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

A MURDER AT TUDOR CLOSE

A SHOW of hands, please, of those who know Professor Plum, Miss Scarlet, Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mr. Green or Mrs. Peacock. North Americans suspect these people of murder performed … Continue reading

November 18, 2014 · Leave a comment

ALEXANDER EAGLEROCK

IF YOU’VE changed planes in Denver (and haven’t we all at one time or another?), you might well have admired a biplane displayed overhead near Gate 21 of Concourse B. … Continue reading

November 17, 2014 · Leave a comment

LASERS OVER MAHWAH

IT’S NOT exactly Bullets Over Broadway, but Lasers Over Mahwah is the reality of High Frequency Trading of stocks, as practiced in one of the world’s major centers of such … Continue reading

November 16, 2014 · 2 Comments

STRUCTURAL INSTABILITY

IT MAY seem odd that the BBC World Service got me thinking of dynamical systems being structurally stable or not. However, this happened at 6:05 a.m. on Thursday, November 13, 2014. … Continue reading

November 15, 2014 · 1 Comment

BERNIE’S CONNAUGHT DRIVE AT MONACO

THERE’S NO lack of opinion among auto enthusiasts about Formula One czar Bernie Ecclestone, but his being an ace race driver isn’t one of them. This isn’t for lack of … Continue reading

November 14, 2014 · 4 Comments

WALK RIGHT IN, SIT RIGHT DOWN

VITRA FURNITURE has been good for Weil am Rhein, Germany. This Swiss family-owned furniture firm has its headquarters in town, located in the southwestern tip of Baden-Wurttenberg, German’s southwestern-most state. … Continue reading

November 13, 2014 · 2 Comments

I GO SOMEWHERE, I TAKE A CAB

BACK IN 1995 I researched a story contrasting taxi cabs of London, Stuttgart and Tokyo. I saw this as a companion to “Three Subterranean Transportation Systems,” R&T, April 1994, to … Continue reading

November 12, 2014 · Leave a comment

DAVID MACAULAY’S WORLD

THANKS TO David Macaulay, we can understand something about building a Pharaoh’s pyramid, a Roman city, a medieval castle, a Gothic cathedral and the underpinnings of a modern city intersection. … Continue reading

November 10, 2014 · 3 Comments

SOME VTOL AIRCRAFT

VTOL STANDS for vertical takeoff and landing, as it applies to fixed-wing aircraft (not rotary-wing or helicopters). Here’s a brief sampling of the type and its variants. Maybe you’ll share … Continue reading

November 9, 2014 · 3 Comments

LANCIA D50 GRAND PRIX CAR

MODERN FORMULA One cars fit the technical term “hybrid” because of their complex interactive gasoline/electric powerplants. But hybrid also describes the corporate characteristics of an innovative mid-1950s Grand Prix car, … Continue reading

November 7, 2014 · 5 Comments