Yeah, I know, I’m preaching to the converted here. But even so, you should all go and read Centauri Dreams making the case for space exploration as a logical extension of scientific endeavour. And while you’re in the mood, Al Globus at Space.com has an essay commending orbital habitats over lunar and planetary bases that is very reminiscent of my essay here a while back …

Looking for fresh markets for your burgeoning fiction career? Perhaps you write stuff that isn’t quite science fiction in the sense that we like it here at Futurismic. If you like the idea of the clockpunk movement (think steampunk, but set further back), the bloggers at Da Vinci Automata are thinking of putting a Creative Commons anthology together, and would like your submission. Meanwhile, Brass Goggles passes the word that old-school pulp and weird tales fiction mag The Willows is looking for new material too. So get writing, already!

So, you’re cruising the Sprawl with your cyberdeck, looking for a node through which to jack into the Net. Only Bill Gibson’s neural interfaces aren’t quite street level technology yet, worse luck. So the only sensible answer for any self-respecting hip-hacker type is to build a device that allows you to sense wi-fi networks by touch – because dropping into every coffee shop you pass and just asking would be way too 20th Century. [BoingBoing]

The ‘water on Mars’ question has been current since before I was born, and hence I might be forgiven for a little skepticism when anyone comes out with a definitive answer either way. Technology, however, I trust slightly more – so I’m tentatively stoked to hear that the Mars Express probe has sent back results suggesting there’s enough ice at the Martian South Pole to cover the whole planet ten meters deep if it melted.

General consensus seems to be that our planet is in trouble, even if we’re still arguing over the cause (which is a bit like asking who left the gas on while your house burns down). But we’re starting to look at ways of fixing the problems – and scientists are starting to consider science fictional technologies as potential tools in these efforts. Man-made volcano, anyone? [Advanced Nanotechnology]