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

WHY EVER DID I SAVE THIS?

I HAVE BEGUN DECLUTTERING the garage. No mean feat, this, what with 33+ years of R&T memorabilia and even more years of other stuff, plus 150 boxes of books accumulated … Continue reading

January 14, 2022 · 9 Comments

THE CASE OF THE TWO IAN FLEMINGS, AND ANOTHER MISTAKEN LINKAGE

WHAT DID THE 007 AUTHOR have in common with the man portraying Dr. John H. Watson in British movies in the 1930s?  Nothing, except for sharing the name Ian Fleming. … Continue reading

January 13, 2022 · 4 Comments

TWO EINSTEIN ANECDOTES

I WAS SORTING THROUGH colloquium presentations of mine from the mid-1970s—Geez, was I ever scholarly back then—and I came upon these two Einstein anecdotes. Their source was Ira M. Freeman, … Continue reading

January 12, 2022 · 1 Comment

EXASCALE COMPUTERS COMING IN 2022 

 DIGITAL COMPUTERS MERELY count on two fingers, 1, 0, on, off; but they do so amazingly quickly. And the faster they count, the more things they accomplish. Recent articles in … Continue reading

January 11, 2022 · Leave a comment

FLAUBERT FLÂNEURING WITH BARNES

A FLÂNEUR, THE FRENCH describe, is a stroller, an idler, an observer of life. Gustave Flaubert was a French novelist, for whom we celebrate the 200th anniversary of his birth. … Continue reading

January 10, 2022 · Leave a comment

STAGING CELEBRATED; VIVALDI VINDICATED

A RECENT OPERATIC happening celebrates a 40-year-old production. Another rectifies a 282-year-old injustice. Here are tidbits on these two gleaned from several sources. The Zeffirelli La Bohème 40th. In “Enduring … Continue reading

January 9, 2022 · Leave a comment

THOSE MUSICAL NEWMANS   PART 2

PROMPTED BY NEWMAN movie film credits and my Randy Newman CDs, I decided to research tidbits on these musical Newmans. Here in Part 2, we continue admiring the Newman Musical … Continue reading

January 8, 2022 · Leave a comment

THOSE MUSICAL NEWMANS   PART 1

I WATCH A LOT of Turner Classic Movies and the name “Newman” often appears in music credits. I also enjoy the music of Randy Newman and recall he’s related to … Continue reading

January 7, 2022 · Leave a comment

TIME WARPS

THE INSIDER WEBSITE offered an interesting example of time warp: “Cleopatra lived closer in time to the building of the first Pizza Hut than to the building of the pyramids.”  … Continue reading

January 6, 2022 · 6 Comments

1962 TRIUMPH TR-4—DOES A SPIFFY ITALIAN SUIT SUFFICE?

“FOR NEARLY A DECADE,” R&T noted in February 1962, the Standard-Triumph Company has been manufacturing its TR-series sports cars and, of course, has sold them in substantial numbers.” Good performance … Continue reading

January 5, 2022 · 2 Comments