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, 2016

THE BITCOIN SAGA CONTINUES

THERE’S NOTHING SIMPLE about the virtual currency Bitcoin. And there’s one helluva saga evolving. “The Satoshi Affair,” by Andrew O’Hagan, occupies 17 oversize pages of the London Review of Books, … Continue reading

July 9, 2016 · Leave a comment

SCOTLAND YARD’S FLYING SQUAD

I WAS ENJOYING one of the Paul Temple radio mysteries when Scotland Yard Chief Commissioner Sir Graham Forbes said to Paul, “We’ve got the Flying Squad on it.” Scotland Yard … Continue reading

July 8, 2016 · 1 Comment

BEEN THERE, SORTA

MR. AND MRS. Dinesh Rathod, both police officers in Pune, Maharahstra, India, claim to have climbed Mount Everest. As proof of conquering this 28,028-ft. peak, they offer a photo showing … Continue reading

July 7, 2016 · Leave a comment

CENTRAL-SEAT SPORTS CARS

IN HIS MOTORSPORTS satire The Grand Prix of Gibraltar, Peter Ustinov described the hyper-technical Schnorcedes as having perfect weight distribution: Its driver sat neither left nor right; what’s more, his … Continue reading

July 6, 2016 · 2 Comments

A DUO OF JULY 4TH CELEBRATIONS

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! I recognize that about half of SimanaitisSays readers live elsewhere around the world. Nevertheless, do join us in celebrating the 240th anniversary of the signing of the … Continue reading

July 4, 2016 · Leave a comment

A MURAT FAMILY BUSH

LEARNING A LITTLE recently about Murat the Younger and his Turkish Abductions of Icelanders, I felt compelled to search out Murat the Elder and others sharing this moniker. Pirate, admiral, … Continue reading

July 3, 2016 · 4 Comments

HELLO, JUPITER! SUE FINLEY IS ARRIVING

IN A FEW DAYS, Sue Finley may retire. This test engineer has worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory for 57 years, the woman with the longest career at NASA. Sue … Continue reading

July 1, 2016 · 1 Comment