The Cambias Digression

Notes and thoughts on everything from what I had for breakfast to the fate of the Universe.

  • New Story at the Decameron Project

    Seven centuries ago, the Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio wrote a series of stories, presented as tales told by a group of travelers seeking refuge from the Black Death in a house near Florence. The tale-telling takes place over ten nights, giving the work it's title: The Decameron. In the present era, our plague isn't quite…

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  • Astronomical Notes

    The big stargazing news this spring is Comet ATLAS (it's in all caps because it's named for the acronym-titled instrument which discovered it, not the ancient Greek Titan). It's been getting some attention in the skywatching and pop-science press because it has been brightening much faster than expected as it has approached the Sun. Right…

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  • Big Podcast News!

    My short story "Treatment Option" will be the lead episode of the new DUST studios podcast series Flight 008, which releases tomorrow, March 25. You can listen to it here. There's even a nifty trailer video! This project began as a Web-based fiction collection, Seat 14C, which was part of an XPrize Foundation look at visions…

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  • Non-Political Coronavirus Post

    As an SF writer my thoughts naturally turn to the future. What will be the long-term effects of this pandemic? Telecommuting: This may be the tipping point for telecommuting and working from home. A lot of businesses have resisted the idea much longer than they should have — chiefly, I think, from a nagging sense…

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  • How Risky Is Your Gathering?

    In a time of alarm over virus transmission, how dangerous is a gathering of people? This post from Tyler Cowan's blog features a risk assessment calculator, giving the probability that someone at an event is carrying the Wuhan Coronavirus, based on the size of the event and the number of carriers nationwide. It's reassuring to…

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  • Hamiltonian Musings

    A couple of weeks ago the Crack Team launched an expedition to the distant isle of Manhattan. We toured the museum ship Intrepid, saw an exhibit of clockwork automata at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, ate some fancy food, and saw a matinee of Lin-Manuel Miranda's famous hip-hop musical Hamilton. Quick summary: it's good. Just…

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  • Very Sad News

    Freeman Dyson has died. He had a long, productive, and apparently happy life, so it's not really sad news for him. It's sad news for the rest of the species, which will have to get by without one of the modern era's foremost intellects. He was one of those scientists who are better science fiction…

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  • Signs of the Times

    Things I've seen in the past few days: • Disposable plastic gloves now get a listing on the supermarket aisle sign. • Big displays of disinfectant wipes at the front of multiple stores. • No dust masks at any hardware store. What have you noticed?

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  • On the Air!

    If you have enjoyed reading my posts about The Initiate here on my 'blog, you can venture into another medium! Listen to an interview with me about the book on the Baen Free Radio Hour podcast, linked here. 

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  • Initiate Events This Weekend!

    This weekend my promotion tour for my new novel The Initiate comes to its exciting finish with a double-header of bookstore events. This evening at 6:00 p.m. I'll be reading from the book and signing copies at the Lovecraft Arts & Sciences shop in Providence, Rhode Island. It's in the historic Providence Arcade, at 65…

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