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

OLDEN GAMES

CURIOUSLY, JAMES HALLIWELL’S DICTIONARY OF ARCHAIC WORDS proves to be an entertaining source for games of old. My source as well is archaic: Though published in 1989, it’s a facsimile edition … Continue reading

September 24, 2023 · 1 Comment

THE THEATRICAL PRINTS OF THE TORII MASTERS

“CREDIT FOR THE BEGINNING OF KABUKI,” Howard A. Link recounted, “goes to a female shrine dancer from Izumo named Okuni. Around 1600, the very year of Hideyori’s defeat by Ieyasu, … Continue reading

September 23, 2023 · Leave a comment

HOW’S YOUR LOREM IPSUM DOIN’?

YESTERDAY, WE MENTIONED jamais vu, the familiar becoming peculiar through extreme repetition. (Try saying “table” 30 times.)  Speaking of Which. I’m reminded of an opposite word game, the one starting … Continue reading

September 22, 2023 · 3 Comments

THE 2023 IG NOBEL PRIZES 

IT’S IG NOBEL PRIZE time again! Officially the “33rd First Annual Ig Nobel Prize Ceremony” rewards researchers in ten categories for presenting “things that make people laugh, then think.”  I … Continue reading

September 21, 2023 · Leave a comment

AIRCRAFT CUTAWAYS—A VARIETY OF STYLES

THE PURPOSE OF A CUTAWAY, of course, is to reveal inner aspects of something by selectively omitting outer elements. The intent, though, depends on the audience: Is it a technical … Continue reading

September 20, 2023 · Leave a comment

L.J.K. SETRIGHT’S TIMESCALE    PART 2

WE’RE CELEBRATING THE WIDE TALENTS of L.J.K. Setright, as exemplified in his Timescale, a multifaceted timeline in his Drive On! A Social History of the Motor Car. Leonard John Kensell … Continue reading

September 19, 2023 · 1 Comment

TIDBITS FROM SETRIGHT’S TIMESCALE PART 1

AUTOMOTIVE JOURNALISTS WRITE ABOUT AUTOMOBLES. But some, like L.J.K. Setright, widened their field of vision considerably. His classic Drive On! is accurately subtitled A Social History of the Motor Car. … Continue reading

September 18, 2023 · 1 Comment

EVALUATING THE DE TOMASO PANTERA AND THE U.P.   PART 2

YESTERDAY IN PART 1, R&T SHARED its evaluation of the 1973 De Tomaso Pantera, a Ford-engine exotic available at less than stratospheric price. Today, two women familiar to R&T readers, … Continue reading

September 17, 2023 · Leave a comment

EVALUATING THE DE TOMASO PANTERA—AND THE U.P.   PART 1

CRAMMING AN AMERICAN V-8 into a mid-engine Italian exotic may not be without its shortcomings, but many of these can be remedied—or overlooked. Indeed, two young ladies from California had … Continue reading

September 16, 2023 · Leave a comment

ON OLD REFERENCE BOOKS

I PONDER OCCASIONALLY, AMIDST SCADS OF BOOKS, whether a few clicks of the computer keyboard wouldn’t replace them all. This, in a sense, is the idea being LLM, large language … Continue reading

September 15, 2023 · 4 Comments