Simanaitis Says

On cars, old, new and future; science & technology; vintage airplanes, computer flight simulation of them; Sherlockiana; our English language; travel; and other stuff

Monthly Archives: May, 2013

NIKOLA TESLA

THE TALE of Nikola Tesla is one of advanced technology, high drama, eccentricity bordering on the barmy—and even modern crowdfunding. It’s almost incidental that Tesla has a car named after … Continue reading

May 31, 2013 · Leave a comment

OLD SCHOOL TIES

I’ve managed to get through most of my life without wearing ties. Not that I don’t appreciate this element of traditional menswear. In fact, rummaging through my books recently I … Continue reading

May 30, 2013 · 5 Comments

FAKED PHOTOS

IF YOU happen to find yourself in Houston, Texas, between June 2 and August 25, 2013, this city’s Museum of Fine Arts is hosting “Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop.” … Continue reading

May 29, 2013 · Leave a comment

AIRSTREAM TRAVEL TRAILERS

AIRSTREAM TRAILERS are iconic elements of transportation design. More than several years ago, I attended a gathering of Airstream and other travel trailers in Newport Beach, California. This photographic gallery … Continue reading

May 28, 2013 · 4 Comments

A MONACO LAP

ENJOYING THE excitement—and occasional chaos—of the televised 2013 Monaco Grand Prix reminds me of my own electrifying laps of this circuit. (A little EV humor here; very little.) Indeed, in … Continue reading

May 27, 2013 · 1 Comment

PLATEAU’S BUBBLES

SOAP BUBBLES make for mathematical wonders and excellent physics. One of the principal proponents of this was 19th-century Belgian physicist Joseph Plateau, whose name is associated with these ephemeral objects. … Continue reading

May 26, 2013 · 3 Comments

JENKS’ BOX OF MAGIC

WHEN Stirling Moss won the 1955 Mille Miglia, his navigator Denis Jenkinson had an advantage over other co-drivers in this 1000-mile Italian road race from Brescia to Rome and return—he … Continue reading

May 25, 2013 · Leave a comment

DAYTON-WRIGHT RB RACER

THE LAST of the James Gordon Bennett Cup air races, held in 1920, had an amazingly advanced entry, the Dayton-Wright RB Racer. By any measure, the RB should have won … Continue reading

May 24, 2013 · 1 Comment

AN ONYX FESTIVAL

WHAT A wonderful blend of old and new. Peugeot is bringing its Onyx hyper hybrid to the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed. My favorite car from 2012 Paris Show (www.wp.me/p2ETap-ho) … Continue reading

May 23, 2013 · Leave a comment

OPERA CHAOS, ACT II

A STAGE so ripe for chaos as grand opera certainly deserves more than a single mention (www.wp.me/p2ETap-11h). In fact, there are those who say, with complete accuracy, that onstage and … Continue reading

May 22, 2013 · Leave a comment