NESSIE TIDBITS PART 2
I’M NOT SURE HOW I got into researching the Loch Ness Monster, but it’s fun to tiptoe between truth and supposition. Indeed, here in Part 2 matters seem to reside … Continue reading
NESSIE TIDBITS PART 1
I TEND TO BE A SKEPTICAL SORT (my mathematics training rates proof above supposition) and I dislike anagrams (which sounds irrelevant but of which more anon). These two personality quirks, … Continue reading
FERRARI GROWL FROM A TINY TIGER—THE 1958 FIAT-ABARTH 750
“UNDOUBTEDLY A FAVORITE SPORT of Fiat-Abarth owners will be VW-baiting,” R&T said in June 1958. “Even our somewhat jaded test crew got a tremendous kick out of driving the Fiat-Abarth … Continue reading
DECIMAL SEPARATOR TIDBITS
“THE DECIMAL POINT,” REPORTS SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, February 29, 2024, “is 150 Years Older Than Previously Thought, Medieval Manuscript Reveals.” Sarah Kuta writes, “A Venetian merchant used the mathematical symbol while … Continue reading
LET’S AIM FOR LAGOM
A RECENT WORD•GENIUS introduced me to the word “lagom” and also got me thinking about life in general. Originally a Swedish word, lagom (LAH-gawm) is “the principle of living a … Continue reading
NON-ABELIAN OPERATIONS
AN OPERATION IS COMMUTATIVE (OR ABELIAN) if the order of its application is irrelevant to the result: A • B = B • A. It is non-commutative (or non-abelian) if … Continue reading
RUM-RUNNERS OF THE AIR PART 2
YESTERDAY, A 100-YEAR-OLD REPORT from The New York Times described “Flyers Who Ply Their Contraband Trade on Our Landward Borders and Our Coasts.” What writer Howard Mingos had in mind … Continue reading
RUM-RUNNERS OF THE AIR PART 1
THE EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION and its enforcing Volstead Act, 1919, prohibited the manufacture and sales of alcoholic beverages. Note, however, it didn’t outlaw the possession or consumption of … Continue reading
“ROUND ATLAS” FUN REDUX
“CANADA AS FAR SOUTH AS CALIFORNIA”?? This calls to mind the NPR April Fool’s spoof that the U.S. sold Arizona to Canada. It was a win/win deal: Canadians had a … Continue reading
LET’S HEAR IT FOR….
I DETEST CANNED APPLAUSE and especially canned laughter. Somehow it sounds ever so phony. But genuine applause is a joy to performers. And a fascinating topic in Nick Slonimsky’s Lectionary … Continue reading
Simanaitis Says 