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: November, 2021

VICTORIAN SLANG

MY INSPIRATION FOR THIS is “Victorian Slang That Will Make You Scratch Your Fly Rink,” at the Word Genius website, October 11, 2021. I followed up with appropriately traditional sources,The … Continue reading

November 19, 2021 · Leave a comment

TIGER, TYGER, AND TIGGER

ONE THING LEADS to another. For instance, the DownToEarth website had a fascinating item “Why Do Tigers Have Stripes?” This in turn reminded me of The Tyger’s “fearful symmetry” in … Continue reading

November 18, 2021 · Leave a comment

DON QUIXOTE’S QUEST

THE NEW YORKER’S November 15, 2021, cover is thought-provoking on several levels.  Painter and graphic novelist Eric Drooker titles it “The Impossible Dream,” in reference to the Man of La … Continue reading

November 17, 2021 · 1 Comment

CELEBRATING CURIOSITY

FUTURIST R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER expressed his innate curiosity when he said, “Dare to be naïve.” The Inspiring Quotes website amplifies on this with another quote from Fuller; this one in … Continue reading

November 16, 2021 · 3 Comments

LET’S SLEEP ON IT

THE OCTOBER 29, 2021, SCIENCE magazine is a special issue focusing on “Why We Sleep.” Not only “we,” but a surprising number of other living creatures, even to the most … Continue reading

November 15, 2021 · 2 Comments

VIKINGS, SOLAR STORMS, AND TREE RINGS

THESE TIDBITS ARE LESS about a scientific finding and more about fascinating methodology involved in the research.  “Viking Presence is 1000 Years Old” reads a headline in the News section … Continue reading

November 14, 2021 · Leave a comment

B.C. HUCKS’ MARVELOUS STARTER

THE IMAGE OF firing up a vintage aeroplane is embedded in my mind: An intrepid fellow manually turns the propeller through a couple of rotations. The pilot yells  “Contact!” The … Continue reading

November 13, 2021 · 1 Comment

THE HARLEY GUYS AND THE RAMJET PART 2

YESTERDAY’S CELEBRATION OF the 1953 Studebaker Starliner evoked other memories of Tom’s Stude sedan and his mentorship with our control-line model airplane flying. Today, we pick up with Tom’s ramjet-powered … Continue reading

November 12, 2021 · Leave a comment

THE HARLEY GUYS AND THE RAMJET PART 1

PHOTOS OF A 1953 Studebaker Starliner/Starlight coupe  jogged my memory about the Harley guys and the ramjet. All this happened 67 years ago, and please excuse my rambling tale appearing … Continue reading

November 11, 2021 · 5 Comments

ADS, A HALF-CENTURY AGO

I WAS RECENTLY LEAFING through a January 1969 issue of Popular Science, which says something about retirement, life priorities, and proprietorship of SimanaitisSays. This particular Pop Sci had a 16-page … Continue reading

November 9, 2021 · 2 Comments