just john

That's right, I have a brand new bell on my city bike. Technically, it's a legal requirement but I notice some people don't have one. I have further noticed, ringing it moves people the hell out of the way in the park. Dorky by American standards, yes. Useful to get through the crowd, also yes. Therefore, I have, and have used, a bell.

Also, i recently went to the new Mercedes Museum, which will probably only be rivalled by the new Porche Museum when it opens this year. The building itself is unique and built to foster wandering around. It is probably headed toward being a Stuttgart landmark.

 They start the display off with the first car and lots of history panels along the wall. For those of you who have taken thermodynamics, they have the first patented Otto cycle engine on display. There's also the first small 2-stroke design, which was used briefly due to patent restrictions. Naturally, they start with the first production car and move on, ending with factory race cars and auto show prototypes.

A roaring 20's convertible, slightly longer than a minibus:

And the most famous Mercedes, the gull wing sports car, although it's behind a similar development car that there are only 2 of. I figured the SL could be seen anywhere. It's one of my favorites, the likes of which will probably never be made again.

They end up with race cars which are literally mounted sideways around the walls of the building. A representative of every body style ever raced by the factory is here. Ask me later for those pictures. They also built the pope mobile. I guess every auto-maker does something tacky every decade or so: