No internet! So, driving and cooking

[servalan]

Well, this weekend (starting Friday) our Internet went down. I'd love to blame Verizon, but really...the Internet closet (the closet in our house which holds a case-less computer and all of its 10-yo friends) stopped working properly

Comments

[pinkdormouse]

I'm bemused by how long it's taking you to master manual transmission. Admittedly I have issues with automatics (mostly because they change gear according to the current conditions rather than conditions coming up very soon, but surely gear changes are the same principle as moving between the paces on a horse or going from a walk to a jog to a run to a sprint if on foot?

[servalan]

I think it's easier to go from manual to auto than vice versa.

For instance, how does one know when to change gears? How does one *remember* to do the switcheroo with the feet (i.e., right foot to accelerate, then come off the accelerator while on the clutch, then switch again)? How to overcome the knowledge that "gas means go", when now it's "turn the engine" (which doesn't alliterate memorably)? How not to accidentally end up in fifth when you mean third? What to do if moving along happily and suddenly realize Not In Any Gear?

It's a huge exercise in thinking much too hard about driving.

[pinkdormouse]

All that comes instinctively to me. Gas still means go, to be honest. Or to be more British about it, the accelerator means to accelerate. Do you have a rev counter? Can you keep track of the engine noise? Those are the two best indicators of when you need to change gear until you know the ins and outs of a particular car (even in an automatic you should notice when the gears change, or at least I do). I'd explain it in terms of traffic conditions as well, but I don't know enough about where you are to say 'you need this gear for that situation' the way I could here.

Knowing exactly where each gear is, is something you may have to learn for each car, but generally modern cars are set to default to the mid point between third and fourth (so you don't have to force the gear lever to one side or the other when selecting those gears.

Does any of that help?

[servalan]

At this point, I think it's a matter of practice (because, no, I don't notice when my automatic shifts gears). But that's right up there with my thought that "it's easier to go from manual to automatic than vice versa." All the things I have to actively remember and think about come naturally to you (since they're part of driving).

Like, do you really want someone on the road to be busy watching the tachometer in traffic or at high speeds? :)

[pinkdormouse]

Glancing at the rev counter, the speedo and the temperature gauge (plus the battery charge level in the 924) all come as instinctively to me as checking the mirrors, and it only takes a fraction of a second to verify that the needles are where they should be. Or don't you have changes between different speed limits at different points on the same road, that you need to pay attention to?

Then again, I learned to drive in an ex-Army Land Rover that had some interesting driving challenges.

[servalan]

**laughing** Yeah, that's not instinctive for me yet. Hence, more practicing. And I have to keep a strong eye on the tach to make sure that I'm in the right zone (esp when coming off a stop sign). I'm totally going to get there!

xyon keeps telling me the story about his university roommate who learned to drive in a stick shift car with a non-functioning clutch, so the roommate had to learn engine matching first and thought that working manual transmissions were dreamy.

I, however, have always driven a very reliable automatic and have never needed to learn anything deeper than finesse. (I've owned two cars...both Toyotas. You don't get much more reliable than that!)

Soon, though, I'll be a driving maven like you!

[servalan]

(All you manual drivers seem much more impressive to me now that I realize how many things you have to think about and consider.)