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

PORCINE MATTERS

“PIGS,” WIKIPEDIA DESCRIBES, “have been featured in human culture since Neolithic time, appearing in art and literature for children and adults….” BBC History magazine, October 2024, had a related article, … Continue reading

November 5, 2024 · 2 Comments

TRIPPIN’ THROUGH KEYBOARDS

I’VE BEEN ENJOYING Michael Arndt’s Snails & Monkey Tails: A Visual Guide to Punctuation & Symbols. One of its chapters is “Typography in the Digital Age,” which begins with that … Continue reading

November 4, 2024 · 3 Comments

THOMAS BOWDLER—AHEAD OF HIS TIME?

THE HYPOCRITICAL WHACKO CONSERVATIVES’ BANNING OF BOOKS got me thinking of Thomas Bowdler, whence the term “bowdlerize,” to expurgate; loosely, “to clean up.” That is, it’s ok for Trump to … Continue reading

November 3, 2024 · Leave a comment

HENRY J—A COMPACT CAR WITH HUGE HERITAGE PART 2

YESTERDAY WE LEFT OUR ROAD AND TRACK STAFFERS trippin’ to Reno in one of industrialist Henry J. Kaiser’s tidy little products. Today we pick up in Part 2 with their … Continue reading

November 2, 2024 · 4 Comments

HENRY J—A COMPACT CAR WITH HUGE HERITAGE  PART 1

“FOR SOME MONTHS,” THE MAGAZINE ENTHUSED in January 1952, “Road and Track [the “&” came along in mid-1954] has been off-handedly touting the virtues of a much under-rated and (we … Continue reading

November 1, 2024 · 1 Comment

JOHN HONEYMAN—GEORGE WASHINGTON’S DOUBLE AGENT     PART 2

YESTERDAY PART 1 INTRODUCED US TO John Honeyman, George Washington’s double agent who played a crucial role in turning the tide of the American Revolution. Today in Part 2 is … Continue reading

October 31, 2024 · 1 Comment

JOHN HONEYMAN—GEORGE WASHINGTON’S DOUBLE AGENT PART 1

NUGGETS OF KNOWLEDGE ARE FOUND in a variety of places. Recently on SiriusXM “Radio Classics,” mention was made in a vintage “Lux Theatre” broadcast of a Revolutionary War spy named … Continue reading

October 30, 2024 · 1 Comment

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS—A PERSONAL UPDATE

I CONTINUE TO MONITOR Automotive News, though with somewhat different focus in retirement than the weekly in-depth scrutiny of my professional years. These days, I let the issues pile up … Continue reading

October 29, 2024 · 5 Comments

NEWS FROM THE CLASSROOMS

THE U.S. CONSTITUTION CAME TO MIND when I read David Dayen in The New York Times, October 22, 2024: “Back in June, Oklahoma’s superintendent for public instruction, Ryan Walters, ordered every … Continue reading

October 28, 2024 · 2 Comments

ANGLOPHILIC COMMENTARIES PART 2

YESTERDAY WE SHARED ENGLISH QUOTES from the likes of Noel Coward, Dorothy Sayers, W. Somerset Maugham, and even Irishman George Bernard Shaw. Today in Part 2, two extended commentaries follow, … Continue reading

October 27, 2024 · 5 Comments