Comments | matt_arnold: My Hooptie

matt_arnold

My Hooptie

Oct 16, 2011 18:18

My car broke down a couple of weeks ago for the last time. I donated it to charity and bought a clunker for an irresistible price. The cash-for-clunkers program made it near-miraculous to find a cheap used car, so I jumped on this one ( Read more... )

Comments 5

blue_duck October 17 2011, 02:49:10 UTC

You are awesome. :-)

matt_arnold October 17 2011, 21:32:37 UTC

If I'd known ranting was attractive, I would have been doing it more often!

pstscrpt October 17 2011, 20:53:44 UTC

Stickshifts can be fun to drive, if you're so inclined. But not on a car in poor shape.

skintwospud October 19 2011, 00:03:55 UTC

>I resent being required to act like a mindless machine

To me, that's what driving an automatic is like.

But I agree that driving a CRAPPY stick shift, while is good to develop your skills and not hurt a nice car, isn't necessarily fun. But if you think of the machinery that *you* are controlling, when *you* want to, you may start to enjoy having power over it. Just a thought. ;)

There is very little better than driving an AWESOME stick shift, on perfect roads, with good tires. oh my god. transcendent.

matt_arnold October 19 2011, 00:14:29 UTC

The problem with what you just said is that it is predicated on the notion that there is something for me to gain. In reality, the only change is that I now must constantly fend off vehicle failure. I have everything to lose with a stick shift, and nothing to gain. This "control" is an abstract concept in a vacuum. Even though I can drive a stick shift now, I control less than I did before. Consider your phrase "when *you* want to". What action could I possibly want to take, which I can take now, and couldn't before?