THE HOLMES-WOLFE LINK
WILLIAM BARING-Gould, a most notable Sherlockian scholar (see http://wp.me/p2ETap-3v), has presented the thesis that famed detective Nero Wolfe is the love-child of Holmes and Irene Adler. As chronicler John H. … Continue reading
HYDROGEN I.C., PART 1: BILLINGS
HYDROGEN IS extremely flammable (“Oh, the humanity!”). However, this is one reason why it’s a much better energy carrier than, say, potatoes, which are not flammable. And while hydrogen fuel … Continue reading
PONTCYSYLLTE: A WELSH WONDER
THE NAME Pontcysyllte is Welsh, its nearest English pronunciation “Pońt-ker-suck-tay.” The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct is an architecture wonder along the Llangollen Canal. Some more Welsh: Llangollen is, sort of, “Thl’an-gothl’n,” with those … Continue reading
CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT, TAKE 1
IT’S AMAZING how quickly aviation technology progressed a century ago. The Wrights flew 120 ft. in December 1903, yet by July 1909 Louis Blériot won the London Daily Mail £1000 … Continue reading
PARIS TECH 2012
THERE WERE several cars of particular technical interest exhibited at 2012 Paris Mondial de l’Automobile. Here’s why I believe they’re significant. Honda’s EV-Ster could be the kind of battery electric … Continue reading
NORMAN GRANZ—JAZZ IMPRESARIO, CAR NUT
BACK 60 years ago, jazz was a big deal. Musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Dave Brubeck made the cover of Time magazine. And, in no small part … Continue reading
WHAT TO DRIVE?—TODAY AND TOMORROW
THE AUTOMOBILE is evolving, more quickly than in any period other than its first decades more than a century ago. Back then it was gasoline, electric and steam fighting it … Continue reading
NEW ZEALAND’S SOUTH ISLAND
SEASONS IN the southern hemisphere are opposite of ours, of course. This turns out to be very convenient for those wishing to do winter tire testing in July and August, … Continue reading
THE DIFFERENCE ENGINE—FACT AND FICTION
CHARLES BABBAGE was a nineteenth century mathematician who recognized the computational drudgery of assembling tables of logarithms, trigonometric and other mathematical functions. This was the Industrial Age, after all. Why … Continue reading
WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS (SHOW)
THE 2012 Paris Mondial de l’Automobile has been reported as a combination of scintillating excitement combined with doom and gloom. Having stayed right here in southern California (see Atkinson and … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 