The Mag-Wind vertical magnetically levitating turbine is almost pretty. Almost. But I could forgive a minor offense against aesthetics if their almost-too-good-to-be-true statistics are right: 1100kWh per month in a 13 mph average wind, at 3.5 cents per kW. [treehugger]

I know as someone with an abiding interest in the future I should get right with biotech. But I gotta say, some things make me squeamish, like for example neurons trained to grow into biological extension cords for the nervous system. [geekpress]

Outside of the realm of science fiction, the notion of colonising Mars has always been considered more than a little impractical due to the huge time scales involved. Robert Zubrin of the Mars Society begs to differ, however, and suggests that it might be possible to terraform Mars to a point where it has a breathable atmosphere within a mere thousand years, as opposed to the tens of thousands usually cited. All that climate science is proving to have some ancillary uses after all!

The New Scientist points out the the anti-satellite weapon the Chinese launched into orbit is easy enough to build any country can do it. Space effectively has just become militarized.

There was a bit of a stir a while back about an odd-looking boat seen at a marina in Seattle. The Proteus (as it’s called) has now been officially revealed draws less than a foot, has a top speed of 60 knots and a range of 5,000 miles, and suspends it’s cabins on springs to for stability in rough seas. [geekpress]