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

WERE I TO WIN THE LOTTERY….

THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD IS most appropriate in this title, because I don’t ever enter lotteries. The thought of having gobs of unexpected wealth did come to mind, however, in perusing … Continue reading

October 30, 2022 · 1 Comment

“WHEN DID YOU COME TO THIS COUNTRY, DENNIS?”   PART 2

YESTERDAY, MARNIE CHESTERTON of BBC CrowdScience opened a discussion of “Why Can’t I Change my Accent?” Today in Part 2, she tells us about pitch, in more ways than one.  … Continue reading

October 29, 2022 · 1 Comment

“WHEN DID YOU COME TO THIS COUNTRY, DENNIS?”   PART 1 

IMAGINE: THERE I WAS A (likely) fourth-generation American, and a teacher asked me that question. (I had yet to appreciate sarcasm.) True, as a native-born Clevelander, I spoke a dialect … Continue reading

October 28, 2022 · 3 Comments

FROM ’AMMERSMITH TO ’ACKNEY IS A TANNER

TONY HOGG WROTE AN R&T road test of the London Bus, most appropriately in April of 1963. Curiously enough, the test took part not in London, but in San Francisco, … Continue reading

October 27, 2022 · 3 Comments

A BRIEF EXPLANATORY TOUR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY    PART 2

YESTERDAY WE BEGAN A TOUR of Westminster Abbey, courtesy of Miranda Carter and her “Dudes in Drapes,” London Review of Books, October 6, 2022. Today in Part 2 she offers … Continue reading

October 26, 2022 · Leave a comment

A BRIEF EXPLANATORY TOUR OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY PART 1

WE ALL GOT TO SEE extensive TV coverage of the magnificent Westminster Abbey during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. In London Review of Books, October 2, 2022, Miranda Carter … Continue reading

October 25, 2022 · 2 Comments

MGB 1800—FULL-PRESS MARKETING IN 1962

HAMBRO AUTOMOTIVE CORPORATION was the U.S. importer for MG, and in November 1962 it performed a full-press marketing of the MGB, the first revamping since this classic sports car eschewed … Continue reading

October 24, 2022 · 1 Comment

TEGEL GOES ECO

TEGEL HAS BEEN a hunting ground for the pleasure of Prussian nobles. It was home for Nazi rocket scientists. The  airport played an important humanitarian role in the Berlin Airlift … Continue reading

October 23, 2022 · 3 Comments

BAEDEKER’S UNITED STATES

IN A CONTINUING EFFORT to assess how others around the world perceive us, these tidbits are gleaned from a definitive guidebook, Baedeker’s United States.  Various Baedeker’s United States have been … Continue reading

October 22, 2022 · 1 Comment

BATTERY RECYCLING—MORE THAN AN ENVIRONMENTAL NICETY 

AS CITED IN SAE INTERNATIONAL’S Automotive Engineering, October 2022, “Recycling battery materials is vital to the electric-vehicle future, but the way forward faces a host of hurdles.” Jim Motavalli describes … Continue reading

October 21, 2022 · 2 Comments