MORE THAN ONE TURKEY
HAVE YOU EVER wondered why the U.S. traditional Thanksgiving bird shares its name with a Eurasian country on the shores of the Bosphorus? Me too. This calls for some timely … Continue reading
DISNEY AND ITALIAN PORN, AGAIN
I APOLOGIZE to gentle readers (and to Daughter Suz, a Disney aficionada Big Time) in pairing Disney with Italian porm twice. In defense, I don’t make these things up. This … Continue reading
DISNEY AND ITALIAN PORN
I’M HONESTLY surprised when I get involved in these things. Half awake, I was listening to my (6 a.m. Pacific) news on the BBC World Service. Did I hear “Disney” … Continue reading
VARIABLE COMPRESSION RATIOS–NISSAN, HONDA AND THE CFR
AS NOTED BY edmunds.com, Nissan made news at the 2016 Paris Motor Show with its variable-compression-ratio VC-T engine scheduled for production in the 2018 Infiniti QX50 crossover. Not that it’s … Continue reading
MINI THOUGHTS
AN AD in the January 1961 R&T got me thinking about the impact of the original Morris 850 in automotive history. This car evolved indirectly from the 1956 Suez Canal … Continue reading
BATTLING ALGORITHMS
MACHINE LEARNING benefits mankind only if the machine learns things to mankind’s benefit. I do not intend this simply as a play on words or philosophical tautology. The thought arose … Continue reading
SALOME, OH MY!
OPERA RIDES THE razor edge of absurdity, Peter Ustinov observed. I’ve already had fun here with operatic production goofs, such as costume malfunctions, tomb doors not closing properly and unexpected … Continue reading
AUDI: VORSPRUNG DURCH SKULDUGGERY
I’VE LONG ADMIRED German automaker Audi’s slogan, Vorsprung Durch Technik, Advancement Through Technology. Back in the mid-1970s, for example, Audi was one of the first automakers to promote the safety … Continue reading
THANKS, WOMAN’S DAY
A GOOD COOKBOOK is like a good travel guide. If it was worth visiting a century ago, it’s likely worth a visit today. If it was tasty 50 years ago, … Continue reading
CURTA CURTAIN CALL
THE CURTA CALCULATOR looks like a pepper grinder with numerals peering out. There’s a crank on the top that whirs with reassuring precision. And anyone serious about Time-Speed-Distance rallying in … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 