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

NANO BRIGHT

KEEPING GRANDMA’S silver tea service nice and bright has always been a pain—until now. Researchers in the University of Maryland’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering have applied nanoscience to … Continue reading

April 8, 2013 · Leave a comment

H2 PRODUCTION

THE WORD “breakthrough” can get overworked in science news, but Virginia Tech researchers may have a legitimate claim to it. They’ve discovered an efficient way to extract significant quantities of … Continue reading

April 7, 2013 · Leave a comment

BUY THE MARQUE, NOT THE CAR

WE ALL love our cars, though personal mobility may be approaching a shift of paradigm. A recent survey of ownership options suggests this. A marketing idea with the Fiat 500e … Continue reading

April 6, 2013 · Leave a comment

U OR NON-U, REDUX

IT USED be so simple. Beginning with October 14, 1066, one was either Norman or non-Norman. Up until recently (two days ago), it was U or non-U, the “U” standing … Continue reading

April 5, 2013 · 1 Comment

A WALK IN THE CITY

PEDESTRIANS AREN’T common in my portion of the world. (Book ’em on a 203—”Without a motor vehicle in the County of Orange, State of California.”) On the other hand, I … Continue reading

April 4, 2013 · 2 Comments

SHAKESPEARE, INC.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE a loan shark? A tax dodger? Worse yet, a hedge trader? Or was he merely a man of his Elizabethan times? And the greatest dramaturgist of all time? … Continue reading

April 3, 2013 · Leave a comment

OPEL’S RAKS

WHEN WE last visited the German aviation industry (in 1922; see http://www.wp.me/p2ETap-W8), the Inter-Allied Commission had demanded—and got—destruction of the Zeppelin-Staaken E-4/20. This passenger liner was simply too advanced, potentially … Continue reading

April 2, 2013 · 1 Comment

LIKES TELL A LOT

EVERY TIME you click on a Facebook “Like,” you’re telling something about yourself—and a lot more than your preference for cat videos. This observation comes from a team of psychologists … Continue reading

April 1, 2013 · Leave a comment

EASTER FLICKS

IT’S MID-afternoon. Maybe a holiday meal with the family is either in preparation or has been concluded. Maybe the familial/liturgical/political chatter has temporarily subsided. What to do? See if there’s … Continue reading

March 31, 2013 · Leave a comment

CLEANER GAS—ALL AROUND

THERE IS recent news that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will require cleaner gasoline nationwide (see, for example, http://goo.gl/s5Tc4). As is often the case with such news, it profits from … Continue reading

March 30, 2013 · 1 Comment