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: February, 2024

SOARING ART DECO—IN THE CITY OF ANGELS

I’VE LONG LOVED ART DECO, and recent Internet trippin’ revealed Bianca Barragan’s “10 Awe-inspiring Art Deco Buildings in Los Angeles,” at Curbed Los Angeles, September 26, 2019. How neat to … Continue reading

February 19, 2024 · 1 Comment

TRUMP OVERCOUNTS YET AGAIN!

FOR A GUY WITH SUCH GENIUS (SELF-PROFESSED), Donald Trump sure can’t count. As reported February 16, 2024 in Voice of America, The New York Times, and just about everywhere else … Continue reading

February 18, 2024 · 2 Comments

SHAKESPEARE’S VOCABULARY

FOR SOME KID FROM THE STICKS (“… little Latin and still less Greek” according to fellow playwright Ben Jonson), William Shakespeare was sure ok with vocab. Elizabethan times were expansive, … Continue reading

February 17, 2024 · 1 Comment

 A HOLIDAY TOUR 0F ROME

I’VE JUST ENJOYED TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES broadcast of Roman Holiday, the 1953 romantic comedy starring Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, and Eddie Albert. And, indeed, it is a romance of the … Continue reading

February 16, 2024 · Leave a comment

1955 FORD THUNDERBIRD—WHAT’LL SHE DO? PART 2

R&T’s ROAD TEST OF THE FIRST-GENERATION Ford Thunderbird emphasized testing methodology as opposed to a review of the car itself. Here in Part 2 the testers share hints on optimizing … Continue reading

February 15, 2024 · Leave a comment

1955 FORD THUNDERBIRD—WHAT’LL SHE DO? PART 1

R&T WROTE IN MARCH 1955, “With all the interest in the new Thunderbird ‘personal car,’ the performance claims of overly enthusiastic salesmen can perhaps be excused. In a quick survey … Continue reading

February 14, 2024 · 1 Comment

YET MORE DRAGON LORE

YOU’D THINK THIS WEBSITE’S “Dragons be Here and There Parts 1 and 2,” July 7, 2022, would have satisfied my (and your) curiosity. However, 2024 is the Year of the … Continue reading

February 13, 2024 · 3 Comments

WERE OUR ANCESTORS LIKE US? 

I’VE BEEN ENJOYING SIMON BANKS’ OPERA: The Autobiography of the Western World. Like other chapters in the book, it examines fundamental questions of western civilization from the perspective of opera: … Continue reading

February 12, 2024 · Leave a comment

PHYSICS OF A FORWARD PASS

I HAVE LONG ASSUMED GYROSCOPIC ACTION was responsible for the stability of a football’s spiral pass. Well, it turns out yes and no, as described by Regina G. Barber, Rachel … Continue reading

February 11, 2024 · 2 Comments

PHONY MATH CITATIONS

 THE QUALITY OF A RESEARCH PAPER, in mathematics as well as other areas, is often assessed by counting the number of other scholars who have referred to the paper. Alas, … Continue reading

February 10, 2024 · 1 Comment