BLÉRIOT TYPE XI TECHNICALITIES
IT WAS fun celebrating Louis Blériot and his epic flight crossing the English Channel in his Type XI (www.wp.me/p2ETap-M7). Just as they extended the celebration back in 1909, let’s continue it today, … Continue reading
BLÉRIOT XI
LET’S CELEBRATE Louis Blériot, his Type XI and its historic flight across the English Channel. The “Type Onze” generated great excitement with this July 25, 1909 flight, in no small … Continue reading
THE FIRST DETECTIVE
EARLY IN A Study in Scarlet, Holmes tells Watson, “I suppose I am the only one in the world. I’m a consulting detective.” It was 1881. One obviously treads lightly in … Continue reading
CARS OF THE SCHLUMPFS
COLLECTIONS OF cars often have interesting stories, but there’s no more intriguing one than the tale of the Schlumpf Collection. Originating as an obsession of brothers Fritz and Hans Schlumpf, … Continue reading
AFRICA BIZARRE POSH
I’VE SAMPLED an odd bit of the African continent that can be justifiably characterized as bizarre posh. Awhile back, I was sorting photos while on a long airline trip and, just for … Continue reading
CLESSIE CUMMINS—A CLASSY GUY
THE SAME guy who invented the heavy-duty truckers’ Jake Brake toured Europe at the wheel of an Indy race car. He was also briefly credited with—incorrectly, I hasten to add—fueling … Continue reading
DATA MINING
CALL ME Big Data. Several years ago—never mind how long precisely—computers became potent enough to analyze huge collections of information. These metastudies of data mining have included everything from medical reports … Continue reading
RONALD SEARLE
THE ART and humor of Ronald Searle delighted me once again when I was moving some of my books and came upon Slightly Foxed. This wonderful book addresses one of … Continue reading
48 VOLTS
JOHNSON CONTROLS, a major automaker supplier, has announced it’s developing a 48-volt lithium-ion battery for automobile applications. According to Automotive News, January 21, 2013, an unnamed European automaker (spelled Mercedes-Benz?) … Continue reading
THE ART OF EARLY FLIGHT
FLYING WOULD have seemed magical to that earliest generation of viewers—including artists. Here’s a sampling of several books that display this. Each is listed at either http://www.amazon.com or http://www.abebooks.com. This … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 