Under The Hood

So I know I said I would make more frequent updates, but perhaps I lied. That or I'm just very lazy. Regardless, here we are once again at some time late at night, a time when a big slab of the western hemisphere has gone to sleep, and when the night owls fly their way to the internet.

After the jump, Driving!



I always wing these things, so I suppose I shall talk about what has happened since my last post *looks at last post*. Ah yes, driving school. It actually wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, in fact, I may dare say it was almost enjoyable? Sitting in a makeshift movie theater chair that doesn't recline or have cup holders. But wait, that's not all -- sitting there for 8 and 7 hours on Saturday and Sunday respectively (with small recesses at seemingly random times of the day) was also quite the roller coaster ride. Okay, enough sarcasm; it was fucking painful. I mean I suppose I feel more...aware? Educated? The teacher was wonderful though, a kind hearted East-Indian man who put Safety before curry. That's what driving is all about in my opinion. I don't see it as a fun activity or anything (though some may argue), I just want to get to where I need to be in one piece. That is all I ask, and it's honestly the most anyone should expect from being able to drive. But I digress; it was essentially 15 hours of him saying to not kill yourself, or anyone around you so god help you.

Another feature that this driving school offered was a driving simulator. It's basically for complete newbies like me, who have never even turned on the ignition before. It prepares you (somewhat) from the learner's stage, to the "get into the car, and follow my instructions" stage. They offer 6 free hours on the thing, so I decided to take advantage of that since I was paying a lot of money (some $300).

This be the Driving Simulator. Looks high tech right?

For all you people who can already drive, you must find this incredibly amusing. To me though, it was pretty much my first time driving. Ever. So I did find it somewhat interesting, as lame as it may seem.

Here is a first person view. The little control pad on the right is for things like changing to park, and setting the hand brakes!   The steering wheel had stuff like signals (the triggers in the back) and buttons to simulate a shoulder check (red buttons).

Overall, I would give the tool a 3.5/5. It is very strict on the rules of the road, so that teaches you of all the minor things you need to constantly be mindful of while on the road. However, it still felt like I was playing a video game, and I found it difficult to take seriously in that I felt next to no mental pressure while handling it, which is one of the major things ( I feel) that make driving challenging in the first place. As a final conclusion: it prepared me more to write the learner's exam again, rather than prepare me for the in-car training I will be doing starting in July.

I will make another post tomorrow about something else (I promise), because I have work in the morning that is very, very nearby.

And with that, 3:19AM encroaches on my growing fatigue.