Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with SF

Oh, the possibilities...

soleiluna — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 19:34:12 -0800

San Francisco Bay Area: Looking for new running routes/paths in the Bay Area again...but this time, I have a car! I got some great answers last time I asked about San Francisco running routes. Now I've found a new running partner and we have access to a car, which vastly expands our running possibilities to other parts of the Bay Area & places public transit does not reach.

Any suggestions for new ideas? We're looking for places within roughly a 45 minute drive of San Francisco. We're interested in everything from something like the Berkeley or Peninsula equivalent of Crissy Field to places like Sawyer Camp Trail (paved flat sort-of hiking path) to other paths in various suburbs. Routes in SF/Berkeley/elsewhere that are less obvious/not public-transit-accessible are also great.

Other criteria: we're looking mostly for routes between 5-14 miles. I'm much less hill-adverse I used to be, but moderate/easy/occasional hills are more our speed, rather than super-intense grade the entire time. Neither of us do trail running.

(Here's where I run already:
-Embarcadero/ATT Park/Fisherman's Wharf
-Powell/Embarcadero/Columbus/Montgomery loop
-the Wiggle/panhandle
-Golden Gate Park
-Ocean Beach/Great Highway
-Kezar track
-Crissy Field
-Lake Merced)

Thank you, hive mind!

I'm sure about the songs from under the sand.

ricochet biscuit — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 07:23:44 -0800

Again with the "identify this short story." Science fiction story I read at least ten years ago, in which the consciousness -- but not the body -- of a twentieth/twenty-first-century man is revived far into the future by -- I think -- aliens (or possibly our distant descendants). Told if not in the first person then at least from the point of view of the revived consciousness. They interview him for research purposes but he proves difficult or antagonistic or something, so they eventually just shut his sensory inputs off and leave him to go mad. By the end he is hallucinating that he is on a beach while songs are being chanted to him from beneath the green sands.

Dating in San Francisco : will the women here expect me to have a car?

Anonymous — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:46:55 -0800

Dating in San Francisco : will the women here expect me to have a car? I am a man who just moved to SF from NYC, and I plan on living in the city -- although I don't know which neighborhood yet. I lived in NYC for 6 years, and nobody there really has a car, so it wasn't expected. However, I know that SF is more car-oriented, so I'm wondering if being car-less will hinder my dating life.

I am considering getting a car anyway for recreational purposes, so this wouldn't be my only reason for getting a car. However, I can certainly live without a car, especially if it won't effect my dating life.

Please hold back on answering if you're going to respond with something like "You don't want to date a girl who expects you to have a car." That's not really helpful and doesn't answer my question. I also know that car ownership in the city can be a pain, so there's no need to go into that either.

Specifically, I would like to hear from men and women who live here or have lived here in the recent past. I would like to know what I'm in for, with as little sugar-coating as possible. Buying a car is a big decision, and I want to know as much as I can before I make this decision.

Also, I know there are various ZipCar / CityCar options. How is this seen in the dating world? Is it seen as a "he's too cheap to buy a car" option, an "it's perfectly fine" option, or an "it's perfectly fine, I guess, but why doesn't he have his own car?" option?

How to Teach the Seasons in San Francisco

one_bean — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 22:08:07 -0800

Good online resources (particularly videos) that explain the seasons of the San Francisco Bay Area?

No silly putty, please

signal — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 20:25:40 -0800

What are the most alien aliens in Comics, TV or Movie SF? I am looking for the least human-like depictions of aliens, in terms of anatomy, culture, art, architecture, technology, etc., that you've seen in a movie or tv show —animated or live action— or comic book?
Looking for significant alien roles, not some random muppet in the background of the Mos Eisley Cantina.

Name that SF story -- traffic jam edition.

escabeche — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:44:00 -0800

Identify a science fiction story about a giant, unfixable traffic jam. (spoilers inside.) Here's what I remember: story set in the near future. There's a massive traffic jam, I'm pretty sure in Los Angeles. The story takes place over the course of days and weeks as the residents of the jam find ways to fend for themselves. At some point there's a gag that the whole jam was started by a "little old lady from Pasadena." The story ends with helicopters or planes flying over the traffic jam, dumping wet cement on cars and people alike in order to form a new highway over the old. I would have read this in the very late 1970s or early 1980s, probably in OMNI, but possibly in an anthology. Any ideas?

SF to Portland Roadtrip

mrunderhill — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 00:21:39 -0800

Pacific Northwest Roadtrip: SF to Portland and back. 6 days. Which roads to take? Which towns and parks do we have to see? Your favorite spots along 1? We're interested in anything and everything. Thanks!

My affair with scifi is going through a rough patch

Brandon Blatcher — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 12:00:01 -0800

My visceral dislike of the movie District 9 combined with years of other sub par science fiction movies has pretty much killed any desire to see more films of the genre. Help me rekindle the flame. (Minor District 9spoilers inside) I was interested in seeing the movie anyway, but the reviews are what really got me excited about seeing it because the film was lauded with variations of "smart"and "original". While the premise was interesting, I thought the plot was a series of ridiculous situations framed by groan worthy clichés and populated by silly and/or stock characters. This movie felt like another in a long series of disappointing scifi movies, where potentially interesting ideas are underdeveloped and the plot devolves into uninspired action sequences (Ok, I did geek out a bit on the title character being in the battle suit).

I know this sounds silly, but the movie left me fairly shaken as to viability of putting SF on the big screen. Seriously, I'm like "I'm DONE, this genre has wasted enough of time and money, there are plenty of other movies to watch that can speak not only to intelligence but maturity!" If I'm getting the most enjoyment out of films that aren't SF, then why waste time and money on SF? This is really bothering me, having grown up watching and enjoying the genre so I'm a bit lost as to where to go from here. Friends who are fans of SF haven't been able to offer much in the way of solutions, so hopefully Mefi can bring the goods.

Here's few specific questions:

1. If you enjoyed District 9, can you explain why in a few sentences (hey, I could be missing something)? It just struck me as silly that an advanced race couldn't handle being stuck on a planet and let themselves be bossed around by humans. Everything went down hill from there.

2. Are my perceptions off or are SF movies really that bad in general, to the point that anything that even tries to be intelligent becomes "great" just for trying as opposed to being actually good? Is there any data to back up this point of view, any official studies, not just web surveys?

3. What movies would you recommend for "good" science fiction, and please don't limit yourself to American made films (which I suspect may be part of the problem)? Some of my favorites are (in no particular order) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Road Warrior, Empire Strikes Back, Contact, and Signs. I'm not saying these movies are 100% perfect or the same type of movies, but they exemplify what I look for, strong characters and plot that force a re-examination of being human (both good and bad) by placing people in extraordinary settings.

Recommendations for erotica

ninebelow — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:56:03 -0800

Recommendations for erotica I'm interested in reading erotic novels but I need a bit of guidance. Virgin Books are the biggest erotica publisher in the UK and I've dipped into a few of their titles at random but they've been uniformly awful. Google has not been my friend either because there is a lot of chaff out there. So I am looking for (ideally) a good reviews/recommendation site or (failing that) individual recommendations for novels, authors or publishers.

I'm a straight male interested in the porn rather than romance end of the spectrum and when I say novels I mean actual printed books. Bonus points for science fiction or fantasy recommendations (although I am not after a million recommendations for Jacqueline Carey).

Chinese Doctor in San Francisco

jontyjago — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 09:31:29 -0800

I will be in San Francisco for the next 48 hours, does anyone know of a good Chinese doctor I van visit for my eczema? I have had eczema all my life and when it gets bad the only truly effective remedy I have found is a course of creams and teas from a Chinese doctor. Cortizone shots or pills can be effective but only for a short time. I've been travelling the last few months and my skin consistently has been bad and I would like to see a doctor in SF. Can anyone recommend one? I won't have a car so bonus points for one in the centre.

City of Light

diode — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:54:51 -0800

SF short story filter: I read this sci-fi short story a long time ago. It's fairly memorable...I'm hoping someone on AskMeFi knows of it. Here's the synopsis.
The story begins with the protagonist attempting to enter a distant city, an alien one on our planet. The aliens have destroyed civilization and planted their cities on the planet in various places.
In the first passage, the hero is attempting to cross a field guarded by a floating energy being. Another traveler warns him the only way to get across is to move in a haphazard fashion with no particular pattern to his movement. He gets across safely and into the city.
Here's where it gets interesting. The city is composed of what I remember being described as solidified light that is responsive to concentrated will or focus. Our hero takes up residence and meets other humans living there who have pretty much the same status as rats in a human city.
The humans are generally ignored by the aliens who seem to be composed of complex energy patterns and have no point of reference for communication with earth folks.
Over time the hero learns to manipulate the alien city's light substance and performs various tricks like creating a sled through mental control that whisks him through the city at one point.
Finally, he learns the secret of the aliens is that when you can form circles of certain colors of the solid light energy and pass one inside the other, energy is emitted. The suggestion at close is that the hero has found a way for humanity to win back control of the planet.
I'd love to find and read this short story again.

Space-Age Bachleor Pa-aaaah Oh God No!

The Whelk — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:50:46 -0800

Music Mix Filter: Long story short, next week the model at my event is coming dressed as the Alien Queen from the ALIEN movies. I have no idea what kind of music to play for the background. The film scores seem obvious but who wants to listen to clanking and increasing strings for 3 hours? I can either go scary-horror-sci-fi or campy-alien-novelty songs. Ideally I could do both. What kind of weird space music recommendations do you have? Gotta have songs about alien invaders?

How can one visit the David Rumsey Map Collection to see the maps in person?

pantufla_milagrosa — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:34:10 -0800

How can one visit the David Rumsey Map Collection to see the maps in person? A friend of mine, a self-made expert on computational conformal mapping and cartographical curiosa, is in town (= SF) until Sunday and he would love love love to visit it. However, the web site (http://www.davidrumsey.com/) has no indication of whether this is possible (Second Life doesn't count), so it looks like it might not be open to the general public.

Any ideas? If someone knows a back channel it would be awesome. Thanks.

Contemporary SF for someone who liked Philip K Dick?

Forktine — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:00:35 -0800

Science fiction - filter: I used to read and love Dick, Farmer, LeGuin, and others who coupled great writing with directly confronting sex, violence, and societal change. What contemporary authors might I like? I mostly stopped reading science fiction almost twenty years ago. I just reread some old favorites, and have be re-bitten by the bug -- I want to read some newer authors, but I'm not sure where to start.

I really liked authors like Dick, Farmer, Atwood, Ellison, LeGuin, Octavia Butler, Bruce Sterling, and the post-apocalyptic series by KS Robinson, for example. These were books that contained sex (and not always nice sex), violence (ditto), and big-picture ideas about society, as well as being well enough written to blur the line between genre fiction and "real" literature. That is, science fiction-y books, written first and foremost for grown-ups, and dealing with grown-up themes.

I don't want to get into a "your favorite band sucks" direction, but in case it clarifies things: I liked the original Dune book well enough, but bogged down in the sequels. I have read, and didn't at all like, Neal Stephenson and Niel Gaiman. And Asimov and Pratchet are (in their own separate ways) absolutely the opposite of what I am hoping for here.

(I looked through some old AskMe's, finding this and this which were helpful but didn't quite get at what I was looking for.)

Where to go around SF in a Rental Car?

gregr — Tue, 19 May 2009 09:20:02 -0800

I'm vacationing in San Francisco, and I have a rental car that gets returned tomorrow morning. What things outside SF should I go check out? I will be in SF for the rest of week, so I have plenty of time to check out the things in the city. Oh, and I've already been to Muir Woods.

Have Space Pogo Stick--Will Travel

The Bridge on the River Kai Ryssdal — Thu, 07 May 2009 20:37:47 -0800

Name-that-golden-age-SF-bookfilter: a kid wins a contest to go to a space station, and it's not Have Space Suit--Will Travel. I must have read this in '95 or '6, but it was old, old enough that my parochial school library's copy had a signature on the card from one of my classmates' parents. The basic premise: a kid wins a contest to go to a space station (a big Von Braun-y wheel, depicted on the cover) and plays a sort of junior science intern role there. There's a kindly commanding officer who doesn't have any legs, but that's no problem because everyone gets around the station on pogo stick-esque devices, bouncing off the walls, and (maybe?) an older brother character in one of the junior members of the crew. There are pygmy-esque Martians (on Mars and in movies, I don't think the main character ever meets any of them), a satellite colony for the elderly the main character goes to on some sort of field trip, and a swimming-in-microgravity contest where the characters try to get across a room starting from the middle.

It's totally not implausible that I'm mixing up a bunch of stories I read as a kid here, but the one I'm looking for is the one where everyone gets around the space station on pogo sticks and the commander doesn't have legs. Not that untangling any others I'm mixing up wouldn't be nice, though! I've been googling the story for ages, but haven't ever come up with anything. Hope me, Ask Metafilter!

Where can I play squash in San Francisco? (And would optimally be able to bring guests?)

Pontius Pilate — Fri, 01 May 2009 11:11:58 -0800

Where can I play squash in San Francisco? (And would optimally be able to bring guests?) I will be in San Francisco starting in a few weeks and would love to find a place to play squash. I am fine with paying a membership fee; however, I am already a member of Gold's Gym, so ideally, I'd prefer not to have to sign up for a different athletic gym that just happens to have a squash court (though I would not be totally averse to it if there are no other options). It would also be great if I could bring non-member friends to play with me on occasion (maybe on a per-visit fee basis?). Anything in San Francisco, South San Francisco, or even San Mateo / Burlingame / etc. would be fine. Thanks!

The Big Unit in the Big Apple

bitdamaged — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 09:00:22 -0800

Where can I watch the Big Unit's debut as an SF Giant in NYC tonight? I'm in the financial district but any decent bar in close to the subway would do.

Future of immigration?

sarahkeebs — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 18:56:49 -0800

Looking for sci-fi/speculative fiction that deals with the issue of colonization, immigration, and refugees. The more details the better! Specifically looking for stories that deal (at least partly) with the stories of the immigrants themselves, and not just the abstract idea. Similar books I have enjoyed:
Sassinak by Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Moon
Old Man's War by John Scalzi
Ender's Game series
and the Children of Men movie (haven't read the book)

Is my concept already old and busted?

zardoz — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 20:07:08 -0800

I have an idea for a SF novel (/screenplay?), but I have the nagging feeling that it isn't at all original. Have you read or seen this concept before? Here's the idea: artificial intelligence advances to the extent that scientists can fully re-create the conditions of the world. Everything has been downloaded/uploaded to the "pocket universe".

I don't have the story really sketched out, but I want to take this broad concept and focus on the political impact of this technology: if we pass legislation for Project A, we'll know exactly how it'll affect the world in, say, 5 years time because we just go to the pocket universe, introduce the change, then hit the fast forward button and see what happens.

My question is, has this been done before in SF writing or even film/TV? (and if it hasn't, hands off, turkeys!)

Plot? Who cares? But thanks for the Ringworld I'll keep it.

MasonDixon — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:39:59 -0800

Wanted: Science Fiction Books moved by a great central idea such as: Ringworld by Larry Niven or The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. The common trait of both of these I would argue is that the central concept is way more interesting than the plot. I don't even remember the plot of Ringworld even though I'm still fascinated by the concept of that kind of massive world. And could a war possibly be more boring than the one depicted in the Forever War? What is really interesting is the notion of "Time Travel" and the subsequent loss of home, family, lover, identity etc. due to extensive travel at relativistic speeds.

This Question is out there, but it degenerates into debate and its from 2006. If you think my question is flawed, do me a favor and just keep moving along. I don't need you to tell me how I should appreciate sf/scifi/science fiction or any of that.

Roll Call: Who's come unstuck in time?

Ambrosia Voyeur — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 10:16:06 -0800

Help with my homework filter!! I want to compile a list of time travelers from literature, television and cinema. I am looking for a couple specific attributes. I want to know a few things about the time traveler:

1. Who are they? Gender, age, situation in native historical setting?
2. What is their mode of conveyance or displacement in time? Is it used deliberately?
3. What goals are met by their time travel?
4. Do they die? Are they dead already?

So, for example, Hermione Granger is a girl at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban, whose time travel device is a magic "time turner," inscribed with the words “my use and value unto you are gauged by what you have to do” and “I mark the hours every one nor have I yet outrun the sun.” The device is worn around the neck like a necklace, and turned, one ring within another, and a tiny hourglass at the center, to travel back in time only, at one hour per turn. She uses it to take additional classes to excel in her studies, and also, later, to solve a mystery.

Superbowl agnostics: What's an ideal activity to do during the game that would otherwise be too crowded?

benzenedream — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 03:38:17 -0800

Superbowl agnostics: What's an ideal activity to do during the game that would otherwise be too crowded? I hae no interest in watching the superbowl this year. I'm trying to think of places to go on Sunday that would normally be packed with Bowl watchers any other time of the year. Sports museums, sporting goods places, bars without televisions and Costco seem like reasonable bets. Any others? I'm in the bay area if you have specific suggestions.

Once upon a time, there was an old storyteller toy...

infinitewindow — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:28:52 -0800

"ID this short story" Filter: Story about a storyteller toy à la Teddy Ruxpin who is discarded by its owners after they receive a new model. You'd think I'd be able to find the story and author with the myriad details I recall. The old toy is kind of robotic and limited in its storytelling; the new toy is much more natural and can tell many more random stories, not just fairytales about knights, damsels, dragons, etc. At the end of the story, the old toy tells itself a reassuring story about what will happen when all the intelligent consumer electronics rise up against their heartless masters, but gets stuck in an infinite loop, repeating "and then-- and then--"

Owie, my boots hurt

laradar — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 19:10:31 -0800

I'm looking to get a new pair of ski boots in the SF Bay Area, preferably in the South Bay/Peninsula area. Since boot fitting isn't an exact science I'm looking for suggestions for great, not good boot fitters. I bought a pair of boots at REI about 3 years ago and they have been nothing but trouble. A little too big and at the same time, too tight in certain spots making my foot fall asleep. So here's what I'm hoping to find:

- A great fitter who will put me in a boot that will give me comfort and control
- A store that won't overcharge me
- A store/fitter that will give me unlimited adjustments as necessary (boot punches, inserting foam, etc.)

If you can highly recommend somebody, please let me know. Uncomfortable and uncontrollable boots are no fun to ski with!