mattstaub.com

Sox honor Gehrig, support search for ALS cure

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:21:00 +0000

For Uncle Duke...

BEst and Worse Owners in Baseball

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Tue, 12 May 2009 21:15:00 +0000

Of course, the BoSox ownership is #1 (Best)...

Autoblog's Top Ten Greatest Pontiacs

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 16:40:00 +0000

While I am sorry to see Pontiac go, as the 1967 GTO is my favorite car of all time, and I was also the proud owner of a 2000 Grand Prix GT, it is unfortunately necessary.

Massachusetts Governor ponders Hummer Tax

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:33:00 +0000

This is completely unfair. Cadillac Duval should really be looking at fixing what is wrong here instead of penalizing the people paying his salary.

Two weeks with the Silverado

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:32:00 +0000

So, I've had my Silverado for two weeks now. It is a white crew cab 1500 4x4 1LT. I'm quite pleased with it so far. I'll answer a few questions here.

Now, the first thing you may want to know, is why give up the Dakota (2003 Dodge Dakota Club Cab SXT 4x4)? The answer is very simple - size and safety. I could no longer safely carry my family in that truck. Anthony has outgrown the car seat we have for him there, and nothing bigger would fit. I also could not fit another car seat in it for our pending arrival. So, after 92,057 faithful miles and five years and eleven months, I said goodbye to my first pickup truck. It did not have a lot of options, but it was very comfortable. In fact, 75,000 of those miles were driven for my then job of systems analyst at a national professional services organization. It was also the most reliable vehicle I have ever owned.

That last statement begs the question, why not get an all-new for 2009 Dodge Ram? The answer to that is very simple. The 2009 Ram is an awesome truck, and I know I would have been happy with it, but there isn't a Dodge dealer within 10 miles of my home. And frankly, the Chevy has always been my first choice. I do not like the dashboard in the Tundra, so that ruled it out. I have not had good luck with Fords, so that struck the F-150, also new for 2009, and Motor Trend's Truck of the Year, from the list. (Incidentally, the Silverado is the 2007 Truck of the Year.) I really like the Nissan Titan, but it's future is basically as a re-badged Dodge Ram. That leaves GMC. So, why not the GMC Sierra? Definitely considered it, as it is mechanically similar, but the same problem with dealers arises as with the Dodge. I also wanted a bow-tie again.

For not being very far up on the model line equipment totem pole, the 1LT has quite a lot of equipment, and it's really all I need. I also get six passenger seating, which in comparison, I really liked the bench seat over the buckets. It's the first time ever for bench seating for me. Also, new for 2009 on the Silverado, is the 6L80 transmission for the 5.3L Vortec V8 with automatic fuel management, both of which add up to better fuel economy than the 4 speed auto and ancient LA series/Magnum V6 in the Dakota.

Obviously, the Dakota has many more miles in her, and I hope someone will use those miles. It was a great truck. But, it did not have to room for me to safely carry my family, so it had to go. My cousin has a 93 K1500 with 180k miles on it. It was with this in mind that I purchased the Silverado. Wouldn't it be great, if in 13-15 years, I could pass this truck down to my son, as his first vehicle?

Testing Lifecast

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 18:18:00 +0000

Trying to see if I should delete this app from my iPhone...

Posted with LifeCast

"KHAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!"

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 17:44:00 +0000

RIP Ricardo Montalban.

How do these people survive?

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:09:00 +0000

I was archiving mail for the past year and came across this. Not quite Darwin awards, but these people are on their way...

How do these people survive?

ONE Recently, when I went to McDonald's I saw on the menu that you could have an order of 6, 9 or 12 Chicken Mc Nuggets. I asked for a half dozen nuggets. "We don't have half dozen nuggets," said the teenager at the counter. "You don't?" I replied. "We only have six, nine, or twelve," was the reply. "So I can't order a half dozen nuggets, but I can order six?" "That's right." So I shook my head and ordered six Mc Nuggets

TWO I was checking out at the local Wal-Mart with just a few items and the lady behind me put her things on the belt close to mine. I picked up one of those "dividers" that they keep by the cash register and placed it between our things so they wouldn't get mixed. After the girl had scanned all of my items, she picked up the "divider", looking it all over for the bar code so she could scan it. Not finding the bar code she said to me, "Do you know how much this is?" I said to her "! I've changed my mind, I don't think I'll buy that today." She said "OK," and I paid her for the things and left. She had no clue to what had just happened.

THREE A lady at work was seen putting a credit card into her floppy drive and pulling it out very quickly. When I inquired as to what she was doing, she said she was shopping on the Internet and they kept asking for a credit card number, so she was using the ATM "thingy."

FOUR I recently saw a distraught young lady weeping beside her car. "Do you need some help?" I asked. She replied, "I knew I should have replaced the battery to this remote door unlocker. Now I can't get into my car. Do you think they (pointing to a distant convenience store) would have a battery to fit this?" "Hmmm, I dunno. Do you have an alarm, too?" I asked. "No, just this remote thingy," she answered, handing it and the car keys to me. As I took the key and manually unlocked! the door, I replied, "Why don't you drive over there and check about the batteries. It's a long walk."

FIVE Several years ago, we had an Intern who was none too swift. One day she was typing and turned to a secretary and said, "I'm almost out of typing paper. What do I do?" "Just use copier machine paper," the secretary told her. With that, the intern took her last remaining blank piece of paper, put it on the photocopier & proceeded to make five "blank" copies.

SIX I was in a car dealership a while ago, when a large motor home was towed into the garage. The front of the vehicle was in dire need of repair and the whole thing generally looked like an extra in "Twister." I asked the manager what had happened. He told me that the driver had set the "cruise control" and then went in the back to make a sandwich.

SEVEN My neighbor works in the operations department in the central office of a large bank. Employees in the field call him when they have problems with their computers. One night he got a call from a woman in one of the branch banks who had this question: "I've got smoke coming from the back of my terminal. Do you guys have a fire downtown?"

EIGHT Police in Radnor , Pa interrogated a suspect by placing a metal colander on his head and connecting it with wires to a photocopy machine. The message "He's lying" was placed in the copier, and police pressed the copy button each time they thought the suspect wasn't telling the truth. Believing the "lie detector" was working, the suspect confessed.

NINE A mother calls 911 very worried asking the dispatcher if she needs to take her kid to the emergency room, the kid was eating ants. The dispatcher tells her to give the kid some Benadryl and it should be fine . The mother says, I just gave him some ant killer..... Dispatcher: Rush him in to emergency room!

Life is tough

It's tougher if you're stupid

Pantsless on the slopes

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:55:00 +0000

This is way too funny...

The end of an era - Windows 3.x

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 14:28:00 +0000

I have to make note of this as I find it amusing and I also wonder just how long it will take Windows 3.x to really die...

FireWire Isn’t Alone: A Brief History of Features Apple Has Killed�|�Technologizer

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:02:00 +0000

Firewire, you will be missed...

Theo ponders big offseason decisions | redsox.com: News

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:45:00 +0000

Time to start thinking about next year.

Making Fat Tire: The Brewmaster of New Belgium Brewing Company | Sloshspot Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:42:00 +0000

mmmmm..... beer. Fat Tire is an excellent beer. In fact, thinking about it, it should be the beer of the month!

Camp Good Days and Special Times: A WEEKEND OF COURAGE AND A LOST HERO…

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 14:14:00 +0000

Rest in Peace Denny

I don't think I could do any better than the following excerpt by Gary Mervis. Denny, you will be missed.

"To be sure, Denny lived and marched to the beat of his own drummer and the only satisfaction I have from his untimely and tragic death is that he died doing something he loved – riding his motorcycle on a beautiful, sunny day.

Denny Dutton is probably someone you have never heard of…but he is my hero and someone that will be truly missed by all those who knew and loved him."

ESPN - Some new faces help Red Sox finish off Angels at home - MLB

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:24:00 +0000

ALCS, here we come!

The Steakhouse Incident

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:52:00 +0000

This is the funniest thing I have read in a long time.... (Beware, you will probably laugh uncontrollably.)

Red Sox beat Lee to punch playoff ticket | redsox.com: News

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:41:00 +0000

Time for an old fashioned drama filled October courtesy of the Red Sox. Wouldn't have it any other way. GO SOX!

Fenway, Wrigley remain as cathedrals | MLB.com: News

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 20:42:00 +0000

Old ballparks rule, especially Fenway...

Bare Bones Software | BBEdit 9

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:26:00 +0000

The coolest editor going has just received a major upgrade!

Tequila endangered by switch to biofuels - Telegraph

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:12:00 +0000

Now that will really suck!

What is the best free email account? - Google's Gmail

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 19:01:00 +0000

No shit, dude!

Sprint early termination fees are illegal, judge rules - San Jose Mercury News

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 12:56:00 +0000

Heh... progress...

What’s Lurking in Your Countertop? - NYTimes.com

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:07:00 +0000

File this under WTF?

Would You Drive 55? - Yahoo! News

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:55:00 +0000

Wow. This worked so well the first time...

Job and brand cuts from GM on the horizon - Autoblog

noreply@blogger.com (Matt Staub) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:52:00 +0000

Here's my take... Hummer has no practical purpose anymore and should be jettisoned as soon as possible. And as much as I hate to say it, GMC is redundant, at least in the consumer market. GM should make GMC commercial medium duty only, and let Chevy tackle Ford, Dodge, Toyota, and the new Ram based Nissan full size.

Buick has a well defined market here, and it is the number one brand in China. There's no good reason to cut Buick (although, way back when, I think they should have cut Buick and kept Oldsmobile).

Pontiac makes some great cars - Solstice and G8 come to mind, but the Solstice also exists as the Saturn Sky/Opel GT, and the G8 would make a great Imapala/Caprice. The G5 is a warmed over Cobalt, and the G6 exists as the Malibu and Saturn Aura. I had a 2000 Grand Prix and I loved it. My grandfather had a 67 GTO. We have history with Pontiac, but given the above, the brand has become redundant, and if GM is to survive, I think Pontiac has to go.

Saturn, for now, seems to have a place as the American arm of Opel. However, they need to adopt a traditional sales model. The one thing that kept me from buying a Saturn is the you pay sticker price policy. Actually, ditch the Saturn name and just sell the cars as Opels here in the US. That's even better.

I think Saab will be ok, once they get a few decent models out. The 9-5 is old and the 9-7x is a warmed over Trailblazer and should be put out to pasture with its stablemates.

It goes without saying that Chevrolet and Cadillac should be kept.

Just my 15 cents...