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

A FAVORITE CUISINE, BACK IN 1919

MAYBE IT was yesterday’s intelligent octopus talk here that got me thinking about a favorite cuisine. On the other hand, learning more about this octopod also got me thinking about … Continue reading →

September 15, 2017 · Leave a comment

SEA ALIENS

THE OCTOPUS is as near to intelligent alien life as anything found on this planet. I’ve learned about two books that explain this outlandish statement. The London Review of Books, … Continue reading →

September 14, 2017 · 1 Comment

FROM GYPSYING TO GLITTERY CEILINGS

BACK BEFORE driving was considered an undesirable activity, people used to “take drives” as entertainment. Imagine that! And, indeed, there’s a most informative account of this: Americans on the Road, … Continue reading →

September 13, 2017 · 2 Comments

CLIMATE CHANGE, LANGUAGEWISE

THE TERM climate change has been all but eliminated from the Trump administration’s nomenclature. Thus, I guess, to some this means it doesn’t exist. As an example of this thinking, … Continue reading →

September 12, 2017 · 2 Comments

RALLY HEROICS

ON-BOARD TRIP computers have taken the fun out of cars. And maybe saved a few relationships. I’m thinking of the competitive motorsport activity of time-speed-distance rallying, still practiced here and … Continue reading →

September 11, 2017 · 3 Comments

B.R.1 ROTARY AERO ENGINE

QUICK: NAME a famous automaker who first manufactured aero engines. Oh, the one with the spinning prop logo? Actually, I was thinking of an even earlier one: W.O. Bentley and … Continue reading →

September 9, 2017 · 5 Comments

IS THAT WALTER P. SPINNING TO REDLINE?

NO, ACTUALLY the metaphor for Chrysler’s founder spinning in his grave is long out of date. True, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is being courted today by possibly four—count them, four—Chinese automakers. … Continue reading →

September 8, 2017 · 1 Comment

ELEMENTAL HAIKU

A HAIKU, as is familiarly known, is a Japanese poem of a particular length and structure. It consists of three lines, the first and last having five sound units, the … Continue reading →

September 6, 2017 · 1 Comment

THE COMPLEX TALE OF LUNAR PARAPHERNALIA

WHO SAYS Science, the weekly magazine of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is full of dull and boring (you’ll excuse the expression) science? Here’s a tale of … Continue reading →

September 5, 2017 · 1 Comment

BUCKLING UP WITH ROVER

SEAT BELTS came late to the automobile, as we will see here from a series of 1967 R&Ts. In the earliest days of powered mobility, no one thought of securing … Continue reading →

September 4, 2017 · 3 Comments