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

ARE THERE ENOUGH OF US OUT THERE ALREADY?

IT’S NO SURPRISE THAT, beginning around 1950, we’re no longer living in the Holocene Epoch but the Anthropocene. It turns out that by many measures, including biomass, human beings have … Continue reading

March 12, 2023 · 4 Comments

BOOKMARKS FOR COOKS

I LOVE TO COOK and enjoy accumulating books. (The scholarly term “collecting” is something of a boast.) I have more than four packed shelves devoted to favorite cookbooks, including Woman’s … Continue reading

March 11, 2023 · 2 Comments

VIV’S LINES

DAUGHTER SUZ AND I RECENTLY caught the last part of Gone With the Wind. Each of us had seen this near-4-hour epic before, but this didn’t lessen the entertainment of … Continue reading

March 10, 2023 · Leave a comment

ALEXANDRIA TIDBITS    PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE LEFT THE Pharos of Alexandria in ruins, thanks largely to earthquakes abetted by the cost of a crumbling building’s upkeep, even if regarded as one of the Seven … Continue reading

March 9, 2023 · 1 Comment

ALEXANDRIA TIDBITS   PART 1

ALEXANDER THE GREAT founded a city on the southeast Mediterranean coast in 331 B.C. In time, Alexandria was the largest city in the world, with a major reclamation project being … Continue reading

March 8, 2023 · Leave a comment

JENKS ON “TIGERING” AND OTHER RACE-DRIVING MATTERS

LEAFING THROUGH R&T APRIL 1959 (some time-gobbling in addition to this website and GMax), I came upon “The Racing Driver,” excerpts from Denis Jenkinson’s book subtitled “The Theory and Practice … Continue reading

March 7, 2023 · 1 Comment

HYDROGEN IN THEM THAR FAIRY CIRCLES   PART 2

YESTERDAY, SCIENCE’S ERIC HAND described an innovative means of capturing hydrogen as a carbon-free renewable source of energy. Today in Part 2, details are gleaned from his article “Hidden Hydrogen,” … Continue reading

March 6, 2023 · 2 Comments

HYDROGEN IN THEM THAR FAIRY CIRCLES    PART 1

“DOES EARTH HOLD VAST STORES of a renewable, carbon-free fuel?” queries the subhead in Eric Hand’s article “Hidden Hydrogen,” Science, February 16, 2023. Here in Parts 1 and 2 today … Continue reading

March 5, 2023 · 5 Comments

YOU CAN COUNT ON IT—LINGUISTICALLY

HAD WE ALL EVOLVED WITH SIX DIGITS on each appendage (such polydactyly is one of the most common congenital abnormalities), we’d likely have a “dozenal” number system. Ancient Egyptians, John … Continue reading

March 4, 2023 · 4 Comments

VIKTOR BELYAEV’S FLYING WING   PART 2

SOVIET AIRCRAFT DESIGNER VIKTOR BELYAEV had faith in his batwing idea, but one thing and another complicated matters. We’ve already discussed its rear gunner locations being too cramped to operate … Continue reading

March 3, 2023 · 3 Comments