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: July, 2013

THERE’S A WORD FOR THAT

ALL LANGUAGES, not only English, are subject to evolution, often by borrowing words or concepts from other languages. A recent article in The New York Times, July 25, 2013, (http://goo.gl/PA8ktc), … Continue reading

July 31, 2013 · 3 Comments

NAPIER-RAILTON, PART 2

JOHN COBB and his 1933 Napier-Railton (www.wp.me/p2ETap-1lR) were certainly the pair for setting record after record on Brooklands’ 2 1/4-mile circuit in England. Between 1933 and 1937, Cobb’s Napier-Railton set world … Continue reading

July 30, 2013 · 1 Comment

NAPIER-RAILTON, PART 1

AUTOMOTIVE SPORTSMAN John Cobb’s directive to Thompson & Taylor Ltd. was clear: Build a car to set records at the 2 3/4-mile Brooklands circuit. Chief engineer Reid Railton responded with … Continue reading

July 29, 2013 · 1 Comment

LISTENING TO VINYL

ARE YOU back into vinyl yet? Or were you ever into vinyl? B.C.D., Before Compact Discs, the vibrations of sound that we call music were shared by a wiggly spiral … Continue reading

July 28, 2013 · 2 Comments

ABOUT ENGLAND

A BOOK is a wonderful gift, often because of unexpected things to which it leads. Georgina, a dear English friend, gifted us with a book that, according to its cover … Continue reading

July 27, 2013 · 2 Comments

MRS. THORNE AND ORSON WELLES

AN ODD synergy exists between a wealthy Chicago woman, Mrs. James Ward Thorne, and the theater/film/radio great, Orson Welles. It’s all the more curious in that Welles has been called … Continue reading

July 26, 2013 · 2 Comments

HONDA “SMART IMA”

THINK OF Honda’s recently announced hybrid One-Motor Intelligent Dual Clutch Drive as “Smart IMA.” I’ve admired the engineering elegance of the earlier Integrated Motor Assist hybrid except for one aspect: … Continue reading

July 25, 2013 · Leave a comment

TYPE CASTING

TYPOGRAPHY IS an art form, the design of letters, numerals, punctuation marks and other characters and how they fit together. And to paraphrase an old chestnut, “I don’t know much … Continue reading

July 24, 2013 · Leave a comment

東京ディズニーシー

TRAVELING INTO Tokyo from Narita International Airport, when the train or bus ran along Tokyo Bay, I passed an active volcano on the left. It’s no cause for concern because … Continue reading

July 23, 2013 · Leave a comment

OWLS HEAD TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM

WHAT A perfect time to visit Owls Head, Maine, and its Transportation Museum (http://www.ohtm.org)! The museum offers a real variety for enthusiasts of motion, with 50 cars, 28 aircraft, 14 bicycles, … Continue reading

July 22, 2013 · 2 Comments