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, 2018

ADA LOVELACE REDUX

AN ARTICLE in the London Review of Books, June 21, 2018, taught me a new word and more about Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer. Indeed, Ada invented the … Continue reading

July 21, 2018 · 1 Comment

CELEBRATING RUSSELL BROCKBANK

I WAS recently recalling the old days of Formula 1 in reading the R&T August 1967 report of the 25eme Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco. Henry N. Manney provided the … Continue reading

July 20, 2018 · 4 Comments

ETYMOLOGY—TREASON, TRAITOR

RECENT HAPPENINGS in Helsinki have added the words “treason” and “traitor” to the SimanaitisSays Etymology for our Times. What follows here focuses on the words’ English language usage and origin, … Continue reading

July 18, 2018 · 1 Comment

NEW ZEALAND REVISITED—50 YEARS ON

OLD GUIDEBOOKS can function as time capsules, especially for places visited well after the book’s publication. I recall using old Baedekers to get around Europe in early-retirement adventures following business … Continue reading

July 17, 2018 · 1 Comment

HURRAH FOR SCIENCE—AND THE HUMANITIES!

THERE’S EXCELLENT reason to promote STEMM and HACD. As unwieldy as it appears, STEMMHACD (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine, Humanities, Arts, Crafts, and Design) can play an essential role in … Continue reading

July 16, 2018 · 2 Comments

PREPARING FOR A SOUTH SEAS ADVENTURE, 50 YEARS AGO

THE WISDOM of old guidebooks is often found charming and occasionally even timely by today’s travelers. Donald Sea Briggs certainly had a way with words in his Briggs South Seas … Continue reading

July 15, 2018 · 2 Comments

A MOVEABLE FEAST OF ELEGANCE—THE BUGATTI TYPE 50T

HAVE THERE ever been automobiles more elegant than Bugattis? I doubt it, and I offer this 1932 Type 50T as an example. The Type 50 and its variants are the … Continue reading

July 14, 2018 · 2 Comments

AN ENLIGHTENING T-SHIRT

I LEARN something every day. Well, sorta every day. Recent enlightenment came when I solved a personal sartorial shortcoming by ordering new T-shirts from March for Science. The March for … Continue reading

July 13, 2018 · Leave a comment

ETYMOLOGY—RIDICULE, DERISION, MOCKERY

MINIONS SHAMED in restaurants. A giant balloon to float above London. A ballad celebrating inarticulate ramblings about mouth, brain, and Elton John. What a perfect time to add the word … Continue reading

July 12, 2018 · Leave a comment

THE TRAGEDY/SUCCESS OF THE COMMONS

WHAT FOLLOWS is a brief account of a philosophical concept in the social sciences. My account is brief for two reasons: I haven’t the space here nor the depth of … Continue reading

July 11, 2018 · Leave a comment