APPRECIATING MATERIALS
LEARNING THAT NOTRE DAME RESTORATION was featuring medieval craftsmanship prompted pal and regular reader Bob Storck to share a similar tale from a classic barn raising: “I learned,” he wrote, … Continue reading
A.I. GIGO
IT’S A TIME-HONORED TRADITION of computer programming: Garbage In/Garbage Out. And, all its hallucinations included, modern Artificial Intelligence is nothing more than high-falutin computer programming. Here are tidbits on recent … Continue reading
ROCKING WALLS MAY SURVIVE THE BIG ONE
AS REPORTED IN The San Diego Union-Tribune, May 9, 2023, Gary Robbins writes, “10-story Tower Survives Fake Earthquake in Possible Boon for Tall Wood Structures.” UCSD’s Large-scale Shaker Table. The … Continue reading
FLYING ENZED
“AIR NZ NAMED AIRLINE OF THE YEAR FOR 2023,” says AirlineRatings.com, as reported by Francesca Street at CNN Travel, May 30, 2023. She writes, “Its economy lie-flat seating concept is making … Continue reading
RESTORATION—IN MEDIEVAL STYLE
A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF RESTORATION: Jeffrey Schaeffer reports in AP News, May 30, 2023, “If time travel was possible, medieval carpenters would surely be amazed to see how woodworking techniques … Continue reading
PITY THE AUSTIN A-30
AN ASTOUNDING DESIGN LEAP in automobile design occurred in Britain between the 1954 Austin A-30 and the 1959 Morris 850, aka the Mini. Whereas the Mini was innovative in so … Continue reading
MORETTI—AN ETCETERINA OF NOTE
ETCETERINI ARE DIMINUTIVE Italian sports cars, typically snarly Fiat-propelled and charming. I’ve never heard the singular of this Italian noun. But I assume, like macchina, it’s feminine. Thus, perhaps, “etceterina” … Continue reading
AMERICA WANTED A SMALL CAR? THE 1954 NASH METROPOLITAN DELIVERED
“THIS, THE NASH COMPANY ASSURES US,” R&T WROTE IN MAY 1954, “is what the public asked for…. Well, let’s see what the public wanted.” “First,” R&T said, “the public wanted … Continue reading
CORONATION TIDBITS
MOST APPROPRIATELY, THE MAY 2023 ISSUE of BBC History featured Tracy Borman’s “How (and How Not) to Stage a Coronation.” Here are my favorites, together with a Papal tale topping … Continue reading
OL’ BLUE-EYES, JACK BENNY, ME, AND THOSE SIMILARLY ENDOWED
GEE, I NEVER REALIZED how rare blue eyes are. We make up only eight percent of the world’s population, according to AucklandEye. Here are other tidbits gleaned from this source, … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 