The Cambias Digression

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

  • LoneStarCon 3, Featuring ME!!

    I got my final schedule of events for LoneStarCon 3, this summer's World Science Fiction Convention held in lovely, blistering-hot San Antonio from August 29 to September 2. They've definitely found some ways to keep me busy. Here's where to find me:  Autographing: Steve Brust, James L. Cambias, Gini Koch, Jay Lake (Friday, August 30,…

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  • RIP Kepler

    Well, it's official: the Kepler planet-finding telescope is out of business. Its attitude control wheels aren't working with the precision needed to keep the spacecraft aimed properly, so it's no longer capable of looking for planets beyond the Solar System. It's still a functional telescope, and NASA's now shopping around looking for a new mission.…

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  • Belloq’s Obsession

    Recently I was listening to the soundtrack for Raiders of the Lost Ark and talking about the movie with my kids when I had a thought. Just after Indy's epic fistfight with the Giant Bald Guy at the airplane, the movie cuts away to a reaction by Indiana Jones's villainous rival Belloq. Belloq sees something…

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  • The Perpetual Tourist

    I recently got back from a trip, and of course there were lots of mundane errands to run as soon as I got home. The usual stuff — buying things, dropping kids off, mailing things, banking, all the business of middle-class life. But I found myself experiencing a sort of psychic jet-lag, as though my…

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  • 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 Worldbuilding Index