BOOK SMART, HEAD DUMB
MY MOTHER, rest her soul, used to say that I was “book smart, but head dumb.” I am not surprised to learn, based on a new book on the matter, … Continue reading
HOLMES AND THE ARTS PART 2
SHERLOCK HOLMES’ artistic streak surfaced regularly, and not just when he idly bowed his Stradivarius while pondering a consulting detective conundrum. Yesterday here, Michael Hardwick’s The Guide to Sherlock Holmes … Continue reading
HOLMES AND THE ARTS PART 1
SHERLOCK HOLMES is remembered for his cold unassailable logic. However, the world’s greatest consulting detective also had an artistic side. Indeed, name another shamus who played his own Stradivarius. What … Continue reading
STEFANO ZANNOWICH—A GENUINE RASCAL PART 2
WHEN WE left the Montenegrin Serb royal impersonator Stefano Zannowich yesterday here, it was 1773 and he had just composed Pigmalione. Let’s not credit Zannowich with inspiring the 1956 Broadway … Continue reading
STEFANO ZANNOWICH—A GENUINE RASCAL PART 1
WHAT WITH two-bit, four-bit, and six-bit rascals populating Washington, D.C. these days, it’s comforting to learn about a genuine, first-class, international rascal of the highest order. Indeed, his rascality calls … Continue reading
CELEBRATING THE BOEING 747
AFTER 48 YEARS of service, the Boeing 747 is being replaced by newer, more efficient wide-body aircraft. The 747 is a glorious example of aeronautical engineering and, for crew and … Continue reading
THE GREAT FIREWALL OF CHINA
THE INTERNET used to be likened to the wild and woolly west. Less so today, perhaps; but a Great Firewall has limited China’s access to the worldwide web. I learned … Continue reading
A MICRO TALE OF EV AMBITIONS
GENERAL PROCLAMATIONS about the world’s coming adoption of electric vehicles have set ambitious goals. For example, governments around the world plan to ban gasoline and diesel vehicles within decades. However, … Continue reading
CAN THAT BE PRESIDENTIAL‽
THE INTERROBANG, a combined ! + ? = ‽, has a well defined origin, several interesting stories, and even an official association. What’s more, given that it expresses combined questioning … Continue reading
SOMETIMES SCIENCE SUCKS
FORGIVE THIS teaser title for news of engineering a gizmo that mimics a suckerfish and generates a pull-force up to 340 times the weight of the gizmo. Biomimetics, the mimicking … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 