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

EV CARSICKNESS

ARE YOU SICK OF YOUR TESLA? No, not just because of that chainsaw-wielding DOGE guy. I’m talking about EVs in general making people increasingly carsick. Here are tidbits on this … Continue reading

July 6, 2025 · 2 Comments

NATURE’S DYNAMIC COLORATION, TRANPARENCY, AND THERMAL MANAGEMENT

MATTHEW D. SHAWKEY OFFERS A PROVOCATIVE TITLE “Now You See Me, Now You Don’t,” in AAAS Science magazine, June 26, 2025: “Some squids,” Shawkey recounts, “are masters of disguise. They … Continue reading

July 5, 2025 · Leave a comment

“JUST BECAUSE I’M A LIBRARIAN DOESN’T MEAN I HAVE TO DRESS AS ONE”—BELLE DA COSTA GREENE

THE LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS, JUNE 26, 2025, BLURBS Francesca Wade’s “The Best-Paid Woman in NYC.” Wade is reviewing two books, Belle Da Costa Greene: A Librarian’s Legacy and Becoming … Continue reading

July 4, 2025 · Leave a comment

ALFA ROMEO CORSA SPERIMENTALE “BALENA” PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1, CLASSIC & SPORTS CAR’S MICK WALSH introduced us to a one-off Alfa Romeo, his article reminding me why Classic & Sports Car is a favorite motoring … Continue reading

July 3, 2025 · Leave a comment

ALFA ROMEO CORSA SPERIMENTALE “BALENA” PART 1  

HERE’S YET ANOTHER REASON WHY CLASSIC & SPORTS CAR is a favorite automotive magazine: Mick Walsh’s online article about the Alfa Romeo 8C-2900B Corsa Sperimentale. Argentine enthusiasts nicknamed the car … Continue reading

July 2, 2025 · 3 Comments

TRUMP’S SCIENCE AND FeS2

IRON PYRITE, FeS2, OF COURSE, IS “FOOL’S GOLD.” And a recent editorial in the American Association for the Advancement of Science Science magazine describes the phoniness of Trump’s Executive Order … Continue reading

July 1, 2025 · 1 Comment

COMPLEXITIES OF CAFE COMPLIANCE FEES    PART 2

YESTERDAY WE BEGAN ANALYZING Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards and their encouraging average mpgs from 13.5 to more than double that today. In Part 2 we continue—and close with a … Continue reading

June 30, 2025 · 4 Comments

COMPLEXITIES OF CAFE COMPLIANCE FEES   PART 1

HEADLINES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, July 26, 2025, are provocative: “Republicans Propose a New Way to Scrap Fuel Economy Rules: No Fines.” Brad Plumer and Jack Ewing report, “For … Continue reading

June 29, 2025 · 2 Comments

SEE THAT AGAIN

KATRINA MILLER WRITES IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, June 26, 2025, “The Best Illusion of the Year contest offers researchers, and participants, an opportunity to explore the gaps and limits … Continue reading

June 28, 2025 · Leave a comment

GRANDE SEMAINE D’AVIATION DE LA CHAMPAGNE, 1909

IT WAS LESS THAN SIX YEARS after the Wright Bros. first flew ever so tentatively at Kitty Hawk that the world celebrated heavier-than-air craft at the Grande Semaine d’Aviation de … Continue reading

June 27, 2025 · 2 Comments