Now how’s this for old-school science fiction sensawunda: solar-powered ‘Solid State’ planes that fly by flapping their wings like a bird. Granted, they’re just a concept on an NIAC drawing board at the moment, but it’s pretty awesome to think that something like that could be considered plausible from an engineering perspective. [Gizmodo]

Pretty much everything we do in the real world gets mirrored in the metaverse, too. Even there, a person can set himself up as a spiritual guru, gather an interdenominational group of devotees around him, and then fall from grace by asking awkward questions. A fascinating story in its own right, and one of the best examples of Second Life journalism I’ve seen so far.

OK, here’s a challenge – think of five tasks you might build a robot to accomplish.

Done?

Right. I’ve got five British Pounds Sterling right here that says you didn’t include ‘giving promotional presentations about vinegar‘ in your list.

Ideal for the ecologically-minded person who’s always enjoyed Easy Rider but isn’t so keen on the loud noise and strong smells of a real hog, The Stealth is a totally electric-powered motorcycle for city use. You can use the money you’ll save through not having to pay for gasoline to pay for the hospital bills after you pull up next to a group of proper bikers …

I think it’s fair to assume that most of you who read Futurismic are interested in reading science fiction writing. So it’s not a great leap to conclude that a good percentage of you may be interested in reading writing about science fiction writing, too – and those people might want to check out the newly launched Scalpel Magazine, devoted to quality reviews and critical writing about genre fiction. The first batch of work includes an editorial from Pat Cadigan and an interview with Charlie Stross … and, best of all, absolutely nothing from Harriet Klausner.