[wludavid]

Well, I've been terrorizing Virginia roads in cars and light trucks for about 9 years now, but the ante has just been upped. The US gov't this week signed me off to operate Humvees and trucks with a payload of 5,000 lbs and less.

And if anyone's ever driven one of them Deuce-and-a-half beasts, they are a royal pain to operate. Your knee is up next to your ear when moving the clutch, no power steering, the most ass-backwards shift pattern, and the transmission makes a 915 feel like a miata. The track mentality of looking ahead and planning turns helped though, since you have to start turning the wheel about 75 feet before the usual turn-in point to avoid running over grass on the outside of the curve.

This warning goes double for DR, since I know he's sometimes on Belvoir, which is where I'll be doing most of my terrorizing.