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

UNGODLY GODS PART 2

THIS ALL STARTED with Maureen Dowd’s observations about the immutability of human nature. I claim that even the Greek gods are human, often exceedingly so. Today in Part 2 we … Continue reading

November 7, 2019 · 4 Comments

UNGODLY GODS PART 1

A SHAKESPEARE REFERENCE made by columnist Maureen Dowd got me researching the ungodliness of Greek gods. Here in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow are tidbits on Dowd’s observation … Continue reading

November 6, 2019 · Leave a comment

DEPERDUSSIN MONOCOQUE AEROPLANE PART 2

THIS CONTINUES yesterday’s look at the Deperdussin Monocoque racer, an aircraft that displayed technology far in advance of 1913, yet also a feature dating back to the 1903 Wright Flyer. … Continue reading

November 5, 2019 · Leave a comment

DEPERDUSSIN MONOCOQUE AEROPLANE PART 1

AN HISTORIC IMAGE encouraged my most recent GMax/Microsoft Flight Simulator aircraft project: I had seen other photographs of the French Deperdussin Monocoque, but a particularly stunning image shows crewmen trying … Continue reading

November 4, 2019 · 1 Comment

LANGUAGE + TOOLS = HUMAN?

SEVERAL RECENT ARTICLES got me thinking about human use of language and tools. In particular, AAAS Science, October 9, 2019, had a special section devoted to “Language and the Brain.” … Continue reading

November 3, 2019 · Leave a comment

Legends of Speed AT PHXART

THE PHOENIX ART MUSEUM is highly regarded by motor sports enthusiasts. There’s the Copperstate 1000 vintage car rally, run annually since 1991. Wife Dottie and I took part in this … Continue reading

November 2, 2019 · Leave a comment

BRUNI ON TRUMP’S ENGLISH

FRANK BRUNI composes the best lines in today’s journalism. In The New York Times, October 26, 2019, he titles his analysis “ ‘Human Scum,’ ‘Lynching,’ and Trump’s Tortured English.” Bruni’s … Continue reading

November 1, 2019 · 2 Comments

SLEEPY HOLLOW TIDBITS

THIS HALLOWEEN, LET’S celebrate a guy named Washington and a classic American tale. Manhattan-born Washington Irving was named after another fellow named Washington even before the latter became our first … Continue reading

October 31, 2019 · 1 Comment

ON CHANDLER’S GREATNESS PART 2

RAYMOND CHANDLER’S ENTICING and elegant prose encourages this two-part collection gleaned from The Annotated Big Sleep. Here in Part 2 are burbank tops, license holders, and California’s sturdy front doors. … Continue reading

October 30, 2019 · 2 Comments

ON CHANDLER’S GREATNESS PART 1

I’VE BEEN savoring the annotated version of Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep. Annotations, bibliography, and all, the book is 474 pages long, and I feel no urgency to finish it. … Continue reading

October 29, 2019 · 2 Comments