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: January, 2020

SEE YOU AND RAISE YOU 40

WHAT WITH the Coronavirus being battled around the world, the word “quarantine” is much in the news these days. Quarantine comes from the Italian, quaranta giorni, 40 days, the enforced … Continue reading

January 31, 2020 · Leave a comment

FERRARI 156 F1—SNARLING BEAUTY

TODAY’S FORMULA ONE cars are technically fascinating, but not especially esthetic. No. Make that downright ungainly. By contrast, the first Ferrari mid-engine GP cars of the early 1960s were things … Continue reading

January 30, 2020 · 1 Comment

ALPHONSE BERTILLON’S ANTHROPOMETRY PART 2

WAS FRENCH Criminologist Alphonse Bertillon really superior to Sherlock Holmes? Today in Part 2, French criminologist Bertillon gets involved with one of the world’s major miscarriages of justice. Retrospectively, on … Continue reading

January 29, 2020 · Leave a comment

ALPHONSE BERTILLON’S ANTHROPOMETRY PART 1

IN THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, James Mortimer, Medical Officer for Grimpen, Thorsley, and High Barrow, irks the world’s first consulting detective by recognizing him as “the second highest expert … Continue reading

January 28, 2020 · 2 Comments

MY MUMMY’S CURSE—BY VOICE MAIL YET

WHAT WITH my recent tidbits here on Akhnaten and his kin, you’d think the spirits of ancient Egypt would look kindly on SimanaitisSays. Then why have I just encountered a … Continue reading

January 27, 2020 · Leave a comment

AIRLINE MAPS: A CENTURY OF ART AND DESIGN

DAUGHTER SUZ Christmas-gifted me with Airline Maps: A Century of Art and Design. What a find! As its title suggests, it describes how airline maps changed cartography. Here are tidbits … Continue reading

January 26, 2020 · Leave a comment

睡衣游戏 (MANDARIN: PAJAMAS GAMES)

LET’S CELEBRATE the Chinese New Year (beginning today, January 25, 2020) with a pair of new pajamas. The point of this sartorial preference will evolve in the following collection of … Continue reading

January 25, 2020 · Leave a comment

THE FORBIDDEN CITY—AND ME

A RECENT ARTICLE IN The New York Times prompts me to share rare photographs from my personal collection. These images follow, accompanied by the report of “S.U.V. in Forbidden City … Continue reading

January 24, 2020 · Leave a comment

THE HYPERSONIC ARMS RACE

IT ALL BEGAN with bigger sticks, then chemical firepower, then atomic fission, then intercontinental ballistic delivery. The new arms race, with China, Russia, and the U.S. already major players, depends … Continue reading

January 23, 2020 · Leave a comment

WHO’S GOING TO ANTE UP? PART 2

YESTERDAY, I SHARED some of Deloitte Development LLC’s views on the economics of tomorrow’s advanced mobility. Today in Part 2, tidbits on infrastructure are gleaned from more of its Deloitte … Continue reading

January 22, 2020 · 2 Comments