GEORGE CONSTANTINESCU—SCIENTIST, INVENTOR, ENGINEER, CARMAKER PART 1
ALLIED AIRCRAFT synchronized armament in 1917. An automotive torque converter in 1926. Let’s celebrate the fellow who devised these two and other technicalities: George Constantinescu, a Romanian-Briton with an office … Continue reading
BLOCKCHAINS AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES PART 2
DIGITAL CRYPTOCURRENCIES rely on blockchains for their bookkeeping. Yesterday, we discussed the basics of why cryptocurrencies may be shady, but blockchains aren’t inherently at fault. Today, we continue this theme … Continue reading
BLOCKCHAINS AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES PART 1
WHAT WITH Bitcoin in the news regularly these days, I believe it’s appropriate to separate this and other cryptocurrencies (there are scads!) from the related topic of blockchains. Today, we’ll … Continue reading
OPERATIC CARS PART 2
WHO WOULD have guessed the closeness of automobiles and opera? We move from yesterday’s Wagner Ring Cycle links to those involving Verdi, Gounod, Berg, and back to Wagner again. A … Continue reading
OPERATIC CARS PART 1
I’M LISTENING to Richard Wagner’s Siegfried, the third opera of his epic Ring Cycle. Early on, in Scene 2, the Wanderer (actually top god Wotan in disguise) tells an interminable … Continue reading
THE KURTIS SPORTS CAR
THE TRUISM “racing improves the breed” was more than justified by Frank Kurtis and his sports cars. Indeed, Frank first displayed his expertise fabricating bodies for race cars in the … Continue reading
MY PRICELESS ORIGINALS
TRUMP’S BOASTING that he owns priceless original art has encouraged me to identify several priceless originals in my stuff. Trump’s Renoir.You may recall the article in news.artnet.com, October 18, 2017, … Continue reading
ADVANCED AUTOMOTIVE MATERIALS
THE VEHICLE Technologies Office of the U.S. Department of Energy has worked with the Lightweight Materials National Laboratory Consortium in optimizing advanced automotive materials. The March 2018 issue of Tech … Continue reading
HOAX: A REAL ETYMOLOGY
IN MY continuing Etymology for our Times, I offer the word “hoax,” often tweeted by Trump to describe things with which he disagrees or possibly misunderstands. Merriam-Webster says the verb … Continue reading
CHINESE TYPEWRITERS
THE CHINESE invented the world’s first movable-type printing press around 1040 A.D., yet practical Chinese typewriting had to wait until the late 20th-century and the computer era. Indeed, there has … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 