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

WOULD YOU BUY A USED (OR NEW) CAR FROM THIS MAN?

I DON’T RECALL ELON MUSK (aka “The Chainsaw Wielder”) being on any ballots. Yet he has become BBF of the guy who won by a mere 1.5 percent of the … Continue reading

February 26, 2025 · 3 Comments

“IT AIN’T WHA’CHA SAYS, IT’S HOW YOU SAYS IT”

“THAT CROONER,” THE FEMALE HUMPBACK CONFESSES, “melts my heart.”  “The complexity of humpback whale songs is suspected to attract females for mating.” Image by D. Parer and E. Parer-Cook in … Continue reading

February 25, 2025 · 1 Comment

DIGITAL OVERLOAD—TWO BOOKS (HOW QUAINT BUT EFFECTIVE)

JENNIFER SZALAI’S “How Big Tech Mined Our Attention and Broke Our Politics” appeared in The New York Times Book Review (alas, perhaps behind a paywall). Yet it contains tidbits well … Continue reading

February 24, 2025 · 3 Comments

H.L. MENCKEN REVISITED PART 2

LET’S CONTINUE ENJOYING the acerbic wit of H.L. Mencken. One excellent source of this is his Chrestomathy, (from the Greek adjective chrēstos, “useful,” and the verb manthanein, “to learn), now in its second edition. … Continue reading

February 23, 2025 · 1 Comment

H.L. MENCKEN REVISITED PART 1

I’VE ALREADY SHARED MY FAVORITE H.L. MENCKEN line: “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” Another equally … Continue reading

February 22, 2025 · 2 Comments

THE EMPEROR’S NEW CASH

WITH RESPECTFUL APPRECIATION OF Keiserens Nye Klæder by Hans Christian Andersen. Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best … Continue reading

February 21, 2025 · 3 Comments

MORGAN PLUS 4—A 1959 PERSPECTIVE

“THE MORGAN OF TODAY,” R&T WROTE in September 1959, “is the Morgan of the past and, in all likelihood, the Morgan of the future.”  It has been 66 years now. … Continue reading

February 20, 2025 · 1 Comment

THE SERENDIPITOUS JOYS OF RESEARCH PART 2

YESTERDAY’S JOYS OF RESEARCH concluded with citing my youthful weekly fix of Double-Crostic puzzles. Caitlin Lovinger describes this word game in “Variety: Acrostic,” The New York Times, July 17, 2020. … Continue reading

February 19, 2025 · Leave a comment

THE SERENDIPITOUS JOYS OF RESEARCH PART 1

RECENTLY “SHAKESPEARE’S BEHIND” CONCLUDED with my noting, “It was good fun researching this one.” And the “Laura D. Fair” piece had a similar conclusion: “It makes for a nice research … Continue reading

February 18, 2025 · 4 Comments

THINKING ABOUT CHANGE

THE INSPIRING QUOTES WEBSITE often lives up to its name. Indeed, its February 14, 2025, posting caught my eye: “Reframing the Way You Look at Change.”  I’d have to think … Continue reading

February 17, 2025 · 2 Comments