Review time

Pencils please! After driving into Boston yesterday for the first time in quite a while, I decided it is definitely time for a review of some basics. First I must say I learned to drive in Boston so you can probably call me a Boston driver. However, I am not going to attempt to review any 'Boston driving' maneuvers here as I think they would be too advanced.

First of all, the pedal on the right, down by your right foot, is the gas pedal. You step on it and your car goes faster. You lift your foot up and your car will gradually slow down. You should use the gas pedal when merging on to the highway or when the red light turns green. The next pedal over, you may only have these two, is the brake pedal. It will make your car slow down rather quickly. It is important to use it when nearing red lights and stop signs. Or, if the car in front of you uses their brake pedal, you will see their brake lights, and it is time for you to use yours. You may also have a third pedal over by your left foot. That would be the clutch to be used in conjunction with your gear shift if your car has a manual transmission (if you don't know what a manual - or standard - transmission is, you probably don't have one. Or at least we hope not.)

Your car has other accessories you should familiarize yourself with. These include things light:

• Turn indicators. They will tell other people that you are going to change lanes or turn a corner. If you use them, sometimes people are even cooperative and get out of your way letting you merge in.
• Windshield wipers. They will clear your front window in the event of rain or snow and allow you to notice what the people in front of you are doing - especially before they use their brake pedal.
• Seat belts. They will keep you inside the car in the event of an unfortunate incident involving other vehicles. This can possibly save your life.
• Mirrors. These are not just for checking your hair and putting on make up. They also allow you to see behind you (without looking over your shoulder) and make sure there is no one in the next lane when you are attempting to change lanes.
  
• Headlights and tail lights. These allow you to see where you are going in the dark. They will also allow other cars to see you and also help prevent 'unfortunate' incidents.

That wasn't too hard. If you had any questions about these, I suggest you go out to your car and review the features and their location in your car. (No I didn't have any unfortunate incidents yesterday and nor did I see any but I did witness quite a few morons - on a quiet Sunday no less - doing things they shouldn't.)

Otherwise yesterday was quite enjoyable. I met some friends to celebrate a birthday at the New Institute for Contemporary Art in Boston. It has a restaurant with food by Wolfgang Puck (we didn't see him - I suspect he stayed at his main restaurant in LA) which was very good. The museum itself was quite interesting - great architecture, interesting exhibits and an amazing view of the harbor. We all agreed we weren't really into modern art but wanted to check it out, so we went!

I did stay a little too long and ended up coming home and doing a lot of nothing in the afternoon - by nothing, I mean that once again I was part of the 'problem' and couch potatoed for a few hours. With the cat and some herbal tea. Probably the best combination. I think the cat enjoyed himself too (but he doesn't contribute to the enjoyment when he walks on the remote control). It is a sad time when you have been part of the problem so much that there are no new shows to watch and you end up suffering through reruns of shows you have seen several times. Perhaps this is my cue to start feeling better and watch less TV. If that doesn't happen, I can just work on our Netflix queue to improve my 'viewing options'.

Today's big plans include a walk (gee now there is a surprise) followed by work. Another boring day. Perhaps I will solve the mysteries of jury duty today as well.