/endhijack
EZ2Dancer
Moderator: Moderators
-
BeatmaniacIIDX
- Standard
- Posts: 377
- Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:00 pm
- Location: Purgatory.. Er.. Indiana.
- Contact:
Mine is an '04, but that was the year they added the LSD. So it should be roughly the same. I love the car...it's been a blast to drive/own. My only gripe is the lack of cruise control.
One could argue that a performance car does not require such a convenience, but one of the reasons I like the car so much is that it's practical as well as fun. It's well suited to being a daily driver (or a road trip car) in spite of its abilities. I really start to miss the cruise control somewhere in about hour 2 or 3 of a trip.
Someone asked about the lack of cruise control in an online chat with the engineers prior to the release of the car. The response was that "we couldn't figure out where to put it."
If you've ever looked under the hood, you can understand how that may be a very honest statement. There is no space under there with all the stuff they've put in. I often joke that they liquify the contents of the engine compartment and pour it in. Then it just solidifies that way.
One could argue that a performance car does not require such a convenience, but one of the reasons I like the car so much is that it's practical as well as fun. It's well suited to being a daily driver (or a road trip car) in spite of its abilities. I really start to miss the cruise control somewhere in about hour 2 or 3 of a trip.
Someone asked about the lack of cruise control in an online chat with the engineers prior to the release of the car. The response was that "we couldn't figure out where to put it."
If you've ever looked under the hood, you can understand how that may be a very honest statement. There is no space under there with all the stuff they've put in. I often joke that they liquify the contents of the engine compartment and pour it in. Then it just solidifies that way.
I'm not a big fan of cruise control. To me, if you start to feel uncomfortable after a few hours, it's a sign that either your car's ergonomics are off or (more likely) your driving technique needs to be changed. This is similar to my reaction to people who tell me they can't use a computer or play an instrument casually for more than a few hours at a time. Be not in doubt - assuming you have no unusual physical conditions, it is possible to learn to do any of these things in a way that doesn't cause discomfort or distress.
That said, I realize that not everyone has the time or the experience to come up with a driving style that's not hard on their body. My father uses cruise control a lot, and he's never caused an accident while using it. Many of my other friends and acquaintances swear by it. But most of the heavy drivers in the bunch never touch it. My car doesn't even have cruise control - I have used cars with cruise control in the past, and made up my mind that I was going to pick up one without if it was at all feasible.
Of course, my car is a little '06 Corolla - not exactly a sports car by anybody's standards! (Though I tell anyone who complains about the time I had to dodge a semi with it...) So you can tell where my priorities lie.
That said, I realize that not everyone has the time or the experience to come up with a driving style that's not hard on their body. My father uses cruise control a lot, and he's never caused an accident while using it. Many of my other friends and acquaintances swear by it. But most of the heavy drivers in the bunch never touch it. My car doesn't even have cruise control - I have used cars with cruise control in the past, and made up my mind that I was going to pick up one without if it was at all feasible.
Of course, my car is a little '06 Corolla - not exactly a sports car by anybody's standards! (Though I tell anyone who complains about the time I had to dodge a semi with it...) So you can tell where my priorities lie.
Perhaps. But regardless of technique, I think you'll agree that driving without cruise control requires some amount of pressure on the accelerator pedal with your right leg/foot that is not duplicated on the other side.Arka wrote:To me, if you start to feel uncomfortable after a few hours, it's a sign that either your car's ergonomics are off or (more likely) your driving technique needs to be changed.
I have found this imbalance to be the root of my long distance, non-cruise-enabled driving. Holding the pedal doesn't necessarily cause pain or discomfort on its own (though sometimes it does). But I'm still putting an unbalanced stress on my body. I would liken it to rolling over on the opposite side while sleeping.
One other point: cruise control is also convenient as "speed maintenance" to help avoid radar-induced citations.
My car has a manual transmission. I'm generally disinclined to operate the accelerator pedal with my left foot. I have done it on occasion, but it's rather awkward to do so.Arka wrote:Interesting. So you're a symmetry person... yet you're left-handed?
I usually (?) trade off feet when I'm driving, but I don't know whether your pedals are properly situated for that to be feasible.
As for radar-induced citations: in Indiana?!
As for symmetry...I used to be OCD about it, but I got over it. But my point is that stress on one leg but not the other--even if it's not causing pain or discomfort in itself--can cause other issues. If you simply stand up all day, you're going to have some fatigue in your legs. Non-cruise driving is likely to have a similar effect--perhaps to a lesser extent, but only in one leg. I know it has altered my dance game play in the past.
-
BeatmaniacIIDX
- Standard
- Posts: 377
- Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 4:00 pm
- Location: Purgatory.. Er.. Indiana.
- Contact:
I'm assuming 165-170 is mph--or perhaps kph since you're Canadian. Either way, I have to surmise that by "bike" you are talking about a motorcycle. I doubt even Lance Armstrong could attain those kinds of speeds on a bicycle.BeatmaniacIIDX wrote:Meh... Try riding a bike. Having a 750 between your legs gets slightly uncomfortable after a while. Unless you're going 165-170.
At least a bike seems less unbalanced.I have trouble just staying seated for long periods of time. I like to get up and move around. This doesn't really bode well for long distances with cars or bikes (of either kind).
I think that's the bottom line to this discussion (for me). While I support the suggestions Arka made for ways to make a road trip more enjoyable, I'd rather do those things sans travel. Getting there isn't really half the fun for me. I'd rather already be where I'm going and doing whatever I was going there to do than to be traveling to get there--regardless of mode of transportation.
I went through a phase where if I did something with one side of my body I had to do it with the other as well. So, for example, if I bumped into something with my left hand, I'd turn around hit it with my right hand, too. Or if I stepped on a rock in the sidewalk with one foot, I'd make sure to step on it with the other one, too.Arka wrote:Very interesting...Ho wrote:As for symmetry...I used to be OCD about it, but I got over it.
It was dumb. I don't know how it started. It was a long time ago. And like I said, I got over it (thankfully). I don't think I even set out to get over it...I think I just kinda forgot about it or quit worrying about it at some point.
Can you please make a habit of this?Potter wrote:i thought about this longer than 2 seconds
I had some idea of what you meant, which was why I found it interesting.Ho wrote:I went through a phase where if I did something with one side of my body I had to do it with the other as well. So, for example, if I bumped into something with my left hand, I'd turn around hit it with my right hand, too. Or if I stepped on a rock in the sidewalk with one foot, I'd make sure to step on it with the other one, too.Arka wrote:Very interesting...Ho wrote:As for symmetry...I used to be OCD about it, but I got over it.
It was dumb. I don't know how it started. It was a long time ago. And like I said, I got over it (thankfully). I don't think I even set out to get over it...I think I just kinda forgot about it or quit worrying about it at some point.
While I was a very young child (probably 3-6 or so), I did the same things you describe and some others as well - if I stepped in a region of floor with one foot, I did it with the other foot as well; if I did something with one hand I repeated or imitated it with the other. This was a very conscious and deliberate habit, which I eventually discarded because it wasn't practical in some situations, but I suspect there may be residual unconscious effects. (When I get a callus, bruise or other mark on one side of my body, a mirror image shows up on the other side, generally within a few days. Since I doubt it's biologically possible for this to just happen, I presume I'm doing something to cause it when I'm not paying attention.)
The specific reason I commented on it, though, is that there are a number of quirks and flaws which I consider related to this that you don't seem to possess. For instance, you have differing overall IIDX abilities with your two hands - that's a kind of thing that I've seen in a number of people but that I could never achieve. (Whatever mechanical skills I learn with one hand transfer equally to the other.)
Perhaps you're just more liberated than I am.
Woah, I do the same type of stuff. Like if I have an ache in my shoulder or something, I'll bend my other shoulder in an uncomfortable position until they feel about the same. I thought I was the only one who did weird stuff like that. And most of the time, I don't think stuff looks right/good unless it's symmetrical.Ho wrote:As for symmetry...I used to be OCD about it, but I got over it. I went through a phase where if I did something with one side of my body I had to do it with the other as well. So, for example, if I bumped into something with my left hand, I'd turn around hit it with my right hand, too. Or if I stepped on a rock in the sidewalk with one foot, I'd make sure to step on it with the other one, too.
It was dumb. I don't know how it started. It was a long time ago. And like I said, I got over it (thankfully). I don't think I even set out to get over it...I think I just kinda forgot about it or quit worrying about it at some point.
You really should work on learning to mess with the affected limb until it feels normal again, instead. For some aches and pains it's not possible, but for most it is - and it's a much better option than injuring perfectly healthy body parts.dance1005 wrote:Like if I have an ache in my shoulder or something, I'll bend my other shoulder in an uncomfortable position until they feel about the same.