining proper prescription frames in Australia is to do an eyesight check at a company like OPSM or Spec Savers. I had an appointment with an optometrist at OPSM in April and within a week, my new glasses were ready for collection. They were the Versace Ve3350 model gilded with golden temples (the total cost was $388 plus insurance).

Versace porn, at the Halfway House Squared (Australia, 2025)

The final item which I had my heart set on was a Muse Headband, literally a type of digital third eye which can monitor your brain activity, detect REM sleep and act as a meditation coach. The Muse S Athena unit conceals within its slender frame a SmartSense EEG and PPG heart rate detector, and can somehow also determine your sleeping position using a gyroscope of some kind! The device connects via Bluetooth to the Muse app, which will dutifully chart your progress in cognitive recharge, brain oxygenation, and other metrics, and alert you in realtime if you go off-piste. If you subscribe to a premium account you can also browse literally hundreds of audio guides, including a guy reading Alice in Wonderland. Steady. As well as choice of soundscapes, you can select session length, and goal (creativity, breathwork, mind relaxtion, heart health, even fertility support.) In one program, drums on the audio feed mimic your pulse rate. Using the magic of biofeedback, you are encouraged to try slow your heart through breathing or conscious control. Curiously, the simple act of meditation has been shown to reduce grey matter in the amygdala, the structure which governs emotions like fear.

Muse headband, delivered by Partners in Logistics (Australia, 2025)

By compiling and cross-referencing charts of the myriad cascading alpha, beta, delta, theta and gamma waves, I could establish a baseline of my anxiety at various times, places and situations, and see how that evolves in the future. I could experiment with the effects caused by drinking alcohol or caffeine, or even exercise. I could take an electrical snapshot of a panic attack!

All up the headband and accompanying carry case and charging cable set me back AUS$906, although I did earn back 1133 Amex points from the transaction. They say you can save another 10% by signing up to Muse before ordering, but for some reason I didn't seem to receive any discount from doing that. Never mind.

Digital Third Eye glowing after I removed it from the box (Australia, 2025)

Further down the track, the possibilities are endless: smart watches, smart glasses from the likes of Halliday which combine sleek design with advanced technology, VR headsets connected to Roblox or Google Streetview, Vagus nerve stimulators. Robotic exoskeletens from China which could walk for me when my own limbs refuse to move. If they can carry me a few steps further on my mission around the world, then I will welcome them with open arms. I will welcome them with open legs. In short, I will welcome them with an open mind.