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, 2018

MONACO GRANDS PRIX, 1929–1933

A GRAND PRIX on the streets of the half-vertical principality of Monaco is magic, despite occasional comments to the contrary. Here are tidbits from the first five Monaco Grands Prix, … Continue reading

May 31, 2018 · Leave a comment

ON APPRECIATION OF MOTOR RACING

I’VE BEEN reading complaints about this past Sunday’s 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, some even from World Drivers Champions Fernando Alonso, who dropped out of the race, and Lewis Hamilton, who … Continue reading

May 30, 2018 · 2 Comments

ARE YOU A HENRY? OR JUST A WANNABE?

I RECENTLY heard the demographic descriptor Henry, as in High Earner Not Rich Yet, and this got me thinking of more familiar terms, which in turn led me to some … Continue reading

May 28, 2018 · 4 Comments

WHERE’S TH@T @T?

ONCE A MERE substitute for “at the rate of,” as in “3 apples @ 25¢ each,” the symbol @ has thrived to travel the world on the Internet. It punctuates … Continue reading

May 26, 2018 · 1 Comment

THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY IN THE U.S.

JUST AS GEORGE Washington crossed the Delaware River in December 1776, within two decades Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard entered aviation history as the first person to fly in the U.S., also … Continue reading

May 25, 2018 · Leave a comment

THE 1 1/2-LITRE SQUIRE

I DIDN’T realize it at the time, but back in junior-high study hall I was sketching the Squire. And, indeed, in England back in 1926, 16-year-old Adrian Morgan Squire was … Continue reading

May 24, 2018 · 6 Comments

WHAT’S A TELEX, GRANDPA?

QUITE APART from many young people seemingly not knowing how to do long division in any sensible way, they’ve also been known to ask things like “How does a dial … Continue reading

May 23, 2018 · 2 Comments

BOUILLABAISSE AND THE DEFIANCE OF CODIFICATION PART 2

SEVERAL OF MY other cookbooks offer bouillabaisse recipes of one sort or another, but its most entertaining description comes from Alan Davidson’s Mediterranean Seafood. This is the one that led … Continue reading

May 22, 2018 · 3 Comments

BOUILLABAISSE AND DEFIANCE OF CODIFICATION PART 1

ONE THING leads to another. And, seemingly, to two-part items here recently at SimanaitisSays. There I was, reading a London Review of Books article by Inigo Thomas on Maison Empereur, … Continue reading

May 21, 2018 · 2 Comments

THE NAPOLEON DUPORT CAPER PART 2

WHEN LAST we encountered the cello of Jean-Louis Duport, indeed only yesterday, it had been manhandled by the overly enthusiastic as well as musically inept Napoleon Bonaparte. Today, the caper … Continue reading

May 20, 2018 · Leave a comment