TOMORROW’S VISIT
SOME TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO, Santa Claus lore was collected into what has been called “arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American.” Author of ” ’Twas the night … Continue reading
JANUS 2022/2023 PART 1
THIS TIME EACH YEAR, I EXPERIENCE nostalgia mixed with hope. Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, are tidbits gleaned from 2022 SimanaitisSays together with aspirational expectations for … Continue reading
WELL, THIS SETTLES THAT!
TANTALIZINGLY LATE FOR holiday delivery is a book described in AAAS Science almost a year ago , January 6, 2022, and reaffirmed in “New Books for Young Scientists,” December 4, … Continue reading
CELEBRATING THE SKYSCRAPERS’ GRANDFATHER AND KIN
I’VE NEVER BEEN TO “the grandfather of skyscrapers,” but I have visited its elder cousin. Here are tidbits about both. The Ditherington Flax Mill, 1797. Also known as the Shrewsbury … Continue reading
THE LOTUS ELEVEN—IN A RETROSPECTIVE AND IN TONY’S WORDS PART 2
BACK IN THE OLD DAYS, intrepid sports car drivers could, at least in theory, finance their motor sports through starting stipends supplemented by occasionally finishing in the money. And so … Continue reading
LOTUS ELEVEN—IN RETROSPECT AND IN TONY’S WORDS PART 1
AS RECENTLY AS 1995 (ha, recently for some of us), an R&T Salon celebrated the 1956 Lotus Eleven for its “Engineering prowess, esthetic appeal, and absolute timelessness.” Way back in … Continue reading
PLATO, THE INTERNET, EDUCATION, AND A.I.
“WHAT WOULD PLATO SAY about ChatGPT?” asks Zeynep Tufekci, a young lady with more than just an interesting name: Dr. Tufekci is a sociologist, a professor at Columbia University’s Craig … Continue reading
CHANGING TIMES? ADDING ZEROES AT EITHER END
THE JULIAN CALENDAR USTA BE just fine, thank you, until Pope Gregory XIII was informed in 1582 that the actual length of a year was a tad less than the … Continue reading