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

CELEBRATING MORGAN

THIS YEAR, 2014, the Morgan Motor Company is celebrating a 100th anniversary, which I find a perfect opportunity to recollect Morgan’s 75th anniversary that daughter Suz and I attended in … Continue reading

July 22, 2014 · 4 Comments

YOU WANT SHORTER FRIES WITH THAT? OR HIGHER G?

GOOD SCIENCE is never over. To wit, something as ubiquitous as the french fry is the subject of news items in Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement … Continue reading

July 20, 2014 · 1 Comment

CATALOG TALES—A BROADWAY STAR, AN EARLY B.A.T. AND SINATRA’S LAMBORGHINI

CATALOGS FROM automobile auctions make for great reading. They’re snapshots in time as well as in value. And, in just about any major sale, there are tales associated with the … Continue reading

July 19, 2014 · 1 Comment

MATCHING WITS WITH VLADIMIR STROGANOFF

ADAM QUILL, Detective-Inspector of Scotland Yard, may not have the reputation of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes, however, had only to contend with the likes of Professor James Moriarty. Quill was up … Continue reading

July 18, 2014 · Leave a comment

SON OF DIRECTOR’S CUT

I THOUGHT I was done modeling the Otto Silent Engine, thus my posting the project’s Director’s Cut yesterday (http://wp.me/p2ETap-2is). However, as mentioned then I still sensed the need to endow … Continue reading

July 16, 2014 · Leave a comment

OTTO’S FOUR-STROKE—DIRECTOR’S CUT

TODAY I offer my director’s cut of the previous two items, “The Otto Four-Stroke—Self Taught” (http://wp.me/p2ETap-2hj) and “Otto’s Four-Stroke—The Continuing Tale” (http://wp.me/p2ETap-2hL). Building a computer model along the lines of … Continue reading

July 14, 2014 · Leave a comment

OTTO FOUR-STROKE—CONTINUING THE TALE

THE OTTO engine’s four strokes (see yesterday, http://wp.me/p2ETap-2hj) involve two complete revolutions of its crankshaft, twice 360 degrees. From a timing point of view, the intake stroke is 0 to … Continue reading

July 13, 2014 · Leave a comment

THE OTTO FOUR-STROKE—SELF TAUGHT

THE UBIQUITOUS Otto four-stroke internal combustion engine didn’t originate with Otto. For instance, Frenchman Alphonse Eugène Beau de Rochas patented the four-stroke concept in 1861, fifteen years before German Nicolaus … Continue reading

July 12, 2014 · 2 Comments

THE ORACLE OF DELPHI—ON HIGH TEST

THE GREEK Oracle of Delphi was vaguely known to me. Like so many other things, I knew I could learn more if I wanted with a quick Googling. But how … Continue reading

July 11, 2014 · Leave a comment

I ♥ AVIATRICES

CALL THEM aviatrices, female flyers or airwomen (this last term making its debut in the 1910 Oxford English Dictionary). Women active in aviation hold a special place in its history. … Continue reading

July 10, 2014 · Leave a comment