The Cambias Digression

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

  • Deep Thoughts on Stupid Movies

    Being a bunch of science fiction geeks, my family went to see the big-budget giant monster movie Pacific Rim this past weekend. Much fun was had.  But, as so often happens, I got to thinking afterward. Pacific Rim is a very stupid movie. The monsters are nonsensical, the giant robots are nonsensical, and the entire…

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  • The Barcelona Operation: Day 7 (and Afterthoughts)

    How long does it take to get a cab in Barcelona at 4:45 a.m. on a Sunday morning? Fifteen seconds. It's that kind of a town. Of course, that meant that we got to the airport absurdly early, giving us time to drink one last bottle of European Fanta (it's not as sweet, which actually…

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  • The Barcelona Operation, Day 6

    Over the years we've learned a useful trick for trip planning: leave an extra day. Having a free day means you have some time for overflow — if something's closed on the day you planned to see it, you can go in on the extra day; or if you find something you hadn't known about,…

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  • The Barcelona Operation, Day 5

    Again we breakfasted in our flat on croissants from the local bakery, accompanied by what I thougt was orange juice but turned out to be an orange-soy "health" blend with the chalky taste of Tang.  Once all of us were dressed and ready, we sortied toward the Museum of the History of Barcelona, located just…

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  • The Barcelona Operation, Day 4

    By Thursday we were getting into the rhythms of the neighborhood. I got up at 7 and went out to buy breakfast. Seven o'clock on a weekday in Barcelona (at least in the old section) is like 6 a.m. in an American city: a handful of early workers are going to their jobs, delivery trucks…

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  • The Barcelona Operation, Day 3

    We ventured into Barcelona's Metro system for a trip to the park complex at Montjuic, at the southwest corner of the city. The subway is modern and efficient (though of course my sample size is very small). From the Metro we transferred to a cable car which runs up the side of Montjuic (it's actually…

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  • The Barcelona Operation, Day 2

    When we woke the air in the square below was full of swallows. Apparently they nest in the walls of the church and come out at dawn to snag bugs out of the air. We watched some of the neighbors playing with dogs down below. Barcelona has a lot of dogs, but no cats. I…

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  • The Barcelona Operation, Day 1

    Dr. Kelly had a science conference in Barcelona this summer, so the rest of us invited ourselves along. The plan was for the four of us to fly over together, spend a week being tourists, then the three non-scientists would come home together leaving her to devote her time to papers and networking during the…

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  • Movies I Want (Part 2)

    A while back I listed five classic science fiction novels that I'd like to see made into films. Here is a second list of five. I'm trying to limit myself to stories which could easily survive the Hollywood process and still retain some of their original appeal. • Ringworld, by Larry Niven. The story is…

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  • On Camping Out Indoors

    We got sick of the grubby linoleum, the decaying cabinets and counters, and the lack of a proper stove vent, so we're redoing the kitchen. Actually, that's not true: we're not doing much beyond writing checks. A professional contractor and various skilled subcontractors are redoing the kitchen. When they're finished (in another couple of weeks,…

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The Worldbuilding Index