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

PHIL JORDAN—PETROGRAD, 1917 PART 2

PHIL JORDAN was a working man caught up in one of the cataclysmic events of the 20th century: the Russian Revolution. He also wrote letters home. Yesterday, I provided introduction … Continue reading

November 13, 2017 · Leave a comment

PHIL JORDAN—PETROGRAD, 1917 PART 1

PHIL JORDAN was an American residing in Russia during cataclysmic times. His job at the American embassy in Petrograd brought him into direct contact with the Russian people and their … Continue reading

November 12, 2017 · 2 Comments

IS IT SAFE OR UNSAFE? WHO SAYS?

IT HAS been said that Britain and the United States are two nations separated by a common language. I’ve recently learned another significant difference, this one in the principles of … Continue reading

November 11, 2017 · 4 Comments

TRADE IMBALANCES: THE U.S., CHINA, THE EU, THE WORLD

“WHO CAN blame a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit.” So proclaimed the U.S. president … Continue reading

November 10, 2017 · Leave a comment

CELEBRATING #, THE OCTOTHORPE

TO THOSE with pre-Internet origins (yes, many of us are still living…), the symbol # might stands for number, as in a #2 pencil, or perhaps pounds, as in a … Continue reading

November 9, 2017 · 2 Comments

CATALAN CUISINE

CATALONIA HAS been much in the news these days, what with this northeast region of Spain wishing to extend its autonomous community status into outright independence from Madrid. As I … Continue reading

November 8, 2017 · 1 Comment

ON MEDIUMS (OR, IF YOU WISH, MEDIA)

BACK BEFORE ignorance ruled in government and elsewhere, the word “media” was the plural of “medium,” the latter in the sense of a means of effecting or conveying something. TV … Continue reading

November 6, 2017 · Leave a comment

A TURBINE CAR FROM ROVER!

THESE DAYS, we associate the word Rover with the word Land, as in the British SUV. But back in the early 1950s, the term Jet 1 would have also been … Continue reading

November 5, 2017 · 2 Comments

KATY LUTHER—YES, THAT LUTHER PART 2

IT WAS the year 1523, six years after theologian Martin Luther posted his disagreements with the Roman Catholic Church. With Luther’s help, a dozen Cistercian nuns, including novice Katharina von … Continue reading

November 4, 2017 · 2 Comments

KATY LUTHER—YES, THAT LUTHER PART 1

MARTIN LUTHER disagreed with the Roman Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences, its “Get Out of Purgatory Early” scam. October 31, 2017, was the 500th anniversary of Luther’s Ninety-five Theses, also … Continue reading

November 3, 2017 · 4 Comments