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

STIMSON AND BEAN—HEROIC DOCTORS   PART 1

THIS IS A TALE OF BARBARA STIMSON AND HER PAL ACHSA BEAN, two doctors shunned by the U.S. Army as medical officers, and then commissioned in the British Royal Army … Continue reading

March 14, 2025 · 1 Comment

ON “WOKE” WORDS

WHEN ONE AS DESPOTIC AND “WEAVING” (i.e., deranged) as Trump enforces MAGA ideologies on us, it’s no wonder that linguistic chaos prevails. Karen Yourish, Annie Daniel, Saurabh Datar, Isaac White, … Continue reading

March 13, 2025 · 8 Comments

CELEBRATING THE DETROIT OPERA, HANDEL’S RINALDO, KIDS’ RESILIENCE, AND THERAPY DOG ASPEN

BACK WHEN I VISITED THE MOTOR CITY A LOT, I also enjoyed performances of the Michigan Opera Theatre. It has appeared here at SimanaitisSays in “Many Flutes Are Magical” and … Continue reading

March 12, 2025 · 2 Comments

QWERTY, DVORAK, KALQ, OR?    PART 2

YESTERDAY, THIS ALL STARTED WITH a Smithsonian Magazine article on QWERTY. Today, we continue gleaning tidbits from Ellen Wexler’s article.  A Non-Jamming Theory. Ellen Wexler recounts, “In a 2011 paper, … Continue reading

March 11, 2025 · 1 Comment

QWERTY, DVORAK, KALQ, OR?    PART 1

SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE RECENTLY POSITED, “The QWERTY Keyboard Will Never Die. Where Did the 150-Year-Old Design Come From?” In February 25, 2025, Ellen Wexler updated a Smithsonian article by Jimmy Stamp … Continue reading

March 10, 2025 · 2 Comments

FACTS—NOT TRUMP’S “ALTERNATIVE FACTS”

I GLEAN INFORMATION from a variety of sources, among them BBC World Service, Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, London Review of Books, Voice of America (thus far), The New York Times, … Continue reading

March 9, 2025 · 3 Comments

HARRY NILE AND CARS     PART 2

IN PART 1 YESTERDAY, WE CITED several cars appearing in Harry Nile adventures. We continue today with two more that our sleuth drove: a 1936 Bentley and a 1942 DeSoto. … Continue reading

March 8, 2025 · 8 Comments

HARRY NILE AND CARS    PART 1

I’VE COME TO RESPECT HARRY NILE, Jim French’s radio detective of the noir variety. Harry has appeared here at SimanaitisSays twice already, in “Harry Nile, Seattle P.I.,” and in “Turing’s … Continue reading

March 7, 2025 · Leave a comment

ON TRUMP—OF ALL PEOPLE?!—CONTROLLING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

THIS IS TANTAMOUNT, OF COURSE, to RFK, Jr. in charge of health and human services. Or an unelected Musk being in charge of anything governmental. But there we are. The … Continue reading

March 6, 2025 · 3 Comments

THE LRB, GRENADA’S ERIC GAIRY, UFOS, AND PRESIDENT CARTER’S INVITATION TO SATURN’S TITANIA     PART 2

YESTERDAY, WE SET THE STAGE FOR LRB LETTERS connecting the words of our title. My sincere acknowledgement and thanks to the three writers, Paul Sutton, Bearsden, East Dunbartonshire; Robert Hunter, … Continue reading

March 5, 2025 · Leave a comment