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

CORVID LORE PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE BEGAN sharing tidbits from a recent Live Q&A Chat, part of the online Members Community of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The subject was corvids, … Continue reading

November 15, 2020 · Leave a comment

CORVID LORE PART 1

THAT TITLE WORD is not a typo for “Covid.” However, the following tidbits in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow come from an excellent source frequently discussing the latter: … Continue reading

November 14, 2020 · 1 Comment

ON GERRYMANDERING

MERRIAM-WEBSTER DEFINES “to gerrymander” as “1: to divide or arrange (a territory) into election districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage.” and “2: to divide … Continue reading

November 13, 2020 · 1 Comment

THE 1921 RUMPLER TROPFENWAGEN—AERO WONDER AND MOVIE STAR PART 2

THE RUMPLER W-6 Tropfenwagen appeared yesterday at SimanaitisSays as a 1921 look into the automotive future. Today in Part 2, we examine the car’s technicalities, why I can link it … Continue reading

November 12, 2020 · Leave a comment

THE 1921 RUMPLER TROPFENWAGEN—AERO WONDER AND MOVIE STAR. PART 1

WHAT DOES THE 1921 Rumpler Tropfenwagen have in common with the 1933 Napier-Railton? And, even more obscurely, what ties these two cars with my own personal driving experience? An article … Continue reading

November 11, 2020 · Leave a comment

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELT! (NO KIDDING….)

THE DISCOVERER BLOG has carved itself an online niche of travel information: fascinating destinations, critical things to bring with you, how to behave once you’re there. With many of us … Continue reading

November 10, 2020 · 1 Comment

LET US ALL CELEBRATE

AS I WRITE this on Sunday, November 8, 2020, Joe Biden has a lead of some 4 million in the popular vote and a projected Electoral College tally of 290 … Continue reading

November 9, 2020 · 8 Comments

A MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPT OF BATTLE PLANS

MANY MEDIEVAL MANUSCRIPTS were liturgical, but there were exceptions. The fifteenth-century Visconti Semideus, as described in Christopher De Hamel’s Meeting with Remarkable Manuscripts, is an artful collection of battle plans. … Continue reading

November 7, 2020 · Leave a comment

ON CONSPIRACY THEORIES

THE LONDON REVIEW of Books continues to illuminate and entertain me with its erudite articles. Its October 22, 2020, issue has “Red Pill, Blue Pill,” subtitled “James Meek on the … Continue reading

November 6, 2020 · 2 Comments

AN EARLY FARCE—BUT AS TIMELY AS TODAY’S HEADLINES PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1, we met the characters of The Farce of Pierre Pathelin, a play from the fifteenth century that resonates today in its portrayal of mendacity. Today in … Continue reading

November 5, 2020 · Leave a comment