TROOPS (AND PLANES) TO THE BORDER PART 1
“A STORY as timely as today’s headlines,” it has been said. However, this story about the United States versus Mexico took place 100 years ago. The tale involves a U.S. … Continue reading
SCIENTIFIC HUZZAHS!
THERE ARE times when I delight in celebrating multifold aspects of science. Here are three examples appearing in Science magazine, published weekly by the American Association for the Advancement of … Continue reading
CLEARING THE MPG AIR, IF NOT THE AIR ITSELF PART 2
OUR DISCUSSION of the Trump administration’s proposed backpedaling on existing Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards started here yesterday in Part 1. Today, we touch on states’ rights, international implications, returns … Continue reading
CLEARING THE MPG AIR, IF NOT THE AIR ITSELF PART 1
CORPORATE AVERAGE Fuel Economy (CAFE) has the news all agog with the Trump administration undoing yet another Obama administration action, this one involving fuel economy and emissions of new cars … Continue reading
ETYMOLOGY: CRONY, CRONYISM
MERRIAM-WEBSTER nails cronyism as “partiality to cronies especially as evidenced in the appointment of political hangers-on to office without regard to their qualifications.” Furthermore, M-W defines a crony as “a … Continue reading
GEORGE CONSTANTINESCU—SCIENTIST, ENGINEER, INVENTOR, AUTOMAKER PART 2
WHEN WE left Romanian-British polymath George Constantinescu, in yesterday’s SimanaitisSays, he had already received plaudits for designing the C.C. synchronization gear used on allied fighter planes in World War I. … Continue reading
GEORGE CONSTANTINESCU—SCIENTIST, INVENTOR, ENGINEER, CARMAKER PART 1
ALLIED AIRCRAFT synchronized armament in 1917. An automotive torque converter in 1926. Let’s celebrate the fellow who devised these two and other technicalities: George Constantinescu, a Romanian-Briton with an office … Continue reading
BLOCKCHAINS AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES PART 2
DIGITAL CRYPTOCURRENCIES rely on blockchains for their bookkeeping. Yesterday, we discussed the basics of why cryptocurrencies may be shady, but blockchains aren’t inherently at fault. Today, we continue this theme … Continue reading
BLOCKCHAINS AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES PART 1
WHAT WITH Bitcoin in the news regularly these days, I believe it’s appropriate to separate this and other cryptocurrencies (there are scads!) from the related topic of blockchains. Today, we’ll … Continue reading
OPERATIC CARS PART 2
WHO WOULD have guessed the closeness of automobiles and opera? We move from yesterday’s Wagner Ring Cycle links to those involving Verdi, Gounod, Berg, and back to Wagner again. A … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 