The Cambias Digression

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

  • Poe’s Law of Tacos

    Recently my son and I were driving along the commercial strip on King Street in Northampton when he asked (as teenagers do) if we could pick up some food. One of us suggested tacos, so we pulled into the unnatural hybrid Taco Bell/Kentucky Fried Chicken store for a snack. On our way I joked that…

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  • The Ultimate Game World

    For more than a year now I've been running a Pathfinder roleplaying game campaign at my local game shop. The players seem to enjoy it, and so do I. Though I use the Pathfinder rules pretty much as published, one thing I do not use is the "official" Paizo Publishing game world, Golarion. I don't…

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  • Most Disturbing Thing You’ll See Today

    It's Carnival season again, which means it's King Cake season!  Which means it's King Cake Baby season!  I love my home town. Where else can one take pride in the "creepiest mascot" in pro sports? Here's a video made by the Pelicans which seems to glory in the unnerving nature of their mascot. Those eyes.…

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  • Random Historical Trivia

    Anyone who complains that the Electoral College used by the United States of America is too complicated should take a gander at the method employed by the Republic of Venice to select its Doges. Step 1: The Grand Council (sort of a House of Representatives, except that membership was by invitation rather than election) would…

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  • Nostalgie du Geek: Champions!

    The transition from high school to college is a big one for most people. You meet a whole new circle of friends. You live on your own for the first time. You probably try a lot of new things. It's a chance to "reinvent" yourself. And if you're a huge geek who plays roleplaying games, it…

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  • Retro-Review: Rogue Moon

    Imagine there was a novel which combined James Patrick Kelly's amazing short story "Think Like a Dinosaur" with Alastair Reynolds's brilliant novella Diamond Dogs. Imagine that novel was written in 1960 by a respected and influential science fiction author, editor, critic, and teacher with multiple Hugo and Nebula awards to his credit. Now imagine how…

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  • Going LIVE!

    I've finally dipped a toe into the waters of independent e-publishing. My e-chapbook "Outlaws and Aliens" is now live on Amazon! It's an affordably-priced little ebook containing two of my short stories — "The Alien Abduction" and "Object Three." The cover art is by Rob Caswell. You can buy it here. Makes a great way to…

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  • It’s Not Christmas Without NORAD

    Every year at this time I link to my favorite Christmas Web site: the Official NORAD Santa Tracker page. If you don't understand why this site is the sweetest, goofiest, and yet also the greatest embodiment of the Christmas spirit, you have the soul of a Krampus. And Krampus is not welcome in this airspace.…

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  • Kitchen Report: Timballo

    The Leopard, by Giuseppe di Lampedusa, is a landmark of Italian literature. There are many reasons to read it, but among others it contains some of the great dinner scenes in modern fiction. The meal in Chapter 2 begins with "monumental dishes of macaroni." But this isn't just a pile of pasta, oh no. Di…

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  • The Argument For Space

    I've always been a fan of space exploration, which means I've often gotten into arguments with people over the value of doing it. NASA (among others) spends a lot of its public-relations budget promoting the importance of exploring space, but I think they focus on the wrong things. On the NASA web page there's a…

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The Worldbuilding Index