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

MAKING AMERICA GREAT—AND TASTY TOO!

FOR THE FIRST time in its 15th biennial existence, the Bocuse d’Or, the Olympics of international chefdom, has been won by an American team. Head Chef Mathew Peters and his … Continue reading →

January 29, 2017 · 1 Comment

A MOCKING APOLOGY

RECENTLY I mentioned the Wizard of Oz in an item On Satire, Self-Inflicted and Otherwise. In retrospect, after more research, I owe an apology to the Wizard. True, the Wizard … Continue reading →

January 28, 2017 · 4 Comments

EXPLORING RATIONALITY, PART 2

IN MY CONTINUING exploration of rationality, I offer the completed Decimal Exploration table of rational numbers 1/2 through 1/17 expressed in decimal form. Sorry about 1/17. I cannot speak for … Continue reading →

January 27, 2017 · 3 Comments

EXPLORING RATIONALITY, PART 1

THE WORD “RATIONAL” is wondrous. One meaning is “having reason or understanding, balanced.” Another, in mathematics, describes the ratio of two numbers, a fraction. In my continuing fractional fun, here … Continue reading →

January 26, 2017 · 1 Comment

WATSON’S WAR WOUND

THERE’S A LOT OF scholarship, some of it contradictory, regarding the war wound of Dr. John H. Watson, chronicler of the world’s greatest consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. Exactly where was … Continue reading →

January 24, 2017 · 8 Comments

THE (MIS?)RULE OF THUMB

I RECENTLY posted a Facebook comment mentioning “rule of thumb” as contrasted with more scientific methods of measurement. Think crowd size, for instance. Before doing so, I felt compelled to … Continue reading →

January 23, 2017 · 1 Comment

MASSIMINO AND THE HUBBLE

THE HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE “stands right up there with the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China as one of the great engineering triumphs in human history.” This assessment comes … Continue reading →

January 22, 2017 · 1 Comment

FRACTIONS CAN BE MEATY—SO SLEEP ON IT

MATH FUN CAN appear in the oddest places: in quick-food marketing or in mattress sales, to name two. McDonald’s was ahead of its time in 1972 with supersizing a hamburger … Continue reading →

January 21, 2017 · 2 Comments

I’M JUST A GHEE WITH THE LINGO

WIFE DOTTIE believes I am overdoing the old-time radio bit. Be that as it may, for her sake alone it is appropriate that I consult a period document, my Dictionary … Continue reading →

January 19, 2017 · 1 Comment

A BUGATTI ELECTRIC VEHICLE!

THE 1931 TYPE 56 wasn’t Bugatti’s first electric car, but it’s likely his rarest. Following the popularity of his Baby Bugatti half-scale electric car for kids, le Patron had a … Continue reading →

January 18, 2017 · Leave a comment