The Cambias Digression

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

  • Notes on Worldbuilding, Part 17: Aliens!

    We've finally arrived at discussing actual intelligent extraterrestrial beings. I'm going to come at this concept from two directions in separate posts. This entry will discuss the science of alien beings — what they might be like, based on all the previous worldbuilding entries in this series. My next entry will look at aliens from…

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  • Boskone 61!

    On February 9-11 I'll be at the fabulous Westin Waterfront hotel in Boston for the 61st BOSKONE! The venerable New England convention is back again and I'll be part of it. Come on down and see some of the best writers in the U.S. talking about science fiction. And me. Here's my schedule:   Friday,…

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  • There Is No Fermi Paradox

    The famous Fermi Paradox is one of the central concerns of research on the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence (SETI). Just to summarize quickly: we know of no good reason why technological civilizations can't emerge on other worlds in our Galaxy, but we see no signs of any. Paradox! "Where is everybody?" Enrico Fermi asked plaintively.…

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  • Notes on Worldbuilding Part 16: Alien Reproduction

    All living things reproduce. Organisms on Earth have evolved a dizzying array of reproductive habits and anatomy. I'm just going to look at the very basics in this post, and next time we'll look at how reproduction might affect the mentality and society of alien beings. Strategies: Biologists have identified two basic reproductive "strategies" for…

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  • The Zoo Hypothesis: Objections

    Recently the magisterial Centauri Dreams 'blog ran a post by Paul Gilster about the "Copernican Principle" and how it conflicts with the observed facts about life in the Universe. (Short version: the Copernican Principle says Earth should be an average world, but if that's the case, why don't we see more signs of life elsewhere?…

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  • Why I Didn’t Do It This Year

    Long-time readers of this blog (all three of you) may remember that in December I usually include a link to one of my favorite Web sites: the NORAD Santa Tracker. Why didn't I run it? Blame the Task & Purpose blog, a very interesting Web zine about military matters. This December they ran a very entertaining…

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  • Christmas Dinner Bragging

    The menu for this year's Christmas dinner (with photos when I remembered to take them): Smoked Whitefish    Pickled Herring in Sour Cream    Vermont Camembert Cremant de Loire Prosciutto-Wrapped Shrimp Braised Beef Brisket    Sauteed Potatoes    Roasted Brussels Sprouts Medoc Poached Salmon    Mixed Green Salad Christmas Pudding    Ice Cream

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  • Notes on Time Travel Stories

    Time travel has been a fixture of science fiction ever since a young Englishman named H.G. Wells wrote his first novel, The Time Machine. Wells wasn't the first person to write about time jumps — Mark Twain did it in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court — but before Wells it was always treated…

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  • PhilCon 2023!

    Once again I'm heading south to Cherry Hill, New Jersey, for the venerable PhilCon, the Philadelphia region's long-running science fiction convention. Naturally, I'm not just going as a paying attendee, but as a participant. Here's my schedule, and if you happen to be in southern New Jersey this weekend, swing by! Friday, November 17, 6:00…

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  • Some Notes on Alignment

    Get your tires rotated every six months. Oh, wait: I mean Dungeons & Dragons alignments. We all know the famous three-by-three grid, right? You've got Lawful Good in the upper left, with Lawful Neutral below it and Lawful Evil at the bottom. The middle column has Neutral Good at the top, True Neutral in the…

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