That didn’t register as a “Tilt” on the machine and end your game? Because a pinball machine is a mechanical device, skilled players would try to “bump” the machines at key moments in an effort to influence the movement of the ball. If they bumped it a little too hard, it would register as a “Tilt”, and the game would be ended. Or, is that just an urban legend?
I don’t know about modern cars, but in the 90s two cars I owned consecutively (both Chevy Cavaliers) were both sticks, and someone taught me how to upshift without using the clutch-- accelerate in the lower gear until the tach is just a little bit higher than the ideal upshift point, then ease up on the gas to drop the tach slightly to the ideal point and at the same time slide the stick into the higher gear. It shifted as smoothly as using the clutch-- no gear grinding whatsoever.
I don’t rememeber if it worked as well downshifting, and I didn’t make a habit of it in any case, I just tried it a few times just to try it, or to show others it could be done.
About the time. The earthquake hit seconds before, and I never bump the machine myself.
I would if I could get away with it. 
You can downshift similarly, but it’s more challenging.You have to blip the throttle as you pass through neutral to get the revs in the right range for the lower gear. It’s very similar to the throttle blip in the heel-and-toe technique used for downshifting while braking in a racing environment.
I had an RX-7 that had the clutch hydraulics go out. I drove that around without issue EXCEPT for stops. I would basically have to come to a stop in neutral, turn the key off, then put it in first. When the light went green, I’d start the car in gear (hard on the starter, and impossible to do in a car with a clutch safety interlock) and once rolling, drive as normal, minus the clutch.
Not me. When The Pinball Gods awake and arise, they will remember.
'Nuff said.
I still hold on to my 20+ y.o. Honda … and 9 out of 10 times go from “in gear” to “neutral”, w/out stepping on the clutch, you just need a good feeling when there is no force on the clutch / gear assembly (so neither engine driving wheels, nor wheels driving engine) … I can do that with my pinky and no undue sounds, either…
(obv. “separating” gears is way easier than “joining” gears). THAT, I don’t do normally…
SIDEBAR:
When I purchased the car used, (aprox. 75.000km) the clutch was on its way out … but it magically healed itself over time, and now with 180.000ish km it works just fine (w/out changing the clutch) … I assume the clutch was abused by the former owner, became glazed and that glazing wore off over time (with proper driving by a competent pilot ;o))
- at least that’s good enough of an explanation that I roll with it ;-).
I’ve been flying over 60 years, maybe 200 flights, and have never flown first class, and in business class only once. We were bumped, but not quite a random bump. It was a flight from Toronto to La Guardia, and they asked for volunteers to take the next flight instead, 80 minutes later, and we’d also be given vouchers for a similarly priced flight. We thought why not, let’s go with it, we weren’t in a hurry. And when we boarded, they put us in business.
Two episodes:
First one:
Twenty-some years ago, my wife and I were vacationing in France, staying at a really nice B&B that was a 600 year old house with a few wood stoves and some cats and a substantial wine cellar. The owners were Brits and we ended up getting along really well.
One evening we were having drinks with them and, out of the blue, one of them mentioned that they go back to the UK for Christmas every year and they like to have someone house-sit the B&B while they’re away and would we like to do it for them this year.
We enthusiastically agreed and, a few months later arrived the day before they headed off to the UK. They told us to “help ourselves to the wine cellar”. We mentioned that our friends thought that it was so cool that we were flying from Canada to house-sit a place in France. They responded that everyone they knew thought that it was so cool that a couple was flying in from Canada to house-sit their place.
We had a fabulous time. We fed the cats, kept the wood stoves burning, and did enjoy the wine cellar (they had some sort of coop arrangement with local vintners) in which there was an endless supply of fabulous four Euro-ish red table wine that was just fucking beautiful. The B&B was near a small village and they were aware that we were coming so we visited local bakeries and cheese shops and had a great time meeting the various proprietors.
Second one:
We were in Greece touring around different locations. We were walking around one small town and emerged into an alleyway that had a few restaurants opening to it. We started chatting with the owner who, as it turned out, had spent some time working in Canada several years ago. He and his wife invited us in to join them for his birthday cake and some drinks.
I’ve got a couple:
First story: I was an Army brat growing up. When I was in college, my family got moved to Germany. I was allotted one trip a year at U.S. Army expense to go visit them. But I typically wanted to go twice a year (summer break and Christmas vacation), so it was always difficult trying to arrange and afford overseas travel for the second visit. But one year, the stars aligned. I was in Navy ROTC (NROTC) and did summer training in San Diego with the Navy. At the end of the month-long training, the Navy told me they would either fly me back to my college (in Houston) or “home,” wherever that was. So I got a free flight at Navy expense from San Diego to Germany. At the end of the summer, the Army paid for me to fly back to college in Texas.
Second story: Back in the early ‘90s, I was a newly commissioned U.S. Navy officer. At Christmas I went to go visit my family in Germany again. My mother at the time was president of the Officers and Civilians Women’s Club (formerly the Officer’s Wives Club). Because of that she was friends with the wife of 4-star General John Shalikashvili, who was serving as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR). (He would later serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.) Anyway, my mother and her family (including me) were all invited to spend the weekend with them skiing in Berchtesgaden, which was pretty neat. One night, we all went out to dinner in a private room at a restaurant. In addition to the family, he had quite the entourage.
What bands?
The fates frowned, then grinned. I was flying out of Paris, and quelle surprise, there was a metro strike, so I didn’t get to the airport to make my flight. The very nice lady at the counter booked me through Amsterdam, on to Detroit, (oddly going from Paris to Boston by way of Detroit) but in first class for the long leg of the journey.
Can this apply to a genus and not an individual?
This article at 404 is based on a paper in Science Advances. Chimps, bonobos, and gorillas have retrovirus DNA in their genome that blocks expression of the LINC00662 gene. The human genome has not been infected with this viral DNA. LINC00662 appears to be important in explaining some of the brain development differences between humans and our ape cousins.
So as the article says, at some point in time proto-humans avoided being infected with this virus that limits brain development. Just by luck they were either immune to the virus, or by chance did not live in the area where the virus was spreading.