German Autobahn
Over the last three days, all in all I've spent more than seven hours driving on the German Autobahn. Which means I had a lot of time to think about what makes the German Autobahn so infamous.
First of all, there are the rules. You've got two to three lanes, and per default, you drive on the very right one. You only use the middle and the left lane for passing other cars. You're not allowed to pass other cars on the right side. There's no general speed limit, although from time to time you have a temporary speed limit.
Now, that was the theory. Reality looks a little different. On a regular week day, the right lane is occupied by a long line of trucks. Those go about 55 mph maximum. That means that the theoretic rule of always driving on the right lane is pretty unrealizable, except if you're willing to crawl all the way to your destination. So, the two left lanes are left for the cars (if there are three lanes. If there are only two, it gets pretty ugly. I'm going to go with the three for now). If you're a normal guy with a normal car, you go between 75 and 100 mph, and you drive on the middle lane. Then there are the guys with the huge silver or black BMW's. Those guys usually go 130 mph upwards. They usually use the left lane.
Now that sounds all pretty easy-going: either go fast in the middle, or go insanely fast on the left. But as a normal guy using the middle lane, you might get the idea of wanting to pass one of the other normal guys who are also on the middle lane. Which means you have to use the left lane, because passing on the right is not allowed. So you get your speed up to about 90, and pull onto the left lane to pass the guy before you. Three things can happen now. First, no insanely fast going guy wants to pass you while you're passing the other guy, and you can simply drive past the other guy and safely go back to driving in the middle. Second, one of the BMW's drivers comes rushing at you in your rearview mirror, but he/she sees you, slows down and waits until you have completed your passing maneuver beore speeding up again. Third, the BMW driver comes rushing at you, sees you, and doesn't slow down, at least not until he/she is hovering right behind your taillights. If Mr. BMW is feeling really good, he might flash his lights at you or set his left blinker to make it perfectly clear to you that you're in the way. Normal people either get scared or pissed off by those BMW people. If they get scared, they cut back onto the middle lane way too close to the car they just passed. If they get pissed, they take all the time in the world, and risk Mr. BMW crashing into them when they finally do pull onto the middle lane.
Driving on the Autobahn is actually pretty dangerous. I have to admit, though, it's fun. It's a thrill. It's about maneuvering right and well, about knowing what your car can do and what it can't. It's fun to try and wiggle your way through tight traffic as fast as you can without having to hit the brakes. It's unbeliably stupid, the ruthless way Germans behave on the Autobahn. I know that. Still, I love driving. And I don't think they should put up a general speed limit.
I've also watched the new episodes of
Bad Guys, I think this one was called. It was okay. It had its funny parts. I get the feeling, though, that now that they have killed off the Orai, they're only screwing around. One cracky episode full of silliness and weird plot is fun, two is okay, but at some point, I'd like to see some more character development. I know, the series is in its tenth season, but they still have Vala. She's still pretty undeveloped, they could work with her. Or Mitchell. Or give Teal'c a new personality, since he's lost his old one. Or something. Something more than comic relief.
X-Files again. I don't remember what the episode was called, but it was almost the same, with parts of the episode shot from Mulder's and some from Scully's point of view. It was fun then, it was fun this time. And I liked it how the bad guy got away. The two Winchesters behaved like such jerks in this episode, they didn't really deserve a victory in the end.
What was Dean eating in the first scene in the motel? It looked like Gagh worms.
Wow, there was a lot of blood and gore in that one. Torturing patients? Chase, you bad boy. And Cameron, you bad girl. They go ahead and ship her with Chase, that's okay. As long as they don't develop the Cuddy/House thing they were threatening us with. House is Wilson's all the way. Oh, and I really loved the logic in Wilson's argument when he came to House's office and complained about not being able to exchange gossip with House because he has to be House's conscience. Wilson's such a hypocrit. But a honest one. And I love him anyways.
First of all, there are the rules. You've got two to three lanes, and per default, you drive on the very right one. You only use the middle and the left lane for passing other cars. You're not allowed to pass other cars on the right side. There's no general speed limit, although from time to time you have a temporary speed limit.
Now, that was the theory. Reality looks a little different. On a regular week day, the right lane is occupied by a long line of trucks. Those go about 55 mph maximum. That means that the theoretic rule of always driving on the right lane is pretty unrealizable, except if you're willing to crawl all the way to your destination. So, the two left lanes are left for the cars (if there are three lanes. If there are only two, it gets pretty ugly. I'm going to go with the three for now). If you're a normal guy with a normal car, you go between 75 and 100 mph, and you drive on the middle lane. Then there are the guys with the huge silver or black BMW's. Those guys usually go 130 mph upwards. They usually use the left lane.
Now that sounds all pretty easy-going: either go fast in the middle, or go insanely fast on the left. But as a normal guy using the middle lane, you might get the idea of wanting to pass one of the other normal guys who are also on the middle lane. Which means you have to use the left lane, because passing on the right is not allowed. So you get your speed up to about 90, and pull onto the left lane to pass the guy before you. Three things can happen now. First, no insanely fast going guy wants to pass you while you're passing the other guy, and you can simply drive past the other guy and safely go back to driving in the middle. Second, one of the BMW's drivers comes rushing at you in your rearview mirror, but he/she sees you, slows down and waits until you have completed your passing maneuver beore speeding up again. Third, the BMW driver comes rushing at you, sees you, and doesn't slow down, at least not until he/she is hovering right behind your taillights. If Mr. BMW is feeling really good, he might flash his lights at you or set his left blinker to make it perfectly clear to you that you're in the way. Normal people either get scared or pissed off by those BMW people. If they get scared, they cut back onto the middle lane way too close to the car they just passed. If they get pissed, they take all the time in the world, and risk Mr. BMW crashing into them when they finally do pull onto the middle lane.
Driving on the Autobahn is actually pretty dangerous. I have to admit, though, it's fun. It's a thrill. It's about maneuvering right and well, about knowing what your car can do and what it can't. It's fun to try and wiggle your way through tight traffic as fast as you can without having to hit the brakes. It's unbeliably stupid, the ruthless way Germans behave on the Autobahn. I know that. Still, I love driving. And I don't think they should put up a general speed limit.
I've also watched the new episodes of
Bad Guys, I think this one was called. It was okay. It had its funny parts. I get the feeling, though, that now that they have killed off the Orai, they're only screwing around. One cracky episode full of silliness and weird plot is fun, two is okay, but at some point, I'd like to see some more character development. I know, the series is in its tenth season, but they still have Vala. She's still pretty undeveloped, they could work with her. Or Mitchell. Or give Teal'c a new personality, since he's lost his old one. Or something. Something more than comic relief.
X-Files again. I don't remember what the episode was called, but it was almost the same, with parts of the episode shot from Mulder's and some from Scully's point of view. It was fun then, it was fun this time. And I liked it how the bad guy got away. The two Winchesters behaved like such jerks in this episode, they didn't really deserve a victory in the end.
What was Dean eating in the first scene in the motel? It looked like Gagh worms.
Wow, there was a lot of blood and gore in that one. Torturing patients? Chase, you bad boy. And Cameron, you bad girl. They go ahead and ship her with Chase, that's okay. As long as they don't develop the Cuddy/House thing they were threatening us with. House is Wilson's all the way. Oh, and I really loved the logic in Wilson's argument when he came to House's office and complained about not being able to exchange gossip with House because he has to be House's conscience. Wilson's such a hypocrit. But a honest one. And I love him anyways.