I recently took my Chevrolet Silverado in for an oil change. The little green message was coming on my dash every time I started the engine, “Change your oil.” So, I figure, whatever, when I get around to it I’ll take it in. I dropped it off about 7 a.m. at a shop downtown and walked the rest of the way to my office. By the time I finished up and walk back it’s pushing 6 p.m. The manager, who looked to be all of 12 years old, hands me my keys, I grumble a thanks, hop in and dead head home. The next morning I’m off to work and what do I see winking at me from the dash? Why it’s my little green buddy the oil change reminder. I grit my teeth, throw it in drive and head off to work. Around 9 a.m. I get a chance to slug down some coffee and call up the garage. The conversation went a little like this. Me, “Grrr ….mumble… gripe.. oil… not changed… light on… crooked…me..no like” Him, “Oh no sir! I’m certain it was done. I saw to it my self! It’s those oil change notices. They don’t clear automatically. Would you like to bring it over and we’ll clear it for you? It’s a little technical.” Me, “Errr.. um… reset…yeah.. I knew that… how is it you do that again?” At this point he proceeded to explain that I should place the key in the ignition, turn it to the on position but not engage the starter then tap the accelerator three times in rapid succession. So, I asked him, “Dude, are you screwing with me? We’re not doing cheat codes on an Atari here.” He quickly replied, “No, sir! I’m completely serious. You just follow those steps and the monitor will reset….Sir?…What’s an Atari?” Rather than explaining how ancient I am, I mumbled something to indicate we must have a bad connection and hung up. After work I made sure no one was looking, just in case, and I gave his spell casting gestures a shot. Don’t you know it worked? When was General Motors taken over by engineers who think in patterns of video game strategy? Reg Adkins writes on behavior and the human experience at (elementaltruths.blogspot.com).
