>   3. A weird question.  I developed the habit of shifting occasionally
>   without the clutch (dating to a period of a couple of days when I had
>   to drive with a broken clutch cable--long story).  I still catch 

It means you have perfectly matched transmission to engine speed, thus 
letting the syncros do their thing, no harm if'n you don't force it and 
clash the gears. Only way to get home on a busted clutch cable. 3rd to 4th 
easiest to practice on, just need the right amount of pressure on the stick, 
from neutral to 4th, and at the right time. Going to lower gears can be 
practiced once you have a feel for the effort required to select a gear. 
Just ease slightly off the gas, push into neutral, then rev it up, push 
gently and wait for it to plop into lower gear. I used to shift all the time 
like this, can't get it on the vanagon yet, grumpf! tim s.