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

HURRAH FOR NEW WORLD PROJECTS!

SATIRE IS THE DIURETIC of the body politic, someone once said (and I’ve oft repeated). To see stunning examples of this, look no further than the works of New World … Continue reading →

February 3, 2019 · 1 Comment

QUEEN MARY’S MODI OPERANDI

HOW WOULD ONE explain that one’s grandmother had a way of, shall we say, acquiring the treasures of others? Not kleptomania, mind, in the sense of compulsively, surreptitiously making off … Continue reading →

February 2, 2019 · Leave a comment

FOR SALE: CHATEAU—HIST, XLNT NBHD, MLTI BALCS, GRT VU, EZ MOVE-IN, SELLER HIGHLY MOTIVATED

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for a chateau (and who isn’t these days?), have I got a deal for you! Or, at least, details of a potential deal. There are caveats, however. … Continue reading →

February 1, 2019 · 6 Comments

PLAGIARISM AT INTEGRITY MEETING

TODAY’S IRONY AWARD at SimanaitisSays honors actions described in the borrowed headline above. It sounds like something in a Tom Lehrer song. However, the headline appeared in the January 18, … Continue reading →

January 31, 2019 · 2 Comments

SINGER LE MANS REPLICA—ANOTHER STUDY HALL PROJECT PART 2

YESTERDAY IN Singer Le Mans Replica, Part 1, we learned how George Singer’s bicycle works evolved into sporting motor cars that eventually got swallowed by the Rootes Group and the … Continue reading →

January 30, 2019 · 3 Comments

SINGER LE MANS REPLICA—ANOTHER STUDY HALL PROJECT PART 1

NO WONDER I never got any studying done in study hall: There were always cars like the Le Mans Singer to read about, dream about, and sketch. It helped to … Continue reading →

January 29, 2019 · 3 Comments

ON SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM—AND MY FACEBOOK IDENTITY

THE ECONOMIC TERM “surveillance capitalism” is new to me, but it reminds me that Big Tech has developed an insidious business model—the selling of us. That is, forget the jazz … Continue reading →

January 28, 2019 · 3 Comments

WWR3D?

WHAT WOULD Richard III drive? Or would this last of Britain’s Plantagenet kings prefer advanced self-driving technology? Astonishingly enough, these hypothetical questions have historical as well as timely relevance. Richard … Continue reading →

January 27, 2019 · Leave a comment

HOLMES THE POLYGLOT? PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE all but confirmed that Sherlock Holmes included fluency in German among his many attributes. Today, in Part 2, we add evidence for his knowing French and Latin. Maybe … Continue reading →

January 26, 2019 · Leave a comment

HOLMES THE POLYGLOT? PART 1

WHAT LANGUAGES did Sherlock Holmes speak? English, for sure, but what about American English? He had French kin, so maybe this too. And what about the classic languages, Latin or … Continue reading →

January 25, 2019 · 1 Comment