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

HOLMES AND MATHS

I’VE PURPOSELY chosen the word “maths” for this bit of Sherlockiana. Not only is this a common British term for the subject, but it also suggests its richness, everything from … Continue reading

January 15, 2013 · Leave a comment

LEARN TO FLY

A SHOW of hands, please, of all who have ever wanted to learn how to fly. I thought so. And, like me, maybe, what with one thing and another, you’ve … Continue reading

January 14, 2013 · Leave a comment

BOURTON-ON-THE-WATER

AN ENGLISH village can have a fairytale appearance, and one of my favorites is Bourton-on-the-Water. This Cotswolds town of about 3300 residents is 85 miles northwest of London, in Gloucestershire. … Continue reading

January 13, 2013 · Leave a comment

ENTHUSIAST CAR FLICKS

OSCAR NOMINATIONS have been announced for 2013, so here’s our own look at movies celebrating enthusiast cars, sports cars, auto racing and related passions. This list is in no sense … Continue reading

January 12, 2013 · 2 Comments

WHEH’S THE CAH PAHKED?

A LETTER in The New York Times Book Review, January 6, 2013, reminded me of my own experience with the New England accent. What with Downeast Maine, the Northeast Kingdom … Continue reading

January 11, 2013 · 7 Comments

MIND THE GAP

HURRAH FOR the London Underground, 150 years old today! It was on January 10, 1863, a Saturday, that thousands of Londoners queued up to ride the Metropolitan Railway underground from … Continue reading

January 10, 2013 · 4 Comments

LE BUGATTI ENGLOUTI

WITH HOMAGE to Claude Debussy’s La Cathédrale Engloutie (The Sunken Cathedral), I offer the story of Le Bugatti Englouti—a tale at least part of which happens to be true. The … Continue reading

January 9, 2013 · 1 Comment

EUCLID’S ELEMENTS

ONE OF the best examples of the elegance of mathematics, The Elements of Euclid, was composed more than 2300 years ago. The Greek mathematician Euclid lived in Alexandria around 300 … Continue reading

January 8, 2013 · Leave a comment

SPITFIRES IN RANGOON

AIRCRAFT HUNTERS hope to find as many as 36 Supermarine Spitfire fighter aircraft that were buried next to a Burma airfield at the end of World War II. According to … Continue reading

January 7, 2013 · 3 Comments

GOODING AUCTION

THERE ARE 156 cars coming up at the Gooding & Company auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, January 18 and 19, 2013. For full details of the auction, see http://www.goodingco.com. More than … Continue reading

January 6, 2013 · 4 Comments