Rain, Rain Go Away...

It rained today in Los Angeles. It was not a hard rain but rain just the same. As a desert community, we welcome rain as a much needed element. While it doesn’t help our drought conditions, it cleans away some of the grime of the city and feeds the hills for the day.

I hate the rain. Perhaps I overstate that. I actually enjoy it when I am in Peoria, Illinois. I have respect for the life that it brings. But here in Los Angeles, well gosh darn it, I hate it.

Why? Because in Los Angeles, we don’t know how to drive when it rains. This really divides LA drivers into 3 groups.

Group one understands that the wet conditions will affect the road and take some precautions to avoid an accident.

Group two understands that the wet conditions will affect the road, other drivers, the signal lights, the nearby coffee shop as well as the size of the font on the local newspaper.

Group three understands that the wet conditions will affect nothing.

It is the meeting of these three groups on one freeway that results in an abundance of unusual activity.

Group two will get on the freeway at no more than 15 miles per hour and try to merge into traffic going at least 60 miles per hour. They will drive down the freeway somewhere between 25 to 50 miles an hour and insist on having 18 car lengths between them and the car in front. Their signal lights will flash for a full 5 minutes before they decide to actually pull into the lane they have been threatening to pull into. They will slow to a near stop ¾ of a mile before their off ramp.

Group three will get on the freeway at 75 MPH and try to merge into traffic going at 60 miles an hour. They will drive down the freeway at 85 or 90 and will insist on being 3.4 inches behind the car in front of them. They will merge into the next lane without using their signal light – after all, they’ll only be there a second. When they get off the freeway, they will cross 4 lanes 20 feet before the off ramp but will slow down to 80 MPH.

Group one will get on the freeway at rate of speed of the freeway. They will try to keep with the speed of the freeway but make sure that they have sufficient space to stop in the case of a accident. They always use their signal lights and wave at the guys that allow them in. They plan for their next exist and slow down early enough before the exit so that they do not cause an accident behind them.

Now mix up those three groups and what do you get? A mess.

The “fast” group tailgates the “slow” group getting on the on ramp. They then swerve into traffic as soon as they get on the freeway, regardless of whether there is room for them to get on. The ‘slow’ group however has slowed down even more due to the danger of the fast group. This means they are now doing 8 MPH as they get on the freeway. Meanwhile, the first group is driving in the slow lane at 55 – 60 MPH and they have to slam on their brakes first to evade the fast drivers and then again to not slam into the slow drivers. Now going down the freeway, a dance begins. The slow drivers trying to get everyone else to conform to their “safe” driving, the fast drivers weaving and dodging like a running back among defensive linemen and the first group trying to stay out of the other two groups way.

Inevitably, someone misses a step and CRUNCH. Now no one is moving.

So, yep, I hate the rain. Except when I’m in Peoria.

I also hate fragmentation. Especially when I am dealing with it on a virtual machine. But there is an answer. Click here to find out more. http://www.diskeeper.com/v-locity/index.aspx