A BIT OF ALUMINUM
LIKE HYDROGEN, aluminum is lightweight. Like hydrogen, it is one of the most common of elements. Alas, also like hydrogen, it’s among the most promiscuous. That is, aluminum loves to … Continue reading
ALBERGO VERBANO, ISOLA DEI PESCATORI
THE LAKES of northern Italy, Como, Maggiore, Orta and Garda, are among my favorite places in the world. On Lago Maggiore about 50 miles northwest of Milan lies Isola dei … Continue reading
ON PROFREADING
IN PRODUCING a new edition of the King James Bible in 1631, the King’s Printer, Robert Barker, made a slight mistake: Its seventh commandment came out “Thou shalt commit adultery.” … Continue reading
2012 TOYOTA RAV4 EV
THIS SECOND iteration of Toyota’s popular RAV4 transformed into an electric vehicle could well be called the Toyota/Tesla. When this joint venture was announced back in 2010, I had to … Continue reading
THAR’S GOLD IN THEM THAR PHONES
WIFE DOTTIE came upon a fascinating bit of recycling knowledge at the Urban Mining website (urbanmining.org): There’s more gold in a ton of recycled cellphone circuitry than there is in … Continue reading
OUTDATED ENGINEERING WINS THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN
THE HAWKER Hurricane had old fashioned design elements even when introduced in 1935. And, yes, it was technically outshone by the Supermarine Spitfire coming along several years later. But the … Continue reading
VISITING “SCARIEST” AIRPORTS IN FLIGHT SIM
ACCORDING TO southern California’s Orange County Register newspaper, our local John Wayne Airport (KSNA, Santa Ana) makes the list as one of the scariest. This appellation comes from a travel … Continue reading
PLUG-IN HYBRIDS ARE NEAT, BUT NOT CREATED EQUAL
PLUG-IN hybrids, PHEVs, for short, have found more than 13,000 new homes in the U.S. during first six months of 2012; this, according to Edmonds.com. Most of these sales, of … Continue reading
NEW ASSEMBLY LINE MOVES PEOPLE, NOT PRODUCTS
VALEO SA, a worldwide auto supplier, has a radical way of building its subassemblies, things like the front-end modules for the new Infiniti JX. Rather than the product moving down … Continue reading
TONTO, TRAIN RAILS AND DISILLUSION
WHEN I was a youngster growing up in Cleveland, my parents would send me to spend some time each summer with my grandparents in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania. Railroad tracks ran directly behind … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 