GEOLOGICALLY SPEAKING, WHAT TIME IS IT?
LET’S TALK ABOUT geology’s time clock. Stratigraphy concerns what can be learned from the order and relative position of rock layers. The word is a Latin/Greek hybrid: stratum Latin for … Continue reading
HURRICANE ESTHER ’61
AS HURRICANE HERMINE moves her way up the Atlantic coast of the U.S., I’m reminded of 1961’s Hurricane Esther and my own drenching from her. The experience enabled me deftly … Continue reading
TONY’S STRAIGHT SHOOTER
THE FOKKER EINDECKER changed the tactics of aerial combat midway through World War I. Aeroplanes were initially used exclusively for observation, until an observer took a potshot at an enemy … Continue reading
FUEL-CELL TRUCKING
HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS may make it easier for the trucking industry to meet ever-more-stringent emissions regulations. An electric-powered truck would make today’s diesel semis look like soot-spewing dinosaurs. However, technology … Continue reading
TRUTH, AFTER A FASHION
“IT’S ON THE INTERNET, so it must be true.” This may be the dumbest (and scariest) statement ever uttered. Yet it also prodded me to thinking about the concept of … Continue reading
BOEING B-9: 1931 HIGH TECH
THE NAME “BOEING” conjures up an image of the majestic 747 airliner or the mighty B-17 Flying Fortress and war-ending B-29 Superfortress. In fact, though, Boeing made its early reputation … Continue reading
REDI- (SET) GO
WIFE DOTTIE ONCE said of a car that was cheap in all ways, “No one should have to take poverty this seriously.” On the other hand, if one’s family of … Continue reading
MORE POWER TO YA
AMERICA’S POWER GRID is the largest in the world. But it’s not the most modern, nor the most reliable. Gretchen Bakke’s book The Grid addresses these points and others. Cymene Howe … Continue reading
BUILDING THE UGEARS PNEUMATIC ENGINE
HERE’S AN ENTERTAINING pursuit emerging from a crowdsourced startup. UGears fulfills a dream of Denis and Gennady, two Ukrainians who hold fond memories of building mechanical models as kids. As … Continue reading
WAGNER INVECTIVES
THE OPERAS OF Richard Wagner give Wife Dottie, Daughter Suz and me much pleasure, though I also appreciate that the subject matter, complexity and sheer length are something of an … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 