dont be fauled by the view of an dead windsock, remember if u are sinking faster than u expect, the air is pushing the windsock down to, giving the impression of carm conditions. on the subject of magic lift if there are many hills in a vacinity they will trigger at different times causing some turbulance but nothing that a pg pilot would not enjoy or indeed welcome to make the flight more fun. sooner or later all ppg pilots will encounter turbulance thats why 1 or 2 days with an instructor pg hill flying in mild thermicks learning active flying is a must and will give u the right tools, come the time, then you will no what to do,and not panic in the knowledge that everything is ok.