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
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
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
THE REDHEAD WITH DISTURBINGLY ROUND GOGGLES
A ROMANCE starring Tony Jannus, the Benoist XIV Flying Boat and the Redhead with Disturbingly Round Goggles. Chapter 1—No longer a lazy day FOR pilot Tony Jannus, it seemed just … Continue reading
MATHEMATICIANS AND THE NSA
THE FEDERAL government’s National Security Agency is charged with devising cryptologic systems for protecting U.S. information while, at the same time, exploiting weaknesses in the information systems of other countries. … Continue reading
IS PRIVACY GONE FOR GOOD?
SCIENCE MAGAZINE, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, has part of its January 30, 2015, issue devoted to “The End of Privacy.” A dozen essays present … Continue reading
CHANGING TIMES
HOW TIMES have changed. Sometimes for the better, sometimes…. Here’s a collection of trends that I certainly wouldn’t have expected at the beginning of my (40!) years of monitoring the … Continue reading
YOU GO, GRRLS!— IN 19TH CENTURY MASSACHUSETTS
A DRAMA on SiriusXM’s “Radio Classics” introduced me to the Peabody sisters of 19th century Salem, Massachusetts. This remarkable trio, Elizabeth, Mary and Sophia, left a legacy that would do … Continue reading
“SIT!” SAID THE CYNOLOGIST
A BOOK of Sherlockiana introduced me to the term cynology, “logy” as in “the study of,” cyno from the Greek κυνóς, “dog.” As is usually the case, this book led … Continue reading
LATINA MORTUA EST?
IS LATIN a dead language? Far from it if you’re into the biological sciences, philology, law or medicine. Or if you happen to be using an ATM in Vatican City. … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 