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

NON-ABELIAN OPERATIONS

AN OPERATION IS COMMUTATIVE (OR ABELIAN) if the order of its application is irrelevant to the result: A • B = B • A. It is non-commutative (or non-abelian) if … Continue reading →

March 2, 2024 · 2 Comments

RUM-RUNNERS OF THE AIR PART 2

YESTERDAY, A 100-YEAR-OLD REPORT from The New York Times described “Flyers Who Ply Their Contraband Trade on Our Landward Borders and Our Coasts.” What writer Howard Mingos had in mind … Continue reading →

March 1, 2024 · 1 Comment

RUM-RUNNERS OF THE AIR PART 1

THE EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION and its enforcing Volstead Act, 1919, prohibited the manufacture and sales of alcoholic beverages. Note, however, it didn’t outlaw the possession or consumption of … Continue reading →

February 29, 2024 · 3 Comments

“ROUND ATLAS” FUN REDUX

“CANADA AS FAR SOUTH AS CALIFORNIA”?? This calls to mind the NPR April Fool’s spoof that the U.S. sold Arizona to Canada. It was a win/win deal: Canadians had a … Continue reading →

February 28, 2024 · 5 Comments

LET’S HEAR IT FOR….

I DETEST CANNED APPLAUSE and especially canned laughter. Somehow it sounds ever so phony. But genuine applause is a joy to performers. And a fascinating topic in Nick Slonimsky’s Lectionary … Continue reading →

February 27, 2024 · 1 Comment

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS VARIETY

MY WEEKLY AUTOMOTIVE NEWS sure provides variety in addition to its essential coverage of this critical U.S. industry. Here are tidbits on three disparate topics gleaned from its February 19, … Continue reading →

February 26, 2024 · 2 Comments

CHEAT.YU.COM   

ADVISORY: IF YOU CLICK on the above, you’ll find that “The domain yu.com is for sale. To purchase, call …..” Further Advisory: Don’t do this unless you learn more about … Continue reading →

February 25, 2024 · 5 Comments

LOTUS ELITE PART 2

IN PART 1 YESTERDAY, we learned about the Lotus Elite’s innovative use of fiber-reinforced plastic in structural applications. Today, we’ll continue with R&T’s April 1963 evaluation of the Elite and … Continue reading →

February 24, 2024 · 2 Comments

LOTUS ELITE PART 1

“TO THE HARD-CORE ENTHUSIAST,” the Lotus ad copy reads, “any twisty stretch of road holds a downright hypnotic challenge to send it in screaming: red line it on the straight, … Continue reading →

February 23, 2024 · 8 Comments

HOT STUFF, NOT MERELY SORDID

“ARE YOU PREPARED FOR THE STORM of love making?,” Woodrow Wilson wrote. Yes, that Woodrow Wilson. This, from a new book by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler with this title and … Continue reading →

February 22, 2024 · Leave a comment