ADAC Training Update (30.Aug)

It was a glorious finish today at the training and what better than to see the thumbs up sign from the trainer. I must say I've had a really great day today, complete with fine weather and all.

The start wasn't that good though. Was caught up in traffic on the autobahn between Troisdorf and Bonn. Ended up being late by about 30 minutes for the training. However, I was lucky enough because the candidates were just leaving the training room and heading towards the test tracks. We were a group of 10.

At first we had to wiggle our way through markers spaced at about 10m. It was a good exercise for sharp steering. The lesson learnt at the end of the exercise was 'Steer earlier, steer less'.

The next few exercises were on handling the car on different surfaces. Rough, smooth, dry and wet. The worst condition was ofcourse the smooth and wet. I've only read about ABS and ESP in technical docs and the internet, but today I experienced both live. The worst part of the surface runs was a circular track that was used to experience the forces when driving along bends. The radius of curvature of that track was about 10m and I guess the fastest I drove around was about 35kmph. I could literally feel the ESP system blocking my wheels individually as I was handling the curve. I must say that the VW Golf is a truly wonderful machine when it comes to stability.

It was a long day, but truly exciting and fun-filled. I learnt a lot of things that I could probably not learn anywhere else (except if I actually face an accident situation)!

Training Tomorrow

I'm gonna make use of my birthday gift tomorrow. Going for the car safety and security training tomorrow. It's conducted by ADAC, a popular automobile institute here. Will have to handle rough situations, sudden brakes, sharp curves, fast deceleration, obstacle course, etc. Guess its gonna be a roller coaster ride on a car tomorrow. Anyways, will update everything after I'm back (hopefully....in one piece)!

Cool 3D Tool

I was assigned the task of visualizing a 3D model of our stall at the VW supplier show in Wolfsburg in October. I was hunting around for some free tool and didn't have to look further than Google. They have this cool tool called SketchUp.

I was able to bring up a model within minutes. You see a rough 'SketchUp' in the picture. Of course the free version doesn't let you do everything, but it was enough for what I needed to do. I think you can use a bit of your artistic skills and your engineering drawing skills to realize your dreams in 3D space. Check it out and have fun.

Weekend Update (18. - 20.Aug)

Wo Wo Wo Wo, now that was one great weekend I really enjoyed. My friend came down from Hameln on Friday around 8:30 in the evening. We all went to another friend's place at Junkersdorf (I had packed some stuff to stay at his place the whole weekend). From then on it was a roller coaster ride into the weekend.

Friday night was spent at Rudolfplatz. We were walking along the brightly lit streets filled with pubs and discotheques. Finally we settled down at a roadside bar. I must've had a couple of beers. Also tried a 2 c.l. shot of Tequila (white variety). First time I'm trying it. Felt like a ball of fire travelling down my throat into my tummy. Didn't really get quite drunk, but wasn't very stable. I felt like I was walking on a raised platform. We were hanging around until 3am.

Saturday morning got up around 10 and headed straight to the swimming pool. Met an 80 year old man in the pool who gave us some tips on swimming. We struck a good deal with him, so we would be getting some instructions on swimming every saturday between 12:30 to 1 in the afternoon. It was really amazing to see an 80 year old swimming around like a pro. I guess I'll be swimming in my grave at that age.

Sunday was the best. We went to Phantasialand and had a blast of a time. Got a discount ticket with the help of a friend working for Ford. Went on almost all the rides. The deadliest was the 'Mystery Castle'. Experiencing a 65m freefall scared the daylights out of me. I don't think I can last a second ride. I also avoided all the rides that splashed down into the water. Am not comfortable getting wet (moreover it was also raining off and on the whole day). We were a gang of four so it was always easy to go for rides together. Apart from the rides, the shows were also nice. The best was the ice dancing show called Unforgettable. This was my first trip to an amusement park in Germany and I'm happy to say that it was a good one.


Overall had a really great weekend. I don't have any specific plans for my next weekend, but if there is something exciting, I'll keep that posted.

Weekend Update (13.Aug)

The weekend didn't go as planned (was supposed to go for a cruise). Bad weather played spoil-sport. It was raining a little in the morning and the temperature was around 16 deg C. Not a good day for a cruise. But I must say that I did enjoy the weekend. I went to a friend's place for lunch. He is married and has two sweet little kids. They really like me a lot and are always pretty excited when they get to know that I'm coming over.

The sun was playing hide and seek the whole Sunday. Anyway, it didn't really rain much. We managed to go cycling around huge fields (you can see that in the picture). Got to see a huge pit that was dug up for coal and later abandoned. The kids really enjoyed the fun time at home. Got to play all sorts of games. Also did bits of singing and dancing. It was total fun.


And yes, we are planning to go for that cruise sometime next month. Hope we do it before winter. Keeping all fingers crossed.

Kinder?

I had to go to a computer store last evening to collect the 1GB RAM module that I had ordered the previous week for my laptop. The store was pretty empty but there were two guys at the counter talking to the assistant. I had to wait for my turn so I just stood behind them. I shifted my ears to 'overhear' mode (as I do most of the time) and realized that the guys were providing information to the assistant to fill out a purchase order. Apart from the normal items like name, address, etc.. I happened to hear an amusing question.

(In German)..........

Assistant : "Familienstand?"
Guy1 : "Ledig."
Assistant : "Kinder?"
Guy1 : "Nein."
Guy2 : "???!!!!???!!! Haahaahahaaaha"
Guy1 : "Hahahahahaha"

(In English)...........

Assistant : "Marital Status?"
Guy1 : "Single."
Assistant : "Children?"
Guy1 : "None."
Guy2 : "???!!!!???!!! Haahaahahaaaha"
Guy1 : "Hahahahahaha"

That was very entertaining. I laughed all the way home thinking about it. Anyway, I've got to return to that shop today because the RAM that I got doesn't fit in my memory slot. This is inspite the fact that the assistant suggested it to me after taking a look at my laptop!!! Guess Moore's law applies in Germany as well.

Fun Weekends Ahead!!!

Yippeeee I'm so excited. The following 3 weekends are going to be fun weekends for me. Coming weekend I will be going on a cruise down the river Rhine from Cologne to Dusseldorf. Will also be going to Bonn, just to hang around for sometime. I may also be taking a ride on the Cable Car at Cologne. I know a SriLankan family here and they are planning to come to Cologne next weekend, moreover another friend may also be joining us, so will be having lots of fun.

The weekend after that I will be going to Fantasia Land. Looking forward to that eagerly coz I heard that they have plenty of rides and lots of shows and stuff. Hmmm sounds like fun.

The following weekend I'm planning to take my car safety training. This would cover the ways to handle a car during emergency situations. It would last a whole day. I received a coupon for this training as a gift for my birthday from my company. Guess it would be all action and fun.

I hope I have a blast during the following 3 weekends. If I'm successful I'll fill up more space on my blog. I do hope the Rain-Gods are on their vacation for this month!!!