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

WWBD? (WHAT WOULD BADDIES DRIVE?)

IT USED TO be that movie bad guys drove nondescript cars purposely stripped of automaker logos. It was fine for the good guys, for instance James Bond and Frank Bullitt, … Continue reading

September 2, 2018 · 2 Comments

THE SATO SCANDAL

SCIENTISTS, BLESS ‘EM, are only human. And, now and then, there’s one who is deeply flawed. This is a tale of Yoshihiro Sato, the Japanese specialist in bone medicine who … Continue reading

September 1, 2018 · Leave a comment

SALON: 1931 CHRYSLER LEBARON

I’VE READ some carping about the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance recognizing yet another 1930s automobile as Best of Show. But I beg to differ with the carpers: The 1930s … Continue reading

August 31, 2018 · 4 Comments

LE CORBUSIER’S JAPAN

CHARLES-ÉDOUARD JEANNERET, nom de plume Le Corbusier, was one of the most important architects of the 20th century. Though he has only one building in all of East Asia, his … Continue reading

August 30, 2018 · Leave a comment

MAPPING A PATH TO BETTER WHEAT

THE INTERNATIONAL Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium has completed a ten-year study of the wheat genome, on other words, its cellular blueprint. This research and the blueprint’s benefits to world food … Continue reading

August 29, 2018 · 2 Comments

ON SENDING THE KID UP IN A CRATE LIKE THIS PART 2

YESTERDAY’S SIMANAITISSAYS outlined the reasons for World War I fighter planes of pusher configuration, a primary benefit being its forward-facing armament not shooting off the aircraft’s aft-spinning propeller. Each of … Continue reading

August 28, 2018 · Leave a comment

ON SENDING THE KID UP IN A CRATE LIKE THIS PART 1

AERIAL AGGRESSION in World War I originated with pilots and their handheld pistols, fired almost randomly, or rifles wielded by observers in aircraft designed with this intent, observation. Fighter planes, … Continue reading

August 27, 2018 · 1 Comment

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAESTRO! PART 2

WE ARE CELEBRATING the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. After a triumphant conducting debut in 1943, at age 25, Bernstein composed the ballet Fancy Free in 1944. … Continue reading

August 26, 2018 · Leave a comment

HAPPY 100TH BIRTHDAY, MAESTRO! PART 1

LET’S CELEBRATE the 100th anniversary of the birth of Leonard Bernstein. In fact, let’s do it in Part 1 today and Part 2 tomorrow. Bernstein’s immense talents have given pleasure … Continue reading

August 25, 2018 · Leave a comment

ON ALFRED NOBEL AND GÖSTA MITTAG-LEFFLER—A RUMOR SQUELCHED PART 2

ADDRESSING THE RUMOR of why there’s no Nobel Prize in Mathematics, yesterday’s SimanaitisSays wrote about the two principals, Alfred Nobel himself and fellow Swede and mathematician Gösta Mittlag-Leffler. It concluded … Continue reading

August 24, 2018 · 6 Comments