The Potkin Method...

I mentioned this in the last post but see that I have been extremely remiss in actually telling you about the different methods of playing Traffic. I may claim to have invented the game, or at least originally classified it as a true sport, but many people have contributed to it over time.

The Potkin Method:

This is the method described by Noah Potkin. My best friend since 6th grade, he is always quick to point out more difficult ways of doing things. This is truly his method and I have to say it has saved my life (maybe literally) many times. I believe he first developed this method in his VW bug.

1. You must be driving a clutched vehicle
2. You must not use the clutch
3. To change gears you must increase or decrease the speed of the engine so that the gears easily slide into the next gear (up or down)

Note: Breaks are always optional, but in strict Potkin method they should not be used.

The Theory: The way clutch works is that the engine is being driven by a series of gears (discs). To change gears the clutch disengages the current gear and lets them spin in a "free state" so that the gears are all moving at the same speed. In this way it is easy to then switch the gears. In the Potkin method the accelerator replaces the clutch in so far as the driver manually matches the different gear speeds by increasing or decreasing the revolutions of the engine to match the idling gear that is to be switched to. This speed can be easily ascertained as the gears will shift very easily when the speeds match even without the clutch.

Potkin Method + Sleeping Baby

Ok, so last night Minya was a bit grumpy. She'd had a full day, and for some reason she's been going to bed really early the last couple of days. So the wife says, let's go for a drive. Music to my ears, dear listeners... music to my ears.

Now it isn't very often that I get the go ahead from my wife to "just drive," but there are few things that I am better at. I know I've been living in this neighborhood for 5 years, but there's this stretch of alleys West of Lac Long Quan that I keep getting lost in, so that is where I headed. Last time I went this way with my partner we got lost in a tropical downpour and arrived at our sales call absolutely soaked. So I need to know these alleys better.

Unfortunately in not more than 10 minutes Minya was already asleep. So I obviously am not going to get my alleys clear tonight. Then to complicate matters as I try to find the alternate route home I find myself in a dead end alley. Ok. Fine. So it is time to head home. Ready to turn back on to Au Co when I feel the clutch cable going. Ugh.

Happily I got really lucky. Yes, the clutch cable snapped, which leaves me driving the 8pm traffic on Au Co and Lac Long Quan Potkin style, but was actually able to drive all the way home (once I got going) without stopping. So we made it home with a broken clutch cable and the baby still sleeping. Top that Noah!