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

Author Archives: simanaitissays

RECONCILIATION? NOT QUITE YET

IN TIME, I hope, there will be reconciliation between Trumpers and the rest of us. In the meantime, however, I am reminded of St. Augustine’s famously insincere plea, “Grant me … Continue reading →

December 21, 2020 · 2 Comments

TWO SONS’ LEGACIES—ONE OF THEM, THE FERRARI 196 S DINO

ENZO FERRARI’S ELDER son Alfredo was born in 1932. Named after his paternal grandfather, he soon acquired the nickname Dino, short for Alfredino. Were he to have a son, Enzo … Continue reading →

December 20, 2020 · 2 Comments

ON IMMANUEL KANT ET AL

I WAS PERUSING my secondhand copy of The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, this time around, getting around to reading its editor Clifton Fadiman’s introductory notes (for the first time, … Continue reading →

December 19, 2020 · 4 Comments

MY EGYPTOLOGY STARTED WITH CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE   PART 2

YESTERDAY, I BEGAN sharing tidbits from two entertaining book reviews, both discussing Toby Wilkinson’s A World Beneath the Sands: The Golden Age of Egyptology. Today’s Part 2 continues digging in … Continue reading →

December 18, 2020 · Leave a comment

MY EGYPTOLOGY STARTED WITH CLEOPATRA’S NEEDLE   PART 1

I CAN RECALL encountering Cleopatra’s Needle on London’s Victoria Embankment, just down Carting Lane from the Savoy Hotel. It was during one of my “early retirement” sojourns; I’d stay a … Continue reading →

December 17, 2020 · 2 Comments

THE DRAMA AIN’T OVER TILL THE CAL PILOT GETS HIS DUE PART 2

YESTERDAY’S TOPIC WAS pioneer aviator John J. Montgomery’s demonstration of controlled flight of a heavier-than-air craft. The year was 1883, nine years before the Wright Brothers opened their bicycle shop, … Continue reading →

December 16, 2020 · Leave a comment

THE DRAMA AIN’T OVER TILL THE CAL PILOT GETS HIS DUE PART 1

AWHILE BACK I viewed Gallant Journey, 1946, on “Turner Classic Movies.” It was a pleasant enough flick, starring Glenn Ford as California aviation pioneer John J. Montgomery. Little did I … Continue reading →

December 15, 2020 · Leave a comment

ON TECHNICAL RIVALRIES

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN the sciences and engineering is a recent topic at the Members Community of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.  A fair amount of the discussion … Continue reading →

December 13, 2020 · Leave a comment

ANOTHER ASSAULT ON THE VOA

THE PETTINESS OF Trump and his administration knows no bounds. Stalling to admit election defeat, Trump first dragged his feet and is still complicating the transition to the Biden administration … Continue reading →

December 12, 2020 · 1 Comment

CATCHING COVID-19 AGAIN?

SUPPOSE YOU’VE CAUGHT Covid-19 and recovered. Are you immune from catching it again?  Trump claims he’s now immune. Don’t try this at home, kids; he’s the President (as he incessantly … Continue reading →

December 11, 2020 · Leave a comment