FAILED DESIGNS
ENGINEERING HAS been defined as “doing a lot with a little.” But, of course, too little is not a good idea. This is the theme of To Forgive Design: Understanding … Continue reading
LA CREATION DU MONDE
LET’S CELEBRATE the art of theater set design. Here’s a wonderful book on the topic, together with focus on one of its subjects, artist Fernand Léger, and one of my favorite pieces … Continue reading
HOLMES’ LONDON
WATSON CALLED London “that great cesspool into which all the loungers and idlers of the Empire are irresistibly drained.” Hardly high praise, though he and Holmes were also familiar with … Continue reading
DORNIER DO-X
THE TALE of the Dornier Do-X flying boat has technicalities galore, an impressive world tour—and even a bit of post-Versailles skullduggery. In the early days of aviation, the efficacy of a … Continue reading
BOSCH eCLUTCH, ETC.
WITH MORE and more drivers never learning the knack of operating a clutch, Bosch has come to their rescue with something it calls the eClutch. Briefly, it incorporates an electrically … Continue reading
SUPREME COURT’S E15
RAISING THE ethanol percentage in gasoline from today’s E10 (10-percent ethanol) to E15 (hence a 50-percent larger dose) now has a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. See http://goo.gl/YKjND for details. Not … Continue reading
WHEATIES CAR BADGES
DURING THE 1950s, General Mills cereal brand Wheaties—even then “The Breakfast of Champions”—had a neat program of offering car emblems as premiums. Thirty-one of these embossed and painted tin badges … Continue reading
ALICE KOBER, ACE DECODER
A NEW book concerning the Bronze Age describes a mystery every bit as intriguing as any faced by Sherlock Holmes. The tale of the Linear B has ancient script and … Continue reading
GEOTHERM ENERGY
THE U.S. could supply the world’s current energy needs for the next 30,000 years. Were we to tap only the most accessible of it, the energy obtained would be thousands … Continue reading
LE MANS TOPS AND SUITCASES
THERE’S A neat story of tops and suitcases associated with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, curiously enough with a gap of 30 years. Here are several of my favorite … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 