TRANSPORT MEMORABILIA, 1995 (AND TIMELESS)
I LOVE auction catalogs. They contain a wealth of information. Printed on fine stock, they are typically a bibliophile’s delight. Christie’s catalog for a Transport Memorabilia and Models auction is … Continue reading
ARE HYBRIDS PASSÉ?
HYBRIDS OFFER fuel economy better than 40 mpg, but apparently only a few buyers care. “Have hybrid cars hit their peak?” asks Automotive News correspondent Mark Rechtin in the June … Continue reading
A PILOT’S VIEW, EPISODE 2
THE FIRST pilots moved levers forward and aft, wiggled their hips or shoulders this way or that and gripped wheels, only some of which steered. (See http://wp.me/p2ETap-2aF.) Before long, however, controls … Continue reading
TRADING IN NANOSECONDS
I RECALL that my degree in mathematics came with a pledge to use this knowledge always for Good and never for Evil. Apart from occasionally torturing students with exam tie-breakers, … Continue reading
UNIVERSAL DESIGN
THE PRINCIPLES of universal design offer utility to people with the widest possible range of abilities, operating within the widest possible range of situations. Note, too, this isn’t just about … Continue reading
HENRY DREYFUSS—DESIGNER FOR HUMANITY
ONE PROMINENT American industrial designer gave the world the Hoover vacuum cleaner, the Bell telephone, the Honeywell thermostat, the Westclock Big Ben, the 20th Century Limited’s design of locomotive, dining … Continue reading
KEI CARS VERSUS JAPAN’S ECONOMIC MANEUVERING
IN AN odd bit of regulational maneuvering, the Japanese government—possibly abetted by its larger automakers—is discouraging sales of its most economical automobiles, the kei class. The kei car, 軽自動車, literally … Continue reading
GMAX, THE SCHMID LSR—AND SET THEORY
DO YOU remember set theory? This amalgam of logic and geometry is fundamental to mathematics and was part of The New Math of the 1960s. Do you remember New Math? … Continue reading
SCHMID’S LSR
EVER SINCE La Jamias Contente (French for “never satisfied”) set its land speed record of 105.882 km/h (65.792 mph) in 1899, cars designed for breaking speed records have been bizarre … Continue reading
CELEBRATING JAMES THURBER
“HUMOR IS emotional chaos remembered in tranquility,” said James Thurber, one of America’s greatest authorities on humor. From the Preface of The Thurber Carnival: “Thurber’s life baffles and irritates the … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 