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

TRUMP THE RACIST?

WHO ELSE BUT A RACIST WOULD remove Juneteenth and Martin Luther King’s birthday from previously free days of admittance to National Parks?? What else but an ideologically perverse Interior Department … Continue reading

December 13, 2025 · 1 Comment

HURRAH FOR HAPPINESS! THANKS, MERRIAM-WEBSTER

IT COMES AS NO SURPRISE that MERRIAM-WEBSTER has “Ten Kinds of Happiness.” Here, arranged alphabetically, are tidbits gleaned from several of M-W’s “Joyful words from around the world,” together with … Continue reading

December 12, 2025 · 1 Comment

QUICK ’N’ EASY STIR FRY

STIR FRY IS CULINARILY SATISFYING, being as it is highly participatory: Cut some stuff up, have saucing handy, heat the oil (don’t forget the garlic), and stir until tasty and … Continue reading

December 11, 2025 · 3 Comments

OUT OF AFRICA, KITTY-STYLE     PART 2

Yesterday we began tidbits gleaned from Jonathan B. Losos’ “The Cat Diaspora Out Of Africa” and “The Dispersal of Domestic Cats from North Africa to Europe around 2000 Years Ago,” by … Continue reading

December 10, 2025 · Leave a comment

OUT OF AFRICA, KITTY-STYLE     PART 1

AAAS SCIENCE, NOVEMBER 2025, DISPLAYS A FASCINATING cover blurb belying that our cat pals—as you might guess—got here in their own good time.  Here in Parts 1 and 2 today … Continue reading

December 9, 2025 · Leave a comment

THANKS, PANTONE: THE WORLD NEEDS 11-4201!

IVY BUCK AND ALINA EDWARDS REPORT (wittingly) “You Read That Write: Pantone’s 2026 Color of the Year is ‘Cloud Dancer,’ ” NPR, December 4, 2025: “The company describes it as … Continue reading

December 8, 2025 · 1 Comment

AN UNEVEN PENDULUM

I HAVE LONG THOUGHT OF POLITICS being modeled by the swing of a pendulum. There are always extremists, I concede, though most of us are generally centrists on many matters. … Continue reading

December 7, 2025 · 1 Comment

EXPO TIDBITS     PART 2

YESTERDAY GOT US STARTED REVIEWING TWO of the world’s expositions—both, curiously, in Philadelphia. Today in Part 2 we focus on my own involvement with others of this form of public … Continue reading

December 6, 2025 · Leave a comment

EXPO TIDBITS    PART 1

IT TURNS OUT I’VE VISITED SEVERAL WORLD EXPOSITIONS (or their sites) as well as written about some others. What with our Semiquincentennial coming soon, this seems a good time to … Continue reading

December 5, 2025 · Leave a comment

THE LOST WORLD     PART 2

YESTERDAY’S The Lost World silent movie discussion got us appreciating stop-motion animation and also a dish named Bessie Love, appropriately named portraying the flick’s love interest. Today in Part 2, … Continue reading

December 4, 2025 · Leave a comment