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

E2F2 AND OTHER COMPUTERIZED FUN

A READER with an evidently good memory asks about E2F2, the Engineering Editor’s Fun Factor. This assessment of enthusiast car goodness originally appeared in Road & Track, August 1984. Its … Continue reading

March 18, 2015 · 9 Comments

KING ARTHUR, THROUGH THE AGES

A GOOD LEGEND, whether true or not, has legs. And so it is with the legend of King Arthur, his sword Excalibur, Queen Guinevere and Knights of the Round Table. … Continue reading

March 17, 2015 · 1 Comment

BENTO ART 弁当アート

THE CUISINE OF Japan is renowned for its artistic presentation, even with the everyday dining from the lunchbox, the bento. What’s more, some Japanese moms have transformed their kids’ bento … Continue reading

March 16, 2015 · Leave a comment

MORRIS BULLNOSE COWLEY

FROM TIME to time in period British recreations on TV or film, a tidy little roadster is seen. It stands out because of its rounded radiator, in marked contrast to … Continue reading

March 15, 2015 · 1 Comment

HAPPY Π-DAY!

TODAY, MARCH 14th, at 53 seconds past 9:26 a.m., can be represented 3/14/15 9:26:53, which displays the first ten digits of the mathematical constant π, 3.14159265358979323846… Also, given that I … Continue reading

March 14, 2015 · 5 Comments

HENRY FORD’S FIRST FLIGHT

HENRY FORD was 64 years old before he took his first airplane ride. Not that aviation was of little interest to him: Ford had already invested in an aeroplane (albeit … Continue reading

March 12, 2015 · Leave a comment

THE ANNOTATED MONA LISA

“I MAY not know much about art, but I know what I like.” For a long time, this adage summed up my own art appreciation. But I recently rummaged through … Continue reading

March 10, 2015 · 2 Comments

THE WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES

LIKE MANY, I am curious about lists of extremes, the most this, the least that. And, being as I am something of a city dweller (as opposed to living rurally), … Continue reading

March 9, 2015 · 1 Comment

BROMINE—PRODUCT OF A BAD NEIGHBORHOOD

BROMINE, FROM the Greek, βρῶμος, brómos, as in “strong-smelling,” is a fuming liquid at room temperature. It’s toxic and corrosive. But it isn’t all bad. It just comes from a … Continue reading

March 8, 2015 · 1 Comment

THE REDHEAD WITH DISTURBINGLY ROUND GOGGLES, PART II

YESTERDAY, TONY Jannus’s 1914 flight across Tampa Bay turned into something even more disturbing than his passenger’s disturbingly round goggles. Chapter 3—A new place, and a new friend THIS was … Continue reading

March 6, 2015 · Leave a comment