The Cambias Digression

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

  • Real Steampunk Airships, Part 1: Balloons!

    This little blog series is based on a talk I gave on August 18, 2012, at Pi-Con in Enfield, Connecticut. About a dozen people showed up, which was very gratifying, and I think all of us had a good time. Airships are the signature technology of steampunk and alternate-history stories. If you look up in…

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  • Radical Evolution, by Joel Garreau

    (I've also posted this on Goodreads.) Radical Evolution is a look at how rapid and fundamental advances in technology could produce enormous changes in human life and even in what we define as "human" in a relatively short time. It's by Joel Garreau, a Washington Post writer who wrote two books I enjoyed immensely: The…

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  • Guest Blogger: Sarah Hoyt!

    Today I'm proud to introduce the first guest post on this blog, by the redoubtable Sarah Hoyt (who normally blogs at According to Hoyt). Riffing off my blog title, she tells us what sorts of things she says when it's just the caffeine talking, and her new book: It’s Just the Caffeine Talking About two…

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  • A Dwindling Resource

    Look at today's date. It's October 11, 2012. So if you're writing a check or dating a homework assignment, it's "10/11/12." (Unless you're a European, in which case you are doing it wrong.) Mildly amusing, yes? The numbers are in sequence. What you probably don't know is that time is running out on that particular…

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  • The Thrill Is Gone

    I just bought a new computer — which is one reason it's been so long since my last 'blog post. Usually I buy a new computer when the old one breaks, but this time I decided to replace the old one while it's still functional. So now I have a spiffy new MacBook. And I'm…

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  • Tolkien, Kipling, Lewis, and Wells

    I recently received, as a birthday present from my talented wife, a copy of the 1909 edition of Rudyard Kipling's "With the Night Mail: A Story of 2000 A.D." If you aren't familiar with the story, it's a fascinating — and amazingly prescient — work of early science fiction by one of the English language's…

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  • How I Did It #11: “The Barbary Shore”

    I love writing to an assigned theme. One of my longest-held beliefs about writing is that constraints improve one's creativity. There's something awfully daunting about a blank screen and the knowledge that you can write absolutely anything. It can cause creative paralysis, or a lot of abortive starts. But put down some boundaries and the…

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  • Thoughts on Dyson Spheres

    One of the more interesting panels I attended at Chicon was the one about Dyson spheres. (I know what you're thinking: how long is this guy going to keep gassing about some convention he went to last month?) I learned some new things and it made me think in some new directions. Let me share…

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  • Chicon 7: After-Action Report

    Overall, the convention was a lot of fun. The whole family had a good time. I would like to give particular praise to the organizers of the childrens' programming track. Instead of just "day care" or "babysitting" they approached it like any other part of the convention activities: "what are some things we can do…

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  • Chicon 7: The Final Chapter

    On Sunday I ferried Agent X down to the extremely well-run ChiKids program area for Doctor Who Lego building, Jedi costumes, and steampunk Nerf guns. Agent X had a great time at Chicon. I spent the same period watching a panel on screenwriting by Michael Cassutt, Melinda Snodgrass, and the alarmingly overqualified Dr. Harry Kloor.…

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