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, 2021

只是平躺 (JUST LYING FLAT)

INDEED, THERE ARE times when chilling out is the appropriate response. Even in the People’s Republic of China. Details are given in Elsie Chen’s “These Chinese Millennials are ‘Chilling,’ and … Continue reading

July 11, 2021 · Leave a comment

HUGHES H-1 RACER    PART 3

IN PARTS 1 AND 2, Howard Hughes and his H-1 set out to break a world speed record for land airplanes, 1935, and a cross-country record in 1937. Now in … Continue reading

July 10, 2021 · 1 Comment

THE HUGHES H-1 RACER   PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1, a 29-year-old Howard Hughes set out to design, fabricate, and fly a land plane for a world speed record. Eventually known as the H-1, his sleek … Continue reading

July 9, 2021 · Leave a comment

HUGHES H-1 RACER   PART 1

IT WAS THE Golden Age of aviation. It was the 1930s, when Howard Hughes and his H-1 Racer set a world speed record as well as one for crossing the … Continue reading

July 8, 2021 · 3 Comments

A TRIPLE CONJUNCTION OF VENUS, MERCURY, AND THE SUN IN SCORPIO?

MY FAVORITE ASTROLOGICAL predictions are the specific ones: “Tomorrow, Libras are going to step upon Virgos’ umbrella tips.” And, so it seems, Alexander Boxer shares this view in his book … Continue reading

July 7, 2021 · 1 Comment

WHAT IF OFFICER FIDO IS A WUSS?

POLICE DOGS HAVE to be capable of a certain level of aggression. How else to command the respect they deserve? So what to do if Fido happens to be a … Continue reading

July 6, 2021 · 2 Comments

ASTON MARTIN MARK II

FIFTY-ONE YEARS BEFORE James Bond piloted his DB-5 to fame in Goldfinger (1964), Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford established Aston Martin. The “Aston” came from Aston Hill, where Martin raced … Continue reading

July 5, 2021 · 4 Comments

MORE REPUBLICAN IDIOCY

THIS TITLE ISN’T just SimanaitisSays socialist ranting. The following tidbits come from the likes of Voice of America, Kaiser Family Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, Nobel prize winner Paul Krugman, and … Continue reading

July 4, 2021 · 3 Comments

AZTEC TIDBITS

WIFE DOTTIE AND I had a brief encounter with Nahautl, the Aztec language, during our first session of Community College Japanese class. As a first example, Sensei-san taught us “Watashi … Continue reading

July 3, 2021 · Leave a comment

OLFACTORY MATTERS

A RECENT PODCAST by CrowdScience, BBC World Service, June 28, 2021, was devoted to our sense of smell. Here are tidbits gleaned from Anand Jagatia’s CrowdScience olfactory podcast, together with … Continue reading

July 2, 2021 · 2 Comments