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
MY WORD!/MY MUSIC
TWO OF the most entertaining uses of radio waves were the BBC programs My Word! (1956-1990) and My Music (1966-1993). Anchoring these two panel shows over the years were Frank … Continue reading
W. EDWARDS DEMING—A MAN OF HIGH QUALITY
IT’S RARE that one person can be credited with transforming an industry—not to say a country. However, there’s a good argument that W. Edwards Deming did just that. It was … Continue reading
A GLOSSARY OF COOL
CHANGES ARE coming in the refrigerant used in automotive air conditioning, so it seems a good time to bring things up to date with a Glossary of Cool. Also, it’s … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 